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Several studies have shown that biopolymers improve soil; however, they mostly looked at how the shear strength and collapsibility improved without looking at how long the treatments would last. However, durability is an important factor that should be considered to get the most out of the treatment. This study investigates the durability and strength of gypseous soil enhanced by pectin biopolymer with periodic changes in wetting and drying. Soil with a gypsum content of 40% was mixed with 2% pectin biopolymer, and the samples were passed through successive wetting and drying cycles (1, 5, 10, and 15). The results indicated that periodic wetting and drying of pectin biopolymer-treated gypseous soil increased the shear strength of the soil until cycle 5, after which there was a slight and gradual decrease in strength until cycle 15 due to dissociation of pectin monomers under hydration and incomplete re-formation during re-drying, with a force decreasing by about 22% till ten cycles. Even beyond several cycles, some degree of strength and strength restoration could be observed. Also, the volumetric stability of the improved samples was clear until the last wetting and drying cycle.

Gypseous soil is a metastable soil that causes problems in the constructions built on it under wetting conditions. Due to the harmful effects of traditional soil binders such as lime or cement on the environment, alternative environmental-friendly materials have been used to decrease this impact. Casein biopolymer is introduced in this study as a new binder for gypseous soil improvement and milk waste minimizing purposes. The study focused on three primary soil features: compaction properties, shear strength, and collapse potential. These three soil properties are important in the ground improvement techniques. In this study, different casein concentrations were added to the soil with varying gypsum contents. According to the compaction results casein reduces the maximum dry density while increasing the optimum moisture content. Soil treated with casein had a collapse potential of 65–80% lower than untreated soil. The shear strength of casein-treated soil increased significantly in both dry and moist conditions. The current study results suggest the recycled casein as an eco-friendly additive for gypseous soil treatment rather than traditional chemical materials.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) is considered a nitrogen (N) intensive plant with high nitrate (NO3−) accumulation in its leaves. The current study via a two-year field trial introduced an approach by combining N fertilization from different sources (e.g., ammonium nitrate; 33.5 % N, and urea; 48 % N) at different rates (180, and 360 kg N ha−1) with the foliar spraying of molybdenum (Mo) as sodium molybdate, and/or manganese (Mn) as manganese sulphate at rates of 50 and 100 mgL−1 of each or with a mixture of Mo and Mn at rates of 50 and 50 mg L−1, respectively on growth, chemical constituents, and NO3− accumulation in spinach leaves. Our findings revealed that the highest rate of N fertilization (360 kg N ha−1) significantly increased most of the measured parameters e.g., plant length, fresh and dry weight plant−1, number of leaves plant−1, leaf area plant−1, leaf pigments (chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids), nutrients (N, P, K, Fe, Mn, Zn), total soluble carbohydrates, protein content, net assimilation rate, and NO3− accumulation, but decreased leaf area ratio and relative growth rate. Moreover, plants received urea-N fertilizer gave the highest values of all previous attributes when compared with ammonium nitrate –N fertilizers, and the lowest values of NO3− accumulation. The co-fertilization of N-Mo-Mn gave the highest values in all studied attributes and the lowest NO3− accumulation. The best treatment was recorded under the treatment of 360 kg N-urea ha−1 in parallel with the combined foliar application of Mo and Mn (50 + 50 mg L−1). Our findings proposed that the co-fertilization of N-Mo-Mn could enhance spinach yield and its quality, while reducing NO3− accumulation in leaves, resulting agronomical, environmental and economic benefits.

Gypsum reinforcement in dry soil provides activity resistance. It quickly becomes a source of danger in the conditions of partial and complete soaking of gypsum soil as a result of the dissolution of gypsum, which poses a great danger to the structures built on this soil. The danger increases when water flows through it and works to leach the soil, which leads to the loss of its mass by leaching gypsum. The soil is chemically and mechanically improved to enhance its geotechnical properties, but despite its great advantages in strengthening, it has significant negative effects on the ecosystem, so the use of environmentally friendly materials is essential. Pectin was selected as an improved biopolymer and added at three different contents (0.5, 1, and 2)% to create a soil mixture and at four different gypsum contents (10, 20, 40, and 62%) to evaluate the chemical and mechanical properties of the improved mixture. Develop an engineering model to leach the soil and pectin mixture. The results showed a significant decrease in CH and CP. values due to biogel encapsulation of soil particles and pore filling properties. The percentage decrease in the values of (CH) reaches (0.67, 73, 75, and 68%) for soils 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. After soil (1, 2, 3, and 4), CP values decreased in percent (0.63, 0.63, 0.65, and 0.7%). TDS decreased at a biopolymer content of 2% from 1050, 1200, 2200, and 2500 mg/ml to 320, 540, 468, and 570 mg/ml of soils 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively.

Noha Rashad,1 Mohamed Abdulla,2 Mohamed Farouk,3 Yasser Elkerm,4 Salem Eid Salem,5 Maha Yahia,5 Amr S Saad,6 Ahmed Hassan Abdel Aziz,6 Ghada Refaat,6 Ibrahim Awad,7 Maha ElNaggar,8 Khaled Kamal,6 Basel Refky,9 Mohamed Abdelkhalek,9 Ahmed Touny,10 Loay Kassem,2 Emad Shash,5 Abdelhay A Abdelhay,11 Bahaa Eldin Mahmoud,11 Karima Oualla,12 Nesrine Chraiet,13 Hussein AwadElkarim H Maki,14 Yasser Abdel Kader2 1Medical Oncology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Suez University, Suez, Egypt; 2Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Department, Kasr Al-Aini Medical School, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; 3Department of Clinical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; 4Department of Cancer Management and Research, Medical Research Institute Hospital, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt; 5Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Institute (NCI), Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; 6Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt; 7Department of Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt; 8Clinical Oncology Department, Assiut University Hospital, Assiut, Egypt; 9Department of Surgical Oncology, Oncology Center Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt; 10Department of Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; 11Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt; 12Medical Oncology Department, Hassan II University Hospital Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fes, Morocco; 13Medical Oncology Department, Salah Azaiez National Cancer Institute, Tunis, Tunisia; 14Clinical Oncology Department, Ahfad University for Women, Khartoum, SudanCorrespondence: Noha Rashad, Medical Oncology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Suez University, Faisal, Suez Governorate, Egypt, Tel +20 1225157339, Email Noha16880@gmail.comPurpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and the second cause of cancer related mortality. Treatment options for patients with metastatic CRC (mCRC) expanded during the last two decades, with introduction of new chemotherapeutic and targeted agents. Egypt is a lower middle-income country; Egyptian health care system is fragmented with wide diversity in drug availability and reimbursement policies across different health care providing facilities. We report the results of consensus recommendations for treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer developed by Egyptian Foundation of Medical Sciences (EFMS), aiming to harmonize clinical practice through structured expert consensus-based recommendations consistent with the national status. EFMS recommendations could be utilized in other countries with similar economic status.Methods: EFMS recommendations were developed using a modified Delphi process, with three rounds of voting till the final recommendations were approved. A non-systematic review of literature was conducted before generating the provisional statements. Content experts were asked to vote on some recommendations in two different resource groups (restricted resources and non-restricted resources). External review board of experts from a low income and lower-middle countries voted on the applicability of EFMS recommendations in their countries.Results: The current recommendations highlighted the discrepancy in health care between restricted and non-restricted resources with expected survival loss and quality of life deterioration. Access to targeted agents in first line is very limited in governmental institutions, and no access to agents approved for third line in patients who failed oxaliplatin and irinotecan containing regimens for patients treated in restricted resource settings.Conclusion: Management of mCRC in developing countries is a challenge. The currently available resource-stratified guidelines developed by international cancer societies represent a valuable decision-making tool, adaptation to national status in each country based on healthcare system status is required.Keywords: colorectal cancer CRC, consensus recommendations, metastatic CRC, management in a lower-middle income country

The prediction of changes in velocity distribution and channel bed morphology is significant in open channel management and design. This paper implements experimental work to realize and quantify the effect of rigid aquatic bank weeds on vertical velocity profiles and channel bed morphology. In the experimental work, weeds were given a staggered distribution using three distances of 25, 50, and 75 mm, unilaterally and bilaterally, with Froude numbers ranging from 0.11 to 0.30, achieving 168 scenarios. Results for the tested weed cases showed that the average velocity was directly proportional to the weed density and approached the Froude number. By comparing the smooth and weeded velocities, it was found that the velocity inside the infested reach was close to the downstream velocity and exceeded the upstream velocity by about 10% and 41%, respectively. Scour depths along the centerline of the vegetated reach for the bilateral weeds were higher by 11% to 33% than those for the unilateral weeds. The maximum observed depth of the scour holes along the smooth bank was about 30% to 60% of the maximum scour depth at the middle line. Finally, to quantify the results, multiple regression analysis was performed to develop empirical equations to assist in the water management process.

Canal lining and rehabilitation aim to distribute water, reduce losses, and ensure that water reaches the ends of the canals. Recognizing the need to improve the management of the irrigation system and maintain the width of strategic adjacent roads to canals, the Western Meleg Canal in Menoufia Governorate, Egypt, was selected as a case study. A reach of 1500–3400 km faces problems that impede the implementation of the lining sector as a result of the proximity of the buildings that could not be removed on the canal banks. Two alternatives, including the contraction of the bed width or coverage of the reach from 1500 km to 3400 km on the Western Meleg Canal, were explored. A coupled one-two dimensional numerical model to replicate the water surface profile and flow velocity was implemented. The total cost of each alternative was approximately estimated. The results show that the contraction of the bed width along the considered reach has a limited effect on the levels and velocities of water along the canal, as water levels increased by 2 to 6 cm from the design levels before the contraction of the width of the bed, and the maximum velocity of the water was 0.72 m/s. In the case of covering the selected reach, the difference in water pressure through the coverage (1500:4000 km) was 74 cm, and the coverage works under free flow. The estimated cost of covering is more than four times the cost of plain concrete lining. The findings of this study may help decision-makers and could be implemented in other such canals.

There are vertical slopes on the western banks of Tigris near Al-Alam Bridge in Tikrit, Iraq. These slopes are not supported and are located near an important road at Tikrit University. This study aims to find a safety factor (FOS) of the slope to prevent failure, besides its effect on human and financial losses. The study consists of two parts: the first part studied the layers of the slope and found the soil resistance coefficients. The second part analyzed the stability of the natural slope itself under the impact of the water level change of the Tigris River and the external loading. The analysis was done by a program called (PLAXIS 3D), which depends on the finite element method. The finite element method is a numerical approach that searches for approximate solutions and solves problems by dividing the problem into several triangular elements linked to each other by points called (nodes). The results showed that the vertical slope stability at the natural state with no influences indicated was in a semi-stable state with a factor of safety equal to (1.04865). The factor of safety decreased by (0.423%) with rising the river level until it reached (1.04074) at (93 m a.s.l.[1]). As for the applied external loads condition, the factor of safety for imposed (50,150 and 250 kN/m2) decreased by (4.738%), then the soil body failed when the factor of safety was (0.9902). In the critical state, the soil body failure at this stage and the factor of safety became equal to (0.98769) with decreasing by (5.812%).

Metal matrix composites (MMCs), and particularly aluminum matrix composites (AMCs), are beginning to make a substantial contribution to aerospace, automotive, and electronic industry application after more than a quarter-century of intensive study. To fabricate a cost-effective AMC with outstanding mechanical and physical properties the present work utilized two types of natural base reinforcement materials for elaborating AMCs by powder metallurgy technology (PM). The reinforcement materials were an agricultural waste (date palm seeds) and dolomite rocks at 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10% weight in addition to the aluminum matrix. The morphological and solid-phase characteristics were examined for the fabricated AMC specimens. These tests include X-ray diffraction, and optical and scanning microscopy. The microstructure of the fabricated specimens for both reinforcement materials showed uniform particle size distribution of the waste enforcement material as the PM technology was satisfactory in embedding the waste particles within the aluminum. The AMCs prepared were subjected to different mechanical loads and it was found that the composite reinforced with date palm seeds possess a high hardness property. A higher hardness of 50 HRV at 7.5% enforcement of date palm seeds was obtained compared to dolomite reinforced composite which showed 48.3 HRV at 7.5% enforcement. For the compressive strength, the date palm seeds composite resisted 23.8 MPa at 7.5% and only 16.68 MPa was obtained as a maximum compression resistance for the dolomite reinforced aluminum composite.

The study consists of two stages: the first one is to improve the gypsum soil with cement or calcium chloride and the second stage is to expose these soil specimens to series of wetting and drying cycles .Three soil specimens were taken and marked as (A,B and C) with gypsum content (47, 32 and 23)% respectively .The results show that cement additive increases the cohesion of soil specimens to 50% and collapse potential decreases with 65% and soil specimens improved with calcium chloride increase the cohesion up to more than 70% and collapse potential decreased about 70%. In the first cycle for wetting and drying cycles for soil specimens improved with cement the cohesion decreases about 25% and stays with the same ratio of the decreasing along the other cycle up to twelfth cycle. Collapse potential remains with the same value and is not affected by cycling of wetting and drying. In the first cycle for soil specimens treated with calcium chloride there is no effect in the first cycle whereas in the fourth cycle the cohesion increased by 60% and in the eighth cycle the cohesion decreased 8% and remains stable until the twelfth cycle. Collapse potential increases from one cycle to another by (30-50) % for all soil specimens.

Copper-matrix composites have received a lot of attention and are used widely in various applications, such as electronics, machinery, automobile, military and aerospace; because of their remarkable electrical conductivity, high thermal conductivity and excellent mechanical properties. Among these are copper-iron composites which found many engineering applications due to the role of Fe in enhancing the mechanical properties of these composites beside its low cost. However, Fe addition reduces electrical and thermal conductivity therefore, binary Cu-Fe composites are not suitable for applications where these properties are the main requirement. Many studies have been done to enhance these properties by the addition of alloying elements. The present work aims to study the effect of adding Nano Ag on mechanical and physical properties of Cu-10 wt% Fe composites prepared by powder metallurgy technique. The results showed the effectiveness of Nano Ag in enhancing both mechanical and physical properties of Cu-10 wt% Fe composite. It is found that bulk density, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity have been increased by 1.19%, 46%, and 46% respectively on adding 5% Nano Ag. Hardness and compression strength have been increased by 17.3% and 32.8% respectively by adding 4% Nano Ag, while wear rate was reduced by 13.4% by adding 4% Nano Ag

Copyright of Journal of Plant Production is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Plant Production is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tikrit Journal of Engineering Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Theoretical and experimental study of die angle, and extrusion speed effect on relative extrusion pressure of annealed AA6061 aluminum alloy have been carried out in this research. Two theoretical fields have been employed, rigid-plastic field and mixed field, to predict the relative extrusion pressure. A FORTRAN program has been developed to calculate the relative extrusion pressure and its compounds. The tests have been conducted with various, die angle (30°,60°,90°,120°,150°) and various extrusion speed (10,7,3) mm/min. The results showed an increase in shear power and friction power with increasing die angle, while no effect was observed on the internal power of deformation. It was also found that the relative extrusion pressure, the inhomogeneous strain, and the shear strain across the section increase as the die angle and extrusion speed increase. Experimental tests showed that the optimum die angle was 60° while the optimum die angle was between 35°-90° and 46° according to the mixed field and the rigid- plastic field respectively.

Huge quantities of byproducts/wastes generated in onion processing are usually discarded, but they are excellent sources of bioactive compounds and phytochemicals. However, with growing interest in the sustainable use of resources and the circular economy to reduce adverse impacts on the environment, food processing wastes such as onion peel/skin can be extracted and employed as inputs in developing or reformulating nutrient supplements, and pharmacological drugs. This review highlights major bioactive components, especially total phenolics, total flavonoid, quercetin and its derivatives present in onion peel/skin and their therapeutic applications as cardioprotective, neuroprotective, antiobesity, antidiabetic, anticancer and antimicrobial agents. The present review emphasized that onion peel is one of the important agricultural by-products which is rich in bioactive compounds and can be utilized as health promoting ingredient especially in pharmacological and biomedical fields. Thus, with increasing burden of life style disorders/non-communicable diseases, finding suitable natural alternative for their treatment is one major concern of the researchers and onion peel and its extract can be exploited as a prime ingredient.