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The purpose of the current study is to compare among traditional fertilizers (mineral fertilizers); N, P and K and untraditional fertilizers (nano-fertilizers); chitosan, integration of chitosan and N, P or K nano-particles with different doses of 10, 20 and 30mg/l. Mineral fertilizers were obtained from the chemical store of Soils and Water Research Institute, ARC. Nano-fertilizers were prepared in National Institute of Laser Enhanced Science (NILES), Cairo University. The studied cotton variety was Giza 94 (G94). All used cotton samples were collected from 2017 and 2018 cotton growing seasons. Cotton fiber properties was conducted at Egyptian & International Cotton Classification Center (EICCC) using Fiber Classifying System (FCS), (ARC). Almost of cotton properties such as seed cotton yield, boll weight, lint percentage and lint cotton yield, cotton fiber properties; uniformity index, upper half mean, strength, elongation, reflectance percentage, yarn strength and yellowness gave a significant contribution towards final product. The conclusion of results was that nano-fertilize doses of chitosan+K 30mg/l was the best for almost studied properties followed by other nano-fertilizers chitosan+K 10 or 20mg/l, chitosan+P10,20 or 30mg/l, chitosan+N 10,20 and 30mg/l, chitosan and finally traditional fertilizers; mineral fertilizers.

Background: Pterygium characterized by a centripetal growth of fibrovascular tissue associated with inflammation and vascularization. Corneal astigmatism in an eye with pterygium may reflect the cumulative effect of a naturally occurring astigmatism and that induced by the pterygium. Pterygium surgery usually affects topographic changes associated with pterygium.The aim of the work: This study aimed to detect the topographic changes that occur before and after pterygium surgery using the bare sclera technique.Patients and Methods: This study is prospective, interventional, and non-randomized. It was held at Al-Zahraa University Hospital. It included 20 eyes of 17 patients with primary nasal pterygium. Their age ranged between 23 and 72 years. Pterygium was graded according to its size, extent of corneal involvement and visibility of the underlying episcleral blood vessels. All cases were operated with the bare sclera technique. Follow-up was done after one day, one week, one month, and three months postoperatively.Results: There was a significant improvement of uncorrected and best correct visual acuity at one and three months after surgery. After excision of smaller sized pterygium, the UCVA and BCVA are more improved as compared to excision of larger sized pterygium. The astigmatic value significantly decreased during the first week and third months postoperatively. Sim K2 was significantly increased during the first week and first month after pterygium surgery. Recurrence was reported in 7 out of 20 eyes. Two eyes experienced pyogenic granuloma on the first month of follow-up, while dryness was encountered in 8 eyes.Conclusion: Pterygium excision with bare sclera technique is associated with improvement in UCVA and BCVA, decrease in astigmatic values, and improvement in corneal aberrations. It is associated with a 35% recurrence rate. It is preferable to excise pterygium before reaching 3 mm to avoid visual impairment in late cases.

Background: Proper calculation of ablation depth associated with LASIK and FEMTOLASIK surgeries is mandatory to estimate the post-refractive surgery remaining stroma to avoid the possibility of post-operative ectasia and to correct the maximum error to meet the patient’s needs and safety.Purpose: The current work aimed to assess the actual depths of ablation after the LASIK versus the FEMTO-LASIK surgeries.Patients and Methods: Forty eyes of 20 patients were included in this prospective non-randomized interventional study. They had myopia or myopic astigmatism, and scheduled for LASIK or FEMTOLASIK surgery. Pentacam was used to check the thickness of the thinnest corneal location and to exclude the possibility of keratoconus. They were divided into two groups according to the technique used to correct the error. Group I for LASIK and Group II for FEMTOLASIK surgery. Ablation was performed in all cases using the Allegretto excimer laser machine. After surgery, all patients received a combination of topical tobramycin 0.3% and dexamethasone 0.1% eye drops four times daily for 10 days, and topical Sodium Hyaluronate eye drops [2 mg/ml] four times daily for one month. All patients were examined at one day and one week postoperatively for evidence of flap malposition, striae, epithelial defects, or diffuse lamellar keratitis. Pentacam was used for follow up at 3 months after surgery to re-evaluate the thinnest central location.Results: In group I, the mean actual tissue ablation per one diopter was 13.3 microns for 6.5 mm treatment zone, and 11.9 microns for 6.0 mm treatment zone, while in group II, it was 13.4 microns for 6.5 treatment zone, and 11.8 microns for 6.0 treatment zone. There was insignificant difference between actual tissue ablation following the LASIK versus the FEMTOLASIK surgeries.Conclusion: The actual ablation depth should be considered to calculate the remaining stromal depth after LASIK or FEMTOLASIK surgeries for treatment of myopia or myopic astigmatism to avoid the possibility of post- LASIK or FEMTOLASIK ectasia and to correct the maximum error that meets the patient’s needs.

The purpose of the current study is to characterize Egyptian cotton using HVI and CCS measurements. The present investigation was carried out at two different locations: The Global Center for Cotton Testing Research in International Cotton Association (ICA) using HVI instrument in Germany and Egyptian and International Cotton Classification Center (EICCC), Cotton Research Institute (CRI), Agricultural Research Center (ARC) using CCS instrument in Egypt. Samples are sourced from standardized preparation stages to obtain more homogeneity. All samples were collected from 2018 and 2019 cotton growing seasons. The studied cotton fiber properties: upper half mean (UHM), uniformity index (UI %), short fiber index (SFI %), strength (FS) and elongation (E %) and micronaire reading (Mike) and maturity ratio (MR). The studied cotton varieties include long staple cotton varieties i.e., Giza 86 and Giza 95 and extra-long staple cotton varieties i.e., Giza 92 and Giza 93, in terms of basic Egyptian cotton grade Good (G). The results of HVI and CCS measurements were detected by using descriptive statistics such as measures of central tendency and dispersion, skewness, and kurtosis. The CCS measurements were more stable than HVI measurements. Confidence intervals of CCS measurements were close to each other compared to HVI measurements. For instance, in Giza 92, confidence interval of UHM was 32.00-32.32for HVI and 32.50-32.55for CCS, adding to confidence intervals for FS were 45.19-46.83for HVI and 46.99-47.17 for CCS. Meanwhile, confidence intervals for Mike were 3.04–3.21 for HVI and 3.12–3.14 for CCS. Basically, sample sizes of CCS were larger more than sample sizes of HVI so that results of CCS measurements were more homogenous than HVI measurements. Applying reliability analysis for consistent results in CCS and HVI measurements elaborated Cronbach's value were more efficient than using Cronbach's value if item deleted for both CCS and HVI. Cronbach's value of CCS measurements was more than HVI measurements and that due to the homogeneity of CCS samples compared to HVI samples.

Background: Congenital heart diseases are abnormalities of the heart and/or great vessels present at birth. 1% of live births have a congenital heart defect. Cardiac Troponin, especially cardiac Troponin I (cTnI), are the preferred biomarkers for the detection of cardiac injury. International cardiology and laboratory medicine guidelines recommend highly sensitive Tn1 (hscTnI) that has excellent precision (

Adapting behavior to a dynamic environment requires both steadiness when the environment is stable and behavioral flexibility in response to changes. Much evidence suggests that cognitive flexibility, which can be operationalized in reversal learning tasks, is mediated by cortico-striatal circuitries, with the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) playing a prominent role. The OFC is a functionally heterogeneous region, and we have previously reported differential roles of lateral (lOFC) and medial (mOFC) regions in a touchscreen serial visual reversal learning task for rats using pharmacological inactivation. Here, we investigated the effects of pharmacological overactivation of these regions using a glutamate transporter 1 (GLT-1) inhibitor, dihydrokainate (DHK), which increases extracellular glutamate by blocking its reuptake. We also tested the impact of antagonism of the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR), which modulates glutamate action, in the mOFC and lOFC on the same task. Overactivation induced by DHK produced dissociable effects in the mOFC and lOFC, with more prominent effects in the mOFC, specifically improving performance in the early, perseveration phase. Intra-lOFC DHK increased the number of omitted responses without affecting errors. In contrast, blocking the 5-HT2AR in the lOFC impaired reversal learning overall, while mOFC 5-HT2AR blockade had no effect. These results further support dissociable roles of the rodent mOFC and lOFC in deterministic visual reversal learning and indicate that modulating glutamate transmission through blocking the GLT-1 and the 5-HT2AR have different roles in these two structures., Public Significance Statement This study further supports dissociable roles of specific orbitofrontal subregions, as well as glutamatergic and serotonergic transmission in these subregions, in cognitive flexibility. This knowledge will add to the understanding of specific neural mechanisms underlying inflexible behaviour across psychiatric disorders.

Negative urgency describes the tendency for rash and impulsive behaviour during negative emotional states and has been linked to a number of psychiatric disorders. However, there has been limited research on negative urgency as an explanatory mechanism for impulsivity in experimental animals. Such research has important implications for elucidating the neurobiology of negative urgency and thereby the development of future therapeutic interventions. In this study, we investigated the effects of negative urgency using a partial reinforcement schedule to increase the frequency of non-rewarded (i.e. frustrative) trials in the five-choice serial reaction time task, a widely used task to assess visual attention and impulsivity. Using a Markov chain model to analyse trial-by-trial outcomes we found that premature (i.e. impulsive) responses in the five-choice serial reaction time task were more likely to occur after a non-rewarded trial, and mostly after a previous premature trial. However, contrary to the frustration hypothesis of negative urgency, increasing the probability of reinforcement ( p(R)) from p(R) = 0.5 to p(R) = 1 increased the number of premature responses in each session. Micro and macro levels of analyses revealed that impulsivity in the five-choice serial reaction time task is governed by at least two processes, one dependent on the overall level of reinforcement hypothesised to determine the state of behavioural activation, the second dependent on trial-by-trial outcomes consistent with negative urgency effects. These processes may depend on distinct neurobiological mechanisms and have relevance for neuropsychiatric disorders that implicate impulsive behaviours dependent on positive and negative affective states.

Funder: RCUK | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000268, Funder: No personal funding for this project, Funder: GlaxoSmithKline foundation (GSK); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100002066, Funder: Shionogi (Shionogi & Co. Ltd.); doi: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100005612, Impaired cognitive flexibility in visual reversal-learning tasks has been observed in a wide range of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. Although both human and animal studies have implicated striatal D2-like and D1-like receptors (D2R; D1R) in this form of flexibility, less is known about the contribution they make within distinct sub-regions of the striatum and the different phases of visual reversal learning. The present study investigated the involvement of D2R and D1R during the early (perseverative) phase of reversal learning as well as in the intermediate and late stages (new learning) after microinfusions of D2R and D1R antagonists into the nucleus accumbens core and shell (NAcC; NAcS), the anterior and posterior dorsomedial striatum (DMS) and the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) on a touchscreen visual serial reversal-learning task. Reversal learning was improved after dopamine receptor blockade in the nucleus accumbens; the D1R antagonist, SCH23390, in the NAcS and the D2R antagonist, raclopride, in the NAcC selectively reduced early, perseverative errors. In contrast, reversal learning was impaired by D2R antagonism, but not D1R antagonism, in the dorsal striatum: raclopride increased errors in the intermediate phase after DMS infusions, and increased errors across phases after DLS infusions. These findings indicate that D1R and D2R modulate different stages of reversal learning through effects localised to different sub-regions of the striatum. Thus, deficits in behavioral flexibility observed in disorders linked to dopamine perturbations may be attributable to specific D1R and D2R dysfunction in distinct striatal sub-regions.

Schizophrenia is a chronic and highly complex psychiatric disorder characterised by cognitive dysfunctions, negative and positive symptoms. The major challenge in schizophrenia research is lack of suitable animal models that mimic the core behavioural aspects and symptoms of this devastating psychiatric disorder. In this study, we used classical and atypical antipsychotic drugs to examine the predictive validity of ketamine-enhanced immobility in forced swim test (FST) as a possible animal model for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Repeated administration of a subanaesthetic dose of ketamine (0.1 mg / kg b.wt.) for 60 days enhanced the duration of immobility in FST 24 h after the final injection. Suggesting that the effects of ketamine on the duration of immobility in this study was neither due to motor dysfunction nor peripheral neuromuscular blockade. Our results suggest that repeated treatment with subanaesthetic doses of ketamine enhance the duration of immobility in FST, which might be a useful animal model for the negative symptoms (particularly the depressive features) of schizophrenia.

PEI (polyethylenimine) functionalized magnetic amorphous carbon thin film nano composite (Fe3O4-PEI-ACTF NC), was successfully synthesized and characterized by High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), and Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). The synthesized nano composite Fe3O4-PEI-ACTF was developed as a highly efficient adsorbent for Hg(II) from aqueous samples. Effect of pH, contact time, adsorbent dose, initial concentration and temperature were investigated and optimized through batch adsorption technique. Besides, good magnetic performance of Fe3O4-PEI-ACTF NC makes it easily recovered from water with magnetic separation at low magnetic field. The adsorption kinetic data described well with the pseudo-second-order model and the equilibrium data fitted well to Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity was 714 µg/g of Hg(II). Thermodynamic studies (ΔG° 0, ΔS° > 0) implied an endothermic and spontaneous adsorption process in nature. Furthermore, the excellent reproducibility indicated that Fe3O4-PEI-ACTF NC has a promising application for removing heavy metals from aqueous environments due to high adsorption capacity and easily and quick separation. Keywords: Poly(ethyleneimine), Magnetic amorphous carbon, Hg(II) adsorption, Isotherm, Kinetics, Thermodynamics

A novel method is applied to produce amorphous carbon thin film (ACTF) from oil palm leaves. The novel prepared ACTF is in the form of thin films like graphene sheets having winding surface. ACTF was characterized by different methods of characterization: FTIR, BET, SEM, EDX, TEM, and Raman. ACTF employed as an adsorbent to separate emulsified condensate oil from synthetic produced water as a treatment process before reinjection in oil reservoirs. The adsorption performance of batch and fixed bed adsorption systems were investigated. Contact time, initial concentration of condensate oil (Co = 100–2500 mg/l) and temperature were studied by batch experiments. The obtained results indicated that the adsorption capacity and the removal efficiency increased with time up to 132.77 mg condensate/g adsorbent and 66.38% respectively, within 6 h equilibrium time at 308 K. The thermodynamic adsorption experiments conducted at 288, 308 and 318 K, referring exothermic nature of the adsorption process.The performance study of fixed bed adsorption described through the breakthrough curves concept with two parameters: column bed heights (5, 10 and 15 mm) and flow rate (2.2, 5 and 8.4 ml/min). Two models (Thomas and Yoon-Nelson models) were applied to expect different parameters of fixed bed as adsorption capacity and time need for 50% breakthrough. The results exhibited that 2.2 ml /min feed flowrate and 5 mm bed height at 1000 mg/l initial oil condensate concentration were the optimum conditions for the ACTF column. The experimental breakthrough curves showed acceptable fit with the calculated breakthrough profiles obtained by Thomas model. Keywords: ACTF, Condensate oil, Batch adsorption, Fixed-bed column, Thomas model and Yoon–Nelson models, Oil palm leaves

The present study assessed the effect of in-feed doses of an exogenous enzymes preparation and/or Saccharomyces cerevisiae on production performance, nutrient utilization, ruminal and blood serum measurements in goats. Sixteen lactating Nubian does (35.1 ± 0.8 kg) were utilized in a quadruplicated 4 × 4 Latin square design over a period of 88 days. Enzymes and/or yeast were included in a basal diet (control treatment) at doses of 4 g exogenous enzymes (EZ treatment), 4 g yeast (SC treatment), or 8 g of their mixture at 1:1 w/w (EZSC treatment). The EZ, SC, and EZSC treatments had greater (P

In this study, amorphous carbon thin film was fabricated from oil palm leaves and functionalized by polyethylenimine (ACTF-PEI) and tested as a novel adsorbent to remove Lead (II) and chromium (VI) ions from aquoues solutions through batch techniques. The prepared adsorbent (ACTF-PEI) was characterized by High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HR-TEM), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), and N 2 physisorption (BET). The effect of pH, contact time, initial metal ion concentration, adsorbent dose, and temperature was studied to optimize the conditions for maximum adsorption. The adsorption kinetics was studied for pseudo-first-order model, pseudo-second-order model, and intra-particle diffusion models. The equilibrium data were best described by the Langmuir model and the maximum monolayer capacity, q max , obtained for Pb(II) and Cr(VI) ions were 143, and 125 mg g −1 , respectively. The obtained thermodynamic parameters such as, ΔH °, ΔS ° and ΔG °, implied an endothermic spontaneous adsorption process in nature. The effect of Mn(II), Zn(II), Ni(II), Cd(II), Co(II), Cu(II), and Fe(II) on adsorption efficiencies was investigated. The desorption efficiencies of Pb(II) and Cr(VI)-loaded on AC-PEI were evaluated using 0.5 mol L −1 HCl and 0.5 mol L −1 NaOH, respectively. The regeneration study proved that ACTF–PEI adsorbent can be repeatedly utilized with capacity loss of 88% and 90% after the fifth cycle for pb(II), and Cr(VI), respectively. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that ACTF- PEI could be considered as a potential adsorbent to apply in wastewater treatment.

Much evidence suggests that reversal learning is mediated by cortico-striatal circuitries with the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) playing a prominent role. The OFC is a functionally heterogeneous region, but potential differential roles of lateral (lOFC) and medial (mOFC) portions in visual reversal learning have yet to be determined. We investigated the effects of pharmacological inactivation of mOFC and lOFC on a deterministic serial visual reversal learning task for rats. For reference, we also targeted other areas previously implicated in reversal learning: prelimbic (PrL) and infralimbic (IL) prefrontal cortex, and basolateral amygdala (BLA). Inactivating mOFC and lOFC produced opposite effects; lOFC impairing, and mOFC improving, performance in the early, perseverative phase specifically. Additionally, mOFC inactivation enhanced negative feedback sensitivity, while lOFC inactivation diminished feedback sensitivity in general. mOFC and lOFC inactivation also affected novel visual discrimination learning differently; lOFC inactivation paradoxically improved learning, and mOFC inactivation had no effect. We also observed dissociable roles of the OFC and the IL/PrL. Whereas the OFC inactivation affected only perseveration, IL/PrL inactivation improved learning overall. BLA inactivation did not affect perseveration, but improved the late phase of reversal learning. These results support opponent roles of the rodent mOFC and lOFC in deterministic visual reversal learning.

The current research aimed at investigating the use ofTPR method to develop the EFL primary pupil's use of English prepositions for this purpose, 68 participants at the primary school level grade 6 were selected and assigned equally into two experimental and control groups. The study instrument included a achievement test which includes prepositions of (location-movement –time) and collocations of prepositions. Results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean score of the experimental and control groups on the post- administration of the prepositions achievement test favoring the experimental group. In addition, the result of the study showed that the pupils' progress in mastering English preposition during the teaching learning activity by using Total Physical Response method was good. The pupils’ achievement In English preposition improved. By comparing the post- test scores and the pre- test scores.

A novel amorphous carbon thin film (ACTF) was prepared by hydrolyzing wood sawdust and delignificating the residue to obtain cellulose mass that was subjected to react with cobalt silicate nanoparticle as a catalyst under the influence of sudden concentrated sulfuric acid addition at 23 °C. The novel ACTF was obtained in the form of thin films like graphene sheets having winding surface. The prepared ACTF was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer, transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). The adsorption capacity of ACTF to remove oil from synthetic produced water was evaluated using the incorporation of Thomas and Yoon–Nelson models. The performance study is described through the breakthrough curves concept under relevant operating conditions such as column bed heights (3.8, 5 and 11 mm) and flow rate (0.5, 1 and 1.5 mL.min−1). It was found that the oil uptake mechanism is favoring higher bed height. Also, the highest bed capacity of 700 mg oil/g ACTF was achieved at 5 mm bed height, and 0.5 mL.min−1 flow rate. The results of breakthrough curve for oil adsorption was best described using the Yoon–Nelson model. Finally, the results illustrate that ACTF could be utilized effectively for oil removal from synthetic produced water in a fixed-bed column system.

The present study examines the hydro-geochemical and isotopic composition of eight ground water samples at Helwan governorate area in order to identify the main hydro-geochemical processes controlling their chemical content as well as to assessing the quality of these waters. For such purpose of study, many parameters have been analyzed such as pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), hardness, major cations and anions. Also, one surface Nile water sample was analyzed and compared with the results of ground water samples. Various water quality classification systems were used to characterize the different ground water types. The chemical composition of the studied ground water is strongly influenced by the lithology, especially limestone, and dolomitic limestone. The processes contributing the concentrations of major ions depend on carbonate dissolution and cation exchange. Piper diagram showed that bicarbonate is the dominant anion in all the studied ground water samples and the majority of the samples are characterized by mixed cationic composition where no dominant cation is present and thus classified into two water types: Ca–Na–Mg–HCO 3 type and Na–Ca–HCO 3 type. All samples are grouped as Normal-chlorinated, Normal-sulfated, while most samples are grouped as Hyper-carbonated. The source aquifers of most ground water samples are continuously replenished by fresh samples. This can be verified by studying the genetic systems of the ground water aquifers and most of the ground water samples source in an area of ground water recharge. The environmental stable isotopes oxygen and hydrogen ( 18 O, and deuterium) were studied and used to identify the sources of recharge. The studied ground waters are enriched in D and 18 O and the isotopic features suggest that most of the ground water recharged indirectly after evaporation prior to infiltration from irrigation return water as well as the contribution from Nile water.

Ulcerative colitis (UC)-associated neoplasia presumably evolves through a chronic inflammation-dysplasia-adenocarcinoma sequence in which a corporation of several factors takes place. The grade of dysplasia is important in further development of colorectal cancer. CD44 is a cell adhesion molecule and acts as a docking receptor for matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9). The aims of this study are to assess UC-associated dysplasia and to distinguish regenerative changes from premalignant ones through detecting pattern of CD44 and MMP-9 expression in different UC lesions. Fifty-four samples of UC and UC-associated carcinoma were collected and examined for the immunohistochemical expression of CD44 and MMP-9 in the colon mucosa. Correlation between their expression and the severity of dysplasia were also statistically analyzed. Homogenous membranous staining pattern of CD44 was detected in all cases of regenerative atypia (negative for dysplasia) and most of indefinite for dysplasia (IND) cases, whereas most dysplastic (low-grade and high-grade dysplasia) cases showed irregular staining pattern. CD44 expression pattern was significantly correlated with grade of dysplasia in UC (P = .0001); on the other hand, MMP-9 expression was significantly increased in the dysplastic and neoplastic cases than in nondysplastic cases (regenerative atypia and IND) (P = .0001). Significant correlation was found between irregular CD44 staining pattern and MMP-9 expression (P = .0001). Irregular staining pattern of CD44 together with increased MMP-9 expression in UC-associated dysplasia predicts advanced disease and aids in the differentiation of regenerative atypia from UC-associated dysplasia as well as grading of IND cases.

A hydrochemical assessment of surface Nile water and ground water samples was carried out to characterize, classify, and evaluate its suitability for drinking and irrigation. Eleven surface Nile water samples and eight ground water samples were collected between El-Maasara and El-Tibbin at the Helwan governorate. Various hydro-chemical characteristics including physicochemical parameters (pH, density, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, and hardness) were determined. Laboratory work also included major anions (bicarbonate, chloride, and sulfate), and major cations (sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium) as well as trace elements (iron, copper, manganese, strontium, aluminium and lead). The results were compared with the recommendation limits of the World Health Organization (WHO, 2008), the Egyptian Higher Committee for Water (EHCW, 2007) and the Drinking Water Standards and Health Advisors (US EPA, 2004). The data obtained were used for mathematical calculations of some parameters such as sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), sodium percentage (Na%), and the suitability of water samples for drinking, domestic, and irrigation purposes was evaluated. The results indicate that most studied surface Nile water samples show excellent to good categories and are suitable for drinking and irrigation. Most studied ground water samples are not suitable for drinking and need treatment for irrigation; few samples are not suitable for any purpose because of pollution from different sources in this area.

Purpose: To assess the efficacy, safety and stability of LASIK surgery for treatment of low to moderate degree hyperopia and hyperopic astigmatism. Patients and methods: The study included 34 eyes in 17 patients (7 males, and 10 females) with bilateral low to moderate degree hyperopia or hyperopic astigmatism. Their mean age + SD was 26.7 + 4.1 years. Range of hyperopia was between +1.75 to +5.50 D, astigmatic errors range was 0.00 to -1.50 D while the spherical equivalent refraction ranged from +1.4 to + 4.8 D. Patients included in this study had a stable refraction for at least one year. All patients underwent bilateral LASIK surgery in the same session in Dr Soliman Faqeeh Hospital (DSFH) and the Eye Subspecialty Center (ESC) using the ALLEGRETTO EYE - Q Excimer Laser machine. Results:UCVA after one year was 20/20 or better in 30 eyes (88.2%), 20/30 or better in 32 eyes (94.1%) and 20/40 or better in 34 eyes (100%), while BCVA was 20/20 or better in 33 eyes (97.1%) and 20/40 or better in 34 eyes (100%). There was no decrease in UCVA after LASIK surgery. One eye (2.9%) showed 2 lines drop in BCVA after LASIK surgery due to broad wrinkles of the flap. The flap was lifted after one day; trial to flatten the wrinkles showed incomplete resolution. One eye (2.9%) showed diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK) at one week after LASIK surgery. There was regression in the manifest spherical equivalent refraction one year after LASIK surgery as compared with that at one month, but the difference was statistically insignificant (P=O.46). The mean score of patient satisfaction was 9.4 at one year postoperatively. Conclusion: LASIK surgery is a safe, predictable, stable and effective for treatment of mild to moderate degree hyperopia and hyperopic astigmatism. No significant regression in UCVA, BCVA or manifest refraction was reported up to 12 months follow up.

The changes in physico-chemical properties of yoghurt containing cress seed mucilage (CM) compared with yoghurt containing guar gum (GG) or plain yoghurt during storage at 5 ± 2 °C for 15 days were evaluated. CM was prepared and added to standardized buffalo’s milk (∼3.2% fat and ∼15.0% TS) at rate of 0.025%, 0.05% and 0.10% but GG was added at the rate of 0.025% and 0.05% to create 5 treatments. The latter batch had no CM or GG, serve as a control (C). No significant changes in pH values and proteolysis (SN/TN ratio) of all yoghurt samples throughout the storage period were observed. CM containing yoghurts showed adverse effect on the concentration of acetaldehyde and diacetyl until day 10 and day 15, respectively compared with C and that containing 0.025% GG. Yoghurt samples containing different levels from CM or 0.025% GG exhibited lower in wheying-off and whey syneresis compared with C. No significant changes in the firmness of the yoghurt containing 0.025% and 0.05% CM or 0.025% GG were found throughout the storage period, while yoghurt containing 0.05% GG exhibited lower firmness compared with other yoghurt samples. Apparent viscosity of yoghurt containing GG or CM was higher than that of C until day 10. However, yoghurt containing 0.025% and 0.05% CM or 0.05% GG showed continued increase in apparent viscosity until day 10 while for yoghurt containing 0.10% CM, the increase was observed until day 5 and decline thereafter.

The study evaluated replacement of Egyptian berseem clover (BC, Trifolium alexandrinum) with spent rice straw (SRS) of Pleurotus ostreatus basidiomycete in diets of lactating Baladi goats. Nine lactating homo-parity Baladi goats (average BW 23.8±0.4 kg) at 7 d postpartum were used in a triplicate 3×3 Latin square design with 30 d experimental periods. Goats were fed a basal diet containing 0 (Control), 0.25 (SRS25) and 0.45 (SRS45) (w/w, DM basis) of SRS. The Control diet was berseem clover and concentrate mixture (1:1 DM basis). The SRS45 had lowered total feed intake and forages intake compared to Control. The SRS25 and SRS45 rations had the highest digestibilities of DM (p = 0.0241) and hemicellulose (p = 0.0021) compared to Control which had higher (p