Antibody in the treatment of immune complex diseases

Imperial Users onl

Rapid chiral separation and impurity determination of ropivacaine and bupivacaine by Densitometry-HPTLC, using mucopolysaccharide as chiral mobile phase additive

Enantio separation of the local anesthetic drugs; ropivacaine (Rop), bupivacaine (Bup) and potential organic impurities (2,6-Dimethylaniline, 2,6-DMA) were accomplished on HPTLC using mucopolysaccharide selector (Chondroitin) as chiral mobile phase additive (CMPA). The enantioseparation was achieved in acetonitrile:water:methanol (16:3:1, v:v:v) containing 0.25% chondroitin as chiral mobile phase additive. The influence of separation conditions, including type and concentration of chiral selector, organic modifiers and temperatures on enantioseparation were evaluated. The enantioselective HPTLC method was validated to control the enantiomeric purity of the (S)-enantiomers (S-Rop and S-Bup); the active ingredients contained in drug products. In these conditions, linearity over the concentration range, 1.0-10.0 µg/spot for each (R)-enantiomer and 1.0-8.0 µg/spot for 2,6-DMA main organic impurity were obtained. The detection limits are less than 0.6 µg/spot of chiral and organic impurities. The intra and inter-day assay precision was less than 3.0% (RSD%)

Investigating the mechanical and physical properties of wood plastic composites (WPC)

Wood and plastic wastes have been a major environmental concern not only in Egypt but also worldwide. Plastic wastes are classified as recyclable plastic such as bottles and non-recyclable plastic such as plastic bags especially contaminated bags (rejected plastic). Plastic waste is a non biodegradable material calling for an appropriate method of disposal; however, the current approach adopted in Egypt relies mainly on throwing away in dumpsites. Therefore, it is a costless raw material which needs to be invested. In this thesis, the wood waste and the rejected plastic were recycled to produce new useful product; Wood Plastic Composite (WPC), having characteristics similar or close to commercial wood. An innovative, clean, cheap, and effective yet simple technology with different procedures was introduced in this thesis to demonstrate the suitability of wood plastic composites\u27 techniques for developing countries. Testing was done for some important mechanical properties; flexural strength and modulus, and physical properties; water absorption and thickness swelling, which has proven an acceptable final product and promising results; especially regarding the physical test. The design and analysis of experimental work was built on using design of experiments. Special type of experimental designs; design with mixtures, was adopted because it deals with dependent factors; mixture ingredients. Talc was added to the mixture as a mineral additive. The impact of factors (wood waste, plastic waste, and talc) on the physical and mechanical properties of the WPC (flexural strength and modulus, water absorption and thickness swelling) was investigated based on full analysis of variance (ANOVA). It showed that the plastic waste was the most negative affecting factor; this was contributed to the variability in batches produced in addition to the impurities content. Talc resulted in increasing the flexural strength and modulus. Wood with size of up to 0.5mm has proven to affect the flexural modulus response negatively; when increased. A mathematical model and a response surface representing the factors and their responses; that could be used for future forecasting of the properties without performing physical experiments, were obtained for flexural strength and modulus after conducting several trials till reaching the final experimental design within the navigation space. All these trials were based on an algorithm that was introduced to reach the best feasible model and response surface. A completed residual analysis of the model was done in every trial of the algorithm; where every point within the design was analyzed, till reaching the final model. The best possible mix that enhances the flexural strength to the maximum possible was obtained when the talc was close to 30%, plastic waste 50% and wood waste (of particle size up to 1.18mm) and wood waste (particle up to 0.5mm) of average percentages of 10%. For the flexural modulus, best mix values were obtained when talc is close to 35%, plastic waste 40%, and wood waste (particle up to 1.18mm) about 15% and wood waste (particle up to 0.5mm) 10%. A comparison study; using hypothesis testing, between 7 types of commercial wood (plywood, pinewood, beech wood, maple wood, Fiberboard, Medium Density Fiber wood (MDF), and compressed wood) and WPC was conducted to validate the application of the WPC. It showed that the WPC had the lowest water absorption and thickness swelling percentages compared to others (maximum of 1.7%, average of 0.4% and standard deviation of 0.28%); in addition, it showed that WPC flexural strength performs like compressed wood. However, flexural strength and modulus were less regarding other types of wood

Correlation between the RhD genotyping and RhD serotyping in isoimmunized pregnancies

Alloimmunisation was one of the most important causes of perinatal mortality and morbidity by the middle of the last century. The objective of the present study was to investigate the presence of the RHD gene in fetal cells (amniocytes) obtained from amniotic fluid by genotyping to compare it with the RhD serotyping. Also to correlate the presence of RhD gene with the neonatal outcome. This work was carried out at Maternity hospital and Medical Genetics center, while PCR testing was done at the Medical Research center, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University in the period from 2008 to 2010. The present study included recruiting of 20 RhD negative (sensitized to the RhD antigen) pregnant mothers. The entire study group was subjected to complete general, obstetric and a detailed obstetric ultrasonographic examination. Rh typing and indirect Coomb’s test were also done. Amniocentesis was performed with a 20-gauge needle under continuous ultrasound guidance. RhD serotyping of the fetuses showed that, 14 fetuses (70%) were positive and six fetuses (30%) were negative. While using RhD gentyping 13 cases (65%) were positive and seven cases (35%) were negative (P value = 0.002). Among fetuses positive for RhD genotyping six fetuses (46%) had received postnatal treatment, while among fetuses negative for RhD genotyping, neither of them had received postnatal treatment (P value =0.032), which is statistically significant. From the present study we can conclude that, the identification of an antigen-negative fetus on the basis of the blood group genotype provides significant advantages in managing the pregnancy at risk for HDFN.Keywords: Maternal alloimmunization; Rhesus; RHD; Isoimmunization; Hydrops fetalis; Fetus; Rh negativ

Multi-band provisioning in dynamic elastic optical networks: a comparative study of a heuristic and a deep reinforcement learning approach

The blocking performance of a heuristic and a deep reinforcement learning approach for resource provisioning in a dynamic multi-band elastic optical network is evaluated. The heuristic is based on a previous proposal that prioritises the use of band C, then L, S, and E, in that order. The deep reinforcement learning approach uses a deep Q-network (DQN) agent trained on different multi-band scenarios. Results show, as expected, a significant decrease in blocking probability when moving from the C-band only scenario to the multi-band scenarios (C+L, C+L+S, C+L+S+E). However, the DQN agent did not outperform the heuristic. The lower performance of the agent, also observed in some previous works in optical networks, highlights the need for further research on how to better configure agents and improve the network representation used by the optical network environments

Accumulation of Trace Metals, Petroleum Hydrocarbons, and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Marine Copepods from the Arabian Gulf

In this study, zooplankton samples were collected from the coastal waters of Qatar during winter and summer 1998 to assess the impact of growing industrialization on the bioaccumulation of trace metals, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in copepods, the dominant zooplankton group and main food for fish in the Arabian Gulf

Development a Framework for Assessment of Water Security in Egypt

Water Security is very urgent for sustainable development in Egypt. Growing population needs more food production, water for drinking, hygiene, and to respond to economic activities which rely on access to more water.The objective of this paper is to develop an operational and applicable framework for assessment of water security index for Egypt.  The water security index for Egypt was calculated according to the methodology of the Asian Water Development Bank Outlook (AWDO) using 2020 data and it was found that the water security situation is below average and huge efforts are needed to enhance this indicator in order to meet the current water challenges. After applying AWDO methodology for assessment of water security and its five indicators, it was found that some of them are misleading and some are not applicable to Egypt. In this paper, a modification for the indicators will be proposed to be more relevant to Egypt and to be more practical. The modified framework and its new indicators have represented the situation in Egypt with the challenges of an arid and extremely variable climate. The modified water security index evaluation methodology is also used in light of the Egyptian local conditions in predicting the indicator Water security for 2030 based on the assumed expectations of three water shortage scenarios. These future scenarios helped draw a road map for the necessary measures needed to secure the water situation and thus economic growth