Diversity in soil seed bank of Sinai and implications for conservation and restoration

Understanding the diversity level of seed bank is important for designing conservation and restoration programs especially in arid ecosystems. A diverse of diversity indices has been used in evaluating seed communities regardless of its suitability to measure the ecological quality of the targeted biological community. The current study aims to evaluate the spatial variability in the seed bank of Sinai Peninsula, and to evaluate the suitability of different diversity indices for application. Two hundred and twenty samples were collected from fifty-nine sites representing twenty-three localities in North and South Sinai. These localities belong to four main geomorphological districts; Mediterranean coast, northern anticlines, northern inlands, and southern mountainous massif. The content of soil seed bank in each sample was estimated by emergence method. Thirty-two species were identified including eight endemic and near-endemic species. The suitability of indices was evaluated by testing the relationships of the indices with the associating environmental factors and contribution of each index to group separation. The results of the study show that Sinai has a large scale of soil seed bank diversity that could be used in any conservation and restoration plans. The study suggests also, that the most suitable diversity indices to measure this diversity are Margalef and Q-Statistic without neglecting the importance of reporting on abundance and richness.Key words: Sinai, soil seed bank, arid environments, diversity indices, conservation, restoration

Diversity and distribution of medicinal plants in North Sinai, Egypt

The present study aims to assess plant diversity and distribution of medicinal plants in relation to environmental factors at three geomorphological districts (Mediterranean coast, anticlines, and inland) and five main habitats (salt marshes, sand dunes, sand plains, wadis, and gorges) in North Sinai. The results revealed that North Sinai harbors 281 species with high taxonomic diversity (species/genera = 1.49) and high percentage of rare and very rare species (67%). Mediterranean coastal district and anticlines district are more diverse than inland district. Medicinal plants constitute 43% of North Sinai flora. Species richness, Shannon-Weiner H, and Margalef indices measurements indicated that gorges are the most diverse habitat in North Sinai followed by wadis. Plains have intermediate diversity followed by sand dunes. The lowest diversity indices were recorded at salt marshes habitat. Beta diversity measurements, using Wilson and Schmida index (βT), indicated significant changes in floristic compositions between different habitats. The lowest changes were among sand plain, wadi, and gorge habitats. North Sinai habitats support about 100 to 120 medicinal plant associations. The main dominant species include Artemisia monosperma, Arthrocnemum macrostachyum, Lycium shawii, Retama raetam, Stipagrostis scoparia, Tamarix nilotica, Zygophyllum album, and Zygophyllum dumosum. Soil physical properties in addition to soil salinity and topographic variations are the main driving factors controlling the distribution of medicinal plants in North Sinai. About 60% of medicinal plants are threatened due to intensive collection and other human activities. The threatened medicinal plants including Acacia pachyceras, Acacia tortilis, Anastatica hierochuntica, Asclepias sinaica, Capparis spinosa, Chiliadenus montanus, Citrulus colocynthis, Ephedra alata, and Juniperus phoenicea along with their habitats should have the first priority in management and conservation plan of medicinal plants in North Sinai. Public and private involvement in management and utilization of medicinal plants in sustainable way is essential to combat human pressures on these valuable natural resources.Key words: Conservation, diversity, habitats, human impacts, medicinal plants, vegetation

Combined Effects of Acrobatic Exercise and Magnetic Stimulation on the Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Lesions

The objective of the study was to determine whether physical exercise combined with epidural spinal cord magnetic stimulation could improve recovery after injury of the spinal cord. Spinal cord lesioning in mice resulted in reduced locomotor function and negatively affected the muscle strength tested in vitro. Acrobatic exercise attenuated the behavioral effects of spinal cord injury. The exposure to magnetic fields facilitated further this improvement. The progress in behavioral recovery was correlated with reduced muscle degeneration and enhanced muscle contraction. The acrobatic exercise combined with stimulation with magnetic fields significantly facilitates behavioral recovery and muscle physiology in mice following spinal cord injury

IFE thick liquid wall chamber dynamics: Governing mechanisms and modeling and experimental capabilities

For thick liquid wall concepts, it is important to understand the different mechanisms affecting the chamber dynamics and the state of the chamber prior to each shot a compared with requirements from the driver and target. These include ablation mechanisms, vapor transport and control, possible aerosol formation, as well as protective jet behavior. This paper was motivated by a town meeting on this subject which helped identify the major issues, assess the latest results, review the capabilities of existing modeling and experimental facilities with respect to addressing remaining issues, and helping guide future analysis and R&D efforts; the paper covers these exact points