Promoting recycling in the solid waste management system of Cairo

Waste management system in Cairo has been noticeably witnessing deterioration over the last fifteen years, where the entire chain of activities have deficiencies; including collection, transportation, recovery, and disposal systems. Although waste recycling is a vital element of a sustainable waste management system, as it contributes to benefiting the environment through the efficient use of resources, the society through creating job opportunities, and the economy through attracting new investments, in Egypt it is not included in the policy framework, and it is hardly a part of the formal system and is only performed by the informal sector. This thesis identifies the gaps in the existing legislative, institutional and financial frameworks of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) system in Egypt and specifically in Cairo, that hinder mainstreaming waste recycling in specific in the policy framework. It also finds win-win situations for the parties involved in the SWM sector that would promote the recycling activity. Finally, it proposes new ways for managing the different SWM activities (collection, transportation, recovery and disposal) that would lead to successful recycling practices. The result from this study indicates that the reasons why waste recycling is not promoted in Cairo are the lack of financial autonomy, deficiencies in the legislative and institutional setup, and weaknesses in the governance of the SWM process. Accordingly, policy recommendations are proposed in addition to a SWM initiative for Cairo that clarifies the roles of each stakeholder and reform the whole chain of activities of the SWM system of Cairo, through integrating the informal sector and encouraging the local private sector participation in a way that would promote waste recyclin

Public attitude as a determinant of petty corruption in Egypt: a survey study

Purpose – The aim of the study is to examine the effect of public attitude on petty corruption. Design/methodology/approach – This is a survey study on customers of a licenses providing authority (N = 390) in Cairo, Egypt. The authors use Akers social learning theory of crime and deviance and take into consideration criticisms of it. The authors control for individual and organizational level determinants that are identified by scholars as influencing people's attitudes toward corruption and which could be known through the authority customers' experiences. Because the dependent variable is binary, whether a person paid a bribe during last transaction with this authority or not, the authors use binary logistic regression. Findings – The findings indicate that people are more likely to engage in petty corruption when they see it as acceptable, have previous petty corruption experience and when they use a mediator. Also, of those who dealt with that civil service authority during and directly after the 25th of January Revolution (N = 161) 31% reported that they did not engage in petty corruption in comparison to previous years. They referred this to a change in attitude at the time. Originality/value – The policy implications of the research are important. Social science theories could generate cultural and policy relevant solutions for petty corruption; however, they have not been taken full advantage of. Also, experience-based country-specific corruption survey studies are important input for an effective anti-corruption policy

Association of high sensitive C reactive protein and dialysis adequacy with uremic pruritus in hemodialysis patients

Introduction: Uremic pruritus is one of the most common and complicated symptom affecting hemodialysis patients, it can be persistent, distressing and having a significant impact on the quality of life. We aimed to study the relationship between high sensitive C reactive protein and adequacy of dialysis with uremic pruritus in hemodialysis patients. Patients and Methods: In this Case control study one hundred prevalent hemodialysis patients were enrolled from hemodialysis units in Ain Shams University hospitals, fifty of them had pruritus and the other fifty patients had no pruritis, all of them underwent urea reduction ratio for dialysis adequacy assessment, pruritus assessment by using visual analog scale and high sensitive C reactive protein serum level. Results: Uremic pruritus has statistically significant negative correlation with urea reduction ratio and consequently with dialysis adequacy. However, uremic pruritus has statistically significant positive correlation with highly sensitive C reactive protein serum levels in hemodialysis patients. Conclusion: Inadequate hemodialysis and increased hsCRP serum level play an important role in aggravating intensity and severity of uremic pruritus

Impact of Coronavirus Disease-19 Lockdown on Egyptian Children and Adolescents: Dietary Pattern Changes Health Risk

BACKGROUND: Lockdown and school closure related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have unfavorable effects on children and adolescents. AIM: This study was conducted to survey the changes in dietary pattern and related health factors in Egyptian children and adolescents during the COVID-19 outbreak closure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected through a dietary pattern, eating behavior, and physical activity electronic questionnaire conducted through social media sites, targeting parents of children and adolescents after two whole months of lockdown and school closure in Egypt. RESULTS: This study included 765 participants, 31.8% noted increased appetite, 45.6% reported increased sweets and unhealthy food consumption, and 37.6% showed increased frequent snacking between meals. Alongside 53.1% showed increase in late snacks during night after COVID-19 closure. The majority of our participants 82.0% noted associative change in eating behavior with boring and 94.6% revealed increased usage of electronics and screen time. This study showed significant positive correlation between increased appetite and mobile screen time, laptop screen time, and video gaming. Increased sweets and unhealthy food consumption was positively correlated with TV watching and mobile screen time. A significant positive correlation was revealed between uncaring about eating fruits and vegetables and increase screen time for each of mobile, and laptop and remote learning. Furthermore, there was positive correlation between decreased protein serving intake and each of mobile screen time and remote learning. TV watching and laptop screen times showed positively significantly association with frequent snacking between meals. Mobile screen time, TV screen time, and video gaming were positively significantly correlated with late night snacking. CONCLUSIONS: The present study concluded prolonged lockdown leads to changes in eating patterns, related to contributing factors of physical inactivity and prolonged screen time

Aven and Survivin Expression in Egyptian Acute Leukemia and Their Relation to Apoptosis

Background: Several anti apoptotic signals have been recently identified. Aven and Survivin are broadly expressed and are conserved in mammalian species. Patients and Methods: 39 AML and 25 ALL were tested. Aven and Survivin expression were detected by RT-PCR. DNA fragmentation was carried out daily after treatment..Results: Survivin was expressed (P=0.06) more in AML (74%) than in ALL (52%). While, Aven was equally expressed in both leukemias. Patients were categorized into 3 groups based on DNA fragmentation. Absence of Aven significantly (p‹0.001) contributed to DNA fragmentation,but Survivin did not contribute as much. None of the concordant both positive Survivin and Aven were in group III (the good 5 day fragmentation, (P< 0.001). Survivin was statistically related to CD7 expression (P<0.001) in AML only. There was a significant dissociation between Aven and Survivin in AML (p=0.03) and near significant dissociation in ALL (p=0.07). Conclusion: Aven seems to be more important as an inhibitor of apoptosis than survivin in acute leukemia. The presence of both confers a survival disadvantage and a significantly worse DNA fragmentation pattern suggesting a synergistic inhibition of apoptosis. The highly significant relation between CD7 and survivin expression might suggest their involvement in a common signal transduction pathway

Risk Factors Associated with Mild Cognitive Impairment аmong Apparently Healthy People and the Role of MicroRNAs

BACKGROUND: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a stage between the expected cognitive decline of normal ageing and the serious decline of dementia. AIM: To identify risk factors and role of miRNAs associated with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among employees. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 186 employees aged between 40 and 65 years. Cognitive function was evaluated using ACEIII, MoCA, and Quick cognitive tests. Medical history and lifestyle were assessed. Family 132 & 134 miRNA expressions were assessed by real-time PCR. RESULTS: MCI was detected among 14 / 186 (7.5%). miRNA 132 expression was the only significant miRNAs to detect MCI with low sensitivity and specificity (70%). The logistic analysis revealed that higher miRNA132 expressions, low monthly intake of; vegetables, unroasted nuts, low education and higher ALT levels were predicting factors for MCI with AOR 1.1 (1.01-3.3), 1.2 (1.04-1.43), 0.8 (0.8-0.98), 2.7 (1.9-7.4) and 1.6 (1.1-2.3) respectively. CONCLUSION: MiRNAs expression showed low sensitivity and specificity in detecting MCI; only miRNA 132 might be used. Several modifiable factors seem to reduce the risk of MCI

Thrombopoietin Receptor Levels in Tumor Cell Lines and Primary Tumors

Thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor agonists represent a new approach for the treatment of thrombocytopenia, which may develop as a consequence of immune thrombocytopenia, chemotherapy treatment, chronic hepatitis C infection, or myelodysplastic syndromes. There are concerns that use of certain growth factors can hasten disease progression in some types of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. In this study, expression of MPL (TPO-R) mRNA was examined in tumor cell lines, patient tumor samples (renal cell carcinoma, prostatic carcinoma, soft tissue and bony/cartilage sarcoma, colon cancer, and lymphoma), and normal tissues using microarray analysis and qRT-PCR. MPL mRNA is expressed at very low or undetectable levels compared with erythropoietin receptor (EPOR), human epidermal growth factor (ERBB2; HER2), and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF1R) in these patient samples. These data suggest TPO-R agonists will likely preferentially stimulate proliferation and differentiation of cells of megakaryocytic lineage, potentially demonstrating their utility for correcting thrombocytopenia in clinical settings

Neck Circumference as a Predictor of Adiposity among Healthy and Obese Children

BACKGROUND: Obesity, particularly in the upper part of body, is a major health problem. Because body mass index (BMI) does not adequately describe regional adiposity, other indices of body fatness are being explored.OBJECTIVES: To determine if neck circumference is a valid measure of adiposity (fat distribution) among group of Egyptian children.SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This is a cross sectional study, included 50 obese subjects, aged 7 - 12 years recruited from Endocrine, obesity and Metabolism Pediatric Unit at Children Hospital, Cairo University and 50 healthy children, age and sex matched. All children were subjected to blood pressure assessment (systolic SBP and diastolic DBP), and anthropometric assessment (body weight, height, neck circumference (NC), waist (WC) and hip (HC) circumferences, and skin fold thicknesses at three sites: biceps, triceps and sub scapular. BMI [weight (kg)/height (m2)] was calculated.RESULTS: In healthy females, significant associations were detected between NC and SBP, DBP and all anthropometric measurements. However, in healthy males NC was not significantly associated with BMI, SBP and DBP. In the obese group; both sexes; insignificant association was found between NC and SBP, DBP, BMI and skinfold thickness. CONCLUSION: NC is related to fat distribution among normal healthy female children. However, this relation disappears with increasing adiposity. The results do not support the use of NC as a useful screening tool for childhood obesity

Impact Of Covid-19 Lockdown On Smoking (Waterpipe And Cigarette) And Participants\u27 Bmi Across Various Sociodemographic Groups In Arab Countries In The Mediterranean Region

INTRODUCTION Tobacco smokers are at high risk of developing severe COVID-19. Lockdown was a chosen strategy to deal with the spread of infectious diseases; nonetheless, it influenced people\u27s eating and smoking behaviors. The main objective of this study is to determine the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on smoking (waterpipe and cigarette) behavior and its associations with sociodemographic characteristics and body mass index. METHODS The data were derived from a large-scale retrospective cross-sectional study using a validated online international survey from 38 countries (n=37207) conducted between 17 April and 25 June 2020. The Eastern Mediterranean Region (WHO-EMR countries) data related to 10 Arabic countries that participated in this survey have been selected for analysis in this study. A total of 12433 participants were included in the analysis of this study, reporting their smoking behavior and their BMI before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between smoking practices and the participant\u27s country of origin, sociodemographic characteristics, and BMI (kg/m2). RESULTS Overall, the prevalence rate of smoking decreased significantly during the lockdown from 29.8% to 23.5% (p\u3c0.05). The percentage of females who smoke was higher than males among the studied population. The highest smoking prevalence was found in Lebanon (33.2%), and the lowest was in Oman (7.9%). In Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, the data showed a significant difference in the education level of smokers before and during the lockdown (p\u3c0.05). Smokers in Lebanon had lower education levels than those in other countries, where the majority of smokers had a Bachelor\u27s degree. The findings show that the BMI rates in Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, and Saudi Arabia significantly increased during the lockdown (p\u3c0.05). The highest percentages of obesity among smokers before the lockdown were in Oman (33.3%), followed by Bahrain (28.4%) and Qatar (26.4%), whereas, during the lockdown, the percentage of obese smokers was highest in Bahrain (32.1%) followed by Qatar (31.3%) and Oman (25%). According to the logistic regression model, the odds ratio of smoking increased during the pandemic, whereas the odds ratio of TV watching decreased. This finding was statistically significant by age, gender, education level, country of residence, and work status. CONCLUSIONS Although the overall rates of smoking among the studied countries decreased during the lockdown period, we cannot attribute this change in smoking behavior to the lockdown. Smoking cessation services need to anticipate that unexpected disruptions, such as pandemic lockdowns, may be associated with changes in daily tobacco consumption. Public health authorities should promote the adoption of healthy lifestyles to reduce the long-term negative effects of the lockdown

The Impact of COVID-19 on Physical (In)Activity Behavior in 10 Arab Countries.

Insufficient physical activity is considered a strong risk factor associated with non-communicable diseases. This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on physical (in)activity behavior in 10 Arab countries before and during the lockdown. A cross-sectional study using a validated online survey was launched originally in 38 different countries. The Eastern Mediterranean regional data related to the 10 Arabic countries that participated in the survey were selected for analysis in this study. A total of 12,433 participants were included in this analysis. The mean age of the participants was 30.3 (SD, 11.7) years. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between physical activity levels and the participants\u27 sociodemographic characteristics, watching TV, screen time, and computer usage. Physical activity levels decreased significantly during the lockdown. Participants\u27 country of origin, gender, and education were associated with physical activity before and during the lockdown (p \u3c 0.050). Older age, watching TV, and using computers had a negative effect on physical activity before and during the lockdown (p \u3c 0.050). Strategies to improve physical activity and minimize sedentary behavior should be implemented, as well as to reduce unhealthy levels of inactive time, especially during times of crisis. Further research on the influence of a lack of physical activity on overall health status, as well as on the COVID-19 disease effect is recommended