Lithostratigraphically, the Sidi As sid Formation (Upper Cretaceous) in the El Zintan section (JabalNafusah, NW Libya) consists of three units: upper marl, middle marl with intercalations of dolostone, and lower dolostone. Based on crystal size and shape, three types of dolomite have been classified. Fine crystalline dolomite (D1) consists of nonplanar dolomites, fine to medium crystalline dolomite (D2), and very coarse, consisting of mostly planar dolomites (D-3). The Cathodoluminescence technique also showed that most of these dolomites have bright yellow to red and dull orange luminescence and zoning. Based on X-ray diffraction (XRD), all dolomites are relatively well ordered and non to nearly stoichiometric dolomite. The stable isotopic studies and element analysis show that the major elements such as sodium (D1: 412.166 ppm; D2: 175 ppm; D3: 420 ppm), strontium (D1: 107 ppm; D2: 85 ppm; D3: 81.2 ppm), manganese (D1: 271 ppm; D2: 91 ppm; V3: 242 ppm), and iron (D1: 4856.66 ppm; D2: 373 ppm; D3: 3287 ppm) and the values of the stable isotope of oxygen (D1:-2.202‰; D2:-2.131; D3:-4.359‰) and carbon (D1: 2.080; D2: 2.076‰; D3: 1.581‰). The values of major elements and depletion of the carbon and oxygen isotopes can be related to the effects of temperature diagenetic, and mesosaline reflux of dolomitizing fluids during the early diagenesis. These dolomites originated in a tidal environment in this Formation. The major sources of magnesium for the dolomites are seawater and hypersaline fluids.

The groundwater aquifers in Azintan, northwestern Libya suffer from an acute shortage of water. The groundwater was evaluated to determine its suitability for drinking and irrigation purposes from major two aquifers in north and south of Azintan area. This study carried out to assess the groundwater quality and to identify major affecting variables. Twelve samples from the two aquifers were collected. The two aquifers were collected and analyzed for total dissolved solid (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), pH, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Cl-, SO42-, CO32- and HCO3-. The results show that, the groundwater in many places is dominated by higher concentrations of Cl-, SO42- and HCO3-. Two water types were recognized in this region are Cl-SO4-Na-Ca and Cl-SO4-Na. Gibbs and Piper method, as well as the hardness, soluble sodium percentage and the permeability index all have been used to assess the diagram quality of the groundwater of aquifers. Further, the multiple correlations and Cluster Analysis of groundwater quality parameters were carried out for further classification and interpretation of the groundwater quality. Finally, water qualities in the study area are compared with Libyan standards and WHO guidelines of drinking water and irrigation purposes.

Abstract

The growth of two wetland forage grasses Leptochloa fusca (L.) Kunth. and Echinochloa stagnina (L.) P. Beauv. was investigated under NaCl salinity regarding the morphological traits, plant chemical composition, photosynthesis and the antioxidant enzymes POD and CAT. Plants of both species were irrigated with 0, 50, 100, 200, 300 and 400 mM NaCl in a sand/perlite mixture of 1:1 (v/v). Salinity negatively affected morphological traits and plant biomass of both species, particularly E. stagnina. Soluble sugars and proline within limits, protein contents of the foliage were increased to different extents by increasing salinity, but insoluble sugar decreased. K⁺/Na⁺ ratio of shoot and root of both species was decreased as a consequence of Na⁺ accumulation and restricted K⁺ uptake. NaCl salinity adversely affected photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance and water use efficiency of both species particularly E. stagnina. Tolerance of L. fusca and E. stagnina to salinity stress can be based on stomatal closure and reduction in leaf area, in order to minimize water loss via transpiration and increase the activity of some antioxidant enzymes to detoxifying ROS generated during stress.

Vulvovaginal candidiasis causes sufferers much discomfort. Phytotherapy with garlic has been reported to be a possible alternative form of treatment; however, it is unknown why patients report varying success with this strategy. Fresh garlic extract has been shown to down-regulate the putative virulence gene, SIR2 in C. albicans. Our study aimed to see if previous observations were reproducible for the gene responsible for Candidalysin (ECE1). Two clinical strains from patients with reported variable efficacy of using garlic for the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis were compared through biofilm assays and antimicrobial susceptibility. Real-time PCR was used to assess changes in gene expression when exposed to garlic. Treatment with fresh garlic extract and pure allicin (an active compound produced in cut garlic) resulted in a decrease in SIR2 expression in all strains. In contrast, ECE1 expression was up-regulated in a reference strain and an isolate from a patient unresponsive to garlic therapy, while in an isolate from a patient responsive to garlic therapy, down-regulation of ECE1 occurred. future studies that investigate the effectiveness of phytotherapies should take into account possible varying responses of individual strains and that gene expression may be amplified in the presence of serum.

The Aqaba complex located at the southeastern of Jordan, exposes coexisting mafic-felsic association typical of syn-to pre-plate collision magmatism. The bulk of the pluton is made of quartz monzonite, granite and granodiorite. New U-Pb zircon dating revealed a synchronous emplacement of the granite (605 ± 4.6 and 617±3.7 Ma), granodiorite (613 ±4.4, 612 ±3.6 and 611.8±4.9 Ma) and quartz monzonite (608± 5.4 Ma). The whole-rock geochemistry indicate that the source for the quartz monzonite, granite and granodiorites could have been a continental arc-derived from mantle sources and mature metagreywackes. Melting of this crustal material was subduction related , which could have been an enriched mantle-derived melt contaminated. The Aqaba complex is a part of a the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) are juvenile in character, Neoproterozoic, including in addition five large plutonic suites ; Rahma , Darba , Rumman,Urf and Yutum suite. The genesis of these suites were likely induced by mantle-derived magma in the shallow crust while their spatially and temporally discrete emplacement at shallow levels was probably related to the (extensional) of lithospheric boundaries, which represent a feasible fertile source for such granitoids.

Abstract. The growth of lampenflora detracts the natural beauty of cave walls, and threatens their archaeological value.

This is a real problem in Malaysian caves, therefore, an attempt should be made to eliminate these unwanted microorganisms. Ultraviolet light destroys harmful microbes such as bacteria, yeast. molds, viruses and algae, and ultraviolet radiation is less toxic to cave dwellers such as birds, reptiles and visitors. So ultraviolet radiation can be a way to control microorganisms or reduce their numbers. In this study. we studied the effect of ultraviolet radiation on microorganisms isolated from selected Malaysian caves to control and eliminate them AlterS minutes exposure, 254mm UV-C effectively eliminated colonies of Pseudomonas aerginosa and Stenotrophomonas sp. But P. guilliermondi and

R. dairenensis were eliminated to the zero after 30 mivutes of treatment, but C. Liquefaciens needed 60 minutes to be treated. Synechochococcus sp and Micractinium sp. fell to zero after exposure to 240 of UV-C

Software Defined Networking (SDN) is an important paradigm shift of computer networking in the last 10 years. The concept of SDN is so powerful that the potential of applying it can easily be perceived beyond the initial use case of large data centre networks. We are motivated by this perception to explore the potential use of SDN in the context of home networks specifically, even though home environments were not the driving scenario behind SDN in the first years of its development. Lacking other reviews on the subject, we performed a focused search for every article that proposes, discusses or otherwise addresses the idea of implementing SDN in home networking. We surveyed four major technical and online databases (IEEE Xplore, ACM, ScienceDirect and Wiley) to ensure the inclusion of relevant, quality and authentic works. The final filtered set included 42 articles that spanned the period from 2010 to 2017. Most of the articles address specific aspects of controlling and managing home networks, such as Quality of Experience, security, Internet caps, Internet-of-Things device management and other specific themes, while the rest of articles address the generic case of managing home networks using SDN without a special focus on a particular target application. We derive a simple taxonomy for the works on home SDN and summarize the complete set of works, highlighting few points along the way and drawing few simple statistics.

AAPG "Siliciclastic Reservoirs of the Middle East" GTW took place from 15-16 May 2017 at the Grand Hyatt Amman Hotel in Jordan.

The workshop was dedicated to knowledge sharing, exchanging ideas and workflows pertaining to exploration and development of siliciclastic reservoirs in the Middle East region. 44 industry professionals from 9 countries and 16 companies attended the workshop. The 15 presentations which formed the technical program covered the following topics:

• Integrated Stratigraphic Techniques and Studies: A Better Way of Correlation
• Understanding the Depositional Environments and Processes of Clastic Reservoirs
• Structure, Geomechanics and Fluid Flow Properties of Siliciclastic Reservoirs
• Diagenetic Controls on Reservoir Quality: Assessment and Prediction

Core provided by National Petroleum Company, Jordan and Saudi Aramco was on display throughout the workshop. The core was carefully selected to compliment the technical program and participants had time each day to view and discuss the core samples.

Highlights of the workshop included two inaugural keynote speeches delivered by:

• Sa'id Al Hajri, Saudi Aramco, AAPG Middle East Past President
• Abdulkaker Abed, Professor of Geology, University of Jordan

All of the attendees also benefitted from informative breakout discussion sessions, held at the end of each day.

The workshop was followed by an optional two-day field trip to Wadi Rum (17-18 May 2017), led by Ahmed Masri, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jordan.

We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Saudi Aramco as the Platinum Sponsor of this workshop.