Preliminary soil survey report for the Beni Magdoul and El Hammami areas

March 1979.CER78-79 EVR72.Includes bibliographical references.Prepared under support of United States Agency for International Development, Contract AID/NE-C-1351

Dynamic behavior assessment of public buildings in Syria using non-linear time-history analysis and ambient noise measurements: a case study

This study evaluates the dynamic behavior and performance of vital reinforced concrete (RC) public building [Ministry of Higher Education (MHE)] designed in compliance with the old Syrian (non-seismic) building code. The real non-linear dynamic behavior of the MHE building has been checked by detailed dynamic numerical analyses (finite elements method—FEM) validated by a series of ambient noise measurements carried out on-site. The modeling approach for the thorough 3D dynamic analyses of the (RC) MHE building has been developed to be able to investigate the actual non-linear dynamic performance of widespread range of RC structures, providing the opportunity to set up a reliable detailed methodology to assess the real dynamic performance of the old vital structures designed according to the old Syrian (non-seismic) building code from the new seismic requirements perspective. The results of the frequency analyses, the nonlinear time history, and the experimental measurements have shown an excellent agreement. The study showed that the modeling approach by the FEM is reliable for predicting the actual dynamic behavior of RC structures, but it is very sensitive to the modeling assumptions. Furthermore, the dynamic performance analyses have revealed unsymmetrical behavior of the east–west wings about the Y-axis which could be attributed to the inefficient seismic rehabilitation executed in 2001

Irisin in Adolescent Type 1 Diabetic Patients and its Relation to Diabetes Control and Atherosclerosis

AIM: The objective of this was to determine the role of irisin in adolescent type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients. METHODS: This study was conducted on 65 patients with T1D and 50 healthy individuals as control group. Serum irisin, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profile, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL), urinary albumin/creatinine ratio; carotid intimal medial thickness (cIMT), and aortic intimal medial thickness (aIMT) were evaluated for all participant. RESULTS: HbA1c, lipid profile, albumin/creatinine ratio, OxLDL, irisin, aIMT and cIMT were significantly higher in diabetic patients. Irisin had a positive correlation with age of diabetic patients, onset of diabetes, mid arm circumference, waist/height ratio, body mass index, HbA1c, and cIMT. CONCLUSION: Irisin is a marker for detection of diabetes control and early detection of subclinical atherosclerosis. Irisin had a relation with obesity

Paratuberculosis: The Hidden Killer of Small Ruminants

Paratuberculosis (PTB) is a contagious and chronic enteric disease of ruminants and many non-ruminants caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), and is characterised by diarrhoea and progressive emaciation with consequent serious economic losses due to death, early culling, and reduced productivity. In addition, indirect economic losses may arise from trade restrictions. Besides being a production limiting disease, PTB is a potential zoonosis; MAP has been isolated from Crohn’s disease patients and was associated with other human diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. Paratuberculosis in sheep and goats may be globally distributed though information on the prevalence and economic impact in many developing countries seem to be scanty. Goats are more susceptible to infection than sheep and both species are likely to develop the clinical disease. Ingestion of feed and water contaminated with faeces of MAP-positive animals is the common route of infection, which then spreads horizontally and vertically. In African countries, PTB has been described as a “neglected disease”, and in small ruminants, which support the livelihood of people in rural areas and poor communities, the disease was rarely reported. Prevention and control of small ruminants’ PTB is difficult because diagnostic assays demonstrate poor sensitivity early in the disease process, in addition to the difficulties in identifying subclinically infected animals. Further studies are needed to provide more insight on molecular epidemiology, transmission, and impact on other animals or humans, socio-economic aspects, prevention and control of small ruminant PTB

Nonlinear Dynamics of Thick Composite Laminated Plates Including the Effect of Transverse Shear and Rotary Inertia

In this work, a suggested analytical solution for nonlinear dynamic analysis of (fiber-reinforced) composite laminated thick plate is developed by using first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT). A computer program was built for this purpose for antisymmetric cross-ply and angle-ply, simply supported thick laminated plate and the developed equations are solved by using (MATLAB V.7) program. The finite-element solution is also adopted using (ANSYS V.8) package, to confirm the analytical results. The results presented show the effect of plate thickness-to-side ratio (h/a), aspect ratio (a/b), number of layers (N), the degree of orthotropic ratio (E1/E2), fiber orientation, boundary conditions, lamination scheme, and the effect of shear deformation and rotary inertia on the thick laminated plate

Contribution of Genome-Wide HCV Genetic Differences to Outcome of Interferon-Based Therapy in Caucasian American and African American Patients

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has six major genotypes, and patients infected with genotype 1 respond less well to interferon-based therapy than other genotypes. African American patients respond to interferon α-based therapy at about half the rate of Caucasian Americans. The effect of HCV's genetic variation on treatment outcome in both racial groups is poorly understood. Methodology:We determined the near full-length pre-therapy consensus sequences from 94 patients infected with HCV genotype 1a or 1b undergoing treatment with peginterferon α-2a and ribavirin through the Virahep-C study. The sequences were stratified by genotype, race and treatment outcome to identify HCV genetic differences associated with treatment efficacy. Principal Findings:HCV sequences from patients who achieved sustained viral response were more diverse than sequences from non-responders. These inter-patient diversity differences were found primarily in the NS5A gene in genotype 1a and in core and NS2 in genotype 1b. These differences could not be explained by host selection pressures. Genotype 1b but not 1a African American patients had viral genetic differences that correlated with treatment outcome. Conclusions & Significance: Higher inter-patient viral genetic diversity correlated with successful treatment, implying that there are HCV genotype 1 strains with intrinsic differences in sensitivity to therapy. Core, NS3 and NS5A have interferonsuppressive activities detectable through in vitro assays, and hence these activities also appear to function in human patients. Both preferential infection with relatively resistant HCV variants and host-specific factors appear to contribute to the unusually poor response to therapy in African American patients. © 2010 Donlin et al

Seroprevalence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in Dairy Cattle in Khartoum State, Sudan

Paratuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), is a chronic wasting disease mainly of domestic and wild ruminants. It occurs worldwide, causing significant economic losses through decreased productivity, low fertility, increased cull rates and mortality. It is listed by the OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) as a disease of concern to trade in animals. Prevalence of this disease can be studied by detecting anti-MAP antibodies by Enzyme linked immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The aim of this study was to investigate the current prevalence of MAP infection in cattle in Khartoum State. The overall apparent prevalence of MAP infection was found to be 6.3% and 18.9% at animal and herd levels, respectively. All seropositive animals were cross-bred females of good body condition; most of them (>90%) were >3 years old and >50% were from medium-sized herds in Omdurman. No significant association (p > 0.05) was found between seropositivity and animal herd size. The prevalence of MAP infection in Khartoum State is still low to medium compared to other parts of the world, but it is comparable to those reported from other African countries. Further studies with the view of designing nationwide surveys in domestic ruminants and camels in other states of the country are needed for establishing control programmes

Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk Associated with Granite Bearing Radioactive Minerals and Valuable Metals, Monqul Area, North Eastern Desert, Egypt

The present work is concerned with assessing the cancer risk contributed by the studied granite types including valuable metals, such as Cu, Au, and Ba mineralization, as well as radioactive-bearing mineralization, such as monazite and zircon, in south Monqul at Wadi Makhrag El Ebel, north Eastern Desert, Egypt. The mineralization analyses illustrated that copper mineralization containing chrysocolla and tenorite minerals were restricted to the alteration zone, especially (argillic, phyllic, and propylitic) in monzogranite. However, barite veinlets had an ENE–WSW trend, while gold mineralization was confined to quartz veins having NE–SW trends. Monazite and zircon are radioactive-bearing minerals recorded in monzogranite causing high radioactive zones in south Monqul. The radionuclide activity concentrations were detected in the studied monzogranites. The mean values of AU (103 ± 91 Bq kg−1), ATh (78 ± 19 Bq kg−1), and AK (1484 ± 334 Bq kg−1) in the monzogranite samples were higher than the recommended worldwide average. The change in radioactive-transporting minerals found inside granite faults caused the high amounts of radioactivity seen in the samples. Due to the monzogranites being applied in building materials, the radiological hazards were assessed by calculating risk indices such as annual effective dose (AED) and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR). The acceptable limit for the ELCR readings was surpassed. As a result, the investigated monzogranite samples are not suitable for use in infrastructure materials. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Beyond the pandemic : COVID-19 pandemic changed the face of life

Funding Information: This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council Vetenskapsr?det (VR grant 2016?05885). Funding Information: Acknowledgments: H.R. El-Seedi is very grateful to the Swedish Research links grant VR 2016– 05885 and the Department of Molecular Biosciences, Wenner-Grens Institute, Stockholm University, Sweden, for the financial support. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the au-thors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious challenge for societies around the globe as entire populations have fallen victim to the infectious spread and have taken up social distancing. In many countries, people have had to self-isolate and to be confined to their homes for several weeks to months to prevent the spread of the virus. Social distancing measures have had both negative and positive impacts on various aspects of economies, lifestyles, education, transportation, food supply, health, social life, and mental wellbeing. On other hands, due to reduced population movements and the decline in human activities, gas emissions decreased and the ozone layer improved; this had a positive impact on Earth’s weather and environment. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic has negative effects on human activities and positive impacts on nature. This study discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different life aspects including the economy, social life, health, education, and the environment.publishersversionPeer reviewe