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Cesarean delivery rates are rapidly increasing in Southeastern Europe (to more than 60%), North Africa (with a rate as high as 72% in Egypt), and in urban areas in Southern Africa (a rate of over 50% in Lagos, Nigeria). Data on the background to these increases are scarce, but likely to include poor birthing facilities in general hospitals, convenience for the doctor, private medicine, fear of litigation, socioeconomic status, shortage of midwives and nurses, and disappearance of vaginal instrumental deliveries. Options to reverse cesarean delivery trends are discussed. In this context there is a need to be better informed about how women are being counseled regarding vaginal or cesarean delivery. The long-term consequences in subsequent pregnancies for mothers and children may well be largely ignored, while these risks are highest in LMICs where higher birth numbers are desired. FIGO has begun discussions with obstetric and gynecologic societies, healthcare bodies, and governments in several countries discussed in this article, to find ways to lower the cesarean delivery rate. The requests came from the countries themselves, which may prove beneficial in helping advance progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to present the components' characterization and condition assessment of an important deteriorated Mamluk-illuminated paper manuscript housed in Al-Azhar Library, Egypt. Design/methodology/approach: Different analytical techniques used in this study were the portable digital optical microscope, stereomicroscope, scanning electron microscope with EDX (SEM.EDX), portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), pH measurement and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Findings: The results obtained by different microscopes showed that the gilding in the surface of illuminated paper sheets was performed with gold leaves. Additionally, these microscopes revealed that the illuminated paper manuscript has different aspects of deterioration such as adhered dirt, staining, some micro-cracks, cracks and detachment of some parts in some illuminated areas. The results of elemental analysis by EDX, portable XRF and XRD analysis showed that the orange red pigment is red lead (Pb3O4), blue pigment is azurite (2CuCo3.Cu (OH)2), and the gold layer is has consisted of brass alloy (Cu-Zn) with a small amount of gold element (Au). The pH measurement stated that the historical paper in the acidity level. The ATR-FTIR analysis also revealed the oxidation of cellulose. Moreover, it was found from ATR-FTIR that Arabic gum was used as a binder for the pigments. Originality/value: This study presents the important results of analytical methods used for condition assessment and identification of the components of an important Mamluk-illuminated paper manuscript, where these results referred that the studied paper manuscript had different aspects of deterioration. The conservation steps either conservation treatment or preventive conservation are urgently needed in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study basically aimed to identify how the Egyptian paper and electronic newspapers dealt with phenomenon of child abduction in Egypt in terms of form and content, and to identify the issues raised by the newspapers in the context of their discussion of phenomenon of child abduction. The problem of the study lies in the main question: How do the Egyptian paper and electronic newspapers deal with the phenomenon of child abduction during the period from January 2013 AD to January 2018 AD? The study is one of descriptive studies, it used the survey method, the comparative method, and the content analysis tool to collect data, and it represents the community of the analytical study in All the issues issued by (Al-Ahram & Al-Wafd) newspapers as samples of newspapers, and (Mesr al-Arabiya, alMesreen) newspapers as representatives of e- newspapers, In the period from January 2013 AD to January 2018 AD, in order to represent one of the most stages which the cries gone through, however, the total study sample of the newspapers reached (240) per newspaper, and one of the most important reasons for choosing this period of time is spread of phenomenon of child kidnapping in this period. The study found that the journalistic treatment to the problem, provided by the study newspapers for the phenomenon, was far away from ethics and standards of professional Journalistic practice. The study recommended giving attention to treatments of an explanatory and investigative nature and strengthening the status of opinion writing in Egyptian newspapers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed at studying the recycling of shredded currency waste of The Egyptian Central Bank, ECB, in the form of good-quality products. The techniques used include soaking with chemicals, screening to separate the detached ink particles from the soaking step, pulping at high temperature, screening to separate large nylon pieces and small ink particles, flotation to separate large ink particles and small pieces of nylon and bleaching as the final step to increase the whiteness of the product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of various types of radioactive drugs has increased the effectiveness of nuclear medicine. Technetium-99m (99mTc) radiopharmaceuticals are in widespread use owing to the availability and affordability of 99Mo/99mTc generators and the variety of kits for formulating the desired products. Together, they provide an array of specific tools for diagnosing a large number of diseases affecting the Heart, Kidney and major organs of the body such as the bones, brain, liver, parathyroid, and thyroid. Nuclear medicine requires high quality radiopharmaceuticals and kits that are safe for administration and efficacious for a given application. Since radiopharmaceuticals are intended for human use, it is imperative that they undergo quality control measure. This paper presents various parameters affecting labeling efficiency of radiopharmaceuticals and describes the procedures of preparing from four selected kits. Details of the ingredients are also included. The procedures described here can be used to develop manuals and standard operating procedures in Egypt. This study is expected to serve as a guide to radiopharmaceutical manufacturing centers of such kits. Four kits namely: MIBI, DTPA, MDP, and DMSA are used. Paper Chromatography was involved to disparate the polar and non-polar part of the kit-solution. Quality control testing assures purity, integrity, potency, product identity, biological safety and efficacy of radiopharmaceuticals. The success of diagnostic radiopharmaceutical has been reflected in the quality of images of diseased site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) ranges throughout the African continent, south of the Sahara. After it was observed in Jabal Elba National Park, southeast of Egypt, an adult male spotted hyena was chased and intentionally killed by local shepherds. As far as we know, this paper is the first record of this species from Egypt. The animal was first observed in Wadi Eis, close to the Sudanese border, on March 16th, 2024. It was observed afterwards in Al-Dayeb region, where it killed the lambs of local residents. The tracks of the hyena were also recorded in the Kami Dabbab area on March 23rd, 2024. The animal was finally killed in Wadi Yahameib on March 24th, 2024. The present paper describes the movement route inside the protectorate and the localities and habitats visited by the animal. It also reviews the conservation status of this species as well as its adaptation strategy to changes in environmental temperature and habitat conditions. We recommend that efforts be made by wildlife conservation authorities to raise awareness about the importance of this species and other carnivorous species among the local community to stop killing such animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to identify how the diaspora consciousness of Syrian entrepreneurs in Egypt might affect their business practices. The research sample comprises semi‐structured interviews with Syrian refugee owners of small and medium‐sized businesses in Egypt. Thematic analysis was subsequently used to determine the main ideas in the transcripts from the interviews. The findings showed that diaspora consciousness stimulates Syrian refugees to actively engage in three categories of business‐related practices: contextual (expanding entrepreneurial activities outside their host country, desire to constitute a Western country‐based business venture), functional (reliance on a value chain within the same nationality, tending to adopt shadow economy practices), and procedural practices (preferring to develop family businesses, establishing only small and medium‐sized enterprises). This paper contributes by filling a gap in the literature on refugee entrepreneurship in which empirical studies on the effect of diaspora consciousness on the business practices of refugee entrepreneurs have been limited so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the global community strives to address the pressing challenges of environmental degradation and social inequality, the role of architecture in promoting sustainable development has gained unprecedented significance. This paper explores the intrinsic connection between architecture and sustainable development, focusing on Egypt as a case study. The research follows theoretical and practical application methodology, where case studies and solutions are applied. Egypt, with its rich historical heritage and rapidly urbanizing cities, presents a unique context to investigate how the built environment can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations. This study adopts a multidisciplinary approach, integrating architectural analysis, urban planning principles, environmental science, and social studies to examine the various ways in which architecture influences and interacts with sustainability goals. Case Studies include two locations in Egypt as future concepts to solve problems: Downtown Cairo and Nubia-Aswan, where ideas were introduced towards a better quality of life. The findings of this research underscore the importance of collaboration between various stakeholders, such as government bodies, non-governmental organizations, architects, and the public, to create a holistic approach to sustainable architectural design and urban planning towards resilient communities. The paper also emphasizes the need for education and awareness campaigns to foster a culture of sustainability within the architectural and construction sectors. Proposed projects were introduced in the International Union of Architects (UIA) World Congress of Architects in Copenhagen 2023 and published in UIA Guidebook 2030. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted to assess the quality of imported frozen liver sold in Assiut markets, Egypt. A total of 100 samples were randomly collected over a 2 months period (January to March, 2020) from poultry slaughter shops, supermarkets and frozen meat markets. The liver samples were evaluated for chemical indicators of spoilage (pH, TVBN "Total Volatile base nitrogen", and TBA "Thiobarbituric acid") and some of the nutritional aspects (percentage of moisture, protein, fat, ash, and carbohydrates, as well as, gross energy (Kcal/100g) and cholesterol content (mg/100g), beside levels of iron (mg/100g). The obtained mean values of pH, TVBN (mg/100 g) and TBA (mg/kg) of the examined samples were 6.38 ± 0.01, 25.76 ± 0.44, and 0.65 ± 0.03, respectively. Of the examined samples, 92 % showed pH value exceeded the permissible limits of Egyptian standards; however, 88 % showed TVBN content within the set limit. The mean values of moisture, protein, fat, ash and carbohydrates (%) were 70.54 ± 0.11, 21.64 ± 0.08, 3.58± 0.12, 1.50 ± 0.018, and 2.74 ± 0.11, respectively. The calculated gross energy mean value was of 133.09 ± 1.06 Kcal/100 g. Additionally, the cholesterol and iron content mean values were 130.85 ± 2.17 mg/100 g and 16.07 ± 0.24 mg/100 g, respectively in the examined imported frozen liver samples. In conclusion, imported frozen liver sold in markets of Assiut city Egypt is of fair quality; it should be consumed sporadically and with care of TBARS, cholesterol and iron potential hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To promote global equity in research, innovation, and care, sharing knowledge and grasping current benchmarks is crucial. Despite LIC/LMIC constituting around 80% of the global population, their contribution to neurosurgery research is less than 5%. This study aims to assess the status of neurosurgical oncology in LIC/LMIC using published data, offering strategic insights for progress. Conducting a retrospective bibliometric analysis via PubMed and Scopus databases, we documented reports published (2015–2021) by neurosurgical department-affiliated investigators in LICs/LMICs. World Bank classifications identified LIC and LMIC. Reviewed papers underwent further scrutiny based on independent and associated keyword lists. Our systematic approach revealed 189 studies from LMIC in 10 neurosurgery journals. Of these, 53% were case reports, with 88% focusing on brain pathologies and 12% on the spine. Intra-axial brain tumors (45.8%), extra-axial/skull base (38.4%), and metastasis (3.68%) were prominent. Among noncase report publications, surgical technique and outcome were common themes. India, Egypt, and Tunisia led in publications, with 94% appearing in journals with an impact factor below 5. No papers originated from LIC. This study reinforces existing findings that data from LMIC inadequately represent their populations, impeding a comprehensive understanding of their neurosurgical oncology landscape. Language barriers and data collection difficulties contribute to this gap. Addressing these challenges could significantly enhance progress in shaping the future of neurosurgical oncology in these regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the global scientific literature on Molecular Docking (MD). MDis a keyapproachusedinbioinformatics to identify and developnovel compounds towards drug discovery. This study uses the bibliometric method to analyze scientific data covered in the Scopus database from 2013 to 2022 using MS Excel, R Studio, andVOS Viewer software. A total of 12173 documents on Molecular Docking were retrieved and considered for the study. The paper provides an in-depth evaluation of the research output of MD. The research found that MuthuS.was a most prolific author in MD scientific research, with 98 publications that received 1481 global citations. The most productivecountries in this field areIndia (4020 publications), followedbyChina (2675 publications), Saudi Arabia (1362 publications) and Egypt (1071 publications). The hot keywords in MD research are molecular modelling, molecular docking simulation, unclassified drug and controlled study, but Molecular Docking is the burning author keyword. The finding also shows that the publications are increasing consistently from 2013 onwards. Most articles have been published in the 'Journal of Molecular Structure'. As it is an emerging and a trending topic, it has scope for further studies. This study will benefit future researchers and practitioners worldwide in understanding the research pattern on MD and identifying the other key areas related to the topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a critical reading of Alaa Al Aswany's novel The Yacoubian Building (2002), evoking important questions about the nature of terrorism in Egypt and how young men are transformed into religious fanatics. While certainly not excusing terrorists' violent acts, we try to use the novel as a guide to understand what makes a terrorist tick. The novel invites us to witness the fall into the abyss of terror of a young man who dreams of being a policeman. The novel shows that while Taha struggles to change his fate, he faces marginalisation, police corruption, oppression and torture, which finally set him on the path to violence. The paper thus uses the novel as a focal point to broaden our understanding of who a terrorist figure is. Furthermore, we are interested in the literary representations of terrorism and why this novelist chooses terrorism as a main structuring element. By offering a qualitative, different understanding of the fundamental aspects of terrorism, we try to reveal that while it is the terrorist's finger that pulls the trigger, there is a disorienting history of social, political and economic circumstances behind each bullet. The paper concludes that Al Aswany neither demonises nor offers an apology for extremists. He simply presents them as humans so that we can understand what they are angry about. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional methods for investigating road safety mainly depend on crash data analysis, which is not always available, especially in developing countries. To overcome this shortage, new road safety tools/techniques have been introduced. This paper examined crowdsourcing data as a surrogate measure for accident data. This combined with users' internet-based surveys can be analyzed to provide indications of road safety situation. Two major neighborhoods in Cairo, Egypt, were selected for the study. Two sets of data were considered: crowdsourced crash data and an online questionnaire. Data analysis revealed a strong correlation between the two datasets in the case of road segment safety identification and road crash causes. According to both sets of data, speeding and random pedestrian crossing are the primary causes of traffic accidents. Multinomial logistic regression models were devised to identify the variables that significantly influenced (1) exceeding the speed limit by drivers and (2) unsafe pedestrian road crossing behavior. Lastly, this paper has introduced validation of applying the introduced crowdsourced data for investigating road safety and road users' behavior in Egypt and elsewhere when the traditional approach of using crash data is missing. Finally, policy recommendations are provided to improve drivers' and pedestrians' behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the narrative significance of localization in Homer's Odyssey , in particular singular places that are associated with multiple spaces (identified here as dual localization). Our reading posits that spatial features hold narrative significance and, once uncovered, this resolves 'problematic' issues that may arise from spatial paradoxes. The chosen case study is the Odyssean land of the Ethiopians with its twin dual localization: (1) it is located simultaneously at the eastern and western peripheries of the world while also located singularly 'with Poseidon'; and (2) this peripheral localization contrasts with a later 'real world' setting in Egypt/North Africa. While this people's localization has been the subject of prior study, this paper presents a novel analysis: these localizations serve a characterizing function which, in turn, relates to the thematic function of Menelaus' embedded narrative as foreshadowing the primary narrative of Odysseus' nostos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2005, a team of Polish archaeologists discovered three Coptic codices, two on papyrus and one on parchment, in the rubbish dump of a hermitage at Sheik Abd el-Gurna, Egypt. While the parchment codex and the remains of the bindings of the papyrus ones have been conserved, the text blocks of the papyrus codices were opened and disassembled and after being disinfected remained untouched for nearly 15 years, until the current project started. Currently, all three books are stored in the collection of the Coptic Museum in Cairo. Our team undertook the conservation of and archaeometric research on the papyrus codices. The first of the books contains the Canons of Pseudo-Basil, while the second is an Encomium of St. Pisenthios. Both codices have been palaeographically dated to the seventh-eighth centuries CE. In this paper, we describe our project and present the results of the work carried out on the Canons of Pseudo-Basil. Our work involved photography in transmitted light, measurements of the thickness of the papyrus leaves, and digital microscopy under three-light illumination. These measurements allowed us to determine the types of the inks and characterize the papyrus writing substrate. For conservation, we used a novel method developed in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin that comprises suspending papyrus folios on a translucent, extremely thin Japanese paper inside glass frames without the use of adhesives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) causes global exhaustion, consumes economic resources, and has several risk factors. The bibliometric studies re-evaluate the research efforts on this illness using mathematical and statistical tools to indicate current research and future trends. This study examines KSA's DM research during 2010-2021. Data were acquired from Scopus and analyzed using VOSviewer and MS Excel. Several characteristics were examined to measure the quantity and quality of KSA-related DM articles. In total, 1,919 journal and conference papers were published. DM research included researchers from multidisciplinary sectors. Thirty-seven percent of them have ten or more scientific publications. Al-Daghri, N.M. (King Saud University) leads the pack. In total, 757 (39.44%) research projects got funding from 159 sources within and outside KSA. Memish, Z.A. is the most cited author. The Saudi Medical Journal has the most citations (1214). Al-Daghri, N.M. (KSU) collaborates the most. One hundred forty-one nations aided KSA's diabetes research. Egypt's High Institute of Public Health has the most scientific collaboration with KSA. Authors' and all Keywords analyses indicated a rich knowledge structure. Diabetes Care Journal has the most cocitations with 2,220 and a total link strength of 19,283, followed by The New England Journal of Medicine. The study results will be helpful to stakeholders to understand better the trends and performance of diabetes-related regional research, which will be beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood cancer is an urgent priority in Egypt, owing to a large number of children with cancer, the great need and demand for paediatric oncology services, limited resources/ funds and inferior survival outcomes. Therefore, an overview of the status of childhood cancer care in Egypt and an evidence-based approach towards optimal utilisation of resources/funds to improve this care are needed. This paper summarises key evidence about childhood cancer care and outcomes in Egypt. We conducted a narrative literature review using a structured search strategy of the MEDLINE database through the PubMed interface. All relevant evidence was summarised under five main sub-topics: (1) burden of childhood cancer in Egypt; (2) treatment approaches; (3) health outcomes; (4) costs and cost-effectiveness of treatment; and (5) barriers and facilitators to optimal childhood cancer care. We found high estimates of disease burden of childhood cancer in Egypt. Furthermore, childhood cancer treatment in Egypt is based on either implementing intensity-regulated protocols or adopting international protocols with or without adaptations to local contexts, leading to varying standards of care among the different treating centres. Limited data about the survival outcomes, costs and cost-effectiveness of treatment exist, although high-quality data from retrospective cohort studies were published from a large paediatric oncology centre (Children’s Cancer Hospital Egypt–57357). As Egypt joins the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancers as a focus country, it is prepared to move towards streamlining national efforts to implement a national childhood cancer plan to advance care, improve health outcomes and optimise resource use. Through these efforts, Egypt could become a beacon of hope and a role model to other low- and middle-income countries seeking to improve their childhood cancer care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of religious fasting on truth‐telling using a laboratory experiment in Egypt. While fasting‐induced religiosity may promote truth‐telling, the physiological and psychological changes during fasting, due to alimentary abstention and self‐control exertion, may reduce honesty, especially when fasting is augmented with effort. We examine this question by tracing individual truth‐telling decisions, in the absence and presence of additional effort, both before and during Ramadan. We find that neither effort nor fasting alone affects honesty, but exerting effort while fasting reduces honesty. We provide suggestive evidence on the mechanisms potentially driving this negative effect on honesty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Children experience unequal environments and development prior to primary school • Pre-primary quality, home stimulation, and early childhood development are studied • Outcomes by socioeconomic status are examined for pre-primary students in Egypt • There is substantial socioeconomic inequality in stimulation at home • There is less inequality in pre-primary quality and inputs, varying by dimension By the time children start primary school, large socioeconomic disparities are evident in their learning and development. Both pre-primary and home environments can play important roles in influencing school readiness and can contribute to disparities in early childhood development, but there is limited evidence on their relative roles in the Middle East and North Africa. This paper examines how pre-primary quality, stimulation at home, and early childhood development vary by socioeconomic status for pre-primary students in Egypt. The results demonstrate substantial socioeconomic inequality in stimulation at home, more so than in pre-primary quality and inputs, although there is variation in the degree of inequality across different dimensions of pre-primary quality. "Double inequality" is observed, where students with less stimulating home environments experience slightly lower quality pre-primary inputs. There are particularly large pre-primary inequities in structural quality (physical environment) and less inequity in process quality (pedagogy). These results suggest that targeted investments in pre-primary education in Egypt are necessary to reduce inequality in school readiness but are likely insufficient to close the socioeconomic status gap in children's development. Investing in interventions to improve vulnerable children's home learning environments, as well as investing in quality pre-primary, is critical to address disparities in children's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a world where asylum and migration have become major concerns for countries of transit and destination, political neutrality seems to be demanded from humanitarian workers. But under the pressures of workload, limited funds, and complex settings, these actors deviate from expectations and practice extra‐legal authority of a unique political nature. When handling asylum cases, these agents take crucial decisions that decisively impact the lives of asylum seekers. In legally fragile transit points where the rule of law faces challenges and where asylum seekers come seeking further resettlement in European countries, rejected applicants face risky fates of deportation, jail, violence, or death. In turn, humanitarian caseworkers pushed by workloads, purse strings, emotional burnout, and compassion fatigue, flatten the sufferings of their applicants, balance, and rank them. Caseworkers have to rank sufferings and decide who may eventually survive and who may simply be left to a risky unknown. In Agambian terms, this extralegal authority draws the lines, creates a zone of exception and throws rejected applicants into the realm of “Bare Life” where they become “Homo Sacer,” whose life is worthless. Using Lipsky's theorization of street‐level bureaucrats and in‐depth interviews, the paper tackles these crucial issues by interviewing caseworkers from a variety of international organizations operating in the transit point of Egypt. These caseworkers are responsible for conducting different roles in the Refugee Status Determination process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental applications play a significant role in the ongoing research area of Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR) image classification. In this paper, a new model is proposed for classifying PolSAR images and applied to a part of the Greater Cairo area in the Nile basin, South of Delta, Egypt. First, the proposed model performs data pre-processing by extracting the coherency and covariance elements noted as [T] and [C] matrices, respectively. Second, temporal convolutional networks (TCN) deep learning is used to extract the features from coherency and covariance elements and then train the model. Third, the SoftMax classifier is used to classify the PolSAR image. Finally, the proposed model is tested with evaluation metrics. The obtained results show that the proposed model can achieve high classification performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of burying boats and digging boat-shaped pits inside funerary complexes belonging to Early Dynastic elites and kings is well attested in early Egypt. However, the origins of this custom and its evolution from the 1st Dynasty until the Middle Kingdom remain to be fully addressed holistically and diachronically. This paper aims to re-evaluate current data regarding Early Dynastic boat burials and boat-shaped pits, to share some insights on the development of this tradition, and to address its adaptation to Old Kingdom religious and political innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the history and artifacts related to the forty-nine communities that originated from St. Joseph's monastery in St. Marys, Pennsylvania. The article mentions that artifacts connected to the sisters' presence in St. Marys for 162 years were donated to St. Mary's Parish for a permanent display. The paper archives are located in Mt. Scholastica Monastery in Atchison, KS, and other artifacts are in the Haehn Museum at St. Benedict's Monastery in St. Joseph, MN. The article also reviews the book "Desert Ascetics of Egypt" by Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom, which explores the history of early monasticism in Egypt and the use of documentary and archaeological evidence in understanding the lives of the desert ascetics. The author recommends the book as a valuable resource for those interested in early monastic teaching and spirituality. [Extracted from the article]

Pavement management systems (PMS) are considered to be crucial tools for agencies in managing their pavement networks and using accessible budgets in an appropriate technique. In this paper, a newly developed condition rating index [modified pavement condition rating (MPCR)] was used to assess the current and future pavement performance. The pavement future performance in terms of MPCR was predicted using two models: (1) a stochastic Markov chain model, and (2) an artificial neural network (ANN) model. In Markov chain modeling, the Long-Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) database was used to develop the transition probability matrix (TPM). An ANN model for future pavement performance prediction was developed based on the same LTPP data. For both models, 245 data points from the LTPP data were used for deterioration modeling. Both models were verified using LTPP data and data obtained from the General Authority of Roads, Bridges and Land Transport (GARBLT), Egypt. The Markov chain and ANN results were compared. The Markov chain model performed better than the ANN model, with a coefficient of determination, R2 , of 0.9 and RMS Error (RMSE) of 0.1268. the ANN model yielded an R2 of only 0.53 and a RMSE of 0.2205. Increasing the number data points did not lead to a significant improvement in the ANN model accuracy. A multiobjective particle swarm optimization (PSO) model is used for fund allocation to maximize the average pavement condition and minimize the maintenance cost. The developed optimization model was tested on two benchmark optimization problems to ensure its validity for real-life applications. The developed optimization model was used on a network of roads and was found to be capable of generating optimal or near-optimal solutions for the maintenance decisions to keep the pavement in good workable condition. As such, the current study presents a comprehensive development tackling different modules of a pavement management system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Learning Through Practice: On How Kemyt Contributed to Crafting and Transmitting Scribal Knowledge" by Aurore Motte examines the practices of ancient Egyptian scribes and how they transmitted their knowledge. It analyzes the structure of the Kemyt text and the choice of ink and writing direction used. It is determined that there was a complex network of scribes who contributed to the development and transmission of written knowledge. The Kemyt text has been found in various materials and regions of Egypt and describes different features of the Kemyt specimens found in Deir el-Medina. Various types of corrections and revisions in Egyptian literary texts are also described. The texts demonstrate the changes in literary culture during the New Kingdom. Various aspects of Egyptian script and language are also addressed. [Extracted from the article]

Egypt has the potential to generate a significant amount of energy from renewable technologies, in particular solar PV, concentrated solar power (CSP), and onshore and offshore wind. The energy sector is reliant on fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, for electricity production and is at risk of locking itself into a high carbon pathway. Globally, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with national energy sectors is a target outlined in the UN's Paris Agreement. To reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions associated with a higher dependence on fossil fuels, Egypt must consider upscaling renewable energy technologies (RETs) to achieve a clean energy transition (CET). This research modelled six scenarios using clicSAND for OSeMOSYS to identify the technologies and policy target improvements that are needed to upscale RETs within Egypt's energy sector. The results showed that solar PV and onshore wind are key technologies to be upscaled to contribute towards Egypt's CET. The optimal renewable target is the International Renewable Energy Agency's (IRENA) target of 53% of electricity being sourced from RETs by 2030, which will cost USD 16.4 billion more up to 2035 than Egypt's current Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy (ISES) target of 42% by 2035; it also saves 732.0 MtCO2 over the entire modelling period to 2070. Socio-economic barriers to this transition are considered, such as recent discoveries of natural gas reserves combined with a history of energy insecurity, political instability impacting investor confidence, and a lack of international climate funding. The paper concludes with policy recommendations that would enable Egypt to progress towards achieving a CET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robust reliability Generation Expansion Planning (GEP) turns out to be a crucial step for an efficient energy management system in a modern power grid, especially under renewable energy employment. The integration of all such components in a GEP model makes it a large-scale, nonlinear, and mixed-variable mathematical modeling problem. In this paper, the presence of wind energy uncertainty is analyzed. Both long and short-term uncertainties are incorporated into the proposed GEP model. The first step concerns the impact of long-term wind uncertainties through the annual variations of the capacity credit of two real sites in Egypt at Zafaranh and Shark El-ouinate. The second step deals with the short-term uncertainties of each wind site. The wind speed uncertainty of each wind site is modeled by probability distribution function. Then, wind power is estimated from the wind power curve for each wind site and Monte-Carlo Simulation is performed. Fast Gas Turbine and/or Pump Hydro Storage are incorporated to cope with short-term uncertainties. Sensitivity analysis is implemented for 3, 6, and 12 stages as short and long planning horizons to minimize the total costs with wind energy penetration and emission reduction over planning horizons. Also, a novel Honey Badger Algorithm (HBA) with model modifications such as Virtual Mapping Procedure, Penalty Factor Approach, and the Modified of Intelligent Initial Population Generation is utilized for solving the proposed GEP problem. The obtained results are compared with other algorithms to ensure the superior performance of the proposed HBA. According to the results of the applicable test systems, the proposed HBA performs better than the others, with percentage reductions over CSA, AO, BES, and PSO ranging up to 4.2, 2.72, 2.7, and 3.4%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground deformation is one of the crucial issues threatening many cities in both societal and economic aspects. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has been widely used for deformation monitoring. Recently, there has been an increasing availability of massive archives of SAR images from various satellites or sensors. This paper introduces Multi-Satellite SBAS that exploits complementary information from different SAR data to generate integrated long-term ground displacement time series. The proposed method is employed to create the vertical displacement maps of Almokattam City in Egypt from 2000 to 2020. The experimental results are promising using ERS, ENVISAT ASAR, and Sentinel-1A displacement integration. There is a remarkable deformation in the vertical direction along the west area while the mean deformation velocity is −2.32 mm/year. Cross-validation confirms that the root mean square error (RMSE) did not exceed 2.8 mm/year. In addition, the research findings are comparable to those of the previous research in the study area. Consequently, the proposed integration method has great potential to generate displacement time series based on multi-satellite SAR data; however, it still requires further evaluation using field measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the implications of incorporating AI tools, specifically ChatGPT, in higher education contexts. With a primary focus on understanding the acceptance and utilization of ChatGPT among university students, the research utilizes the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) as the guiding framework. The investigation probes into four crucial constructs of UTAUT—performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions—to understand their impact on the intent and actual use behaviour of students. The study relies on data collected from six universities in two countries and assessed through descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling techniques, and also takes into account participants' gender and study level. The key findings show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence significantly influence behavioural intention. Furthermore, behavioural intention, when considered alongside facilitating conditions, influences actual use behaviour. This research also explores the moderating impact of gender and study level on the relationships among these variables. The results not only augment our comprehension of technology acceptance in the context of AI tools but also provide valuable input for formulating strategies that promote effective incorporation of ChatGPT in higher education. The study underscores the need for effective awareness initiatives, bespoke training programmes, and intuitive tool designs to bolster students' perceptions and foster the wider adoption of AI tools in education.Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicChatGPT is a tool that is quickly gaining worldwide recognition.ChatGPT helps with writing essays and solving assignments.ChatGPT raises ethical concerns about authorship, plagiarism and ethics.What this paper addsThis study explores students' acceptance of ChatGPT as an aid in their education, which has not been studied previously.We used the extended Unified Technology Acceptance and Use of Technology theory to test what factors mostly influence the use of ChatGPT by students.We conducted a multiple study in Poland and Egypt based on sampling strategy from six universities.Implications for practice and/or policyChatGPT is a global game changer and should be incorporated into study programmes.The limitations of ChatGPT should be well explained and known since it is prone to making mistakes.Higher education teachers should be aware of ChatGPT's capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain management has become increasingly complex, leading to information loss and delayed transmission, exacerbating the bullwhip effect. Furthermore, the need for more reliable information storage, traceability, and accountability has slowed supply chain management. In this context, blockchain technology (BCT) solves the bullwhip effect problem, as it supports distributed networking, information synchronization among nodes, digital encryption, traceable information, and unchangeable block content. This paper proposes using public blockchain to solve the bullwhip effect problem in the supply chain (SC), which has yet to be discussed in published academic research papers. To this end, a framework has been developed to determine the readiness of a supply chain for blockchain adoption. This framework includes a checklist to evaluate the motivation, timing, and appropriate platform for adopting blockchain. The framework has been validated using a case study of personal computer devices, which were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and resulted in semiconductors supply chain disruption. The study involved polling four executives The study involved polling four executives (of large organizations in Egypt and some Middle Eastern countries) representing different stages in the supply chain, they are retail, distribution, manufacturing, and supply. The results showed that while the executives recognized the benefits of adopting blockchain, they were still determining if it was the right time for adoption and did not see the technology ready for their supply chains. Finally, some public blockchain platforms were introduced to help businesses choose the most suitable platform for adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides a comprehensive comparison of the experiences of debt accumulation and of the debt crises which took place within less than a decade during the second half of the nineteenth century in Tunisia, Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. The comparison covers the period from the 1850s to the 1880s, as the three countries were attempting to modernize and meet the challenges posed by the industrial revolution and the European expansion globally. They quickly faced financial constraints, increased their external borrowing and ran into crisis. These crises, which were triggered from 1867 to 1876, were part of the second wave of crises during the nineteenth century. The countries differed considerably in the way the crises were managed and resolved. In this context, based on available information, the paper provides a quantitative assessment of the debt burden and the various indicators of creditworthiness using constructed series on total GDP for the three countries for the period 1860–1884. This allows for a comparison of the full processes of debt accumulation, the triggering of the crises and their resolution. In doing so it brings together a wealth of data and information about the factors which impacted creditworthiness and capacity to service debt, relating to trade and fiscal revenues, which played a major role in determining the severity of the crises and the way they were resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of solar-powered pumping systems (SPPS) into agriculture and potable and wastewater sectors becomes mandatory to provide water in remote regions. The broad use of SPPS with classical maximum power point tracking controllers (MPPTCs) showed moderated voltage and power response deterioration. Therefore, the necessity for overcoming these performance degradations and pre-testing of MPPTCs is not an option for the proper operation of such systems. This paper presents a new simple, cost-effective real-time hardware-in-the-loop (RT-HIL) framework to enhance the dynamic performance of SPPS. To accomplish this study, a real pumping station was modeled and equipped with MPPTCs through matlab/simulink. Besides, a practical SPPS was implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed RT-HIL on system performance. The practical SPPS includes designing a DC-DC buck converter circuit equipped with metaheuristic optimization-based real-time MPPTCs. The tuned PI/FOPI-based MPPTCs are adopted in this work to gain the maximum power from the PV generator under measured real environmental conditions. The proposed real-time MPPTCs techniques are perturb and observe, and incremental conductance (IC) with I, PI, and fractional-order PI (FOPI) controllers. The simulation and the experimental results prove the superiority of the developed real-time FOPI-based MPPTCs in enhancing the system performance in terms of the gained power, module output current, pump flowrate, and pump efficiency. The paper's novelty lies behind the relatively low-cost real-time execution of PI/FOPI-based MPPT techniques on SPPS. This work was simulated using matlab/simulink in conjunction with Arduino-based RT-HIL and the experimental validation was implemented at the National Water Research Center (NWRC) in Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maimonides, as a jurist, aimed to develop the Mishnah's legislations; so, he wrote his book Mishnah Torah, which included the Mishnah's legislations, and added to it legislations to fill the gap in provisions of the Mishnah. Maimonides used the books of the rabbinic heritage to complete this deficiency in the legislation. He reclassified these legislations objectively in his book Mishnah Torah, which he wrote in Egypt in 1117 AD, according to the method of Islamic jurisprudence books and Al-Muhalla by Ibn Hazm in particular. The current paper discusses the classification and division of the Mishnah and the Mishnah Torah, in order to find out the legislations that Maimonides added to the Mishnah. Also, it clarifies Maimonides' motive for authoring Mishnah Torah. Additionally, this paper illustrates how the Islamic culture influenced on the classification and division of the Mishnah Torah according to the subject. Clearly, Maimonides was influenced in his book Mishnah Torah by Islamic jurisprudence and the book of Ibn Hazm; Al-Muhalla in particular. He reclassified some legislations in Mishnah Torah objectively according to a method of Islamic jurisprudence books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to identify the major significant dimensions that contribute to the overall quality of life (QOL) of wage workers in Egypt. As the QOL is a complex, multidimensional, and interdisciplinary concept, forty-seven indicators under five domains were chosen to investigate the QOL determinants of wage workers in Egypt, namely job characteristics, job satisfaction, ICT access, gender equality and women empowerment, and neighborhood services and utilities. Using data from the 2018 wave of the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey, the paper employed structural equation modelling (SEM) approach to investigate the impact of proposed dimensions on the overall QOL. In addition, multi-group SEM analysis was implemented to measure how people differ in the way they assess their QOL on the basis of various moderating variables such as the geographical region of residence, age group, and years of schooling. The findings showed the significant impact of the chosen dimensions on the overall QOL. Moreover, the multi-group models showed a significant variation among compared groups, in which the weights of dimensions vary due to the differences in socio-cultural characteristics and the surrounding environment, confirming the complexity of such a concept. As people usually differ in the way they assess their QOL, which is affected by their characteristics and priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Egypt, which has one of the highest rates of HCV in the world. The high prevalence is linked to several factors, including the use of injection drugs, poor sterilization practices in medical facilities, and low public awareness. This paper introduces a hyOPTGB model, which employs an optimized gradient boosting (GB) classifier to predict HCV disease in Egypt. The model's accuracy is enhanced by optimizing hyperparameters with the OPTUNA framework. Min-Max normalization is used as a preprocessing step for scaling the dataset values and using the forward selection (FS) wrapped method to identify essential features. The dataset used in the study contains 1385 instances and 29 features and is available at the UCI machine learning repository. The authors compare the performance of five machine learning models, including decision tree (DT), support vector machine (SVM), dummy classifier (DC), ridge classifier (RC), and bagging classifier (BC), with the hyOPTGB model. The system's efficacy is assessed using various metrics, including accuracy, recall, precision, and F1-score. The hyOPTGB model outperformed the other machine learning models, achieving a 95.3% accuracy rate. The authors also compared the hyOPTGB model against other models proposed by authors who used the same dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of COVID-19 on higher education practical design courses in Egypt. Because of inadequate resources and preparedness, Egyptian colleges have struggled to adopt digital teaching methods during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines strategies that are the most feasible for teaching practical courses during or after a pandemic through distance learning (on online platforms). An action research project was set up to deliver two studio-based design courses, one on architectural drawing and the other on furniture design via distance learning (online mode). This approach used a suite of technologies and synchronous and asynchronous delivery mechanisms, such as Zoom and Google Classroom. Student perceptions about the impact of these changes were evaluated using questionnaires. A psychological effect of the conditions caused by the pandemic on students has been the loss of interest in academics. The research results partially support the use of online platforms to teach practical courses. However, more needs to be done to improve the delivery of online courses in Egypt. Further, holding competitions was found to boost students' motivation levels. A future strategy for teaching practical courses in applied arts and engineering is proposed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2011, Egypt saw one of the largest protest movements in its modern history: the 25th of January revolution. One of its major demands was the call for democracy and end of dictatorship after 30 years of Mubarak's rule. After ousting Mubarak, the Egyptian public sphere witnessed an openness. Even with increasing levels of oppression and violence, there were open spaces for freedom of association, expression, and demonstration, etc. Yet, in 2013 and with the intense protests against the elected Muslim Brotherhood (MB) president, the military interfered and ousted the elected president. In light of these events, Egypt witnessed a backlash against democracy under the pretext of fighting 'terrorism'. Since then, Egypt has been seeing manifestations of this relapse on almost all levels, in terms of legislations, decrees, practices that closed the public space to any protesting voices, with higher levels of oppression and violence against the opposition and not only the so-called 'terrorists'. In this context, this paper proposes to dissect the Egyptian stumbling road to democratisation since 2011. It examines internal factors as well as the role of regional and international actors in orchestrating developments in Egypt. The paper proposes that the process of democratisation in Egypt has faced multiple drawbacks, not only related to regime type (military rule) but also with respect to social movements, the involvement of regional actors, etc.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ancient Egyptian herbal literature is sparsely documented, but recently an herbal treatise has been discovered that provides new information about ancient Egyptian medical practice. The treatise deals exclusively with a single plant and its seed, representing a specialized subtype of the herbal genre. There are also demotic papyri and isolated herbal entries that use similar constructions. The herbal books contain information about the use of herbs for treating snake bites and other injuries. It is believed that the herbal books belong to the Egyptian tradition and were already standardized in the New Kingdom. There are also indications of the use of non-native plants in Egypt. The social contexts of the herbal books are largely unknown, but they were likely used both in temples and in private households. It is believed that knowledge about plants was mainly transmitted orally, but was also documented in writing. The article also discusses the identification of plants and seeds in ancient Egyptian remedies. However, the exact identification of some plants remains unclear. The article also discusses the plant snw-p.t in ancient Egypt, which may have been imported from abroad. The article provides an overview of the herbal genre in ancient Egypt and presents various sources and texts on this topic. [Extracted from the article]

This paper departs from a deductive premise seeking to apply the theory of "collectivised system of refugee responsibility" to the EU-Egypt migration arrangements. In its basic form, the theory proffers the funding and oversight of the wealthy North to assert protection, and integration of refugees in southern countries. At face value, the design and structure of the EU-Egypt migration arrangements appear to reflect this formula: EU funding in return for Egyptian principled accommodation of refugees. A profounder analysis of these deals, nevertheless, discerns the emergence of an alternative linguistic and legal discourse that priorities security and control over the humanitarian cause. Practice, as well, demonstrates that neither the EU is willing to undertake any refugees' oversight roles, nor Egypt is vying for EU funding. To the contrary, Egypt's generous funding of EU commercial interests and ruthless crackdown on refugees represent Egypt's basic offerings to appease the EU and garner its political support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This paper starts from the unusual observation of the overrepresentation of females among adults in the cemetery of Bronze Age Shahr‐i Sokhta (Seistan, Iran) and explores the post marital residence pattern. By integrating taphonomical (skeletal preservation), anthropological (sex ratio [SR], sexual dimorphism, stress indicators, age at death), archeological (long distance trade indicators, habitation floor area, social role of women), and ancient DNA (heterozygosity levels in X chromosomes) data we test the hypothesis of post marital matrilocality in the site. Methods: We computed the SR (pelvis‐based sex determination) in a random unpublished adult sample from the cemetery of Shahr‐i Sokhta and in two samples previously published by other authors. We used comparative data on SR from: a large Supra Regional multi‐chronological sample of sites, n = 47, with 8808 adult sexed individuals, from Southern Europe, Egypt, Middle East, Southern Russia; a Regional Bronze Age sample of sites (n = 10) from Bactria Margiana and Indus Valley with 1324 adult sexed individuals. We estimated the heterozygosity levels in X chromosomes compared with the rest of the autosomes on the assumption that in a matrilocal society females should show lower variability than men. Results: Adult SR in a sample (n = 549) from Shahr‐i Sokhta is 70.5, the overrepresentation of females is shared with Regional Bronze Age sites from Bactria Margiana (SR = 72.09) and Indus Valley (SR = 67.54). On the contrary, in a larger Supra Regional multi‐chronological sample of sites, mean SR ranges between 112.7 (Bronze Age) and 163.1 (Middle Ages). Taphonomical and anthropological indicators do not explain the overrepresentation of female skeletons. Archeological indicators suggest a high social status of women and that the society was devoted to long range trade activities. heterozygosity levels in X chromosomes are in agreement with a matrilocal society. Conclusions: Indicators suggest that Bronze Age Shahr‐ì Sokhta was a matrilocal society and that long distance trade was an important economic factor producing an overrepresentation of adult female skeletons in the cemetery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Western Desert region between Cairo and Fayoum in Egypt is a geologically interesting area due to its active seismicity status and the continuous bidirectional urban expansions ongoing northward and southward growth. This work aims to develop a geological model of the region by combining magnetic intensity data (aeromagnetic) and potential field data (airborne gravity) with magnetotelluric (MT) data to offer decision-makers an additional evaluation tool for long-term future planning. Applying a number of filters to aerial gravity and magnetic data allowed us to calculate the subsurface density distribution and structure of the area between Cairo and Fayoum. In addition, the surface of the crust was imaged down to a depth of 6 km using a 3-D inversion of gravity data. Magnetotelluric data were gathered at eight locations over the NS-extended Cairo-Fayoum Road profile. MT data were inverted in 2-D to generate a resistivity model that defines the subsurface structure of the researched region. The subsurface geometry in the MT-derived resistivity model agrees with the results of airborne potential measurements, and no consideration was given to any faults that may have been undetected from the potential maps. Long-term seismological observations indicated that the likely active sources of earthquakes are limited to the recognized main faults and that the ongoing "1185 buildings" construction project did not and will not cause unanticipated seismicity. The paper concludes that urban growth is secure so long as the earthquake codes are rigorously considered while planning civil projects. The northern study region must be regularly monitored for induced seismicity. On the Cairo-Fayoum Road's western side, the middle sector of the study area is the safest place for future civil developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper presents the epidemiological data and clinical manifestations of blood parasitic infections in cattle. A total of 130 blood samples were collected from animals exhibiting clinical signs suggestive of blood parasitic infection. Microscopic examination of blood smears revealed an overall infection rate of 46.2% among the examined cattle. Theileria sp. infections were found to be the most prevalent, with an overall prevalence of 40%. Babesia sp. infections had a lower overall prevalence of 6.2%, Microscopic examination also highlighted the intracellular localization of Theileria and Babesia parasites within red blood cells. The infected red blood cells exhibited morphological changes, appearing enlarged and distorted compared to unaffected cells. The study analyzed the risk factors for Theileria sp. and Babesia sp. infections in cattle, specifically focusing on age and gender. The prevalence of Theileria sp. infection was highest in cattle less than one year, with no significant difference observed among different age groups or genders. Similarly, there was no significant difference in Babesia sp. infection rates based on age or gender. These results provide valuable insights into the epidemiology and clinical manifestations of blood parasitic infections in cattle. The findings can contribute to the development of effective control and prevention strategies, highlighting the importance of regular surveillance and management practices in mitigating the impact of these infections on cattle health and productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heritage tourism in Egypt, differentiated by its distinctive ancient wonders and cultural prosperity, has faced numerous challenges through its history, with political unrest, economic fluctuations, and, most recently, the global COVID-19 pandemic. This research paper investigates the dynamic interplay between planned and adopted resilience within the hotel sector in Egyptian heritage sites and their consequential effects on both social and economic sustainability. A quantitative research method was employed to empirically explore these dynamics. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 550 top and middle managers in hotels located in heritage sites, capturing insights into their perspectives on planned and adopted resilience. The collected data underwent rigorous analysis utilizing "partial least squares structural equation modeling" (PLS-SEM), providing a robust foundation for drawing meaningful conclusions. Findings from the research underscore the necessity of aligning planned and adopted resilience to generate sustainable social and economic performance. The synthesis of planned and adopted resilience was revealed to be pivotal in generating sustainable social and economic performance for hotels. This synthesis catalyzes the hotels' ability to mitigate uncertainties, adjust to changing environment, and ensure long-term viability. This research might contribute to the current literature by suggesting industry-specific awareness for the reciprocal relationship between planned and adopted resilience in the hotel businesses and their combined influence on both sides of sustainability (social and economic). The findings provide actionable recommendations for hotel management, policymakers, and industry stakeholders to enhance resilience, foster social cohesion, and ensure the economic sustainability of heritage tourism in an everchanging environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: With the increasing prevalence of dementia worldwide, there is a growing need for an integrated approach to dementia care. Little is known at present about the benefits of educational interventions for informal caregivers of people living with dementia (PLWD) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This review aimed to identify and synthesise the current research on these interventions. Method: Four databases (PsycINFO, Medline, Web of Sciences and Scopus) were searched, alongside Google Scholar and reference lists. The Downs and Black checklist was used for quality assessment and data relating to intervention characteristics, outcomes, and educational component features were compared. Results: Eighteen papers detailing 17 studies were included. All studies presented found at least one significant outcome/effect. Study comparison was difficult due to diverse methodologies, intervention structures, and outcomes. Study quality was also variable. Four studies had education as the primary focus, and most interventions utilised multicomponent and group-based designs. Interventions that included group delivery tended to find more significant results than individual approaches. Intervention length did not appear to influence efficacy. Regular delivery and an average intervention dosage of around 12 h appeared most effective. Conclusions: Research into educational interventions for caregivers in LMICs appears to be promising and can help guide future interventions towards clinical implementation. A multicomponent group intervention trialled in Egypt provided particularly favourable findings. Future studies should focus on understanding the active mechanisms within such interventions to optimize their effectiveness. Collaboration between LMICs, high-income countries (HICs), and caregivers is crucial in developing interventions tailored to meet caregiver needs whilst accounting for feasibility and equity for dementia care worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Self-medication (SM) is a rising public health issue, especially in developing countries. It can be associated with various problems such as the delayed seeking of medical advice, drug interactions, and serious events such as antimicrobial drug resistance. We aimed to evaluate the Egyptian general population's knowledge, attitudes, and practices of SM. Methods: We employed a cross-sectional design between February 7th and March 8th, 2023 using a self-administered questionnaire available in Arabic. The questionnaire was developed based on previous studies and included four domains: sociodemographic data, knowledge, attitude, and practice of SM. We utilized both online (Google Forms) and paper surveys, utilizing convenience and snowball sampling methods. Data were analyzed using R Statistical Software (v4.1.3; R Core Team 2022). Results: 1630 Egyptian individuals (838 females and 792 males) from the seven provinces were enrolled, with a median age of 25 years (IQR: 22–40). Around 55.97% and 48.28% of the participants had good knowledge and favorable attitudes regarding SM respectively, while 62.8% had practiced SM in the previous three months. The most frequently used medications were painkillers (60.74%) followed by antibiotics (32.13%) and antipyretics (28.61%). The pharmacist's recommendation was the source of SM for 53.61% while 31.53% used old medications at home. Most participants (59.08%) practiced SM because they thought they had simple or minor symptoms. The multivariate regression analysis revealed that females had significantly higher knowledge of SM than males (aOR: 2.10; 95%CI: 1.64—2.71; p-value < 0.001), with no significant differences in practice (aOR: 1.24; 95%CI: 0.99 – 1.56; p-value = 0.065). Individuals working or studying in the medical field were significantly more knowledgeable about SM (aOR: 4.30; 95%CI: 3.27–5.69; p-value < 0.001) and more likely to practice SM (aOR: 1.65; 95%CI: 1.26–2.17; p-value < 0.001). The odds of SM decreased with favorable attitudes (aOR: 0.44; 95%CI: 0.36–0.55; p-value < 0.001) while surprisingly, knowledge level was not significantly contributing to SM practice (aOR: 1.15; 95%CI: 0.90–1.48; p-value = 0.268). Conclusions: SM is prevalent in Egypt, highlighting the importance of raising awareness and encouraging physician consultation as a priority. Governments, healthcare organizations, and educational institutions need to collaborate to provide the necessary support and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Egypt's need for clean and renewable energy is pressing for numerous reasons, such as unpredictable fuel prices, diminishing fossil fuel resources, and growing concern about environmental degradation. Harvesting untapped geothermal resources could meet domestic electricity needs besides enabling Egypt to export electricity. The location of Egypt confirms that it has suitable geothermal energy potential areas in some provinces around the country, especially along the Gulf of Suez, the Red Sea, and the Western Desert. The Red Sea coast and the coasts of the Gulf of Suez exhibit several surface manifestations (hot springs and thermal water wells), indicating the presence of geothermal systems in these areas. The objective of this paper is to investigate the geothermal resources and obtain a full image of the geothermal potential of the Hurghada area along the Red Sea coast using geophysical potential field data. Aeromagnetic and aerogravity data were used to identify the most promising target regions for geothermal potentiality. Power spectral analysis of the aeromagnetic data was utilised to appraise the Curie point depth (CPD) and obtain geothermal gradient and heat flow maps of the Hurghada area, whereas a 3-D inversion of gravity data was utilised to estimate the depths to the Precambrian basement rocks. In addition to 3-D inversion of magnetic data to evaluate the spatial distribution of magnetic susceptibility. This study found no direct relationship between basement depths and the CPD, where basement rock outcrops at some locations correlate to a decrease in the Curie surface, while at others, they correspond to an increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of climate change on heritage collections in Mediterranean museums are serious and lead to accelerated material degradation, loss of value, increasing conservation costs and climatisation. Climate change scenarios and simulation models have been developed to predict the extreme and average future environmental conditions and to assess the future long-term risks caused by global warming for museum buildings and their collections in Mediterranean countries, with Egypt being particularly at risk. This paper presents the results of the risk analysis of the indoor and outdoor environments in Alexandria Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA) in Egypt to provide an overview of the current situation of conservation and museum management and to provide evidence-based data to support decision-making regarding preventive conservation given the museum's limited funding, capacity and resources. Unfortunately, the air quality in the museum cannot be considered satisfactory and specific measures need to be taken to improve the level of air quality and museum and building management. The results enabled an assessment of indoor air quality and provided information on potential risks to the museum building and collections, including variations in temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH), concentrations of NO2, SO2, O3, CO2, acetic and formic acid and lighting conditions, as well as the location and management of the museum. The results necessitate the development of a preventive conservation plan to address the challenges associated with high T/RH fluctuations and pollution pressure. This requires more regular use of the HVAC system within certain T/RH set points as well as minimising light exposure and the use of UV-filtering glazing. Care should be taken to ensure that housekeeping and emergency preparedness reduce the damping and salt florescence in the museum building. However, dealing with the impact of climate change on indoor and outdoor environments and museum collections in Mediterranean museums requires a holistic and adaptive approach that includes joint collaboration, research, training and strategic planning to ensure the long-term preservation of valuable cultural heritage collections in different climates with customised adaptations based on local environmental conditions, resources and needs. Resilience planning should be region-specific and take into account the potential impacts of extreme weather events, sea level rise and other climate-related challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the present status of energy storage implementation and research in Arab countries (ACs) is investigated. The different technologies of energy storage are reviewed then projects and capacities of installed or planned energy storage systems in the ACs are summarized based on published literature. In ACs, the installed and planned capacity of pumped hydro storage is 4365 MW, while for battery storage it is 5597 MW. No compressed energy storage projects are installed or planned in the near future. Green hydrogen as a fuel is planned in Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco. Renewable energy as a main employer of energy storage is predicted for the next 30 years; similarly, energy storage capacity is forecasted for the next 30 years. To enhance energy storage implementation it is recommended to include energy storage in all new commercial renewable energy projects. In addition to creating a regulatory framework that encourages the development of energy storage schemes. To advance research in the energy storage, modeling and simulation of energy storage systems in residential, commercial, and industrial sectors are recommended. In addition, cold energy storage for cooling and air‐conditioning using phase change material to be investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]