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This experimental investigation evaluates the durability of GFRP tubular composites filled with marine resource-based ultra-high-performance concrete under combined sustained loading and seawater exposure at an elevated temperature. Material properties of the FRPs with different diameter to thickness ratio were determined in both longitudinal and hoop directions. Creep strains were monitored in both directions for 2000 hours, and a comprehensive analysis was conducted on the axial compressive stress-strain response, stiffness, and failure modes of unconditioned and conditioned composite specimens. GFRP composites exhibited larger creep strains in hoop direction, which were exacerbated due to swelling in long-term seawater exposure. The GFRP confining tube, with a lower diameter-to-thickness ratio and higher confining pressure, exhibited improved confinement, increased strength and stiffness, and comparable rupture strain after the combined conditioning process., Paper 30

BACKGROUND: The use of mobile phones as job aides is one of the most innovative mHealth applications for community health professionals. However, few studies indicated an influence of mHealth on clinical outcomes in low-income countries. AIM: Therefore, the researchers conducted the present study to assess the impact of providing updated training packages using mobile technology to service providers on the knowledge of children’s caregivers and the quality of performance of service providers. METHODS: A quasi-experimental pre-posttest of separate samples was conducted in a malnutrition clinic. The total sample size was 400 cases (200 caregivers as a pre-intervention group [pre-IG] and 200 caregivers as a post-intervention group [post-IG]), with inclusion criteria of having their children 6–24 months old. The study interventions composed of five activities: Orientation sessions on nutrition counseling for physicians and nurses, a software (e-health) program loaded in e-tablet to be used during nutrition counseling by physicians, a booklet on proper infant and child feeding, conducting on-the-job training for the nurses, and establishing counseling cycle in the clinic. RESULTS: After the study intervention, the total knowledge score for all items of children’s nutrition increased from 39% among pre-IG to be 80% among post-IG. The majority (more than 90%) of post-IG received four services packages. CONCLUSION: Participation of service providers in five articulating interventions for nutrition counseling contributes to improving the knowledge of children’s caregivers. Practice Implications: Using mobile technology improved the quality of nutrition care services delivered in the malnutrition clinic.

Background: Fosfomycin is a bactericidal drug that inhibits bacterial cell wall and also reduces the adherence ability of bacteria to uro-epithelial cells with a broad anti-bacterial activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive. Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of fosfomycin compared to nitrofurantoin and cephalosporin in pregnant women presented with lower urinary tract infection. Patients and Methods: This was a double blinded, randomized controlled trial conducted at Shebin El-Kom Teaching Hospital from Aug 2019 to Aug 2020. Patients experienced uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection either asymptomatic bacteriuria or cystitis were recruited. Patients were randomly allocated via a random table number into three groups, each group comprised 35 patients. Group I received 3 g oral fosfomycin weekly, group II received 100 mg oral nitrofurantoin three times daily, and group III received 500 mg oral cephalosporin three times daily. After 7 days of treatment, all studied groups were subjected to urine sampling and culture analysis and were examined for occurrence of side effects. Results: All patients enrolled in our study had uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection either cystitis (n=85 cases) or asymptomatic bacteriuria (n=20 cases). There was clinical difference in urine pus cells and urine culture in fosfomycin after treatment compared to other groups. The side effects were reported in 7 cases with fosfomycin compared to 14 in other two groups with significant difference. Conclusion: Fosfomycin tromethamine was proved to be more effective, safe, and fewer side effects were reported, which makes fosfomycin the drug of choice for uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection during pregnancy.

To assess the efficacy and safety of a new surgical approach for uterine preservation among patients with placenta accreta spectrum in a low-resource setting.The present prospective cohort included 63 women diagnosed with placenta accreta spectrum undergoing cesarean deliveries who desired future fertility at the obstetrics department of Menoufia University Hospital from January 2018 to November 2019. Surgical management involved direct bilateral uterine arteries clamping below placental bed after broad ligament opening by round ligaments division and ligation and gentle downward dissection of vesical from myometrial tissues from lateral aspect toward trigone of the bladder. Outcomes included intraoperative and postoperative adverse events, hysterectomy rate, and postoperative hospitalization.Mean operative blood loss was 1860 ± 537 mL (range, 1040-3111 mL) and the incidence of bladder and ureteric injuries were 6.3% (Our conservative surgical approach is a safe alternative to peripartum hysterectomy with high uterine preservation rate, less intraoperative and postoperative morbidity and less need for blood transfusion in low resource settings.ClinicalTrials.gov; NCT04161521.

A green-house experiment was conducted to investigate the efficiency of three heavy metal-tolerant plant growth promoting bacterial strains (HMT-PGPB) (Alcaligenes faecalis MG257493.1, Bacillus cereus MG257494.1 and Alcaligenes faecalis MG966440.1 to alleviate the heavy metal’s toxic effects on sorghum plant (Sorghum bicolor, L.) in addition to their ability to enhance plant growth. The oxidative enzymes, photosynthetic pigments, growth characteristics, heavy metals uptake and heavy metals translocation factor (TF) were estimated in sorghum cultivated in soil contaminated with heavy metals under green-house conditions. Results showed that the application of these HTM-PGPB strains as biofertilizer of sorghum help plant to ignore the toxic effects of heavy metals and enhance growth characteristics.

Surgical scalpels are traditionally used for skin incisions during a Caesarean delivery; the great evolutions in electrosurgical devices bring an alternative method for skin incision by the usage o...

Interest in edible coatings applications has progressively developed towards improving the quality and shelf life of climacteric fruits. This study aimed to investigate the influence of pre-harvest treatments (chitosan, chitosan nanoparticle, and CaCl2) on the physicochemical and quality attributes of Barhi date palm fruits during storage periods. Different pre-harvest treatments (control, chitosan 1, 2, and 3 g/L, CaCl2 1, 2, and 3 g/L, nano-chitosan 1, 2, and 3 cm3 /L) were applied. The results showed that all treatments were effective for enhancing the fruit quality, with increasing total soluble solids and total sugars, decreasing weight loss, discarded total acidity, and total soluble tannins compared to the control treatment. Additionally, the results revealed that the highest percentage of TSS was obtained in control fruits (35.78%). Meanwhile, the lowest mean values were obtained from chitosan nanoparticle at 3 cm3/L (33.91%). Treatments with chitosan nanoparticle at 3 cm3/L and CaCl2 at 3 g/L gave the statistically highest values of total tannins (0.225 and 0.220, respectively). The optimal treatment involved spraying the fruit with 3 cm3/L of nano-chitosan or 3 g/L of CaCl2 to increase the fruit quality and the shelf life of Barhi dates. The results indicated that weight loss was negatively linked with the moisture content and firmness, while decay had a strong positive relationship with the Rutab index and a negative correlation with the moisture content. Furthermore, the Rutab index was negatively associated with the total tannins and total chlorophyll.

In the present study, Lactoperoxidase system (LPS) was activated in fresh cow’s milk. The pH and acidity of treated milk were followed during storage at room (32°C), incubator (37°C) and refrigerator (5 ±1°C) temperatures. The activation was done using SCN ◌and H2O2 or SCN ◌and Na2CO3.1.5 H2O2. The effect of activation on microbiological quality was also investigated. All the treatments greatly improved the keeping quality of milk at room or higher temperatures compared to the untreated samples. The best results were achieved by adding 14mg SCN /L: 2mL H2O2/L to cow’s milk. In addition, slight improvement in the keeping quality of the LP-activated milk was observed when the milk was kept in a refrigerator. kareish cheese was made from cow's milk preserved by the LPS and the effect of the LPS on the chemical, microbiological and sensory properties of kareish cheese storaged for 30 days was investigated. Kareish cheese made from LPactivated cow's milk was low in the total bacterial count when compared to cheese made from the untreated one (control). The LP treatment did not affect the overall chemical composition of the cheese. Activation of LP system allowed to produce of kareish cheese with high and keeping quality.

In the framework of optical limit approximation of Glauber with inclusion of the three-nucleon force effect, we obtained a good agreement with the experimental data of [Formula: see text] elastic scattering differential cross-section at the energies [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]GeV. The relation between the nucleon–nucleon slope parameter and the nucleon–nucleon interaction radius is discussed. In any case, the three-nucleon force is important and must be taken into account for a better agreement with the nucleus–nucleus data.

camel rennet was extracted from camel calf stomachs by the method used for bovine rennet. Coagulation of camel milk for the production of cheese has been proved to be difficult by the use of the available commercial rennet. Therefore that study was focused on the use of crude gastric enzymes extracted from different parts stomach at different ages (1, 3 and 5 years old). The non-purified gastric enzymes extracts from camels (GEC) different parts of stomach and at different ages were characterized by their rennin units (RU/g), milk clotting time (Sec.) and proteolytic activities. The conditions of milk clotting by the crude gastric enzymes extracted were optimized at different pH 5.5, 4.5, 4.0, 3.5 and rennin units (RU/g). The results concluded that the extracting solution from the behind part of the stomach was the greatest rennin units (RU/g), milk clotting time (Sec.) and proteolytic activities compared with the extracting solution from the front part of the stomach pH4.5. The good substitute for calves' rennet can be obtained from the dried vells of camel and can be named adult camel rennet.

Proton-deuteron elastic scattering differential cross section at intermediate energies is calculated. Including the three-nucleon force and backward scattering in the scattering amplitude the results of optical limit approximation for proton-deuteron elastic scattering differential cross section are improved. However, neglecting the double scattering terms in the optical limit approximation leads to the deviation of the results from the experimental data at minimum region where the double scattering has an effective role.

The aim of the present work was to study the effect of heat treatments and seasons of year on immunoglobulin, lactoferrin and lysozyme contents in camel's, cow's and buffalo's milk. The milk samples were heat treated at 63, 72, and 95°C for 30 min., 15 sec. and 15 min. respectively. Camel's milk contained significantly higher amounts of immunoglobulin (IG), lactoferrin (LF) and lysozyme (LZ) than cow's and buffalo's milk. Heating milk at 63°C /30 min. had significant effect on lysozyme and lactoferrin. While the immunoglobulin was more affected in the three kinds of milk. The amounts of immunoglobulin of cow's and buffalo's milk were observed at 72°C /15 sec. compared with camel's immunoglobulin. The amounts of lactoferrin were lost at 95°C /15 min. in all kinds of milk. However, at this level of heat treatment, the losses of lysozyme at 95°C /15 min. were 0.12 ± 0.18, 0.06 ± 0.17 and 0.02 ± 0.14 ug/ml for camel's, cow's and buffalo's milk, respectively. When milk was heated at 95°C /15 min. camel's milk protective proteins were relatively more heat resistant than cow's and buffalo's milk proteins. It was found that the heat resistance for lysozyme > lactoferrin > immunoglobulin. The amounts of milk protective proteins were higher in winter for all kinds of milk, compared with summer milk.

Surgical scalpels are traditionally used for skin incisions during a Caesarean delivery; the great evolutions in electrosurgical devices bring an alternative method for skin incision by the usage of cutting diathermy. This was a prospective randomised comparative study conducted during the period from March 2016 to February 2017 on 200 patients, 100 patients had skin incisions using the surgical scalpel, while 100 patients had skin incisions with a diathermy, in order to judge the variations in the postoperative pain, the incision time, the incision blood loss, the operative time, the wound healing and the wound complications. We observed a significant difference between the two groups regarding the incision time (p .001), incisional blood loss (p .001), operative time (p .001) and the postoperative pain (p .001), where these parameters were less in the diathermy group. No significant difference observed between the two groups regarding the wound healing (p = .389) and wound complications (p = .470). We can conclude that the proper usage of diathermy in making the skin incision during a Caesarean section in this study achieved better results than the scalpel incision. Impact statement What is already known on this subject? Surgical scalpels are traditionally used in making the skin incisions during a Caesarean section; diathermy incisions, on the contrary, are less popular among the surgeons. It has been hypothesised that the application of extreme heat may result in a significant postoperative pain and poor wound healing. There has been a widespread use of diathermy for hemostasis but fear of production of large scars and improper tissue healing has restricted their usage in making skin incisions. What do the results of this study add? The use of diathermy for skin incisions in Caesarean section in this study was associated with a reduced incisional blood loss, incisional time, operative time and postoperative pain. It had no effect on wound closure and was not associated with any delay in wound healing. Also, the wound complications rate was equal in both types of incisions. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Most surgeons prefer the scalpel in making skin incision during a Caesarean section due to the fear of surgical site infection. Our findings proved different, we proved that cutting diathermy could be accepted as an alternative technique for making a skin incision without increased rates of wound infections. Also, the advantages of cutting diathermy will give benefits to both the patients and the surgeons.

A consortium of three heavy metals tolerant-plant growth promoting bacteria (HMT-PGPB) (Bacillus cereus MG257494.1, Alcaligenes faecalis MG966440.1 and Alcaligenes faecalis MG257493.1) was tested for its beneficial effects on microbial activities in sorghum’ rhizosphere (Sorghum vulgare L.). Moreover their ability to reduce heavy metals bioaccumulation in soil and plant during two successive experiments achieved in vitro and green-house. Firstly, the activities of HMT-PGPB consortium were estimated in vitro under mixture of four heavy metals (copper, cadmium, lead, zinc) at two concentrations (1000 and 1500 mgL−1), to confirm its heavy metal tolerance and plant growth promoting ability, then applied as a biofertilizer for sorghum cultivated in soil contaminated with heavy metals. In vitro results, no antagonism among the tested stains was observed and the HMT-PGPB consortium produced all estimated compounds. Greenhouse results proved that the inoculation of sorghum with HMT-PGPB consortium enhanced the microbial activities like increasing dehydrogenase activity (DHA), reduction of heavy metal bioaccumulation in roots and plants and regulate heavy metals bioaccumulation factor (BAF) in rhizosphere and plant. Moreover, the inoculation of sorghum with HMT-PGPB consortium increased the microbial activities and reduced the accumulation of heavy metals in soil, besides decrease BAF values in rhizosphere and plant. The importance of this study, is that enable us to cultivate the contaminated soils with heavy metals and not neglect large areas of such soils with reducing the environmental pollution, through the inoculation of plants by bacterial consortia, that can remove the polluting elements and at the same time stimulate plant growth.

In this prospective cohort study, one hundred participants were allocated into four groups according to their body mass indices. Vaginal ultrasound was performed at enrolment to measure cervical length. The shortest cervical measurement was recorded. Overweight and obese groups had significantly longer mean cervical length than women in the normal weight group when measured at 20–22 weeks of gestation (p

Two field experiments were carried out during two successive winter seasons at 2013 and 2014, in a private farm at Abuo-Hammad area, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt, to evaluate the integrated fertilization management i.e. chemical fertilization (NPK), biofertilization (Rhizobium leguminosarum. bv. vicieae, Glomas bagyarajii, Bacillus circulans) with or without foliar applications of yeast extract (Saccharomyces cereviseae) and micronutrients on enzymes activity, nodulation status, growth characteristics, chemical constituents, mycorrhizal infection (%) and yield of pea (Pisum sativum L.) cv. Master B grown under loamy sandy soil conditions. All estimated parameters were affected by biofertilizers application, especially in combination with foliar applied with yeast extract. The highest values of the most studied parameters were recorded in combination between biofertilizers with foliar application of micronutrients and yeast extract.

Elastic scattering differential cross sections at 0.6 GeV for p-3H and at 0.6, 0.715 and 1 GeV for p-3He are calculated in the framework of the multiple-scattering theory of Glauber. A simple approach for the three-body force effect is used. We have found that the three-body force effect appears in the range of momentum transfer squared $$ q^{2} \ge 0.2\; ( {\text{GeV/c)}}^{ 2} $$ and plays an important role to obtain a good fit with the experimental data at the first minimum region.

Aims: To evaluate the Egyptian street-vended sandwiches of meat and meat products for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes and Enterobacteriaceae group. To evaluate the microbiological quality of street-vended sandwiches of meat and meat products sold in Cairo-Egypt. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Food Microbiology, National Research Center, Cairo, at during the period of January 2011 to September 2012. Methology: Seventy sandwiches of meat and meat products including ten samples each of burger, hawawshi, kofta, liver, luncheon, sausages and shawerma sandwiches were randomly collected from the street-vendors and food shops in Great-Cairo governorate. Samples were investigated for their loads of Enterobacteriaceae counts as well as the presence of L. monocytogenes. Enterobacteriaceae counts was done using the conventional International method (FDA), however isolation and identification of L. monocytogenes was carried out using three different microbiological examination methods including classic selective conventional media, chromogenic media, as well as rapid identification method “food-system kits”. 168 isolates of Listeria spp were identified Original Research Article AAAAAAA Article British Microbiology Research Journal, 4(4): 360-368, 2014 361 following the biochemical identification tests (Bergey’s Manual) and confirmed using Hi Listeria identification kits and latex test kits. Results: Enterobacteriaceae group were detected in 51% of the examined samples with an average counts of 37x10 cfu/g. Listeria spp. were detected in range between 24% and 36%, depended on the method used, with numbers ranged from 16x10 to 23x10 cfu/g. All samples that were contaminated with Listeria spp. harboured L. monocytogenes. Listeria spp. was not detected in all the examined Hawawshi sandwiches with an exception of one positive sample detected using the chromogenic media. The obtained results indicated that 37 out 68 (54%) isolates, picked up from classic selective conventional media, and 62 out of 100 (62%) isolates from chromogenic medium were confirmed as L. monocytogenes indicating that chromogenic medium may be the superior for isolation of the pathogen from ready-to-eat sandwiches of meat and products. Conclusion: The obtained results indicated that these foods presented a source of infection to the consumer. Measures to control the quality of the raw material, environmental and hygienic conditions during preparation and serving should be taken. The chromogenic media was the most efficient for the isolation of the pathogen during this course of study.

This study was designed under laboratory conditions to isolate, identify and characterize some cadmium-tolerant bacteria from heavy metals-contaminated regions of Egypt. These regions included three sites along Al-Rahawy drain, Giza Governorate and two agricultural soils from Kaluybia Governorate, Egypt. Three of sixty-nine cadmium-tolerant bacterial isolates were evident as the most tolerant isolates for cadmium according to the MIC and MTC tests. Results proved that MR99, MR100, and MR108 were able to grow on medium supplemented with cadmium at 2000 mg/l and inhibited at 2500 mg/l. After that, their ability to tolerate other heavy metals (copper, zinc, and lead) was evaluated and resulted in two highest tolerant isolates namely MR99 and MR108 which able to tolerate all four tested heavy metals at different concentrations. These isolates were identified as Bacillus cereus MG257494.1 (MR99) and Alcaligenes faecalis MG966440.1 (MR108) according to the morphological, cultural, biochemical characteristics and 16S rDNA partial sequence. Then, their biosorption potentials under different pH values in media supplemented with four heavy metals at 1000 mg/l were examined in addition to their enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activities.

This study aimed to evaluate three heavy metal tolerant bacterial strains (HMTB) namely Alcaligenes faecalis MG257493.1, Bacillus cereus MG257494.1 and Alcaligenes faecalis MG966440.1 as antioxidant agents and plant growth promotors under laboratory conditions. Their abilities to inhibit 2,2-DiPhenyl-2-Picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) as non-enzymatic antioxidant activity and produce plant growth promoters (indole acetic acid (IAA), gibberellins (GA3), salicylic acid (SA), proline (Pro.), sidrophores, exopolysaccharide (EPS) and biosurfactant) were estimated in presence of four heavy metals Zinc (Zn2+) cadmium (Cd2+), copper (Cu2+) and lead (Pb2+) at 1000 and 1500 mg/l. Results showed that the antioxidant activities of three strains were increased with the increasing of heavy metals concentration. All tested strains were able to produce all estimated plant growth promoters in the presence or absence of heavy metals and the highest amounts of all compounds were recorded in media free of heavy metals and decreased with the increasing of heavy metals concentration. Also, results proved that the three evaluated strains were considered as heavy metal tolerant-plant growth promoting bacteria (HMT-PGPB) and have beneficial characteristics for remediating the contaminated mine tailing soil.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is one of the most lethal gynaecologic malignancies with an increasing incidence worldwide; there is an increasing need for the identification of novel prognostic biomarkers in EOC patients. Given the key role of angiogenesis and growth factors in the biology of tumorigenesis, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is considered a milestone in the process of ovarian cancer progression and invasiveness. Authors aimed in the present study to evaluate the relevance of serum level of VEGF with clinicopathological parameters in patients with EOC. VEGF is reported to be correlated with variable parameters in EOC patients including International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) classification, lymph nodal involvement and ascites formation. In the following review, authors discussed these correlations and distinguished the possible future role of VEGF as a promising prognostic biomarker for EOC patients.

Objective The aim was to compare the use of diathermy versus scalpel in making skin incision during cesarean section to judge the variations in postoperative pain, incision time, incisional blood loss, operative time, wound healing, and wound complications. Background Surgical scalpels are traditionally used for making skin incisions during cesarean delivery. The evolutions in electrosurgical devices bring an alternative method for making skin incision by the usage of cutting diathermy. Patients and methods This was a prospective, randomized comparative study conducted during the period from March 2016 to February 2017 on 200 patients; 100 patients had skin incisions using the surgical scalpel, while 100 patients had skin incisions with diathermy. The comparison between the two groups was done regarding postoperative pain, incision time, incisional blood loss, operative time, wound healing, and wound complications. Results We observed a significant difference between the two groups regarding incision time (P Conclusion The use of diathermy for skin incisions to perform cesarean section in this study was associated with reduced incisional blood loss, incisional time, operative time, and postoperative pain. It had no effect on wound complications, and was not associated with any delay in wound healing. We can conclude that the usage of diathermy in making skin incision during cesarean section in this study achieved better results than scalpel incision.

Objective This study aimed to compare the effect of sildenafil citrate on pulsatility index of uterine, umbilical and middle cerebral arteries to that of nitroglycerine in cases of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Background IUGR is one of the most common and serious complications of pregnancy. Sildenafil citrate and nitroglycerine are emerging as potential candidates for the treatment of IUGR through improving uteroplacental blood flow. Participants and methods Ninety singleton pregnancies, with IUGR and abnormal uterine and umbilical arteries Doppler, were included in the study and randomized into three groups to receive either oral sildenafil citrate (50 mg), a transdermal nitroglycerine patch (10 mg), or placebo. Maternal mean arterial blood pressure and the pulsatility index (PI) of uterine (Ut.A), umbilical (UA) and fetal middle cerebral (MCA) arteries were measured before and two hours after application of drugs. Results A significant reduction of Ut.A-PI occurred after application of both sildenafil citrate (16.7%, P = 0.001) and nitroglycerine (18.7%, P = 0.001). UA-PI also showed a significant decrease with both sildenafil citrate (17.8%, P = 0.001) and nitroglycerine (17.03%, P = 0.001), with no significant difference between the two drugs. No changes were observed in Doppler velocimetry in the placebo group, and no significant change in MCA-PI was observed in any group. Maternal arterial blood pressure decreased significantly with administration of both sildenafil citrate and nitroglycerine. Conclusion Sildenafil citrate has an effect similar to nitroglycerine in improving Doppler indices and blood flow of uterine and umbilical arteries in growth-restricted fetuses.

Objective To evaluate the role of placenta accreta index in predicting placental invasion in patients with placenta previa. Background Placenta accreta placenta is a condition in which placenta is adherent to the uterine wall because of myometrial invasion. Patients and methods In this prospective study, 60 pregnant women with placenta previa were enrolled at the Obstetrics Clinics of Menoufia University Hospitals in the period from January 2016 to December 2017. The placenta was scanned using gray-scale ultrasound and color Doppler. Placenta accreta index was formulated for each patient. Definitive diagnosis was made at delivery when the myometrium invasion by the placenta was seen. The hysterectomy specimens were sent for pathological confirmation of placental invasion. Data were collected and entered using Statistical Packages for the Social Science program for statistical analysis. Results Nineteen patients were found to have placenta accreta. All the parameters of placenta accreta index were statistically significant. The total score was significantly higher in accreta patients (P Conclusion Placenta accreta index score 4 can be used as a cut-off value for prediction of placental invasion in patients with placenta previa.

The need to use Mud in building works resulted from the shortage of construction materials in the Gaza Strip. This study investigates the applicability of using mud materials in construction projects in the Gaza Strip. The factors affecting the using of mud buildings were investigated. Techniques encountering the construction with earth materials were studied. A questionnaire survey was used which targeted the contractors that participated in the mud building practices.Two mud-building techniques were used; the Compressed Stabilized Earth Blocks (CSEB) and Adobe techniques. The practice of using mud in building houses is very limited and comes to defy the blockade at the Gaza Strip. The idea of building houses of mud was not accepted by most surveyed contractors due to cultural aspects. The spread of building of mud was mainly affected by “needs for high maintenance, no possibility for future vertical extension, the need for intensive labors and poor resistance to weather conditions.”

Objective To evaluate uterine balloon tamponade using a condom catheter for the management of early postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Methods In a prospective observational study at Menoufia University Hospital, Shebin Elkom, Egypt, women with early PPH were enrolled between May 2011 and September 2012. Uterine balloon tamponade with a condom catheter was applied in women who were unresponsive to uterotonics and bimanual compression; patients with successful catheter placement were included in analyses. The primary outcome was successful control (reduction or cessation) of bleeding. Results A condom catheter was successfully placed for 50 of the 151 women enrolled. The overall success rate of the procedure was 96% (48/50). The condom catheter was successful in all 28 cases of atonic PPH after vaginal or cesarean delivery. It successfully controlled PPH due placental site bleeding in 20 (91%) of 22 patients with placenta previa and a well-contracted uterus. Conclusion Condom balloon catheter was found to effectively control PPH. The procedure is simple, inexpensive, and safe, and can preserve reproductive capacity, as well as saving the life of the mother. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02672891 .

An approach for the three-body force effect is used to study p-[Formula: see text] elastic scattering at energies 350–1728[Formula: see text]MeV. The multiple scattering theory of Glauber and the optical limit approximation are used in calculations of elastic scattering differential cross-section at 350, 600, 800, 1000 and 1728[Formula: see text]MeV. The inclusion of 2[Formula: see text]-exchange three-nucleon force improves the agreement with the experimental data for both approximations. The results of optical limit approximation without three-nucleon force effect are clearly smaller than the results of multiple scattering theory for [Formula: see text] due to the absence of multiple scattering terms in the first. However, with inclusion of three-nucleon force, the results of both approximations are approximately similar.

To identify predictors of clomiphene citrate-induced ovulation in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).A prospective observational study of patients 18-40 years of age with PCOS experiencing infertility was conducted at Menoufia University Hospital between January 2011 and January 2013. A range of potential predictors of ovulation were recorded before patients received a 50-mg dose of clomiphene citrate. Following ovulation or no response to increasing clomiphene-citrate doses, correlations between predictors and treatment responses were analyzed.In total, 150 patients with PCOS experiencing infertility were enrolled. Following treatment, 110 (73.3%) patients ovulated. Highly significant differences were observed between treatment responders and non-responders in baseline amenorrhea, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, total testosterone, anti-Müllerian hormone, fasting insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, and visceral fat area (P0.001). Significant differences in mean ovarian volume (P0.009) and ovarian stromal artery pulsatility index (P0.003) were also observed. Total testosterone was the best individual predictor of clomiphene citrate treatment response. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve in a multivariate prediction model was 0.98.A combination of patient amenorrhea, BMI, total testosterone, anti-Müllerian hormone, ovarian volume, ovarian stromal artery pulsatility index, and visceral fat area could be used to predict clomiphene-citrate treatment response in patients with PCOS experiencing infertility. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02269306.

To investigate the patterns of medication errors in the obstetric emergency ward in a low resource setting.This prospective observational study included 10,000 women who presented at the obstetric emergency ward, department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Menofyia University Hospital, Egypt between March and December 2010. All medications prescribed in the emergency ward were monitored for different types of errors. The head nurse in each shift was asked to monitor each pharmacologic order from the moment of prescribing till its administration. Retrospective review of the patients' charts and nurses' notes was carried out by the authors of this paper. Results were tabulated and statistically analyzed.A total of 1976 medication errors were detected. Administration errors were the commonest error reported. Omitted errors ranked second followed by unauthorized and prescription errors. Three administration errors resulted in three Cesareans were performed for fetal distress because of wrong doses of oxytocin infusion. The rest of errors did not cause patients harm but may have lead to an increase in monitoring. Most errors occurred during night shifts.The availability of automated infusion pumps will probably decrease administration errors significantly. There is a need for more obstetricians and nurses during the nightshifts to minimize errors resulting from working under stressful conditions.

To determine the patterns of uterine action potentials in laboring and non-laboring women at term using the non-invasive abdominal electromyography technique.One hundred pregnant women at term who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study and equally divided into two groups. Group I consisted of 50 women in active labor, while group II included 50 women not in labor. After enrollment, the cardiotocograph was applied to all women. Abdominal electromyographic recording was started and for every burst of action potential, we measured the amplitude, frequency and duration of action potential. The results were tabulated and statistically analyzed.Both groups were comparable in demographic characteristics. Four patterns of EMG were detected. The amplitude of action potentials was significantly higher in laboring compared to non-laboring women (77.44 ± 11.25 vs 13.71 ± 8.57, P0.001). Similar significantly longer durations of electrical bursts were also noted in laboring women (45.94 ± 8.77 vs 7.11 ± 4.68 s, P0.001). Specific electromyographic changes were noted in women passing from the non-laboring to laboring state and in women who required oxytocin augmentation during labor.Abdominal electromyography may help to distinguish between women in true active labor from those who are not. It also may help to identify women who will enter into labor within 24-72 h and those who require augmentation of labor.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to compare between the effects of resilient liner and clip attachments of bar-implant-retained mandibular overdenture on peri-implant tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS In a randomized-controlled clinical trial, 30 edentulous male patients (mean age 62.5 years) were equally assigned to two groups. In each patient, two implants were inserted in the canine area of the mandible using a two-stage surgical protocol. After 3 months, the implants were connected with resilient bars. Mandibular overdentures were retained to the bars with either clips (group I) or silicone-resilient liners (group II). Peri-implant tissues were evaluated clinically (with regard to plaque scores, gingival scores and probing depths) and radiographically (with regard to peri-implant vertical and horizontal alveolar bone changes). Evaluations were performed at the time of overdenture insertion (T0), 6 months (T6) and 12 months (T12) after overdenture insertion. RESULTS After 12 months of using bar-implant-retained mandibular overdenture, the resilient liner attachment had significantly decreased peri-implant plaque score, gingival score, probing depth, vertical and horizontal bone loss when compared with the clip attachment. CONCLUSION Within the limitations of this study, and in terms of peri-implant tissue health of bar-implant-retained mandibular overdenture, we recommend resilient liner rather than clip attachment.

An approach for the three-body force effect in the optical limit approximation is suggested. The differential cross sections of p ?, and ?? ? d elastic scattering at 1.75 and 12.8 GeV/c for incident proton, 2 GeV/c for anti-proton and 9 GeV/c for pion are studied. The D-state and phase variation effects are considered. The experimental data is well described including the 2?-exchange three-body force. The three-body force effect, in this approach, plays a principal role over the complete range of momentum transfer square where the data is available.

Proton–deuteron elastic scattering at intermediate and high energies illustrates the importance of the phase variation of the nucleon–nucleon elastic scattering amplitude as in previous work. Two kinds of phase variation are examined. The first is the usual one which is related to free nucleon-free nucleon collisions as suggested by Franco. The second is assumed to be related to the time ordering of multi-scattering processes. The two kinds play similar roles in improving the results. The contributions of both kinds lead to a good fit to the experimental data at the energies considered. The value of the phase variation parameter in each kind (where they are considered together), which gives a good fit to the experimental data, are approximately the same and of order 4 (GeV / c)‾ 2. Also, with relatively small values of the phase variation parameter, the phase variation effect improves the agreement with the experimental data for the p–4He elastic scattering differential cross section at the minimum region in the energy range 97–393 GeV.

A microbiological agar plate method has been used for comparatively measuring the release of each carbenicillin and gentamicin from eighteen ointment bases for possible ophthalmic use. A significant difference in the antibiotic releasing ability of the various bases was observed. No one base was found to be consistently superior with each antibiotic tested. All the eight best bases, except one base, were composed of castor oil gelled by hydrogenated castor oil, Aerosil or white wax and may contain cetyl alcohol, Span 80, Span 40, wool alcohols, glyceryl monostearate and cetostearyl alcohol as wetting and spreading agents.

Background: Central nervous system tumors account for 2%-5% of all malignancies in humans. These tumors account for 2% of all pediatric cancers. The worldwide incidence of primary central nervous system tumors is estimated at 3.9 (males) and 3.2 (females) per 100000 person-years. The incidence of brain tumor cases has been reported as 3.67% of all malignancies and 4% of all cancer mortalities in Iran. The five most common histological types of brain tumor in Iran according to different case studies are; meningioma, astrocytoma, glioblastoma, pituitary adenoma and ependymoma. The aim of this study is to determine the histopathological pattern and characteristics of patients with brain tumors who have referred to the Mahdieh Radiotherapy Department, Hamadan, Iran. Methods: This descriptive, retrospective study was performed at the Mahdieh Radiotherapy Department, between 2005 and 2012. We included 220 patients who referred to the Radiotherapy Department with diagnoses of primary brain tumor in this study. Results: Between 2005 and 2012, we treated 220 new cases of primary brain tumor at Mahdieh Radiotherapy Department. The mean age at diagnosis was 39.95±15.48 years with a median age of 39 years. Patients' ages ranged from 4 to 75 years. Among the 220 patients, 138 were male and 82 were female with a male to female ratio of 1.68. For most tumors there was a male predominance, with the exception of meningioma (M/F: 0.23), ependymoma (M/F: 1) and pituitary adenoma (M/F: 0.6). Astrocytomas, glioblastomas, high grade meningiomas and oligodendrogliomas were the four most common pathologies treated in this department. The best treatment results were achieved in patients with astrocytomas. Conclusion: The present study is a retrospective radiotherapy centre-based study designed in a pioneer radiotherapy centre in Western Iran, not a prospective population study. These data have provided a baseline for further epidemiological studies. Our encouraging results in radiotherapy treatment of primary malignant tumors clearly highlight the benefits of definitive or postoperative radiation.