392 research outputs found
The role of farmed fish in the diets of the resource-poor in Egypt.
The Egyptian aquaculture industry provides more than 100,000 full-time or part-time jobs and produces the countryâs least-expensive farmed animal protein. Thus, aquaculture plays an important role in both sustaining livelihoods and improving the diet quality and nutritional health of Egyptians, including a significant proportion of the 25.5% who are resource-poor. Recognizing this dual role, WorldFish has promoted sustainable growth in Egyptian aquaculture for more than 20 years. Through its work, WorldFish has identified a lack of quality data about fish consumption preferences and practices. Eager to fill this knowledge gap, WorldFish partnered with the Environment and Development Group (EDG) to study consumption of fish, red meat and poultry among the resource-poor in Egypt. This study aimed to characterize current consumer preferences for and consumption patterns of animal-source foods, comparing red meat, poultry and fish. The resulting data is meant to contribute to a better understanding of what drives demand for fish among the resource-poor in Egypt, allowing value chain actors to more successfully market their products to this segment of the population
Characterizations and Potential Recovery Pathways of Phosphate Mines Waste Rocks
The Phosphate Ore Production is Steadily Increasing Due to its High Demand for Agriculture, Medicine, and Others. Ore Extraction Generates a Considerable Quantity of Waste Rocks that Are Generally Stocked in Piles. the Current Research Aims to Investigate the Characterization of Phosphate Mine Waste Rocks (PMWR) Generated in Benguerir, Morocco Mine Site. as a Part of a Wide Project Aiming to Recycle Those Stockpiles, Sensor-Based Ore Sorting Will Be Employed to Separate the Different Lithologies. as a Prior Investigation Before Implementing This Technology, Two Samples of 25 Tons from the Destoning and Screening PMWR Piles Were Sampled and Submitted to Manual Sorting. the Latter Operation Revealed the Presence of Different Lithologies Including Indured Phosphate, Different Types of Siliceous, Carbonate, Phosphorus, and Marly Rock Types. Those Waste Rocks Were Characterized Physically, Chemically, and Mineralogically. their Potential Uses for Recycling or Upcycling Was Investigated and Addressed. About 25% of Indured Phosphate Was Found, Which Can Be First Recovered by Ore Sorting. This Reserve of Residual Phosphate Could Be Recovered using Beneficiation Methods. the Flintstone, Phosphated Flintstone, and Dolomitic Limestone Exhibit Good Physical and Mechanical Properties that Meet the Requirements to Produce Concrete. the Silexite and Siliceous Marls Have a Low Density and Could Be Used as Lightweight Aggregate for Non-Structural Concrete Blocks Production. the Investigation on Tender Marls Corroborates the Literature and their Suitability as Alternative Binders or as Supplementary Cementitious Materials. Those Marls Could Be Used as Well as Lime Binder for Repairing Historical Buildings or as Hydraulic Lime Binder for Road Construction. PMWR Valorization as Road Construction Materials Was Already Proved. However, Studying This Remediation Pathway after the Recovery of Phosphate and Other Lithologies by Ore Sorting is Highly Recommended. the Recycling of Those By-Products Will Decrease the Natural Resources Consumption in the Civil Engineering Field Alongside with Resolving their Environmental Problems
Performing the Egyptian revolution : origins of collective restraint action in the Midan
This research was supported by a Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland grant.In January/February 2011, the world watched with admiration the Egyptian revolution that toppled President Housni Mubarak. The demonstration in Midan al-Tahrir (Liberation Square in central Cairo), which was the nucleus of the revolution, highlighted a largely spontaneous, civil and peaceful political performance. However, this performance was temporary, contradicting subsequent bloody conflicts in post-revolutionary Egypt. This article examines the socio-political origins of the Midan performance. It argues that the demonstrators exercised collective restraint, which was temporary but necessary, in order to topple Mubarak. Building on Norbert Eliasâ civilising process theory and social movements literature, it is argued that the origins of this performance are found in a collective knowledge of regime strategy and narrative, Egyptian socio-political values and existing repertoires of contention. Drawing on primary sources and semi-structured interviews, the article contends that the demonstrators exercised collective restraint to reframe regime narrative and draw public support for the revolution.PostprintPeer reviewe
Oxidationâreduction potential and sperm DNA fragmentation, and their associations with sperm morphological anomalies amongst fertile and infertile men
Objective: To assess seminal oxidationâreduction potential (ORP) and sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) in male infertility and their relationships with sperm morphology in fertile and infertile men. Patients and methods: Prospective case-control study comparing the findings of infertile men (n = 1168) to those of men with confirmed fertility (n = 100) regarding demographics and semen characteristics (conventional and advanced semen tests). Spearman rank correlation assessed the correlation between ORP, SDF, and different morphological indices. Means of ORP and SDF were assessed in variable levels of normal sperm morphology amongst all participants. Results: Infertile patients had a significantly lower mean sperm count (32.7 vs 58.7 Ă 10 6 sperm/mL), total motility (50.1% vs 60.4%), and normal morphology (5.7% vs 9.9%). Conversely, infertile patients had significantly higher mean head defects (54% vs 48%), and higher ORP and SDF values than fertile controls. ORP and SDF showed significant positive correlations and significant negative correlations with sperm head defects and normal morphology in infertile patients, respectively. ORP and SDF were significantly inversely associated with the level of normal sperm morphology. Using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, ORP and SDF threshold values of 1.73 mV/10 6 sperm/mL and 25.5%, respectively, were associated with 76% and 56% sensitivity and 72% and 72.2% specificity, respectively, in differentiating <4% from â„4% normal morphology. Conclusion: A direct inverse relationship exists between seminal ORP and SDF with various levels of normal sperm morphology. Using ORP and SDF measures in conjunction with standard semen morphology analysis could validate the result of the fertility status of patients. © 2017 Arab Association of UrologyScopu
Trauma as counter-revolutionary colonisation: narratives from (post)revolutionary Egypt
We argue that multiple levels of trauma were present in Egypt before, during and after the 2011 revolution. Individual, social and political trauma constitute a triangle of traumatisation which was strategically employed by the Egyptian counter-revolutionary forces â primarily the army and the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood â to maintain their political and economic power over and above the social, economic and political interests of others. Through the destruction of physical bodies, the fragmentation and polarisation of social relations and the violent closure of the newly emerged political public sphere, these actors actively repressed the potential for creative and revolutionary transformation. To better understand this multi-layered notion of trauma, we turn to Habermasâ âcolonisation of the lifeworldâ thesis which offers a critical lens through which to examine the wider political and economic structures and context in which trauma occurred as well as its effects on the personal, social and political realms. In doing so, we develop a novel conception of trauma that acknowledges individual, social and political dimensions. We apply this conceptual framing to empirical narratives of trauma in Egyptâs pre- and post-revolutionary phases, thus both developing a non-Western application of Habermasâ framework and revealing ethnographic accounts of the revolution by activists in Cairo
In vitro evaluation of the color stability and surface roughness of a new composite flow
The aim of this study was to evaluate the color stability and the surface roughness of a bulk-fill composite flow (SDRÂź Plus) by comparison to an ORMOCER-based composite (Ceram.xÂź Universal SphereTEC?) in order to confirm the validity of using SDRÂź Plus
Pengaruh tahap stres terhadap kepuasan kerja dalam Kalangan pengajar kolej vokasional di Negeri Pahang
Kajian ini dijalankan bertujuan untuk mengkaji mengenai pengaruh stres terhadap
kepuasan kerja dalam kalangan pengajar KV di negeri Pahang dengan memberikan
tumpuan kepada tiga aspek iaitu aspek beban kerja, aspek karenah pelajar serta aspek
penghargaan dan sokongan. Seramai 240 orang responden yang terdiri daripada
kalangan pengajar di lapan buah KV di negeri Pahang telah dipilih secara rawak
mudah. Nilai kebolehpercayaan Alpha Cronbach bagi keseluruhan soal selidik ini
ialah 0.898. Soal selidik berkaitan pengaruh stres terhadap kepuasan kerja dibina
sendiri dan selebihnya diubahsuai berpandukan instrumen yang digunakan oleh
penyelidik terdahulu bagi menyediakan pelbagai jenis soalan berdasarkan objektif
kajian. Kajian sebenar dijalankan dengan mengedarkan borang soal selidik
mengandungi 58 item soalan kepada 240 responden. Data yang diperolehi dianalisis
menggunakan Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) versi 22. Analisis
statistik deskriptif iaitu skor min dan sisihan piawai digunakan bagi mengenal pasti
tahap stres bagi aspek beban tugas, karenah pelajar serta penghargaan dan sokongan
dalam kalangan pengajar. Manakala analisis ujian regrasi pelbagai digunakan bagi
mengesan pengaruh stres terhadap kepuasan kerja. Dapatan kajian mendapati min
keseluruhan tahap stres bagi aspek beban tugas dan karenah pelajar adalah sederhana
dengan nilai skor min 3.49. Manakala hasil dapatan keseluruhan nilai min bagi
konstruk tahap stres aspek penghargaan dan sokongan berada pada tahap yang tinggi
iaitu 3.81. Dapatan analisis ujian regrasi pelbagai pula menunjukkan tahap stres bagi
aspek beban tugas, aspek karenah pelajar dan aspek penghargaan dan sokongan
mempengaruhi kepuasan kerja. Oleh itu, beberapa cadangan telah dikemukakan
dalam kajian ini dalam usaha menangani stres yang berterusan serta boleh
mempengaruhi tahap kepuasan kerja. Antara cadangan pengkaji adalah tenaga
pengajar diberi lebih banyak pendedahan berkaitan perubahan sistem pendidikan
vokasional yang dialami sekarang agar mereka lebih bersedia dalam menggalas tugas
yang baharu seterusmya akan memberi kepuasan kerja dalam kalangan pengajar KV
The microaerophilic microbiota of de-novo paediatric inflammatory bowel disease: the BISCUIT study
<p>Introduction: Children presenting for the first time with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) offer a unique opportunity to study aetiological agents before the confounders of treatment. Microaerophilic bacteria can exploit the ecological niche of the intestinal epithelium; Helicobacter and Campylobacter are previously implicated in IBD pathogenesis. We set out to study these and other microaerophilic bacteria in de-novo paediatric IBD.</p>
<p>Patients and Methods: 100 children undergoing colonoscopy were recruited including 44 treatment naĂŻve de-novo IBD patients and 42 with normal colons. Colonic biopsies were subjected to microaerophilic culture with Gram-negative isolates then identified by sequencing. Biopsies were also PCR screened for the specific microaerophilic bacterial groups: Helicobacteraceae, Campylobacteraceae and Sutterella wadsworthensis.</p>
<p>Results: 129 Gram-negative microaerophilic bacterial isolates were identified from 10 genera. The most frequently cultured was S. wadsworthensis (32 distinct isolates). Unusual Campylobacter were isolated from 8 subjects (including 3 C. concisus, 1 C. curvus, 1 C. lari, 1 C. rectus, 3 C. showae). No Helicobacter were cultured. When comparing IBD vs. normal colon control by PCR the prevalence figures were not significantly different (Helicobacter 11% vs. 12%, p = 1.00; Campylobacter 75% vs. 76%, p = 1.00; S. wadsworthensis 82% vs. 71%, p = 0.312).</p>
<p>Conclusions: This study offers a comprehensive overview of the microaerophilic microbiota of the paediatric colon including at IBD onset. Campylobacter appear to be surprisingly common, are not more strongly associated with IBD and can be isolated from around 8% of paediatric colonic biopsies. S. wadsworthensis appears to be a common commensal. Helicobacter species are relatively rare in the paediatric colon.</p>
An empirical approach towards the efficient and optimal production of influenza-neutralizing ovine polyclonal antibodies demonstrates that the novel adjuvant CoVaccine HT(TM) is functionally superior to Freund's adjuvant
Passive immunotherapies utilising polyclonal antibodies could have a valuable role in preventing and treating infectious diseases such as influenza, particularly in pandemic situations but also in immunocompromised populations such as the elderly, the chronically immunosuppressed, pregnant women, infants and those with chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to optimise current methods used to generate ovine polyclonal antibodies. Polyclonal antibodies to baculovirus-expressed recombinant influenza haemagglutinin from A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 H1N1 (PR8) were elicited in sheep using various immunisation regimens designed to investigate the priming immunisation route, adjuvant formulation, sheep age, and antigen dose, and to empirically ascertain which combination maximised antibody output. The novel adjuvant CoVaccine HTâą was compared to Freundâs adjuvant which is currently the adjuvant of choice for commercial production of ovine polyclonal Fab therapies. CoVaccine HTâą induced significantly higher titres of functional ovine anti-haemagglutinin IgG than Freundâs adjuvant but with fewer side effects, including reduced site reactions. Polyclonal hyperimmune sheep sera effectively neutralised influenza virus in vitro and, when given before or after influenza virus challenge, prevented the death of infected mice. Neither the age of the sheep nor the route of antigen administration appeared to influence antibody titre. Moreover, reducing the administrated dose of haemagglutinin antigen minimally affected antibody titre. Together, these results suggest a cost effective way of producing high and sustained yields of functional ovine polyclonal antibodies specifically for the prevention and treatment of globally significant diseases.Natalie E. Stevens, Cara K. Fraser, Mohammed Alsharifi, Michael P. Brown, Kerrilyn R. Diener, John D. Haybal
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