Search results for: Heba Kamal Abdel Hakim

Authors: Shahin A. Abdel-Naby, Asad T. Hassan

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Electron-ion recombination data are needed for plasma modeling. The recombination processes include radiative recombination (RR), dielectronic recombination (DR), and trielectronic recombination (TR). When a free electron is captured by an ion with simultaneous excitation of its core, a doubly-exited intermediate state may be formed. The doubly excited state relaxes either by electron emission (autoionization) or by radiative decay (photon emission). DR process takes place when the relaxation occurs to a bound state by photon emission. Reliable laboratory astrophysics data (theory and experiment) for DR rate coefficients are needed to determine the charge state distribution in photoionized sources such as X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei. DR rate coefficients for NIII and OIV ions are calculated using state-of-the-art multi-configuration Breit-Pauli atomic structure AUTOSTRUCTURE collisional package within the generalized collisional-radiative framework. Level-resolved calculations for RR and DR rate coefficients from the ground and metastable initial states are produced in an intermediate coupling scheme associated with Δn = 0 (2→2) and Δn = 1 (2 →3) core-excitations. DR cross sections for these ions are convoluted with the experimental electron-cooler temperatures to produce DR rate coefficients. Good agreements are found between these rate coefficients and the experimental measurements performed at the CRYRING heavy-ion storage ring for both ions.

Keywords: atomic data, atomic process, electron-ion collision, plasmas

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Authors: Ibrahim Abdel Gadir Malik, Dafalla Siddig Dafalla, Abdelazim Ibrahim

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Jabal Omar is located in the western side of Makkah city in Saudi Arabia. The proposed Jabal Omar Development project includes several multi-storey buildings, roads, bridges and below ground structures founded at various depths. In this study, geological mapping and site inspection which covered pre-selected areas were carried out within the easily accessed parts. Geological features; including rock types, structures, degree of weathering, and geotechnical hazards were observed and analyzed with specified software and also were documented in form of photographs. The presence of joints and fractures in the area made the rock blocks small and weak. The site is full of jointing; it was observed that, the northern side consists of 3 to 4 jointing systems with 2 random fractures associated with dykes. The southern part is affected by 2 to 3 jointing systems with minor fault and shear zones. From the field measurements and observations, it was concluded that, the Jabal Omar intruded by andesitic and basaltic dykes of different thickness and orientation. These dykes made the outcrop weak, highly deformed and made the rock masses sensitive to weathering.

Keywords: rock, slope, stabilization, protection, Makkah

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Authors: R. E. Fat-Helbary, A. A. Abdel-latief, M. S. Arfa, Alaa Mostafa

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The Egyptian Government proposed a general plan, aiming at constructing new settlements for Nubian in south Aswan in different places around Nasser Lake, one of these settlements in Kurkur area. The Nubian habitations in Wadi Kurkur are located around 30 km southwest of Aswan City. This area are affecting by near distance earthquakes from Kalabsha faults system. The shallow seismic refraction technique was conducted at the study area, to evaluate the soil and rock material quality and geotechnical parameters, in addition to the detection of the subsurface ground model under the study area. The P and S-wave velocities were calculated. The surface layer has P-wave, velocity ranges from 900 m/sec to 1625 m/sec and S-wave velocity ranges from 650 m/sec to 1400 m/sec. On the other hand the bedrock has P-wave velocity ranges from 1300 m/sec to 1980 m/sec and S-wave velocity ranges from 1050 m/sec to1725 m/sec. Measuring Vp and Vs velocities together with bulk density are calculated and used to extract the mechanical properties and geotechnical parameters of the foundation material at the study area. Output of this study is very important for solving the problems, which associated with the construction of various civil engineering purposes, for land use planning and for earthquakes resistant structure design.

Keywords: shallow seismic refraction technique, Kurkur area, p and s-wave velocities, geotechnical parameters, bulk density, Kalabsha faults

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Authors: Mahmoud F. Awad-Allah, Mohammed Rabeih, Eman Abdel Baseer

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Soft to very soft soil deposits are widely speared in some areas of Egypt such as East Port Said, Damietta, Kafr El-Sheik, Alexandria, etc. The construction projects in these areas have faced the challenge of the presence of extended deep layers of soft and very soft clays which reach to depths of 40 to 60 m from the ground level. Stone columns are commonly used to support structures overlying soft ground soils and surcharged by embankment type loading. Therefore, this paper introduces a wide comparison numerical study between the ordinary stone columns (OSC) versus the geosynthetic encased stone columns (ESC) installed in soft clay soil deposit using finite element method (FEM). Parametric study of an embankment on soft soils reinforced with stone columns is performed using commercial computer program based on the finite element technique (PLAXIS 2D). The investigation will present the influence of the following parameters: diameter of stone columns, stiffness of geosynthetic encasement, embedded depth of stone column from ground level, and the length encasement of the stone column on the consolidation time, vertical settlement, and lateral displacement of soft clay soil formations.

Keywords: finite element method, geosynthetic, lateral displacement, settlement, soft clay

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Authors: Grace Rachid, Mutasem El Fadel, Mahmoud Al Hindi, Ibrahim Jamali, Daniel Abdel Nour

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This study examines the feasibility of indirect solar desalination in oil producing countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It relies on value engineering (VE) and cost-benefit with sensitivity analyses to identify optimal coupling configurations of desalination and solar energy technologies. A comparative return on investment was assessed as a function of water costs for varied plant capacities (25,000 to 75,000 m3/day), project lifetimes (15 to 25 years), and discount rates (5 to 15%) taking into consideration water and energy subsidies, land cost as well as environmental externalities in the form of carbon credit related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. The results showed reverse osmosis (RO) coupled with photovoltaic technologies (PVs) as the most promising configuration, robust across different prices for Brent oil, discount rates, as well as different project lifetimes. Environmental externalities and subsidies analysis revealed that a 16% reduction in existing subsidy on water tariffs would ensure economic viability. Additionally, while land costs affect investment attractiveness, the viability of RO coupled with PV remains possible for a land purchase cost < $ 80/m2 or a lease rate < $1/m2/yr. Beyond those rates, further subsidy lifting is required.

Keywords: solar energy, desalination, value engineering, CBA, carbon credit, subsidies

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Authors: Ahmed Hammad, Yehia Abdel-Nasser, Mohamed Shamma

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The main configuration of ship construction consists of standard and fabricated stiffening members which are commonly used in shipbuilding such as fabricated T-sections. During the welding process, the non-uniform heating and rapid cooling lead to the inevitable presence of out-of-plane distortion and welding induced residual stresses. Because of these imperfections, the fabricated structural members may not attain their design load to be carried. The removal of these imperfections will require extra man-hours. In the present work, controlling these imperfections has been investigated at both design and fabrication stages. A typical fabricated T-girder is selected to investigate the problem of these imperfections using double-side welding. A numerical simulation based on finite element (FE) modeling has been used to investigate the effect of different parameters of the selected fabricated T-girder such as geometrical properties and welding sequences on the magnitude of welding imperfections. FE results were compared with the results of experimental model of a double-side fillet weld. The present work concludes that: Firstly, in the design stage, the optimum geometry of the fabricated T- girder is determined based on minimum steel weight and out- of- plane distortion. Secondly, in the fabrication stage, the best welding sequence is determined on the basis of minimum welding out- of- plane distortion.

Keywords: fabricated T-girder, FEM, out-of-plane distortion, section modulus, welding residual stresses

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Authors: Dalia O. Saleha, Gehad A. Abdel Jaleela, Sally W. Al-Awdana

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Diabetes mellitus (DM) is known to exacerbate cerebral ischemic injury. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of oral supplementation of melatonin (MLN) on cerebral injury caused by middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion (MCAO/Re) in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced hyperglycemic rats. Hyperglycemia was induced by a single injection of STZ (55mg/kg; i.p.), six weeks later the cerebral injury was induced by MCAO/Re. Twenty-four hours after the MCAO/Re the MLN (10 mg/kg) was injected for 14 consecutive days. Results of the present study revealed that MCAO/Re in STZ-induced hyperglycemia in rats causes an increase in the oxidative stress biomarkers; it increased brain lipid peroxidation (measured as malondialdehyde; MDA) and brain level of nitric oxide (NO). Moreover, MCAO/Reproduces a prominent increase in the brain inflammatory markers viz. interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis nuclear factor-alpha (TNF-α). Oral treatment of MCAO/Re in STZ-induced hyperglycemic rats with MLN (10 mg/kg) for two weeks restored the brain levels of MDA, GSH, NO, IL-6, IL-1β and the TNF-α. MLN succeeded to suppress the exacerbation of damage in the brain of hyperglycemic rats. These results suggest that daily intake of MLN attenuates the exacerbation of cerebral ischemic injury in a diabetic state, which may be attributed to anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the brain.

Keywords: melatonin, brain injury, cerebral ischemia/reperfusion, hyperglycemia, rats

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Authors: Sandeep, A. Joshi, Kamal, Piu Dhibar, Parveen Kumar

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In the present work strong ground motion has been simulated using a modified semi-empirical technique (MSET), with frequency dependent radiation pattern model. Joshi et al. (2014) have modified the semi-empirical technique to incorporate the modeling of strong motion generation areas (SMGAs). A frequency dependent radiation pattern model is applied to simulate high frequency ground motion more precisely. Identified SMGAs (Kurahashi and Irikura 2012) of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake (Mw 9.0) were modeled using this modified technique. Records are simulated for both frequency dependent and constant radiation pattern function. Simulated records for both cases are compared with observed records in terms of peak ground acceleration and pseudo acceleration response spectra at different stations. Comparison of simulated and observed records in terms of root mean square error suggests that the method is capable of simulating record which matches in a wide frequency range for this earthquake and bears realistic appearance in terms of shape and strong motion parameters. The results confirm the efficacy and suitability of rupture model defined by five SMGAs for the developed modified technique.

Keywords: strong ground motion, semi-empirical, strong motion generation area, frequency dependent radiation pattern, 2011 Tohoku Earthquake

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Authors: Ayman M. M. Abdelhaleem, Mustafa Gamal Sadek, Kamal Reyad, Montasser M. Dewidar

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The main objective of this research is to study the effect of adding polycarbonate (PC) to pure Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) using the injection moulding process. The PC was mixed mechanically with ABS in 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% by weight. The mechanical properties of pure ABS reinforced with PC were investigated using tensile, impact, hardness, and wear tests. The results showed that, by adding 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% wt. of PC to the pure ABS, the ultimate tensile strength increased from 55 N/mm2 for neat ABS to 57 N/mm2 (i.e. 3.63%), 60 N/mm2 (i.e. 9.09%), 63 N/mm2 (i.e. 14.54%), 66 N/mm2 (i.e. 20%), 69 N/mm2 (i.e. 25.45%) respectively. Test results also revealed nearly 5.72% improvement in young's modulus by adding 10% of PC to ABS, 16.74% improvement by adding 20%, 23.34% improvement by adding 30%, 27.75% improvement by adding 40%, and no other increase in case of 50%. The impact test results showed that with the increase of the PC content, first, the impact strength decreased and then increased gradually. The impact strength decreased rapidly when the content of PC was 0% to 10% range. As well as, in the case of 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% PC, the impact strength is increased. The hardness test results, using the Shore D tester, showed that, as the PC particles contents increased, the hardness increased from 76 for the ABS to 80 for 10% PC, and decreased to 79 for 20% PC, and then increased to 80 in case of 30%, 40%, and 50% PC. Wear test results showed that PC improves the wear resistance of ABS/PC blends. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy showed that with an increase of PC in ABS/PC blends, a slight decrease in free volume size and an increase in the tensile strength due to good adhesion between PC and ABS matrix, which acted as an advantage in the polymer matrix.

Keywords: ABS, PC, injection molding process, mechanical properties, lifetime spectroscopy

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Authors: Iqraq Kamal, Akmal Razif, Sivadas Chandra Sekaran, Ahmad Syazwan Hisaburi

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Painting plays a crucial role in the aerospace manufacturing industry, serving both protective and cosmetic purposes for components. However, the traditional manual painting method is time-consuming and labor-intensive, posing challenges for the sector in achieving higher efficiency. Additionally, the current automated robot path planning has been a bottleneck for spray painting processes, as typical manual teaching methods are time-consuming, error-prone, and skill-dependent. Therefore, it is essential to develop automated tool path planning methods to replace manual ones, reducing costs and improving product quality. Focusing on flat panel painting in aerospace manufacturing, this study aims to address issues related to unreliable part identification techniques caused by the high-mixture, low-volume nature of the industry. The proposed solution involves using a spray gun and a UR10 robotic arm with a vision system that utilizes one-shot object detection (OS2D) to identify parts accurately. Additionally, the research optimizes path planning by concentrating on the region of interest—specifically, the identified part, rather than uniformly covering the entire painting tray.

Keywords: aerospace manufacturing, one-shot object detection, automated spray painting, vision-based path optimization, deep learning, automation, robotic arm

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Authors: Lateef Hakim Zai Khyber, Syed Rashid Ali

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In the post 9/11 era, a new trend has developed of terrorist profiling on the basis of the ethnic, religious, political, psychological, social, and economic background of the terrorists to anticipate and assess the possible risk and to prevent and prosecute the suspected before they commit any violent act. The same profiling approach was adopted in different militant or terrorist de-radicalization and rehabilitation programs across the world in order to evaluate and identify the reasons and causes for joining terrorism in terms of push and pull factors. This paper attempts to explore and investigate the profiles of the detainees in the Sabaoon de-radicalization and Emancipation program, which aimed at de-radicalizing the former militants of Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) Pakistan in the Swat valley of Pakistan. This research attempted to use qualitative methods for collecting data, including a number of formal and informal open-ended interviews with the former staff members of Sabaoon to explore various aspects of the program, such as various approaches used at Sabaoon for terrorist profiling. It conducts a thorough examination of the profiles of the terrorist through their socioeconomic, ideological, emotional, intellectual, and psychological conditions and orientations, personal details, family issues, social preferences, etc. The study finds out that the majority of the terrorists belonged to the marginalized groups or lower class, including underprivileged tenants and poor laborers, of society having no access to land. They possess almost the same profiles, including low socioeconomic status, absence of a father or strict behavior of parents, large and combined families, lack of education, lack of religious understanding, etc. They also possess some common traits such as anxiety disorder, emotional instability, aggressive impulses and insecurity, depression, inferiority complex, lack of critical thinking and logical reasoning, authority-seeking behavior, and revenge-seeking behavior.

Keywords: terrorist profiling, Sabaoon, de-radicalization, rehabilitation, Swat, Pakistan, juvenile militants

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Authors: Heba I. Bakry

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Academic writing in the tertiary education has always been a challenge to EFL learners. This proposed study aims at investigating the academic English language needs for PhD students and candidates studying humanities and social sciences at Cairo University. The research problem arises from the fact that most of them study English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or for specific purposes (ESP) in their undergraduate years. They are hardly familiarized with the different academic genres, despite the fact that they use academic resources written in English, and they are required to publish a paper internationally. Upon understanding the conventions and constraints of academic writing, postgraduates will have the opportunity to interact with the international academic spheres conveniently. There is, thus, a need to be acquainted with the generally accepted features of the academic genres, such as academic papers and their part-genres, such as writing abstracts, in addition to other occluded genres, such as personal statements and recommendation letters. The lack of practicing many of these genres is caused by the fact that there are clear differences between the rhetoric and conventions of the students' native language, i.e., Arabic, and the target language they are learning in the academic context, i.e., English. Moreover, apart from the general culture represented ethno-linguistically, the learners' 'small' culture represented in a national setting like Cairo University is more defining than their general cultural affiliations that are associated with their nationality, race, or religion, for instance. The main research question of this proposed study is: What is the effect of teaching a genre-based EAP course on the research writing competence of PhD candidates? To reach an answer to this question, the study will attempt to answer the following sub-questions: 1. What are the Egyptian PhD candidates' EAP perceived needs? 2. What are the requisite academic research skills for Egyptian scholars? The study intends to assess the students’ needs, as a step to design and evaluate an EAP course that is based on explaining and scrutinizing a variety of academic genres. Adopting a diagnostic approach, the needs assessment uses quantitative data collected through questionnaires, and qualitative data assembled from semi-structured interviews with the students and their teachers, in addition to non-participant observations of a convenience sample.

Keywords: course design, English for academic purposes, genre-based, needs assessment

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Authors: Nadia A. Mohamed, Mehrevan M. Abdel-Moniem

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Zingiber officinale (ginger) has been cultivated for medicinal purposes due to their various proprieties both in vitro and in vivo, so we designed to evaluate the ginger’s potential effect on nephrin m RNA expression in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxic rats. Method: Forty male albino rats were divided into group I was injected (IP) with one ml saline, group II(cisplatin) injected (IP) with a single dose of 12 mg/kg cisplatin, group III (ginger) received (PO) 310 mg/kg for 30 successive days, and group IV(cisplatin and ginger) rats received ginger extract (310 mg/kg) daily for 20 successive days (PO), and then on day 20 of ginger extract administration each rat was injected(IP) with a single dose of 12 mg/kg cisplatin. The blood was sampled to assess urea, creatinine (SC), while the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) and paraoxonase (PON1) were measured in kidney tissue homogenate. Expression of urinary nephrin gene (nephrin mRNA) was detected using qRT-PCR. Results: Treatment with ginger significantly decreased the levels of kidney function parameters as well as MDA and NO elevated by cisplatin injection, while PON1 was significantly reduced in the cisplatin group. However, the protection of male rats with ginger significantly increased the levels of nephrin gene expression and PON1 compared with the cisplatin-treated group. Our results generated a proposal on the ameliorating effect of ginger on nephrin mRNA gene expression reduction in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity.

Keywords: nephrin mRNA, ginger, cisplatin, nephrotoxicity

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Authors: Amel A. Refaie, Amal Ramadan, Abdel-Tawab H. Mossa

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This study was designed to evaluate the adverse effects of sub-chronic exposure to the fipronil on the liver of female rats at a dose equal to 400 mg /kg (1/10LD50) in drinking water and the protective role of fish oil at concentration 117.6 mg/Kg b.wt via oral routes daily for 28 days. Fipronil treatment caused a decrease in body weight gain and increase in relative liver weight. Fipronil induced a significant increase in the liver biomarkers enzymes such as alanine aminotransferases (ALT), aspartate aminotransferases (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and levels of total protein while fipronil caused a significant decrease in butyryl cholinesterase activity in FPN-treated rats. Oxidative stress biomarkers such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were significantly decreased in liver tissue, while lipid peroxidation (LPO) was significantly increased in fipronil treating rats in a dose-dependent manner. FPN caused histopathological alterations in liver of female rats. From our results, it can be reported that FPN induced lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress, liver injury in female rats and fish oil used to protect animals against the adverse effect of pesticide exposure. These pathophysiological alterations in liver tissues could be due to the toxic effect of fipronil that associated with a generation of free radicals.

Keywords: fipronil (FPN), fish oil, hepatotoxicity, transaminases, antioxidant enzymes, female rats

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Authors: Abdel Khalek Selim, Safaa Mahmoud

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Experiments were designed to study nitrogen loss through leaching in soil columns treated with different nitrogen sources and elemental sulfur. The soil material (3 kg alluvial or calcareous soil) were packed in Plexiglas columns (10 cm diameter). The soil columns were treated with 2 g N in the form of Ca(NO3)2, urea, urea + inhibitor (Nitrapyrin), another set of these treatments was prepared to add elemental sulfur. During incubation period, leaching was performed by applying a volume of water that allows the percolation of 250-ml water throughout the soil column. The leachates were analyzed for NH4-N and N03-N. After 10 weeks, soil columns were cut into four equal segments and analyzed for ammonium, nitrate, and total nitrogen. Results indicated the following: Ca(NO3)2 treatment showed a rapid NO3 leaching, especially in the first 3 weeks, in both clay and calcareous soils. This means that soil texture did not play any role in this respect. Sulfur addition also did not affect the rate of NO3 leaching. In urea treatment, there was a steady increase of NH4- and NO3–N from one leachate to another. Addition of sulfur with urea slowed down the nitrification process and decreased N losses. Clay soil contained residual N much more than calcareous soil. Almost one-third of added nitrogen might have been immobilized by soil microorganisms or lost through other loss paths. Nitrification inhibitor can play a role in preserving added nitrogen from being lost through leaching. Combining the inhibitor with elemental sulfur may help to stabilize certain preferred ratio of NH4 to NO3 in the soil for the benefit of the growing plants.

Keywords: alluvial soil, calcareous soil, elemental sulfur, nitrate leaching

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Authors: Emmanuel Kamal Aziz Saba

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Aim of the work: This study proposed to assess the role of the median versus ulnar medial thenar motor (MTM) recording in supporting the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Patients and methods: The present study included 130 hands (70 CTS and 60 controls). Clinical examination was done for all patients. The following tests were done (using surface electrodes recording) for patients and control: (1) sensory nerve conduction studies: median nerve, ulnar nerve and median versus ulnar digit four sensory study; (2) motor nerve conduction studies: median nerve, ulnar nerve, median (second lumbrical) versus ulnar (interosseous) (2-LINT) motor study and median versus ulnar (MTM) study. Results: The tests with higher sensitivity in diagnosing CTS were median versus ulnar (2-LINT) motor latency difference (87.1%), median versus ulnar (MTM) motor latency difference (80%) and median versus ulnar digit four sensory latency differences (91.4%). There was no statistically significant difference between median versus ulnar (MTM) motor latency difference with both median versus ulnar (2-LINT) motor latency difference and median versus ulnar digit four sensory latency difference (P > 0.05) as regards the confirmation of CTS. Conclusions: Median versus ulnar (MTM) motor latency difference has high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of CTS as for both median versus ulnar (2-LINT) motor latency difference and median versus ulnar digit four sensory latency differences. It can be considered a useful neurophysiological test to be used in combination with another median versus ulnar comparative tests for confirming the diagnosis of CTS beside other well-known electrophysiological tests.

Keywords: carpal tunnel syndrome, medial thenar motor, median nerve, ulnar nerve

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Authors: Mona Bakry Abdel Meguid Abdelaal

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Despite growing evidence that parental involvement in their adolescents’ lives affects the way they perceive the community around them, little effort has been made to address the importance of this relationship and how it affect the adolescents' interaction with their environment. Adolescents are influenced by their parents while they are growing up and this socialization process services to shape the adolescents sense of self, influencing not only how adolescents feel about themselves, but affecting how they interact with their surroundings. In order to effectively understand this issue, it is important to understand the adolescents’ understanding of healthy parental involvement in their lives, in addition to the obstacles that hinder their communication styles with their parents. Understanding parental involvement in their adolescents’ lives will provide further understanding of the role that social work can perform in this field. The rationale for undertaking this study grew out of the literature on adolescents’ studies in addition to the researchers’ interaction with freshmen female students, who are still in the adolescent stage, in the university. The primary purpose of this study was to understand female adolescents’ awareness of healthy parental involvement in their freshmen year in the university life, as well as obstacles that might hinder that healthy involvement. Using semi-structured interview with a purposive sample of the first year female students in the university, the study managed to determine if the type of parental involvement and parental emotional responsiveness between the adolescents and their parents affects the way they interact with their environment, in addition, to determine the obstacles that hamper the communication between adolescents and their parents.

Keywords: adolescents, parental involvement, interaction, university life

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Authors: Roshan Kamal Topno, Maneesh Kumar, Manas Ranjan Dikhit, Krishna Pandey, Major Madhukar, Vidhya Nand Rabidas, Vahab Ali, Ganesh Chandra Sahoo, Bhawana, Devendra Prasad Yadav, Rishikesh Kumar, Pradeep Das

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A diagnostic marker for asymptomatic subject becomes a crucial need for advocating early prophylactic majors to control protozoal infection. The main issue in epidemiological affected regions is the presence of an asymptomatic individual that might potentially convert to a symptomatic visceral leishmaniasis (VL). The epidemiological study has been conducted at highly VL endemic Moriyama village in Patna district, Bihar, India that covers total population of 1540 individuals. Here, 1104(74.02%) people had been randomly screened and only 46 (4.17%) asymptomatic individuals were found sero-positive by the rK39 test. After taking signed informed consent form, blood samples were collected from 46 asymptomatic subjects for further hematological and immunological tests. Total leukocyte count, hemoglobin (gm%), neutrophil, lymphocyte, platelet count and interleukin-10 (IL-10) had been included as diagnostic markers. Interestingly only 5 (10.86%) individuals showed their asymptomatic conversion into symptomatic VL patients during quarterly surveillance. In overall analysis only two markers are suggestive for disease conversion that is hemoglobin (gm%) and IL-10. In all the infected patients, both the mean decrease in hemoglobin and mean increase of IL-10 was 19.23% from its normal value. The results might suggest that hematological and immunological changes would become helpful for early diagnosis of asymptomatic to symptomatic VL conversion.

Keywords: asymptomatic, epidemiological, symptomatic visceral leishmaniasis, hemoglobin (gm%), interleukin-10, diagnosis

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Authors: Abdel-Tawab H. Mossa

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Synthetic pesticides are widely used in large-scale worldwide for control pests in agriculture and public health sectors in both developed and developing countries. Although the positive role of pesticides, they have many adverse toxic effects on humans, animals, and the ecosystem. Therefore, in the last few years, scientists have been searching for new active compounds from natural resources as an alternative to synthetic pesticides. Currently, many commercial natural pesticides are available commercially worldwide. These products are recommended for uses in organic farmers and considered as safe pesticides. This paper focuses on the adverse effects of natural pesticides on mammals. Available commercial pesticides in the market contain essential oils (e.g. pepper, cinnamon, and garlic), plant extracts, microorganism (e.g. bacteria, fungi or their toxin), mineral oils and some active compounds from natural recourses e.g. spinosad, neem, pyrethrum, rotenone, abamectin and other active compounds from essential oils (EOs). Some EOs components, e.g., thujone, pulegone, and thymol have high acute toxicity (LD50) is 87.5, 150 and 980 mg/kg. B.wt on mice, respectively. Natural pesticides such as spinosad, pyrethrum, neem, abamectin, and others have toxicological effects to mammals and ecosystem. These compounds were found to cause hematotoxicity, hepato-renal toxicity, biochemical alteration, reproductive toxicity, genotoxicity, and mutagenicity. It caused adverse effects on the ecosystem. Therefore, natural pesticides in general not safe and have high acute toxicity and can induce adverse effects at long-term exposure.

Keywords: natural pesticides, toxicity, safety, genotoxicity, ecosystem, biochemical

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Authors: M. Kamal, Y. Wang, R. Kennon

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Quality Function Deployment is a useful tool in product development with the application of voice of customer. In this paper, it aims to be applied as a product development tool in redesigning fashion and textile product. The purpose of these studies is to apply the effective use of Voice of Customer in redesigning cultural fashion product. The data collection from Voice of Customer or consumers’ feedback might help the producer to improve the quality of merchandise ahead. Voice of Customer could give a specific detailing for quality which needs to be redesigned according to customers’ requirements. Meanwhile, the next objective is to differentiate design specifications and characteristics using House of Quality. In product designing phase, it is very important to distinguish each specification and characteristic which translated from Voice of Customer to House of Quality matrix. This matrix would help designers to development according to qualities that customer wants for the better and successful product in the market. It is hope this research would indicate the customers’ requirements and production team idea might be measured and translated to a systematic data. The specific technical data could be planned ahead with specific design details as well. This could be a sustainable approach for a traditional product which could control the material that they use and sustain the quality as the past production. As a conclusion, this study would benefit the Small Medium Enterprises design team or the designers to style an item from customers view with organised projection of the product. The finding also could assist designers or batik producers’ to recognise specific details Batik sarong from consumers as well as in in advertising and marketing strategy plan.

Keywords: house of quality, Malaysia batik sarong, quality function deployment, voice of customer

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Authors: Azza Gaber Antar Farag, Eman Abd El Fatah Badr, Wesam Ahmed Tawfik Hasssan Abdel Aal, Mustafa Elsayed Elshaib

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Background: Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD) represents recurrent and persistent problems that distress women and/or strain their relationships with their partners. Dopamine can affect sexual function and interacts with ovarian hormones in the ventromedial area in the hypothalamus. Objective: To investigate the possible role of dopamine in FSD. Method: This prospective case-control study was carried on 100 women having FSD and 100 healthy volunteer females. They were recruited from the Al-Menoufia governorate. All included women were subjected to the questionnaire to assess their demographic and gynecological data as well as sexual function. They were investigated for serum levels of dopamine, estradiol, progesterone and DHEA hormones. Results: Dopamine serum levels were significantly lower in females having sexual dysfunction (6.68±4.14) than controls (57.97±26.26) (P>0.001). This decreased dopamine level was of a significant positive correlation with the arousal domain and significant negative correlation regarding the pain domain (r=-0.19, p=0.01). Also, estradiol serum levels were significantly lower (P>0.001), but progesterone and DHEA serum levels were significantly higher in the FSD group than controls (P>0.001). There was a significant negative correlation between dopamine and DHEA serum levels (r= -0.45, p <0.001). Conclusions: Decreased dopamine serum levels may have an active role in the pathophysiology of FSD, impacting mainly arousal and pain domains, and its targeting should be considered during FSD management.

Keywords: dopamine, estradiol, progesterone, DHEA, females sexual dysfunction

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Authors: Ataa A. Said, Elsayed A. Abuotabl, Gehan F. Abdel Raoof, Khaled Y. Mohamed

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The aim of this study is to evaluate antihyperglycaemic and antihyperlipidemic activities of Pleiogynium timorense (DC.) Leenh (Anacardiaceae) seeds as well as to isolate and identify the bioactive compounds. Antihyperglycaemic effect was evaluated by measuring the effect of two dose levels (150 and 300 mg/kg) of 70% methanol extract of Pleiogynium timorense seeds on blood glucose level when administered 45 minutes before glucose loading. In addition, the effect of the plant extract on the lipid profile was determined by measuring serum total lipids (TL), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Furthermore, the bioactive compounds were isolated and identified by chromatographic and spectrometric methods.The results showed that the methanolic extract of the seeds significantly reduced the levels of blood glucose,(TL), (TC), (TG) and (LDL-C) but no significant effect on (HDL-C) comparing with control group. Furthermore, four phenolic compound were isolated which were identified as; catechin, gallic acid, para methoxy benzaldehyde and pyrogallol which were isolated for the first time from the plant. In addition sulphur -containing compound (sulpholane) was isolated for the first time from the plant and from the family. To our knowledge, this is the first study about antihyperglycaemicand antihyperlipidemic activities of the seeds of Pleiogyniumtimorense and its bioactive compounds. So, the methanolic extract of the seeds of Pleiogynium timorense could be a step towards the development of new antihyperglycaemic and antihyperlipidemic drugs.

Keywords: antihyperglycaemic, bioactive compounds, phenolic, Pleiogynium timorense, seeds

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Authors: D. M. El-Tanbouly, R. M. Abdelsalam, A. S. Attia, M. T. Abdel-Aziz

Abstract:

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxin, a component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, is involved in the pathogenesis of sepsis. LPS administration induces systemic inflammation that mimics many of the initial clinical features of sepsis and has deleterious effects on several organs including the liver and eventually leading to septic shock and death. The present study aimed to investigate the protective effect of magnesium, a well-known cofactor in many enzymatic reactions and a critical component of the antioxidant system, on hepatic damage associated with LPS induced- endotoxima in mice. Mg (20 and 40 mg/kg, po) was administered for 7 consecutive days. Systemic inflammation was induced one hour after the last dose of Mg by a single dose of LPS (2 mg/kg, ip) and three hours thereafter plasma was separated, animals were sacrificed and their livers were isolated. LPS-treated mice suffered from hepatic dysfunction revealed by histological observation, elevation in plasma transaminases activities, C-reactive protein content and caspase-3, a critical marker of apoptosis. Liver inflammation was evident by elevation in liver cytokines contents (TNF-α and IL-10) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. Additionally, oxidative stress was manifested by increased liver lipoperoxidation, glutathione depletion, elevated total nitrate/nitrite (NOx) content and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity. Pretreatment with Mg largely mitigated these alternations through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potentials. Mg, therefore, could be regarded as an effective strategy for prevention of liver damage associated with septicemia.

Keywords: LPS, liver damage, magnesium, septicemia

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Authors: Maha Z. Rizk, Sami A. Fattah, Heba M. Darwish, Sanaa A. Ali, Mai O. Kadry

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Although it is known that nano-TiO2 and other nanoparticles can induce liver toxicity, the mechanisms and the molecular pathogenesis are still unclear. The present study investigated some biochemical indices of nano-sized Titanium dioxide (TiO2 NPS) toxicity in mice liver and the ameliorative efficacy of individual and combined doses of idebenone, carnosine and vitamin E. Nano-anatase TiO2 (21 nm) was administered as a total oral dose of 2.2 gm/Kg daily for 2 weeks followed by the afore-mentioned antioxidants daily either individually or in combination for 1month. TiO2-NPS induced a significant elevation in serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and hepatic oxidative stress biomarkers [lipid peroxides (LP), and nitric oxide levels (NOX), while it significantly reduced glutathione reductase (GR), reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase(GPX) levels. Moreover the quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that nano-anatase TiO2 can significantly alter the mRNA and protein expressions of the fibrotic factors TGF-B1, VEGFand Smad-2. Histopathological examination of hepatic tissue reinforced the previous biochemical results. Our results also implied that inflammatory responses and liver injury may be involved in nano-anatase TiO2-induced liver toxicity Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and Interleukin -6 (IL-6) and increased the percent of DNA damage which was assessed by COMET assay in addition to the apoptotic marker Caspase-3. Moreover mRNA gene expression observed by RT-PCR showed a significant overexpression in nuclear factor relation -2 (Nrf2), nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-Kβ) and the apoptotic factor (bax), and a significant down regulation in the antiapoptotic factor (bcl2) level. In conclusion idebenone, carnosine and vitamin E ameliorated the deviated previously mentioned parameters with variable degrees with the most pronounced role in alleviating the hazardous effect of TiO2 NPS toxicity following the combination regimen.

Keywords: Nano-anatase TiO2, TGF-B1, SMAD-2

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Authors: Dana J. Abed, Mu'tasim S. Abdel-Jaber, Nasim K. Shatarat

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In this paper, an experimental study on twelve square columns was conducted to investigate the influence of cross-sectional size on axial compressive capacity of carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) wrapped square reinforced concrete (RC) short columns subjected to eccentric loadings. The columns were divided into three groups with three cross sections (200×200×1200, 250×250×1500 and 300×300×1800 mm). Each group was tested under two different eccentricities: 10% and 20% of the width of samples measured from the center of the column cross section. Four columns were developed in each arrangement. Two columns in each category were left unwrapped as control samples, and two were wrapped with one layer CFRP perpendicular to the specimen surface. In general; CFRP sheets has enhanced the performance of the strengthened columns compared to the control columns. It was noticed that the percentage of compressive capacity enhancement was decreased by increasing the cross-sectional size, and increasing loading eccentricity generally leads to reduced load bearing capacity in columns. In the same group specimens, when the eccentricity increased the percentage of enhancement in load carrying capacity was increased. The study concludes that the optimum use of the CFRP sheets for axial strength enhancement is for smaller cross-section columns under higher eccentricities.

Keywords: CFRP, columns, eccentric loading, cross-sectional

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Authors: Bhawana, Roshan Kamal Topno, Maneesh Kumar, Major Madhukar, Krishna Pandey, Ganesh Chandra Sahoo, Manas Ranjan Dikhit, Surya Suman, Devendra Prasad Yadav, Rishikesh Kumar, Pradeep Das

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Viral co-infection is now very common across taxa and environments that are involved in congenital infections. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) and Rubella are the two serious viral infections, well categorized in TORCH Syndrome. Here we had endeavoured the seroprevalence of co-infection of HSV and Rubella. Systematic tests have been performed to check the virulence pattern of the co-infection. The study was conducted at Department of Virology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (ICMR), Patna, Bihar, India during January 2018-July 2018. 299 newly cases were attended with the sign and symptoms of HSV and Rubella. After taking written consent forms from all the subjects, blood samples were collected for serological detection. ELISA was performed to detect the presence of IgM antibody level. 12 patients were found to be IgM positive from each HSV and Rubella infection. The findings of our study showed that 6 patients were positive for both HSV and rubella and hence were co-infected. Such co-infection causes severe health problems as it leads to the mortality rate of the patients during viral infectivity. Epidemiologically, proper screening should be needed to check any chance of occurrence of such co-infection in the affected regions in large scale and take suitable preventive approach to decrease the case totality. Concern has to be given to aid proper diagnosis and treatment in order to decrease the spread of HSV and Rubella co-infection.

Keywords: HSV, Rubella, seroprevalence, co-infection, ELISA, viral infectivity

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Authors: Kamal Prasad Acharya

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The related literature suggests that teaching and learning science at the basic level community schools in Nepal is based on book recitation. Consequently, the achievement levels and the understanding of basic science concepts is much below the policy expectations. In this context, this study intended to gain perception in the implementation practices of school gardens ‘One Garden One School’ for science learning and to meet the target of sustainable development goals that connects community wisdom regarding school gardening activities (SGAs) for science learning. This Participatory Action Research (PAR) study was done at the action school located in Province 3, Chitwan of Federal Nepal, supported under the NORHED/Rupantaran project. The purpose of the study was to connect the community wisdom related to gardening activities as contextual scaffolds for science learning. For this, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were applied to collect data which were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Basic level students, science teachers, and parents reported having wonderful experiences such as active and meaningful engagement in school gardening activities for science learning as well as science teachers’ motivation in activity-based science learning. Overall, teachers, students, and parents reported that the school gardening activities have been found to have had positive effects on students’ science learning as they develop basic scientific concepts by connecting community wisdom as a contextual scaffold. It is recommended that the establishment of a school garden is important for science learning in community schools throughout Nepal.

Keywords: contextual scaffold, community wisdom, science and health learning, school garden

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Authors: Ahmed Abdel Sattar Khalil, Hazem Omar

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Background: Image-guided hepatic interventions are integral to the management of infective and neoplastic liver lesions. Over the past decades, 2D ultrasound was used for guidance of hepatic interventions; with the recent advances in ultrasound technology, 3D ultrasound was used to guide hepatic interventions. The aim of this study was to illustrate the added value of 3D image guided hepatic interventions by x matrix technology. Patients and Methods: This prospective study was performed on 100 patients who were divided into two groups; group A included 50 patients who were managed by 2D ultrasonography probe guidance, and group B included 50 patients who were managed by 3D X matrix ultrasonography probe guidance. Thermal ablation was done for 70 patients, 40 RFA (20 by the 2D probe and 20 by the 3D x matrix probe), and 30 MWA (15 by the 2D probe and 15 by the 3D x matrix probe). Chemical ablation (PEI) was done on 20 patients (10 by the 2D probe and 10 by the 3D x matrix probe). Drainage of hepatic collections and biopsy from undiagnosed hepatic focal lesions was done on 10 patients (5 by the 2D probe and 5 by the 3D x matrix probe). Results: The efficacy of ultrasonography-guided hepatic interventions by 3D x matrix probe was higher than the 2D probe but not significantly higher, with a p-value of 0.705, 0.5428 for RFA, MWA respectively, 0.5312 for PEI, 0.2918 for drainage of hepatic collections and biopsy. The complications related to the use of the 3D X matrix probe were significantly lower than the 2D probe, with a p-value of 0.003. The timing of the procedure was shorter by the usage of 3D x matrix probe in comparison to the 2D probe with a p-value of 0.08,0.34 for RFA and PEI and significantly shorter for MWA, and drainage of hepatic collection, biopsy with a P-value of 0.02,0.001 respectively. Conclusions: 3D ultrasonography-guided hepatic interventions by  x matrix probe have better efficacy, less complication, and shorter time of procedure than the 2D ultrasonography-guided hepatic interventions.

Keywords: 3D, X matrix, 2D, ultrasonography, MWA, RFA, PEI, drainage of hepatic collections, biopsy

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Authors: Mohamed Salah El-Din Mahmoud, Heba Radi Atta Allah

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Background: Our study assesses the safety profile and efficacy of toric Implantable Collamer Lens (T-ICL) and toric implantable phakic contact lens (IPCL) for the correction of high myopia with astigmatism. Methods: A prospective interventional randomized comparative study included 60 myopic eyes divided into 2 groups, group A including 30 eyes that were implanted with T-ICL, and group B including 30 eyes that were implanted with toric IPCL. The refractive results, visual acuity, corneal endothelial cell count, and intraocular pressure (IOP) were evaluated at baseline and at 1, 6, and 9 months post-surgery. Any complications either during or after surgery were assessed. Results: A significant reduction in both spherical and cylindrical refractive errors with good predictability was reported in both groups compared with preoperative values. Regarding the predictability, In T-ICL group (A), the median spherical and cylindrical errors were significantly improved from (-10 D & -4.5 D) pre-operatively to (-0.25 D & - 0.3 D) at the end of 9 months follow up period. Similarly, in the toric IPCL group (B), the median spherical and cylindrical errors were significantly improved from (-11 D & -4.5 D) pre-operatively to (-0.25 D & - 0.3 D) at the end of 9 months follow up period. A statistically significant improvement of UCDVA at 9 months postoperatively was found in both groups, as median preoperative Log Mar UCDVA was 1.1 and 1.3 in groups A and B respectively, which was significantly improved to 0.2 in both groups at the end of follow-up period. Regarding IOP, no significant difference was found between both groups, either pre-operatively or during the postoperative period. Regarding the endothelial count, no significant differences were found during the pre-operative and postoperative follow-up periods between the two groups. Fortunately, no intra or postoperative complications as cataract, keratitis or lens decentration had occurred. Conclusions: Toric IPCL is a suitable alternative to T-ICL for the management of high myopia with astigmatism, especially in developing countries, as it is cheaper and easier for implantation than T-ICL. However, data over longer follow-up periods are needed to confirm its safety and stability.

Keywords: T-ICL, Toric IPCL, IOP, corneal endothelium

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Authors: Manal Hassan Abdel Aziz, Fatma Mohamed Magdy Badr El Dine, Nourhan Mohamed Mohamed Saeed

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Establishing association between lip print patterns and those of fingerprints as well as blood groups is of fundamental importance in the forensic identification domain. The first aim of the current study was to determine the prevalent types of ABO blood groups, lip prints and fingerprints patterns in both studied populations. Secondly, to analyze any relation found between the different print patterns and the blood groups, which would be valuable in identification purposes. The present study was conducted on 60 healthy volunteers, (30 males and 30 females) from each of the studied population. Lip prints and fingerprints were obtained and classified according to Tsuchihashi's classification and Michael Kuchen’s classification, respectively. The results show that the ulnar loop was the most frequent among both populations. Blood group A was the most frequent among Egyptians, while blood groups O and B were the predominant among Malaysians. Significant relations were observed between lip print patterns and fingerprint (in the second quadrant for Egyptian males and the first one for Malaysian). For Malaysian females, a statistically significant association was proved in the fourth quadrant. Regarding the blood groups, 89.5% of ulnar loops were significantly related to blood group A among Egyptian males. The results proved an association between the fingerprint pattern and the lip prints, as well as between the ABO blood group and the pattern of fingerprints. However, further researches with larger sample sizes need to be directed to approve the current results.

Keywords: ABO, cheiloscopy, dactylography, Egyptians, Malaysians

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