An Integrated Condition Assessment Model for Educational Buildings Using BIM

Building facilities compose a major part of any urban infrastructure. Despite their considerable economic, cultural and/or historic importance, several studies have shown that many buildings are sick, deteriorating and a major source of pollution. Maintaining a building is essential to keep it performing and functioning for a longer period of time as well as providing better quality of life for building occupants. Despite the importance of the condition assessment (CA) stage in the asset management process, literature review reveals that there is no building condition assessment framework that considers both physical and environmental conditions. Schools and educational facilities in Canada, which comprise a major component of the non-residential buildings sector, has passed 51% of their useful service life The primary objective of this research is to develop an Integrated Condition Assessment Model for Educational Buildings that considers both building physical and environmental conditions. This model will assist owners and facility managers in the condition assessment phase during the asset management process. As buildings are composed of spaces; this proposed model uses “space” as the principal element of evaluation. The Multi Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) is used to calculate the physical and environmental conditions of each space, and the K-mean clustering is conducted to calculate the integrated condition of each one. Data are collected from experts via questionnaires to assign relative weights to models’ attributes using both the Analytical Network Process (ANP) and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) techniques. The proposed methodology upgrades the use of an object-oriented Building Information Model (BIM) so that it can be used as a platform and an advanced tool for storing, exchanging, and transferring assessment data inputs as well as serving in the assessment process. Integrated Condition Assessment model for Buildings (ICAB) is the developed automated tool that integrates with Revit© 2011. This integration allows the BIM model to be used as the data source and to provide any required graphical representation. The model is implemented and tested using data collected from experts and from field measurements taken from an educational building in Montreal. Finally, the model was validated by experts working in the facilities management field and they acknowledged having good potentials

Effect of four irrigation solutions on the intraocular pressure and total bacterial count of the normal eye in dogs

There are numerous agents that have been used for irrigation of the ocular tissue from attached foreign bodies, inflammatory exudate and microorganisms. For evaluation of four agents of these irrigation solutions, sixteen clinically healthy dogs of both sexes were used in this study. The dogs were allocated into four equal groups. The right eye of dogs for each group was irrigated 3 times daily for three successive days. The groups were irrigated as following: The first group: ringer’s lactate, the second group: normal saline 0.9%, the third group: boric acid 2% and sodium bicarbonate 1% was used for the fourth group. The left eye was considered control one. The results revealed that the four solutions did not cause any obvious alteration of the eyes and change the intraocular pressure (IOP). According to their effects on the total bacterial count, the four irrigation solutions had not any significant effect. It could be concluded that all of these agents may be used for irrigation of the intact eye and removal of the attached exudate and foreign bodies

POTENTIALITY OF USING A. PINNATA TO BIOREMEDIATE DIFFERENT HEAVY METALS FROM POLLUTED DRAINING WATER

Azolla pinnata is a small aquatic fern which considered as a multipurpose organism. It isused in bioremediation to remove heavy metals from polluted draining waters. In view of its potentiality, Azolla pinnata were tested for their growth on different media (Yoshida, peat moss, and Soil media) to select the best medium for the growth of Azolla. Then the best medium was examined for the potentiality of Azolla to withstand a different concentration of different heavy metals. Yoshida medium was the most suitable medium, as it recorded the highest significant records in fresh and dry weight, being 25.38 and 1.69 g/ pot respectively, the doubling time was 5.43 days, NPK% being 3.87, 0.85 and 1.95% respectively and nitrogenase activity being 14.32 μmol C2H4/ g dry weight. / hr). The fresh and dry weight of Azolla exposed to Pb+2,Co+2 or Cu+2, was found to be increased by increasing the concentration of the metals from 5 to 35 ppm/liter, then they decreased when the fern exposed to 45 ppm/liter for all of them. While, doubling time decreased gradually by increasing the concentration of Pb+2 , Co+2  orCu+2 from 5 to 35 ppm/liter and started to increase by increasing the concentration of Pb+2 to 45 ppm/liter in the medium

Right heart thrombus-in-transit with pulmonary embolism in a patient with primary hypercoagulable state

A 25 year-old female with a history of Caesarian section ten weeks ago presented with symptoms suggestive of pulmonary embolism. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a free- -floating large thrombus traversing the right atrial cavity. Transesophageal echocardiography confirmed the presence of an unattached thrombus that originated from the most proximal part of the inferior vena cava. Multi-slice computed tomography of the chest and abdomen revealed the thrombus to start from the intra-hepatic part of the inferior vena cava and extend through the right atrium. It also demonstrated multiple thrombi in the pulmonary vasculature, the largest being in the right main pulmonary artery and its lower lobe branch. The patient was triaged for surgical embolectomy under cardio-pulmonary bypass. Follow-up trans-thoracic and transesophageal echocardiography confirmed adequate removal of the thrombus. By genetic examination, she proved to have factor V ’Leiden’ gene and two thrombophilia genes, all of which were positive in the heterozygous state. She had also a high serum homocysteine. (Cardiol J 2010; 17, 4: 408-411

GROWTH, YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENT OF INOCULATED CHICKPEA AND FABA BEAN PLANTS AS AFFECTED BY USING METHYLOTROPHIC BACTERIA

Two pot experiments were performed in Giza research station, AgriculturalResearch Center (ARC) using 2 isolates of Pink-Pigmented FacultativelyMethylotrophic bacteria (PPFMs) originated from chickpea and Faba bean. Foliarapplication with PPFM isolates were conjugated with specific rhizobial inoculumand N-fertilization (15 Kg N Fed-1). Nodulation status, nitrogen fixation and growthyield and yield component were recorded. Results clearly indicated that Chickpeawas superior in its response to foliar application with PPFM.C. As it gave higherrecords of number and dry weight of nodules, dry matter and N-content of plants ascompared to Faba bean. A field experiment was also conducted in sandy loam soil atSouth EL-Tahreer province to investigate the effect of foliar application withPPFM.C strain + specific Rhizobia and N-fertilization on nodulation, growth andyield of chickpea legume plants. Results indicated that foliar application withPPFM.C in the presence of specific rhizobial inoculation scored significant increasesin economic turnover of chickpea in the range of 21-32% as compared to Nfertilizationat rate 50 Kg N Fed-1. Foliar application with 5 L Fed-1 in the presenceof 15 Kg N Fed-1 and specific rhizobial inoculation led to an increase of 518 kg fed -1productivity of seed yield , with economic turnover of 2491 L.E

REUSE OF WASTE DRAINAGE WATER AFTER ITS TREATMENT USING PGPRS TO IRRIGATE SOME HORTICULTURAL CROPS

Natural sources of water are limited in Egypt. The rapidly growing populations necessitate continuous expansion of the cultivated area. This means an increase of the gap between the demands of water for irrigation and the limited water supply. Looking for other sources such as low quality water like (industrial effluent, drainage and sewage) must be used in irrigation of some garden and wood plants. This investigation was conducted on agricultural drainage wastewater from El Mohete drain (Marioteya Canal) west of Cairo; the samples were collected from different places during (Summer and Winter seasons). The wastewater contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms, the excess of fertilizers (inorganic & organic), heavy metals, and the residuals of pesticides. Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) could remediate the wastewater as biological bioremediation to remove some pollutants such as pathogenic microorganisms, heavy metals and pesticides. Chemical remediation was used as nitrification inhibitor to stop transformation of ammonia to nitrate. This work was conducted to study the ability of PGPR strains e.g. Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus subtillis, Bacillus circulans, Paenibacillus polymyxa, Pseudomonas floresense, Serratia sp. and Azotobacter chroococcum 5, 9 and 23 to treat the drainage water for irrigation the Mentha viridis cv. and Gladiolas grandiflorus cv. plants.                 Two pot experiments were conducted in greenhouse. The treatments were applied as follows; Natural water, treated water and drainage water to irrigate the plant. Use the PGPR as inoculants and thiourea as nitrification inhibitor, Heavy metal treated was (Copper, Cobalt, Zinc, Cadmium and Mercury) the result showed us heavy metals removal by PGPR from drainage water. The characterizations of PGPRs as shown in the obtained results are they could enhance plant growth by using their own metabolism (solublizing phosphate, producing hormones or fixing nitrogen) as well as correlation of them with the potenit of effects on the growth of plants in unfavorable conditions in order to improve the efficiency of phytoremdiation of contarinated soils. The removal of heavy metals and the elimination of pesticides residues were markedly noticed in this investigation. Results also confirmed the ability of PGPRs in suppressing the effect of pathogenic bacteria like Salmonellasp and E.coli. These abilities are of great importance in terms of plant and soil health. Consequently, the role of PGPRs bacteria associated with plant rhizosphere in remediation of water and soil contaminations due to its biochemical activity and thus, stimulate plant growth is a great important subject in phytoremediation process nowadays

ISOLATION, PURIFICATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF SOME MICROORGANISMS PRODUCE PLANT GROWTH PROMOTING SUBSTANCES (METHYLOTROPHIC BACTERIA)

Recently, the potential economical importance of the methylotrophic bacteria encouraged the isolation of this group. In the present study five Egyptian isolates were obtained from green leaves surface of legume plants named PPFM.C (ChickPea), PPFM.Ph (Common bean), PPFM.F (Faba bean), PPFM.P (Peanut) and PPFM.S (Soybean) ,to study their general characters which belonging to  methylotrophic bacteria. Morphological studies indicate that all isolates were short rods, gram negative and motile. All Physiological studies to the isolates gave the same results except PPFM.F which could not grow in peptone medium. All isolates were sensitive to Kanamycin but they were resistant to Erythromycin. There was a great range in the ability of the isolates to grow on different sodium chloride concentrations indicating that PPFM.Ph grew well in 5 % sodium chloride, and they were able to excrete and produce cytokinin. Molecular biology studies indicated that there was a great similarity between PPFM.C and PPFM.Ph (99.34%). Identification was carried out to the5 isolates, PPFM.F may be related to Methylobacterium mesophilicum, PPFM.P may be related to M. fujisawaense and PPFM.Ph, PPFM.C and PPFM.S were related to M. radiotolerans

The combining ability for grain yield and some related characteristics in rice (Oryza sativa L.) under normal and water stress conditions

Drought is considered a major threat to rice production. This study aimed to determine the effects of drought stress on the estimates of heterosis and the combining ability of rice genotypes for the number of days to 50% heading, plant height, number of panicles per plant, panicle length, number of filled grains per panicle, and grain yield per plant. Field experiments were conducted at the Rice Research and Training Center, Kafr El Sheikh, Egypt, during the rice-growing season in 2018 and 2019. Eight rice genotypes (Giza178, Giza179, Sakha106, Sakha107, Sakha108, WAB1573, NERICA4, and IET1444) were crossed in a half-diallel cross in the rice-growing season in 2018, which yielded a wide range of variability in numerous agronomic traits and drought tolerance measurements. In 2019, these parents and their 28 F1 crosses were produced by employing a three-replication randomized complete block design under normal and water stress conditions. The results showed remarkable differences across the studied genotypes under normal and water stress conditions. Under both conditions, Sakha107 was the best general combiner for earliness and short stature. Giza179 and Sakha108 were the best general combiners for grain yield per plant and one or more of its characteristics. Furthermore, in both normal and water stress conditions, Giza179 exhibited the highest general combining ability effects for all attributes that were evaluated. Under normal and water stress conditions, the Giza179 × Sakha107 cross demonstrated substantial and desirable specific combining ability effects on all the examined traits, which suggested that it could be considered for use in rice hybrid breeding programs. Therefore, we recommend that these vital indirect selection criteria to be considered for improving rice grain yield under drought conditions