Assessing the Effectiveness of an Integrated Speed Management Plan on Highways

Manned speed enforcement has long been used as a safety measure to improve drivers' compliance with posted speed limits on highways. The sustainable presence of police squads at high-risk locations is key to the successful implementation of an enforcement program and is usually supported by other measures, such as educational campaigns, messages, and warnings. The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an integrated speed management plan that is focused on manned traffic enforcement at three highway locations near the City of Leduc, Canada. Baseline speed data was collected and used to develop an enforcement deployment schedule. Following a public educational and engagement program, the enforcement plan was implemented. A detailed analysis was conducted for the speed data before, during, and after manned enforcement operations. To account for potential confounding factors, the evaluation method utilized a control site to correct for trends and other effects. The results showed that there was a statistically significant reduction in the average speed of vehicles that ranged from 1.14 to 8.96 km/h while the number of speed violations dropped by up to 25.5% at enforcement locations. Overall, the results from this study demonstrated that implementing an integrated speed management program, with manned enforcement at its core, has a high potential to improve safety by improving compliance, reducing the number of violations, and decreasing the average speeds on highways. The sustained manned enforcement is expected to increase drivers’ compliance with speed limits, which should eventually reduce collisions and improve safety. Keywords: Vehicular Speed, Manned Enforcement, Speed Violations, Safety Impacts, Speed Limit Compliance DOI: 10.7176/CER/13-1-04 Publication date: January 31st 202

Functional Outcomes of Surgical Management for Spinal Epidural Masses in an Egyptian Tertiary Hospital

BACKGROUND: The spinal epidural space, covering the dural sac, is located along the posterior longitudinal ligament anteriorly, the ligamentum flavum and the periosteum of laminae posteriorly, and the pedicles of the spinal column by the intervertebral foramina containing their neural elements laterally. It could be affected variably by different types of diseases, either as primary lesions or as an extension from a disease process in the nearby tissues and organs. AIM: We aimed to present clinically and surgically patients with spinal epidural masses operated in the Neurosurgery Department of Cairo University Hospitals, Cairo, Egypt, along a time interval of one year. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, we analysed motor deficits, sensory deficits, and bowel and bladder dysfunction. We have performed decompressive laminectomy on 19 patients with spinal epidural masses together with mass excision as long as the tumour was accessible, with or without fixation. RESULTS: All patients were radiologically assessed by MRI over the affected side of the spine. D10 was the commonest site in our study to be affected in 10 cases of our participants (23%), followed by D5, D7, and D12 each of them was affected in 6 cases (14%), in another word spinal segments by order of frequency to be affected were dorsal followed by lumbar spine. All patients included in this study (100%) showed an obvious improvement as regard pain and tenderness. CONCLUSION: Surgical interventions have improved the quality of life for our patients with spinal epidural masses

Bone Height Changes of the Mandibular Edentulous Ridge in Screw Retained Versus Telescopic Restorations for Completely Edentulous Patients

AIM: This study was established to evaluate the amount of bone height changes in the posterior mandibular area of edentulous patients receiving screw-retained prostheses versus removable telescopic implant overdentures.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Every patient received four inter-foraminal implants regarding the mandibular arch and four anterior implants for the maxillary arch, computer guided surgical guides were planned for the insertion of the implants accurately with a flapless technique. Panoramic radiographs were made immediately, six months and twelve months after the prostheses` use proportional area and vertical measurements were applied to determine changes in the bone height of the posterior mandibular edentulous area.RESULTS: After twelve months, a statistically non-significant amount of bone resorption was reported for both groups.CONCLUSION: Up to the limitations of this study both treatment options the screw retained and telescopic overdenture can be used for rehabilitation of completely edentulous patients. These cases must be followed for a longer period to have a definite answer regarding their efficiency in the long run

Autism and Fragile X: Is There a Neurochemical Link?

BACKGROUND:Autism and Fragile X syndrome are intertwined. This study aimed at assessing Serotonin, Glutamate, and Gama Amino Butyric Acid (GABA) in autism and Fragile X syndrome patients and to detect possible neurochemical similarities between the 2 disorders that can be used as metabolic biomarkers.DESIGN AND METHODS: Eighty subjects divided into four groups, two diseased groups (20 male patients with Autism and 20 males with Fragile X syndrome) and two control groups (20 neurotypical male controls and 20 Down syndrome male patients) were included. Estimation of Serotonin, Glutamate and GABA were done using Enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), Tandem Mass Spectrometry and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively.RESULTS: Serotonin was, exclusively, significantly low in autistic children. GABA was significantly high in both autistic and Fragile X children only, but not in Down syndrome children. Glutamate was significantly high in children with autism, Fragile X and Down syndrome Children.CONCLUSIONS: Autism and Fragile X syndrome share some neurochemical similarities with regards of high Glutamate and GABA levels while Serotonin was significantly different in the 2 disorders and may be used a unique biomarker for autism

Biogenic silver nanoparticles eradicate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from the sputum of COVID-19 patients

In recent investigations, secondary bacterial infections were found to be strongly related to mortality in COVID-19 patients. In addition, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria played an important role in the series of bacterial infections that accompany infection in COVID-19. The objective of the present study was to investigate the ability of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles from strawberries (Fragaria ananassa L.) leaf extract without a chemical catalyst to inhibit Gram-negative P. aeruginosa and Gram-positive Staph aureus isolated from COVID-19 patient’s sputum. A wide range of measurements was performed on the synthesized AgNPs, including UV–vis, SEM, TEM, EDX, DLS, ζ -potential, XRD, and FTIR. UV-Visible spectral showed the absorbance at the wavelength 398 nm with an increase in the color intensity of the mixture after 8 h passed at the time of preparation confirming the high stability of the FA-AgNPs in the dark at room temperature. SEM and TEM measurements confirmed AgNPs with size ranges of ∼40-∼50 nm, whereas the DLS study confirmed their average hydrodynamic size as ∼53 nm. Furthermore, Ag NPs. EDX analysis showed the presence of the following elements: oxygen (40.46%), and silver (59.54%). Biosynthesized FA-AgNPs (ζ = −17.5 ± 3.1 mV) showed concentration-dependent antimicrobial activity for 48 h in both pathogenic strains. MTT tests showed concentration-dependent and line-specific effects of FA-AgNPs on cancer MCF-7 and normal liver WRL-68 cell cultures. According to the results, synthetic FA-AgNPs obtained through an environmentally friendly biological process are inexpensive and may inhibit the growth of bacteria isolated from COVID-19 patients

Die Anwendbarkeit von Zertifizierungssystemen bei der Verwirklichung von nachhaltiger Stadtentwicklung : ein Fokus auf Mobilität und städtischen Form

Urban sustainability is a lasting cyclic process that conditions continuous assessment, mounting new goals and iterative rectification rather a one-off task. Sustainability assessment allows policy makers, planners, and designers to make better-informed decisions. Ergo, assessment is conceived as one of the cornerstones of sustainability. Over the last decade, a number of urban sustainability certifications (USCs) (e.g., LEED for Neighborhood Development, BREEAM Communities) were released as spin-offs of building rating systems. USCs aim to assess and benchmark the sustainability of new urban developments and urban regeneration projects (in some cases) during their design and construction in a comprehensive (integrative) manner. In addition, they aim to standardize the assessment process of sustainability and allow the comparability of urban sustainability among different areas and projects. According to USCs, an achieved certification brings healthier and more sustainable environments, improves comfort, decreases lifetime costs, and increases occupancy rates and publicity. Such dynamics and claimed benefits should supposedly stimulate competitiveness towards sustainability and urge developers to certify their projects. However, some scholars see USCs as more of publicity tools with a little relevance to sustainability goals. USCs are witnessing a wide dissemination with new certifications being released and more developments becoming certified. In addition, USCs are evolving into international assessment tools. Currently, there are at least 24 USCs that certified hundreds of developments around the world. If USCs were to follow the success of building rating systems, thousands of developments could be certified within the coming decade. This accelerated dissemination and the increasing number of international USCs raise multiple questions regarding USCs and call for examining their assessment approach and criteria, in terms of rigor, sufficiency, viability, and relevance. To start with, sustainability on the scale of neighborhoods/communities is more complex and broad-ranging than at the building scale. This complexity is exacerbated by the fact that each neighborhood can have its own distinctive features because they emerge from different cultural and historical processes. In addition, urban sustainability has diverging regional concepts, and sustainability assessment has a pluralistic nature with multiple interpretations regarding many issues. In terms of the literature, studies related to USCs are still limited because they USCs are still in their formative years. And most of these studies is engrossed in performing comparative analyses between the basic features of USCs (e.g., benchmarks, themes, weighting,) while empirical studies that assess the relevance of USCs’ criteria to certain contexts or those aiming to scrutinize the assessment approach of USCs are scarce. Accordingly, this dissertation will focus on four prominent USCs (LEED For Neighborhood Development, BREEAM Communities, CASBEE for Urban Development, and Pearl Community Rating System) in order to examine a number of aspects regarding USCs in terms of their assessment approach and prescribed criteria. As USCs claim to be independent tools that can assess urban sustainability comprehensively and rigorously, this dissertation starts by assessing the rigor and independence of USCs though analyzing their assessment approach and some of their criteria. Then, while focusing only on sustainable transportation, the viability of the USCs’ prescribed criteria is assessed in relation to their spatial scope and size of certified developments, in addition to their relevance to different contexts, especially developing countries. Finally, an empirical analysis is conducted to assess the relevance of criteria related to compactness, street connectivity, and walking accessibility to already established formal areas in Cairo, Egypt, which is currently witnessing multiple projects of urban development and regeneration. The selection of already established areas rather than projects under developments is based on the fact that USCs urge developers to exceed the local norms and regulatory requirements to attain sustainability. Accordingly, the analysis uncovers the relevance of USCs to the local norms of Cairo. To perform the aforementioned analyses both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied. Results of the performed analyses show that the prescribed assessment measures of some of the USC’s criteria are insufficient to assess their earmarked phenomena, which in turn are oversimplified. Moreover, USCs highly depend on multifarious local references for sustainable planning which disagrees with their characterization as independent and international tools. In terms of sustainable transportation, the four USCs prescribed multiple measures for sustainable transportation, particularly in favor of active transportation and public transportation. However, they are insensitive to the realities of developing countries. In addition, the relatively small size of their citified developments attenuates the viability of some of their prescribed criteria. As for the empirical analyses made for Cairo, The assessed indicators of USCs were found to be generally lenient and irrelevant in Cairo’s context where the local norms outperformed many of the USCs thresholds. Moreover, some of the USCs criteria were inapplicable to assess certain local phenomena. All the aforementioned results confirm that the international scope of some USCs is more of a marketing strategy than a justified extrapolation of norms found in the USCs’ country of origin, at least in terms of urban form and transportation. In addition, USCs still require further improvement to increase the viability and sensitivity of their assessment approach even on the local level. Further research needs to be done to assess the viability and sensitivity of other themes within USCs to other contexts.Zum langfristigen Erreichen eines Zustandes städtischer Nachhaltigkeit bedarf es eines dauerhaften zyklischen Prozesses, der eine kontinuierliche Bewertung, die Erarbeitung neuer Ziele und eine iterative Berichtigung erfordert. Die Bewertung von Nachhaltigkeit, ermöglicht es Entscheidungsträgern, Planern und Designern, fundiertere Entscheidungen zu treffen. Folglich ist die Bewertung von Nachhaltigkeit als solche, als einer der Eckpfeiler der Nachhaltigkeit anzusehen. Im Laufe des letzten Jahrzehnts wurden eine Reihe von städtischen Nachhaltigkeitszertifikaten (USCs) (zB LEED for Neighborhood Development, BREEAM Communities) als Nebenprodukte von Gebäudebewertungssystemen entwickelt und veröffentlicht. Ziel dieser USC ist es, die Nachhaltigkeit neuer städtischer Entwicklungen und Stadterneuerungsprojekte – in einigen Fällen schon während ihrer Entwurfs- und Konstruktionsphase – umfassend zu bewerten und zu vergleichen. Darüber hinaus zielen sie darauf ab, den Bewertungsprozess der Nachhaltigkeit zu standardisieren und die Vergleichbarkeit der städtischen Nachhaltigkeit zwischen verschiedenen Bereichen und Projekten zu ermöglichen. Eine nach USC erfolgte Zertifizierung resultiert in gesünderen und nachhaltigeren Umgebungen, verbessert die Lebens- und Aufenthaltsqualität, verringert die Instandhaltungskosten und erhöht die Auslastung. Die aus den eben beschriebenen Vorteile sollten eigentlich in einer Dynamik resultieren, welche die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit in punkto Nachhaltigkeit fördern und somit Entwickler drängen müsste, ihre Projekte zu zertifizieren. Allerdings sehen einige Wissenschaftler USC mehr als Werbemittel, die in Bezug auf die Erreichung von Nachhaltigkeitszielen nur von wenig Relevanz sind. Nichtsdestotrotz ist bei den USC eine immer weitere Verbreitung und die Weiterentwicklung von Zertifizierungssystem zu beobachten. Auch werden immer mehr Bauvorhaben zertifiziert. Zusätzlich entwickeln sich USC zu internationalen Bewertungsinstrumenten. Derzeit existieren mindestens 24 USC , über die bereits Hunderte städtebaulicher Entwicklungsprojekte auf der ganzen Welt zertifiziert wurden. Wenn USC den Erfolg der Gebäudebewertungssysteme folgen, könnten in den kommenden zehn Jahren bereits Tausende städtebaulicher Entwicklungsprojekte zertifiziert worden sein. Diese beschleunigte Verbreitung und die zunehmende Anzahl internationaler USC werfen vielfältige Fragen in Bezug auf USC auf und legen nahe, dass die ihnen zu Grunde liegenden Bewertungsansätze und die angewandten Kriterien im Hinblick auf Strenge, Hinlänglichkeit, Durchführbarkeit und Relevanz zu prüfen wären. Die Bewertung der Nachhaltigkeit auf der Quartiers- bzw. Nachbarschaftsebene ist komplexer und breiter als auf Gebäudeebene. Diese Komplexität wird durch die Tatsache verschärft, dass jede Nachbarschaft ihre eigenen Besonderheiten aufweist, weil sie auch immer als ein Produkt sowohl unterschiedlicher kultureller als auch historischer Prozesse zu verstehen ist. Darüber hinaus liegen dem Begriff „Städtische Nachhaltigkeit“ auch unterschiedliche regionale Konzepte zu Grunde. Die Bewertung städtischer bzw. städtebaulicher Nachhaltigkeit hat ebenfalls eine pluralistische Natur mit mehreren Interpretationen in Bezug auf ihre verschiedenen Aspekte. Momentan ist in der wissenschaftlichen Literatur nur eine begrenzte Anzahl von Studien verfügbar, weil die Forschung im Zusammenhang mit USC sich noch in einem vergleichsweise frühen Stadium befindet. Die meisten verfügbaren Studien haben vergleichende Analysen der Grundeigenschaften von USC zum Thema (z.B. Maßstab, Themen und Gewichtung). Empirische Studien zur Relevanz oder Beurteilung von USC Kriterien in bestimmten Kontexten sind rar. Dementsprechend konzentriert sich diese Dissertation auf vier prominente USC. Diese sind: LEED For Neighborhood Development, BREEAM for Communities, CASBEE für Stadtentwicklung und Pearl, Community Rating System. Diese vier prominenten USC werden hinsichtlich ihres jeweiligen Bewertunsansatzes und der für die Bewertung herangezogenen Kriterien untersucht. Da USC vorgeben unabhängige, genaue Werkzeuge zur Erfassung städtebaulicher Nachhaltigkeit zu sein, ist es der Ausganspunkt der Dissertation zunächst die Unabhängigkeit und Genauigkeit von USC genauer zu betrachten. Dafür werden Bewertungsansatz und einige der für die Bewertung herangezogenen Kriterien untersucht. Anwendbarkeit und Eignung der verschiedenen USC und der für das jeweilige System vorgeschriebenen Kriterien wird am Beispiel des nachhaltigen Verkehrs in unterschiedlichen Kontexten überprüft, wobei städtebauliche Projekte in Entwicklungsländern hier schwerpunktmäßig betrachtet werden. Mit Hilfe einer empirischen Analyse am Beispiel existierender Nachbarschaften in Kairo soll die Relevanz von Kriterien der verschiedenen Systeme um Kompaktheit, Straßenkonnektivität und Fußgängerzugänglichkeit zu bereits etablierten formalen Gebieten in Kairo zu erfassen, bewertet werden. Der Grund für die Auswahl bereits etablierter Flächen und nicht neuer Entwicklungen ist, dass USC die Entwickler dazu verpflichten, die lokalen Normen und regulatorischen Anforderungen zu übertreffen, um Nachhaltigkeit zu erreichen. Dementsprechend zeigt die Analyse die Relevanz von USC angewandt auf die lokalen Normen Kairos. Zur Durchführung der vorgenannten Analysen wurden sowohl qualitative als auch quantitative Methoden angewandt. Die Ergebnisse der durchgeführten Analysen zeigen, dass einige Phänomene durch die Anwendung von USC zu stark generalisiert wurden und dass die vorgeschriebenen Bewertungsmaßnahmen unzureichend sind. Darüber hinaus hängen die USC in hohem Maße von lokaler Auslegung nachhaltiger Planung ab, was im Widerspruch zu ihrer Charakterisierung als unabhängige und internationale Instrumente steht. Die vier USC enthalten viele Bewertungsmaßnahmen für nachhaltigen Verkehr, insbesondere in Bezug auf aktive Mobilität und die öffentlichen Personennahverkehr. Diese sind jedoch ungeeignet, um die Gegebenheiten in Städten sich entwickelnder Länder zu erfassen und somit nicht einfach übertragbar. Darüber hinaus steht die relativ geringe räumliche Größe der zu zertifizierenden Einheiten der Anwendbarkeit einiger ihrer vorgeschriebenen Kriterien im Wege. Für die empirischen Analysen in Kairo kann festgehalten werden, dass sich die begutachteten Indikatoren im Allgemeinen als zu weich und als für den Kairoer Kontext ungeeignet herausgestellt haben. Ein Indiz dafür war zum Beispiel, dass die lokalen Normen viele der USC Schwellenwerte sogar übertroffen haben, d.h. lokal bereits deutlich strengere Richtlinien vorhanden waren. Außerdem waren einige der USC Kriterien nicht anwendbar, weshalb bestimmte lokale Phänomene nicht berücksichtigt bzw. beurteilt werden konnten. Alle oben genannten Ergebnisse bestätigen, dass die internationale Anwendung einiger USC eher in der angewandten Vermarktungsstrategie bergründet liegt, als in der zielgerichteten Weiterentwicklung von Kriterien im jeweiligen Ursprungsland für die Übertragbarkeit auf internationale Kontexte. Dies kann zumindest für den Städtebau und den Verkehr festgehalten werden. Es ist von Nöten, dass USC hinsichtlich ihrer Bewertungsansätze und Anwendbarkeit weiterentwickelt werden. Auch müssen weitere Untersuchungen durchgeführt werden, um die Anwendbarkeit der USC auf andere Themenkomplexe abschließend bewerten zu können

Lessons from a methanol poisoning outbreak in Egypt: Six case reports

International audienceBackground: Mass methanol poisonings are challenging, especially in regions with no preparedness, management guidelines and available antidotes.Case summary: Six Ukrainian patients were referred to our emergency department in Cairo, Egypt several hours after drinking an alcoholic beverage made of 70%-ethanol disinfectant bought from a local pharmacy. All patients presented with severe metabolic acidosis and visual impairments. Two were comatose. Management was based on the clinical features and chemistry tests due to deficient resources for methanol leveling. No antidote was administered due to fomepizole unavailability and the difficulties expected to obtain ethanol and safely administer it without concentration monitoring. One patient died from multiorgan failure, another developed blindness and the four other patients rapidly improved.Conclusion: This methanol poisoning outbreak strongly highlights the lack of safety from hazardous pharmaceuticals sold in pharmacies and limitations due to the lack of diagnostic testing, antidote availability and staff training in countries with limited-resources such as Egypt

Drivers of urban sprawl in two large Middle-eastern countries: literature on Iran and Egypt

This paper reviews the relevant literature of Iran and Egypt as two large countries of the region and concludes that four phenomena are common between the two countries and are accountable for sprawling, namely (1) wholesale land selling to the lower economic class, (2) deficiencies of planning systems in controlling development plans, (3) fast and uncontrolled increase in urban population, and (4) rural-urban migration. These drivers are categorized in two classes of demographic and planning-related trends. Besides, there is a number of peculiar trends that have nationwide causes but are uncommon in Iran and Egypt. The authors of this paper consider that the demographic drivers or sprawl addressed by the Middle Eastern scholars are not actual causes but only consequences, or there is a correlation between the demographic factors and sprawl. More in-depth historical and socioeconomic studies are needed to find the associations between sprawl and unstudied phenomena like change in technologies, culture, and lifestyle

Carboxymethyl Cellulose/Zn-Organic Framework Down-Regulates Proliferation and Up-Regulates Apoptosis and DNA Damage in Colon and Lung Cancer Cell Lines

A solvothermal technique was used to prepare a Zn–benzenetricarboxylic acid (Zn@BTC) organic framework covered with a carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC/Zn@BTC). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) surface area were applied to characterize CMC/Zn@BTC. Moreover, the anticancer, anti-migrative, anti-invasive, and anti-proliferative action of CMC/Zn@BTC nanoparticles were assessed on cancer cell lines. Apoptotic markers and DNA damage were assessed to explore the cellular and biological changes induced by CMC/Zn@BTC nanoparticles. The microscopic observation revealed that CMC controls the surface morphology and surface characteristics of the Zn@BTC. The obtained BET data revealed that the Zn@BTC nanocomposite surface area lowers from 1061 m2/g to 740 m2/g, and the pore volume decreases from 0.50 cm3/g to 0.37 cm3/g when CMC is applied to Zn@BTC nanocomposites. The cellular growth of DLD1 and A549 was suppressed by CMC/Zn@BTC, with IC50 values of 19.1 and 23.1 μg/mL, respectively. P53 expression was upregulated, and Bcl-2 expression was downregulated by CMC/Zn@BTC, which promoted the apoptotic process. Furthermore, CMC/Zn@BTC caused DNA damage in both cancer cell lines with diverse impact, 66 percent (A549) and 20 percent (DLD1) compared to cisplatin’s 52 percent reduction. CMC/Zn@BTC has anti-invasive properties and significantly reduced cellular migration. Moreover, CMC/Zn@BTC aims key proteins associated with metastasis, proliferation and programmed cellular death