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Abstract H9N2 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are a major concern for the poultry sector and human health in countries where this subtype is endemic. By fitting a model simulating H9N2 AIV transmission to data from a field experiment, we characterise the epidemiology of the virus in a live bird market in Bangladesh. Many supplied birds arrive already exposed to H9N2 AIVs, resulting in many broiler chickens entering the market as infected, and many indigenous backyard chickens entering with pre-existing immunity. Most susceptible chickens become infected within one day spent at the market, owing to high levels of viral transmission within market and short latent periods, as brief as 5.3 hours. Although H9N2 AIV transmission can be substantially reduced under moderate levels of cleaning and disinfection, effective risk mitigation also requires a range of additional interventions targeting markets and other nodes along the poultry production and distribution network.

Antimicrobial resistance has emerged as a significant health problem worldwide, including in Bangladesh, where chickens are an important protein source for human nutrition. One of the factors accelerating the development of antimicrobial resistance is the inappropriate use of antimicrobials on commercial chicken farms. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 on 140 commercial chicken farms in the Chattogram district of Bangladesh to investigate the association between antimicrobial use and resistance in Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. cultured from cloacal swabs of chickens and from the poultry shed environment. All E. coli and Salmonella spp. isolates were resistant to multiple antimicrobial classes, including those categorized as “Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials” for human medicine. Notably, resistance was observed in E. coli isolates from farms that did not use these antimicrobial classes in the current production cycle. For example, although quinolones were not used on 43.9% of E. coli positive farms, 95.7% of these farms had quinolone-resistant E. coli isolates. The results of the path analysis revealed that there was a “direct effect” of the frequency of antimicrobial usage on “high” resistance, with resistance increasing when antimicrobials were administered more frequently (β = 0.28, p = 0.002). There was a “direct effect” of the purpose of antimicrobial use on “low” resistance, with resistance marginally decreasing when antimicrobials were administered solely for therapeutic use (β = −0.17, p = 0.062), but increasing when they were used prophylactically. Overall, the study results could be used to educate farmers on better practices for antimicrobial administration, and to guide government agencies to update policies on antimicrobial use and resistance surveillance in the poultry sector of Bangladesh.

Objective: Anterior mitral anular calcification, particularly in radiation heart disease, and previous valve replacement with destroyed intervalvular fibrosa are challenging for prosthesis sizing and placement. The Commando procedure with intervalvular fibrosa reconstruction permits double-valve replacement in these challenging conditions. We referenced outcomes after Commando procedures to standard double-valve replacements. Methods: From January 2011 to January 2022, 129 Commando procedures and 1191 aortic and mitral double-valve replacements were performed at the Cleveland Clinic, excluding endocarditis. Reasons for the Commando were severe calcification after radiation (n = 67), without radiation (n = 43), and others (n = 19). Commando procedures were referenced to a subset of double-valve replacements using balancing-score methods (109 pairs). Results: Between balanced groups, Commando versus double-valve replacement had higher total calcium scores (median 6140 vs 2680 HU, P = .03). Hospital outcomes were similar, including operative mortality (12/11% vs 8/7.3%, P = .35) and reoperation for bleeding (9/8.3% vs 5/4.6%, P = .28). Survival and freedom from reoperation at 5 years were 54% versus 67% (P = .33) and 87% versus 100% (P = .04), respectively. Higher calcium score was associated with lower survival after double-valve replacement but not after the Commando. The Commando procedure had lower aortic valve mean gradients at 4 years (9.4 vs 11 mm Hg, P = .04). After Commando procedures for calcification, 5-year survival was 60% and 59% with and without radiation, respectively (P = .47). Conclusions: The Commando procedure with reconstruction of the intervalvular fibrosa destroyed by mitral anular calcification, radiation, or previous surgery demonstrates acceptable outcomes similar to standard double-valve replacement. More experience and long-term outcomes are required to refine patient selection for and application of the Commando approach.

Objective(s): Identifying the optimal solution for young adults requiring aortic valve replacement (AVR) is challenging, given the variety of options and their lifetime complication risks, impacts on quality of life, and costs. Decision analytic techniques make comparisons incorporating these measures. We evaluated lifetime valve-related outcomes of mechanical aortic valve replacement (mAVR) versus the Ross procedure (Ross) using decision tree microsimulations modeling. Methods: Transition probabilities, utilities, and costs derived from published reports were entered into a Markov model decision tree to explore progression between health states for hypothetical 18-year-old patients. In total, 20,000 Monte Carlo microsimulations were performed to model mortality, quality-adjusted-life-years (QALYs), and health care costs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated. Sensitivity analyses was performed to identify transition probabilities at which the preferred strategy switched from baseline. Results: From modeling, average 20-year mortality was 16.3% and 23.2% for Ross and mAVR, respectively. Average 20-year freedom from stroke and major bleeding was 98.6% and 94.6% for Ross, and 90.0% and 82.2% for mAVR, respectively. Average individual lifetime (60 postoperative years) utility (28.3 vs 23.5 QALYs) and cost ($54,233 vs $507,240) favored Ross over mAVR. The average ICER demonstrated that each QALY would cost $95,345 more for mAVR. Sensitivity analysis revealed late annual probabilities of autograft/left ventricular outflow tract disease and homograft/right ventricular outflow tract disease after Ross, and late death after mAVR, to be important ICER determinants. Conclusions: Our modeling suggests that Ross is preferred to mAVR, with superior freedom from valve-related morbidity and mortality, and improved cost-utility for young adults requiring aortic valve surgery.

Groundwater is a significant water resource for drinking and irrigation in Satkhira district, Bangladesh. The depletion of groundwater resources and deterioration in its quality are the results of the confluence of factors such as industrialization, intensive irrigation, and rapid population growth. For this reason, this study focused on the evaluation of tubewell water of six unions of Kaligonj upazila in Satkhira district, which is situated in the coastal southwest part of Bangladesh. Major and trace elemental concentrations were assimilated into positive matrix factorization (PMF) to identify potential sources and their respective contributions. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that groundwater salinization and manmade activities were the primary causes of heavy metals in the coastal groundwater. Its average pH value was found to be 7.5, while Dissolved oxygen, Total dissolved solids, salinity, and conductivity, with values ranging from 1.18 to 7.38 mg/L, 0.5–4.88 g/L, 0.4–5%, and 0.95 to 8.56 mS/cm, respectively. The total hardness average value was 561.7 mg/L, classified into the very hard water categories, which is why 90% of the tubewell water samples were unfit for household purposes. All samples had an excessive level of arsenic present. The iron concentration of fifteen (15) samples crossed the standard limit according to WHO 2011 value. Around 63% of the samples were of the Na+-K+-Cl--SO42- type, and about 72% were sodium-potassium and alkali types. 98% of samples were covered in chloride and bicarbonate. The findings showed that 45.83% of the groundwater samples had negative Chloroalkaline index (CAIs), while 54.16% had positive. The permeability index (PI) was an average of 73%, and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) averaged 260.2 mg/L, and the findings clearly showed that 80% of the samples weren't appropriate for irrigation. According to the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) value, 65% of the samples fell into the unsuitable category. These calculations indicated a high overall salinity hazard in the study area, which may be caused by the intrusion of sea water given that the study area is close to the coastal region. Findings compared to standards revealed that the majority of the samples were deemed unfit for drinking and irrigation purposes. Hence, additional attention must be paid to this area to ensure the availability of drinkable water and to preserve sustainable farming practices.

Reduction in key air pollutants, especially particulate carbon, can help mitigate Arctic warming with associated benefits for global climate and human health, according to Earth system model simulations under future emissions scenarios.

Abstract Future precipitation changes are typically estimated from climate model simulations, while the credibility of such projections needs to be assessed by their ability to capture observed precipitation changes. Here we evaluate how skillfully historical climate simulations contributing to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) capture observed changes in mean and extreme precipitation. We find that CMIP6 historical simulations skillfully represent observed precipitation changes over large parts of Europe, Asia, northeastern North America, parts of South America and western Australia, whereas a lack of skill is apparent in western North America and parts of Africa. In particular in regions with moderate skill the availability of very large ensembles can be beneficial to improve the simulation accuracy. CMIP6 simulations are regionally skillful where they capture observed (positive or negative) trends, whereas a lack of skill is found in regions characterized by negative observed precipitation trends where CMIP6 simulates increases.

Projections of near-term climate change in the next few decades are subject to substantial uncertainty from internal climate variability. Approaches to reduce this uncertainty by constraining the phasing of climate variability based on large ensembles of climate simulations have recently been developed. These approaches select those ensemble members that are in closer agreement with sea surface temperature patterns from either observations or initialized decadal predictions. Previous studies demonstrated the benefits of these constraints for projections up to 20 years into the future, but these studies applied the constraints to different ensembles of climate simulations, which prevents a consistent comparison of methods or identification of specific advantages of one method over another. Here we apply several methods to constrain internal variability phases, using either observations or decadal predictions as constraining reference, to an identical multi-model ensemble consisting of 311 simulations from 37 models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6), and compare their forecast qualities. We show that constraining based on both observations and decadal predictions significantly enhances the skill of 10 and 20-year projections for near-surface temperatures in some regions, and that constraining based on decadal predictions leads to the largest added value in terms of probabilistic skill. We further explore the sensitivity to different implementations of the constraint that focus on the patterns of either internal variability alone or a combination of internal variability and long-term changes in response to forcing. Looking into the near-term future, all variations of the constraints suggest an accelerated warming of large parts of the Northern Hemisphere for the period 2020–2039, in comparison to the unconstrained CMIP6 ensemble.

Objective: In developing countries, such as Bangladesh, the live bird market (LBM) is a vital location for the trading of live poultry. The study was carried out in nine LBMs located around Bangladesh to ascertain the present regulations and procedures governing their operation. Additionally, the responsibilities and levels of engagement of the stakeholders were determined. Materials and Methods: The data were gathered through the use of a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic analysis was used to code the interview transcripts iteratively. Results: The findings indicated that the government was directly and indirectly involved in the leasing process of the markets. A market in this country is divided into numerous sectors, including LBM, fish market, vegetable market, and grocery stores. A markets hygienic condition is highly dependent on market authoritys decisions. In some markets, market officials conducted routine sanitary inspections. Veterinarians played a little role in the inspection procedure. Conclusion: There is no adequate, functional monitoring system to ensure that LBMs adhere to cleanliness and adequate and functional biosecurity. Biosecurity enhancements, effective cleaning programs, and regular monitoring by relevant authorities are critical for LBMs in Bangladesh. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2021; 8(4.000): 671-678]

Abstract Live animal markets are known hotspots of zoonotic disease emergence. To mitigate those risks, we need to understand how networks shaped by trading practices influence disease spread. Yet, those practices are rarely recorded in high-risk settings. Through a large cross-sectional study, we assessed the potential impact of live poultry trading networks’ structures on avian influenza transmission dynamics in Bangladesh. Networks promoted mixing between chickens sourced from different farming systems and geographical locations, fostering co-circulation of viral strains of diverse origins in markets. Viral transmission models suggested that the observed rise in viral prevalence from farms to markets was unlikely explained by intra-market transmission alone, but substantially influenced by transmission occurring in upstream network nodes. Disease control interventions should therefore alter the entire network structures. However, as networks differed between chicken types and city supplied, standardised interventions are unlikely to be effective, and should be tailored to local structural characteristics.

Jordan's energy demand is growing steadily due to many factors ranging from the growing population, to the needed energy for heating, cooling, desalination, and industry (Azzuni et al., 2020). EMRC has stated a new electricity tariff starting from April 2022. The high cost of electricity bill in Jordan with fixed tariff has resulted the need to have a dynamic tariff to transform energy use that lead to demand reductions, a shift in peak demand, a better management of distribution networks, in addition to reductions in operation costs. A full transition towards smart meters in Jordan is one of the main pillars to achieve a compatible smart grid system that will be a great solution to sustain the energy security. Also, it will lead to flatness the demand profile which will have economic consequences by reducing the cost of electricity generation. The current status of smart meters’ rollout, the optimal business model, challenges, and awareness towards energy strategies and smart meters deployment in Jordan have been investigated. It has been found that the optimal business model for the Jordanian market is a hybrid model of DGC and EaaS models. Also, a set of opportunities and recommendations have been concluded.

In this paper, we identify behaviours in live bird commodity chains in Chattogram, Bangladesh, which may influence the risk of pathogen emergence and transmission: the nature of poultry trade, value appropriation and selling sick or infected birds. Examining the reasons why actors engage in these behaviours, we emphasise the politics of constraints within a context of real-world decisions, governed by existential and pragmatic agency. Focusing on contact zones and entanglement, analysing patron-client relationships and precarious circumstances, we argue that agency and structure specific to the Bangladeshi context produce a risk environment. Structural constraints may reinforce risky occupational practises and limit individual agency. Structural constraints need to be addressed in order to tackle animal and zoonotic disease risk along live animal commodity chains.

Observations facilitate model evaluation and provide constraints that are relevant to future predictions and projections. Constraints for uninitialized projections are generally based on model performance in simulating climatology and climate change. For initialized predictions, skill scores over the hindcast period provide insight into the relative performance of models, and the value of initialization as compared to projections. Predictions and projections combined can, in principle, provide seamless decadal to multi-decadal climate information. For that, though, the role of observations in skill estimates and constraints needs to be understood in order to use both consistently across the prediction and projection time horizons. This paper discusses the challenges in doing so, illustrated by examples of state-of-the-art methods for predicting and projecting changes in European climate. It discusses constraints across prediction and projection methods, their interpretation, and the metrics that drive them such as process accuracy, accurate trends or high signal-to-noise ratio. We also discuss the potential to combine constraints to arrive at more reliable climate prediction systems from years to decades. To illustrate constraints on projections, we discuss their use in the UK's climate prediction system UKCP18, the case of model performance weights obtained from the Climate model Weighting by Independence and Performance (ClimWIP) method, and the estimated magnitude of the forced signal in observations from detection and attribution. For initialized predictions, skill scores are used to evaluate which models perform well, what might contribute to this performance, and how skill may vary over time. Skill estimates also vary with different phases of climate variability and climatic conditions, and are influenced by the presence of external forcing. This complicates the systematic use of observational constraints. Furthermore, we illustrate that sub-selecting simulations from large ensembles based on reproduction of the observed evolution of climate variations is a good testbed for combining projections and predictions. Finally, the methods described in this paper potentially add value to projections and predictions for users, but must be used with caution.

Model initialization is a matter of transferring the observed information available at the start of a forecast to the model. An optimal initialization is generally recognized to be able to improve climate predictions up to a few years ahead. However, systematic errors in models make the initialization process challenging. When the observed information is transferred to the model at the initialization time, the discrepancy between the observed and model mean climate causes the drift of the prediction toward the model-biased attractor. Although such drifts can be generally accounted for with a posteriori bias correction techniques, the bias evolving along the prediction might affect the variability that we aim at predicting, and disentangling the small magnitude of the climate signal from the initial drift to be removed represents a challenge. In this study, we present an innovative initialization technique that aims at reducing the initial drift by performing a quantile matching between the observed state at the initialization time and the model state distribution. The adjusted initial state belongs to the model attractor and the observed variability amplitude is scaled toward the model one. Multi-annual climate predictions integrated for 5 years and run with the EC-Earth3 Global Coupled Model have been initialized with this novel methodology, and their prediction skill has been compared with the non-initialized historical simulations from CMIP6 and with the same decadal prediction system but based on full-field initialization. We perform a skill assessment of the surface temperature, the heat content in the ocean upper layers, the sea level pressure, and the barotropic ocean circulation. The added value of the quantile matching initialization is shown in the North Atlantic subpolar region and over the North Pacific surface temperature as well as for the ocean heat content up to 5 years. Improvements are also found in the predictive skill of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the barotropic stream function in the Labrador Sea throughout the 5 forecast years when compared to the full field method.

We conducted a cross-sectional study in live bird markets (LBMs) in Dhaka and Chittagong, Bangladesh, to estimate the prevalence of avian influenza A(H5) and A(H9) viruses in different types of poultry and environmental areas by using Bayesian hierarchical logistic regression models. We detected these viruses in nearly all LBMs. Prevalence of A(H5) virus was higher in waterfowl than in chickens, whereas prevalence of A(H9) virus was higher in chickens than in waterfowl and, among chicken types, in industrial broilers than in cross-breeds and indigenous breeds. LBMs with >1 wholesaler were more frequently contaminated by A(H5) virus than retail-only LBMs. Prevalence of A(H9) virus in poultry and level of environmental contamination were also higher in LBMs with >1 wholesaler. We found a high level of circulation of both avian influenza viruses in surveyed LBMs. Prevalence was influenced by type of poultry, environmental site, and trading.

We read with interest the authors’ review and metanalysis of the Commando procedure in “Surgical Aortic Mitral Curtain Replacement: Systematic Review and Metanalysis of Early and Long-Term Results” [...]

Many countries of the world seek to achieve remarkable breakthroughs in the framework of achieving development and progress in the political, social, cultural and other fields, and therefore efforts or requirements are made. For example, it creates many industrial and agricultural projects, which require costs and exploitation of natural resources and wealth, in a manner that may be irrational or unbalanced. Also, the process of development and growth, and the necessities of commercial and daily life may be accompanied by the use of various types of chemical pesticides and chemicals in agriculture or industry. The indiscriminate or excessive use of chemical substances or compounds can cause environmental pollution in the components of nature: soil, water and air, and thus adversely affect the human being due to the negative impact in his environment first.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) pursued beauty all through his life. In his quest for beauty, he passed through many stages of development. His early poems incorporate sensuous observations of nature. The effect of sensuous magnetism persists, but the soul is awakened towards a greater vista of beauty. The soul keeps searching and comes to the conclusion that mere sensuous beauty is not the goal; it needs a revelation of a deeper meaning. He finds beauty in harmony with the inner and the outer principles of nature midway through his poetic life. It is also at this stage that he finds beauty and truth synonymous. To find the absolute beauty, the Infinite, Tagore reaches the final stage where he discerns God and seeks communion with Him. The paper aims at showing how Tagore sees beauty in every object of this universe; how he correlates beauty and truth; and how he seeks communion with the Infinite, the definitive source of all beauty and truth.

Abstract Background Previous research has shown that Ramadan fasting has beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors, however there are controversies. In the present study, the effect of Ramadan fasting on cardiovascular risk factors has been investigated. Method This is a prospective observational study that was carried out in a group of patients with at least one cardiovascular risk factor (including history of documented previous history of either coronary artery disease (CAD), metabolic syndrome or cerebro-vascular disease in past 10 y). Eighty two volunteers including 38 male and 44 female, aged 29–70 y, mean 54.0 ± 10 y, with a previous history of either coronary artery disease, metabolic syndrome or cerebro-vascular disease were recruited. Subjects attended the metabolic unit after at least 10 h fasting, before and after Ramadan who were been fasting for at least 10 days. A fasting blood sample was obtained, blood pressure was measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Lipids profile, fasting blood sugar (FBS) and insulin, homocysteine (hcy), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and complete blood count (CBC) were analyzed on all blood samples. Results A significant improvement in 10 years coronary heart disease risk (based on Framingham risk score) was found (13.0 ± 8 before Ramadan and 10.8 ±7 after Ramadan, P <0.001, t test).There was a significant higher HDL-c, WBC, RBC and platelet count (PLT), and lower plasma cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-c, VLDL-c, systolic blood pressure, body mass index and waist circumference after Ramadan (P <0.05, t test). The changes in FBS, insulin,Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), hcy, hs-CRP and diastolic blood pressure before and after Ramadan were not significant (P >0.05, t test). Conclusions This study shows a significant improvement in 10 years coronary heart disease risk score and other cardiovascular risk factors such as lipids profile, systolic blood pressure, weight, BMI and waist circumference in subjects with a previous history of cardiovascular disease.

Background Smartphones have become an important and vital instrument that all medical students utilize, but the usage of such devices has been found to be connected to sleep disturbances. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and the relationship between smartphone addiction and poor sleep quality among medical students.

Purpose: Choosing the best stump closure method for laparoscopic appendectomy has been a debated issue, especially for patients with acute appendicitis. The lack of consensus in the literature and the diverse techniques available have prompted the need for a comprehensive evaluation to guide surgeons in selecting the most optimal appendiceal stump closure method., Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted on multiple databases from inception until December 2023 to find relevant studies according to eligibility criteria. The primary outcome was the incidence of total complications., Results: 25 studies with a total of 3308 patients were included in this study, overall complications did not reveal a significant advantage for any intervention (RR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.53; 1.01), Superficial and deep infection risks were similar across all methods, Operative time was significantly longer with endoloop and Intracorporeal sutures (MD = 7.07, 95% CI: 3.28; 10.85) (MD = 26.1, 95% CI: 20.9; 31.29)., Conclusions: There are no significant differences in overall complications among closure methods. However, Intracorporeal sutures and endoloop techniques were associated with extended operative durations., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Levoatriocardinal vein has rarely been described with cor triatriatum. We report a case of a newborn with respiratory distress who was found to have cor triatriatum sinister with a decompressing levoatriocardinal vein on transthoracic echocardiography. The pulmonary venous confluence received all pulmonary veins and drained to the proximal left atrial chamber through significant communication. Moreover, the cor triatriatum membrane separated the left atrial body into proximal and distal left atrial chambers with a restrictive opening in the membrane, causing severe flow limitation to the cardiac output, severe pulmonary arterial hypertension, and significant right ventricular dilatation. In addition, a sizeable levoatriocardinal vein decompressed the pulmonary venous confluence drained superiorly to the left innominate vein. She had a successful surgical repair by resectioning the cor triatriatum membrane and ligating the levoatriocardinal vein. The patient had improved pulmonary arterial pressures and right ventricular dimensions at the one-month follow-up. The case highlights the rare association of the levoatriocardinal vein and cor triatriatum, and its presence signifies severe obstruction at the level of cor triatriatum., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Qassim Health Cluster Research Ethics Committee issued approval 22-1501. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Bhat et al.)

Background: Emergency cholecystectomy is the mainstay in treating acute cholecystitis (AC). In actual practice, perioperative prophylactic antibiotics are used to prevent postoperative infectious complications (PIC), but their effectiveness lacks evidence. We aim to investigate the efficacy of prophylactic antibiotics in emergency cholecystectomy., Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, Web of Science (WOS), and Scopus up to June 14, 2023. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that involved patients diagnosed with mild to moderate AC according to Tokyo guidelines who were undergoing emergency cholecystectomy and were administered preoperative and/or postoperative antibiotics as an intervention group and compared to a placebo group. For dichotomous data, we applied the risk ratio (RR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI), while for continuous data, we used the mean difference (MD) and 95% CI., Results: We included seven RCTs encompassing a collective sample size of 1747 patients. Our analysis showed no significant differences regarding total PIC (RR = 0.84 with 95% CI (0.63, 1.12), P = 0.23), surgical site infection (RR = 0.79 with 95% CI (0.56, 1.12), P = 0.19), distant infections (RR = 1.01 with 95% CI (0.55, 1.88), P = 0.97), non-infectious complications (RR = 0.84 with 95% CI (0.64, 1.11), P = 0.22), mortality (RR = 0.34 with 95% CI (0.04, 3.23), P = 0.35), and readmission (RR = 0.69 with 95% CI (0.43, 1.11), P = 0.13)., Conclusion: Perioperative antibiotics in patients with mild to moderate acute cholecystitis did not show a significant reduction of postoperative infectious complications after emergency cholecystectomy. (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42023438755)., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

A large percentage of the world's tangible cultural heritage is made from stone; thus, it deteriorates due to physical, chemical, and/or biological factors. The current study explored the microbial community inhabiting two prehistoric sites with high cultural value in the Memphis necropolis of Egypt (Djoser and Lahun Pyramids) using amplicon-based metabarcoding and culture-dependent isolation methods. Samples were examined by epifluorescent microscopy for biological signs before environmental DNA extraction and in vitro cultivation. The metabarcoding analysis identified 644 bacterial species (452 genera) using the 16S rRNA and 204 fungal species (146 genera) using ITS. In comparison with the isolation approach, an additional 28 bacterial species (13 genera) and 34 fungal species (20 genera) were identified. A total of 19 bacterial and 16 fungal species were exclusively culture-dependent, while 92 bacterial and 122 fungal species were culture-independent. The most abundant stone-inhabiting bacteria in the current study were Blastococcus aggregatus , Blastococcus saxobsidens , and Blastococcus sp., among others. The most abundant rock-inhabiting fungi were Knufia karalitana and Pseudotaeniolina globosa , besides abundant unknown Sporormiaceae species. Based on previous reports, microorganisms associated with biodeterioration were detected on color-altered sites at both pyramids. These microorganisms are potentially dangerous as physical and chemical deterioration factors and require proper conservation plans from a microbiological perspective., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Rizk, Magdy, De Leo, Werner, Rashed, Ros and Urzì.)

Background: Sarotherodon galilaeus (Linné, 1758) is a member of the family Cichlidae, which is considered the most important aquaculture freshwater species endemic to Africa and the Middle East. The genetics and molecular biology of this species are rare. This requires more comprehensive mitochondrial genomes-based phylogenetics to enhance understanding of the relationship and delineate this species., Methods and Results: Here, we assembled the complete mitogenome of S. galilaeus using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. The mango tilapia mitogenome was 16,631 bp in length with an AT composition of 53.4% and 46.4% GC content. It encodes 37 genes comprising two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), and 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) as well as the D-loop known as the control region. The phylogenetic tree was conducted to provide a relationship within the haplotilapiine lineage based on the maximum likelihood method, and the newly sequenced S. galilaeus was clustered with other Sarotherodon species., Conclusion: Our results provide a new perception of the genetic basis of S. galilaeus species for further research on systematics, evolution, population genetics, and molecular ecology., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

To better understand the diversity and evolution of cichlids, we sequenced, assembled, and annotated the complete mitochondrial genomes of three Nile tilapiine species ( Coptodon zillii , Oreochromis niloticus , and Sarotherodon galilaeus ) dominating the Nile River waters. Our results showed that the general mitogenomic features were conserved among the Nile tilapiine species. The genome length ranged from 16,436 to 16,631 bp and a total of 37 genes were identified (two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), and 1 control region). The ND6 was the only CDS that presented a negative AT skew and a positive GC skew. The most extended repeat sequences were in the D-loop followed by the pseudogenes (trnS GCU ). The ND5 showed relatively high substitution rates whereas ATP8 had the lowest substitution rate. The codon usage bias displayed a greater quantity of NNA and NNC at the third position and anti-bias against NNG. The phylogenetic relationship based on the complete mitogenomes and CDS was able to differentiate the three species as previously reported. This study provides new insight into the evolutionary connections between various subfamilies within cichlids while providing new molecular data that can be applied to discriminate between Nile tilapiine species and their populations.

Tangible archeological sites and stone monuments are naturally decayed and deteriorated over time, providing substances that can sustain life, although they provide a complicated ecosystem characterized by low nutrition and desiccation. Stone-inhabiting bacteria (SIB) and especially members of the phylum Actinobacteria dominate such environments, particularly the members of the family Geodermatophilaceae. We used the published data of two confirmed SIB species to mine their genomes for specific molecular markers to rapidly survey the presence of SIB in cultural heritage material prior to further analysis. The search focused on the mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) synthesis pathway. MAAs are intracellular compounds biosynthesized by the shikimic acid pathway to synthesize aromatic amino acids and were found related to abiotic resistance features in microorganisms. Based on genome mining, the DAHP II (aroF) and a homolog of the Chorismate mutase gene (cm2) were found mostly in Actinobacteria and few other species. After calibration on five stone-inhabiting Actinobacteria (SIAb) species using conventional PCR, newly designed primers were successfully applied to environmental DNA extracted from two Egyptian pyramidal sites using a qPCR approach. This is the first report of aroF and cm2 as qPCR markers to detect SIAb from cultural heritage material prior to proceeding with further analysis (e.g., metagenomics and meta-barcoding analyses)., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Effective design of ultrafast new-generation photocatalysts is a challenging task that requires highly dedicated efforts. This research focused on the development and design of ultrafast smart ternary photocatalysts containing SrSnO 3 nanostructures in conjugation with chitosan (CTSN) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles by a very simple and straightforward methodology. Modern analytical tools such as FESEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, FTIR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy were employed to characterize the synthesized nanostructures. XRD and XPS analysis confirmed the successful creation of ternary organization among the Ag, CTSN, and SrSnO 3 . The TEM images clearly confirmed that CTSN possessed overlapping micron-sized sheets with a layered morphology, whereas the undoped SrSnO 3 particles exhibited spherical and elongated shapes and particle sizes ranging from 20 to 80 nm. These particles were produced in high density with homogeneously distributed Ag nanoparticles (4-15 nm). The bandgap energy (E g ) for bare SrSnO 3 , CTSN/SrSnO 3 , and Ag@CTSN/SrSnO 3 nanocomposites was found to be 4.0, 3.94, and 3.7 eV, respectively. The photocatalytic efficiencies of all newly created photocatalysts were evaluated by considering an antibiotic linezolid drug and methylene blue (MB) dye molecule as target analytes. Among all investigated samples, the Ag@CTSN/SrSnO 3 photocatalyst was found to be highly superior, with ultrafast removal of the linezolid drug at 96.02% within 25 min and almost total removal of the MB dye in just 12 min under UV light irradiation. The Ag@CTSN/SrSnO 3 photocatalyst exhibited removal rate that was 3.36 times faster than that of bare SrSnO 3 . The present report delivers a highly promising, extremely efficient, and very simple, straightforward treatment methodology for the effective destruction of lethal and notorious pollutants, enabling the appropriate management of current environmental concerns., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Modification and bandgap engineering are proposed to be extremely significant in improving the photocatalytic activity of novel photocatalysts. The current research focused on the fabrication of ultrafast and efficient visible light-responsive ternary photocatalyst containing g-C 3 N 4 nanostructures in conjugation with polypyrrole doped carbon black (PPy-C) and gold (Au) nanoparticles by highly effectual, simple, and straightforward methodology. Various analytical techniques like XRD, FESEM, TEM, XPS, FTIR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy were applied for characterization purposes. The XRD and XPS results confirmed the successful creation of a nanocomposite framework among Au, PPy-C and g-C 3 N 4 . The TEM images revealed that bare g-C 3 N 4 holds sheets or layered graphitic structure with sizes ranging from 100 to 300 nm. The sponge-like PPy-C network intermingled perfectly with g-C 3 N 4 sheets along with homogeneously distributed 5-15 nm Au nanoparticles. The band gap energy (E g ) for bare g-C 3 N 4 , PPy-C/g-C 3 N 4 and Au@PPy-C/g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposites were found to be 2.74, 2.68, and 2.60 eV, respectively. The photocatalytic activity for all newly designed photocatalysts have been assessed during the degradation of insecticide Imidacloprid and methylene blue (MB) dye, where Au@PPy-C/C 3 N 4 was found to be extremely efficient with ultrafast removal of both imidacloprid and MB in just 25 min of visible light irradiation. It was revealed that the Au@PPy-C/g-C 3 N 4 ternary photocatalyst removed 96.0% of target analyte imidacloprid, which is ⁓ 2.91 times more efficient than bare g-C 3 N 4 in treating imidacloprid. This report provides a distinctly promising, highly effectual and straightforward route to destruct extremely toxic and notorious pollutants and opens a new gateway in the present challenging scenario of environmental concerns., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Social deviance refers to actions or behaviours that violate social norms. Since the declassification of homosexuality and development of DSM-III, one of the aims of a definition of mental disorder has been to make explicit the distinction between mental disorder and social deviance. It is well-recognized that psychiatric disorders frequently manifest as violations of social norms, and the validity of the distinction between disorder and deviance has been of great interest to philosophers of psychiatry. This article provides an overview of some of the major conceptual strategies that have been discussed as a means of discriminating between mental disorder and social deviance, and the extent to which these strategies can be said to be philosophically successful. Specifically, we review DSM's definition of mental disorder, notions of dysfunctions (commonsensical, clinical, naturalist), intrinsic and socially constituted distress, disability, 3E perspectives and functional norms, and ethical and political approaches to this question. Current philosophical strategies don't offer a distinct dividing line between disorder and deviance, but they help illuminate the relevant considerations involved. It may be concluded that the distinction between disorder and deviance is not simply discovered but also negotiated between competing values.

A voltammetric approach was developed for the selective and sensitive determination of hydrogen peroxide using Au plated porous silicon (PSi) nanopowder modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The AuNPs-PSi hybrid structure was synthesized via stain etching procedure followed by an immersion plating method to deposit AuNPs onto PSi via a simple galvanic displacement reaction with no external reducing agent to convert Au 3+ to Au 0 . The as-fabricated AuNPs-PSi catalyst was successfully characterized by XRD, Raman, FTIR, XPS, SEM, TEM and EDS techniques. Well crystalline nature of the as-fabricated hybrid structure with AuNPs size ranging from 5 to 40 nm was observed. The specific surface area and total pore volume for both PSi and AuNPs plated PSi were evaluated using N 2 adsorption isotherm technique. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques were applied to investigate the catalytic efficiency of AuNPs-PSi modified electrode compared to pure PSi/GCE and unmodified GCE. The sensing performance of the active material modified GCE was thoroughly examined with linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV) techniques. The AuNPs-PSi/GCE exhibited a remarkable linear dynamic range between 2.0 and 13.81 mM (for LSV) and 0.5-6.91 mM for (SWV) with high sensitivity and low detection limit of 10.65 μAmM -1 cm -2 and 14.84 μM for LSV, whereas 10.41 μAmM -1 cm -2 and 15.16 μM using SWV techniques, respectively. The fabricated sensor electrode showed excellent anti-interfering ability in the presence of several common biomolecules as well as demonstrated good operational stability and reproducibility with low relative standard deviation. Moreover, the modified electrode showed acceptable recovery of H 2 O 2 in a real sample analysis. Thus, the developed AuNPs-PSi hybrid nanomaterial represents an excellent electrocatalyst for the efficient detection and quantification of H 2 O 2 by the electrochemical approach., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Most of the rock-inhabiting fungi are meristematic and melanized microorganisms often associated with monument biodeterioration. In previous microbial profiling of the Egyptian Djoser pyramid, a Pseudotaeniolina globosa isolate was found. The current study aimed to characterize the P. globosa isolated from the Djoser pyramid compared with an Italian isolate at morphological, physiological, and molecular levels. Experiments were carried out to test temperature, salinity, and pH preferences, as well as stress tolerance to UV radiation and high temperature, in addition to a multi-locus genotyping using ITS, nrSSU or 18S, nrLSU or 28S, BT2, and RPB2 markers. Morphological and molecular data confirmed the con-specificity of the two isolates. However, the Egyptian isolate showed a wider range of growth at different environmental conditions being much more tolerant to a wider range of temperature (4-37 °C) and pH values (3.0-9.0 pH) than the Italian (10-30 °C, 4.0-6.0 pH), and more tolerant to extreme salinity levels (5 M NaCl), compared to the lowest in the Italian isolate (0.2 M NaCl). Besides, the Egyptian isolate was more tolerant to high temperature than the Italian isolate since it was able to survive after exposure to up to 85 °C for 5 min, and was not affected for up to 9 h of UV exposure, while the Italian one could not regrow after the same treatments. The Pseudotaeniolina globosa species was attributed to the family Teratosphaeriaceae of the order Capnodiales, class Dothideomycetes. Our results demonstrated that the Egyptian isolate could be considered an ecotype well adapted to harsh and extreme environments. Its potential bio-deteriorating effect on such an important cultural heritage requires special attention to design and conservation plans and solutions to limit its presence and extension in the studied pyramid and surrounding archaeological sites., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Summary: Critical psychiatry takes the position that 'mental illness' should not be reduced to 'brain disease'. Here I consider whether this particular stance is outdated in light of more recent exchanges on reductionism, which consider questions raised by new mental health sciences that seek truly integrative and specific biopsychosocial models of illness.

Central to the identity of modern medical specialities, including psychiatry, is the notion of hypostatic abstraction: doctors treat conditions or disorders, which are conceived of as "things" that people "have." Mad activism rejects this notion and hence challenges psychiatry's identity as a medical specialty. This article elaborates the challenge of Mad activism and develops the hypostatic abstraction as applied to medicine. For psychiatry to maintain its identity as a medical speciality while accommodating the challenge of Mad activism, it must develop an additional conception of the clinical encounter. Toward elaborating this conception, this article raises two basic framing questions: For what kind of understanding of the situation should the clinical encounter aim? What is the therapeutic aim of the encounter as a whole? It proposes that the concepts of "secondary insight" (as the aim of understanding) and of "identity-making" (as a therapeutic aim) can allow the clinical encounter to proceed in a way that accommodates the challenge of Mad activism., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc.)

Spirit possession is a common phenomenon around the world in which a non-corporeal agent is involved with a human host. This manifests in a range of maladies or in displacement of the host's agency and identity. Prompted by engagement with the phenomenon in Egypt, this paper draws connections between spirit possession and the concepts of personhood and intentionality. It employs these concepts to articulate spirit possession, while also developing the intentional stance as formulated by Daniel Dennett. It argues for an understanding of spirit possession as the spirit stance: an intentional strategy that aims at predicting and explaining behaviour by ascribing to an agent (the spirit) beliefs and desires but is only deployed once the mental states and activity of the subject (the person) fail specific normative distinctions. Applied to behaviours that are generally taken to signal mental disorder, the spirit stance preserves a peculiar form of intentionality where behaviour would otherwise be explained as a consequence of a malfunctioning physical mechanism. Centuries before the modern disciplines of psychoanalysis and phenomenological-psychopathology endeavoured to restore meaning to 'madness,' the social institution of spirit possession had been preserving the intentionality of socially deviant behaviour.

Background: There is no scientific evidence supporting the choice of luting cement for cementation of zirconia crowns., Aim: The purpose of this split-mouth study was to compare the efficacy of using bioactive cement versus packable glass ionomer for cementation of posterior pediatric zirconia crowns., Design: Fifty first mandibular primary molars were restored by zirconia crowns and were randomly divided to be luted with either (a) bioactive cement or (b) packable glass ionomer. Crowns' retention, fracture, and gingival condition were evaluated at 1 week, and 1-, 3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, 18-, 24-, and 36-month intervals. Statistical analysis was carried out using Fisher's exact test, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and Wilcoxon signed rank test., Results: At 3- to 36-month follow-ups, there were statistically significant (P = .009-≤.001) less debonded crowns in packable glass ionomer group. There were no fractured crowns for either cements. There was no statistically significant difference between gingival index scores., Conclusions: Packable glass ionomer is more retentive than bioactive cement when used for cementing zirconia pediatric crowns. Posterior zirconia pediatric crowns have high fracture resistance after 36 months of clinical performance, irrespective of luting cement. Luting cement for zirconia pediatric crowns has no apparent effect on gingival condition around crowns., (© 2019 BSPD, IAPD and John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Leptin (LEP) regulates the glucose homeostasis directly and centrally by the regulation of the insulin levels or indirectly by alternation of the levels of the other glucose metabolism regulator hormones. The present investigation studied the polymorphism in LEP gene which is related to fertility in 81 female Egyptian river buffalo., Results: The PCR-RFLP pattern of the gene using the restriction enzyme Eco91I showed that all the animals had monomorphic pattern in the studied gene which consists of CC. A 511-bp fragment from LEP gene was amplified and sequenced. The homology between the amplified LEP gene fragment in buffalo and cattle, sheep, goat, human, and mouse on the nucleotides sequence level was 99, 97, 97, 87, and 79%, respectively, and on the translated amino acids sequence level was 100, 98, 98, 85, and 82%, respectively. Several SNPs were detected; among them, the T27C SNP disrupted an intronic splicing silencer. The A114G, A310G, G263A, and G379A SNPs disrupt exonic splicing enhancers, and the last two SNPs create new exonic splicing enhancers. The A114G, C163A, A211G, G288A, A310G, A322G, G330C, C348T, T360C, and G379A SNPs cause S71G, T87 N, N103S, E129K, E136G, Y140C, E143Q, R149W, S153P, and R159Q amino acids mutations. N103S, E129K, E136G, Y140C, E143Q, and S153P were classified as deleterious mutations. Y140, E143, N103, and R149 were the most conserved among the mutated amino acids. S71G only increased the stability of the leptin protein while the remaining mutations decreased it., Conclusion: Four SNPs were revealed among the tested animals. Twenty-one SNPs were found between the sequenced amplicon and the buffalo records in the Genbank. Some SNPs were predicted to have several effects on different biological processes like mRNA splicing, protein stability, and the gene functions.

A new type of artificial giant liposome incorporating ion transport channels and using nanoparticles of metal organic frameworks was demonstrated. The micropores of Prussian blue nanoparticles served as ion transport channels between the outer and inner phases of liposomes.

The most common sheep breeds of Egypt are Ossimi, Rahmani, and Barki breeds. The latter one is well adapted to the challenging desert environment, characterized by food shortage and a high temperature fluctuation. Growth performance of Barki sheep has an important economic value in terms of minimizing the shortage of mutton meat in Egypt. Further, milk production is of great importance for feeding newborn lambs. Eight candidate genes, recently associated with production traits in different breeds, were used to study the effect of genotype on lamb growth and ewe milk traits. The examined genes were LEP, IGF1, DGAT1, STAT5A, PRL, CSN1S2, GHR , and GHRHR , of which one representative single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located in the coding region was selected for genotyping. Data from 251 Barki sheep were used in this study. Association analysis between SNPs and lamb growth traits identified rs420693815 of the LEP gene to be significantly associated with weaning weight and average daily gain. In ewes, significant effects on milk yield and composition have been estimated for LEP (rs420693815), STAT5A (rs161082816), PRL (rs422713690), and GHRHR (rs414991449). The results indicated that these genes might be considered as interesting candidates for further investigations to improve growth and milk performance in Barki sheep., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data, along with readily available remote sensing datasets and the outputs of land-surface and climate models, are used to monitor spatiotemporal variabilities in the groundwater resources of the Red Sea Coastal Aquifer (RSCA) system in Saudi Arabia; to investigate their responses to climate projections; and to provide sustainable and resilient management scenarios for these resources. Our results indicate that, during the investigated period (April 2002-June 2017), the RSCA received an average annual recharge of 3.16 ± 0.52 km 3 . Recharge events (~16% of rainfall) are related to the observed increase in rainfall rates. Analysis of climate models' outputs over the RSCA indicates an increase in the median annual rainfall (17-31%) and recharge rates (2.7-4.9%) by the end of the 21st century. To ensure sustainable management and utilization of RSCA's water resources, groundwater extraction should be located in the southern and central parts of the aquifer, and groundwater extraction rates should be kept lower than 2.0 km 3 /yr. Findings highlight the importance of GRACE data as a unique, cost-effective, and decisive tool in monitoring the health of coastal and inland aquifer systems across the globe., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

At a time when different groups in society are achieving notable gains in respect and rights, activists in mental health and proponents of mad positive approaches, such as Mad Pride, are coming up against considerable challenges. A particular issue is the commonly held view that madness is inherently disabling and cannot form the grounds for identity or culture. This paper responds to the challenge by developing two bulwarks against the tendency to assume too readily the view that madness is inherently disabling: the first arises from the normative nature of disability judgments, and the second arises from the implications of political activism in terms of being a social subject. In the process of arguing for these two bulwarks, the paper explores the basic structure of the social model of disability in the context of debates on naturalism and normativism, the applicability of the social model to madness, and the difference between physical and mental disabilities in terms of the unintelligibility often attributed to the latter., (© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc.)

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of low phosphorus diet with or without different levels of phytase enzyme supplementation on growth performance, body composition, nutrient retention efficiency, gene expression, and health status of A. hydrophila challenged fish. A total of 240 monosex males of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with an average body weight of 23.19 ± 0.15 g/fish were used. Fish were randomly chosen and divided into 4 equal groups (60 fish per group), with 3 subgroups containing 20 fish as a replicate. Group 1, was fed on a diet containing 100% P, group 2, was fed on a diet containing 50% P, group 3 and 4, were fed on low P with 500 or 1000 units of phytase/Kg respectively. It was observed that the 50% phosphorus diet significantly reduced body weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio (FCR), and protein efficiency ratio (PER) compared to Nile tilapia fish fed on the diet containing 100% phosphorus. In contrast, fish fed on the diet containing 50% phosphorus supplemented by 500 or 1000 phytase units/kg significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased final body weight (FBW), total body gain (TBG), average daily gain (ADG), and weight gain compared to Nile tilapia fed on the same diet or fed on the diet containing normal phosphorus without phytase supplementation. Different phosphorus and phytase supplementation levels had no significant effect on serum total protein, albumin, and globulin concentrations, meanwhile, phytase supplementation increased serum calcium and phosphorus levels. Nile tilapia fed on phytase supplementation had an increase in body protein, lipid content, and nutrient utilization efficiency compared to Nile tilapia fed on the diet containing 100% phosphorus. Nile tilapia fed on low dietary phosphorus showed an increase in mortality after infection and a decrease in phagocytosis and neutrophil compared to fish fed on normal phosphorus. Phytase supplementation, made immune response parameters return to its normal values and the pathological lesions of liver, spleen, stomach, and intestine were reduced. Moreover, normal phosphorus significantly up-regulated lipoprotein lipase (LPL) mRNA expression and down-regulated fatty acid synthase (FAS) mRNA in Nile tilapia's liver while low phosphorus with or without phytase supplementation reduced LPL expression and relatively up-regulated FAS., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper presents a debate in which the authors participated at the World Psychiatric Association conference in Cape Town, South Africa in November 2016. Professor van Staden acted as chair and here, as at the debate, provides a rationale for debating a topic that many of those involved in mental health believe to be decided. The discussion that ensued demonstrated, however, that while the arguments have moved on they have not ceased. Who won? Well that depends how you look at it. A few in the audience shifted position towards the motion but the majority remained opposed. What do you think? Declaration of interest None.

Pd nanoparticles were electrochemically immobilized on a Pt surface in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) molecules to study the electrokinetics of arsenite oxidation reactions and the corresponding sensing activities. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that on the Pt surface, Pd atoms exist as adatoms and the contents of Pd(0) and Pd(ii) were 75.72 and 24.28 at%, respectively, and the particle sizes were in the range of 61-145 nm. The experimental results revealed that the catalytic efficiency as well as the charge transfer resistance (at the redox potential of the Fe(ii)/Fe(iii) couple) increased in the order of Pt < Pt-Pd < Pt-Pd sds . A Pt-Pd sds electrode exhibited an open circuit potential (OCP) of 0.65 V in acidic conditions; however, when 50.0 mM NaAsO 2 was present, the OCP value shifted to 0.42 V. It has been projected that the As(iii) oxidation proceeds using a sequential pathway: As(iii) → As(iv) → As(v). After optimization of the square wave voltammetric data, the limits of detection of As(iii) were obtained as 1.3 μg L -1 and 0.2 μg L -1 when the surface modification of the Pt surface was executed with Pd particles in the absence and presence of the SDS surfactant, respectively. Finally, real samples were analyzed with excellent recovery performance., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

The preparation of urea (bonded) cross-linked multilayer thin films by sequential deposition of bifunctional and tetrafunctional molecular building blocks is demonstrated. Multilayer growth as a function of deposition cycles was inspected using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. From infrared results, three characteristic infrared bands of amide I, amide II, and asymmetric νa(N-C-N) stretching confirmed the formation of polyurea networks by alternate dipping into solutions of amine and isocyanate functionality monomers. The deconvoluted component of the C 1s and N 1s spectra obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows clear evidence of stable polyurea networks. The enhancement of structural periodicity with film growth was demonstrated by grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering measurements. The thin film near the substrate surface seems to have an amorphous structure. However, molecular ordering improves in the surface normal direction of the substrate with a certain number of deposited layers. Constant mass density was not observed with deposition cycles. The mass density increased up to 16% within deposited layers from proximate layers to those extending away from the substrate surface. This difference in the packing density might derive from the different degrees of cross-linking among layers proximate to the substrate surface and extending away from the substrate surface.

Aim: The gray mullet, Mugil cephalus, has been farmed in semi-intensive ponds with tilapia and carps in Egypt for years. The current study used the fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (F-AFLP) technique to search for genetic differences between the populations of M. cephalus in the northern region of Egypt and to detect the gene flow between sampled locations and the homogeneity within M. cephalus genetic pool in Egypt., Materials and Methods: To fulfill the study objectives 60 (15/location) samples were collected from four northern coast governorates of Egypt (Alexandria "sea," Kafr El-Sheikh "farm," Damietta "farm" and Port Said "sea"). Three replicates of bulked DNA (5 samples/replicate) for each location were successfully amplified using the standard AFLP protocol using fluorescent primers. DNA polymorphism, genetic diversity, and population structure were assessed while positive outlier loci were successfully detected among the sampled locations. Based on the geographical distribution of sampling sites, the gene flow, the genetic differentiation, and correlations to sampling locations were estimated., Results: A total of 1890 polymorphic bands were scored for all locations, where 765, 1054, 673, and 751 polymorphic bands were scored between samples from Alexandria, Kafr El-Sheikh, Damietta and Port Said, respectively. The effective number of alleles (ne) for all bulked samples combined together was 1.42. The expected heterozygosity under Hardy-Weinberg assumption (He) for all bulked samples combined together was 0.28. Bulked samples from Damietta yielded the lowest ne (1.35) and the lowest He (0.23) when inbreeding coefficient (FIS) = 1. Bulked samples from Kafr El-Sheikh scored the highest ne (1.55) and the highest He (0.37). Bulked samples from Alexandria scored 1.40 for ne and 0.26 for He, while bulked samples from Port Said scored 1.39 for ne and 0.26 for He. The observed bulked samples formed three sub-population groups, where none is limited to a certain sampling location. A high differentiation among locations was detected, however, is not fully isolating the locations. Gene flow was 0.58. Positive outliers loci (117) were detected among the four sampled locations while weak significant correlation (r=0.15, p=0.03) was found for the distance between them., Conclusion: Even though this species is cultivated in Egypt, the wild population is still present and by the current study a flow of its genes is still exchanged through the northern coast of Egypt. Which contribute to the cultivated populations leading to heterogeneity in its genetic pool and consequently affects the production consistency of M. cephalus in Egypt.