Distribution and sources of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in shellfish of the Egyptian Red Sea coast

Aromatic hydrocarbons and n-alkanes were analyzed in shellfish collected from 13 different sites along the Egyptian Red Sea coast. All samples were analyzed for n-alkanes (C8–C40) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (EPA list of PAHs). n-Alkanes in shellfish samples from 13 locations were found to be in the range of 71.0–701.1 ng/g with a mean value of 242.2 ± 192.1 ng/g dry wt. Different indices were calculated for the n-alkanes to assess their sources. These were carbon preference index (CPI), average chain length (ACL), terrigenous/aquatic ratio (TAR), natural n-alkane ratio (NAR) and proxy ratio (Paq). Most of the collected samples of n-alkanes were discovered to be from natural sources. Aromatic hydrocarbons (16 PAHs) from 13 sites varied between 1.3 and 160.9 ng/g with an average of 47.9 ± 45.5 ng/g dry wt. Benzo(a)pyrine (BaP), a cancer risk assessment, was calculated for the PAHs and resulted in ranges between 0.08 and 4.47 with an average of 1.25 ng/g dry wt

Contamination and risk assessment of organochlorines in surface sediments of Egyptian Mediterranean coast

AbstractThe levels of 20 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in addition to 10 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediments of Egyptian Mediterranean coast were investigated to evaluate their pollution potential on the environment. The OCPs were HCHs, DDTs and cyclodienes (aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, endrin aldehyde, endrin ketone, heptachlor, heptachloro epoxide, γ-chlordane, α-chlordane, methoxychlor, endosulfan I, endosulfan II and endosulfan sulfate). Concentrations of PCBs, HCHs, DDTs and cyclodienes ranged from 0.31 to 1.95, 0.09 to 3.31, 0.08 to 3.31 and 0.23 to 2.51ng/g dry weight, respectively. Investigation of OCPs leads to the fact, that DDTs have greater potential for distribution than both HCHs and cyclodienes. Risk assessment of organochlorines in surface sediment was conducted and the results indicate that the concentrations of some OCPs contaminated in the sediments may pose few risks to the local aquatic system. Principal component factor and cluster analysis concluded that it is impossible to predict the distribution patterns of the OCPs in contaminated area, and there is a lack of correlation between PCBs and most of OCPs. This explains the variety of organochlorines input sources to studied locations

The effect of fluoride on the distribution of some minerals in the surface water of an Egyptian lagoon at the Mediterranean Sea

The seasonal fluoride distribution in surface waters along Lake Edku and in the supplying land drains, as well as its effect on the formation of carbonated and fluoridated minerals were investigated. The data revealed that fluoride’s content was affected by the chlorinity value of two feeding sources of water in Lake Edku, which were the seawater from El-Maadiya inlet and drainage water from land drains. Fluoride in surface water showed average contents of 0.62–1.59, 0.44–1.53, 0.13–1.07 and 0.23–1.17 mg/l in winter, spring, summer and autumn, respectively, with an annual average concentration of 0.8 ± 0.1 mg/l. The annual average of the saturation index (SI) of carbonated (calcite, aragonite and dolomite) and fluorapatite minerals along Lake Edku had values that exceeded the unity and referred to the over saturation of the lake water in respect to these minerals. In contrast, the average annual SI of fluorite and sellaïte gave values lower than unity. That indicated the under saturation in respect to these two minerals. The high saturation index values for fluorapatite may be related to the low solubility of calcite in apatite supernatants in alkaline conditions. Interestingly, the formation of the fluorapatite mineral leaves a small concentration of it, and that protects Lake Edku’s ecosystem from the destructive impact of fluoride pollution

Replacing protein via enteral nutrition in a stepwise approach in critically ill patients: the REPLENISH randomized clinical trial protocol

Abstract Background Protein intake is recommended in critically ill patients to mitigate the negative effects of critical illness-induced catabolism and muscle wasting. However, the optimal dose of enteral protein remains unknown. We hypothesize that supplemental enteral protein (1.2 g/kg/day) added to standard enteral nutrition formula to achieve high amount of enteral protein (range 2–2.4 g/kg/day) given from ICU day 5 until ICU discharge or ICU day 90 as compared to no supplemental enteral protein to achieve moderate amount enteral protein (0.8–1.2 g/kg/day) would reduce all-cause 90-day mortality in adult critically ill mechanically ventilated patients. Methods The REPLENISH (Replacing Protein Via Enteral Nutrition in a Stepwise Approach in Critically Ill Patients) trial is an open-label, multicenter randomized clinical trial. Patients will be randomized to the supplemental protein group or the control group. Patients in both groups will receive the primary enteral formula as per the treating team, which includes a maximum protein 1.2 g/kg/day. The supplemental protein group will receive, in addition, supplemental protein at 1.2 g/kg/day starting the fifth ICU day. The control group will receive the primary formula without supplemental protein. The primary outcome is 90-day all-cause mortality. Other outcomes include functional and quality of life assessments at 90 days. The trial will enroll 2502 patients. Discussion The study has been initiated in September 2021. Interim analysis is planned at one third and two thirds of the target sample size. The study is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04475666 . Registered on July 17, 2020