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Recent advancement in nanotechnology brings the idea of hybrid nanomaterials which offer distinguish applications in thermal reservoirs, cooling systems, energy applications, chemical engineering, vehicle engines etc. The understating of shape features for hybrid nanomaterials is quite essential as such consequences highly influenced various thermal properties like viscosity, thermal conductivity, optical properties, stability etc. The objective of current work is to examine heat transfer analysis due to thin film unsteady flow of hybrid nanofluid. The properties of hybrid nanofluid are justified for entertaining the copper (Cu), aluminium oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles with water (H2O) base fluid. Additionally, applications of viscous dissipation, heat source and nonlinear radiated effects are attributed to current flow problem. The thermal properties of nanoparticles are examined in presence of five shape features consisting of blades, platelets, cylinders, bricks and spheres. Numerical simulations of problem are performed via Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method. Comparative heat transfer is performed for mono nanofluid (Cu/H2O) and hybrid nanofluid (Cu−Al2O3)//H2O. It has been observed that heat transfer enhancement is more stable for cylindrical particles as compared to spherical nanoparticles. The skin friction enhances due to Hartmann number for both mono nanofluid (MNF) and hybrid nanofluid (HNF). Current results claim applications in coating thin films, lubrication systems, improving the thermal efficiency in thermal and industrial systems, heat exchangers, cooling systems etc.

This article introduces a novel quadrature scheme for the discrete ordinates method (DOM) called Uniform Constant Weight Quadrature (UCWQ). A new version of the discrete ordinates method has been developed to address the shadowing effects in gas-filled enclosures with obstructions. The UCWQ method*, featuring a novel pyramidal mesh within the quadrature set, meets the criteria for the zeroth, first, and second moments and is symmetric to any axis. In comparison to the standard SN quadrature, the UCWQ method allows for unlimited angular refinement, thereby preventing distortions in temperature and radiative flux profiles caused by shadowing effects. The new scheme demonstrates high performance in calculating the radiative propagation through a semi-transparent medium situated between two concentric spheres. This new technique can be easily adopted to study a wide range of industrial applications, as well as various astrophysical systems, such as stellar atmospheres and structures within the interstellar medium. It can also be used to study the radiation contribution of greenhouse gases in atmospheric pollution layers.

This study aims at improving the desalination process of hemispherical solar still (HSS). A modified HSS (MHSS) design was developed, incorporating a 35 cm radius hemispherical absorber to heighten vaporization area and sun exposure. The influence of various factors on the MHSS performance was evaluated: wick material (jute cloth vs. cotton wick), rear reflectors for concentrated solar radiation, fan integration for enhanced heat transfer, and a phase change material (PCM) with silver nanoparticles (Ag) positioned beneath the liner. The MHSS design itself achieved a 96 % gain in productivity over HSS. Jute cloth proved to be a more effective wick material than cotton. The MHSS equipped with external reflectors exhibited a significant 120 % improvement in productivity. Furthermore, fan integration within the MHSS resulted in a 172 % productivity increase (11150 mL/m2⋅day compared to 4100 mL/m2⋅day for the HSS). Besides, the enhancement (152 %) was observed with the MHSS incorporating both a fan and a PCM-Ag composite, yielding a total daily freshwater production of 10500 mL compared to 4150 mL for the HSS. These findings suggest that the MHSS design with optimized features, particularly the use of a fan and PCM-Ag composite, offers a promising approach to significantly improve solar desalination performance.

The researchers devise novel approaches to find freshwater meeting to growing industry and population. Solar stills can create drinkable water, although their output isn't exceptionally high. The goal of this work was to improve the rate of evaporation of a trays solar still (TSS) by implementing four modifications. An experimental investigation has been conducted using both a conventional solar still (CSS) and a modified TSS. The modified TSS has been tested by employing two copper spiral water heating coils, internal reflectors, vapor exhaust fan, and phase change material mixed with Nano (PCM-Ag Nano). In five sets of testing, the performance of trays SS and CSS was compared under the same environmental conditions. Results achieved indicated that, the total yield of the TSS with copper coils, internal reflectors and PCM-Ag was enhanced by 146 % over that of the CSS. Additionally, the total freshwater production of the TSS was enhance by 164 % when using copper coils, internal reflectors and vapor exhaust fan in comparison to the CSS. Under these conditions, the distillation values of conventional distiller and modified TSS were 3200 and 8450 mL/m2.day. Addition, the reported costs for treating water for CSS and modified TSS with modifications were found to be 0.026 and 0.018 $ per liter. The environmental parameter of modified TSS was 34.2 tons of CO2 per year.

This article focuses on the numerical simulation of the surface evaporation process within a 3D solar still. Inside the solar still chamber, water is maintained at a specific level and undergoes evaporation due to solar heat. The numerical simulation utilizes computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. The primary objective of this study is to enhance the performance of the solar still system by increasing the rate of surface evaporation. The study optimized the system using design of experiments (DOE) and the response surface method (RSM). It investigated three input parameters – chamber height, water depth, and glass wall temperature – within defined ranges, measuring their impact on the target parameter. Optimal design conditions were determined, where the system exhibited peak performance with a chamber height of 1 m, a water depth of 0.2 m, and a glass wall temperature of 333.15 K. Under these conditions, the surface evaporation rate reached a maximum value of 0.00733960 kg/m³·K. Compared to baseline conditions, the optimal configuration yielded a significant 215.6 % increase in system performance. These findings underscore the substantial impact of these parameters on the efficiency of the solar still system.

Solar stills are famous techniques of solar desalination methods, but they suffer from the low daily water production. In this work, an experimental study was conducted to enhance the trays solar still (TSS) performance. The heat transfer rate between the saline water and absorber of TSS has been improved. So, the performance of TSSs with flat and finned absorbers shapes was studied. The tested SSs were conventional solar still (CSS), TSS, and finned TSS (FTSS). Jute wick materials were utilized to cover the finned absorbers, where the wick feed water flows slowly to upward through the porous material. The influence of installing reflecting mirrors on the internal sides of TSS was studied. For further enhancement of TSS performance, phase change materials mixed with copper oxide-nanoparticles has been utilized to test the FTSS performance. In addition, 3 electric heaters have been utilized to heat the water basin. The photovoltaic cell was added beside the back wall of the FTSS thereby using the same FTSS space and used as a power source for the electric heaters. Results indicated that the FTSS productivity was enhanced by 166 and 136% when utilizing the heaters and phase change materials with nanoparticles compared to that of the CSS, respectively. Also, the daily water productivity of the FTSS was enhanced by 196% over the CSS when using both the electrical heaters and phase change materials with nanoparticles at the same time.

The purpose of this research was described to gain comprehensive insight into Project Based Learning (PjBL) in science learning and find out the research topics that are being researched a lot at the moment. This research was carried out through bibliometric analysis using Scopus data sources, a total of 182 documents were obtained in the period 1994-2022. VOSviewer is used as a tool to image keywords, and the final research area in PjBL. The research results show that so far the number of publications regarding PjBL in science learning has fluctuated. The United States stands out as the leading country in terms of publication volume, with significant contributions from its authors and research institutions. An analysis of keywords indicates that, in the past two years, research on Project Based Learning has predominantly focused on topics such as physics, steam, integration, research methods, and junior high school education. This suggested bibliometric analysis offers valuable insights into the primary topics explored in the realm of Project Based Learning (PjBL) within the context of Science Learning.

Abstract Increasing of energy consumption, depletion of petroleum fuels and harmful emissions have triggered the interest to find substitute fuels for diesel engines. Palm ethyl ester was synthesized from palm oil through transesterification process. The physicochemical properties of palm biodiesel have been measured and confirmed in accordance with ASTM standards. The aim of the paper is to show the effect of different diesel-palm biodiesel blends on performance, combustion and emissions in diesel engine at engine load variation. Artificial Neural Network was used for the prediction of engine performance, exhaust emission and combustion characteristics parameters. Palm ethyl ester and diesel oil were blended in 5, 10, 15 and 20 by volume percentage. The maximum decreases in thermal efficiency, fuel–air equivalence ratio for B20 were 1.5, 3.5, 6 and 8% but the maximum increases in BSFC, exhaust gas temperature and NOx emission for B20 at full load about diesel fuel were 9, 8 and 10%, respectively. The highest decreases in CO, HC and smoke emissions of B20 about diesel oil at full load were 2, 35 and 18.5% at full load, respectively. Biodiesel blend B20 achieved the maximum declines in peak HRR, cylinder temperature and combustion duration about diesel fuel. The results of ANN were compared with experimental results and showed that ANN is effective modeling method with high accuracy. Palm biodiesel blends up to 20% showed the highest enhancements in engine performance, combustion and emission reductions compared to diesel fuel.

The countries suffer from the freshwater shortage. The solar still is one of the overcoming strategies, however its distillate production is limited. The present work introduces a different arrangement of modifying the pyramid solar still (PSS). This was conducted by changing the flat absorber to a pyramidal absorber to increase the vaporization surface area of distiller. Additionally, several wick materials made of jute cloth and cotton wick were placed over the pyramidal absorber under investigation. Besides, the performance of the modified pyramid solar still (MPSS) was studied when using external condenser and utilizing external mirrors to increase the input solar energy. Finally, a paraffin wax mixed with silver nanoparticles was used as a phase change material (PCM) under the pyramidal absorber of MPSS to be tested. The results revealed that using the modified absorber increased the evaporative surface area of MPSS by around 40%. Also, using the jute cloth material is suggested to be used instead of cotton cloth for the MPSS due to its better operation. Additionally, the best performance of MPSS was obtained with mirrors and condenser, where the productivity improvement and distiller efficiency were 142% and 52.5%.

The advancement in the thermal engineering presented the idea of nanomaterials with stable thermal consequences and performances. The importance of hybrid nanomaterials attributes importance in solar energy production, electronics devices, heating systems, mechanical processes etc. The hybrid model is classified as a distinct thermal phenomenon with different tiny particles. The thermal evaluation of hybrid nanofluid containing four types of nanoparticles subject to the non-uniform heat source/sink and inclined magnetic field for two-dimensional unsteady flow due to permeable stretched surface has been numerically investigated. Four different types of nanoparticles, copper, titanium dioxide, silver and aluminum oxide have been considered with water base fluid. With the help of similarity transformation, we convert the governing partial differential equation into the ordinary differential equation. To solve these similarity equations a numerical technique known as Keller box method is used. The results are shown graphically and in tabular form. For special cases, comparison of numerical results to the previous results is presented with excellent agreement. The physical onset of parameters due to fluctuated heat transfer rate, wall shear force and Nusselt number is observed. It is observed that change in magnetic field inclination angle declines the velocity profile. The temperature profile can be effectively controlled with interaction of titanium oxide nanoparticles. The presence of heat source enhanced the nanoparticles temperature more effectively.

Solar water desalination is the future alternative to overcome both pollution and water shortage issues. This study describes the effect of a low-cost cotton wick material on the performance of tubular solar still integrated with a parabolic concentrator solar tracking system. Outdoor experimental work was conducted in the real field under July climatic conditions of Ha'il city (995 m above sea level), Saudi Arabia. Results of the tubular solar still with and without the wick were compared to evaluate the achieved improvement of the developed device. Comparative analysis shows a higher performance for the wicked device with a significantly lower freshwater production cost. The use of the black cotton wick increased the device productivity and efficiency by 29.11% and 24.45%, respectively, and lowered water desalination production cost by 40.21%. The device with the wick was able to produce 5.1 L/m2day of water desalination with the 40.21% lower cost compared with that of the device without the wick. This productivity can satisfy the basic needs of one person during a day in small and isolated communities.

Many cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) single particle analyses are constrained by the sample preparation step upon which aggregation, dissociation, and/or preferential orientation of particles can be introduced. Here, we report how we solved these problems in the case of CDC48A, a hexameric AAA ATPase from Arabidopsis thaliana. CDC48A hexamers are well preserved under negative staining conditions but disassemble during grid freezing using the classical blotting method. Vitrification of grids using the blot-free Chameleon method preserved the integrity of particles but resulted in their strong preferential orientation. We then used a strategy where we improved in parallel the purification of CDC48A and the conditions for cryo-EM data acquisition. Indeed, we noted that images taken from thicker ice presented an even distribution of intact particles with random orientations, but resulted in a lower image resolution. Consequently, in our case, distribution, orientation, image resolution, and the integrity of particles were tightly correlated with ice thickness. By combining the more homogeneous and stable CDC48A hexamers resulting from our improved purification protocol with an iterative search across different ice thicknesses, we identified an intermediate thickness that retained sufficiently high-resolution structural information while maintaining a complete distribution of particle orientations. Our approach may provide a simple, fast, and generally applicable strategy to record data of sufficient quality under standard laboratory and microscope settings. This method may be of particular value when time and resources are limited.

In plants, AAA-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) Cell Division Control Protein 48 (CDC48) uses the force generated through ATP hydrolysis to pull, extract, and unfold ubiquitylated or sumoylated proteins from the membrane, chromatin, or protein complexes. The resulting changes in protein or RNA content are an important means for plants to control protein homeostasis and thereby adapt to shifting environmental conditions. The activity and targeting of CDC48 are controlled by adaptor proteins, of which the plant ubiquitin regulatory X (UBX) domain-containing (PUX) proteins constitute the largest family. Emerging knowledge on the structure and function of PUX proteins highlights that these proteins are versatile factors for plant homeostasis and adaptation that might inspire biotechnological applications.

It is known to us that the problem of freshwater shortage is constantly exacerbated by the rapid population increase and the great diversity of different industries that need water to continue their work. It is also well known that solar stills are one of the thermal solutions to this problem, but they are disadvantaged by their low productivity. So, this study presents an experimental study to improve the performance of the tubular solar still with rotating drum (TDSS) using nanoparticles' coating, parabolic solar concentrator (PSC), and phase change material (PCM). Different operating variables were tested in this study. This combination of using PSC and PCM is investigated for the first time in TDSS. PSC was used to concentrate the solar rays on the back side of the drum, which raised the evaporation rate. The nanoparticles coating was used to paint the surfaces of the drum and basin still to change the film-wise mechanism of water to drop-wise. In addition, the effect of various rotating speeds of drum on the performance of TDSS was investigated. The experimental results revealed that using the rotating cylinder inside the tubular solar still (TSS) increased the productivity of the distiller as compared to that of the conventional solar still (CSS). Furthermore, the TDSS with nanoparticles’ coating provided a productivity of 6650 mL/m2.day compared to 2800 mL/m2.day for the CSS with an enhancement by 137%. Besides, the maximum increase in productivity of TDSS when using PSC and PCM was obtained at 0.3 rpm, where the productivity improvement was around 195% and 218%, respectively. The thermal efficiency of the CSS was around 32–34%. Highest thermal efficiency of the TDSS with PCM was 63.8% at 0.3 rpm. Also, the cost of distilled water of TDSS with nanoparticles' coating, PSC, and PCM is 0.024 $/L compared to 0.029 $/L for the CSS, and the payback time was around 5 and 3 months, respectively.

The hybrid nanofluids are more effective and stable to improve the thermal activities of many base liquids. With eminent thermal consequences, the hybrid nanofluids are preferred as compared to simple nanofluids which present the applications in industrial and engineering sectors. This mathematical model described in the thermal applications of hybrid nanofluids due to a non-orthogonal stagnation point addressed over a stretching cylinder. The hybrid nanofluid constrains the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT). The Ethylene glycol is considered as base fluid. The heat generation features and slip constraints are also introduced to modify the thermal model. The assumed flow is observed due to stretched cylinder with applications of oblique stagnation point flow. The phenomenon of oblique stagnation point flow pattern is quite interesting. The similarity transformations are used to reduce the governing system of partial differential equations into system of ordinary differential equations. The results are exhibited in the present analysis by using efficient and second order accurate numerical scheme Keller box method. The graphical results for different features of flow and heat transfer are presented and discussed. It is observed that the tangential velocity declines with the velocity ratio parameter which is more progressive when the slip features are dominant. An increase in the solid volume fraction results a lower change in temperature profile. With increase in the curvature parameter, the heat transfer rate improved for non-convective stretching cylinder while the opposite observations are claimed for convective stretched cylinder.

The thermal reliability of hybrid nanoparticles is quite impressive which presents many dynamic applications in solar systems, extrusion processes, thermal devices, cooling systems, and many engineering processes. This paper explores the flow of three-dimensional (3D), steady, magnetohydrodynamic of alumina and copper/water hybrid nanofluid over the nonlinear shrinking/stretching surface. A mathematical model was developed by adopting the model of Tiwari and Das in the form of partial differential equations (PDEs), which were then transferred into an analogous set of non-linear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by employing nonlinear similarity variables. The resulting ODEs were solved by employing abvp4csolver numerically in the MATLAB package. For validation, the collected empirical outcomes were numerically correlated with those of the preceding studies and were in strong alignment. It has been demonstrated that dual branches occur within the different ranges of magnetic, suction, and shrinking/stretching parameters. Dual (no) branches have been discovered when b≤bci (b>bci) and M≥Mci (M

Academic integrity is the basis of an education system and must be taught as an ethical behavior during academic training. Students who reflect honesty and truthfulness during the academic years are more likely to follow this path, develop professional integrity, and thus become responsible and dependable professionals. Here, we determine the prevalence of academic lapses among medical students by a cross-sectional descriptive survey based on a self-assessment questionnaire. Students’ perception of 37 behaviors comprising five domains, plagiarism, indolence, cheating, disruptive behavior, and falsifying data, were explored. A high percentage of students (83%) indicated that all 37 behaviors constitute misconduct. Approximately 65% of students thought that their fellow students were involved in dishonest behaviors, and 34% answered that they were indulged in some form of misconduct. Content analysis identified some prevalent behaviors such as doing work for another student (82.5%), getting information from the students who already took the exam (82.5%), copying the answer from neighbors (79%), and marking attendance for absent friends (74.5%). Multiple regression analysis points out that future indulgence in a behavior is significantly (p≤0.5) correlated with understanding a behavior as wrong, perceiving that others do it and whether one has already indulged in it. This study can serve as a diagnostic tool to analyze the prevalence of misconduct and a foothold to develop the medical school system’s ethical guidelines.

Strigolactones (SLs) regulate plant development and induce seed germination in obligate root parasitic weeds, e.g. Striga spp. Because organic synthesis of natural SLs is laborious, there is a large need for easy-to-synthesize and efficient analogs. Here, we investigated the effect of a structural modification of the D-ring, a conserved structural element in SLs. We synthesized and investigated the activity of two analogs, MP13 and MP26, which differ from previously published AR8 and AR36 only in the absence of methylation at C-3′. The de-methylated MP13 and MP26 were much more efficient in regulating plant development and inducing Striga seed germination, compared with AR8. Hydrolysis assays performed with purified Striga SL receptor and docking of AR8 and MP13 to the corresponding active site confirmed and explained the higher activity. Field trials performed in a naturally Striga-infested African farmer’s field unraveled MP13 as a promising candidate for combating Striga by inducing germination in host’s absence. Our findings demonstrate that methylation of the C-3′ in D-ring in SL analogs has a negative impact on their activity and identify MP13 and, particularly, MP26 as potent SL analogs with simple structures, which can be employed to control Striga, a major threat to global food security.

Suspicion of failure in the effectiveness of artemisinin-based combination therapies (currently the first-line treatment of malaria, worldwide) is leading to the unofficial use of alternative antimalarials, including chloroquine and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine, across northern Nigeria. To facilitate evidence-based resistance management, antimalarial resistance mutations were investigated in Plasmodium falciparum multidrug resistance-1 (pfmdr1) and chloroquine resistance transporter (pfcrt), in isolates from Kano, northwestern Nigeria. Out of the 88 samples genotyped for pfmdr1 N86Y mutation using PCR/restriction fragment length polymorphism, one sample contained the 86Y mutation (86Yfrequency = 1.14%). The analysis of 610 bp fragments of pfmdr1 from 16 isolates revealed two polymorphic sites and low haplotype diversity (Hd = 0.492), with only 86 Y mutations in one isolate, and 184 F replacements in five isolates (184Ffrequency = 31.25%). The analysis of 267 bp fragments of pfcrt isolates revealed high polymorphism (Hd = 0.719), with six haplotypes and seven non-synonymous polymorphic sites. Eleven isolates (61.11%) were chloroquine-resistant, CQR (C72V73I74E75T76 haplotype), two of which had an additional mutation, D57E. An additional sequence was CQR, but of the C72V73M74E75T76 haplotype, while the rest of the sequences (33.33%) were chloroquine susceptible (C72V73M74N75K76 haplotype). The findings of these well characterized resistance markers should be considered when designing resistance management strategies in the northwestern Nigeria.

Malaria control relies on first-line treatments that use artemisinin-combination therapies (ACT). Unfortunately, mutations in the plasmodium falciparum kelch13 gene result in delayed parasite clearance. Research on what is causing ACT failure is non-existent in northwestern Nigeria. Thus, the presence of mutations in kelch13 in P. falciparum isolates from Kano, Nigeria was investigated in this study. Microscopic examination of 154 blood samples obtained from patients revealed a high prevalence of P. falciparum infection (114 positive individuals, slide positivity rate = 74.03%). The 114 patients were administered Cartef® (ACT) and out of the 50 patients that returned for the 14-day follow up, 11 were positive for P. falciparum (slide positivity rate = 22%). On day 0, 80 samples out of 114 and 11 samples on day 14 (91 out of 125 microscopy-positive samples) were positive with Plasmodium according to the PCR of cytochrome oxidase I, which corresponds to 72.8%. A fragment of the kelch13 gene encompassing the propeller domains was sequenced in 49 samples, alongside samples of the susceptible strain pf_3D7. Low polymorphism was observed, suggesting a lack of selection on this gene, and only six mutations (Glu433Gly, Phe434Ile, Phe434Ser, Ile684Asn, Ile684Thr and Glu688Lys) were found. The epidemiologic impact of these mutations and their potential role in ACT resistance needs to be investigated further.

The term partial discharge (PD) refers to a partial bridging of insulating material between electrodes that sustain an electric field in high-voltage (HV) systems. Long-term PD activity can lead to catastrophic failures of HV systems resulting in economic, energy and even human life losses. Such failures and losses can be avoided by continuously monitoring PD activity. Existing techniques used for PD localization including time of arrival (TOA) and time difference of arrival (TDOA), are complicated and expensive because they require time synchronization. In this paper, a novel received signal strength (RSS) based localization algorithm is proposed. The reason that RSS is favoured in this research is that it does not require clock synchronization and it only requires the energy of the received signal rather than the PD pulse itself. A comparison was made between RSS based algorithms including a proposed algorithm, the ratio and search and the least squares algorithm to locate a PD source for nine different positions. The performance of the algorithms was evaluated by using two field scenarios based on seven and eight receiving nodes, respectively. The mean localization error calculated for two-field-trial scenarios show, respectively, 1.80 m and 1.76 m for the proposed algorithm for all nine positions, which is the lowest of the three algorithms.

Epidemiological studies had shown a link between low incidences of cancer in communities where cassava intake is the main staple. The prophylactic action of cassava intake and its deleterious effect on humans are attributed mainly to the expressed toxicity of the aglycone moiety of the cyanogenic glucoside linamarin, when the latter breaks down. The effect of crude water extract of cassava leaf and that of commercial linamarin was investigated on two human tumor cell lines Caov-3 (ovarian), and HeLa (cervical adenocarcinoma) in vitro, using the MTT- assay for cell growth inhibition/cytotoxicity. The effect of the enzyme linamarase (EC 3.2.1.21), a β-glucosidase also tapped from the cassava plant and treated appropriately was tested on one of the cell lines. Crude water extract or commercial linamarin was added in a final concentration of 300 µg/ml with or without the partially purified enzyme (10% added of total cell volume and culture medium) to the seeded cells. The water extract was more efficacious, eliciting an IC50 value of 38 µg/ ml and 57 µg/ml, respectively, for the ovarian and cervical cell lines, while the commercial linamarin shows a growth inhibition of 150 and 210 µg/ml, respectively, for the two cell lines. Inclusion of the enzyme on a linamarin treated cervical cell line improved the growth inhibition to 40 µg/ml. The antineoplastic effect exhibited by the two samples containing the cyanogenic glucoside is explained in terms of the activity of endogenous/exogenous linamarase, presence of dietary factors in the crude extract, and a possibly induced bystander effect. Tumors are unlikely to develop any resistance against hydrocyanic acid, due to its inhibitory role in oxidative phosphorylation. Additionally, an inbuilt mechanism in vivo ensures detoxification of excess cyanide that may seep to the surrounding normal tissues. Thus properly administered by increasing the prodrug concentration at the tumor site and decreasing its systemic level, treatment of cancer using the relatively non-toxic linamarin, with or without the enzyme, linamarase could be a favoured future treatment for a variety of cancers.

This book is perhaps the first study in English devoted to the development and rationale of ritual purity laws. The author, Marion Holmes Katz, a pro­fessor at Mount Holyoke College, chooses not to write from the traditional Muslim or Islamic jurisprudential perspectives. Though this does not invalidate an argument per se, it certainly renders her premises troublesome from a traditional Islamic legal perspective. Katz's attempt to formulate an alternative interpretive methodology, however, fails due to internal inconsistencies in her argument as well as the prevalence of poor and often speculative reasoning. Body of Text is divided into four chapters, an introduction, and a con­clusion. The introduction begins with a discussion of Islamic law's com­prehensive nature, noting that it even addresses washing after relieving one­self. Most interestingly, she points out similarities among various religions in matters of ritual purity, but unfortunately assumes that this necessarily is proof of simple borrowing. The author excludes the possibility that these religious rules had a common source. Katz proceeds to reconstruct Islamic law's methodological and historical development and sets out her approach to its sources. However, while asserting that relying on ahadith is inappro­ priate, she nevertheless employs ahadith as well as various athar ( deeds and precedents of the Companions) to reach several conclusions. Given that she effectively rejects the Hadith literature, as understood by Muslim jurists and Hadith scholars, the work as a whole is rendered unpersuasive ...