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Study region: The Miocene Fluvial Moghra Aquifer in the North Western Desert of Egypt Study focus: The study integrates stable isotope analyses with aeromagnetic and hydrogeological datasets to accomplish the following: (1) define the primary source(s) of recharge to the Moghra aquifer, (2) assess aquifer connectivity with the Nile River aquifer, and (3) investigate the vertical connectivity of the Moghra aquifer with the underlying Nubian Aquifer System (NAS) through subvertical faults. New hydrological insights for the region: The findings reveal (1) significant heterogeneity in groundwater isotopic compositions (Group A: δ18O: 1.1–13.8 ‰; δD: 4.6–73.5 ‰, B: δ18O:−0.99 to 0.85; δD: −7.58 to 4.38 ‰; and C: δ18O:−1.1 to −3.4; δD: − 6.3 to −18.2 ‰) indicative of variability in recharge sources. (2) Groundwater compositions west (up to 30 km) of the Nile River (Group A) resemble enriched modern Nile waters following the Aswan High Dam (AHD) construction that give way further west to relatively depleted groundwater (Group B) resembling historical pre-AHD Nile water compositions. (3) Further west from Group B depleted Group C samples occur along intersections of multiple fault systems (NW and NE-oriented faults) interpreted as mixtures of rising highly-depleted paleo Nubian Aquifer System (NAS) waters and pre-AHD Nile waters. (4) The advocated structural control is reported in similar settings in Egypt, suggesting that intersections of multiple fault systems provide regional connections between deep and shallow aquifers in northeast Africa, recharge overlying shallow aquifers, and should be considered in groundwater management scenarios.

Due to the huge amount of energy induced from earthquakes, such natural hazards usually represent the most significant threat on existing and new buildings. Recently, a lot of considerable efforts were dedicated to design buildings capable of withstanding earthquakes' ground motions by utilizing lateral resisting elements, such as reinforced concrete shear walls, cores, frames, and steel bracing. Contrasting the experience gained from the previously designed guidelines and provisions for lateral resisting systems, recent studies illustrated that the existence of lateral resisting system in low-rise buildings is essential in order to resist ground motions. As such, some endeavors are directed to reinforce old buildings against seismic loads. This paper focuses on investigating the efficiency of using Carbon Fiber Polymer (CFRP) sheets on the behavior of beam–column connections considering a cantilever beam with concentrated load at its free end. In addition, to complement the published data, finite element model using the computer package ANSYS was used. The additional beam–column connections in this study are classified in 4 groups (A, B, C, and D) depending on the percentage of reinforcement at the bottom and top of the beam (%As). The efficiency of using CFRP was concluded; the CFRP sheet improves or decreases the efficiency of beam–column connection depending on %As in the beam. The paper investigates the influence of boundary condition, columns as hinged supports, and the efficiency of using CFRP. It is concluded that the CFRP sheet improves or decreases the efficiency of beam–column connection depending on %As in the beam.

Base-isolation is an efficient technique for improving the seismic performance of building structures. The damping modification factor is a spectral scaling factor adopted in international seismic codes for the design of such structures. The suitability of national expressions for damping modification factor proposed for the Egyptian code was assessed. These national expressions were used for the first time to design base-isolated buildings and study their seismic performance compared to their fixed-base counterparts using response history analyses. The output responses used for comparison included stories' displacements, stories' shear forces, inter-storey drift ratios and stories' accelerations. It was shown that roof storey displacement can be reduced by up to 28% when using base-isolation for taller buildings. The base-isolated buildings were characterized by small inter-storey drifts not exceeding 0.13% and small floor accelerations which cannot be achieved simultaneously for fixed-base cases. The base shear forces were also reduced considerably by using base-isolation and they in some cases reached 29% of the values for the fixed case. In addition, the isolators' displacements and the base shear forces were computed using code static analysis based on national and international damping modification factors where good agreement was shown. However, the national expressions tended to be more conservative for taller buildings due to their period dependent nature. This study have shown the suitability of the proposed national expressions to upgrade the Egyptian code rather than adopting international codes' expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Worldwide, particularly in developing nations, helminth infections are the leading causes of livestock illness and mortality. Parascaris (P.) equorum, a parasitic worm from the Ascarididae family, significantly impacts the production, health, and working performance of equines. This study aimed to investigate the impact of intraperitoneal sensitization of P. equorum on the immune system, oxidative stress, and histology in Wistar rats. After acclimatization for 7 days, we divided the rats into five groups, each consisting of six rats. Group I, serving as the control, was administered distilled water, followed by groups II (day 7), III (day 14), IV (day 21), and V (day 33). The rats were euthanized every day mentioned (Days 7–33). On day 0, a dosage of 1ml/100 gm rat (containing 500 μg/ml protein content) emulsified crude antigen extract with an incomplete Freund’s adjuvant (1:1 volume), followed by a second dose of the same antigen concentration on day 7. To assess the allergenicity of this nematode, we measured a whole blood profile, serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, and IL-33, total immunoglobulins IgE and IgG, and oxidative stress markers. Also, we examined histological changes in the liver, kidney, and spleen. The results showed that values of total leukocyte count, granulocytes, monocytes, and lymphocytes were significantly (P

Image registration determines the relative orientation between two images. As there are different techniques for image registration, it is important to compare these techniques to identify the advantages and disadvantages of each one. In this paper, a comparison between a fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based technique, a contour-based technique, a wavelet-based technique, a Harris–Pulse Coupled Neural Network (PCNN)-based technique and Harris–Moment-based technique is presented. The algorithms were tested on Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and SPOT remote sensing images and its performance were compared using the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). It has been concluded that the order of techniques with less RMSE is the PCNN, the moment, the contour, the wavelet and the FFT-based techniques, respectively. Whereas the order of techniques with the less running time is the contour, the wavelet, the moment, the FFT and the PCNN-based techniques, respectively. And finally the technique that detects the more control points in both images is the wavelet.