Keynote Address: Feminist studies : Relevance for scholarship and social equity in Arab societies

The proceedings of the Arab Regional Women’s Studies Workshop held at the American University in Cairo in May 1997. Among the theoretical and practical issues discussed are: the importance of introducing gender studies in order to achieve social equality in the Arab World, rethinking political and research priorities in order to give more attention to gender issues, and comparing gender programs in some Arab countries.https://fount.aucegypt.edu/faculty_book_chapters/1961/thumbnail.jp

Teas: Direct test on quality and antioxidant activity using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy

Abstract. The manufactured teas may conveniently be divided into three classes: Green teas, Oolongs (delicate black teas), and Black Teas. Several indirect methods are employed to measure the antioxidant activity of tea extracts that is basically takes place by monitoring the inhibition of oxidation of a suitable substrate using the extracts of antioxidant materials from the studies systems. This study is concerned with the results of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy that is utilized to investigate several categories of green and black teas: Twining Green Tea (TGT) of London, Rabea Green Tea (RGT) of Saudia, Chinese Green Tea (CGT) of China, English Breakfast Tea (EBT) of Ahmed Tea-London, and Rabea Black Tea (RBT) of Saudia. Three EPR signals from all the studied samples are observed. The assignment of these signals will discussed and correlated with the quality of leaves. Mainly, two paramagnetic species are considered to be responsible for the observed EPR signals; manganese(II)-protein system of the leaves and a stable free radical of aromatic origin. The study will provide facts on the dependency of radical signal on the oxidative degradation procedures of the studied samples. The intensity and feature of Mn(II)-EPR-signal is found to be related to the disintegration of tea leaves

Validated Spectrophotometric Methods for the Determination of Oxybuprocaine Hydrochloride

Simple, rapid, accurate and reliable spectrophotometric methods were developed and validated for determination of Oxybuprocaine hydrochloride (OXY) in pure form and in pharmaceutical preparation. The methods depend on charge transfer reaction of OXY as n-electron donor with p-chloranilic acid (p-CA), 2, 3 – dichloro 5, 6 – dicyano 1, 4 benzoquinone (DDQ) and iodine as π and σ acceptors, respectively. These reactions were studied under various conditions and the optimum parameters were selected. Under the optimum reaction conditions, linear relationships with good correlation coefficients (0.9996, 0.9997, and 0.9998) were found between absorbance of the formed complexes and concentrations of OXY in the range of 20.0 - 220.0 μg/mL, 10.0-80.0 μg/mL and 4.0-44.0 μg/mL for (p-CA), DDQ and iodine methods, respectively. The methods were successfully applied for the determination of OXY in pure form and in dosage form. Job’s method was applied to determine the stoichiometry of the reactions. No significant difference was found at p = 0.05 when the obtained results of the proposed methods were statistically compared with those obtained by an official method

Preparation and Histological Study of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Bone Graft in Management of Class II Furcation Defects in Dogs

BACKGROUND: The main target of periodontal disease and alveolar bone defeat treatment is the regeneration of the lost structures. AIM: This work deals with the evaluation of the effect of functionalised multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), as grafting material in the management of furcation defects created in dogs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Potential cytotoxicity of the grafting material was assessed. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis after incubation of the grafting material in simulated body fluid (SBF) at pH 7.4 and 37°C for one week was done. In six healthy mongrel dogs' full-thickness mucoperiosteal flaps were raised on the buccal aspects to create two walls intrabony defects at the furcation areas. The mandibular premolar area received the grafting material. Histological evaluation was carried out at 1, 2- and 3-months’ period. RESULTS: Cytotoxicity results proved the safety of grafting material application. The prepared material exhibited good Ca-apatite crystal patterns at the surface revealed by SEM and high calcium content showed by EDX results. Good bone formation ability was also apparent histologically. CONCLUSION: The prepared grafting material (MWCNTs) can serve as a delivery vehicle for osteogenic cells and osteogenic growth factor proteins in the bone development process

Interpretation of multispectral and infrared thermal surveys of the Suez Canal Zone, Egypt

Remote sensing airborne surveys were conducted, as part of the plan of rehabilitation, of the Suez Canal Zone using I2S multispectral camera and Bendix LN-3 infrared passive scanner. The multispectral camera gives four separate photographs for the same scene in the blue, green, red, and near infrared bands. The scanner was operated in the microwave bands of 8 to 14 microns and the thermal surveying was carried out both at night and in the day time. The surveys, coupled with intensive ground investigations, were utilized in the construction of new geological, structural lineation and drainage maps for the Suez Canal Zone on a scale of approximately 1:20,000, which are superior to the maps made by normal aerial photography. A considerable number of anomalies belonging to various types were revealed through the interpretation of the executed multispectral and infrared thermal surveys

The effect of different antidepressant drugs of oxidative stress after lipopolysaccharide administration in mice

This study investigated the effect of the serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) fluoxetine, sertraline, fluvoxamine and the tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) impiramine on oxi-dative stress in brain and liver induced by lipopolysaccharide administration in mice. Each drug was administered subcutaneously at doses of 10 or 20 mg/kg, for two days prior to in-traperitoneal (i.p.) administration of lipopolysaccharide E (LPS: 200 μg/kg). Mice were euthanized 4 h after administration of the lipopolysaccharide. Lipid peroxidation (malondial-dehyde; MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and nitric oxide (nitrite/nitrate) concentrations were measured in brain and liver. Results: The administration of lipopolysaccharide increased oxidative stress in brain and liv-er; it increased brain MDA by 36.1 and liver MDA by 159.8 %. GSH decreased by 34.1 % and 64.8 % and nitric oxide increased by 78.7 % and 103.8 % in brain and liver, respectively. In brain, MDA decreased after the administration of sertraline and by the lower dose of fluo-xetine or fluvoxamine, but increased after the higher dose of imipramine. Reduced glutathione increased after sertraline, fluvoxamine and the lower dose of fluoxetine or imipramine. Nitric oxide decreased by sertraline, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine and by the lower dose of imipramine. In the liver, all drugs decreased MDA and increased GSH level. Nitric oxide is decreased by sertraline, fluvoxamine and by the lower dose of fluoxetine or imipramine. It is concluded that, during mild systemic inflammatory illness induced by peripheral bacterial endotoxin in-jection, the SSRIs fluoxetine, sertraline and fluvoxamine reduced, while the TCA impiramine increased oxidative stress induced in the brain. The SSRIs as well as imipramine reduced oxi-dative stress due to lipopolysaccharide in liver tissue

Simulation of weather-driven deterioration of clay embankments

Clay embankments used for road, rail, and flood defense infrastructure experience several weather-driven deterioration processes that lead to a progressive degradation in their hydromechanical performance. This paper presents a numerical modeling approach that accounts for the development of desiccation cracking in clay embankments. Specifically, a bimodal soil water retentivity model was adopted to capture the long-term hydraulic behavior of clay embankments prone to weather-driven desiccation cracking. A numerical model was developed for a heavily instrumented and monitored full-scale research embankment with long-term field data. The model was able to capture the variation of near-surface soil moisture and matric suction over a monitored period of nine years in response to weather cycles. The developed and validated numerical modeling approach enables forecasting of the long-term performance of clay embankments under a range of future climate scenarios

THE EFFECTS OF DIABETES MELLITUS ON THE RESPONSE TO PEGINTERFERON-ALPHA IN COMBINATION WITH RIBAVIRIN THERAPY IN EGYPTIAN CHRONIC HEPATITIS C PATIENTS

Objective:The present study aimed to determine whether type 2 diabetes mellitus influences the response to antiviral therapy with peg-interferon alpha plus ribavirin in Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C. Methods:All patients were treated with peginterferon alpha 2 b (1.5 μg/Kg/body weight) subcutaneously plus oral ribavirin application in a dose ranging from 800-1200 mg/day and followed after 12 w of therapy. Results: The present study indicated that, non-significant changes were observed in liver function, kidney function, thyroid function tests, tumor marker, immunological analysis, hematological parameters, viral load and degree of cirrhosis between both groups’ baselines, while the only significant difference was regarded in glucose level. However, diabetic group showed a significant decrease in response to antiviral therapy as compared to non-diabetic hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients. Furthermore, significant decrease in serum liver enzymes activity and total bilirubin level as compared to baseline levels in both groups, while there were a significant increase in alanine transaminase (ALT) activity and total bilirubin level in diabetic group as compared to non-diabetic HCV group after treatment. Also, significant decreases in hemoglobin concentration, white blood cells and platelet counts, in both groups after treatment as compared to there before treatment while diabetic group showed significant decreases in hemoglobin concentration and white blood cells count when compared with non-diabetic HCV group after treatment. Conclusion: Type 2 diabetes mellitus influence the response to antiviral therapy with peginterferon plus ribavirin in Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C

Some Chemical Aspects of Tetrahydro-1-thiopyran-4-one Derivatives

3,5-Diarylmethylene-2,6-diphenyltetrahydrothiopyran-4-thiones, 2, reacted with two or four moles of bromine to form 3-aryimethylene 5-bromoarylmethylene- 2,6-dipheny1tetrahydrothiopyran- -4-thione, 3, and 3-arylmethylene-5-bromoarylmethylene-2,6-dibromo- 2,6-diphenyltetrahydrothiopyran-4-thione, 5, respectively. Compound 2a reacted with amines giving 2,6-diphenyl-5-iminophenylmethyl- 3-phenylmethylenetetrahydrothiopyran-4-thiones, 6. Diphenydiazomethane and 9-diazofluorene converted 2a into 4-diphenylethylene- 2,6-dipheny1-3,5 diphenylmethylenetetrahydrothiopyran, 7, and 2,6-diphenyl-3,5-diphenylmethylene-4-(9-fluorenylidene) tetrahydrothiopyran, 8, respectively. Compounds 2 with copper-bronze afforded 3,3\u27,5,5\u27-tetraarylmethylene-2,2\u27 ,6,6\u27-tetraphenyl-Lr-thio- 4,4\u27 dipyranylidenes

Optical Properties of Bismuth Borate Glasses Doped with Zinc and Calcium Oxides

Some bismuth-borate oxide glass' samples were prepared by the fast quenching method, where B2O3 was replaced with equal concentrations of ZnO and CaO. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to examine the internal structure and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) to identify building units and bonds throughout the studied structural matrices. XRD showed that all samples have short range order structural nature, while FTIR demonstrated some of Zn2+ acted as glass network formers and all Bi3+ acted as glass. UV-visible measurements and calculations showed a decreasing in the energy band gap from 3.83 eV to 1.73 eV with decreasing B2O3 content. Also with decreasing B2O3 content, both real refractive index and metallization factor decreased from 3.1 to 1.9 and from 0.56 to 0.71, respectively. For the studied glass' samples, density and molar volume showed inverted behaviors, where the density decreased while the molar volume increases with decreasing B2O3