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This study focuses on the magnificent decoration of a painted and gilded wooden panel with signs of fungal biodeterioration caused by Aspergillus species in the Mausoleum of Sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay, Cairo, Egypt. Numerous spectroscopic analyses and investigation techniques, including Scanning Electron Microscope Equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX), Fourier Transform Infrared analysis (FTIR), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) have been used to study the materials that comprise this painted and gilded wooden panel composition. Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, and A. terreus were recognized as isolated fungi, and their accession numbers are OQ820164, OQ820163, and OQ820160, respectively. The findings showed that the wooden support is of pinewood (Pinus halepensis), the white priming layer on top of the wooden support was identified as gypsum, the blue paint layer has been proposed to be Azurite, Au (gold) was the primary composition of the gilding layer, while Pb (lead) was detected in some spots, suggesting the use an alloy of gold with lead, and finally, animal glue was the bonding medium. Based on these findings, mimic samples with identical substrates and structural components have been designed, and the biodeterioration signs by the growing of the three Aspergillus species-A. niger, A. flavus and A. terreus were evaluated via SEM and color change. However, A. niger was discovered with density growth on surfaces of pinewood, gypsum, and Azurite and with less growth on the gilding layer after 6-month incubation. This contrasts with A. terreus and A. flavus, which had greater density growth on Azurite and stucco than on pinewood and less growth on the gilding layer. The used analytical methods with detailed analyses revealed the novelty and significant future aspects of the conservation of the painted and gilded wooden panel. Particularly given that this location is used for prayer and is crowded with people five times a day, which increases the accumulation of fungi and negatively affects both the historic Mosque and the worshippers' health., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Despite their threatens for Egyptian stone monuments, A few studies focused on using biocontrol agents against deteriorative fungi and bacteria instead of using chemical assays that leave residuals leading to human toxicity and environmental pollution. This work aims to isolate and identify fungal and bacterial isolates that showed deteriorative activities from stone monuments in Temple of Hathor, Luxor, Egypt, as well as determine the inhibitory activity of metabolites produced by Streptomyces exfoliatus SAMAH 2021 against the identified deteriorative fungal and bacterial strains. Moreover, studying the spectral analysis, toxicological assessment of metabolites produced by S. exfoliatus SAMAH 2021 against health human cell fibroblast, and colorimetric measurements on the selected stone monuments. Ten samples were collected from Temple of Hathor, Luxor, Egypt. Three fungal isolates and one bacterial isolate were obtained and identified as A. niger isolate Hathor 2, C. fioriniae strain Hathor 3, P. chrysogenum strain HATHOR 1, and L. sphaericus strain Hathor 4, respectively. Inhibitory potential of the metabolites in all concentrations used (100-25%) against the recommended antibiotics (Tetracycline 10 µg/ml and Doxycycline (30 µg/ml) showed an inhibitory effect toward all tested deteriorative pathogens with a minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of 25%. Cytotoxicity test confirmed that microbial filtrate as the antimicrobial agent was safe for healthy human skin fibroblast with IC 50 of < 100% and cell viability of 97%. Gas chromatography analysis recorded the existence of thirteen antimicrobial agents, Cis-vaccenic acid; 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid; ç-Butyl-ç-butyrolactone and other compounds. Colorimetric measurements confirmed no color or surface change for the limestone-treated pieces. The use of the metabolite of microbial species antimicrobial as a biocontrol agent raises contemporary issues concerning the bio-protection of the Egyptian monuments to reduce chemical formulas that are toxic to humans and pollute the environment. Such serious problems need further investigation for all kinds of monuments., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Mural paintings within the tomb of Setka, Qubbet el-Hawa, in Aswan, Upper Egypt, were investigated using a multi-disciplinary analytical approach (Stereomicroscopy, SEM-EXD and FT-IR spectroscopy). The walls of the tomb were hewn from fragile sandstone and covered by a clay plaster, overlaid by two layers of white gypsum plaster. SEM micrographs were indicative of the penetration of fungal mycelium within the pores of the gypsum plaster, forming white encrustations due to the re-precipitation of gypsum. SEM micrographs revealed that the calcification of the gypsum plaster had occurred due to its exposure to a high temperature. The EDX pattern for the white plaster gave the characteristic spectrum of gypsum, the blue pigment was Egyptian blue, the black pigment was magnetite, the white pigment was of gypsum (or anhydrite) and the yellow pigment was limonite. Finally, the FT-IR spectrum of the binder gave the characteristic features of gum Arabic., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

To assess heavy metals contamination in shallow marine environments using benthic foraminifera as bio-indicators. Forty-six species of foraminifera were found in 33 benthic samples from the Saudi Arabian coast of the Red Sea-Gulf of Aqaba. Forty-six species belonging to 27 genera and 10 families under the Textularina, Rotalina, and Miliolina suborders were recorded in the study area. The most common genera of the recorded fauna were Peneroplis (37.2%), Coscinospira (15.06%), Sorites (10.36%), and Quinqueloculina (7.76%). The influx of clastic sediments would dilute the abundance of foraminifera species, and It may be the main reason for the decrease in abundance Concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb, Cr, Co, and Cd were measured in the four common species of benthic foraminifera (Sorites orbiculus, Peneroplis planatus, Peneroplis pertusus, and Coscinospira hemprichii) using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The average values of heavy metals in the study area show that Iron was the most abundant metal (3367 μg/g), followed by Mn (142 μg/g), Cu (30 μg/g), Zn (24 μg/g), Cr (21 μg/g), Ni (14 μg/g), Pb (7 μg/g), Co (4.6 μg/g), and Cd (0.82 μg/g). Iron concentrations recorded in the foraminiferal tests in the study area were lower than those from the Jeddah area of Saudi Arabia. Other metals were found at higher concentrations than those recorded off the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The heavy metals concentrations in the study area may be attributable to terrestrial influx or anthropogenic activities. The increase of abundance of epiphytic foraminifers and the absence of opportunistic foraminifers show normal the environment in the study area.

This study focuses on the multidisciplinary investigation of three stucco-shrouded mummies with mummy portrait from Egypt dating from the late 3rd to the middle of the 4th century AD, corresponding to the late Roman Period. These three mummies were excavated in the early 17th and late 19th centuries in the Saqqara necropolis near the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis. Two of them experienced an interesting collection history, when they became part of the collection of the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland August II in Dresden, Germany, in 1728. The investigation includes information about the mummies' discovery, collection history and shroud decoration obtained through Egyptological expertise. In addition, information on the state of preservation, technique of artificial mummification, age at death, sex, body height and health of the deceased was achieved through computed tomography (CT) analysis. Research yielded an adult male, a middle-aged female and a young female. Due to the rather poorly preserved bodies of the male and middle-aged female, a specific technique of artificial mummification could not be ascertained. Brain and several internal organs of the well-preserved young female were identified. Wooden boards, beads of necklaces, a hairpin, and metal dense items, such as lead seals, nails and two coins or medallions were discovered. Paleopathological findings included carious lesions, Schmorl's nodes, evidence of arthritis and a vertebral hemangioma. The study revealed insights on the decoration and burial preparation of individuals of upper socioeconomic status living in the late Roman Period, as well as comprehensive bioanthropological information of the deceased., Competing Interests: One of the authors (WR) is affiliated to the Curt-Engelhorn-Center Archaeometry gGmbH. gGmbH is a non-profit company. There are no other relevant declarations relating to employment, consultancy, patents, products in development, or marketed products, etc. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

The material analyzed in this study is probably the most ancient archeological solid residue of cheese ever found to date. The sample was collected during the Saqqara Cairo University excavations in the tomb of Ptahmes dated to XIX dynasty ( El-Aguizy, O. Bulletin de l'Institut Française d'Archéologie Orientale (BIFAO) 2010 , 110 , 13 - 34 (ref (1) ); Staring, N. Bulletin de Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale (BIFAO) 2015 , 114 , 455 - 518 (ref (2) )). Our biomolecular proteomic characterization of this archeological sample shows that the constituting material was a dairy product obtained by mixing sheep/goat and cow milk. The interactions for thousands of years with the strong alkaline environment of the incorporating soil rich in sodium carbonate and the desertic conditions did not prevent the identification of specific peptide markers which showed high stability under these stressing conditions. Moreover, the presence of Brucella melitensis has been attested by specific peptide providing a reasonable direct biomolecular evidence of the presence of this infection in the Ramesside period for which only indirect paleopathological evidence has been so far provided ( Pappas, G.; Papadimitriou P. Int. J. Antimicrob. Agents 2007 , 30 , 29 - 31 (ref (3) ); Bourke, J. B. Medical History 1971 , 15 ( 4 ), 363 - 375 (ref (4) )). Finally, it is worth noting that, although proteomic approaches are successfully and regularly used to characterize modern biological samples ( D'Ambrosio, C.; Arena, S.; Salzano, A. M.; Renzone, G.; Ledda, L.; and Scaloni, A. Proteomics 2008 8 , 3657 - 3666 (ref (5) ), their application in ancient materials is still at an early stage of progress, only few results being reported about ancient food samples ( Yang, Y.; Shevchenko, A.; Knaust, A.; Abuduresule, I.; Li, W.; Hu, X.; Wang, C.; Shevchenko, A. J. Archaeol. Sci. 2014 , 45 , 178 - 186 (ref (6) ). In the absence of previous relevant evidence of cheese production and/or use, this study, undoubtedly has a clear added value in different fields of knowledge ranging from archaeometry, anthropology, archeology, medicine history to the forensic sciences.

Fungal deterioration is one of the highest risk factors for damage of historical textile objects in Egypt. This paper represents both a study case about the fungal microflora deteriorating historical textiles in the Egyptian Museum and the Coptic museum in Cairo, and evaluation of the efficacy of several combinations of polymers with fungicides for the reinforcement of textiles and their prevention against fungal deterioration. Both cotton swab technique and biodeteriorated textile part technique were used for isolation of fungi from historical textile objects. The plate method with the manual key was used for identification of fungi. The results show that the most dominant fungi isolated from the tested textile samples belong to Alternaria, Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Penicillium and Trichoderma species. Microbiological testing was used for evaluating the usefulness of the suggested conservation materials (polymers combined with fungicides) in prevention of the fungal deterioration of ancient Egyptian textiles. Textile samples were treated with 4 selected polymers combined with two selected fungicides. Untreated and treated textile samples were deteriorated by 3 selected active fungal strains isolated from ancient Egyptian textiles. This study reports that most of the tested polymers combined with the tested fungicides prevented the fungal deterioration of textiles. Treatment of ancient textiles by suggested polymers combined with the suggested fungicides not only reinforces these textiles, but also prevents fungal deterioration and increases the durability of these textiles. The tested polymers without fungicides reduce the fungal deterioration of textiles but do not prevent it completely.