Assessment of environmental hazards in the north western coast -Egypt using RS and GIS

AbstractSoil erosion, salinity and sodicity hazards are serious problems in the northern west coast of Egypt and lead to reducing the soil quality and increasing the degradation of soil resources. Sidi Barrani and Al-Sallum regions are selected as study areas which are located from a longitude of 25°10′00″ to 26°55′00″East and from a latitude of 31°00′0″ to 31°37′30″ North. Erosion hazard was estimated using the ‘Universal Soil Loss Equation’ (USLE), which is a simple empirical model that is widely used for assessing long-term annual soil loss .The salinity and sodicity hazards were estimated based on FAO method as standard reference. The resultant map of annual soil erosion shows a maximum soil loss of 60th−1y−1with a close relation to foot slopes and wide units on the steep side-slopes (with high LS value) and the erodibility value reached to 0.1th−1y−1. Meanwhile sand beaches and sabkha units are characterized by high environmental hazards of both water erosion, salinity and sodicity, while in the overflow basin units are identified as low environmental hazards. The spatial environmental hazards assessment is conducted by using integrated GIS and RS which can serve as effective inputs in deriving strategies for sustainable land use planning and management

Transesterification of Jatropha curcas Seed Oil: Reaction Parameters

     This study was carried out to determine the reaction parameters of the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) and yield produced from Jatropha curcas (J. curcas) oil by alkali transesterification. Optimum reaction parameters were observed at 1:6 w/w methanol to oil ratio, 0.5% w/w NaOH to oil molar ratio, 400 rpm agitation speed and 60 ⁰C with resulted in a yield of 99% crude biodiesel and 97.71% FAME

Esterification of High Free Fatty Acid Jatropha curcas Oil for Biodiesel Production

This study investigated the esterification of high free fatty acid (FFA) Jatropha curcas (J. curcas) seed oil (6.3 to14.6 %) to produce biodiesel using sulphuric acid with reaction parameters 1% H2SO4, 600 rpm at 60 oC and one hour reaction time. At methanol to oil ratio 3:1, FFAs were reduced to 4.73% with conversion 45%; at 6:1 methanol to oil ratio, FFAs were reduced to 2.31% with conversion 72%; at 7.5:1 methanol to oil ratio FFAs are decreased to less than 2% with conversion ≥85% and there is no considerable difference when increasing methanol to oil ratio to 9:1. Hence the optimum methanol to oil molar ratio is 7.5:1, moreover, the esterification process is not affected by the initial FFA

Production of Biodiesel from Jatropha curcas Seed Oil

This study was carried out to produce biodiesel from freshly harvested Jatropha curcas (J. curcas) seed oil. J. curcas seed oil has a high oil content (40%), the free fatty acids (FFA) range is (1.6-1.75%), peroxide value is 2.6 meq/kg, oil moisture content range is (0.2-0.3%) and saponification value range is (185-189) mg KOH/g oil. The main fatty acids are oleic 39.60 % and linoleic acids 34.64 %, unsaturated fatty acids in J. curcas oil are 75.54 wt%, while, saturated fatty acids are 24.46 wt%. The specifications of biodiesel produced are; Density is reduced from 0.9198 to 0.8810 g/cm3. The kinematic viscosity at 40 oC was reduced from 36.37 to 4.809 mm2/s, and the flash point is 187oC. Biodiesel produced complies with the requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard D6751-09, and the Committee of Standardization in Europe (CEN) standard EN 14214 specifications

EPIdemiology of Surgery-Associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) : Study protocol for a multicentre, observational trial

More than 300 million surgical procedures are performed each year. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after major surgery and is associated with adverse short-term and long-term outcomes. However, there is a large variation in the incidence of reported AKI rates. The establishment of an accurate epidemiology of surgery-associated AKI is important for healthcare policy, quality initiatives, clinical trials, as well as for improving guidelines. The objective of the Epidemiology of Surgery-associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) trial is to prospectively evaluate the epidemiology of AKI after major surgery using the latest Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) consensus definition of AKI. EPIS-AKI is an international prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study including 10 000 patients undergoing major surgery who are subsequently admitted to the ICU or a similar high dependency unit. The primary endpoint is the incidence of AKI within 72 hours after surgery according to the KDIGO criteria. Secondary endpoints include use of renal replacement therapy (RRT), mortality during ICU and hospital stay, length of ICU and hospital stay and major adverse kidney events (combined endpoint consisting of persistent renal dysfunction, RRT and mortality) at day 90. Further, we will evaluate preoperative and intraoperative risk factors affecting the incidence of postoperative AKI. In an add-on analysis, we will assess urinary biomarkers for early detection of AKI. EPIS-AKI has been approved by the leading Ethics Committee of the Medical Council North Rhine-Westphalia, of the Westphalian Wilhelms-University Münster and the corresponding Ethics Committee at each participating site. Results will be disseminated widely and published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences and used to design further AKI-related trials. Trial registration number NCT04165369

Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019 : a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Ending the global tobacco epidemic is a defining challenge in global health. Timely and comprehensive estimates of the prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden are needed to guide tobacco control efforts nationally and globally. Methods We estimated the prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden for 204 countries and territories, by age and sex, from 1990 to 2019 as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study. We modelled multiple smoking-related indicators from 3625 nationally representative surveys. We completed systematic reviews and did Bayesian meta-regressions for 36 causally linked health outcomes to estimate non-linear dose-response risk curves for current and former smokers. We used a direct estimation approach to estimate attributable burden, providing more comprehensive estimates of the health effects of smoking than previously available. Findings Globally in 2019, 1.14 billion (95% uncertainty interval 1.13-1.16) individuals were current smokers, who consumed 7.41 trillion (7.11-7.74) cigarette-equivalents of tobacco in 2019. Although prevalence of smoking had decreased significantly since 1990 among both males (27.5% [26. 5-28.5] reduction) and females (37.7% [35.4-39.9] reduction) aged 15 years and older, population growth has led to a significant increase in the total number of smokers from 0.99 billion (0.98-1.00) in 1990. Globally in 2019, smoking tobacco use accounted for 7.69 million (7.16-8.20) deaths and 200 million (185-214) disability-adjusted life-years, and was the leading risk factor for death among males (20.2% [19.3-21.1] of male deaths). 6.68 million [86.9%] of 7.69 million deaths attributable to smoking tobacco use were among current smokers. Interpretation In the absence of intervention, the annual toll of 7.69 million deaths and 200 million disability-adjusted life-years attributable to smoking will increase over the coming decades. Substantial progress in reducing the prevalence of smoking tobacco use has been observed in countries from all regions and at all stages of development, but a large implementation gap remains for tobacco control. Countries have a dear and urgent opportunity to pass strong, evidence-based policies to accelerate reductions in the prevalence of smoking and reap massive health benefits for their citizens. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Tracking development assistance for health and for COVID-19 : a review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 204 countries and territories, 1990-2050

Background The rapid spread of COVID-19 renewed the focus on how health systems across the globe are financed, especially during public health emergencies. Development assistance is an important source of health financing in many low-income countries, yet little is known about how much of this funding was disbursed for COVID-19. We aimed to put development assistance for health for COVID-19 in the context of broader trends in global health financing, and to estimate total health spending from 1995 to 2050 and development assistance for COVID-19 in 2020. Methods We estimated domestic health spending and development assistance for health to generate total health-sector spending estimates for 204 countries and territories. We leveraged data from the WHO Global Health Expenditure Database to produce estimates of domestic health spending. To generate estimates for development assistance for health, we relied on project-level disbursement data from the major international development agencies' online databases and annual financial statements and reports for information on income sources. To adjust our estimates for 2020 to include disbursements related to COVID-19, we extracted project data on commitments and disbursements from a broader set of databases (because not all of the data sources used to estimate the historical series extend to 2020), including the UN Office of Humanitarian Assistance Financial Tracking Service and the International Aid Transparency Initiative. We reported all the historic and future spending estimates in inflation-adjusted 2020 US$, 2020 US$ per capita, purchasing-power parity-adjusted US$per capita, and as a proportion of gross domestic product. We used various models to generate future health spending to 2050. Findings In 2019, health spending globally reached$8. 8 trillion (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 8.7-8.8) or $1132 (1119-1143) per person. Spending on health varied within and across income groups and geographical regions. Of this total,$40.4 billion (0.5%, 95% UI 0.5-0.5) was development assistance for health provided to low-income and middle-income countries, which made up 24.6% (UI 24.0-25.1) of total spending in low-income countries. We estimate that $54.8 billion in development assistance for health was disbursed in 2020. Of this,$13.7 billion was targeted toward the COVID-19 health response. $12.3 billion was newly committed and$1.4 billion was repurposed from existing health projects. $3.1 billion (22.4$2.4 billion (17.9%) was for supply chain and logistics. Only $714.4 million (7.7$1519 (1448-1591) per person in 2050, although spending across countries is expected to remain varied. Interpretation Global health spending is expected to continue to grow, but remain unequally distributed between countries. We estimate that development organisations substantially increased the amount of development assistance for health provided in 2020. Continued efforts are needed to raise sufficient resources to mitigate the pandemic for the most vulnerable, and to help curtail the pandemic for all. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe