12,878 research outputs found
Structural adjustment in Egypt : the case of agriculture
No full textThis thesis assesses the appropriateness and effectiveness of the economic reform and structural adjustment programme adopted by Egypt in 1991. It also examines the main political and economic constraints of such policies. It argues that it is unlikely to provide sustainable or equitable growth. It also argues that privatisation
programmes in Egypt have a limited effect on improving levels of investment and growth. It stresses the need to encourage new investment to increase the productive
capacity of the Egyptian economy in order to generate sustainable growth. The thesis examines in particular, economic reforms in the agricultural sector. It focuses
on assessing price reforms so as to enquire how evenly distributed the benefits have been among farmers with different sizes of land holding. Those with big farms are
likely to gain more while very small farmers and the landless are likely to lose. Within agriculture the thesis assesses the impact of structural adjustment on Egypt's
agribusiness community. This sector is economically fragmented, has limited effectiveness and is politically weak regarding its participation and its influence on
economic policy. The thesis argues that the success Df this sector is based on the availability of a strong and effective state to provide the legal and regulatory.
infrastructure needed for an effective market economy, to abolish administrative obstacles and to enhance investors' credibility. In short, the thesis maintains that sustaining the economic reform is based on reviving productive investments and enhancing state capacity and democratisation
The synergetic effect of selenium or zinc oxide nanoparticles with chromium on mitigating thermal stress for sustainable production and improving antioxidant capacity and inflammatory cytokines of growing rabbits
No full textThis study was conducted to evaluate the impacts of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs), and a combination of SeNPs and chromium (Cr) or ZnONPs and Cr on growth, caecal microbiota, antioxidant capacity in blood and liver tissue, and inflammatory cytokines in heat-stressed rabbits. A total of 100 newly weaned APRI rabbits were randomly divided into five homogeneous groups. A basal diet containing no feed additives (0 g per kg diet) was given to the first group, and the second, third, fourth, and fifth groups were given a diet supplemented with 0.3 mg SeNPs, 20 mg ZnONPs, 0.3 mg SeNPs and 1.5 mg Cr, and 20 mg ZnONPs and 1.5 mg Cr per kg diet, respectively. At 10 and 14 weeks of age, the live body weight (LBW) of rabbits was higher (P < 0.05) in all treatments, while LBW at 10 weeks of age was higher (P < 0.05) in combination groups. All treatments increased daily body weight gain in the age intervals of 6-10 and 6-14 weeks (P<0.05). Daily body weight gain was increased (P < 0.05) in combination groups at the age interval of 6-10 weeks. Feed intake was only increased for rabbits in the ZnONP-Cr group at age intervals of 10-14 weeks. The feed conversion ratio was significantly improved in all treatments at 6-10 and 6-14 weeks of age compared to the control. Haemoglobin was increased (P<0.05) in diets supplemented with ZnONPs and SeNP-Cr or ZnONP-Cr combinations. The platelet count was only increased (P < 0.05) by the ZnONP-Cr combination compared to other groups. Serum total proteins, total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, IgA, IgM, nitric oxide, and lysozyme were increased, while serum total cholesterol and triglycerides, alanine transaminase, malondialdehyde, myeloperoxidase, tumour necrosis factor (TNF-alpha), and interleukin 4 (IL-4) were reduced by all treatments. The total antioxidant capacity in liver tissue was higher, and malondialdehyde was lower in all treatment groups. Albumin was significantly increased, while glucose, creatinine, and urea were significantly decreased in response to ZnONPs and SeNP-Cr or ZnONP-Cr combinations compared with the other groups. Dietary addition of SeNPs-Cr or ZnONPs-Cr significantly reduced interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) concentration. The caecal activity was increased, while the Escherichia coli (E. coli) count decreased considerably in all treatments compared to the control. In conclusion, SeNPs or ZnONPs with chromium as trace elements of growing rabbits can be recommended as an effective intervention to mitigate the negative impacts of heat stress (HS) by enhancing growth performance, promoting metabolic processes, and boosting immunity
Tryptophan and/or canthaxanthin in quail diets: effects on performance, carcass traits, hematology, blood chemistry and hepatic antioxidant capacity
No full textTo enhance the health and performance of poultry, novel approaches have to be created. Using
appropriate nutritional interventions to enhance body physiology and thus enhance productivity
is one of these approaches. The purpose of the present investigation intended to examine how
growing quail physiology and growth is affected by supplementing diets with tryptophan (Trp)
and/or canthaxanthin (CX). The sum of 200 unsexed, 1-week-age Japanese quails (Coturnix
coturnix japonica), with a nearly similar body weight (BW) of 33.50 ± 1.20 g, were assigned, in
random, to four experimental groups. Each group consisted of five replicates, with 10 birds per
replicate. Chicks in group 1 (T1) served as the control and were fed a basal diet without any
supplementation from week 1 to week 5. The second (T2) and third (T3) groups received feed
supplemented with 0.01% Trp and 0.005% CX, respectively. The fourth group (T4) was given a
diet containing a combination of 0.01% Trp and 0.005% CX. Results indicated that
supplementation with Trp, CX, or their combination significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced live BW
and body weight gain (BWG) at 5 weeks. No noticeable variations in carcass characteristics were
found across all treatments over the whole trial duration. Blood levels of high-density lipoprotein
were considerably greater in the Trp and/or CX-fed group than in the control group. Adding Trp
and/orCX to quail diets significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the activity of liver enzymes (alanine
transaminase, ALT; aspartate transaminase, AST; alkaline phosphatase, ALP), along with
reduced low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels. Birds received diets with Trp and/or CX had
higher values of antioxidant indices in serum and liver (P< 0.05), accompanied by low values of
malondialdehyde compared to control group. We concluded that adding quail diet with Trp
and/orCX had positive consequences on the growth performance and some physiological indices.
Keywords: tryptophan, canthaxanthin, performance, blood, quail
The water resources structures on the Syrian and Egyptian pilgrim routes to Makka and Medinah
No full textAI-Hajj in Arabic means the pilgrimage to MAKKA. This was
an ancient rite which was recognised a long time before the
rise of Islam. According to the holy Quran and Islamic
tradi tion, AI-Haj j goes back to the time of the prophet
Ibrahim. Thus MAKKA was a focus for worship but it was also
a commercial centre and a way station/stopping place on the
ancient trade caravan road between south western -Arabia and
Bilad AI-Sham,' now Syria. In part the inhabitants of MAKKA
practised this trade because their environment was not
suitable for other alternative economic activities.
The importance of MAKKA, as a ritual place increased after
the rise of Islam because it became Qibla-Kiblah -
the direction to which muslims turn in praying towards AIKa'aba.
Yathrib - later to become Medinah - is the second holy city.
In fact it was not a ritual place, but like MAKKA it was a
stopping place on the ancient trade caravan road. The
inhabitants of Medinah practised agriculture because their
environment was more suitable than that at MAKKA; water was
available and the land was fertile so that in addition to
trade, they also practised agriculture.
The importance of Medinah as a holy place only developed
after AI-Hijra - the immigration of the prophet Mohammad,
peace be upon him, to it and his establishing of Islam at
that site. Medinah became the capital of the Islamic state
both religiously and politically. Islam then spread from
Medinah over the Arabian Peninsular to the world beyond.
The consequence of the conquest of Iraq, Bilad AI-Sham,
Egypt, the north coast of Africa and Persia was that the
majority of the population of these countries accepted and
adopted Islam as their religious faith. As a result of this
the populations of these countries came annually to make AlHajj and in doing so developed several additional pilgrim
caravan routes. However, it is the Syrian and Egyptian
pilgrim routes - Tareeq AI-Hajj AI-Shami and Wal Masri which
are the objects of this work. In both these cases the
pilgrim caravan routes were previously ancient trade caravan
routes which travelled through Arabia, particularly through
the western province of Al Hijaz.
The geographical location of Arabia, the cross roads of
three continents, Asia, Africa, and Europe, made important
the pre-Islamic routes which ran through it. Of course the
function of this network at that time was commercial but
after the rise of Islam the function of this network of
routes became to transport the pilgrims. The geological and
topographical features, as well as climatic conditions, in
Arabia played a great role in determining the ancient routes
in Arabia. The availability of water was a very important
consideration on these routes and was influenced by
environmental conditions. Since the rainfall is
insufficient, the resulting absence or shortage of water on
the pilgrim caravan routes made the caliphs pay great
concern to providing the pilgrim routes with the most
essential facilities, particularly water supplies and
storage. Ever since the earliest Islamic times, they
provided for the travellers Al birak, water tanks; Ahwadh cisterns; Qanawat - channels; and abyar - wells, in order to
make AI-Hajj journey more comfortable. The pilgrim caravans
in general, and the Syrian and Egyptian pilgrim caravan
routes in particular, passed through several stages of
development since their origin in early Islamic times and
these evolutionary stages can be seen until the beginning of
this century. Because the object of this thesis is to
document the remains of the water resource structures, an
extensive survey and investigation has been completed on the
Syrian and Egyptian pilgrim caravan routes. The field work
has been conducted in Saudi Arabia, particularly in the
north western region where the Syrian and Egyptian pilgrim
routes cross the country. The field work mainly aimed at
ascertaining the location of all the way stations and their
names and surveying each station in order to record the
surviving remains of water resource structures. The field
work covered a large area of about 8, OOOkm transect and
extended from MACCA in the south through Medinah to the
North as far as Halat I Ammar on the north at the border
between Saudi Arabia and Jordan. From N.W. to S .Wit
stretched from Haql on the Gulf of AI-' Aqaba as far as
MAKKA. These routes consist of the major, or principal
caravan routes as well as a number of traverse routes which
allow travellers a choice of transit as well as connecting
routes. There are large way stations as well as small minor
way stations. As part of this dissertation, almost all the
stopping places have been identified and documented by mapping and photography
Global epidemiology and molecular biology of <i>Taenia multiceps</i>: a comparative meta-analysis and <i>in silico</i> analysis study
No full textAbstractIn the present study, all published data on the epidemiology and molecular characters of Taenia multiceps were systematically collected from relevant databases (e.g. PubMed, Scopus, National Center for Biotechnology Information), and combined in various statistical and genetic analyses as a contribution to a better understanding of the epidemiology of this ubiquitous taeniid worldwide. While 5.8% of the key hosts (dogs) from various countries had T. multiceps, grey wolves displayed the highest prevalence (21.6%) among the definitive hosts. Small ruminants are the main intermediate hosts and carry the coenuri in various locations, but most commonly in the central nervous system (CNS). Cerebral coenuri were confirmed in 53% of sheep exhibiting neurological symptoms, and infected animals often had only a single coenurus in the brain. Sheep had a higher prevalence (8.8%) of CNS coenuri than goats (5.8%); however, extra-CNS coenuri were detected more frequently in goats than in sheep. In either case, the difference between sheep and goats was statistically insignificant. Analysis of 233 partial cytochrome oxidase subunit I nucleotide sections for T. multiceps revealed high haplotype and low nucleotide diversities. Fifty-one haplotypes were detected circulating in 6 geographic populations. China, Iran and Turkey had 2 major haplotypes, whereas Italy and Egypt shared 3. Haplotypes from Greece circulate worldwide, and displayed similar gene flow values when compared with the other populations. There were no distinct patterns for haplotype distribution in relation to the infected hosts or coenuri locations. The existence of genetic variants in T. multiceps was highlighted, but needs further studies.</jats:p
Voice Handicap Index-Throat: Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation to the Arabic Language
No full textObjectives: This study aims to validate and assess the reliability of the Arabic version of the Voice Handicap Index-Throat (VHI-TA), as a self-reported questionnaire for patients with throat difficulties. Study Design: A prospective, observational, cross-sectional, and descriptive study was performed in the ear, nose, and throat department of Kafr El-Sheikh University hospitals from October 2023 to July 2024. Methods: The preliminary VHI-TA was obtained through forward and backward translation. All participants were asked to fill out the Arabic version of VHI-T twice, 2 weeks apart, to test reliability. We tested the Arabic version for internal consistency, reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity to produce an Arabic-validated patient questionnaire. The questionnaire's internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated for each of the 10 items and for the total score to assess the reliability. Results: Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranged from 0.961 to 0.986 for the 10 items (acceptable to excellent internal consistency) and 0.997 for total score (excellent internal consistency). The corrected item-total correlation values varied between 0.951 and 0.978. There was a significant difference between all domains and the total score of the VHI-TA tool (significantly higher among case group). Conclusion: Our results showed that the VHI-TA is a trustworthy and valid questionnaire for estimating self-perceived throat issues. In clinical practice, the VHI-TA is anticipated to identify a group of throat discomforts that are prevalent in our patients and that are only tangentially addressed by other instruments
On the Lw2-boundedness of solutions for products of quasi-integro differential equations
No full textGiven a general quasi-differential expressions τ1,τ2,…,τn each of order n with complex
coefficients and their formal adjoints are τ1+,τ2+,…,τn+ on [0,b), respectively, we show
under suitable conditions on the function F that all solutions
of the product of quasi-integrodifferential equation
[∏j=1nτj]y=wF(t,y,∫0tg(t,s,y,y′,…,y(n2−1)(s))ds) on [0,b), 0<b≤∞;t,s≥0, are bounded and Lw2-bounded on [0,b). These results are extensions of those by Ibrahim (1994), Wong (1975),
Yang (1984), and Zettl (1970, 1975)
Heterogeneous and tissue-specific regulation of effector T cell responses by IFN-gamma during Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection.
No full textIFN-γ and T cells are both required for the development of experimental cerebral malaria during Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection. Surprisingly, however, the role of IFN-γ in shaping the effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell response during this infection has not been examined in detail. To address this, we have compared the effector T cell responses in wild-type and IFN-γ(-/-) mice during P. berghei ANKA infection. The expansion of splenic CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells during P. berghei ANKA infection was unaffected by the absence of IFN-γ, but the contraction phase of the T cell response was significantly attenuated. Splenic T cell activation and effector function were essentially normal in IFN-γ(-/-) mice; however, the migration to, and accumulation of, effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in the lung, liver, and brain was altered in IFN-γ(-/-) mice. Interestingly, activation and accumulation of T cells in various nonlymphoid organs was differently affected by lack of IFN-γ, suggesting that IFN-γ influences T cell effector function to varying levels in different anatomical locations. Importantly, control of splenic T cell numbers during P. berghei ANKA infection depended on active IFN-γ-dependent environmental signals--leading to T cell apoptosis--rather than upon intrinsic alterations in T cell programming. To our knowledge, this is the first study to fully investigate the role of IFN-γ in modulating T cell function during P. berghei ANKA infection and reveals that IFN-γ is required for efficient contraction of the pool of activated T cells
Wavelet based approaches for detection and recognition in ear biometrics
No full textOne of the most recent trends in biometrics is recognition by ear appearance in head profile images. Ear localization to determine the region of interest containing ears is an important step in an ear biometric system. To this end, we propose a robust, simple and effective method for ear detection from profile images by employing a bank of curved and stretched Gabor wavelets, known as banana wavelets. Our analysis shows that the banana wavelets demonstrate better performance than Gabor wavelets technique for ear localization. This indicates that the curved wavelets are advantageous for the detection of curved structures such as ears. This ear detection technique is fully automated, has encouraging performance and appears to be robust to degradation by noise. Addition of a preprocessing stage, based on skin detection using colour and texture, can improve the detection results even further.For recognition, we convolve the banana wavelets with an ear image and then apply local binary pattern (LBP) for texture analysis to the convolved image. The LBP histograms of the produced image are then used as features to describe an ear. A histogram intersection technique is then applied on the LBP histograms of two ears to measure their similarity for recognition. Analysis of variance is also exploited here to select features to identify the best banana filters for the recognition process. We show that the new banana wavelets, in combination with other analysis, can be used to achieve recognition by the ear, with practical advantages. The analyses focus particularly in simulating addition of noise and occlusion to a standard database, and their evaluation on a newer and much more demanding ear database.We also present an experimental study to investigate the effect of time difference between image acquisition for gallery and probe on the performance of ear recognition. This experimental research is the first study on the effect of time on ear biometrics and show that the recognition rate remains unchanged over time, confirming another advantage of deploying the human ear as a biometric
Practical considerations regarding power factor for nonlinear loads
No full textThis material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Such permission of the IEEE does not in any way imply IEEE endorsement of any of Brunel University's products or services. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to [email protected]. Copyright @ 2004 IEEEThe choice of LC compensator may be constrained by the availability of manufacturers units. To account for this, the capacitor values are chosen from among standard values and for each value the transmission losses is minimized, or power factor is maximized, or transmission efficiency is maximized. The global minimum or maximum is obtained by scanning all local minims or maxims. The performance of the obtained compensator is discussed by means of numerical examples
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