Review of Available Methods for Evaluation of Soil Sensitivity for Seismic Design

Sensitivity describes the effect of soil disturbance/remoulding on shear strength. Cyclic stresses during seismic events may lead to varying levels of disturbance and remoulding of brittle sensitive clays. The Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual (CFEM) recommends site-specific evaluation of the seismic hazard, including site response analysis, for sites that have quick or highly sensitive clays. Different levels of soil sensitivity have been shown in different versions of CFEM and their errata. The current manual CFEM (2006) classifies clay as highly sensitive if its sensitivity is greater than 40 (classified as Class F soil). However, there is considerable variation within the literature with respect to descriptions of sensitivity and more importantly, the related seismic risks that different soil states represent. This can have a significant impact on determination of the appropriate seismic forces on supported structures according to the seismic provisions of the current National Building Code of Canada, NBCC (2005). This paper reviews the different methods used to evaluate soil sensitivity and the sensitivity classifications in the literature. Based on this review, suggestions are provided for improvements of this approach to seismic design

Magnetic resonance imaging of head and neck vascular anomalies: pearls and pitfalls

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe typical MRI features of the head and neck vascular anomalies and the possible diagnostic pitfalls.Patients and methods: Patients with extracranial vascular anomalies of the head and neck, who underwent MRI examinations between January 2013 and January 2016, were included in the study. Precontrast and postcontrast T1-WI,T2-WI, with and without fat saturation were acquired. When indicated, a noncontrast MR angiography was performed. Dynamic postcontrast MRI techniques were available in six children.Results: The study included 33 patients (age ranged from 10 to 20 years, mean: 49 months). MRI confirmed the clinical diagnosis in equivocal cases, and provided proper determination of lesion extension and/or associated intracranial anomalies. The study included 10 cases of vascular tumors (hemangioma), whereas the remaining 23 cases had the diagnosis of vascular malformations (one patient with arteriovenous malformation, one with capillary malformation, seven with venous, nine with macrocystic lymphatic, and five with microcystic lymphatic malformations).Conclusion: Vascular anomalies in the head and neck are mostly diagnosed on clinical basis; however, when the history is uncertain or the diagnosis is equivocal, a well-tailored MR examination can be a single valuable diagnostic tool providing structural and functional information.Keywords: children, head and neck, hemangioma, lymphatic malformation, magnetic resonance angiography, venous malformatio

Study of the level of stem cell factor in patients with bronchial asthma

Aim of the work: The aim of this study was to assess serum level of stem cell factor in asthmatic patients and its relation to disease severity. Methods: This case control study was carried out on 70 individuals classified into 20 healthy control subjects and 50 asthmatic patients that were admitted in Chest Department, Benha university hospital in the period between March 2013 and December 2014. Asthma diagnosis (history and PFT) and assessment of its severity were conducted according to the guidelines of Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA, 2011). Eosinophil percentage in the sputum of asthmatic patients was done. Measurement of stem cell factor (SCF) in the sera was done by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. Results: Our results found a statistically significant difference (P value < 0.001) between asthmatic patients and control subjects in the mean values of SCF (1192.34 ± 789.89 versus 326.29 ± 274.38 respectively). There was a statistically significant difference (P value = 0.001) between eosinophilic and non eosinophilic phenotype (1457.77 ± 648.83 versus 130.59 ± 83.27 respectively). There was a statistically significant difference in the level of SCF among different degrees of asthma severity (P = 0.001). Also, there was a significant negative correlation (r = −0.288) between SCF levels and FEV1% and significant positive correlation between SCF levels and sputum (r = 0.712) and blood (r = 0.548) eosinophils% in asthmatic patients. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the serum level of SCF was higher in asthmatic patients especially among eosinophilic phenotype than among healthy control subjects. Also there was a significant association between higher SCF and higher levels of asthma severity, sputum and blood eosinophil%

Conus vexillum venom induces oxidative stress in Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma cells: an insight into the mechanism of induction

BACKGROUND: It is estimated that venoms of marine cone snails (genus Conus) contain more than 100,000 different small peptides with a wide range of pharmacological and biological actions. Some of these peptides were developed into potential therapeutic agents and as molecular tools to understand biological functions of nervous and cardiovascular systems. In this study we examined the cytotoxic and anticancer properties of the marine vermivorous cone snail Conus vexillum (collected from Hurgada and Sharm El-Shaikh, Red Sea, Egypt) and suggest the possible mechanisms involved. The in vitro cytotoxic effects of Conus venom were assessed against Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells. RESULTS: Conus venom treatment resulted in concentration-dependent cytotoxicity as indicated by a lactate dehydrogenase leakage assay. Apoptotic effects were measured in vivo by measuring levels of reactive oxygen species and oxidative defense agents in albino mice injected with EAC cells. Conus venom (1.25 mg/kg) induced a significant increase (p < 0.05) in several oxidative stress biomarkers (lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyl content and reactive nitrogen intermediates) of EAC cells after 3, 6, 9 and 12 hours of venom injection. Conus venom significantly reduced (p < 0.05) the activities of oxidative defense enzymes (catalase and superoxide dismutase) as well as the total antioxidant capacity of EAC cells, as evidenced by lowered levels of reduced glutathione. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate the cytotoxic potential of C. vexillum venom by inducing oxidative stress mediated mechanisms in tumor cells and suggest that the venom contains novel molecules with potential anticancer activity

Emergence and genetic analysis of variant pathogenic 4/91 (serotype 793/B) infectious bronchitis virus in Egypt during 2019

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) affects both vaccinated and unvaccinated flocks worldwide, with a significant impact on the poultry industry. The aim of the present study is to characterize an emerging variant pathogenic IBV originating from field outbreaks in vaccinated Egyptian layer flock. Samples were collected from disease-suspected flock with a history of administration of live and inactivated IBV vaccines (Ma5 type). Virus propagation in embryonated chicken eggs (ECEs), after three successive passages, revealed typical IBV lesions such as curling and dwarfism. The reported isolate was identified by a real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assay targeting nucleocapsid (N) gene and, further characterized by full-length spike (S1) gene sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis revealed clustering of the isolated virus within 4/91 genotype of GI-13 lineage. Deduced amino acid sequences identity revealed 75-76% and 88-90% similarity with the currently used classic (H120, Ma5, and M41) and variant vaccine strains (4/91 and CR88) in Egypt, respectively. Recombination analysis gave an evidence for distinct patterns of origin for the studied isolate providing another example of intra-genotypic recombination among IBVs and the first example of recombination within the GI-13 lineage in the Egyptian field. The studied isolate (IBV/CK/EG/Fadllah-10/2019) emerged as a result of recombination between the variant group (Egy/var I genotype, GI-23 lineage) as a major parent and the CR88 variant vaccine strain (4/91 genotype, GI-13 lineage) as minor parent. Our data suggest that both mutation and recombination may be contributing to the emergence of IBV variants which ascertain the importance of disease monitoring in vaccinated flocks as well as re-appropriation for the current vaccine strategies

Investigating the current environmental situation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region during the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic : urban vs. rural context

Background Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a massive global socio-economic tragedy that has impacted the ecosystem. This paper aims to contextualize urban and rural environmental situations during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. Results An online survey was conducted, 6770 participants were included in the final analysis, and 64% were females. The majority of the participants were urban citizens (74%). Over 50% of the urban residents significantly (p &lt; 0.001) reported a reduction in noise, gathering in tourist areas, and gathering in malls and restaurants. Concerning the pollutants, most urban and rural areas have reported an increase in masks thrown in streets (69.49% vs. 73.22%, resp.; p = 0.003). Plastic bags and hospital waste also increased significantly with the same p-value of &lt; 0.001 in urban areas compared with rural ones. The multifactorial logistic model for urban resident predictors achieved acceptable discrimination (AUROC = 0.633) according to age, crowdedness, noise and few pollutants. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic had a beneficial impact on the environment and at the same time, various challenges regarding plastic and medical wastes are rising which requires environmental interventions