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Objective: Spinal cord ischemia (SCI) is a potentially devastating complication of thoracic and thoraco-abdominal endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR and TAEVAR) that can result in varying degrees of short-term and permanent disability. This study was undertaken to evaluate the incidence, investigate the risk factors of SCI, and describe the clinical outcomes, reversibility, long-term functional impact, and influence on survival of SCI Methods: This study employed a retrospective design to investigate patients who underwent TEVAR and TAEVAR successfully within the past 11 years between January 2012 and June 2022 in a single center. The analysis focused on factors such as incidence, personal history, and detailed assessment of medical and surgical risk factors. Data was retrieved from medical records. SCI was defined by any new lower neurologic deficit not attributable to another cause and diagnosed through clinical examination immediately after emergence from anesthesia and frequently postoperatively, as well as during follow-up outpatient clinic visits. Results: A total of 137 patients were enrolled in the study. Among them, 15 patients developed lower limb paralysis with an incidence of 10.95%, three patients (20.1%) developed paralysis immediately postoperatively, and five patients (33.3%) developed paralysis on day 1 postoperatively (33.3%). Furthermore, the remaining patients experienced delayed onset paralysis, with the most recent case occurring 26 days after the operation. In terms of reversibility, nine patients had complete reversal of their motor and sensory symptoms to the baseline preoperative status. Two patients experienced a partial reversal of their symptoms, and four patients had persistent symptoms without any improvement. Data showed that 12 out of 81 patients (14.8%) who had functioning spinal drains developed paralysis. The duration of the procedure was the most significant risk factor for paralysis. Patients with a mean duration of 270 min had a higher risk of paralysis. Conclusion: Prediction of paralysis post-TEVAR and TAEVAR remains challenging, with data analysis indicating that the duration of the procedure is the sole statistically significant variable to consider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variable single and/or swarms of post-granitic dikes are widespread at Gabal Serbal, Southwestern Sinai, Egypt. The present article aims to identify and discriminate these multiphase dikes through detailed geological, petrographical, and geochemical examinations. These dikes are classified into two subphases: (1) acidic dikes (porphyritic dacite, microgranite, granophyre, and alkaline granophyre dikes); and (2) basic dikes (basalt and dolerite dikes). They range from vertical or steeply inclined bodies, 0.5–15 m wide, pink to black color, and NE–SW to N–S directions. Acidic dikes with different mineralogical constituents have medium to high k-characters, originating from calc-alkaline magma and extruded in a volcanic arc environment. In contrast, basic dikes have medium k-characters, originating from tholeiitic magma and developing within a plate environment. Basic dikes are enriched with opaque minerals, where the basaltic dike contains iron oxides (magnetite and hematite), such as apatite in addition to copper minerals. Dolerite dike comprises magnetite, titanomagnetite, and pyrite.

Granite rocks are currently one of the foremost raw materials that can be used for various economic purposes such as ornamentation and building materials, because they do not possess radioactive concentrations and have good physical and mechanical properties. The granite rocks of north Um Taghir are connected to neoproterozoic rocks and integrated to the north Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS), which lies in Northeast Africa. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and X-ray fluorescence analysis, concurrent to some statistical analysis, have been carried for major oxides and some trace elements to extract much fundamental information by following certain mathematical methods. The exposed granite rock units in north Um Taghir are classified into four rock units represented by tonalite, granodiorite, monzogranite, and alkali-feldspar granite which are cut by different types of dikes. The magma of tonalite and granodiorite is low-to-medium K calc-alkaline affinity, while the magma of monzogranite and alkali-feldspar granite is medium-to-high K calc-alkaline affinity, and of metaluminous to peraluminous nature. Granite rocks show a slightly depletion of fractionated patterns from light rare earth elements (LREEs) to heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) with slightly positive to negative Eu anomalies from tonalite to monzogranite and alkali-feldspar granites. The statistical criteria have been achieved to explore the significant differences of radiological hazard parameters among samples. It is obvious that there is no homogeneity among samples; furthermore, in Kruskal–Wallis test, Mann–Whitney test, and Pearson correlation coefficient, it can be noticed that there are significant differences between each pair of samples: tonalite, monzogranite; tonalite, alkali-feldspar granite; granodiorite, monzogranite; and granodiorite, alkali-feldspar granite. There is a strong direct relationship among granodiorite and both tonalite and alkali-feldspar granite, and among alkali-feldspar granite and tonalite and granodiorite. There is a strong inverse relationship among monzogranite and tonalite, granodiorite, and alkali-feldspar granite. As stated by all results, it can be mentioned that the granite rocks have a worthy result of mechanical and physical properties. So that they can be used for various economic purposes.

This work is mainly concerned with the effect of anthropogenic activities, the presence of black sand spots, factory construction, and shipping, in addition to other activities like agriculture, on soil heavy metal pollution along the Mediterranean shores of Lake El-Burullus, Egypt, to assess the contamination levels and to identify possible sources and the distribution of these metals. This study focuses on the various heavy metal contamination levels in El-Burullus Lake coastal sediments. Sediment samples were collected and analyzed by the XRF technique for heavy metals, including Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Zr, Pb, Ba, Sr, Ga, Rb, V, and Nb. Statistical analyses, including correlation coefficient, factor analysis, and cluster analysis, were employed to understand the interactions and sources of these metals. The highest concentrations recorded were for Zr (84–1436 mg/kg) and Pb (1–1166 mg/kg), with average concentrations of 455.53 mg/kg and 79.27 mg/kg, respectively. Cr, Zr, Nb, and Pb showed average values higher than the average shale concentration, indicating potential pollution. Correlation analysis revealed strong associations between several metals, suggesting common sources of both natural and anthropogenic origin and similar distribution patterns. Factor analysis indicated four main factors accounting for 94.069% of the total variance, with the first factor heavily dominated by Cr, Ni, Zn, and Ba. The contamination factor (Cf) and degree (DC) analyses revealed varying contamination levels, with most metals exhibiting the greatest values in the western half of the area. The pollution load index (PLI) indicated high-quality sediment samples without significant pollution. Our findings highlight the importance of continued monitoring and management techniques to reduce possible environmental and health concerns associated with these pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In relation to its rapid infrastructure expansion, exemplified by projects like the Najran Valley Dam or the rehabilitation of agricultural terraces, Saudi Arabia stands out among the Arabian Gulf nations. To mitigate the earthquake-related risks effectively, it is imperative to conduct an exhaustive analysis of its natural hazards. The southwesternmost region of Saudi Arabia is the main subject area of this study for the probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA), which aims to identify the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration (SA) values. The investigation encompasses a 10% and 5% probability of occurrence over a 50-year exposure time for both B/C and C NEHRP soils. In order to take into account the earthquake activity that takes place in the vicinity of the Red Sea Rift, which in fact may have an impact on the seismic hazard in this active tectonic region, different seismic source zones were especially designed for this evaluation. Various characteristics such as the uncertainties related to the b-value, the expected maximum magnitude, and different ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) were integrated using a logic tree scheme. Additionally, regression relationships between the computed ground motion values were established, and a novel design response spectrum was developed and recommended for several cities. Regarding the key findings, it is significant to highlight that the seismic hazard decreases towards the northeast, when moving away from the Red Sea Rift, confirming anticipated trends where proximity to the rift corresponds to increased seismic hazard. Notably, cities such as Farasan Island, Jazan, Al Qunfundhah, Al Lith and Al Birk present the highest observed hazard values among all the cities analyzed. For these cities, the obtained maximum SA values for both 475 and 975 years under B/C site conditions are as follows: 0.268 g and 0.412 g, 0.121 g and 0.167 g, 0.099 g and 0.150 g, 0.083 g and 0.135 g, and 0.066 g and 0.118 g, respectively. These results emphasize the crucial necessity of adequately evaluating and thoroughly updating the seismic hazard inherent to these particular areas to enhance the risk reduction and disaster readiness initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quaking (QKI) is a tumor-suppressor gene encoding a conserved RNA-binding protein, whose expression is downregulated in several solid tumors. Here we report that QKI plays an important role in the immune response and suppression of leukemogenesis. We show that the expression of Qki is reduced in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged macrophages, suggesting that Qki is a key regulator of LPS signaling pathway. Furthermore, LPS-induced downregulation of Qki expression is miR-155-dependent. Qki overexpression impairs LPS-induced phosphorylation of JNK and particularly p38 MAPKs, in addition to increasing the production of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. In contrast, Qki ablation decreases Fas expression and the rate of Caspase3/7 activity, while increasing the levels of IL-1α, IL-1β and IL-6, and p38 phosphorylation. Similarly, the p38 pathway is also a target of QKI activity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)-derived MEC2 cells. Finally, B-CLL patients show lower levels of QKI expression compared with B cells from healthy donor, and Qki is similarily downregulated with the progression of leukemia in Eµ-miR-155 transgenic mice. Altogether, these data implicate QKI in the pathophysiology of inflammation and oncogenesis where miR-155 is involved.

This study explores the use of mathematical modeling to evaluate the performance of conventional activated sludge systems at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). With expanding objectives and increasingly strict regulations, mathematical modeling provides a valuable tool for evaluating WWTP performance. The research focuses on Gamasa WWTP located in the Dakahlia governorate. Historical data, design reports, and additional analyses were collected through site visits and a comprehensive sampling campaign. The wastewater was characterized, and the plant-wide model was calibrated following the protocol of the Dutch Foundation of Applied Water Research STOWA. Sensitivity analysis is done to identify the most important kinetic and stoichiometric parameters to be adjusted during the calibration process. The most sensitive parameters were aerobic yield, anoxic yield, ordinary heterotrophic maximum specific growth rate, ordinary heterotrophic substrate half saturation, ordinary heterotrophic aerobic decay rate, soluble unbiodegradable COD, COD: VSS ratio, endogenous residue COD: VSS ratio, non-colloidal slowly biodegradable COD, ammonia oxidizing bacteria maximum specific growth rate, ammonia to total kjheldahl nitrogen fraction, ammonification, soluble unbiodegradable TKN, aerobic yield, N in biomass, ammonia oxidizing bacteria substrate half saturation, ammonia oxidizing bacteria aerobic decay rate, nitrite oxidizing bacteria maximum specific growth rate and aerobic yield, and phosphate to total phosphorus fraction. The model's validity was assessed using different validation periods, with average relative deviation (ARD) values below 20% considered acceptable. Overall, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of mathematical modeling in evaluating the performance of current WWTPs and developing a mathematical model which can be used for the improvement of the WWTP to meet stringent wastewater treatment regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]