Nile Delta Of Egypt Research Articles

Assessment of desertification using modified MEDALUS model in the north Nile Delta, Egypt

Understanding spatial patterns of environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) to desertification is essential for sustainable land use in the drylands. This work is a novel trial for integrating the erosion quality index (EQI) with a modified Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use (MEDALUS) method and factor analysis to define ESAs to desertification. The model was then applied within 8607.13 km2 (860713 ha) in the north Nile Delta of Egypt as a case study. Climate data, satellite imageries, field observations, and samples collected from 105 soil profiles were analyzed to characterize five thematic quality indices of soil, climate, vegetation, management, and erosion. These indices were weighted based on the factor analysis (FA) and superimposed under the GIS environment in a single map using the weighted sum model. The proposed model showed that 72% of the total area was classified as critical-sensitive to desertification where 70% was classified as highly-critical, while 2% as moderately-critical. No significant difference (p < 0.001) was observed between the results of the proposed model and those calculated by the geometric mean algorithm (MEDALUS model) with R2 and root mean square error of 0.88 and 0.11, respectively. The average linear sensitivity analysis showed that using weights derived from the FA could assimilate the results of the proposed model closer to reality rather than equal weights used in the MEDALUS model. The developed model would improve the insight into desertification processes in the studied area, thereby suitable conservation practices would be adopted in time.

An Evaluation of a New Scheme for Determination of Irrigation Depths in the Egyptian Nile Delta

Innovative irrigation techniques should be implemented to improve irrigation management in dryland countries. In this regard, a new scheme, that uses three sets of irrigation depth and numerically simulated cumulative transpiration, was evaluated in the Egyptian Nile delta in 2020. Presuming that water is volumetrically priced, the proposed scheme can maximize net incomes at optimum irrigation depths considering quantitative weather forecasts. A field experiment was carried out with a randomized complete block design using a major crop, maize, to assess the feasibility of the proposed scheme in comparison to a sensor-based irrigation method under conditions of dry climate and clay loamy soil. The proposed scheme could increase the gross net income of farmers and conserve irrigation by 21% and 35%, respectively, compared to a sensor-based irrigation method, although the yield and its components were almost the same with no significant statistical differences. The model could accurately simulate soil water content in the topsoil layers with a RMSE of 0.02 cm3 cm−3. The proposed scheme could be a useful tool to spare the costs of expensive soil monitoring sensors while saving water and improving net income.

Phytoplankton dynamics and renewable energy potential induced by the environmental conditions of Lake Burullus, Egypt.

The research evaluates the spatio-temporal phytoplankton community structure and abundance along with the pollution sources and the lake bioenergy potential, primarily in order to better understand the interplay of the environmental factors affecting them in inland coastal waters. Burullus Lake, located in the north of the Nile Delta of Egypt, is selected as a case study area. Field investigations along with sampling of lake water from 55 sites in the period 20-25 September 2020 are performed. The physicochemical analysis is carried out for the lake water bathymetry, temperature (T°C), pH, salinities (total dissolved solids (TDS) and electric conductivity), and nutrient contents (nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and phosphate). Phytoplankton identification and biological analysis are used to document the taxa and abundance along with their contents of chlorophyll-a, protein, carbohydrates, and lipids. Then, the trophic index (TRIX), along with the total phytoplankton biomass and the energy potentials, is estimated. Statistical analyses were appraised for the univariate summary statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, multivariate statistical analysis including principal component analysis (PCA), and clustering techniques (both geographic position and the k-means clustering) which were conducted using the PAST 4.03 package. The geostatistical modeling of the ordinary kriging implemented in the ArcGIS 9.3 package was appraised for mapping the studied parameters. Results clarified ranges with wide variations for the water depth of 0.90-2 m (av. 130.5 cm), T°C of 26.6-30.20°C (av. 28.3 °C), alkaline pH of 7.78-8.92 (av. 8.6), and TDS of 0.3-17.09 (av. 4.33) gm/l. Ranges of nutrients (mg/l) are also widely varied with nitrates of 0.44-8.36 (av. 3.5), nitrites of 0.004-7.45 (av. 0.4), ammonia range of 0.03-8.54 (av. 1.4), and phosphate of 0.1-4.9 (av. 0.9). A much-diversified phytoplankton community showed maximum counts of 1005 × 103 units.l-1 to a minimum of 340 × 103 units.l-1 for a total of 145 taxa from 61 genera and six classes typically of freshwater forms. The largest biomass (3.06 × 10-3 kg/m3) and energy potential (19.87 × 10-3 kWh/kg) marked the downstream area of the Brimbal Canal, followed by the area located in front of the eastern Burullus and El-Gharbiya drains, which exhibited 2.76 × 10-3 kg/m3 and 17.96 × 10-3 kWh/kg, for the biomass and the energy potential, respectively. Geographic position and k-means clustering techniques distinguished three homogenous classes of marked intra-class variations. PCA analysis distinguished three principal components summed for about 95% of the variations. Intense environmental pollution at the drain downstream areas is indicated by many fish mortality occurrences that were related to the blooms of the toxic Microcystis aeruginosa among the cyanophyte species, and also due to the dominance of the Euglena spp. and Phacus spp. of the Euglenophyceae, which assimilate lots of organic matters in these areas. Lake water movement in the form of turbulent flows and mixing regimes is affected by wind direction and the amount of flows from the sea drains. The estuarine Nile canal has a great effect on the water's physicochemical properties, particularly the nutrient loads, inducing the phytoplankton composition and abundance, total biomass, and the biological contents hence the energy potential. Nutrient load from discharged water from drains was a major contributor to raising the total algae counts and their corresponding contents of the carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and the chlorophyll-a, which arranged in decreasing order of influence. Phytoplankton dynamics are mostly linked to climatic, hydrologic fluctuation of the drain water flows, and hence, the associated nutrient load discharged from land use changes to fish farms and the related agricultural practices south of the lake. The adopted integrated analyses proved promising, which confirmed the combined effects of environmental factors on lake pollution and the bioenergy potentials.

Assessment of Soil Pollution Levels in North Nile Delta, by Integrating Contamination Indices, GIS, and Multivariate Modeling

The proper assessment of trace element concentrations in the north Nile Delta of Egypt is needed in order to reduce the high levels of toxic elements in contaminated soils. The objectives of this study were to assess the risks of contamination for four trace elements (nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), and boron (B)) in three different layers of the soil using the geoaccumulation index (I-geo) and pollution load index (PLI) supported by GIS, as well as to evaluate the performance of partial least-square regression (PLSR) and multiple linear regression (MLR) in estimating the PLI based on data for the four trace elements in the three different soil layers. The results show a widespread contamination of I-geo Ni, Co, Cr, and B in the three different layers of the soil. The I-geo values varied from 0 to 4.74 for Ni, 0 to 6.56 for Co, 0 to 4.11 for Cr, and 0 to 4.57 for B. According to I-geo classification, the status of Ni, Cr, and B ranged from uncontaminated/moderately contaminated to strongly/extremely contaminated. Co ranged from uncontaminated/moderately contaminated to extremely contaminated. There were no significant differences in the values of I-geo for Ni, Co, Cr, and B in the three different layers of the soil. According to the PLI classification, the majority of the samples were very highly polluted. For example, 4.76% and 95.24% of the samples were unpolluted and very highly polluted, respectively, in the surface layer of the soil profiles. Additionally, 14.29% and 85.71% of the samples were unpolluted and very highly polluted, respectively, in the subsurface layer of the soil profiles. Both calibration (Cal.) and validation (Val.) models of the PLSR and MLR showed the highest performance in predicting the PLI based on data for the four studied trace elements, as an alternative method. The validation (Val.) models performed the best in predicting the PLI, with R2 = 0.89–0.93 in the surface layer, 0.91–0.96 in the subsurface layer, 0.89–0.94 in the lowest layers, and 0.92–0.94 across the three different layers. In conclusion, the integration of the I-geo, PLI, GIS technique, and multivariate models is a valuable and applicable approach for the assessment of the risk of contamination for trace elements, and the PLSR and MLR models could be used through applying chemometric techniques to evaluate the PLI in different layers of the soil.

Phytoplankton Composition in Relation to Its Nutritional Value in Burullus Lagoon, Egypt

Burullus Lagoon is a brackish water lake in the Nile Delta of Egypt. This study assumed that changes in environmental conditions affect phytoplankton species composition and their biochemical structure. The biochemical content of phytoplankton is considered as an initiatory study at Lake Brullus. Winter versus summer cruises from twelve sites representing the eastern, middle and western main lake basins were performed during 2018. Phytoplankton revealed a seasonally variation which attained the lowest value during winter season (72300 Unit/L) and the highest levels during summer season (88700 Unit/L). This is coincided with high total protein content (2692.5 mg/l) in summer. Chlorophyceae was the first major class by (37.9 %) followed by Bacillariophyceae (29.31%), then Cyanophyceae (20.7%), while, Euglenophyceae and Dinophyceae are rare classes constitute (8.63% and 3.4% respectively). Middle of the lake recorded the maximum total biochemical contents in winter (870.5, 57.6 and 6.1 mg/l of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids, respectively), this results corresponding to the elevation of total phytoplankton density at this central basin (29200 Unit/L), especially the Chlorophyceae (13700 Unit/L). The western basin had an optimum total biochemical structure in summer (1909.1, 55.4 and 6.5 mg/l) of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids, respectively, where phytoplankton was increased to 56000 Unit/L. The middle and western basins lied in mesotrophic to eutrophic state according to the Q index. Excessive nutrients loads by drainage water into the lagoon lead to significant pronounced effect in the phytoplankton biodiversity raise the urgent need for lagoon management strategies.

Applications of Gaussian process regression for predicting blue water footprint: Case study in Ad Daqahliyah, Egypt

Timely and reliable water footprint prediction is imperative and prerequisite to mitigate climate risk and ensure water and food security and enhance the water-use efficiency. This study aims to model the Water Footprint (WF) by using the four kernels of Gaussian processes models (Polynomial, Normalized Poly, Radial Basis Function RBF, and Pearson Universal Function PUK) and select the best kernel with best climate scenario. This study investigates the predicting WF of maize based on meteorological variables including maximum temperature (Tmax), minimum temperature (Tmin), mean temperature (Tmean), solar radiation (SR), wind speed (WS), and vapor pressure deficit (VPD), Extraterrestrial radiation (Ra) relative humidity (RH) and crop coefficient (Kc) by applying ten scenarios of climate variables in the Egyptian Nile Delta, Ad Daqahliyah Governorate for predicting blue WF of maize during 2000–2019. The main findings are following as, firstly; based on developing four kernels, the performance of the PUK kernel in predicting blue WF is far better than the other three kernels followed by the Poly kernel. Secondly; for PUK kernel, model 7 (Tmax, Tmin, Tmean, WS, Sunshine Hours (SH), VPD and SR) has good performance which is close to models 8 (model 7 +Ra), model 9 (model 7 +Ra and RH) and model 10 (all inputs). Thirdly; in all four kernels, the error rate in small blue WF values is higher than the other values, moreover, the error value decreases at the medium blue WF values, while, it increases again at large WF values. Therefore, the developed models in this study can help and promote the decision makers to manage and secure the water resources management under the extreme climate events.

Phytoremediation Perspectives of Seven Aquatic Macrophytes for Removal of Heavy Metals from Polluted Drains in the Nile Delta of Egypt.

Simple SummarySome main drains in the Nile Delta of Egypt are subjected to heavy pollution loads and used to irrigate crops and vegetables. Here, we assessed the pollution level and the ability of some wild aquatic macrophytes (Cyperus alopecuroides, Echinochloa stagnina, Eichhornia crassipes, Ludwigia stolonifera, Phragmites australis, Ranunculus sceleratus, and Typha domingensis) to accumulate eight heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Co, Cd, Ni, and Pb) in three of the polluted drains (Amar, El-Westany, and Omar-Beck). The sediment in the three drains exceeded the worldwide permissible ranges of Cu, Zn, and Pb, but it ranged within safe limits for Mn, Cd, Ni, and Co. P. australis accumulated the highest levels of Fe, Co, Cd, and Ni, while E. crassipes contained the highest concentrations of Cu, Zn, Mn and Pb. The bioaccumulation factor was > 1 for the investigated heavy metals (except Cu) in all species, except C. alopecuroides. Accordingly, these species could be applied for the accumulation and phytostabilization of these metals.The current study addressed the heavy metals accumulation potentials of seven perennial aquatic macrophytes (Cyperus alopecuroides, Echinochloa stagnina, Eichhornia crassipes, Ludwigia stolonifera, Phragmites australis, Ranunculus sceleratus and Typha domingensis) and the pollution status of three drains (Amar, El-Westany and Omar-Beck) in the Nile Delta of Egypt. Nine sites at each drain were sampled for sediment and plant analyses. Concentrations of eight metals (Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, Co, Cd, Ni, and Pb) were determined in the sediment and the aboveground and belowground tissues of the selected macrophytes. Bioaccumulation factor (BF) and translocation factor (TF) were computed for each species. The sediment heavy metals concentrations of the three drains occurred in the following order: El-Westany > Amar > Omar-Beck. The concentrations of sediment heavy metals in the three drains were ordered as follows: Fe (438.45–615.17 mg kg−1) > Mn (341.22–481.09 mg kg−1) > Zn (245.08–383.19 mg kg−1) > Cu (205.41–289.56 mg kg−1) > Pb (31.49–97.73 mg kg−1) > Cd (13.97–55.99 mg kg−1) > Ni (14.36–39.34 mg kg−1) > Co (1.25–3.51 mg kg−1). The sediment exceeded the worldwide permissible ranges of Cu, Zn and Pb, but ranged within safe limits for Mn, Cd, Ni and Co. P. australis accumulated the highest concentrations of Fe, Co, Cd and Ni, while E. crassipes contained the highest concentrations of Cu, Zn, Mn, and Pb. Except for C. alopecuroides and Cu metal, the studied species had BF values greater than one for the investigated heavy metals. Nevertheless, the TFs of all species (except Cd in L. stolonifera) were less than one. Hence, the studied species are appropriate for accumulation, biomonitoring, and phytostabilization of the investigated metals.

Forecasting shoreline changes along the Egyptian Nile Delta coast using Landsat image series and Geographic Information System.

Before construction of the Aswan High Dam, the Nile Delta was expanding and advancing into the Mediterranean Sea. Subsequently, it became a highly destructive Delta due to the lack of sediment discharge, climate change, subsidence, and coastal processes (e.g. wind, waves, tides, and littoral currents). Many coastal structures have been erected to stop or mitigate coastal problems in the study area. We used 31 Landsat images to monitor the fluctuation of erosion and deposition along the study area. The shorelines in these huge datasets were extracted using standard techniques. Linear regression ratio (LRR) and end-point rate (EPR) were used with Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) software to determine the rates of beach changes; we then forecast future shoreline changes. The accuracy of the model's results was checked using the ground field measurements of several studies. This model also creates an estimate of the position uncertainty at each time step. The value of the uncertainty is low (approximately half a pixel) along the shorelines without coastal protection. This study aimed to forecast future beach evolution to the year 2041 to evaluate its sensibility and facilitate proposals for coastal protection for human safety and habitats if the coastal processes and climate change continue to worsen with time.

Morphological, Biochemical and Molecular Characterization of Rhizobia of Faba Bean Plants Grown in North Nile Delta Egypt.

&lt;b&gt;Background and Objective:&lt;/b&gt; Rhizobia are bacteria including genes codes for enzymes involved in the fixing of the atmospheric nitrogen. A set of twenty rhizobial isolates were studied to determine their morphological, biochemical, molecular characteristics using the 16S rRNA gene in addition to assess their growth and symbiotic performance. &lt;b&gt;Materials and Methods:&lt;/b&gt; Rhizobial isolates were isolated from root nodules of &lt;i&gt;Vicia faba &lt;/i&gt;L. plants. The isolates were morphologically characterized by determining cell shapes, size, Gram stain reaction, motility, sporulation, bacterial growth performance was determined by IAA production and biomass density. Symbiotic performance was measured by evaluation of nodulation status and shoot/root dry weight. Sequencing of 16S rRNA and phylogenetic analysis were done for the five promising isolates. Statistical analysis was performed using a one-sample Student t-test. &lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; Only five rhizobial isolates (Rh 32, Rh 6-A, Rh 3-4, Rh RL3 and Rh 8-A) were selected according to their growth and symbiotic performance and subjected to further molecular characterizations. All isolates were found to have remarkable nodulation status, IAA production, nitrogenase activity and increasing the root and shoot dry weight. The five selected rhizobial isolates were identified by partial sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and registered in the GenBank database. The alignment and phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA sequences closely related in the GenBank revealed that all isolates belonging to &lt;i&gt;Rhizobium leguminosarum&lt;/i&gt; bv. viciae. &lt;b&gt;Conclusion:&lt;/b&gt; The results confirmed that the five Rhizobial strains will be promising as a source of genes for nitrogen fixation and plant growth promotion.

Integration of Radiometric Ground-Based Data and High-Resolution QuickBird Imagery with Multivariate Modeling to Estimate Maize Traits in the Nile Delta of Egypt.

In site-specific management, rapid and accurate identification of crop stress at a large scale is critical. Radiometric ground-based data and satellite imaging with advanced spatial and spectral resolution allow for a deeper understanding of crop stress and the level of stress in a given area. This research aimed to assess the potential of radiometric ground-based data and high-resolution QuickBird satellite imagery to determine the leaf area index (LAI), biomass fresh weight (BFW) and chlorophyll meter (Chlm) of maize across well-irrigated, water stress and salinity stress areas in the Nile Delta of Egypt. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) and multiple linear regression (MLR) were evaluated to estimate the three measured traits based on vegetation spectral indices (vegetation-SRIs) derived from these methods and their combination. Maize field visits were conducted during the summer seasons from 28 to 30 July 2007 to collect ground reference data concurrent with the acquisition of radiometric ground-based measurements and QuickBird satellite imagery. The results showed that the majority of vegetation-SRIs extracted from radiometric ground-based data and high-resolution satellite images were more effective in estimating LAI, BFW, and Chlm. In general, the vegetation-SRIs of radiometric ground-based data showed higher R2 with measured traits compared to the vegetation-SRIs extracted from high-resolution satellite imagery. The coefficient of determination (R2) of the significant relationships between vegetation-SRIs of both methods and three measured traits varied from 0.64 to 0.89. For example, with QuickBird high-resolution satellite images, the relationships of the green normalized difference vegetation index (GNDVI) with LAI and BFW showed the highest R2 of 0.80 and 0.84, respectively. Overall, the ground-based vegetation-SRIs and the satellite-based indices were found to be in good agreement to assess the measured traits of maize. Both the calibration (Cal.) and validation (Val.) models of PLSR and MLR showed the highest performance in predicting the three measured traits based on the combination of vegetation-SRIs from radiometric ground-based data and high-resolution QuickBird satellite imagery. For example, validation (Val.) models of PLSR and MLR showed the highest performance in predicting the measured traits based on the combination of vegetation-SRIs from radiometric ground-based data and high-resolution QuickBird satellite imagery with R2 (0.91) of both methods for LAI, R2 (0.91–0.93) for BFW respectively, and R2 (0.82) of both methods for Chlm. The models of PLSR and MLR showed approximately the same performance in predicting the three measured traits and no clear difference was found between them and their combinations. In conclusion, the results obtained from this study showed that radiometric ground-based measurements and high spectral resolution remote-sensing imagery have the potential to offer necessary crop monitoring information across well-irrigated, water stress and salinity stress in regions suffering lack of freshwater resources.

Crustal Structure of the Nile Delta: Interpretation of Seismic-Constrained Satellite-Based Gravity Data

Interpretations of the tectonic setting of the Nile Delta of Egypt and its offshore extension are challenged by the thick sedimentary cover that conceals the underlying structures and by the paucity of deep seismic data and boreholes. A crustal thickness model, constrained by available seismic and geological data, was constructed for the Nile Delta by inversion of satellite gravity data (GOCO06s), and a two-dimensional (2D) forward density model was generated along the Delta’s entire length. Modelling results reveal the following: (1) the Nile Delta is formed of two distinctive crustal units: the Southern Delta Block (SDB) and the Northern Delta Basin (NDB) separated by a hinge zone, a feature widely reported from passive margin settings; (2) the SDB is characterized by an east–west-trending low-gravity (~−40 mGal) anomaly indicative of continental crust characteristics (depth to Moho (DTM): 36–38 km); (3) the NDB and its offshore extension are characterized by high gravity anomalies (hinge zone: ~10 mGal; Delta shore line: &gt;40 mGal; south Herodotus Basin: ~140 mGal) that are here attributed to crustal thinning and stretching and decrease in DTM, which is ~35 km at the hinge zone, 30–32 km at the shoreline, and 22–20 km south of the Herodotus Basin; and (4) an apparent continuation of the east-northeast–west-southwest transitional crust of the Nile Delta towards the north-northeast–south-southwest-trending Levant margin in the east. These observations together with the reported extensional tectonics along the hinge zone, NDB and its offshore, the low to moderate seismic activity, and the absence of volcanic eruptions in the Nile Delta are all consistent with the NDB being a non-volcanic passive margin transition zone between the North African continental crust (SDB) and the Mediterranean oceanic crust (Herodotus Basin), with the NDB representing a westward extension of the Levant margin extensional transition zone.

Persistent Colonic Schistosomiasis among Symptomatic Rural Inhabitants in the Egyptian Nile Delta.

Background and AimsHuman schistosomiasis is one of the most important and unfortunately neglected tropical diseases. The aim of the current study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of colonic schistosomiasis among symptomatic rural inhabitants of the Middle Northern region of the Egyptian Nile delta.Patients and MethodsThis study recruited 193 inhabitants of the rural community in the Egyptian Nile Delta referred for colonoscopy because of variable symptoms. After giving written informed consent, they were exposed to thorough history, clinical examination, stool analysis, abdominal ultrasonography, and pan-colonoscopy with biopsies.ResultsTwenty-four cases out of the 193 patients had confirmed active schistosomiasis with a prevalence rate of 12.4%. Bleeding with stool was the predominant manifestation of active Schistosoma infection among the cases either alone or in combination with abdominal pain. On clinical examination, most patients (n=17; 70.8%) did not have organomegaly, and 25% had clinically palpable splenomegaly as far as 75% of them had sonographically detected hepatic periportal fibrosis. Also, 66.6% of patients have significant endoscopic lesions (polyps, ulcers, mass-like lesions), and 16.6% of them had colonic affection beyond the recto-sigmoid region.ConclusionColonic schistosomiasis is still prevalent among the Egyptian Nile Delta’s symptomatic rural inhabitants at a rate of 12.4%. Of them, 66.6% had significant endoscopic colorectal lesions. This persistent transmission of schistosomiasis in the Egyptian Nile Delta’s rural community sounds the alarm for continuing governmental efforts and plans to screen the high-risk groups. The prevalence rate reported in the current study is lower than the actual prevalence rate of schistosomiasis due to focusing only on a subgroup of individuals.

Determination of Seroprevalence of Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia and Associated Risk Factors in Goats and Sheep Using Classification and Regression Tree.

Simple SummaryThe seroprevalence of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia in goats and sheep was determined and the associated risk factors were identified using the Classification and Regression Tree (CART) data mining model. The disease is more prevalent in older animals raised in a flock size ≥200 and that have communal feeding and watering. The CART model showed that the flock size >100 animals is the most important risk factor (importance score = 8.9), followed by age >4 y (5.3) and communal feeding and watering (3.1). The CART model showed more accuracy (area under the curve, AUC = 0.92 than the traditional logistic regression (AUC = 0.89).Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis is a potentially powerful tool for identifying risk factors associated with contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) and the important interactions between them. Our objective was therefore to determine the seroprevalence and identify the risk factors associated with CCPP using CART data mining modeling in the most densely sheep- and goat-populated governorates. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 620 animals (390 sheep, 230 goats) distributed over four governorates in the Nile Delta of Egypt in 2019. The randomly selected sheep and goats from different geographical study areas were serologically tested for CCPP, and the animals’ information was obtained from flock men and farm owners. Six variables (geographic location, species, flock size, age, gender, and communal feeding and watering) were used for risk analysis. Multiple stepwise logistic regression and CART modeling were used for data analysis. A total of 124 (20%) serum samples were serologically positive for CCPP. The highest prevalence of CCPP was between aged animals (>4 y; 48.7%) raised in a flock size ≥200 (100%) having communal feeding and watering (28.2%). Based on logistic regression modeling (area under the curve, AUC = 0.89; 95% CI 0.86 to 0.91), communal feeding and watering showed the highest prevalence odds ratios (POR) of CCPP (POR = 3.7, 95% CI 1.9 to 7.3), followed by age (POR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.6 to 2.8) and flock size (POR = 1.1, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.2). However, higher-accuracy CART modeling (AUC = 0.92, 95% CI 0.90 to 0.95) showed that a flock size >100 animals is the most important risk factor (importance score = 8.9), followed by age >4 y (5.3) followed by communal feeding and watering (3.1). Our results strongly suggest that the CCPP is most likely to be found in animals raised in a flock size >100 animals and with age >4 y having communal feeding and watering. Additionally, sheep seem to have an important role in the CCPP epidemiology. The CART data mining modeling showed better accuracy than the traditional logistic regression.

A multi-dimensional vulnerability assessment of Pingtan Island (China) and Nile Delta (Egypt) using ecological Sensitivity-Resilience-Pressure (SRP) model

Despite the recent progress on Ecological Vulnerability studies by developing index models, similar studies on the coastal areas are still rare. Pingtan’s main island of Fujian Province in China and the coastal area of Nile Delta in Egypt, have witnessed unprecedented development associated with fragile coastal areas. SRP model is a comprehensive model, utilized to evaluate the ecological vulnerability to provide a solid reference for the development of SRP model development. Research results indicated that the ecological vulnerability of the coastal areas of Nile Delta was slightly better than that of Pingtan’s main island in 2018, the former was almost at a micro level, while the latter was almost at a mild level (micro and mild vulnerable area accounted for 65.99%). Pingtan’s main island, showed a slight deterioration trend from west to east, and the characteristics of massive regional distribution, with a slight deterioration of the overall ecological environment of the planning area from 2013 to 2018. For the coastal area of Nile Delta, the ecological vulnerability was gradually increasing from the middle of the basin to the periphery, and the extremely vulnerable area was mainly distributed in the northern coastal area and the arid desert areas from 2018 to 2019. Moreover, according to the statistics results about the maximum weight of ecological pressure was 0.4989 on Pingtan’s main island and 0.4960 in the coastal area of Nile Delta, ecological sensitivity and pressure played a vital role in ecological vulnerability and spatial pattern of two study areas, which contain climate (mainly involving temperature, precipitation), vegetation, and human activities (mainly involving land-use, economy, and population). The current study not only confirmed the close relationship between ecological vulnerability, natural attributes, and human activities, also showed the strong applicability of SRP model in the coastal ecological fragile area.

A new addition to the embalmed fauna of ancient Egypt: Güldenstaedt's White-toothed Shrew, Crocidura gueldenstaedtii (Pallas, 1811) (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae).

The Falcon Necropolis at Quesna in the Nile Delta of Egypt is considered to have been founded by the priest Djedhor, the Saviour, of Athribis (Tell Atrib in modern Benha) at the beginning of the Ptolemaic Period. Recent excavations here have revealed abundant avian remains from mummies dedicated to the ancient Egyptian god Horus Khenty-Khety. Among the few mammal remains from the site are five species of shrews (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae), including some that we identified as Güldenstaedt’s White-toothed Shrew, Crocidura gueldenstaedtii (Pallas, 1811). Discovery of this species at Quesna increases the number of shrews recovered from ancient Egyptian archaeological sites to eight species. Crocidura gueldenstaedtii no longer occurs in the Nile Delta, and its presence in a diverse shrew fauna at Quesna that includes one other extirpated species, Crocidura fulvastra (Sundevall, 1843), supports the hypothesis of a moister regional environment 2000–3000 years ago. Inadvertently preserved local faunas, such as that from Quesna, can provide valuable information about ancient environments and subsequent turnover in faunal communities.

Systems-thinking approach to identify and assess feasibility of potential interventions to reduce antibiotic use in tilapia farming in Egypt

Antibiotics are used in aquaculture to maintain the health and welfare of stocks; however, the emergence and selection of antibiotic resistance in bacteria poses threats to humans, animals and the environment. Mitigation of antibiotic resistance relies on understanding the flow of antibiotics, residues, resistant bacteria and resistance genes through interconnecting systems, so that potential solutions can be identified and issues around their implementation evaluated. Participatory systems-thinking can capture the deep complexity of a system while integrating stakeholder perspectives. In this present study, such an approach was applied to Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) production in the Nile Delta of Egypt, where disease events caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens have been reported. A system map was co-produced with aquaculture stakeholders at a workshop in May 2018 and used to identify hotspots of antibiotic use, exposure and fate and to describe approaches that would promote fish health and thus reduce antibiotic use. Antibiotics are introduced into the aquaculture system via direct application for example in medicated feed, but residues may also be introduced into the system through agricultural drainage water, which is the primary source of water for most fish farms in Egypt. A follow-up survey of stakeholders assessed the perceived feasibility, advantages and disadvantages of potential interventions. Interventions that respondents felt could be implemented in the short-term to reduce antibiotic usage effectively included: more frequent water exchanges, regular monitoring of culture water quality parameters, improved storage conditions for feed, use of probiotics and greater access to farmer and service providers training programmes. Other potential interventions included greater access to suitable and rapid diagnostics, high quality feeds, improved biosecurity measures and genetically-improved fish, but these solutions were expected to be achieved as long-term goals, with cost being of one of the noted barriers to implementation. Identifying feasible and sustainable interventions that can be taken to reduce antibiotic use, and understanding implementation barriers, are important for addressing antibiotic resistance and ensuring the continued efficacy of antibiotics. This is vital to ensuring the productivity of the tilapia sector in Egypt. The approach taken in the present study provides a means to identify points in the system where the effectiveness of interventions can be evaluated and thus it may be applied to other food production systems to combat the problem of antibiotic resistance.

Uptake prediction of nine heavy metals by Eichhornia crassipes grown in irrigation canals: A biomonitoring approach

The principal objective of this study is to generate mathematical regression equations that facilitate the estimation of the extent to which Eichhornia crassipes (C. Mart.) Solms, water hyacinth, absorbs heavy metals (HMs) into four plant organs (laminae, petioles, roots, and stolons). This study considers the absorption of nine HMs (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn), and the E. crassipes evaluated in this study were located in three irrigation canals in the North Nile Delta in Egypt, with sampling being conducted in both monospecific and homogenous E. crassipes. Samples of both E. crassipes and water were collected on a monthly basis during one growing season. Analysis of the water samples showed that the HM concentrations ranged from 1.1 μg/l for Cd to 2079.8 μg/l for Fe. All HMs were more concentrated in the E. crassipes roots than in any other organ. Typically, there was a significant correlation between the HM levels in the water and the HM levels in the E. crassipes organs. E. crassipes was documented by a bioconcentration factor > 1.0 for all HMs. The translocation factor in this study was <1.0 for all HMs. The t-values that referred to the discrepancies between the measured and predicted values of the HMs in the four E. crassipes organs were not significant. This finding can be considered to be an indication of the goodness of fit with respect to the ability of the equations to forecast HM uptake. Therefore, the developed equations will benefit the prediction of HM uptake by E. crassipes grown in irrigation canals in the Nile Delta. The efficacy of E. crassipes as a metric for gauging the aggregate impact of environmental pollution in water sources and its potential application in biomonitoring are confirmed in this study.

Changes in alluvial soil quality under long-term irrigation with two marginal water sources in an arid environment

The current work aimed at verifying the modifications in chemical, physical, fertility, and environmental quality of alluvial soils southeast of the Nile Delta of Egypt following 25-years irrigation using two marginal water sources; agricultural drainage water (ADW) and sewage effluent water (SEW). Two sites irrigated with ADW and SEW were chosen and compared with a nearby site irrigated with the Nile freshwater. At each site, ten samples of irrigation water and adjacent (around 50 m) topsoil (0 – 30 cm) were collected and analyzed. Marginal water irrigation caused slight changes in soil properties. The soil chemical quality index was adversely affected through increasing the pH, electrical conductivity, and exchangeable sodium percentage. Available micro-nutrients (Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu) and P in SEW-irrigated soils were increased. The physical quality index was also increased, but mainly due to inherent soil properties (particle size distribution) rather than irrigation water. Parent materials governed soil total contents of Cr, Co and Ni, while contents of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were closely related to irrigation water. The environmental quality index showed increasing trend in the ADW-irrigated soils, while a decrease in the SEW-irrigated soils. The marginal water irrigation resulted in positive changes in soil quality index exhibiting increases of 14 and 21 % in the ADW- and SEW-irrigated soils over the Nile freshwater-irrigated soils, respectively. It is recommended to perform periodic monitoring for irrigation water and soil quality in the studied area. Proper in-situ remediation scenarios and on-farm practices should be considered in future management.

How Valuable are Noninvasive Tests as ‎Indicators of IBD Activity and Severity in ‎the Primary Health Care‎ ‎

Background and study aims: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammato­ry and destructive disease of the bowel wall. Chronic inflammation is associated with ulcerations, strictures, perforations and is a risk factor for dysplasia and cancer. To reduce these long-standing complications, IBD patients are continuously in a need for treatment and monitoring. Primary health care centers lack specific IBD management facilities although they receive a reasonable number of IBD patients. Markers, such as ESR, CRP, fecal calprotectin (FC) have been widely used as noninvasive parameters for IBD monitoring. The aim of the current study was to evaluate readily available non-invasive tests (FC, ESR, Platelets, serum total proteins, serum albumin and hemoglobin level) in predicting IBD activity and severity in the primary health care‎‎‎. Patients and Methods: This prospective study included 96 newly diagnosed IBD patients. Patients from many primary health care ‎centers covering the landscape of Kafr-Elshikh governorate in the North of Egyptian Nile delta after giving ‎complete history, clinical examination, and laboratory investigation were referred to IBD clinic at ‎Kafrelsheikh University Hospital for assessment and ileoclonoscopy with biopsies‎.‎ Results: Seventy-eight (81.2%) patients were ulcerative colitis and 18(18.8%) were Crohn's disease, with mean age ‎was 34.40 and 30.94 years respectively (P 0.380).FC, serum total proteins, ESR and HB level showed ‎statistically significant difference between baseline levels and levels at time of remission. However, platelet ‎count and serum albumin were not statistically different. The mean FC level at the time of diagnosis was ‎‎823.61±545.457μg/mg and after remission was 165.18±202.255μg/mg (P 0.000)‎‎‎‎. Conclusion: Markers (FC, ESR, serum total proteins and HB level) can be used as non-invasive markers for monitoring ‎IBD activity and severity in the primary health care centers. Fecal calprotectin correlate with endoscopic ‎disease activity. Furthermore, the initial level of FC is a predictor of early dysplasia in ulcerative colitis ‎patients‎ ‎‎.

Effects of drain depth on crop yields and salinity in subsurface drainage in Nile Delta of Egypt

The subsurface drainage system is the vast majority of Egypt's Nile Delta agricultural land to drain excess water from the soil, improve crop productivity, and guarantee the irrigated agriculture sustainability. This research aims to propose and assess drain depths that unequivocally connect the drainage system's structure to crop yields, water preservation, and soil salinity. For achieving this study's objective; three experiment sites in the Nile Delta in Zanklon, Tokh, and Hosh Essa were setup and a numerical model (DRAINMOD) was applied to simulate the hydrology, crop yield, and salinity. The tested drain depths were 140, 120, and 100 cm. The results were introduced for different crops and lateral spacing. The study concludes that a 28.5% decrease in drainage depth leads to conservation in the irrigation water by 15%, with a reduction in crop yield varying between 1.2% and 5.8% according to the cultivated crop and the sustaining soil salinity.