Sustaining the population growth of desert settlements, case study: North Sinai, Egypt

Egypt faces ongoing problems in its population distribution. While heavily populated areas of the Nile Valley continue to attract migrants, depopulated areas remain largely empty. In North Sinai, in spite of governmental support represented in new infrastructure and many urban and investment projects, there exists a tremendous under- population problem. In the meantime the urban centres of Egypt are suffering worsening social, economic, infrastructural and environmental problems exacerbated by overpopulation. This thesis addresses the concept of sustaining population growth of desert settlements. It argues that the socio-economic needs of desert settlements are to a large part overlooked, thus contributing to their failure to attract and retain large numbers of people. Discussion of this subject is structured into three parts, followed by the conclusion and recommendations. Part One uses extensive literature references to give a comprehensive background to the different features of desert settlements and their social, economic and environmental dimensions. Part Two covers the theoretical approach of sustaining the population growth of desert settlements, especially in peripheral areas. This part ends with a comparative analysis between three desert development experiences; in Egypt, the USA and Israel. These first two parts are targeted to address the indicators of sustaining population growth. These investigations into the subject area support a view that it is not sufficient for governments only to use economic, employment and infrastructural means to attract people to desert settlements. These do not tackle the problem of public attitudes towards living in remote communities, nor do they provide settlements that are adaptive to the desert environment, which would invite settlers to remain and bring up their families there. These insights construct the analytical background to the field study in Part Three, which outlines the research techniques and the case study, field survey and questionnaire conducted with the assistance of residents of five chosen desert settlements in North Sinai. This analysis examines the attitudes among `local' and `new comer' households looking at their residential mobility, the relocation process, and the consequences of the community and prospects for the future. The findings lead to the conclusion that much of the deviation from achieving national and regional population dispersal policies can be explained through studying the socio-economic and socio-cultural dimensions of desert settlements. They highlight significant differences in values, motivations and interests of both `local' and `newcomer' households and explain that these forces should have a major influence in formulating and implementing effective population redistribution policies. Although the research limits itself to the context of the desert environment, the author suggest that its findings may offer valuable insights to other parts of the world, where national policies are seeking to counter the global problems of rural -urban migration

Effect of energy window width on planer and SPECT image uniformity

AbstractTo detect radiopharmaceutical distribution in patient organs and avoid interpretation mistakes, due to the protocol errors, a gamma camera must work in optimum conditions. One such error is camera non-uniformity. Baron and Chouraqui[Baron, J.M., Chouraqui, P., 1996. Myocardial single-photon emission computed tomographic quality assurance. J. Nucl. Cordial. 3(2), 157–166] have reported the need to ensure consistently high image quality and accuracy using an optimally chosen standardized protocol. It has been reported that single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) significantly improved contrast over the planer image and has the ability to separate overlapping structures[Critchly, M., 1993. Nuclear Medicine Pocket Handbook, Amersham International Plc, pp. 6–7]. Window width of energy is considered as one of the most important physical parameters affecting the quality of planer and SPECT images. Thus, the effect of widow widths of energy 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% on planer and SPECT images were investigated using a Tc-99m source at 140keV. Tc-99m is the most common isotope in nuclear medicine and has one well-defined peakT in comparison with thallium, which has three peaks. In the present study, it was evident that energy window width played a prominent role in flood images uniformity using the Tc-99m source. The calculated integral uniformity percentage (IU%) and differential uniformity percentage (DU%) values of center field of view (CFOV) and useful field of view (UFOV) were markedly changed with a change of energy window width. The optimum energy window width was in the range from 15% to 20%. Moreover, the effect of window widths of energy 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% on SPECT image on a heart phantom with an artificial defect performed at the anterior wall of the heart was investigated. The SPECT images were clinically examined by a physician who reported a different diagnosis for each energy window width due to vertical long axis cuts, which, in turn, were due to the change in the collected counts. We concluded that the optimum energy window width was also in the range 15–20% for the Tc-99m isotope, which confirmed previous planer results

Use of antibiotics for asthma attacks in Egyptian children

Background: Bacterial infection plays a negligible role in pediatric acute asthma attacks. However, many patients are treated empirically with antibiotics.Objective: This study attempted to investigate the problem of antibiotic usage as a part of treatment of acute asthma among children living in Egypt.Methods: The current exploratory study included a random sample of 300 children visiting the allergy clinic, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University from September 2016 to September 2017. A study researcher applied a validated questionnaire to the child's parents about usage of antibiotics.Results: Most families belonged to the low or middle social class. About 65.7% of children had sub-optimal asthma control, 73.7% experienced acute attacks, with over half of them (51%) receiving antibiotics; 41.8% of those who received antibiotics were self-medicated. Over 90% reused previous prescriptions. Main single reasons for resorting to self-medication were to save money and the assumption that previous prescriptions can be reused. About 45.3% expressed intention to employ self-medication in the future. Low social class was associated with significantly higher odds of resorting to self-medication (odds ratio=3.32;p=0.05).Conclusion: A remarkable antibiotic use was detected among children who had acute asthma, a large proportion of which was without medical consultation. Family social class was an independent predictor for adopting self-medication.Keywords: Asthma, attacks, antibiotics, Egyptian, children

THE ANTI-HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIC EFFECT OF ULVAN POLYSACCHARIDE EXTRACTED FROM THE GREEN ALGA ULVAFASCIATA ON AGED HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIC RATS

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the relation between hypercholesterolemia and aging, beside the role of Ulva fasciata polysaccharides (UFP)aqueous extracts in lowering cholesterol in aged hypercholesterolemia-induced rats was demonstrated.Method: A total of 140 male Wister rats weighing 120±10 g, 6-9 months old were used. Hypercholesterolemia was induced in rats by feeding ratshigh-fat diet (cholesterol), cholesterol was orally administrated at a dose of (30 mg/0.3 ml olive oil/1 kg animal) 5 times a week for 12 consecutiveweeks, lard fat was mixed with normal diet (1 kg of animal lard was added to 5 kg of normal diet), the occurrence of hypercholesterolemia wasdetermined by measuring the lipid profile (TC, LDL-C, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol [HDL-C], triglyceride [TG]), the old hypercholesterolemic(HC) rats were only used.Results: The antihypercholesterolemic (HC) effects of ulvan, the sulfated polysaccharide extracted from the green alga Ulvafasciata, in aged rats,were studied. Algal treatment declared a significant reduction in serum total lipid level while, elevation of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levelwas noticed in HC rats. Moreover, the algal treatment significantly decreased serum liver and kidney functions biomarkers and improved the hepaticantioxidant levels in hyperlipidemic aged rats. In addition, ulvan administration significantly suppressed the expression of tumor necrosis factoralpha,myeloperoxidaseand cell vascularand intracellularadhesionmolecules-1,whileincreasedthe anti-inflammatorycytokinelevel;interleukin-10.Furthermore,the histopathologicalexaminationof aorta,liverandkidneyof HC-treatedratsindicatedthatthe Ulvafasciatapolysaccharides(UFP),isapotentnaturalhypolipidemicnutraceuticalforthe ameliorationof hyperlipidemiain aged rats.Conclusion: It could be concluded that, in comparison with the standard anti-HC drug (fluvastatin) used in this study, both cold and hot UFP algalextracts of U. fasciata demonstrated appreciable anti-hypercholesterolemic property, in addition to their antioxidant activity even in the old HC stressed rats. Thus, it could be used as a natural lipid regulator.Keywords: Ulvafasciata, Hypercholesterolemia, Polysaccharides, Rats, Sulfated polysaccharides, Aging, Hyper-cholesterolemia

Effect of valproic acid administration during pregnancy on postnatal development of cerebellar cortex and the possible protective role of folic acid

Background: Valproic acid (VPA), one of the most important antiepileptic drugs, proved to be inevitable for epileptic pregnant women to limit the hazards of convulsions on the foetuses and mothers. Periconceptional folic acid supple­mentation was investigated to protect against several birth defects. However, its role against VPA cerebellar toxicity was not properly investigated. The present study was conducted to evaluate the protective effect of folic acid against VPA cerebellar neurotoxicity. Materials and methods: Twenty-four pregnant female albino rats were divided into three groups; group I (control group, did not receive any drugs), group II (given VPA at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight once daily) and group III (given the same dose of VPA and 400 μg/kg of body weight folic acid once daily). Ten male offspring from each group were sacrificed at two ages: at 2 and 12 weeks after birth. Samples of cerebellar cortex were taken and prepared for light, electron microscopic examination, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunohistochemical study and histomorphometric analysis. Results: The present study confirmed the neurotoxic effect of prenatal VPA on the cerebellar cortex, especially on Purkinje cells. The cells appeared shrunken, reduced in density, disorganised and surrounded by empty haloes. Nuclear damage and axon degeneration in the form of vacuolation, loss of organelles and absence of neurofilaments with myelin sheath depletion were detected. Concomitant supply of folic acid was shown to retain the normal architecture of Purkinje cells with their axons and nuclei. In many animals receiving folic acid, the thickness of all layers of the cortex increased up to that of the control groups, after being markedly reduced in VPA-treated groups. GFAP immunoreaction was also improved against the strong positive gliosis detected in VPA-treated groups. Conclusions: The present study confirmed the protective role of folic acid against the cerebellar neurotoxic effects of VPA prenatal exposure. It is recommended that folic acid supplements should be given to every epileptic pregnant mother treated with VPA. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 2: 201–209

Towards population inversion of electrically pumped Er ions sensitized by Si nanoclusters

This study reports the estimation of the inverted Er fraction in a system of Er doped silicon oxide sensitized by Si nanoclusters, made by magnetron sputtering. Electroluminescence was obtained from the sensitized erbium, with a power efficiency of 10¿2 %. By estimating the density of Er ions that are in the first excited state, we find that up to 20% of the total Er concentration is inverted in the best device, which is one order of magnitude higher than that achieved by optical pumping of similar materials

Size dependence of refractive index of Si nanoclusters embedded in SiO2

he complex refractive index of SiO2 layers containing Si nanoclusters (Si-nc) has been measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry in the range from 1.5 to 5.0 eV. It has been correlated with the amount of Si excess accurately measured by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and the nanocluster size determined by energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy. The Si-nc embedded in SiO2 have been produced by a fourfold Si+ ion implantation, providing uniform Si excess aimed at a reliable ellipsometric modeling. The complex refractive index of the Si-nc phase has been calculated by the application of the Bruggeman effective-medium approximation to the composite media. The characteristic resonances of the refractive index and extinction coefficient of bulk Si vanish out in Si-nc. In agreement with theoretical simulations, a significant reduction of the refractive index of Si-nc is observed, in comparison with bulk and amorphous silicon. The knowledge of the optical properties of these composite layers is crucial for the realization of Si-based waveguides and light-emitting devices

On a novel hybrid Manta ray foraging optimizer and its application on parameters estimation of lithium-ion battery

In this paper, we propose a hybrid meta-heuristic algorithm called MRFO-PSO that hybridizes the Manta ray foraging optimization (MRFO) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) with the aim to balance the exploration and exploitation abilities. In the MRFO-PSO, the concept of velocity of the PSO is incorporated to guide the searching process of the MRFO, where the velocity is updated by the first best and the second-best solutions. By this integration, the balancing issue between the exploration phase and exploitation ability has been further improved. To illustrate the robustness and effectiveness of the MRFO-PSO, it is tested on 23 benchmark equations and it is applied to estimate the parameters of Tremblay's model with three different commercial lithium-ion batteries including the Samsung Cylindrical ICR18650-22 lithium-ion rechargeable battery, Tenergy 30209 prismatic cell, Ultralife UBBL03 (type LI-7) rechargeable battery. The study contribution exclusively utilizes hybrid machine learning-based tuning for Tremblay's model parameters to overcome the disadvantages of human-based tuning. In addition, the comparisons of the MRFO-PSO with six recent meta-heuristic methods are performed in terms of some statistical metrics and Wilcoxon's test-based non-parametric test. As a result, the conducted performance measures have confirmed the competitive results as well as the superiority of the proposed MRFO-PSO.Web of Science151art. no. 6

Ingesta insuficiente de calcio en la población adulta de la Comunitat Valenciana

Introduction: mineral calcium is essential for bone health throughout life. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of inadequate calcium intake in adults from the Valencian Community. Material and methods: the Autonomous Community of Valencia Nutrition Survey 2010-2011, a cross-sectional population study, was used as the data source, which collected data on calcium intake using one 24-h recall. The final sample was 1206 (597 men and 609 women) subjects older than 18 years.Results: an average calcium intake of 741.4 mg/person/day (SD= 334.9), 757.8 mg/person/day (SD= 350.0) in men and 725.3 mg/person/day (SD= 319.0) in women was estimated. The results of insufficient intake obtained according to the levels of the estimated average requirements were 70.6% (95%CI: 68.0-73.2), 75.4% higher in women (95%CI: 72.0-78.2) than in men 65.7% (95%CI: 61.9-69.5). The prevalence was 83.8% (95%CI: 81.7-85.9) for the recommended dietary allowances and the differences by sex were significant (p<0,05). The estimated prevalence was highest by age group in those older than 70 years in both cases, 85.5% (95%CI: 80.0-91.0) and 94.3% (95%CI: 90.7-97, 9) respectively. Conclusions: there is evidence of a high prevalence of inadequate calcium intake in adult population from the Autonomous Community of Valencia. Studies should be carried out to evaluate the influence of these findings on related pathologies (osteoporosis, osteoporotic fracture).Introducción: el calcio mineral es esencial para la salud ósea a lo largo de toda la vida. Este estudio pretende evaluar la prevalencia de ingesta insuficiente de calcio en adultos de la Comunitat Valenciana. Material y métodos: se ha utilizado como fuente de datos la Encuesta de Nutrición de la Comunitat Valenciana 2010-2011, estudio poblacional transversal, que recogió los datos de ingestión de calcio mediante un recordatorio dietético de 24 horas. La muestra final fue de 1206 sujetos mayores de 18 años (597 hombres y 609 mujeres). Resultados: se estimó una ingesta media de calcio de 741,4 mg/persona/día (DE=334,9), observando en hombres una ingesta de 757,8 mg/persona/día (DE=350,0), y en mujeres de 725,3 mg/persona/día (DE=319,0). Los resultados de ingesta insuficiente obtenidos según los niveles de los requerimientos medios estimados fue de un 70,6% (IC95%: 68,0-73,2), siendo mayor en mujeres 75,4% (IC95%: 72,0-78,2) que en hombres 65,7% (IC95%: 61,9-69,5). Para los valores de ingestas recomendadas la prevalencia fue de un 83,8% (IC95%: 81,7-85,9), siendo significativas las diferencias por sexo (p<0,05). Por grupos de edad la prevalencia estimada fue máxima en los mayores de 70 años en ambos casos, 85,5% (IC95%: 80,0-91,0) y 94,3% (IC95%: 90,7-97,9) respectivamente. Conclusiones: Se observa la existencia de una prevalencia elevada de ingesta insuficiente de calcio en la población adulta de la Comunitat Valenciana. Se deberían implementar estudios que evaluasen la influencia de estos hallazgos sobre patologías relacionadas (osteoporosis, fractura osteoporótica)