Suez Canal Region Research Articles

Psychiatric comorbidities in adolescents with substance-use disorder

Introduction Comorbidity between substance abuse and other psychiatric disorders has been excessively documented in adults while rarely been investigated in adolescents.Aim The study investigated the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities among adolescent patients with substance-use disorder attending psychiatric health facilities in Suez Canal region.Patients and methods It was a cross-sectional study conducted on 120 adolescent patients aged 13–19 with substance-use disorder attending psychiatric health facilities in Suez Canal region. Data were collected using comprehensive psychiatric history, Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview, complete physical and neurological examination, and urine toxicology screen.Results Most of the study-sample participants were polysubstance abusers (89.1%). Cannabis was the commonest substance abused (90.8%). More than half of the patients (53.3%) had psychiatric comorbidity with onset before the abuse of the substance, 27.5% had psychiatric comorbidity after abusing the substance, and 19.2% had no psychiatric comorbidity. Major depressive disorder was the most prevalent disorder (40.8%) among the patients, followed by conduct disorder (38.3%).Conclusion Depression and conduct disorder are the most common psychiatric disorders among adolescent patients with substance-use disorder.

Review and Analysis of Blockage of Suez Canal Region Due to Giant Container Ship

Abstract Navigation through narrow waterways always requires expertise and help from local authorities to facilitate safer and faster navigation. The recent Suez Canal blockage by the ultra-large container ship Ever Given running aground has resulted in a temporary halt and extended delay in goods transportation. Blockage of such a critical waterway has raised major concerns about the risk involved in navigation. This commentary attempts to analyze the background and chain of events leading up to the blocking of the Suez Canal. In this process, the issues related to navigation and following up salvage efforts are analyzed to identify the critical areas of improvement. Based on these identifications, suggestions for future improvement of navigation and better preparedness to optimize the salvage efforts have been identified. These suggestions include digitalization, prediction-based navigation capabilities, development of tugboats and associated tools, and so forth.

Molecular Detection of Bacterial Agents of Atypical Pneumonia: Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, and Legionella pneumophila in Suez Canal region

Background: Atypical bacterial infections played an important role in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). It is difficult to detect atypical pathogens by conventional microbiological diagnostic methods. Atypical bacteria do not respond to beta-lactam antibiotics. The use of multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods enables rapid and simultaneous detection of many pathogens in a single analysis. Aim: detecting the prevalence of atypical bacterial pathogens as etiologic agents of atypical pneumonia, in the Suez Canal region. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted throughout 18 months, from October 2018 to April 2020. It included 84 Egyptians suffered from CA atypical pneumonic patients of all age groups from Suez-Canal region, Egypt. Sputum samples were collected for identification of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, and Legionella pneumophilia by using multiplex PCR. Results: Among the 84 atypical pneumonia patients, L. pneumophila were detected in 12 (14%) patients. M. pneumoniae and C. pneumoniae were not detected in our samples. Compared with L. pneumophila -negative cases, L. pneumophila -positive cases were more prevalent in middle aged males, smokers, COPD, diabetic and asthmatic patients (P values = 0.048). Persistent cough, elevated levels of C-reactive protein (C-RP), bilateral pulmonary infiltration are significant clues for predicting L. pneumophila pneumonia. Conclusions: L. pneumophila incidence is not low in our geographical region in atypical pneumonia patients. Clinicians should consider atypical bacterial pathogens while prescribing antimicrobial management plan. Keywords: Atypical pneumonia, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophilia, multiplex-PCR.

Nursing Knowledge Level, Are There Room for Improvement in Hepatitis Prevention at Suez Canal Area?

Background: Healthcare workers are at increased risk of contracting and spreading hepatitis C virus (HCV), and HBV to others. Objective: The aim of study is to evaluate nursing staff and paramedics knowledge, concerning HCV, HBV and its relationship to institutional infection control facilities. Methodology: A self- administered questionnaire was distributed at fever hospital, infectious diseases hospital, Suez Canal university hospital, blood center, primary health care centers and hospitals affiliated to ministry of health, with a convenient sample of 479 nursing staff and paramedics in Suez Canal region. A knowledge score was developed about hepatitis B, C source of infections and different domains of infection control facilities and procedures, with a maximum of 17. Results: The mean age of the participating nursing staff and paramedics was 29.55 + 8. 31. Knowledge score about mode of transmission of hepatitis, reveals that the highest level was among the student nurse which was 17.07. Concerning exposure including blood contact, blood spills and needle stick, the nurse was 61 %, while mainly head nurse to be 83% stated receiving training about infection control and care of sharp. Conclusion: We can prevent the transmission of infection at the occupational level through standard precautions.

Development Axis of the Suez Canal and its Role in Attracting Tourism Investments: An Applied to Ismailia Governorate

The study aims to shed light on the importance of the new Suez Canal axis development project and determine its role in providing security, political, economic, and development stability. The study showed the planned tourism investments in the Suez Canal region. Emphasis was placed on evaluating the tourism product presented in Ismailia Governorate as one of the most critical areas overlooking the Suez Canal axis using the SWOT analysis model for the internal and external environments, and a matrix of alternative strategies was proposed using TOWS analysis to advance the tourism product in the governorate by choosing the appropriate strategy from among the proposed strategies to be applied to attract tourism investments to the province

Molecular Detection of Bacterial Agents of Atypical Pneumonia among patients from six hospitals in Suez Canal region

Background: Reliable diagnosis of atypical pneumonia microbial agents is crucial since they do not respond to beta-lactams but to other groups of antibiotics. Therefore, empiric treatment with beta lactam groups will be ineffective for their eradication if no additional antibiotics as macrolides are administered to the management plan. This study aimed to determine prevalence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae), Chlamydophila pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) and Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) among patients with atypical pneumonia, and drawing physicians' attention to the role of these pathogens as etiologic agents of atypical pneumonia in the Suez Canal region. Methods: Eighty-four atypical pneumonia cases were enrolled in this study. Respiratory samples were collected. Part of each specimen was inoculated onto blood, MacConkey, and chocolate agar plates, another part of specimens was processed for DNA extraction and multiplex PCR assay for detection of M. pneumoniae p1adhesion gene, C. pneumoniae outer membrane protein (ompA) gene, and L. pneumophila macrophage infectivity potentiator (mip) gene. Results: Out of the 84 atypical pneumonia cases, atypical bacteria were detected by multiplex conventional PCR in 12 (14%) cases and they all were L. pneumophila, 3 cases (4%) were mixed with Staphylococcus aureus, and 2 (2%) cases were mixed with Streptococcus pyogens. Mycoplasma pneumoniae and C. pneumoniae were not detected by PCR in our samples. Conclusions: Legionella pneumophila incidence is not low in our geographical region in patients with atypical pneumonia; so it is of pivotal importance to recruit sensitive and reliable molecular based techniques to detect and control this infection in healthcare environments.

Stocking density, Survival rate and Growth performance feed utilization and economic evaluation of Litopenaeus vannamei (Boon, 1931) in different cultured shrimp farms in Suez Canal Region

Two studies were conducted to evaluate growth performance, feed utilization, survival and the economic production of white shrimp (P. vannamei) in Suez Canal region. The first study was conducted in Eldebba farm in western region of Port Said Governorate collaboration with a private fish farm. The second study was conducted in Suez Canal Fish Farm with an area of 1feddans. The pond was stocked with white shrimp (P. vannamei) at the rate of 70000 P26 /feddan in eldebba Port-Saied Governorate. In Suez Canal ponds stocked with 150000 P26/ feddan white shrimp (P. vannamei) with average initial 0.002g . A good quality (38% protein) commercial feed was provided. Growth performance, feed utilization , survival and comical evaluation was the best in Eldebba farm than Suez Canal farm. It could be concluded that stocking white shrimp at density 70000/feddan was the best in terms of growth performance, feed utilization, survival and economic evaluation under this experimental conditions.

Efficient Hybrid Method for Pan-Sharpening Enhancement of Multiband Satellite Images

Pan-sharpening considers one of the most important applications for satellite images as it enhances spectral and spatial information for the images. Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) is one of the most powerful techniques for pan-sharpening. It first decomposes the image into a set of Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMFs) and a residual component. These panchromatic and multispectral components are then fused to create an enhanced pan-sharpened image. This paper presents an efficient hybrid method for enhancing pan-sharpening of multiband images transmitted from satellite to ground stations. The proposed approach combines this EMD technique with the most powerful conventional method; Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT), to maximize the pan-sharpening gain. The proposed hybrid method is validated using satellite images of Nile Valley and Suez Canal region, Egypt, captured by Spot-4 and Landsat-8 satellites. The results imply that the proposed hybrid method provides better qualitative and quantitative quality comparing with the individual and the most common pan-sharpening methods.

Suez Canal Region as an economic hub in Egypt location analysis for the mass real estate appraisal process

ABSTRACT Egypt is positioned to become one of the most prolific countries in the emerging global economy, so it is important to put in place the infrastructure and logistics systems that will enable Egypt to play a real role as an African hub point of entry and exit for trade between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe in the dominant directions from south to north where oil and gas transit. Nearly 10% of the world trade is passing through the Suez Canal. An implementation strategy was prepared for the Suez Canal region aims to create an industrial and logistical spine, two integrated areas, two development areas, four ports, are underdeveloped. In order to explore these areas for foreign investment, a mass real estate appraisal study for industrial lands and ports was prepared with the aim of exploitation as usufruct for specified periods. Therefore, the paper studies the Suez Canal Development Project as an economic hub; then, it focuses on the methodology that used in the real estate appraisal study which had concluded to the pricing equations for each site taking into all various aspects. The research aims to shed light on this project as a leading model for mass real estate appraisal study in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The Role of Regional Media in Shaping Political Awareness of Youth: Evidence from Egypt

This is an exploratory study that aims to answer the question of whether and to what extent regional media are influential in shaping political awareness and its role in influencing public opinion, especially that of young people. We examined regional media in Egypt, more precisely in the Suez Canal Region. To ensure the validity of our results, we deployed a number of different data collection methods: the collection, analysis, and integration of quantitative and qualitative research. The results reveal that regional media have the potential to contribute effectively in raising youths' political awareness of the public policy‐making process. The recommendations specified are the elimination of red tape, governmental bureaucracy, and centralization in the management of regional radio and television is required; also necessary are financial independence and the restructuring of the organizational hierarchy of all state‐run regional media.Related ArticlesAntwi‐Boateng, Osman. 2015. “No Spring in Africa: How Sub‐Saharan Africa has Avoided the Arab Spring Phenomenon.” Politics & Policy 43 (5): 754‐784. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12129Khodr, Hiba, and Isabella Ruble. 2013. “Energy Policies and Domestic Politics in the MENA Region in the Aftermath of the Arab Upheavals: The Cases of Lebanon, Libya, and KSA.” Politics & Policy 41 (5): 656‐689. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12033.xSarquís, David J. 2012. “Democratization after the Arab Spring: The Case of Egypt's Political Transition.” Politics & Policy 40 (5): 871‐903. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2012.00381.xRelated MediaBonney, Victoria. 2018. “How Social Media is Shaping our Political Future.” TEDx Talks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kd99IIWJUw&t=34sPainter, David. 2014. “Social Media and Political Campaigns – Youth Voting; Positive Messaging.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxE2OGYhVvo

Myxobolus episquamalis infection in farmed flathead grey mullet Mugil cephalus L. and thin-lipped mullet Liza ramada

Egypt is the largest producer of farmed mullets worldwide. The mullet seeds are collected from natural waters at the north and northern east of Egypt. Thus, the occurrence of parasitic diseases is relatively high even after being stocked in aquaculture facilities. The current study was conducted on a fish farm located at the coastal area of the Suez Canal region, Egypt. Farmed flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus L.) and thin-lipped grey mullet (Liza ramada) showed pinkish-white granular cysts on their body surfaces that measured approximately 5 mm (4–6 mm) in width and 7 mm (5–9 mm) in length and contained a milky coloured exudate. The proximal portion of the fins and apical part of the scales were the only sites of infection. These cysts are randomly scattered throughout the fish body surface. No mortalities were detected among moribund mullets, but these cysts make the fish unsightly, causing commercial rejection. The overall prevalence of infection was 40%. Giemsa-stained wet smears initially indicated that the spores were of Myxobolus species. Subsequently, the phylogenetic analysis of the 18S rRNA gene confirmed the identification of spores as being those of Myxobolus episquamalis. Furthermore, amprolium-salinomycin mixture, which has an established track record for treating myxozoan infections in multiple fish species, was successfully tested in a large-scale field trial. Moribund mullets displayed significant reduction in myxosporean infection following treatment with amprolium-salinomycin mixture. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the detection of M. episquamalis in farmed flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus L.) and thin-lipped grey mullet (Liza ramada) collected from fish farms in the Suez Canal, Egypt.

Assessment of Physicochemical parameters of Freshwater and Tap Water in Suez Canal Region, Egypt

The objective of this study was to monitor the freshwater quality in Suez Canal region, Egypt and to determine the efficacy of water treatment system in the removal of contaminates. The hydrographic parameters recorded were air and water temperatures, pH, electric conductivity (EC), turbidity, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen content (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), nitrate, nitrite, ammonium and phosphates. All measured physicochemical parameters of fresh water samples are within the acceptable limits except chemical oxygen demand (COD) is above the acceptable limits but all measured physicochemical parameters of treated (tap) water samples are within the acceptable limits.this may be due to dumping of animal waste and the presence of a number of sewage pipes that empty into the canal, but all measured physicochemical parameters of treated (tap) water samples are within the acceptable limits. further check should be done regularly to ascertain the accumulation of toxic substances.

Analysis And Pollution Assessment of Some Trace Heavy Metals in Freshwater, Drinking Water, Fish, and Sediments Samples in Suez Canal Region, Egypt by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer

Monitoring of pollution levels of heavy metals in freshwater is significant to human health and environmental management. The objective of the current study was to monitor the freshwater quality in Suez Canal region, Egypt and to determine the efficacy of water treatment system in the removal of contaminates like heavy metals residues. The concentrations of some heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg, Ni, Cu, Mn) were determined in freshwater, treated water, in muscle of fish species (Tilapia nilotica) and sediment. The results of the study revealed that , all heavy metals concentrations in freshwater and treated water were within the permissible limits except, Lead concentration in treated water was higher than the permissible limits. In Port Said, all metals concentrations in both freshwater and treated water samples were within the permissible limits. Fish samples collected from the three governorates showed an increase in Cd and Pb levels. The heavy metals concentrations in sediment samples were remarkably high.

Two Efficient Hybrid Methods for Enhancing Pan-Sharpening of Multi-spectral Images Transmitted from Satellite to Ground Stations

Pan-sharpening is one of the most important tasks performed on satellite images as it enhances spectral and spatial information of the images. Empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is one of the powerful methods for pan-sharpening. It first decomposes the image into a set of intrinsic mode functions and a residual component. These panchromatic and multi-spectral components are then fused to create an enhanced pan-sharpened image. This paper presents two efficient hybrid methods to enhance pan-sharpening of multi-spectral images. The new proposals combine the EMD with the two pan-sharpening methods: high-pass filtering and discrete wavelet transform to maximize the pan-sharpened image quality. The two methods are evaluated using satellite images of Cairo and Suez Canal region, Egypt, captured by Spot-4 and Landsat-8 satellites, respectively. The results imply that the proposed hybrid methods provide better qualitative and quantitative results compared to the individual and the common pan-sharpening methods.

Prevalence and severity of Molar Incisor Hypomineralization in School Children of Suez Canal Region: Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and severity of molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) in a group of school children aged 8-12 years in Suez Canal sector cities. Subjects and Methods: A sample of 1312 students aged 8-12 years were selected from governmental schools in Ismailia, Port Said, and Suez cities. MIH was diagnosed clinically based on the diagnostic criteria established by the European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (EAPD) 2003. Results and conclusion: The prevalence of MIH varied widely among the 3 cities, with an average of 9.98 %.The severity of MIH was higher in girls 32.14% than boys 5.33%. The most prevalent defect reported in this study was opacities.

Risk Factors of Hepatitis C in the Suez Canal Region, Egypt

Background and study aim: Egypt has very high prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection Aim: To identify possible risk factors of HCV in Suez Canal region of Egypt. Materials and Methods: HCV positive individuals in 5 different hospitals and control blood donors were subjected to anti HCV tests and interview questionnaire to identify risk factors. Results: A total of 1176 subjects were studied for HCV, of which 539 were HCV-positive and637 HCV-negative donors. Subjects who achieved less than university education, unemployed or gaining less than 600 Egyptian pounds monthly had an increased risk of HCV (OR= 4.18, CI3.28-5.34, p 0.000), (OR= 3.26, CI 2.55-4.16, p 0.000), and (OR= 3.32, CI 2.59-4.26, p 0.000). Informal male circumcision doubled the risk of HCV (OR= 2.08, CI 1.53-2.83, p 0.000). Shaving at a barber and sharing razors increased HCV risk 2 times, while sharing tooth brushes increased it 7 times (OR = 7.23, CI 2.74-18.79, p 0.000). HCV risk increased after endoscopy (OR =3.62, CI2.02-6.52, p 0.000), blood transfusion (OR 3.47, CI 2.18-5.54, p 0.000), and injection treatment(OR= 1.41, CI 1.02-1.95, p 0.040). Any delivery and dental care in governmental clinic were independent risk factors (OR 2.57, CI 1.25-5.30, 0.011), (OR 1.46, CI 1.08-1.97, p 0.014). Schistosomiasis parenteral treatment doubled the HCV risk (OR= 2.09, CI 1.35-3.23, p 0.001) and chronic kidney disease patients were more at risk (OR= 2.95, CI 1.40-6.24, p 0.005). Conclusion: Infection control in medical practice and behavioral modifications in this region is essential to prevent HCV transmission.

Static and dynamic properties of cohesionless soil – new Suez canal area – Ismailia – Egypt

ABSTRACT New developments in unexplored areas in the Suez Canal region in Egypt have disclosed the shortage of data required for analysis of problems involving static and dynamic loading. Monotonic triaxial compression tests were performed to evaluate the shear strength properties of the sand located in this area. Characteristic state and phase transformation lines were not identical and were independent of soil density. Dynamic properties at small and medium strain levels were evaluated through resonant column and cyclic triaxial tests, respectively. Effects of effective confining stress and relative density on dynamic properties were investigated. Upon cyclic loading, number of cycles to reach failure increased as the relative density and effective confining stress increased. The shear modulus increased as the relative density and effective confining stress increased in small and medium strain ranges. Torsional damping coefficient decreased as the effective confining stress increased, and was not significantly affected by the relative density. Abbreviations: CD: Consolidated Drained, CH: Characteristic, CSR: Cyclic Stress Ratio, CT: Cyclic Triaxial, CU: Consolidated Undrained, FVD: Free Vibration Decay, MT: Moist Tamping, PT: Phase Transformation, RC: Resonant Column, SEM: Scanning Electron Microscope, SP: Poorly Graded Sand, USCS: Unified Soil Classification System, WP: Water Pluviation.

Monitoring of Organophosphorus and Organochlorine Pesticides Residues in Freshwater of Suez Canal Region, Egypt by Gas Chromatography

Monitoring of Organophosphorus and Organochlorine Pesticides Residues in Freshwater of Suez Canal Region, Egypt by Gas Chromatography

Biology of the mason bee Osmia latreillei (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) under artificial nesting conditions in Egypt

Abstract The mason bee Osmia (Helicosmia) latreillei Spinola is one of the dominant species of bees throughout Egypt, and can be found commonly in the Suez Canal Region. The species visits numerous plant species of the family Asteraceae and is considered the most important pollinator of certain crops such as sunflower. This species and some other solitary cavity nesting bees are threatened by fragmentation of their nesting habitats. Several attempts were made to establish and propagate O. latreillei, and success was achieved for re-nesting it in various artificial materials such as wood and polystyrene with rolled paper straws. These artificial nests were established at the conservation area of the Bee Research Centre, Suez Canal University, in order to study the nesting behavior and biology of O. latreillei under artificial conditions and to document their natural enemies. Biologically, there was no significance difference between the life cycle of O. latreillei under natural and artificial nesting conditions. This solitary bee was univoltine, individuals active only during Spring, and attacked by diverse enemies, with Stelis (Stelis) murina Perez and chrysidid wasps considered the two most major pests of this wild bee species.

TBM tunnelling under the Suez Canal – Port Said tunnels in challenging ground conditions

AbstractThe Port Said Tunnels Project consists of twin road tunnels crossing the Suez Canal with a planned capacity of 2,100 mixed vehicles/hour in each direction. The dual carriageway tunnels are an important part of the Suez Canal Region Development Plan, which will connect the Sinai with other Egyptian provinces to provide a gateway for investment opportunities and speed up the development of Sinai province. The project is located 19 km south of Port Said city, near the northern entrance of the Suez Canal. The tunnels are constructed using slurry shield TBMs in difficult ground conditions, including the presence of methane gas. This paper demonstrates the main challenges encountered during tunnelling and the measures taken to mitigate potential risks during construction and to control long‐term differential settlements in the upper, very soft soil. The tunnels are connected by two cross passages which are being constructed using ground freezing and conventional tunnelling.