Health Promoting Qualities Framework for Blue and Green Landscapes: Applying Perceived Restorativeness on a Case Study of Nile Riverfront in Greater Cairo Region

Blue and green landscapes contribute to the quality of life of cities in different positive ways. It has environmental, social, and visual benefits that affect directly the physical and psychological health of city residents in one way or another, in addition to providing ecological benefits for their surroundings. There are plenty of previous studies that investigated the different health characteristics of blue and green spaces. However, there is still a need for more interdisciplinary studies to measure the long-term effect of blue and green landscapes together on the health of their users. Therefore, the presented study aims to investigate and measure the direct impact of blue and green landscapes on the health and wellbeing using Perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) and perceived restorativeness scales (PRS). The research adopts both qualitative and quantitative analysis as a methodological approach. It follows a methodology that consists of three parts. First a critical review of relevant literature focusing on different theories related to health qualities of landscapes. Then the second part is identifying different health-promoting aspects and qualities of waterfront green areas. Finally, investigating the concluded qualities empirically and their impact on the health of its users using a case study research design for selected areas on the riverfront of the Nile in Greater Cairo Region (GCR). Accordingly, the study develops a framework to adopt and assess the health benefits of riverfront green areas. The work points out the potential of blue and green landscapes for achieving restorative qualities and enhancing health of residents in contemporary cities

Health Promoting Qualities Framework for Blue and Green Landscapes: Applying Perceived Restorativeness on a Case Study of Nile Riverfront in Greater Cairo Region

Blue and green landscapes contribute to the quality of life of cities in different positive ways. It has environmental, social, and visual benefits that affect directly the physical and psychological health of city residents in one way or another, in addition to providing ecological benefits for their surroundings. There are plenty of previous studies that investigated the different health characteristics of blue and green spaces. However, there is still a need for more interdisciplinary studies to measure the long-term effect of blue and green landscapes together on the health of their users. Therefore, the presented study aims to investigate and measure the direct impact of blue and green landscapes on the health and wellbeing using Perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) and perceived restorativeness scales (PRS). The research adopts both qualitative and quantitative analysis as a methodological approach. It follows a methodology that consists of three parts. First a critical review of relevant literature focusing on different theories related to health qualities of landscapes. Then the second part is identifying different health-promoting aspects and qualities of waterfront green areas. Finally, investigating the concluded qualities empirically and their impact on the health of its users using a case study research design for selected areas on the riverfront of the Nile in Greater Cairo Region (GCR). Accordingly, the study develops a framework to adopt and assess the health benefits of riverfront green areas. The work points out the potential of blue and green landscapes for achieving restorative qualities and enhancing health of residents in contemporary cities

WATERPIPE: A GLOBAL ALARMING PROBLEM

Waterpipe popularity has increased significantly in the recent decades to become the major cause of death worldwide. This practice, which is also known as hookah, shisha and Narghile that is based on tobacco burning, increases the percentage of tobacco smokers especially among young people, due to several factors such as the attracting effect of sweetened tobacco, the marketing role and the social acceptance of waterpipe. A literature review was constructed using Pub med as a searching tool to confirm by studies the differences in adverse effects between waterpipe and cigarette by analyzing the toxicant’s levels generated from them, evaluating the smoke volume which is affected by the duration of smoking, the puffing intensity, and investigating the factors which enhance the toxicity of waterpipe such as the type of the hose and charcoal used during smoking practice. In addition, highlighting the misconceptions regarding the protective effect of water bubbling which has been considered to be a filtering factor for removing several toxicants, showing the type of microorganisms which colonize the different parts of waterpipe device and how they can be transmitted between smokers, focusing on their health hazards and their effects on waterpipe smokers. Finally, emphasizing the importance of specific regulatory policies in controlling the widespread of waterpipe preventing its dangerous consequences and saving human lif

Vibration Energy Harvesting in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM)

Harvesting of vibration energy from the ambient environment, such as vibrations experienced by bridges due to vehicle movements, wind, earthquakes, has become an essential area of study by many scientists aiming to design new systems which can improve self-powered network sensors in wireless sensor networks (WSN), thus providing a more efficient system that does not require the human involvement. One of the essential components of WSN systems is the sensor node. It is used to continuously send/receive information to monitor a certain behavior targeted by the application; for example, to monitor bridge infrastructure's health. Sometimes, sensors are programmed and adjusted to send useful data for monitoring 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This configuration harms the sensors' batteries and shortens their lives, since sending/receiving data consumes power and leads to the reduction of the batteries' voltage levels. Due to this fact, energy harvesting is critical to maintaining long-term batteries that can recharge themselves from the available ambient harvested energy and eliminate the need for human involvement in replacing or recharging them in their specified locations in the network. Recent structural health monitoring systems (SHM), in civil infrastructure environments, have focused heavily on the use of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) due to their efficient use of wireless sensor nodes. Such nodes can be fixed onto any part of the infrastructure, such as bridges, to collect data remotely for monitoring and further processing. However, the drawback of using such sensor networks relies mainly on the finite life-time of their batteries. Due to this problem, the concept of harvesting energy from the ambient environment became more important. Ensuring efficient battery usage would have a great benefit in maximizing overall systems functionality time and ensures efficient use of natural energy resources like solar, wind and vibration energies. This work aims to study the feasibility of using a piezoelectric vibration energy harvester to extend overall battery life using a single, external, super-capacitor component which is serving as a storage unit for the harvested energy. The methodology followed in this work states the general direction of the flow of energy in a sensor node which can be summarized into the following: 1-Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester: This module was used to convert mechanical energy of the vibrations from the ambient environment to electrical energy. 2-Energy Harvesting Circuit: This circuit is responsible for the power conditioning, enabling the circuit to output energy to the sensors under certain threshold criteria. 3-Energy Storage: This the super-capacitor served to store harvested energy. 4-Energy Management Scheme: The scheme proposed by this work under the energy requirements and constraints of the sensor nodes in order to conserve batteries voltage level to extend sensors' batteries lives. 5-Wireless Sensors Nodes: Each sensor node type has specific energy requirements that must be recognized so that it can be adequately powered and turned on using the harvested energy. The main contribution of this work is a proposal of an energy management scheme which ensures that the harvested energy being provided to the harvester circuit must be greater than the energy output that is going to be consumed by the sensor. This proposed scheme has proved the feasibility of using impact vibrations for efficient energy harvesting and subsequently increase the battery life time needed to turn on the wireless sensor nodes. Furthermore, as a future direction of work, to increase the amount of harvested energy, hybrid power sources can be explored by combining more than one energy source from the ambient environment, such as solar and vibration energy.qscienc

Everolimus Plus Exemestane Versus Everolimus or Capecitabine Monotherapy in Breast Cancer : BOLERO-6

The data from this trial will provide insight into the safety and efficacy of the combination of EVE and EXE versus EVE or capecitabine monotherapy in women with ER+, HER2- ABC progressing on/after prior LET or ANA.Peer reviewe

Myomectomy for fibroids during cesarean section: A randomized controlled trial

Background: There is a considerable debate about the management of myoma during cesarean section (CS). Recently, several studies indicated the safety and feasibility of undertaking myomectomy during CS.Objectives: To evaluate the safety, accessibility, and short-term morbidity of myomectomy for fibroids during cesarean section.Patients and Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial that included 72 patients who were admitted to the Obstetrics & Gynecology Department, Menoufia University Hospital with uterine fibroids during pregnancy; who were randomly allocated equally into a group of cesarean myomectomy (CM; n=36) and another group of CS only (n=36). The operative events and the outcome were recorded and analyzed.Results: CM group showed a longer duration of surgery and longer hospital stay, higher amount of blood loss, and higher mean pain sores, with a highly statistically significant difference (p = 0.000). No cases in both groups required blood transfusion or ICU admission. No statistically significant differences were noted between both groups as regards the fetal outcome measures (p=0.583 & 0.601).Conclusion: CM is safe and applicable in selected cases without deleterious maternal complications. Special precautions ought to be paid during the procedure, particularly in the intramural type and with large fibroids

The Differential Efficiency of Chlorella vulgaris and Oscillatoria sp. to Treat the Municipal Wastewater

The utilization of microalgae to treat wastewater becomes an alternative biological wastewater treatment technique worldwide because of its low cost and environmental clean. Chlorella vulgaris and Oscillatoria sp. were cultured in municipal wastewater under controlled laboratory conditions with continuous light illumination and aeration. Physical properties (pH, TDS and Salinity), and nutrient contents (ammonia, nitrite and total phosphorus)were measured in the raw wastewater. Growth rates of the cultured species in terms of optical densities and cell counts, nutrient salts removal efficiencies were measured during the experimental durations after; 24, 48, 72, 96 , 120 and 144hrs. Lipids, proteins and carbohydrates contents were also evaluated after 144hrs. The recorded optical density of Chlorella vulgaris was 0.188±0.01 at 680 nm and 0.17±0.01 at 750 nm after 24hrs then increased to 1.45±0.002 at 680nm and 1.43±0.01 at 750nm at the end of 120hrs, meanwhile the optical density of Oscillatoria sp. was increased from 0.132±0.01 at 680 nm and 0.102±0.01 at 750 nm after 24hrs to 1.054±0.004 at 680 nm and 0.99±0.002 at 750 nm at the end of 120hrs of the experiment. On the other hand, the cell count of Chlorella vulgaris was enriched from 6.8±2.2 cell/ml after 24hrs to 720±120 cell/ml at the end of 120h of the culturing. Overall, efficiencies of nutrients removal were 99.426%, 100% and 82.211% for ammonia, nitrite and total phosphorus respectively at the end of 120hrs of Chlorella vulgaris culturing, while Oscillatoria sp nutrient removal efficiencies recorded 98.125%, 100% and 84.718% for ammonia, Nitrite and total phosphorus respectively. Chlorella vulgaris biomass was estimated 26.66±7.5% lipid 35.1±1.6% protein and 29.34±3.25% carbohydrate, however Oscillatoria sp. biomass was estimated 11.76±0.79% lipids, 32.9±1.92% protein and 27.36±3.78% carbohydrates. Keywords: municipal Wastewater, Chlorella vulgaris, Oscillatoria sp., nutrient removal, biochemical parameters

A ubiquitin carboxyl extension protein secreted from a plant-parasitic nematode Globodera rostochiensis is cleaved in planta to promote plant parasitism

Nematode effector proteins originating from esophageal gland cells play central roles in suppressing plant defenses and in formation of the plant feeding cells that are required for growth and development of cyst nematodes. A gene (GrUBCEP12) encoding a unique ubiquitin carboxyl extension protein (UBCEP) that consists of a signal peptide for secretion, a mono-ubiquitin domain, and a 12 amino acid carboxyl extension protein (CEP12) domain was cloned from the potato cyst nematode Globodera rostochiensis. This GrUBCEP12 gene was expressed exclusively within the nematode\u27s dorsal esophageal gland cell, and was up-regulated in the parasitic second-stage juvenile, correlating with the time when feeding cell formation is initiated. We showed that specific GrUBCEP12 knockdown via RNA interference reduced nematode parasitic success, and that over-expression of the secreted GrΔSPUBCEP12 protein in potato resulted in increased nematode susceptibility, providing direct evidence that this secreted effector is involved in plant parasitism. Using transient expression assays in Nicotiana benthamiana, we found that GrΔSPUBCEP12 is processed into free ubiquitin and a CEP12 peptide (GrCEP12) in planta, and that GrCEP12 suppresses resistance gene-mediated cell death. A target search showed that expression of RPN2a, a gene encoding a subunit of the 26S proteasome, was dramatically suppressed in GrΔSPUBCEP12 but not GrCEP12 over-expression plants when compared with control plants. Together, these results suggest that, when delivered into host plant cells, GrΔSPUBCEP12 becomes two functional units, one acting to suppress plant immunity and the other potentially affecting the host 26S proteasome, to promote feeding cell formation

Awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease Evaluated Using Validated Questionnaire in Minia Governorate Public

Background: Awareness and education of kidney disease has an impact on its effective management and will reduce the economic and public health burden. Objective: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study to assess the level of awareness, knowledge and common risk factors of CKD in the community to plan to preventive modalities.Patients and methods: We used a pretested validated questionnaire to gather information about sociodemographic knowledge and risk factors of CKD from 464 residents aged >18 years.Results: A total of 464 residents completed this study with a median age of 30 years, 50.5% of them were females. The mean knowledge score of chronic kidney disease (CKD) was relatively poor as it was 13.12% ± 3.95. Only 48.6% could mention at least one function of the kidneys with 66.4% agreeing with that certain medications can help to slow-down the worsening of chronic kidney disease. A laboratory test for kidney function was known by 75.9%. 92.9% and 17.2% believe that CKD can be cured by spiritual means and herbal concoctions respectively. Abdominal obesity and excessive stress were seen in 64.7% and 45.5% respectively. Hypertension was seen in 56.5% while diabetes mellitus was found in 57.1% as risk factors for chronic kidney disease. Conclusion: Efforts should be made to increase the public knowledge of CKD in Minia, Egypt as it was relatively poor that may be achieved by increasing awareness, education of people about CKD and how to prevent or regress its risk factors