Sustainable agriculture in Egypt

Presented at the fifth international conference on irrigation and drainage, Irrigation and drainage for food, energy and the environment on November 3-6, 2009 in Salt Lake City, Utah.Includes bibliographical references.Water is characterized such as no alternative source can substitute it and it is not a commercial resource or commodity. The great challenge for the coming decades will be the task of increasing food production with less water particularly in basins with limited water resources. Molden et al. (2003) estimated that, by year 2020, approximately 75% of the world's population will live in areas experiencing physical or economic water scarcity. Most of these areas happen to be where most of the poor and food insecure people live. Meeting their food needs with locally produced food presents enormous challenge. Hence, the need is to increase water productivity of agricultural production systems in water scarce areas where the poor population is dependent on local production. Increasing the productivity in agriculture will play a vital role in easing competition for scarce resources, prevention of environmental degradation, and provision of food security. Crop water productivity depends on several factors including crop genetic material, water management practices, economic and policy incentives, and people's acceptance. In a broad sense, productivity of water refers to the benefits derived from the use of water and is most often given in terms of mass of product, or its monetary value, per unit of water. Therefore, the main goal of the current practical study is to assess water productivity for different crops, assist decision makers in developing sustainable agricultural policies for Egypt and maximize national water resources' productivity in different agricultural activities considering the supply and demand aspects and based on the efficient utilization of the water resource

Effect of the pre-magnetic treatment of seeds and the N-fertilizer on the yield and quality of groundnut grown in sandy soil

This field trial aimed to study the effect of the magnetic treatment (MT) of urea as a nitrogen (N) fertilizer as well as the MT of the groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) seeds before sowing on the crop yield and quality under sandy soil conditions during the summer seasons of 2020 and/or 2021. Treatments were distributed in a split-plots design in triplicates. The control CL has received the recommended dose RD of the N-fertilizer while other treatments received the rates 50, 75, and 100% of the RD as magnetized urea (main factor F1) applied to the surface soil. The sub-factor (F2) was the time of MT (15, 30, and 45 min) of the groundnut seeds exposed to magnetic field MF 1.4 T before planting. Representative samples from the soil and plant were taken after harvesting. At the 15-min time and 100% N-fertilization, the yield of pods and seeds (kg ha-1) has increased relatively by 8.2% and 9.7% respectively, compared to the corresponding CL. At the 30-min time and 50% and 100% N-fertilization, the yield (kg ha-1) has increased relatively by 9.7% and 13.3% respectively for pods and by 10.1% and 16.8% respectively for the seeds. At the 45-min time and 50% N-fertilization, the yield (kg ha-1) has increased by 12.4% and 14.6% for pods and seeds, respectively. The 100% N-fertilization along with 15 min MT before cultivation or the 50% and/or 100% N-fertilization along with 30 min MT or the 50% along with 45 min MT could be recommended. The agronomic efficiency (AE) for the N, P, and K nutrients was increased by the MT in the order 15 min < 30 min < 45 min at the 50, 75, and 100% N-fertilization rates

Identification of parameters in photovoltaic models through a runge kutta optimizer

Recently, the resources of renewable energy have been in intensive use due to their environmental and technical merits. The identification of unknown parameters in photovoltaic (PV) models is one of the main issues in simulation and modeling of renewable energy sources. Due to the random behavior of weather, the change in output current from a PV model is nonlinear. In this regard, a new optimization algorithm called Runge–Kutta optimizer (RUN) is applied for estimating the parameters of three PV models. The RUN algorithm is applied for the R.T.C France solar cell, as a case study. Moreover, the root mean square error (RMSE) between the calculated and measured current is used as the objective function for identifying solar cell parameters. The proposed RUN algorithm is superior compared with the Hunger Games Search (HGS) algorithm, the Chameleon Swarm Algorithm (CSA), the Tunicate Swarm Algorithm (TSA), Harris Hawk’s Optimization (HHO), the Sine–Cosine Algorithm (SCA) and the Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO) algorithm. Three solar cell models—single diode, double diode and triple diode solar cell models (SDSCM, DDSCM and TDSCM)—are applied to check the performance of the RUN algorithm to extract the parameters. the best RMSE from the RUN algorithm is 0.00098624, 0.00098717 and 0.000989133 for SDSCM, DDSCM and TDSCM, respectively

Developing a highly validated and sensitive HPLC method for simultaneous estimation of cefotaxime and paracetamol in pure and pharmaceutical preparations

An isocratic HPLC technique was exploited and validated for the quick simultaneous separation and measurement of cefotaxime and paracetamol in vials dosage forms, with a total analysis time of 3 minutes. The process of separation was carried out on a Thermo Scientific® Venusil XBPC18 (L) (5µm, 4.6x250 mm) using a mobile phase of ACN: distilled water (70:30, v/v) at the ambient temperature. The flow rate used in the experiment was 1 mL/min, and the highest level of absorption was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (HPLC-PDA) employing a PDA detector set at a wavelength of 255 nm. The established retention times for cefotaxime and paracetamol were 1.79 and 2.97 minutes, respectively, suggesting reduced analysis duration. The observed limits of detection for ceftaxime and paracetamol were 4.2×10-5 and 1.2×10-5 µg/mL, respectively, indicating a significant level of sensitivity in the approach. The approach was subsequently verified in accordance with the requirements set out by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the quantification of medicines in vial dosage form

Development and Testing of the Miniaturized Pavement Pressuremeter for Use in Unbound Pavement Layers

BDV 28 977-04A small diameter pressuremeter (SDPMT) was developed, tested and used in numerous correlations at four testing sites on and near the campus of the Florida Institute of Technology. SDPMT probes were inserted directly in to the holes made with the drive pin used during nuclear density testing. SDPMT testing produced lift-off, and limit pressures along with elastic moduli that were all correlated to PENCEL PMT data. SDPMT data was acquired digitally using two types of strain-controlled tests; a conventional incremental volume injection test and a continuous volume injection test. Two probe lengths were developed and tested, one being 6-inches and a second being 12-inches long, to enable either 6- or 12-inch unbound pavement layers to be tested. Data from 159 SDPMT tests were correlated to stiffnesses from 96 Clegg Impact, and 141 Lightweight Deflectometer (LWD) tests, plus 107 dry densities from nuclear density testing. Finite element analyses were conducted so that SDPMT predicted deflections could be compared to LWD measured deflections at all four sites. The SDPMT probes that were developed can be used and repaired much more efficiently than other PMT probes, making them very desirable. The continuous volume injection testing with data acquisition, using the Automated PMT software (APMT) was completed in less than a minute, making it a very useful engineering tool. The correlations showed that both SDPMT stiffness and strength compare well to Clegg and LWD stiffnesses. They also showed a very strong correlation exists between the SDPMT strength and stiffness from the 12-inch SDPMT probe during incremental volume testing. The 12-inch SDPMT tests produced slightly more consistent results than the 6-inch SDPMT tests. The LWD measured and finite element SDPMT predicted deflections were similar, falling within about 10%. In summary, both the incremental and continuous volume injection process for the 6-and 12-inch SDPMT were proven to be useful. These new pressuremeters are recommended for use in conjunction with nuclear density test data to thoroughly categorize the strength-stiffness and density information along any unbound pavement roadway section

Review: Instrumental analytical techniques for evaluating some anti-infective drugs in pharmaceutical products and biological fluids

Quality and safety of drugs are essential for effective therapeutic performance. Impurities can compromise the quality and safety of drugs, and they can arise during various stages of the development, production, storage and even transportation process. Therefore, detecting and measuring the number of impurities with high accuracy in drugs is necessary to ensure the quality and safety of drugs and to reduce the risks associated with taking them. Detecting and measuring impurities in drugs require advanced analytical techniques. The review highpoints a variety of analytical chemistry techniques include spectrophotometric and chromatographic methods in addition to some electrochemistry methods that have been applied for determination of certain drugs such as Ciprofloxacin, Metronidazole, Hydroxychloroquine and Cefotaxime in their pure form, combined form with other drugs, combined form with degradation products, and in biological fluids

Continuous Requirement for the Clr4 Complex But Not RNAi for Centromeric Heterochromatin Assembly in Fission Yeast Harboring a Disrupted RITS Complex

Formation of centromeric heterochromatin in fission yeast requires the combined action of chromatin modifying enzymes and small RNAs derived from centromeric transcripts. Positive feedback mechanisms that link the RNAi pathway and the Clr4/Suv39h1 histone H3K9 methyltransferase complex (Clr-C) result in requirements for H3K9 methylation for full siRNA production and for siRNA production to achieve full histone methylation. Nonetheless, it has been proposed that the Argonaute protein, Ago1, is the key initial trigger for heterochromatin assembly via its association with Dicer-independent “priRNAs.” The RITS complex physically links Ago1 and the H3-K9me binding protein Chp1. Here we exploit an assay for heterochromatin assembly in which loss of silencing by deletion of RNAi or Clr-C components can be reversed by re-introduction of the deleted gene. We showed previously that a mutant version of the RITS complex (Tas3WG) that biochemically separates Ago1 from Chp1 and Tas3 proteins permits maintenance of heterochromatin, but prevents its formation when Clr4 is removed and re-introduced. Here we show that the block occurs with mutants in Clr-C, but not mutants in the RNAi pathway. Thus, Clr-C components, but not RNAi factors, play a more critical role in assembly when the integrity of RITS is disrupted. Consistent with previous reports, cells lacking Clr-C components completely lack H3K9me2 on centromeric DNA repeats, whereas RNAi pathway mutants accumulate low levels of H3K9me2. Further supporting the existence of RNAi–independent mechanisms for establishment of centromeric heterochromatin, overexpression of clr4+ in clr4Δago1Δ cells results in some de novo H3K9me2 accumulation at centromeres. These findings and our observation that ago1Δ and dcr1Δ mutants display indistinguishable low levels of H3K9me2 (in contrast to a previous report) challenge the model that priRNAs trigger heterochromatin formation. Instead, our results indicate that RNAi cooperates with RNAi–independent factors in the assembly of heterochromatin

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries