A Survey-Based Vision for Restructuring Concrete Business in the New Residential Communities in Egypt

Due to its evolving technology and dynamic nature, a sizeable segment of the world’s construction market that used to partly rely on traditional site-mixed concrete (SMC) had almost completely shifted to ready-mixed concrete (RMC) several decades ago in the developed countries. Likewise, this targeted trend has been observed in developing countries. The Egyptian residential sector has also adopted some corrective changes in this direction in the last decade. Nevertheless, the vast majority of builders in the Egyptian market have continued to oppose to this global paradigm shift. The observed “cultural” resistance to change seems to be chiefly driven by the difference in the unit price of SMC and RMC, overlooking the latter’s superior characteristics and its added values that fundamentally overweigh this apparent difference in cost.This study aims at promoting the use of RMC over SMC for construction of new residential communities in Egypt. Proper business measures need to be implemented for the desired change in the culture of concrete market. A mixed (qualitative and quantitative) approach was used in this survey. A customized survey, comprised of a series of interviews with consultants/contractors in the field and a detailed questionnaire targeting practitioners (developers, contractors and end users), was conducted to gage market responsiveness to the desired change. The desired market shift towards RMC (targeted variable) hinges on generic variables: price, concrete quality and customer satisfaction, and market-specific variables: local concrete culture, perception of average customers, and permitting process.The survey revealed that professional participants, a small fraction of the local concrete market, are aware of the added values of utilizing RMC. The participation rate is clearly indicative of the absence of awareness of the numerous competitive advantages of using RMC in the Egyptian market.  The resistance to change, unarguably, still hinges on the mistakenly believed difference in SMC and RMC unit prices, not the cost/benefit ratio

The Predictive Value of Vanin-1 in Pediatric Immune Thrombocytopenia

Background: Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) has oxidative stress-related pathway as one of its possible mechanisms. Vanin-1 (VNN1) is an oxidative stress sensitive sensor. Objective: The present study was conducted to assess the clinical significance of VNN1 in pediatric ITP patients. Patients and Methods: A total of 50 kids with ITP have been involved in this work; 25 newly diagnosed, 25 chronic patients with ITP more than 12 months (15 responders and 10 non responders to treatment) and 25 apparently healthy children. All groups had their serum VNN-1 levels checked using a two-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent test. Results: The serum VNN1 level was significantly higher in ITP group than control group (p˂0.001). The level of serum VNN1 was significantly very high in newly diagnosed ITP group (p˂0.001) in comparison to chronic responders and chronic non responders ITP groups. Moreover, there was a significant increase in serum VNN1 level in chronic non responders ITP group (p˂0.001) compared to chronic responders group. In newly diagnosed ITP group, both age (r=-0.62, p=0.006) and the platelet count (r=-0.46, p=0.01) had a significant negative connection with serum VNN1 level. A cut-off value lower than 0.6 ng/ml for serum VNN1 could be used to distinguish the chronic non-responders ITP from chronic responders patients with 100 percent specificity and 90 percent sensitivity. Conclusion: From our current results, it is hypothesized that high VNN1 level plays a role in the pathogenesis and progress of pediatric ITP

Surgeon-performed sonographic findings in a traumatic trans-anal rectal perforation

Early diagnosis and active management of trans-anal rectal injuries is essential for a favorable outcome. Intraperitoneal free air (IFA) is usually diagnosed by an erect Chest X-ray. Point-of-care ultrasound has been recently used to detect IFA. We report a 45-year-old male who presented to the Emergency Department with lower abdominal peritonitis. Surgeon-performed portable point-of-care ultrasound as an extension of the abdominal examination revealed an inflamed omentum with hypoechoic stranding, thickened non compressible small bowel, and free fluid in the pelvis. A transverse abdominal section of the right upper quadrant showed free intraperitoneal air. Rectal examination revealed a longitudinal rectal tear. Laparotomy has confirmed the sonographic findings. There was a 12 cm intraperitoneal tear of the anterior wall of the rectum which was necrotic. This case clearly demonstrates that portable point-of-care ultrasound gives very useful detailed information even when performed by a non radiologist. Surgeons should be encouraged to use point-of-care ultrasound after appropriate training

A Case of Artificial Snow Foam induced Corneal Endotheliitis Followed up by Scheimpflug Densitometry

The aim was to present a rare case of artificial snow foam induced corneal endotheliitis followed up by Scheimpflug Densitometry. A 15-year-old male complained of redness, tearing and reduced vision in the left eye after artificial snow foam entered his left eye 4 days before the presentation. Slit lamp examination of the same eye showed ciliary injection with corneal edema with no epithelial defect and endothelial lesion measuring 3 × 4 millimeters (mm) with large keratic precipitates (KP). Examining the left eye by the Scheimpflug densitometry of the Sirius device (CSO, Florence, Italy) showed plaque on the back of the cornea. Aqueous tab Polymerase chain reaction analysis (PCR) results for the affected eye had negative results for viral infection. Improvement of ocular symptoms occurred after treatment with topical steroid therapy. Scheimpflug densitometry showed disappearance of the saw-tooth protrusions on the back of the cornea with decreased reflectivity. Corneal endotheliitis can be triggered by chemical ocular trauma. The Scheimpflug densitometry examination may be a useful noninvasive method for reaching a clinical diagnosis of corneal endotheliitis and monitoring treatment effectiveness

Detection of sensitive and mutant ruminal bacteria isolates from sheep, cattle, and buffalo using 14 therapeutic antibiotics

Subtherapeutic antibiotic use in ruminant feeding to optimize rumen fermentation may lead to residues in meat and milk (6), as well as an increase in the inhibition of ruminal bacterial populations (7). For this reason, in 2006, the European Union banned the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in livestock feeding due to potential toxicities to host animals, potential rumen microbial adaptation, and risk of the presence of residues of these compounds in milk and meat, with potential effects on human health (8).In the present study, sensitive and mutant colonies of some ruminal bacterial species isolated from sheep, cattle, and buffalo were detected. We counted and considered “mutant colonies” the bacterial colonies grown in the clear inhibition zone in the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion susceptibility test. Detected mutant colonies were higher in buffalo than in cattle and sheep. Duricef and metronidazole caused no mutations in any species. The others formed mutant colonies, where roxithromycin = polymyxin = chloramphenicol = gentamicin streptomycin = piperacillin > erythromycin > vancomycin = cefoperazone = cefotaxime > roxithromycin > polymyxin > chloramphenicol). The number of sensitive isolates of the different ruminant species for all the antibiotics was highest in buffalo, followed by cattle and then sheep (P < 0.05). We could conclude that subtherapeutic antibiotic use in ruminant feeding may lead to the formation of antibiotic-resistant mutant colonies, making their subtherapeutic effect nonexistent

The probe attack on the Bennett-Brassard 1984 protocol in the presences of noisy amplitude damping channel

In this contribution, we investigate the effect of the generalized amplitude damping as Eve's strategy to cause an error on the received signal during generating a quantum key distribution between Alice and Bob using Bennett-Brassard 1984 (BB84) protocol. For small values of the channel strength and larger values of the decay parameter, the entanglement decays gradually. The phenomena of the sudden changes of entanglement are observed for smaller and larger values of the willing initial error. These changes of entanglement decay gradually when Alice prepares her qubit in horizontal-vertical basis. While the sudden changes are depicted if the initial state is prepared in the diagonal-anti-diagonal basis. Bob will get his measurement with an error, where the probability of this error depends on the initial polarized angle, the initial desired error and the channel parameters

Digital Fabrication Systems between Theory and Practice "Application on Metal Roofing Systems"

The tremendous development in computer technology, communication technology and information circulation is an inspiring and influential source in modern design trends, which led to the expansion of design capabilities and facilitated the preparation of designs for complex shapes quickly and accurately. The design and manufacturing process is always closely linked, starting from the stage of generating the initial ideas to the final products, especially in curved and complex shapes that are difficult to implement in traditional ways, which led to the search for new ways and methods that help in preparing and implementing their designs. The widespread spread, along with the low cost of computers, has led to its increasing use in design instead of manual means, and the computer with its superior ability to deal with many, multiple and overlapping data quickly using mathematical algorithms, which in turn facilitated the architects to use Multiple methods and programs helped to prepare and develop many different types of designs and to show problems in them before starting implementation, which helped to save time, effort and money. With the help of the computer, it was possible to design and produce virtual models from ready-made full-size molds from aluminum, iron and plastic ores. The diversity in design and manufacturing programs made possible by modern technological progress has opened the way for designers and manufacturers to prepare highly innovative and quality geometric shapes and designs, and by using these programs it has been possible to translate those shapes and designs into three-dimensional models.Hence the concept and importance of digital manufacturing systems as a link between the design process and the manufacturing process, and this is what gives the current research its importance, which crystallizes its objectives in exploring the role of digital manufacturing systems in the design, manufacture and production of metal systems with application to glass metal ceiling systems where the problem of the current research emerged from the need To keep pace with the technical development in the design and manufacturing processes of metal systems to achieve effective performance and quality, which can be achieved by taking advantage of the advantages of digital manufacturing systems.The research used the descriptive approach in theoretical studies and the experimental approach in applied studies

Surgical Outcome of Three-Dimensional Correction of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Background: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine that appears in late childhood or adolescence. Instead of growing straight, the spine develops a side-to-side curvature, usually in an elongated "S" or "C" shape; the bones of the spine are also slightly twisted or rotated. To prevent further curve progression and obtain a balanced spine, surgery remains the mainstay of treatment for idiopathic scoliosis (IS). Objective: This study aimed to discuss three dimensional surgical techniques used for correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, evaluating their feasibility, efficacy and safety. Patients and methods: This study was conducted in Mansoura University Hospital and Alexandria University Hospitals between September 2018 and April 2021. 3D surgical correction was performed for 91 patients complaining of idiopathic scoliosis, and not responding to conservative measures and not associated with neurological affection. Results: According to Lenke classification, there were 56 patients (61.5%) with type 1 curve type , 9 patients (9.9%) with type 2, 7 patients (7.7%) with type 3, 7 patients (7.7%) with type 5 and 12 patients (13.2%) with type 6. Mean preoperative height was 1.60 m while mean postoperative height was 1.66 m. with significant increase in height postoperatively (p &lt; 0.001). Mean percentage height gain was 3.91%. Conclusion: We do believe that the posterior only approach 3D correction is an effective method in management of AIS concerning correction of Cobb angle, shoulder balance and spinopelvic parameters and recommend it as the best way nowadays to treat this disease