Subsidies for energy efficiency and alternative energy adoption programs: case study from Egypt taxi recycling program

This thesis was developed to call in question the conventional perception that energy subsidies, especially in the service sector, are necessarily barriers to the adoption of improved technology. It provides a case study for an innovative program that supported energy efficiency and the adoption of alternative energy in the transportation sector and relied in part on subsidy savings. The program-Egypt\u27s Taxi Recycling Program-was not only successful in reaching the targeted population effectively, but also lifted some of the fuel subsidies burden off the government budget. Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and Soft System Methodology (SSM) were applied to analyze the distribution of benefits from the Taxi Recycling program. The CBA was applied to define the main costs and benefits drawn by the two key stakeholders- the Egyptian Government and taxi owners participating in the program. The SSM was applied to have more detailed understanding of the role and the power of the stakeholders involved; in order to evaluate the performance of the stakeholders. The study findings indicated that the program has an overall positive impact on the different stakeholders involved. Since it was structured as a Public-Private-Partnership, the program offered significant opportunities to the private sector participating companies, either by stimulating vehicles sales and loan demands that would have not otherwise occurred, or by facilitating the communication channels among the different stakeholders involved. The program encountered some challenges that directly and indirectly affected the stakeholders involved. The taxi owners, however, had been the most influenced by the program\u27s challenges. The challenges included: the advertising firm being unable to fulfill its commitments; the maintenance services and maintenance costs; the waiting periods for getting the new cars; the quality of the cars that were sold; and the adoption of natural gas as an alternative fuel. Nonetheless, the program had overall positive social impacts. Through applying CBA from the government perspective, we concluded that the benefits encountered from the program implementation far exceed the costs incurred by the government. Upon reaching the program target of changing around 40,000 old taxi vehicles operating in Greater Cairo Region, the program would save more than LE 380 million annually from the fuel subsidies assigned funds. As for the environmental impacts, the Taxi Recycling program has been divided into eleven separate projects called Certified Project Activities (CPAs); with an average of 4,576 recycled taxi vehicles per CPA. The preliminary assessment, based on CAPMAS\u27s 2010 estimation of the costs associated with CO2 emissions\u27 negative environmental impacts, showed that the new vehicles would result in annual average environmental benefits of 2.080 million US dollars per each Taxi-Recycling-CPA. In addition, these saved emissions represent potential government revenue if the government was able to sell the reduced emissions under the Clean Development Mechanism

COMPARISON OF FT-NIR TRANSMISSION AND HPLC FOR GREEN APPROACH TO DETERMINE PARACETAMOL AND ITS DEGRADATION PRODUCT 4-AMINOPHENOL IN PARACETAMOL TABLETS

Objective: Development and validation of Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopic method for determination of paracetamol and its major degradation product 4-aminophenol in paracetamol tablets and show the agreement between the NIR as a greener technique and the conventional high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method, official in British pharmacopeia (BP).Methods: Calibration model for paracetamol and its degradation product 4-aminophenol was built by utilizing chemometric processing which is the most critical step in the development of specific and robust NIR models. It is based mainly on a partial least square regression fit on the transmission mode using paracetamol, 4-aminophenol and excipient materials of the drug products. The results obtained by NIR spectroscopy were compared with the compendial HPLC method in the BP.Results: The chosen models had a root mean square error of the cross validation (RMSECV) values of 1.38, 1.42 and coefficient of correlation (r2) of 99.1, 99.05 for paracetamol and 4-aminophenol respectively, which indicates good fitness and accuracy of the model.Conclusion: The present study showed that NIR could be used with high accuracy for determination of for parent drug and its major degradation product in paracetamol tablets. This proposed technique realizes many of green analytical aspects in developing eco-friendly analytical methods and may replace safely the conventional chromatographic technique without compromising efficacy. Â

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF STABILITY INDICATING GREEN HPLC-UV METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF CEPHALEXIN IN PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORMS AND HUMAN URINE USING MICELLAR MOBILE PHASE

Objective: Development and validation of simple, stability indicating and green high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with ultraviolet (UV) detection for determination of cephalexin in pure form, pharmaceutical dosage forms and human urine samples.Methods: The method is based on using of a micellar mobile phase for separation of cephalexin and its degradation products. The analyte was chromatographed on a Kinetex C18 75×4.6 mm, 2.6 μm column. Micellar mobile phase composed of 0.1M sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and 10 % isopropanol (IPA), pH was adjusted to 3±0.05 with phosphoric acid, the flow-rate was 1.0 mL/min, the UV detector was set at 254 nm and the injection volume was 20 µl. Stability indicating properties of the proposed method was proved through exposure of the analyte solutions to 4 different stress conditions of acidic, basic, oxidative and photo-irradiation conditions.Results: Under optimized conditions the average recovery was ranged from 100.4–101.7%. The lower limit of quantification (LOQ) and the lower limit of detection (LOD) were 0.097 and 0.029 μg/ml, respectively. A linear correlation in the range of 1–200 μg/ml with the correlation coefficient (r2) of ≥ 0.999 was obtained. Relatively high inter-and intra-day precisions were achieved, the percentage RSD values were lower than 2. The obtained results were validated according to USP validation parameters.Conclusion: The proposed method was found to be not only a greener method but also faster and more convenient than the USP compendial method. Greener here means that the method is more eco-friendly as it avoids usage of toxic solvent and reagent and switch to more benign chemicals. In addition, allow for injection of urine samples directly into an analytical column without pretreatment due to micellar solubilization of the interfering components of the biological samples.Â

El surrealismo en la obra poética de Federico García Lorca

The main objective of this investigation is the retrieval of the study of possible Surrealism in Federico García Lorcás poetic work, a poet who enjoyed in his time prestige and international fame for decades, and still does. Numerous articles in magazines and newspapers of his time speak of his writings, literary activities and stand as a testimony of how well-regarded he was during his lifetime and even after his tragic murder death at the hands of fascists right after the outbreak of the Spanish civil war back in July 1936. Nevertheless, and for diverse reasons, literary ,social, as well as the extent of the studies, researches and abundant biographies about him, the study of Surrealism in all his works, such as in his playwrights for instance, has not been sufficiently expanded, and has been overlooked by the extensive bibliographies written about him. We have limited the investigation to his poetic works only. The extensive bibliographies written about him, is a fact that hindered and held back our efforts, as we had to resort to resources from different libraries, such as the Faculty of Philology of the UCM General Library, the Faculty of Information Science, the Student Residence, as well as the National Library. In addition to the analysis and commentary of his works, not to mention that current publications on him, various literary magazines and articles from the poet’s time have been consulted as well..

An in-vitro evaluation of the efficacy of oral devices to remove dental biofilm from three prosthodontic materials

Magister Scientiae Dentium - MSc(Dent)Introduction: The evolution of Dentistry witnessed an increase in fixed prostheses as opposed to removable ones. Zirconia (ZrO2) and Lithium disilicate (LDS) are becoming the material of choice in implant or tooth retained prostheses. Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a recent alternative as it is lighter and causes less wear of opposing retained teeth. Biofilm formation is a permanent daily struggle for patients as it can be found in nearly all surfaces exposed to the natural environment. Therefore, the interest in a new device capable of removing or reducing oral biofilm from fixed prostheses is increasing. Aquaflosser (AQ) and Waterpik (WP) are examples of these oral irrigating devices that were introduced to the dental market recently. They can be effective in removing dental biofilm from different surfaces. Purpose of study: The purpose of this study is to evaluate biofilm formation on three fixed dental substructures and to evaluate the efficacy of two oral irrigating devices on biofilm removal from these three substructures

Novel Quinuclidinone Derivatives Induced Apoptosis in Human Breast Cancer via Targeting P53

Small molecules that can target human cancers have been highly sought to increase the anticancer efficacy, the present work describes the design and synthesis of novel series of five quinuclidinone derivatives (2a-2e). Their anticancer activities were investigated against breast cancer cells MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells harboring mutant p53 and normal breast counterpart MCF-12a. Derivative 2e reduced proliferation of MCF-7 and MCD-12a while it has no effect on MDA-MB-231. Derivative 2e induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells which is further confirmed by TUNEL assay and it reduced the percentage of cell in G2/M phase as confirmed by increased expression of cyclin B and reduced expression of cyclinD1. Derivative 2e reduced expression levels of Mdm2, Akt and ERK1/2 by and increased expression level of p53. Moreover, the apoptosis induction by 2e was also inhibited by PFT-α as evidenced by non-significant induction of apoptosis after treatment of MCF-7 cells with both derivative 2e and PFT-α. In addition, docking study reveals that derivative 2e has a binding pattern close to the pattern observed in the structure of the lead fragment 5,6-dimethoxy-2-methylbenzothiazole bound to T-p53C-Y220C. The above findings demonstrate that derivative 2e induces apoptosis in MCF-7 cells via targeting p53 which merits further development

Elastic Behavior of Corrugated Web Girders with Square Opening

في هذا البحث تمت الدراسة النظرية علي الکمرات اللوحية المعرجة ذاتالفتحة المربعة المعرضة لأحمال قص. وقد تم ذلک التحليل عن طريق استخدام برنامجالابکوس. حيث تم دراسة عدد من المتغيرات وذلک لبحث تأثير هذة المتغيرات عليمعامل انبعاح القص (����) . وشملت هذة المتغيرات ارتفاع الکمرة، عرض اللوح المعدنيالمسطح، عمق الکمرة، النسبة بين اللوح المعدني المسطح الي اللوح المعدنيالمائل،مکان وحجم الفتحة المربعة. وللتأکد من دقة النتائج في هذا البحث تم مقارنةبعض النتائج مع النظريات المتاحة والتي اظهرت توافقا جيدا في النتائج. وقد اظهرتالنتائج ان الزيادة في ارتفاع الکمرة يؤدي الي نقص في معامل انبعاج القص (����) .ايضا وجد ان التغير في عمق الکمرة اظهر تأثير واضح في معامل انبعاج القص (����) .بالاضافة وجد ان تأثير تغير مرکزية الفتحة کبيرة الابعاد في الاتحاة الافقي لا يملک تأثيرکبير علي معامل انبعاج القص (����) بينما في الفتحه ذات الابعاد الصغيرة لا يوجد تأثيرملحوظ علي معامل انبعاج القص (����) . علي الجانب الاخر وجد انة لايوجد تأثير فيمعامل انبعاج القص في حالة تغير مرکزية الفتحة في الاتجاة الرأسي. في نهاية البحثتم عرض منحنيات للحصول علي قيمة مقاومة انبعاج القص في حالة ��\u3c��≤�� وفي حالة ��\u3e�� مع اختلاف المرکزية في الاتجاة الافقي للفتحة وقد تم التوصية فيحالة (��\u3c��) علي التعامل مع الکمرة کأنها ليس بها فتحة وذلک للحصول علي معاملانبعاج القص (����) .ABSTRACT- This paper presents an elastic parametric study for the trapezoidal corrugated web with a square opening subjected to a shear load. A series of finite element (FE) analyses using the ABAQUS program is carried out to study the influence of square opening on trapezoidal corrugated webs. A parametric study is conducted in this paper to investigate the effect of key parameters on the shear buckling coefficient (���� ) including the height of the web, width of the flat fold, depth of corrugation, the ratio between the flat fold and inclined fold, eccentricity and size of the square opening. By using the finite element model, the eigenvalue buckling analysis is obtained and verified using theoretical models. The results have shown that the increase in the height of the web plate leads to a decrease in the value of the shear buckling coefficient ����. Also, it is found that the changing in the corrugated depth shown a clear influence on the shear buckling coefficient. Also, it is concluded that the effect of horizontal eccentricity in a big opening has a small influence on the shear buckling coefficient while in a small opening no changes are found in the shear buckling coefficient. On the other hand, it is found that there is no effect of changing the vertical eccentricity on the values of the shear buckling coefficient. Finally, design curves are proposed to obtain the shear buckling coefficient for ��\u3c��≤�� and ��\u3e�� with different values of horizontal eccentricity. Also, for (��\u3c��) it is recommended to determine the shear buckling coefficient according to a corrugated web without opening

The role of surfactants in inhibition of uropathogenic E. coli biofilm in catheterized patients in Assiut University Hospitals.

Background: Escherichia coli (E. coli) represent one of the major pathogens implicated in catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). Formation of biofilm by uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) is a major survival and persistence mechanism of bacteria against antibiotics and host immune responses in the bladder. This study was designed aiming to evaluate the role of surfactants [non-anionic: Tween 80, anionic: sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cationic: cetyl trimethyl ammonium (CTMA)] on biofilm forming CsgA gene containing strains of E. coli. Methods: A cross sectional study conducted at Assiut University Hospitals ICUs included 100 patients; 53 males and 47 females, catheterized for at least 3 days. Biofilm production by E. coli isolates was detected phenotypically by culture on Congo red agar plates and confirmed genotypically by detection of CsgA by conventional PCR. Overnight broth culture of each E. coli isolate was incubated with each surfactant at 3 different concentrations (CMC). Subculture on congo red agar plates was done. Inhibition of biofilm formation was indicted by fading or absence of black color of the colonies. Results: Tween 80 showed inhibition of biofilm formation by 15% of all samples at a concentration 0.1% (>CMC). SDS show biofilm inhibition by 23% at concentration 2.32mg/ml (=CMC) and at concentration 3mg/ml (>CMC). CTMA inhibited the biofilm formation by 7% at a concentration 0.4mg/ml (=CMC) and by 38% at a concentration 0.8mg/ml (>CMC). Conclusion: Surfactants have disruptive and inhibitory effect on biofilm formation that provides an alternative for plain and medicated catheters

Validity of Glasgow Coma Scale - Pupil Age Charts in Predicting The Outcome for Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury

Context: Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is considered a cornerstone of neurological assessment to distinguish the prognosis of traumatic brain injury patients. Aim: This study aimed to examine the validity of the Glasgow coma scale - Pupil Age charts in predicting outcomes for patients with traumatic brain injury. Methods: Descriptive exploratory research design was utilized to conduct this study at El-Fayoum University Hospitals and EL-Nabawi Mohandas General hospital in the Neurosurgical intensive care unit and neurosurgical inpatients ward. This research included a purposive sample of 100 adult patients with Traumatic Brain Injury using three tools for assessment. They were the patient's profile data form, the Glasgow Coma Scale - Pupil Age Charts, and the Glasgow outcome scale. Criterion validity with its two types of predictive validity and concurrent validity was used to validate GCS-Pupil Age charts. Results: The study shows that the Glasgow Coma Scale-Pupil Age Chart is valid in predicting outcomes in patients with traumatic brain injury patient with the best cut-off value of <10.50, a sensitivity of 91.5%, and a specificity of 98.1%, while the Glasgow Coma Scale with the best cut off value <9.50, sensitivity 87.2%, and specificity of 94.3%. Glasgow Coma Scale-Pupil Age Charts and Computed tomography findings are valid in predicting outcomes following traumatic brain injury. Conclusion: Glasgow Coma Scale-Pupil Age Charts and computed tomography finding chart are valid in predicting outcomes following traumatic brain injury. The current study recommended developing an educational program for nurses working in intensive care units about GCS and GCS- PA charts to assess traumatic brain injured patients. Besides, encouraging the use of GCS- PA charts in the emergency unit and neurosurgical intensive care unit to predict patient outcomes and plan the care for traumatic brain injury patients. Designing the clinical pathway for traumatic brain-injured patients from admission until discharge considering age, pupil reactivity response, and CT findings