The passengers\u27 satisfaction with public bus service among middle-income users in Greater Cairo

Public transport is an essential demand to ensure ease mobility for all the citizens to fulfill different life activities such as work, education and health. Passengers, around the world, search for a convenient bus service responds to their needs such as coverage, regular time table service, safety, facilities within terminals, better atmosphere inside the vehicle during the trip, and affordable fare. However, these basic needs are deteriorated on many countries due to lack of efficiency and responsiveness of the service operators. The aim of this study is to understand the most critical factors that influence on the passengers’ satisfaction with the public bus service in Egypt from the perspective of middle-income users specifically in both Cairo and Giza governorates. A qualitative study had been conducted in three main bus Terminals located in Tahrir, Boulak El Dakror and Lebanon Square in Cairo and Giza governorates. A sample of 40 passenger has been chosen based on different set of criteria include age, reliance of the service and monthly income. The analysis identifies the five categories that are essential for passengers of the public bus service. The first category is the facilities within the bus terminal which include secured waiting areas, bathrooms, cleanliness, lighting and personal security. The second category is the conditions of the vehicle that include design, drivers\u27 behavior and information during the trip. The third category is the bus fare and to what extent passengers can afford to the bus service in Greater Cairo. The fourth one is the accurate time table that organizes the service during different working hours. The final category is the additional options for the passengers to improve the mobility and reduce stress during long trips. To improve the service, the operators have to include the passengers\u27 perceptions and opinions on the evaluation process as the passengers represent the backbone of the bus service and interact directly with the service weaknesses

Skeletonized versus pedicled left internal mammary artery harvesting and risk of sternal wound infection after coronary artery bypass surgery

Background: The left internal mammary artery (LIMA) is the gold standard conduit for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). There are two harvesting methods, either pedicled or skeletonized. The choice of any technique must consider its complication profile, especially sternal wound infections (SWI). This study aims to evaluate and compare the occurrence of SWI after pedicled and skeletonized LIMA harvesting techniques for CABG. Methods: This prospective observational study included 300 patients who had CABG between 2016 and 2019. We included patients who had pedicled LIMA (n=200) in group 1 and who had skeletonized LIMA (n=100) in group 2. All patients completed a follow-up period of 3 months after CABG. The evaluation during follow-up included: sternal instability, signs of wound infection, temperature, the microbiological study of wound discharge, and chest computed tomography scan. Results: There was no significant differences in age (p = 0.20), male to female ratio (p = 0.43), body mass index (p = 0.12), NYHA I/II (p = 0.50), diabetes mellitus (p = 0.28), ejection  fraction (p= 0.14), and EuroSCORE II (p= 0.09) between groups. No significant difference in cardiopulmonary bypass time (p = 0.24), and cross-clamp time (p= 0.19) between groups. There was a significant increase in the total operating time in skeletonized LIMA group (212.77±75.25 min vs. 190.78±55 minutes, p= 0.004). Skeletonized LIMA was significantly associated lower incidence of SWI than that with pedicled LIMA (4% vs 15.5%, p= 0.003), and non-significantly lower incidence of deep SWI (1% vs 4.5%, p= 0.11). The risk factors for SWI in patients who had pedicled IMA were obesity (OR: 13.06, 95%CI: 3.98-42.89), diabetes mellitus (OR: 10.51, 95%CI: 2.35-46.84), and excessive diathermy (OR: 12.62, 95%CI: 3.93-40.54). Conclusion: Obesity, diabetes, and the use of excessive diathermy for hemostasis may increase the risk of sternal wound infection with pedicled LIMA harvest compared to skeletonized LIMA in patients undergoing CABG

Identification and Mechanism of Echinochloa crus-galli Resistance to Fenoxaprop-p-ethyl with respect to Physiological and Anatomical Differences

Identification and mechanism of Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) resistance to fenoxaprop-p-ethyl via physiological and anatomical differences between susceptible and resistant were investigated. The physiological and anatomical differences that were take into account were growth reduction, chlorophyll content reduction, lamina thickness, and xylem vessel diameter in both susceptible and resistant biotypes of E. crus-galli. The results showed that the growth reduction fifty (GR50) of resistant biotype was 12.07-times higher than that of the susceptible biotype of E. crus-galli treated with fenoxaprop-p-ethyl. The chlorophyll content was highly reduced in the susceptible biotype relative to the resistant one of E. crus-galli treated with fenoxaprop-p-ethyl. An anatomical test showed significant differences in the cytology of susceptible and resistant biotypes of E. crus-galli treated with fenoxaprop-p-ethyl with respect to lamina thickness and xylem vessel diameter. The resistance of E. crus-galli to fenoxaprop-p-ethyl may be due to the faster metabolism of fenoxaprop-p-ethyl below the physiologically active concentration or the insensitivity of its target enzyme (Acetyl-CoA carboxylase)

Geochemical and biomarker characteristics of crude oils and source rock hydrocarbon extracts: An implication to their correlation, depositional environment and maturation in the Northern Western Desert, Egypt

AbstractOil–oil and oil–source rock correlations are used in this study in order to achieve their relationship, depositional environments and diagenetic processes in the source rocks. Three oil samples and source rock hydrocarbon extracts were analyzed using relative geochemical analyses, and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry are used for this purpose. The results revealed that the extracts of the Alam El Bueib and Khatatba formations are derived from mixed organic sources in which terrestrial dominates marine sources, and deposited in transitional environments under less anoxic conditions. The extracts of Bahariya formation are derived from mixed marine inputs with a limited terrestrial contribution. The Alam El Bueib oil shows more contribution of terrestrial than marine sources. Also, a genetic close relation between them supported the indigenous mixed source of Alam El Bueib oil which related to different sources including the Khatatba, Alam El Bueib and Bahariya formations. Accordingly, the Alam El Bueib formation can be considered as an important source for petroleum generation in the Northern Western Desert

Application of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a biocontrol agent against Fusarium infection of sugar beet plants

Applicability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a biocontrol agent of Fusarium oxysporum and as plant growth promoter was investigated. At 5 g L-1concentration, germination rate of the soaked seeds reached 85.83% in comparison with 54.00% for the untreated ones. Plant growth parameters, chlorophyll contents, TSS and sucrose percentages were also tested. Application of 5 g L-1 of yeast resulted in a reduction of the pre- and post-emergence damping-off 6.67 and 11.67%, respectively. Survival of treated plants increased to 83.33% in comparison with 30.00% for the pots inoculated with the pathogen containing untreated seeds. Linear growth of F. oxysporum was inhibited with 39.52% and 50% by using 5 g L-1 and 6.35 g L-1 of the yeast, respectively

Video-assisted Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery versus Conventional Mitral Surgery in Rheumatic Patients

Background: Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery became an attractive option because of its cosmetic advantages over the conventional approach. The superiority of the minimally invasive approach regarding other aspects is still debatable. The aim of our study was to determine the potential benefits of minimally invasive mitral valve replacement with intraoperative video assistance over conventional surgery. Methods: This is a single-center prospective cohort study that included 60 patients with rheumatic heart disease who underwent mitral valve replacement. Patients were divided into two groups: group (A) included patients who had conventional sternotomy (n= 30), and group (B) included patients who had video-assisted minimally invasive mitral valve replacement (n= 30). Intraoperative and postoperative outcomes were compared between both groups. Results: Mortality occurred in one patient in the group (A). Cardiopulmonary bypass time was 118.93 ± 29.84 minutes vs. 64.73 ± 19.16 minutes in group B and A respectively (p< 0.001), and ischemic time was 102.27 ± 30.03 minutes vs. 53.67± 18.46 minutes in group B and A respectively (P < 0.001). Ventilation time was 2.77± 2.27 vs. 6.28 ± 4.48 hours in group B and A respectively (p< 0.001) and blood transfusion was 0.50 ± 0.63 vs. 2.83 ± 1.34 units in group B and A respectively (p< 0.001).  ICU stay was 1.73 ± 0.64 days in the group (B) vs. 4.47 ± 0.94 days in group A (p< 0.001). Postoperative bleeding was 353.33 ± 146.77 ml in the group (B) vs. 841.67 ± 302.03 ml in group A (p <0.001). No conversion to full sternotomy was reported in group B. In group (B), two cases (6.6%) required re-exploration for bleeding vs. four cases (13.2%) in group (A) (p=0.67). The hospital stay was 6.13 ± 1.59 days in the group (B) vs. 13.27 ± 7.62 days in group A (p< 0.001). Four cases (13.3%) developed mediastinitis in group A and in the group (B), there was one case of acute right lower limb embolic ischemia. Conclusion: Video-assisted minimally invasive mitral operations could be a safe alternative to conventional sternotomy with the potential of lesser morbidity and earlier hospital discharge

Association of dopamine D4 receptor gene variants with autism

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heritable neurodevelopmental disorder with poorly understood and complex etiology. The central dopaminergic system is strongly implicated in ASD pathogenesis. Genes encoding various elements of this system have been linked to ASD. This study aimed to estimate the distribution frequency of dopamine D4 receptor-exon III repeat region polymorphic genotypes among Egyptian children with autism.Methods: This case-control study included 178 children with autism (mean age 4.46±1.72 years) (118 males and 60 females) and a normal control group (n=128) of matching age and gender. Assessments by DSMIV- TR criteria, Stanford-Binet intelligence scale and childhood autism rating scale (CARS) were done. Assay for DRD4 48 bp VNTR genotypes was performed on amplified DNA by RFLP-PCR.Results: The 4/4 allele had the highest frequency among both autistic (39.32%) and control children (62.5%), with no significant difference between them. The 7/7 allele had also a high frequency (33.7%) among autistic patients, which was significantly different (p˂0.05) from the control group (12.5%) Furthermore, 70% of the patients carrying the 7/7 allele had the lowest IQ scores (58.5±6.5).Conclusions: There is a strong evidence that the DRD4 7/7 allele might be a risk factor for autism.

The potentiality of hydrocarbon generation of the Jurassic source rocks in Salam-3x well, North Western Desert, Egypt

AbstractThe present work deals with the identification of the potential and generating capability of oil generation in the Jurassic source rocks in the Salam-3x well. This depending on the organo-geochemical analyses of cutting samples representative of Masajid, Khatatba and Ras Qattara formations, as well as, representative extract samples of the Khatatba and Ras Qattara formations. The geochemical analysis suggested the potential source intervals within the encountered rock units as follows: Masajid Formation bears mature source rocks and have poor to fair generating capability for generating gas (type III kerogen). Khatatba Formation bears mature source rock, and has poor to good generating capability for both oil and gas. Ras Qattara Formation constituting mature source rock has good to very good generating capability for both oil and gas. The burial history modeling shows that the Masajid Formation lies within oil and gas windows; Khatatba and Ras Qattara formations lie within the gas window. From the biomarker characteristics of source rocks it appears that the extract is genetically related as the majority of them were derived from marine organic matters sources (mainly algae) deposited under reducing environment and take the direction of increasing maturity and far away from the direction of biodegradation. Therefore, Masajid Formation is considered as effective source rocks for generating hydrocarbons, while Khatatba and Ras Qattara formations are the main source rocks for hydrocarbon accumulations in the Salam-3x well