The value of honey bees (Apis mellifera, L.) as pollinators of summer seed watermelon (Citrullus lanatus colothynthoides L.) in Egypt

The value of honey bee, Apis mellifera L., as pollinator of summer seed watermelon plants, Citrullus lanatus colothynthoides L. was studied. The highest percentage of opened flowers, number of bees/m2/min and amount of trapped pollen/ colony/h were recorded between 9.00 and 10.00 h, with significant (P<0.01) correlations between them. Eleven insect species belonging to eleven families and five orders were recorded as pollinators on summer seed watermelon crop, and A. mellifera L., was the predominant species. One hectare of summer seed watermelon could produce 10.47 kg of honey per season. Open pollination treatment produced the highest number of mature fruits and seed yield as compared with caged plants without any insect visitors which did not produce any fruits at all. It could be recommended to move the honey bee colonies to summer seed watermelon plantations during its flowering period to build-up the colonies and increase seed yield

Novel Ratio Subtraction and Isoabsorptive Point Methods for Determination of Ambroxol Hydrochloride and Doxycycline in their Combined Dosage Form: Development and Validation

Purpose: To develop and validate two innovative spectrophotometric methods used for the simultaneous determination of ambroxol hydrochloride and doxycycline in their binary mixture.Methods: Ratio subtraction and isoabsorptive point methods were used for the simultaneous determination of ambroxol hydrochloride and doxycycline in their binary mixture. Linear correlations were obtained in the concentration range of 6 - 40 and 4 - 32 μg mL-1 for ambroxol hydrochloride and doxycycline, respectively. Ratio subtraction method was utilized for determination of ambroxol hydrochloride at 246.5 nm while isoabsorptive point method was employed for doxycycline at 244 nm (using methanol as a solvent) in mixtures as well as in their combined dosage form (Ambrodoxy capsules).Results: The proposed methods were successfully applied to the analysis of the pharmaceutical capsules containing the two analytes. Recovery for ambroxol hydrochloride and doxycycline in capsules was 99.49 and 99.96 %, respectively. The relative standard deviation (% RSD) for the assay of the capsules was &lt; 1 %. Validation of the two methods was assessed according to International Council on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines regarding linearity, accuracy, precision, specificity and range. The results of the proposed methods compared favorably with those obtained by a reported chemometricsassisted ultraviolet (UV)-spectroscopic method.Conclusion: The proposed methods are rapid, selective, simple and accurate. They also represent suitable alternatives to the chromatographic methods currently used for the analysis of the pharmaceutical mixtures in various dosage forms.Keywords: Ambroxol, Doxycycline, Ratio subtraction method, Isoabsorptive point method, Binary mixture, Spectrophotometr

Discrete Wavelet Transform-Partial Least Squares Versus Derivative Ratio Spectrophotometry for Simultaneous Determination of Chlorpheniramine Maleate and Dexamethasone in the Presence of Parabens in Pharmaceutical Dosage Form

Purpose: To compare two methods, based on different approaches, for simultaneous determination of chlorpheniramine maleate (CHP) and dexamethasone (DX) in the presence of methyl and propyl paraben in phenadone syrup.Methods: The first method used, based on univariate calibration approach, was first derivative of the ratio spectrophotometry (DD1). The second method, which  is a multivariate calibration approach, was discrete wavelet transform followed by partial least squares method (DWT-PLS) which anticipated high predictive ability for the determination of both CHP and DX.Results: DD1 method failed to determine DX due to the absence of adequate zero crossing point while DWT-PLS method was successfully applied for the analysis of raw materials and the dosage form. For DD1 method, recovery of chlorpheniramine maleate in the dosage form was 100.33 ± 0.91 % while for DWT-PLS method, recovery of chlorpheniramine maleate and dexamethasone was 100.24 ± 1.21 and 99.99 ± 1.08 %, respectively. The proposed methods were validated using  standard addition technique and the results compared favorably with those obtained by a reference high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method.Conclusion: The findings of this work show the superiority of DWT-PLS over DD1 method in solving such complex mixtures, and would thus be suitable for use in quality control (QC) laboratories and pharmaceutical industry.Keywords: Quantitative analysis, Discrete wavelet transform, First derivative of ratio spectra, Chlorpheniramine maleate, Dexamethason

Artificial Neural Networks and Concentration Residual Augmented Classical Least Squares for the Simultaneous Determination of Diphenhydramine, Benzonatate, Guaifenesin and Phenylephrine in their Quaternary Mixture

Purpose: To develop two multivariate calibration methods for the simultaneous spectrophotometric determination of a quaternary mixture composed of diphenhydramine HCl, benzonatate, guaifenesin and phenylephrine HCl in Bronchofree ™ capsules in the ratio of 2.5 : 10 : 10 : 1, respectively.Methods: Novel artificial neural networks (ANNs) and concentration residual augmented classical least squares (CRACLS) methods were developed for the quantitative determination of the quaternary mixture. For proper analysis, a four-level, four-factor experimental design was established resulting in a training set of 16 mixtures containing different ratios of the four analytes. A validation set consisting of six mixtures was used to validate the prediction ability of the suggested models.Results: ANNs and CRACLS methods were successfully applied for the analysis of raw materials and capsules. For ANNs method, % recovery of diphenhydramine HCl, benzonatate, guaifenesin and phenylephrine HCl in the capsules was 102.21 ± 1.34, 100.30 ± 1.17, 99.31 ± 2.00 and 98.50 ± 1.27, respectively. On the other hand, % recovery of the four analytes by CRACLS was 99.84 ± 2.22, 100.07 ± 0.63, 98.37 ± 1.42 and 97.99 ± 0.96, respectively.Conclusion: The proposed methods can be applied for the quantitative determination of the four components without interference from excipients, thus obviating the need for preliminary extraction of analytes from the pharmaceutical formulation. The ability of the methods to deconvolute the highly overlapped UV spectra of the four components’ mixtures using low-cost and easy-to-handle instruments such as UV spectrophotometer is also an advantage.Keywords: Artificial neural networks, Concentration residual augmented classical least squares, Quaternary mixture, Simultaneous determinatio

Controller Energy management for hybrid renewable energy system

A new modified configuration for the stand-alone photovoltaic- wind ndash diesel generator system with and without battery to electrify a remote area household load in Egypt is presented. The displaying, reenactment, and operational control technique for the framework is produced. The created control intends to enhance the energy flow inside the framework, with the end goal that the heap is fulfilled autonomous on the varieties in insolation, the temperature and the wind speed. Additionally, it means to ensure the battery against overcharging or excessive discharging. Also, it means to secure the worldwide framework against the unpredictable excess or defict of the available energy

CYP1B1 and myocilin gene mutations in Egyptian patients with primary congenital glaucoma

Purpose: Primary congenital glaucoma (PCG) accounts for 26–29% of childhood blindness in Egypt. The identification of disease causing mutations has not been extensively investigated. We aimed to examine the frequency of CYP1B1 and MYOC mutations in PCG Egyptian patients, and study a possible genotype/phenotype correlation.Methods: Ninety-eight patients with PCG diagnosed at the Ophthalmology department ofAlexandria Main University Hospital were enrolled. Demographic and phenotypic characteristics were recorded. Patients and 100 healthy subjects (control group) were screened for two mutations in CYP1B1 gene (G61E, R368H) and one mutation in MYOC gene (Gln48His) using polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR/RFLP). Phenotypic characteristics pertaining to disease severity were compared.Results: Nineteen patients (19%) with PCG were found positive for one or more of the mutations screened for. Seven patients (7%) were homozygous for the G61E mutation. Ten patients (10%) were heterozygous; 6 for the G61E mutation, 2 for the R368H mutation and 2 for the Gln48His mutation. Two patients (2%) were double heterozygotes harboring a R368H as well as a Gln48His mutation. The most common mutation observed was the G61E in 13 patients; 7 homozygotes and 6 heterozygotes for the mutation. The control group were negative for all mutations screened for. No significant correlations between the mutations and phenotype severity were detected. A statistically significant positive correlation however was found between the different mutations andeach of the IOP and the cup/disk ratio.Conclusion: The current study further endorses the role of CYP1B1 mutations in the etiology of PCG among Egyptian patients and is the first study to report MYOC gene mutation in Egyptian patients with PCG

Egyptian Needs and the Water Resources Under the Agreements Among the Nile River Basin Countries

Abstract: Water is Egypt issue today, and its danger is increasing in the future years. Egypt is considered one of the poorest 35 countries in the world,its ownership of freshwater resources, where Egyptian citizen share in 1947year was reached about 2604 m 3 / year, it decreased over the years following that reached 860 m 3 / year in 2003, possibly the individual share will decrease to 582 m 3 / year in 2025, due to the available water resources for agriculture is limited, the future demand increasing for the purposes of horizontal and vertical expansion in cultivated area, the low efficiency of availability use of it, in addition to the obstacles in the traditional sources use, and as a result of the increase in population with demand for water is increased,and the available renewable water resources are constant, which led to increase the water problem in Egypt, Therefore, the study aimed to Identify the current available of Egyptian needs, water resources, individual share average of water, and identify the periods of abundance,scarcity and water poverty through the presentation of the various water agreements among the Nile River Basin countries, The study proved that total water needs reached about 69

DESIGNING AN INTEGRATED COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

Vegetable production provide great value in the agricultural production sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Growers and agricultural engineers need a comprehensive database in Arabic lan-guage that can be available for use any time any where. Therefore, this research project was initiat-ed. The computer program was developed using Visual Basic Net 2005 which is one of the ad-vanced visual programming languages. We took into consideration easy usage and coherence be-tween all program components. Main results in-clude computer program with the data base, which includes: vegetable crops, diseases, insect pests and other pests that attacks vegetable crops, management tactics, cultural practices, irrigation requirements, planting dates, data search. Fur-thermore, field trips have been carried out to some vegetable farms in all the Kingdom regions. A digit-ized map of the Kingdom has been added to the program in addition to crop water and heat re-quirements. Various search capabilities have been developed in the program. After the completion of the program build up, verification trips have been carried out for five regions in the presence of farm-ers and extension specialists of the different direc-torate of the Ministry of Agriculture to test the accu-racy of steps used in the program. A manual for the computer program as well as leaflet on pro-gram set up and usage have been included. It is recommended to make this program available at the internet and distribute copies to the Ministry of Agriculture and its directorates as well as farmers