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The uncontrolled burning of agricultural residues, results in excessive release of CO2 which is the main contributor to the climate change. This practice which is widely adopted particularly in developing countries, presents severe adverse impacts on public health and environment. Utilization of agricultural residues for bioethanol production presents the second generation (G2) for biofuels production. The aim of the current work is to provide technical and financial aspects of bioethanol production from agricultural residues. The technical aspect is emphasized on rice straw (RS) as a feedstock for production, as it is the feedstock most available in abundant quantities for large scale applications. For a facility handling 100,000 t/y rice straw under Egyptian condition the total investment costs have been estimated to be about $115 million with the cost of bioethanol produced estimated to be about $1.2/L. The economic drivers for establishing large scale bioethanol production are addressed in view of the pressure exerted for mitigating environmental challenges associated with the excessive use of fossil fuel.

Hydrogel of polysaccharides blend graft acrylamide (PsB-g-Am) has been synthesized by copolymerization based on a free radical reaction using potassium persulfate (KPS) initiator and methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinking agent under nitrogen atmosphere. The polysaccharides blend (PsB) composed of starch, chitosan and alginate. The produced hydrogels structure have been characterized using FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Swelling water ratio (SWR) in distilled water for grafted and hydrolyzed hydrogel with different Am/PsB weight ratios have been studied. Maximum obtained SWR was 140 g/g using Am/PsB weight ratio of 0.96. The present work is also addressed a preliminary study for the swelling kinetics of the produced hydrogel. It was found that, the swelling kinetics obeys first-order kinetics.

Hydrogels are three-dimensional cross-linked stable network insoluble in water, which gives them a remarkable capacity to absorb both water and biological fluids. Hydrogel has been synthesized from natural or synthetic polymers and/or monomers, which have made tremendous advancements in many different applications. Composite hydrogel is a type of hydrogel prepared by grafting hydrophilic groups, such as hydroxyl (–OH), carboxylic acid (–COOH), imide (–CONH), sulfonic acid (–SO3H), amine (–NH2), and amide (–CONH2), into the polymer chain’s backbone and adding some additives such as kaolin, zeolite, or even different types of nanoparticles. Whereas the polymeric composite hydrogels exhibit stimuli for different properties such as pH, temperature, or light, which may affect swelling, mechanical properties, and self-healing, which in turn play vital roles in different areas. Hence, numerous efforts have been made to synthesize polymer-based composited hydrogels via physical or chemical crosslinking techniques to enhance their physiochemical, biological, and many other properties. Many researchers are currently paying attention to hydrogels and their applications, including wastewater treatment and purification, medical and biomedical applications, agricultural applications, and many other industrial applications. The aim of this review is to summarize the classification of composite hydrogels based on their chemical and physical crosslinking techniques, in addition to the different polymers and additives used to prepare composite hydrogels. Furthermore, the impact of hydrogel on health and the environment has been discussed. Other significant issues were also presented, including the challenges that face hydrogel production and application, which have been discussed.

SnS2 and SnSe2 have recently been shown to have a wide range of applications in photonic and optoelectronic devices. However, because of incomplete knowledge about their optical characteristics, the use of SnS2 and SnSe2 in optical engineering remains challenging. Here, we addressed this problem by establishing SnS2 and SnSe2 linear and nonlinear optical properties in the broad (300–3300 nm) spectral range. Coupled with the first-principle calculations, our experimental study unveiled the full dielectric tensor of SnS2 and SnSe2. Furthermore, we established that SnS2 is a promising material for visible high refractive index nanophotonics. Meanwhile, SnSe2 demonstrates a stronger nonlinear response compared with SnS2. Our results create a solid ground for current and next-generation SnS2- and SnSe2-based devices.

Background and Aim: Avian influenza (AI), which is one of the major respiratory diseases of poultry, and Escherichia coli (E. coli) have caused major economic losses around the world, including in Egypt. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to produce a vaccine from E. coli O157 and AI H5N1 formulated with Montanide ISA70 for the protection of poultry against both diseases. Materials and Methods: We divided one hundred 3-week-old chicks into four groups: Group 1 was vaccinated with prepared inactivated AI H5N1formulated with Montanide ISA70, Group 2 was vaccinated with inactivated E. coli formulated with Montanide ISA70, Group 3 was vaccinated with combined E. coli and AI H5N1 formulated with Montanide ISA70, and Group 4 was an unvaccinated control group. We measured the immune response using the HI (hemagglutination inhibition) test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the challenge test. Results: We found the three vaccines to be safe and sterile during all periods of examination and observation. The HI test showed that Group 1 exhibited specific antibody titers of 2.3 log2, 4.3 log2, 7.5 log2, 7.8 log2, 8 log2, and 8.1 log2 from week 2 to week 7, respectively, post-vaccination. Group 3 exhibited antibody titers of 3.3 log2, 5.8 log2, 7.8 log2, 8 log2, 8.3 log2, and 8.3 log2 from week 2 to week 7, respectively, post-vaccination. The immune response in both groups reached a high titer at week 6. The combined inactivated E. coli and AI H5N1 vaccine generated a higher immune response than the inactivated AI H5N1 vaccine, and a significant difference exists between the two groups. For Groups 2 and 3, the ELISA antibody titer exhibited its lowest value, 1996.5 and 2036.7, respectively, at week 1 post-vaccination; whereas, both groups exhibited the highest titers, 2227.7 (for Group 2) and 2287.3 (for Group 3), in week 3 post-booster. The ELISA for the combined inactivated E. coli and AI H5N1 vaccine had a higher titer than did the inactivated E. coli vaccine, and a significant difference exists between the two groups. Moreover, the protection rate was higher in Group 3, with 100% for E. coli and 90% for the AI H5N1 vaccine. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that producing a combined vaccine using E. coli and AI H5N1 formulated with Montanide ISA70 is recommended for protection against both diseases.

The objective of this study was to find the relation between the pathogenicity of (E. coli) O78 chicken isolate alone or mixed with Riemerella anatipestifer infection by conventional methods and modern techniques. The results of this study revealed that the pathogenicity of all groups of Riemerella anatipestifer (RA) was 100% while it was 90% among the ducks inoculated with E. coli and was 100% in the injected with both strains of Riemerella anatipestifer and E. coli together and 0% in the control negative group. RA and E. coli strains were correctly identified using the VITEK 2 compact system with 99% and 94% probability, respectively. The results of polymerase chain reaction confirmed the identification results using specific primers either for E. coli O78 or Riemerella anatipestifer giving products 720bp and 665bp, respectively. Histopathological examination revealed that liver showed congestion in blood vessels and hepatic cell necrosis in the group inoculated within Riemerella anatipestifer, While liver showed only congested blood vessels in E. coli inoculated group. On the other hand, Liver showed severe vacuolar degeneration with focal amyloid infiltration in E. coli and Riemerella inoculated group.

Environmental friendly adsorbents constitute an effective method for heavy metals pollution mitigation. In this work, batch adsorption experiments were conducted for the adsorption of various heavy metals including Cr, Co, Ni and Pb using cost-effective modified adsorbents. These comprise polyacrylate hydrogels prepared using microwave (M) irradiation technique (ACM) or ultrasonic (U) irradiation technique (ACU). Further blends of acrylic acid salts with Egyptian kaolin (AKM and AKU) or zeolite (AZM and AZU) were also investigated. The effect of pH and initial concentration on the performance of the composite hydrogels has been studied. Also, several adsorption isotherm and kinetic models were studied. AKU revealed the highest maximum adsorption capacities among other investigated composites for all the tested heavy metals. The equilibrium adsorption experiments revealed that Langmuir isotherm model is best fitted than other models with maximum adsorption capacities of 84.5, 73.3, 61 and 97 mg/g for Cr, Co, Ni and Pb, respectively and equivalent results were obtained from Tempkin isotherm for all ions except Ni. Adsorption kinetics of Cr, Co, Ni and Pb using all the composite hydrogels were best described with the Pseudo-second order kinetic model.

Background: Carcinoma of the uterine cervix is the third most frequently diagnosed malignancy in women worldwide. It remains a leading cause of cancer-related death for women in developing countries. Conventional MRI has an established role in gynecologic imaging. However, increasing clinical demand for improved lesion characterization and disease mapping to optimize patient management has resulted in the incorporation of newer sequences, such as diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Aim of Study: The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of DW-MRI in the diagnosis of cervical carcinoma. Patients and Methods: This is a descriptive exploratory (case-series) study that included 20 female patients diagnosed with cervical cancer, Pelvic MR, DWI and DCE- MR were done for all patient. The study was conducted in El-Demerdash Hospital from March 2019 – Feb. 2020. Results: This study group consisted of 20 female patients diagnosed with cancer cervix, Pelvic MR with DWI and DCE-MR were done for all patients. Lesions in all cases were seen restricted on DWI (high signal intensity in DWI with low ADC map) with hetrogenous patterns was seen in (17/20, 85%) cases, homogenous patterns was seen in (2/20, 10%) and mural pattern in (1/20,5%) case. All lesions showed low ADC maps from 0.6 to 1.2 (x10-3mm2/sec)

is a microbe with wide genetic diversity that infects the stomach of most people in developing countries, leading to several clinical outcomes among different individuals such as gastritis, ulcers,...

Background Recovery of valuable ingredients from black liquor could lead to an environmentally and economically sound bioethanol production technology. In this work, two schemes comprising hybrid membrane systems incorporating ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) are developed for the recovery of lignin, silica rich and cellulose/hemicellulose hydrolysates byproducts from alkaline pretreated rice straw. Methods The first scheme (I) comprises UF, NF and thermal vapor compression (TVC), while, the second scheme (II) includes UF, 2 stages of NF and 2 TVC units. Further treatments are suggested to produce solid byproducts with an economic value. Furthermore, material balance of the two schemes based on 1000 m3/d of black liquor and the main design features and comparative direct cost indicators of the main adopted units were deduced using WT Cost II© software. Results Results revealed that about (80–90%) yield of recovered byproducts from both schemes with equivalent amounts of 9.5, 5.5 and 18.5 ton/d of lignin, silica rich and cellulose/hemicellulose hydrolysates dry products, respectively. Moreover, reusable water recovery approaches 26% and 70% for schemes (I) and (II), respectively. Conclusions Further, the wastewater generated from scheme (II) is 2.9 times folds scheme (I) which improves the environmental impact of the former. Preliminary cost indicators revealed that both schemes have almost the same total direct capital cost.

The extensive use of wide-ranging insecticides in agricultural activities may develop resistance in insects. The dipping technique was utilized for examining changes in detoxifying enzyme levels in Spodoptera littoralis L. induced by cypermethrin (CYP) and spinosad (SPD) with and without a combination of three enzyme inhibitors: triphenyl phosphate (TPP), diethyl maleate (DEM), and piperonyl butoxide (PBO), at 70 μg/mL. PBO, DEM, and TPP showed 50% mortality against larvae at 236.2, 324.5, and 245.8 μg/mL, respectively. The LC50 value of CYP on S. littoralis larvae reduced from 2.86 μg/mL to 1.58, 2.26, and 1.96 μg/mL, while the LC50 value of SPD declined from 3.27 μg/mL to 2.34, 2.56, and 2.53, with the addition of PBO, DEM, and TPP, respectively, 24 h after treatment. Moreover, the activity of carboxylesterase (CarE), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (Cyp 450) was significantly inhibited (p < 0.05) by TPP, DEM, PBO plus CYP, and SPD in S. littoralis larvae in comparison with tested insecticides alone. These findings suggested that three enzyme inhibitors play a major role in increasing the toxicity of CYP and SPD in S. littoralis and will provide insight into how to overcome insecticide resistance in insects.

Background Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) has been recently defined as a clinical form including acute hepatic decompensation and high 28-day mortality. ACLF usually follows a precipitating event on the background of established cirrhosis. ACLF is considered the most frequent indication for admission to the ICU among cirrhotic patients. Our research aimed to reveal the clinical profile and outcome among patients with ACLF to detect an allocation system of these patients to the intensive care unit (ICU), and a decision tool for clinical practice. It is a prospective study of 60 patients with ACLF. Patients are divided into group A that included 30 patients with ACLF admitted to the hepatology and gastroenterology ward and group B that also included 30 patients with ACLF admitted to the ICU. Each group is subdivided into subgroups regarding the grade of ACLF. Results The most common precipitating factor of ACLF is SBP 78.3% (80% in ICU, 73.6% inward). Renal failure is the most common organ failure in ACLF in both groups. CLIF-C ACLF is assumed to be a highly prognostic score for mortality in ACLF patients better than other scores. ROC curve of CLIF-C ACLF with AUC: 0.972 and CI: 0.919, 1.025 showed a cutoff point = 57.0 above which intensive care admission does not seem to benefit ACLF patients. The sensitivity at the optimal cut point is 88.89% and the specificity is 100%. There is a significant difference between the 3 ACLF groups regarding 1-month and 3-month mortalities in patients admitted to the ICU. ACLF1 shows the least 1-month and 3-month mortality rates while ACLF3 shows the highest mortality rates in ICU patients ((1-month mortality: 20%, 60%, 100% in ACLF1, 2, 3 respectively), (3-month mortality: 50%, 80%, 100% in ACLF1, 2, 3 respectively)). Conclusion Mortality is high in ACLF and increases with the number of organ failures (40% in ACLF1 to 100% in ACLF3). CLIFC-ACLF is the most prognostic scoring system with a cut-off value of 57; above this value, mortality is a fact.

Adsorption is an important technology for the removal of heavy metals from industrial effluents. Efficient regeneration of exhausted adsorbents is essential for improving the applicability of different adsorbents. In this work an adsorptive polyacrylonitrile-based hydrogel was characterized and investigated in terms of adsorption/regeneration using both conventional chemical and electrical-assisted regeneration techniques. The hydrogel characterization includes FTIR, XRD, SEM, EDAX, porosity, and electrical conductivity. Hydrogel performance in adsorption and conventional chemical regeneration was tested. Further, electrically-assisted regeneration using a special design cell was also investigated. The maximum adsorption capacities for chromium and nickel were 8.082, and 17.437 mg/g, respectively. The isotherm data fitted Freundlich, while kinetic data fitted pseudo-second-order model. Conventional chemical desorption showed regeneration efficiency of 15.58, and 27.27 % for chromium and nickel, respectively. While, the electrically-assisted regeneration showed much higher values of 51.6, and 98.3 % for chromium and nickel, respectively indicating the merit of using electrically-assisted chemical regeneration for enhancing heavy metals adsorbing hydrogel applicability.

Graphene is a promising building block material for developing novel photonic and optoelectronic devices. Here, we report a comprehensive experimental study of chemical-vapor deposited (CVD) monolayer graphene’s optical properties on three different substrates for ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared spectral ranges (from 240 to 1000 nm). Importantly, our ellipsometric measurements are free from the assumptions of additional nanometer-thick layers of water or other media. This issue is critical for practical applications since otherwise, these additional layers must be included in the design models of various graphene photonic, plasmonic, and optoelectronic devices. We observe a slight difference (not exceeding 5%) in the optical constants of graphene on different substrates. Further, the optical constants reported here are very close to those of graphite, which hints on their applicability to multilayer graphene structures. This work provides reliable data on monolayer graphene’s optical properties, which should be useful for modeling and designing photonic devices with graphene.

We report an ellipsometric study of the monolayer graphene prepared by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The investigation was carried over a broad spectral range spanning the ultraviolet to the near-infrared at variable incidence angles. Comparison with graphite and previously published graphene data shows a high degree of similarity in the optical properties of these two materials.

Background and Aim: Avian influenza (AI), which is one of the major respiratory diseases of poultry, and Escherichia coli (E. coli) have caused major economic losses around the world, including in Egypt. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to produce a vaccine from E. coli O157 and AI H5N1 formulated with Montanide ISA70 for the protection of poultry against both diseases. Materials and Methods: We divided one hundred 3-week-old chicks into four groups: Group 1 was vaccinated with prepared inactivated AI H5N1formulated with Montanide ISA70, Group 2 was vaccinated with inactivated E. coli formulated with Montanide ISA70, Group 3 was vaccinated with combined E. coli and AI H5N1 formulated with Montanide ISA70, and Group 4 was an unvaccinated control group. We measured the immune response using the HI (hemagglutination inhibition) test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the challenge test. Results: We found the three vaccines to be safe and sterile during all periods of examination and observation. The HI test showed that Group 1 exhibited specific antibody titers of 2.3 log2, 4.3 log2, 7.5 log2, 7.8 log2, 8 log2, and 8.1 log2 from week 2 to week 7, respectively, post-vaccination. Group 3 exhibited antibody titers of 3.3 log2, 5.8 log2, 7.8 log2, 8 log2, 8.3 log2, and 8.3 log2 from week 2 to week 7, respectively, post-vaccination. The immune response in both groups reached a high titer at week 6. The combined inactivated E. coli and AI H5N1 vaccine generated a higher immune response than the inactivated AI H5N1 vaccine, and a significant difference exists between the two groups. For Groups 2 and 3, the ELISA antibody titer exhibited its lowest value, 1996.5 and 2036.7, respectively, at week 1 post-vaccination; whereas, both groups exhibited the highest titers, 2227.7 (for Group 2) and 2287.3 (for Group 3), in week 3 post-booster. The ELISA for the combined inactivated E. coli and AI H5N1 vaccine had a higher titer than did the inactivated E. coli vaccine, and a significant difference exists between the two groups. Moreover, the protection rate was higher in Group 3, with 100% for E. coli and 90% for the AI H5N1 vaccine. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that producing a combined vaccine using E. coli and AI H5N1 formulated with Montanide ISA70 is recommended for protection against both diseases.

The accelerated blood clearance (ABC) phenomenon, caused in large degree via in vivo anti-PEG IgM production, is one of obstacles for development of PEGylated liposome and protein formulations, due to decreased efficiency and/or side effects such as anaphylaxis upon repeat administrations. We have shown in murine ABC models that splenectomy suppressed the level of anti-PEG IgM production induced by PEGylated liposomes, indicating that murine splenic B cells play an important role in its production. However, splenectomy did not completely inhibit production of anti-PEG IgM, suggesting that other cells may contribute to its production in the ABC phenomenon. In this study, we examined the contribution of hepatosplenic phagocytic cells to anti-PEG IgM production and clearance of PEGylated liposomes during the ABC phenomenon. Depletion of hepatosplenic phagocytic cells by pretreatment of mice with clodronate-containing non-PEGylated liposomes suppressed anti-PEG IgM production to a considerable degree, without a change in the number of splenic B cells, and attenuated the enhanced clearance of second dose of PEGylated liposomes. These results suggest that hepatosplenic phagocytic cells, in addition to splenic B cells, contribute to the production of anti-PEG IgM and the ABC phenomenon against PEGylated liposomes. The mechanism whereby splenic B cells interact with hepatosplenic phagocytic cells to produce anti-PEG IgM, upon administration of an initial dose of PEGylated liposomes remains to be elucidated.

The presence of anti-polyethylene glycol (PEG) antibodies in the systemic circulation might have potential implications for the therapeutic activity of PEGylated products in vivo in the clinic. In order to study the effect of pre-existing anti-PEG antibodies on the in vivo fate and the therapeutic efficiency of PEGylated therapeutics, we developed a BALB/c mouse model by virtue of the intraperitoneal (i.p.) inoculation of hybridoma cells (HIK-M09 and HIK-M11), secreting monoclonal anti-PEG IgM, mimicking the presence of pre-existing anti-PEG antibodies in the blood. In the model, the titers of anti-PEG IgM in the blood increased as a function of hybridoma cells numbers and time after i.p. inoculation. The in vivo levels of anti-PEG IgM decreased in a dose-dependent manner, following i.v. administration of empty PEGylated liposomes. C26 tumor-bearing mice with measurable levels of anti-PEG IgM, receiving i.v. injection of DiR-labeled empty PEGylated liposomes, showed lower levels of liposomal tumor accumulation and higher levels of liver and spleen accumulation, compared to C26 tumor-bearing mice without measurable anti-PEG IgM. This specifies that the presence of anti-PEG IgM in the murine circulation induced accelerated blood clearance of PEGylated liposomes and reduced their tumor accumulation. The biodistribution and antitumor efficacy of commercially available doxorubicin (DXR)-containing PEGylated liposomes, Doxil®, were scrutinized in the anti-PEG IgM mouse model. In C26 tumor-bearing mice having circulating anti-PEG IgM, at 24 h after injection almost no DXR was observed in blood and tumor, and increased DXR accumulation was observed in spleen and liver, compared to tumor-bearing mice with no circulating anti-PEG IgM. The antitumor efficacy of Doxil® was significantly compromised in the C26 tumor-bearing mice in the presence of anti-PEG IgM. These results demonstrate that the anti-PEG IgM mouse model could be a useful prognostic indicator for the therapeutic effectiveness of different formulations of PEGylated therapeutics in pre-clinical studies.

Mist chambers (MC) have been used for decades to sample water-soluble gases in atmospheric studies. Herein, we characterize the use of a mist chamber for the collection of oxygenated organic gases, with a focus on intermediate solubility compounds to better constrain the transition from low-to-high collection efficiency. The investigated compounds span a range in Henry's law constants (KH, 2.5 × 101 M atm−1 to 4.1 × 105 M atm−1) and include moieties abundant in tropospheric gases (carboxylic acids, alcohols, and carbonyls). Under the configuration used here, the MC achieved greater than 90% collection efficiency for compounds with KH > 4.9 × 102 M atm−1. This represents an improvement over prior MC characterizations, likely due to the increased number of intermediate solubility compounds investigated. We apply the MC collection efficiency to simulations of VOC photooxidation. The results indicate that the MC is likely to collect the majority of gas-phase oxidation products for ten different VOCs, with the highest collection efficiency (94%) predicted for the oxidation products of α-pinene under low-NOx conditions.

Since early 2020, the world has faced an unprecedented pandemic caused by the novel COVID-19 virus. In this study, we characterize the impact of the lockdown associated with the pandemic on air quality in six major cities across the state of Florida, namely: Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami. Hourly measurements of PM2.5, ozone, NO2, SO2, and CO were provided by the US EPA at thirty sites operated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection during mid-February to mid-April from 2015 through 2020. To analyze the effect of the pandemic, atmospheric pollutant concentrations in 2020 were compared to historic data at these cities during the same period from 2015 to 2019. Reductions in NO2 and CO levels were observed across the state in most cities and were attributed to restrictions in mobility and the decrease in vehicle usage amid the lockdown. Likewise, decreases in O3 concentrations were observed and were related to the prevailing NOx-limited regime during this time period. Changes in concentrations of SO2 exhibited spatial variations, concentrations decreased in northern cities, however an increase was observed in central and southern cities, likely due to increased power generation at facilities primarily in the central and southern regions of the state. PM2.5 levels varied temporally during the study and were positively correlated with SO2 concentrations during the lockdown. In March, reductions in PM2.5 levels were observed, however elevations in PM2.5 concentrations in April were attributed to long-range transport of pollutants rather than local emissions. This study provides further insight into the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on anthropogenic sources from vehicular emissions and power generation in Florida. This work has implications for policies and regulations of vehicular emissions as well as consequences on the use of sustainable energy sources in the state., Graphical abstract Image 1

Slum upgrading programs in Egypt focus mainly on the provision of essential services. Social and environmental needs are neglected resulting in critical issues. A community-driven approach is proposed to unfold the potential of slums by giving control of decisions and resources to the community.The research examines ‘El-Max’ Fishermen Village based on its potential due to its unique urban pattern and characteristics. It argues the ability of an informal settlement to reach sustainability goals through a community driven approach. It sets out a framework for urban development, emphasising social sustainability built on sound governance and good urban management.© 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.Keywords: Slum Upgrading; Sustainable Urban Development; Community-Driven Development (CDD); Urban Management.

The National Park Service is tasked with protecting the lands it oversees, including from impacts from air pollutants. While ozone is regularly monitored in many parks across the United States, precursors to ozone formation are not routinely measured. In this work we characterize volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at four national parks in the southwestern United States: Carlsbad Caverns (CAVE), Great Basin (GRBA), Grand Canyon (GRCA), and Joshua Tree (JOTR). Whole air samples were collected for VOC analysis for five months (mid-April through mid-September) in 2017. Samples were collected from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. local time, corresponding approximately to the time of expected peak ozone concentrations, and were analyzed using gas chromatography for a variety of compounds including alkanes, alkenes, aromatics, biogenics, and alkyl nitrates. Among the four parks, the total measured VOC mixing ratio was greatest at CAVE, mostly due to an abundance of light alkanes (on average 94% of all VOCs measured) from oil and gas sources. VOC concentrations at the other three parks were similar to each other and approximately 7–10 times lower than at CAVE. While VOC sources varied across sites, VOC-OH reactivity was dominated by biogenic compounds at all sites except CAVE, which had similar contributions from biogenics and from light alkanes. JOTR had the highest levels of ozone, and the highest concentrations of biogenic VOCs among the parks studied. Back trajectory analysis suggests that the high levels of ozone occurred when air flow came from the west, in the direction of the greater Los Angeles area. The two parks most removed from oil and gas and urban sources, GRBA and GRCA, had the lowest concentrations of total VOCs, and were likely influenced by long range transport of pollutants. To better characterize source influences at the park with the highest VOC concentrations, intensive measurements were conducted in and around CAVE for one week in September 2017. These measurements showed an oil and gas influence throughout the region and indicated that the whole air samples collected over the five-month study did not capture the full range of VOC mixing ratios present at other times of the day.

Proceedings of the ARCHCAIRO 7 Conference - Chaired by professor Sahar Attia and professor Zeinab Shafik

Sustainability in urban development is considered as a main concrete stone that effect directly the quality of life for its users. Land Suitability Analysis (LSA) using GIS as a multi criteria support tool reveals the best alternatives for the suitability of sustainable land development. Urban planners working under the umbrella of sustainability using recent technology should contribute their work directly to LSA. This paper aims to develop a new technique to be used by planner to reach best alternative for five main urban sectors (agriculture, Industry, Trade, Tourism, & Residential) using GIS as a multi criteria decision support tool (MCDS), accordingly choosing best city location will be accurately and analyzed upon LSA studies. LSA and MCDS are going to be applied on one survey unit map called Monof along Cairo – Alexandria Road. Results showed that different alternatives could be applied on the area of interest, and all of them are sustainable, but choosing the best deepened on the priority of querying the development sector. The paper suggests a pilot method for land development planning and choosing best city location that would be a guide for the governmental planning organization to support in taking right and analyzed planning decisions.

The reversible nature of aqueous secondary organic aerosol (aqSOA) formation was characterized for the first time through direct atmospheric measurements. Water-soluble organic carbon in the gas and particle phases (WSOCg and WSOCp) was measured simultaneously to quantify aqSOA formation in Baltimore, Maryland. During the nighttime, aqSOA formation was evident as WSOCg increasingly partitioned to the particle phase with increasing relative humidity (RH). To characterize the reversible/irreversible nature of this aqSOA, the WSOCp measurement was alternated through an unperturbed ambient channel and through a “dried” channel maintained at ~40% RH (with 7 s residence time) to mimic the natural drying particles undergo throughout the day. Across the entire RH range encountered, there was no statistically significant difference in WSOCp concentrations through the dry and ambient channels, indicating that the aqSOA remained in the condensed phase upon the evaporation of aerosol water. This strongly suggests that the observed aqSOA was formed irreversibly.

This paper investigates the potential of using polysaccharide hydrogels as softeners for saline solutions of seawater and reverse osmosis desalination brine. Grafting of acrylamide onto alginate and chitosan was conducted using microwave (MW) and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation techniques. The produced hydrogels: alginate (Alg-UV and Alg-MW) and chitosan (Ch-UV and Ch-MW) were characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Hydrogel products were tested for their swelling behavior in distilled water and saline solutions, and their calcium and magnesium adsorption capacities in the pre-swollen and dry forms were measured in saline solutions. Swelling in distilled water was found to exceed that in saline solutions by 16.7–21-fold. Maximum attained swelling ratios in distilled water were 168 and 173 g/g for Alg-UV and Ch-MW grafted acrylamide hydrogels, respectively. Dry hydrogels had relative selectivity toward calcium adsorption in seawater and magnesium adsorption in brine. Fu...

The present work aimed to prolong the contact time of flurbiprofen (FBP) in the ocular tissue to improve the drug anti-inflammatory activity. Different niosome systems were fabricated adopting thin-film hydration technique and using the nonionic surfactant Span 60. The morphology of the prepared niosomes was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Physical characterization by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were conducted for the optimized formula (F5) that was selected on the basis of percent entrapment efficiency, vesicular size and total lipid content. F5 was formulated as 1% w/w Carpobol 934 gel. Pharmacokinetic parameters of FBP were investigated following ocular administration of F5-loaded gel system, F5 niosome dispersion or the corresponding FBP ocular drops to albino rabbits dispersion. Anti-inflamatory effect of F5-loaded carbopol gel was investigated by histopathological examination of the corneal tissue before and after the treatment of inflamed rabbit eye with the system. Results showed that cholesterol content, surfactant type. and total lipid contents had an apparent impact on the vesicle size of the formulated niosomes. Physical characterization revealed reduced drug crystallinity and incidence of interaction with other niosome contents. F5-loaded gel showed higher Cmax, area under the curve (AUC0-12), and thus higher ocular bioavailability than those of the corresponding FBP ocular solution. F5-loaded gel showed a promising rapid anti-inflammatory effect in the inflamed rabbit eye. These findings will eradicate the necessity for frequent ocular drug instillation and thus, improve patient compliance.

Hydrogels are hydrophilic networks of crosslinked synthetic polymers or grafted natural polymers. The latter type involves grafting of a monomer onto a natural polymer using initiator and crosslinker. The present paper comprises of hydrogel manufacturing processes for starch grafted acrylamide (St-g-Am) using three different grafting techniques (conventional, microwave (MW), and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation). The prepared hydrogel has been characterized using XRD, FTIR, TGA, and SEM. Grafting indicators are compared on the basis of reported typical international and national studies. Moreover, economics and environmental aspects are addressed using the investigated manufacturing procedures. Recommendations for clean technology applications pertinent to hydrogel manufacture are included.

Sustainable urban development is essential to enhance the quality of life of the citizens and to decrease the impact of cities upon resources outside the urban context. Redeveloping and planning green spaces and urban structure become the fundamentals of the sustainable urban planning of a city. An effective urban planning using recent technology is required to contribute to the physical and social development of the cities through promoting the land value and the local economy. This paper aims to develop a method to maintain ecological balance and organization of the urban green areas, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques that assist in effective planning of green areas. Land suitability analysis and ecological threshold methods based on GIS techniques are applied on one of the Egyptian new cities in a desert environment (i.e., El-Sadat City). Results revealed that the green ways could be developed to play a more significant role in bringing nature into the city. This paper suggests a method of green network planning that would help in enhancing the connectivity and reduce fragmentation though integrated greenway system. Finally, an ecological base for building an eco-city of El-Sadat City in the future is proposed.

The aim of this work is preparation, characterization, and evaluation of some rare earth phosphates REPO4 (RE= La, Sm, Gd) to be used as humidity sensors. Their substitution with Na+ or Ca2+ were prepared by both wet and dry methods. The produced samples were characterized by using the classical methods. The X-ray data shows that different compounds and different phases were formed depending on the method of preparation and the control conditions. The electrical conductivity of the samples were measured at 25-300°C and different relative humidity ranges of 30 to 92%. The dependence of electrical conductivity on temperature indicates that, the rare earth phosphates behave as semiconductor materials whatever they prepared by wet or dry method. It is found that the electrical conductivity of most phosphate samples increase smoothly as the relative humidity increase. This behavior may due to the protonic conduction at low humidity values and to the protonic and electrolytic conductions at high humidities. From the analysis of the obtained results, it may conclude that, the humidity sensors with high sensitivity and thermal stability could be developed from some rare earth phosphates.