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Background:Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a progressive disease that may result in chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Itis estimated that about 160 million individuals are chronically infected with HCV. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the fifth most common cancer in men and the ninth in women, represents an urgent clinical problem, being the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Aim of the study: To determine whether VWF is a potential biomarker for liver fibrosis in comparison to other markers of fibrosis and predictor for development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in comparison with Alpha-feto protein and Des Gamma carboxy prothrombin. Patients and Methods: This study had been carried out on 50 subjects, age range 34-77 year selected from Virology and Hepatology outpatient clinics at Ain shams university hospitals in Cairo after informed consent were taken from the patients. Subjects were divided as follows: Group I: Include 20 HCC patients diagnosed by imaging and alpha- fetoprotein. Group II: Include 20 matched cirrhotic patients without HCC divided according to child – pugh scoring system. Group III: Include 10 apparently healthy subjects, age and sex matched, having no acute or chronic illness and taking no medications were taken as control group. Results: In our study, VW factor was statistically significant higher in cirrhotic patients than control group and in patients with HCC than cirrhotic group without HCC, with weak positive correlation with other markers of liver fibrosis (FIB4, APRI), and weak positive correlation with other markers of hepatocellular carcinoma (alpha feto protein, des gamma carboxy prothrombin). VW factor was statistically significant higher in advanced stages of liver cirrhosis. Conclusion:In conclusion; VWfactor is statistically significant higher in patients with Hepatocellular carcinoma than in cirrhotic patients without HCC. There is weak positive correlation between VW factor as a biomarker for liver fibrosis and other scores assessing stage of fibrosis. There is a strong correlation between VW factor and child score used to classify stage of liver cirrhosis, so VW factor is valuable predictor for hepatocellular carcinoma and advanced stages of liver cirrhosis. Background:Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a progressive disease that may result in chronic active hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Itis estimated that about 160 million individuals are chronically infected with HCV. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the fifth most common cancer in men and the ninth in women, represents an urgent clinical problem, being the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Aim of the study: To determine whether VWF is a potential biomarker for liver fibrosis in comparison to other markers of fibrosis and predictor for development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in comparison with Alpha-feto protein and Des Gamma carboxy prothrombin. Patients and Methods: This study had been carried out on 50 subjects, age range 34-77 year selected from Virology and Hepatology outpatient clinics at Ain shams university hospitals in Cairo after informed consent were taken from the patients. Subjects were divided as follows: Group I: Include 20 HCC patients diagnosed by imaging and alpha- fetoprotein. Group II: Include 20 matched cirrhotic patients without HCC divided according to child – pugh scoring system. Group III: Include 10 apparently healthy subjects, age and sex matched, having no acute or chronic illness and taking no medications were taken as control group. Results: In our study, VW factor was statistically significant higher in cirrhotic patients than control group and in patients with HCC than cirrhotic group without HCC, with weak positive correlation with other markers of liver fibrosis (FIB4, APRI), and weak positive correlation with other markers of hepatocellular carcinoma (alpha feto protein, des gamma carboxy prothrombin). VW factor was statistically significant higher in advanced stages of liver cirrhosis. Conclusion:In conclusion; VWfactor is statistically significant higher in patients with Hepatocellular carcinoma than in cirrhotic patients without HCC. There is weak positive correlation between VW factor as a biomarker for liver fibrosis and other scores assessing stage of fibrosis. There is a strong correlation between VW factor and child score used to classify stage of liver cirrhosis, so VW factor is valuable predictor for hepatocellular carcinoma and advanced stages of liver cirrhosis.

SUMMARY Nine microsatellite markers were used to investigate genetic variations among and within four subpopulations of Barki sheep breed from four different locations along the North-Western Coastal Zone (NWCZ) of Egypt. The selected locations were ElHammam, Matrouh, Negeila and Salloum. The nine microsatellites were BM757, BM8125, OarAE129, OarJMP29, OarVH72, ELT1, 320R, OB1 and OB2. All markers used showed polymorphism overall studied subpopulations. The total observed numbers of alleles in the four subpopulations were 61, 43, 30 and 56, respectively for all studied markers. Expected heterozygosity was the highest in Salloum subpopulation (0.771). The polymorphic information contents (PIC) were 0.696, 0.590, 0.516 and 0.744, respectively. All studied subpopulations were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium showing significant excess of heterozygosity in the state of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium compared to heterozygosity in the state of mutation-drift equilibrium, indicating the presence of real genetic bottleneck. All subpopulations showed positive inbreeding (FIS) when averaged across all loci. The subpopulation of Matrouh had the highest FIS (0.470). Genetic distance analysis divided the four subpopulations into two clusters, the first included ElHammam and Negeila, while the other included Matrouh and Salloum. Differences in genetic distance and genetic identity between the studied subpopulations are indeed low, reflecting the great genetic similarity among them.

Awassi is the most widespread sheep breed of non-European origin. The breed adapts to a wide range of environmental conditions from the steppe to the highly intensive system. Performance of the breed varies according to production environment and strain, the Israeli Improved Awassi being the heaviest and producing the highest amount of milk among all Awassi populations. Efforts to genetically improve milk production yielded positive results. In Israel the phenotypic average of lactation milk production increased from 297 kg in the 1940's to over 500 kg in the 1990's, while in Syria a selection program succeeded to increase it from 128 kg in 1974–1976 to 335 kg in 2005. In Turkey, the mean milked yield of ewes increased from 67 kg to 152 kg in a selection/outcrossing program that lasted for seven years. Although Awassi is best known for its high milk production, the breed is often used as a triple purpose sheep in most of the countries of its origin in the Middle East. Heritability estimates in different traits are within those for other populations of sheep but recent estimates for milk yield in the Improved Awassi indicated lower heritability and higher contribution of non-additive genetic effects. The Awassi sheep have been exported from its origin in east of the Mediterranean to more than 30 countries in all continents of the world.

The present study was carried out to investigate genetic diversity in Nile-Delta and Southern-Egypt buffalo populations in comparison with the Italian buffalo utilizing two microsatellite multiplexes. A total of 104 animals classified into three groups were used, 28, 38 and 38 representing the Nile-Delta, Southern-Egypt and Italian buffalo, respectively. The 15 studied microsatellites were CSSM38, CSSM70, CYP21, CSSM42, CSSM60, MAF65, BM0922, CSSM19, INRA006, ETH02, BM1706, BMC1013, CSSM47, INRA026 and CA004. All studied microsatellites showed allelic polymorphism. Number of polymorphic alleles ranged between 4 alleles (CSSM38, CSSM70 and CYP21) and 11 alleles (CA004). Pairwise Chi-square test for Nile Delta and Southern Egypt showed significant differences in allelic distribution at five loci, CSSM70, CSSM38, BM0922, ETH02 and BM1706. Italian buffalo showed the lowest percentage of observed heterozygotes (65%), while the Southern Egypt showed the highest (71%). Both the Italian and the Delta populations deviated significantly (P

Human-driven migrations are one of the main processes shaping the genetic diversity and population structure of domestic species. However, their magnitude and direction have been rarely analysed in a statistical framework. We aimed to estimate the impact of migration on the population structure of Spanish and African goats. To achieve this goal, we analysed a dataset of 1,472 individuals typed with 23 microsatellites. Population structure of African and Spanish goats was moderate (mean FST = 0.07), with the exception of the Canarian and South African breeds that displayed a significant differentiation when compared to goats from North Africa and Nigeria. Measurement of gene flow with Migrate-n and IMa coalescent genealogy samplers supported the existence of a bidirectional gene flow between African and Spanish goats. Moreover, IMa estimates of the effective number of migrants were remarkably lower than those calculated with Migrate-n and classical approaches. Such discrepancies suggest that recent divergence, rather than extensive gene flow, is the main cause of the weak population structure observed in caprine breeds., We acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity for the Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa 2016–2019 (SEV-2015-0533) grant awarded to the Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics.

SUMMARY A linear programming (LP) model was applied to evaluate crop-dairy production system in small mixed farms in the Nile Delta through the impact of Food Sector Development Program (FSDP) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reform. The LP model considered land, labor, large ruminant genotypes, cropping pattern and available cash resources (ACR) as factors affecting production of this system. Technical coefficients of the LP model were estimated from a survey data collected from 492 farmers in five different governorates, Damietta (DAM), Daqahleia (DAQ), Gharbeia (GHA), Kafr El-Sheikh (KEL) and Menoufeia (MEN), during the period from 1993 to 2001. Two districts were sampled within each governorate, one with farmers collaborating with FSDP, who got at least one training package (C1) and another with non-collaborating farmers (receiving no training packages (control group)) (C0). The objective function of LP model was to determine the optimum combination of crops and dairy production, which maximizes the gross margin (GM) of the farm, which enhances the return per feddan (RPF) and the return per animal (RPA). One LP model with three runs was tested. The first run (base run) was to simulate the actual situation, the second (LP1) to avoid the unacceptable solution for the base run while the third (LP2) to get feasible solution for the district that had no feasible solution. Results suggested that, in base run solution, farmers in general should combine cultivating berseem in winter with rice in summer plus keeping buffalo before FSDP package adoption. While, after FSDP package adoption the farmers should combine cultivating cash crops with berseem in winter , rice in summer and crossbred cattle in district C1 in MEN and in both district in DAQ, while other districts should keep exotic cattle. The FSDP improved GM, RPF and RPA by about 9 %, 5% and 11%, respectively in base run, by about 10%, 7% and 10%, respectively, in LP1 and by about 8%, 3% and 10%, respectively in LP2. In conclusion LP model showed that, both land and available cash resources were the limiting resources while labor was not. In mixed dairy production system in Nile delta, dairy animal activities contribute substantially, about 25%, to the total farm gross margin.

SUMMARY Egyptian and international literature shows that Egypt has got more than 60 local and derived breeds of livestock excluding exotic breeds. This enormous number of breeds needs to be verified and refined. Most of these breeds are named in an ad hoc manner according to their geographical location. Since there are only few discriminate characteristics to distinguish many of these breeds, proper phenotypic and genetic characterization is needed to be able to draw objective breeding plans for the utilization and possible conservation of some these valuable genetic resources. Aside from the two local rabbit breeds that have become extinct, Baladi White and Giza White, no local breeds seem endangered yet. However, Baladi cattle and local chicken breeds have suffered greatly from the introductions of exotic breeds due the indiscriminate crossing that usually follows these introductions. From 1991 to 2004, Baladi cattle have lost 19% of their share in the national cattle herd. No figures are available for local chicken breeds but the trend is expected to be more alarming. Livestock production systems in Egypt are under pressure to increase output, especially of animal protein. This pressure is leading to an intensification of the system with little attention paid to sustainability and environmental elements. To monitor the state of animal genetic resources in the country animal census must take the breed into account, approximately initially until some breed standards have been established. Stakeholder networking focused on the characterization and utilization of animal genetic resources is nearly totally absent in the country.

This paper assesses biodiversity in the goat and investigates whether there is some peculiarity in this biodiversity as compared to other species. The paper depends mainly on published databases and reviews. In 1999, there were over 710 million goats in the world in a total of 570 breeds. Developing countries harbour 96% of the world goat population, but only 60% of the breeds. An index of the number of breeds per million of population was used to compare degree of biodiversity in different livestock species. This index for the goat was 0.8 as compared to 1.2 for sheep, 0.9 for cattle and 0.5 for buffalo. The highest proportion of breeds without reported population size is in the goat. Percentage of goat breeds not at risk was calculated as 41 as compared to 64 in buffalo, 36 for cattle, 39 for sheep, 21 for pig, 11 for ass, 25 for horse and 69 for camel and dromedary, while breed extinction percentage was 3, 0, 17, 12, 23, 6, 11 and 0, respectively. In terms of performance traits, Europe has the heaviest goat breeds with largest litter size and milk production, while Latin America and the Caribbean scored lowest in all these performance traits. Among-breed variability was lowest in Europe and highest in Africa. It is concluded that according to available information, biodiversity in the goat is within the range of that in other farm animal species. Many goat breeds are not characterized because most goats and breeds are in developing countries and/or under extensive production systems where characterization becomes more demanding.

Genetic tends in three lamb weight traits (at 60, 120 and 180 days of age) were studied on a total of 10,241 Rahmani and 6365 Ossimi lambs, progeny of 319 and 235 sires, respectively, over a 30-year period (1970–1999). Mixed model methodology based on a multi-trait animal model was used. Genetic trends were estimated by regressing estimated breeding values on year of birth. Genetic trends were positive and highly significant for all traits in both breeds for lamb weights at 60, 120 and 180 days of age being 38, 92 and 135 g per year in Rahmani (P

The utilization of oil and natural gas in water production and in supplying steam for desalination plants is progressing with a remarkable rate in the Middle East and especially in the oil producing countries. Nevertheless, some of the available economically feasible energy sources are yet to be exploited. Available hot brine and steam fields in the Red Sea Deeps and in other locations in the Middle East are a valuable source of useful energy for desalination. The rapidly growing geothermal technology can be utilized in supplying fresh water to the Red Sea coasts for both of the western cities of Saudi Arabia and the new settlements on the eastern Egyptian coast. An assessment is made of the geothermal fields in the area and their characteristics with special consideration of their utility in water desalination projects. Other energy sources are also considered; such as the future exploitation of heavy water and heavy hydrogen isotopes obtained from the Red Sea in energy sources for desalination. In addition, the potential use of natural depressions in the production of power and water is discussed. A comparison is made between these advanced systems and contemporary alternates in a longterm plan for agricultural and industrial expansion.

The need for water in the Middle East has been a challenging problem for industrial development and expansion. The great abundance of high salinity and brackish water resources, the vast population growth and the increasing need for food in the area have enhanced the development of several desalting projects and have initiated long-term plans for irrigation of arid land. The interest in producing fresh water from the sea using different energy sources in the Middle East dates back to a few decades. Currently there is a trend to actively participate in the progress and development of desalination science and technology utilizing available manpower and other resources in research projects, in experiments, and in the construction of prototype plants to examine the feasibility of novel processes especially those suitable for agriculture water production. Present plans involve enhancement of the transfer of technology and the establishment of centers of research and development and international cooperative project to serve local and global interest. Recent developments and the state-of-the-art of the different aspects of desalination research and technology in the Middle East are reviewed including a discussion of current experimental and theoretical activities. Practice in plant operation and the generated experience are assessed. The highlights of future plans are presented.