Exploring the Absence of a Black Lives Matter Movement in Egypt

Movements combating racial segregation have existed for centuries, persisting even through tough circumstances such as a global pandemic. The process of examining calls for racial equality throughout history, such as the remarkable 1960s American Civil Rights and the 21st century BLM movements, can unravel the fundamental elements behind the success of a movement. The presence of audible black voices, massive media coverage and social awareness have proven to be essential in the upheaval of a movement. The fact that Egypt lacks black celebrities, uncensored media and any affiliation to dark-skinned individuals and/or Africans, helps to perpetuate the injustice suffered by the estimated 3 million black African refugees in Egypt. This paper intends to analyze the possible factors which lead to a successful movement through a comparative study of Egypt and the U.S. in an attempt to understand racial injustice and the absence of BLM in Egypt

Water Conflicts and Cooperation: a Media Handbook

This handbook is for journalists, researchers and policy makers that are interested in working on science communication for water peace and cooperation and that are searching for ideas and inspiration. It features descriptions and reflections of the activities (action research, training modules, joint workshops, reporting grants, podcast, online photo campaign...) implemented by Open Water Diplomacy project in the Nile basin, and in the new international basins identified under the top-up activities on capacity development, as well as activities in the field of media and water diplomacy implemented by other actors. It will be an online open access repository of case studies and best practices in the field of journalism and science communication for water peace and cooperation

Activating green spaces in Nasr City, Cairo: guidelines for vitalizing social life in residential green public space

Ponència presentada a: Session 9: Diseño e Historia (modernidad y tradición) / Design and History (modernity and tradition

Usefulness of the Global Echo-Doppler Score (GEDS) in selection of patients with mitral stenosis for percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty

Background: We aimed to create a novel modified score by combining anatomic and hemodynamic Doppler-echocardiographic measures for selection of suitable patients with mitral stenosis for percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV) and its impact in prediction of outcome. Methods: 262 consecutive patients candidate for PBMV were enrolled. Wilkins score and a global score based on anatomical parameters (Wilkins score, posterior to anterior mitral leaflet ratio [PMVL/AMVL ratio]; left atrial diameter [LAD]) and hemodynamic parameters (mitral regurgitation [MR]; atrioventricular compliance [CN]; systolic pulmonary artery pressure [SPAP]) were assessed. Patients were classified into two groups according to their outcomes. Results: Global Echo-Doppler Score (GEDS) for patients with favorable vs. those with unfavorable outcomes was (5.0 ± 0.9 vs. 8.9 ± 1.3; p < 0.001). Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of a GEDS ≥ 7 for prediction of cardiac events were 97.5%, 88%, and 97.5%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.95 (p < 0.001). The correlation coefficient was 0.852 (p < 0.0001) for GEDS 0.531 (p < 0.002), for Wilkins score 0.315 (p < 0.02), for PMVL/AMVL 0.460 (p < 0.01), for LAD; MR: Pre-PBMV (r = 0.348, p < 0.03); CN [mL/mm Hg] (r = 0.579, p < 0.01) and SPAP [mm Hg] (r = 0.499, p < 0.01). In the regression analysis, GEDS, Wilkins score, and LAD were entered into the model. The regression coefficient (r = 0.695) of GEDS was much higher than those of the other 2 factors. Conclusions: GEDS is an independent predictor of PBMV success and clinical outcome and may be formulated in a scoring system that would help to identify the proper timing and best candidates for PBMV

The ecacy of an oxidation pond in mineralizing some industrial waste products with special reference to¯uorene degradation: a case study

Abstract The ecacy of the oxidation pond on the outskirts of the 10th of Ramadan, the main industrial city, in Egypt was examined. Samples of wastewater collected from the inlet and the outlet were screened for some priority pollutants. Acenaphthene and¯uor-ene were the most frequently detected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, while dimethyl phthalate was the most frequently detected phthalate ester. The spectrum of pollutants, their concentrations and frequencies were similar in the inlet and the outlet, indicating an inferior mineralization capability of the pond. Several degradative bacterial strains were isolated from the pond and grown on M56 minimal media supplemented with dierent pollutants as the carbon source. The ecacy of pure and mixed cultures to break down¯uorene, the most frequently detected pollutant was examined. Fluorene degradation was fast in the ®rst 10 days, then followed by a slow phase. Mixed culture had a higher rate of¯uorene degradation in comparison to pure cultures. High performance liquid chromatography analysis of¯uorene degradation showed three degradative metabolites. But GC/MS analysis detected one compound, identi®ed as acetamide. The present work has indicated the poor ecacy of the pond. Lack of primary treatment of industrial euent at factory level, coupled with shock loads of toxicants that may damage the microorganisms and their degradative capabilities are presumably main factors behind such inferior performance. Moreover, the type of pollutants discharged into the pond tend to¯uctuate and change depending on the rate from the factories discharge and work shifts. Such irregular feeding of persistent pollutants may have led to a wash out of specialized strains of bacteria capable to degrade such persistent pollutants.

POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION OF GROUNDWATER IN THE WORLD HERITAGE SITE OF SAINT KATHERINE PROTECTORATE, EGYPT

ABSTRACT Groundwater is the main water source for St. Katherine city inhabitants, South Sinai. The rapid population growth, high levels of tourism and poor sewage waste disposal (at least for the foreseeable future) in St. Katherine have resulted in potential contamination of groundwater and subsequent high risk to human health. To evaluate the safety of well water for human use in St. Katherine, water samples were collected from 14 different wells covering various inhabited locations in the area. These samples were subjected to extensive physical, chemical and microbiological analysis. Nitrate values of the majority of the studied wells water exceeded the accepted limits recommended by the Egyptian environmental legislations and the World Health Organization for drinking water standards. Counts of faecal indicators (faecal coliform and faecal streptococci) ranged between 2-142 cfu/100ml in wells. Bacterial pathogens including Salmonella, Shigella and Vibrio spp. were detectable in all wells, indicating heavy contamination of the groundwater with domestic sewage. We discuss the impact of the geological structure of the aquifers and human activities on the safety of groundwater for human use in St. Katherine, as well as possible solutions

Maximizing irrigation water use and crop productivity under mulching with geotextile for lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata)

One of the fields that will be negatively impacted by climate change is agriculture, particularly in developing countries. Most crops are affected when grown under limited water supplies as it produces low productivity, especially during the late growing stage. For this reason, it is important to improve irrigation efficiency and crop yield. Two successive seasons were conducted during 2021 and 2022 to test the action of mulching types on iceberg lettuce plants (Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata) with irrigation stress. In the sandy loam soil conditions of the El Sharkia Governorate in Belbeis, Egypt, iceberg lettuce plants were grown with different types of mulching (no mulching, white geotextile sheet, and black plastic sheet) under varying levels of water (100, 80, and 60% of ETc, or evapotranspiration). Results showed that mulching the soil surface with plastic and geotextile produced the highest data of soil moisture content inside the root zoon. In conclusion, compared to the control (no mulching), all mulching types treatments result in a significant increase in yield parameters. In this study, however, mulching with white geotextile sheets and requiring 100% ETc irrigation proved to be the statistically most effective treatment, while 80% ETc combined with white geotextile sheet get values were statistically equal to the results with the control (100% ETc without mulching). It is possible to achieve results similar yield to the control or better, while saving an amount of irrigation water of up to 20% by using ETo 80 % combined with mulching with white geotextile sheet without any negative effect on the plant. However, it can be recommended to use geotextile compared to black plastic, as plastic requires more time to degrade, which will be harmful to the environment

Detection of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 in blood cultures from a patient treated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitor

A 65-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with a temperature of 39.3 C, cough, sputum, and pharyngeal discomfort that had persisted for 3 days. He had been treated with methotrexate and adalimumab (a tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α] inhibitor) for rheumatoid arthritis for 2 years, and he had also been treated with S-1 (tegafur, gimeracil, and oteracil potassium) for pancreatic metastasis of gastric cancer for 2 months. Regardless of the underlying pathologies, his general condition was good and he had worked as an electrician until 2 days before admission. However, his appetite had suddenly decreased from the day before admission, and high fever and hypoxia were also evident upon admission. A chest X-ray and computed tomography scan revealed left pleural effusion and consolidation in both lungs. The pneumonia severity index score was 165 and the risk class was V. Accordingly, we started to treat the pneumonia with a combination of levofloxacin and meropenem. Thereafter, we received positive urinary antigen test findings for Legionella pneumophila. After hospitalization, hypoxia was progressed and hypotension was emerged. Despite the application of appropriate antibiotics, vasopressors, and oxygenation, the patient died 8 h after admission. Even after his death, blood cultures were continued to consider the possibility of bacterial co-infection. Although no bacteria were detected from blood cultures, Gimenez staining revealed pink bacteria in blood culture fluids. Subsequent blood fluid culture in selective medium revealed L. pneumophila serogroup 1. Recently, TNF-α inhibitors have been described as a risk factor for Legionnaires\u27 disease. In consideration of the increased frequency of TNF-α inhibitors, we may need to recognize anew that L. pneumophila might be a pathogen of severe community-acquired pneumonia

Activating green spaces in Nasr City, Cairo: guidelines for vitalizing social life in residential green public space

Ponència presentada a: Session 9: Diseño e Historia (modernidad y tradición) / Design and History (modernity and tradition