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Around 21.7 million tons of urban solid waste are produced in North Africa and the Middle East. The amount of glass waste produced is 0.87 million tons. The amount of urban glass waste (UGW) produced in Egypt was 2280.8 tons per day. This paper aims to study the effect of partial replacement of UGW in the production of ceramic floor tiles to save the production cost and raw materials. The characteristics of the basic raw mixture of floor tiles and UGW were studied. The waste was collected, crushed and ground to be blended with the basic mixture in different percentages that ranged from 0 to 35%. The specimens were molded under uniaxial pressure followed by drying and firing at temperatures ranging from 1050 to 1120 °C. The characteristics of the fired specimens have been determined and compared with the International Standard Limits. The results showed that specimens containing waste ranging from 25% to 35%, fired at 1100 °C with a soaking time of 15 min have a modulus of rupture of 18.9 to 19.7 MPa, breaking strength of 600 to 613N and water absorption of 9.78% to 8.2% respectively that fulfilled the lowest requirements for the ISO 13006 for dry pressed tiles Group BIIb.

As the number of identified proteins has expanded, the accurate identification of proteins has become a significant challenge in the field of biology. Various computational methods, such as Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), and convolutional neural network (CNN), have been proposed to recognize deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-binding proteins solely based on amino acid sequences. However, these methods do not consider the contextual information within amino acid sequences, limiting their ability to adequately capture sequence features. In this study, we propose a novel approach to identify DNA-binding proteins by integrating a CNN with bidirectional long-short-term memory (LSTM) and gated recurrent unit (GRU) as (CNN-BiLG). The CNN-BiLG model can explore the potential contextual relationships of amino acid sequences and obtain more features than traditional models. Our experimental results demonstrate a validation set prediction accuracy of 94% for the proposed CNN-BiLG, surpassing the accuracy of machine learning models and deep learning models. Furthermore, our model is both effective and efficient, exhibiting commendable classification accuracy based on comparative analysis.

Background: Availability of validated Parkinson’s disease (PD) questionnaires in languages spoken in Africa will enable the conduct of epidemiological studies.Objective: The aims of the current study were to develop cross-cultural translated and validated Arabic and French versions of a PD screening questionnaire, and determine its diagnostic accuracy for recognition of parkinsonism in early and moderate-advanced PD in three countries (Cameroon (French), Egypt (Arabic), and Nigeria (English)).Methods: This cross-sectional study screened 159 participants (81 PD and 78 controls) using the PD screening questionnaire. The questionnaire was translated into Arabic and French versions using standard protocols. Cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Identification and Intervention for Dementia in Elderly Africans cognitive screen. Co-morbidity burden was documented using the Charlson Comorbidity Index. PD severity and stage were evaluated using the MDS Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale and the Hoehn and Yahr scale respectively.Results: Both PD patients and controls were matched regarding age, gender, education, and co-morbidity burden. The PD screening questionnaire scores were significantly higher in PD (median 8.0, IQR 6.0–10.0) in contrast to controls (0.0, IQR 0.0–0.0) (p< 0.0001), with a similar pattern and level of significance across all country sites. In ROC analysis, the questionnaire demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for PD overall, with an AUC of 0.992 (95% CI 0.981–1.002).Conclusion: The Arabic, French, and English versions of this PD screening questionnaire are valid and accurate screening instruments for recognition of Parkinsonism. This paves the way for conducting epidemiological studies in many African countries.

Availability of validated Parkinson’s disease (PD) questionnaires in languages spoken in Africa will enable the conduct of epidemiological studies. The aims of the current study were to develop cross-cultural translated and validated Arabic and French versions of a PD screening questionnaire, and determine its diagnostic accuracy for recognition of parkinsonism in early and moderate-advanced PD in three countries (Cameroon (French), Egypt (Arabic), and Nigeria (English)). This cross-sectional study screened 159 participants (81 PD and 78 controls) using the PD screening questionnaire. The questionnaire was translated into Arabic and French versions using standard protocols. Cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Identification and Intervention for Dementia in Elderly Africans cognitive screen. Co-morbidity burden was documented using the Charlson Comorbidity Index. PD severity and stage were evaluated using the MDS Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale and the Hoehn and Yahr scale respectively. Both PD patients and controls were matched regarding age, gender, education, and co-morbidity burden. The PD screening questionnaire scores were significantly higher in PD (median 8.0, IQR 6.0–10.0) in contrast to controls (0.0, IQR 0.0–0.0) (p < 0.0001), with a similar pattern and level of significance across all country sites. In ROC analysis, the questionnaire demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for PD overall, with an AUC of 0.992 (95% CI 0.981–1.002). The Arabic, French, and English versions of this PD screening questionnaire are valid and accurate screening instruments for recognition of Parkinsonism. This paves the way for conducting epidemiological studies in many African countries.

Objective To evaluate otolithic functions in patients with residual dizziness after successful canalith repositioning procedures (CRPs) for unilateral posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), and to investigate possible risk factors.Methods This case–control observational study included healthy controls and patients with residual dizziness after improvement following CRP for BPPV. All participants were subjected to full history taking, otoscopy, audiological basic evaluation, Dix-Hallpike test to search for posterior canal BPPV, residual dizziness screening, and vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) testing. Between-group differences were assessed and possible factors associated with residual dizziness were identified by univariate analysis.Results A total of 50 patients with residual dizziness (mean age, 56.53 ± 7.46 years [29 female: 21 male]) and 50 healthy controls (mean age, 58.13 ± 7.57 years [20 female: 30 male]) were included. A significant difference in VEMP latencies was found between the patient and control group (delayed in the patient group), with no significant between-group difference in amplitude in both ears. Aging, female sex, long duration of BPPV, number of CRPs, cervical VEMP and ocular VEMP abnormalities, and winter onset, were significantly associated with the risk of residual dizziness.Conclusions Residual dizziness is a frequent sequel of BPPV that may relate to otolithic dysfunction. VEMP changes were revealed in the form of delayed latencies.

Adsorption of heavy metals by affordable adsorbents has recently become one of the most often applied method for removing these metals from contaminated water. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of using raw date nuclei (RDN) as a natural and inexpensive adsorbent to remove Zn ions from contaminated water and reduce its impact on water quality, Zn bioaccumulation levels in fish organs, growth performance, and some physiological aspects of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) under sublethal concentrations. Five experimental groups were examined for eight weeks; CNT, control group rearing in clean water; RDN0, fish group rearing in Zn-contaminated water; RDN3, fish group rearing in Zn-contaminated water and treated with 3 g RDN/L; RDN4.5, fish group rearing in Zn-contaminated water and treated with 4.5 g RDN/L; RDN6, fish group rearing in Zn-contaminated water and treated with 6 g RDN/L. Water quality measures were monitored in a continuously manner without removing fish excreta or renewing water. The results showed that sublethal concentration of Zn alone significantly elevated the level of antioxidant biomarkers (SOD, superoxide dismutase; GST, glutathione transferases; GPX, glutathione peroxidase; CAT, catalase and MDA, malondialdehyde), significantly declined fish performance, increased Zn-accumulation in fish organs (gills and flesh) and increased the ammonia secretions in fish ponds compared to the control group. Zn concentrations in RDN-containing aquariums were significantly lower than in RDN-free aquariums, and Zn removal from polluted water was dependent on RDN dosage. Consequently, fish performance and serum bio-indicators enhanced in the presence of RDN in a fish group reared under sublethal Zn concentrations. In conclusion, although Zn caused toxicity in C. carpioat sublethal levels, treating Zn-contaminated water with RDN at a dosage of 6 g per liter effectively prevented oxidative stress and the harmful impacts of Zn exposure.