Risks and opportunities : understanding climate change in the Nile Delta

The Alexandria Research Center for Adaptation to Climate Change (ARCA) is a policy-oriented centre for research. ARCA’s work focuses on socioeconomic aspects of adaptation in the Nile Delta, which up to this point (2011) has been under researched: only 15 research papers on climate change issues have been produced during the last 25 years. However, current ARCA studies show for instance, that large areas exposed to flooding can be protected through small-scale engineering works along the coastline; 23-26% of the Alexandria area is susceptible to flooding by sea level rise and would be protected with a 4 km long sea wall

Proceedings of the Resilient Cities 2014 congress / session F2 - filling data gaps to address flooding in coastal cities

Meeting: 5th Global Forum on Urban Resilience & Adaptation, Bonn, Germany, 29-31 May 2014This paper assesses the resilience of cities in the Nile Delta coastal area with regard to sea level rise, focusing on inundation. By integrating multiple physical and socioeconomic factors that determine urban resilience, this index highlights variations in resilience between urban centers. Levels of resilience are related to levels of physical vulnerability and varied socioeconomic conditions: cities are not single entities, they form a “system of cities.” A resilient system has key assets distributed so they are not all affected by an event at any one time (locational diversity), and have different ways to meet given needs (functional diversity)

Composite zeolite beta catalysts for catalytic hydrocracking of plastic waste to liquid fuels

Abstract The conversion of model waste plastic mixture into high-value liquid product was studied in the presence of hydrogen and composites of zeolite beta catalysts. For the sake of comparison, the conversion of actual waste plastic mixture and high-density polyethylene was also carried out. The composite zeolite beta catalysts were synthesized using a range of silica-to-alumina ratios, alkali concentrations, and hydrothermal treatment times. SEM, EDX, XRD, N2-BET, FTIR, and py-FTIR were used for the characterization of the catalysts. The catalytic experiments were conducted in a 500 ml stirred batch reactor at 20 bar initial cold H2 pressure and the temperature of the reaction was varied between 360 and 400 °C. The two composite catalysts, BC27 and BC48, prepared without alkali pretreatment were found to be the most suitable catalysts. With BC27 and BC48 at 400 °C, 93.0 wt% conversion was obtained with actual plastic mixture and the liquid yield exceeded 68.0 wt%. Experiments with the regenerated catalysts showed their performance comparable to the fresh catalysts

Reno-Protective Effects of Angiotensin Receptor Blockers in Hypertensive Rodent Models: A systematic review.

Background and objective: Essential hypertension is a leading risk factor for chronic kidney disease, yet there is no conclusive evidence that lowering blood pressure alone improves renal outcome measures. Angiotensin-II receptor blockers (ARBs) proposed to have renal-protective effects independent of their antihypertensive effect. This systematic review of animal studies aims to collect available information from the published literature about the ARBs' consequences in murine models and analyze it in a structured way to provide a pre-clinical baseline for future analysis of similar clinical investigations. Methods: Following the PRISMA checklist, we conducted a systematic review for quasi non-randomized controlled studies using PubMed, Embase, Science-Direct, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar to determine the effects of ARBs on kidney functions. Eligible articles report the ARBs' effect on proteinuria, albuminuria, and glomerular filtration rate in murine models of hypertension. Outcomes were present as Mean ± Standard Error of Mean (SEM) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: This preliminary analysis includes ten out of 56 total eligible articles after quality assessment, reporting twelve renal outcome measures. Two studies showed improvement in CrCl versus one study showing no difference. Four out of five studies showed a reduction in proteinuria compared to the control group. All three studies showed a significant reduction in albuminuria compared to control and other antihypertensives. A study Evaluating BUN showed no difference. Nine outcomes supported the reno-protective effect of ARBs on different hypertensive models with various ARBs and different follow-up durations. Low dose valsartan 10mg/kg was showing no significant effect across two different studies. Conclusion: Preliminary results are encouraging. ARBs contribute to improvement in renal biomarkers in different hypertensive models regardless of their BP-lowering effect

Analysis of NPHS2 Gene Mutations in Egyptian Children with Nephrotic Syndrome

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the NPHS2 genes are the main aetiology of early-onset and familial steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS). The pathogenic NPHS2 mutation together with the p.R229Q variant has been less described among Egyptian children. AIM: This study aims to determine the mutation of NPHS2 in children with NS and discover the role of p.R229Q variant in SRNS METHODS: The study included 53 children with NS, and 53 healthy volunteers matched in age and sex controls. The median age at disease onset was 7.3 years. Among NS cases, 31 cases had steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) and 22 children with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS). Polymerase chain reaction amplification of the whole coding region of NPHS2 gene was carried out for its mutational analysis. Restriction digestion testing was carried out after PCR to determine the presence of R229Q polymorphism. Randomly selected samples were re-genotyped by two independent technicians for assessment of Quality control RESULTS: NS patients showed a significant higher frequency of heterozygous genotype GA (89.5%) compared to control group (10.5%) with increased risk of NS (OR, 12.04; 95% CI, 2.61 to55.38; p < 0.0001). Moreover, SRNS showed a significant higher frequency of GA genotype (68.2%) than the SSNS group (6.5%). The GA genotype was associated with increased risk of SRNS (OR, 31.1; 95% CI, 5.73 to 168.48; P < 0.001) and the A allele was associated with increased risk of SRNS (OR, 15.52; 95% CI, 3.325 to 72.422; P < .001). CONCLUSION: R229Q polymorphisms are associated with SRNS, and any child with SRNS should be searched for mutations in the NPHS2 gene

Techno-Economic Analysis of ZnO Nanoparticles Pretreatments for Biogas Production from Barley Straw

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on the biogas production from mechanically treated barley straw and to perform a techno-economic analysis based on the costs assessment and on the results of biogas production. The structural changes of mechanically pretreated barley straw were observed using FTIR, XRD, TGA, and SEM. Additionally, both green ZnO NPs prepared from red alga (Antithamnion plumula) extract and chemically prepared ZnO NPs were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TEM, surface area, and EDX. The results revealed that the biogas production was slightly improved by 14.9 and 13.2% when the barley straw of 0.4 mm was mechanically pretreated with 10 mg/L of both green and chemical ZnO NPs and produced 390.5 mL biogas/g VS and 385 mL biogas/g VS, respectively. On the other hand, the higher concentrations of ZnO NPs equal to 20 mg/L had an inhibitory effect on biogas production and decreased the biogas yield to 173 mL biogas/g VS, which was less than the half of previous values. It was also clear that the mechanically treated barley straw of 0.4 mm size presented a higher biogas yield of about 340 mL/g VS, in comparison to 279 mL biogas/g VS of untreated biomass. The kinetic study showed that the first order, modified Gompertz and logistic function models had the best fit with the experimental data. The results showed that the nanoparticles (NPs) of the mechanically treated barely straw are a suitable source of biomass for biogas production, and its yields are higher than the untreated barley straw. The results of the cost-benefit analysis showed that the average levelized cost of energy (LCOE), adopting the best treatments (0.4 mm + 10 mg/L ZnO), is 0.21 €/kWh, which is not competitive with the other renewable energy systems in the Egyptian energy market

Evaluation of vitamin D supplementation intake among children; cross-sectional observational study [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess  the vitamin D supplementation intake status among children from different nationalities in the UAE,  to determine vitamin D intake practices through diet and lifestyle, and the barriers that parents in the UAE  face with providing vitamin D supplementation to their children.   Methods: A cross-sectional observational questionnaire-based survey study design was used.. The study was conducted in the U.A.E and the study participants were parents of children from ages 4-15 years. The questionnaire used in this study was both self-administered and interviewer-administered while inquiring the questions from the parents. A convenience sampling technique was used to collect the data. The response rate of participants was expected to be 63%, the margin of error was 5% and the level of confidence was 95%.   Results: A total of 248 participants (203 mothers, 39 fathers and 6 caregivers) completed the study. Participants reported that the supplements used the most by children were vitamin D supplements (21.85%), followed by multivitamins (21.8%) and calcium supplements (5.6%) and 27.8% of participants in this study reported  to  no  supplementation at all. The rate of vitamin D supplementation among children was higher in those families with higher income levels, parents/caregivers who were more educated, those families who attained health insurance. However, there was no statistical significance between these correlations. Conclusion: The study concluded that challenges like the educational and financial background of parents, family-income level, and health insurance status could help aid in addressing the overall burden of vitamin D deficiency among young children in the UAE. Pediatricians and health care professionals could use our study and use it as an aid to provide screening on lifestyle, sun light exposure, and dietary modifications and also educate parents why and how vitamin D is crucial for their children

Effect of different antidiabetic medications on atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk score among patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus: A multicenter noninterventional observational study

Objective The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes associated with different combinations of oral diabetic drugs among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Method A prospective multicenter longitudinal, noninterventional observation study design was applied. At baseline (0 month), clinical parameters including glucose profile, renal function, lipid profile and risk assessment for cardiovascular risks were calculated. Mean Weighted difference (MWD) with heterogeneity and effect z was calculated to determine the risk reduction at the end of the study. Results A total of 1,657 were enrolled to different cohorts with response rate of 75.5%. The distribution of patients was based on prescribed drug. A total of 513 (30.9%) in G1 (metformin alone), 217 (13.09%) in G2 (metformin with Glimepiride), 231 (12.85%) in G3 (Metformin with Gliclazide), 384 (23.17%) in G4 (metformin with Sitagliptin) and 312 (18.89%) in G5 (Metformin with Saxagliptin). There was no significant different in all clinical and social variables at baseline. The Intergroup analysis showed significant differences with all the primary outcome variables except BMI (p = 0.217) and eGFR (p = 0.782) among patients using sulphonylurea (SU) combination (G2 & G3). Findings also showed significant high frequency of emergency visit and hospitalization in G1 (78.16% & 30.8%) as compared to SU (70.1% & 28.3%, p = 0.001) and DPP-4 (56.6% & 20.4%, p = 0.001). The overall reported effect was z = 2.58, p = 0.001 for ASCVD risk reduction assessment. Conclusion The study concluded that significant effect of Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor on reduction of hospitalization, lipid profile and also ASCVD risk score of type-II diabetes mellitus patients regardless of clinical comorbidities. Also, sulfonylurea combinations have showed significant reduction in LDL and triglycerides values