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"Ahmed, Ayman"
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British-Egyptian relations from Suez to the present day
This account of the first major forum to review relations between Britain and Egypt, held in London in 2006, demonstrates how political, economic and cultural interaction between the countries has developed since the Suez invasion of 1956. In addition to providing a historical assessment, it suggests ways forward in both bilateral and international contexts. Egyptian and British contributors include government ministers and specialists in history, economics, Egyptology, business, education, culture and international affairs. -- Back cover.
Book
Kookaburra Optimization Algorithm: A New Bio-Inspired Metaheuristic Algorithm for Solving Optimization Problems
In this paper, a new bio-inspired metaheuristic algorithm named the Kookaburra Optimization Algorithm (KOA) is introduced, which imitates the natural behavior of kookaburras in nature. The fundamental inspiration of KOA is the strategy of kookaburras when hunting and killing prey. The KOA theory is stated, and its mathematical modeling is presented in the following two phases: (i) exploration based on the simulation of prey hunting and (ii) exploitation based on the simulation of kookaburras’ behavior in ensuring that their prey is killed. The performance of KOA has been evaluated on 29 standard benchmark functions from the CEC 2017 test suite for the different problem dimensions of 10, 30, 50, and 100. The optimization results show that the proposed KOA approach, by establishing a balance between exploration and exploitation, has good efficiency in managing the effective search process and providing suitable solutions for optimization problems. The results obtained using KOA have been compared with the performance of 12 well-known metaheuristic algorithms. The analysis of the simulation results shows that KOA, by providing better results in most of the benchmark functions, has provided superior performance in competition with the compared algorithms. In addition, the implementation of KOA on 22 constrained optimization problems from the CEC 2011 test suite, as well as 4 engineering design problems, shows that the proposed approach has acceptable and superior performance compared to competitor algorithms in handling real-world applications.
Journal Article
Potential ameliorative role of Spirulina platensis in powdered or extract forms against cyclic heat stress in broiler chickens
Global warming has become intensified and widespread, threatening the world with causing acute heatwaves that adversely affect poultry production and producers' profitability.
Spirulina platensis
is a precious and promising mitigating strategy to combat the detrimental impacts of heat stress due to its high contents of nutrients and bioactive components. The current study was designed to compare the incorporation impact of
S. platensis
powder or aqueous extract on the growth and physiological responses of heat-stressed broiler chicks. Six hundred 1-day-old Ross 308 male broiler chicks were allocated into five experimental groups with six replicates of 20 chicks each. The control group fed the basal diet without additives, SPP1 and SPP2 groups fed the basal diet with 1 g/kg and 2 g/kg
S. platensis
powder, respectively, while SPE1 and SPE2 groups received 1 ml/L and 2 ml/L
S. platensis
aqueous extract in the drinking water, respectively. All birds were exposed to cyclic heat stress (34 ± 2 °C for 12 h) for three successive days a week from day 10 to day 35. In vitro analysis showed that total phenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity of
S. platensis
were remarkably decreased (
P
< 0.001) in the aqueous extract compared to the powder form. Body weight, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio were improved (
P
< 0.001) in all treated groups, while carcass yield and dressing percentage were increased only in SPP1 and SPP2. Feed and water intake and blood biochemical parameters were not affected. Both forms of
S. platensis
enhanced the lipid profile, redox status, and humoral immune response of heat-stressed chicks superior to the powder form. Conclusively, the powder form of
S. platensis
was more effective in enhancing the productivity of broilers and alleviating the negative impacts of heat stress than the aqueous extract form.
Journal Article
Depression of leukocyte protein synthesis, immune function and growth performance induced by high environmental temperature in broiler chickens
In tropical and semitropical regions, raising broiler chickens out of their thermal comfort zone can cause an added economic loss in the poultry industry. The cause for the deleterious effects on immunity and growth performance of broilers under high environmental temperatures is still poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of the current investigation was to evaluate the effect of heat stress on leukocytes protein synthesis and immune function as a possible direct cause of low performance in broiler chickens under such condition. In this study, 300 one-day-old male broiler chicks (Cobb500™) were randomly assigned into 2 groups with 5 replicates of 30 chicks each. From 21 to 42 days of age, one group was exposed to non-stressed condition at 24 °C and 50% relative humidity (control group), while the other group was exposed to heat stress at 35 °C and 50% relative humidity (HS group). At 42 days of age, blood samples were collected from each group to evaluate stress indicators, immune function, and leukocytes protein synthesis. Production performance was also recorded. Noteworthy, protein synthesis in leukocytes was significantly (
P
< 0.05) inhibited in HS group by 38% compared to control group. In contrast, the phosphorylation level on threonine 56 site (Thr
56
) of eukaryotic elongation factor (eEF2), which indicates the suppression of protein translation process through altering the protein elongation phase, was significantly threefold higher in HS group than in control (
P
< 0.05). In addition, an increase in stress indicators was markedly (
P
< 0.05) presented in the HS birds by twofold increase in heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio and threefold increase in plasma corticosterone level compared to control. Furthermore, the immune function was significantly (
P
< 0.05) suppressed in HS birds than control (0.99 vs. 1.88 mg/mL plasma IgG, 89.2 vs. 148.0 μg/mL plasma IgM, 4.80 vs. 7.20 antibody titer against SRBC, and 1.38 vs. 3.39 stimulation index of lymphocyte proliferation in HS vs. control group, respectively). Moreover, results on the broiler performance indicate that HS birds had a significant (
P
< 0.05) lower body weight gain by 58%, lower feed consumption by 39%, higher conversion ratio by 27%, and higher mortality by more than three times, compared to control birds. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the inhibition of leukocyte protein synthesis through increasing the level of eEF2 Thr
56
phosphorylation may play a key role in the observed decrease in immune function and growth performance with the high mortality rate encountered in broiler chickens under heat stress environment.
Journal Article
Bio-stimulants for plant growth promotion and sustainable management of Rhizoctonia Solani causing black scurf of potato tubers
Background
Bio-stimulants are natural substances that have achieved considerable advances. However, they remain inconsistent under biotic and abiotic stress, limiting their utilization in sustainable agriculture. There is an urgent need for cost-effective and multifaceted approaches to phytopathogens control, integrating bio-stimulants that enhance plant resistance and improve the biomarker of potato tuber quality. This study evaluated the efficacy of compost, macroalgae,
Trichoderma harzianum
, and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi as bio-stimulants and their combinations in managing the black scurf disease of potato plants that causes serious yield losses.
Results
The findings indicated that all assessed bio-stimulants markedly reduced the disease severity compared to the untreated control group. Notably, both
T. harzianum
and macroalgae demonstrated higher effectiveness when applied individually than other individual treatments, which achieved a reduction of DS by 71.57%, 69.61%, respectively, and DI by 71.43%, 64.28%, respectively. However, combinations of AM fungi (My) with macroalgae (Al), which achieved the highest reduction of DS by 83.46%, and DI (78.6%) in compared with the infested control. While the triple mixture of AM fungi,
T. harzianum
, and macroalgae exhibited superior efficacy in reducing disease incidence by 82.14% when compared to the infested control. Furthermore, all bio-stimulant treatments contributed positively to plant growth and tuber yield, particularly those involving AM fungi combined with macroalgae or their individual applications. The highest quality tubers of potato starch and –amylase content resulted from treatments with macroalgae alone or combined with mycorrhizal fungi. These tubers demonstrated improved tolerance to elevated temperatures at 60 °C in an oven until completely dry, with significant variations in potato quality correlating particularly with their starch and α-amylase contents. Furthermore, the influence of bio-stimulants on Indole-3-acetic acid, an important growth hormone, was consistent with observations obtained from greenhouse experiments.
Conclusions
These findings highlight the potential of biologically-based strategies for managing black scurf in organic potato cultivation. Bio-stimulants, especially mycorrhizae and macroalgae, offer a sustainable approach to enhancing plant health, suppressing disease, and improving tuber quality.
Journal Article
Intelligent Road Management System for Autonomous, Non-Autonomous, and VIP Vehicles
Currently, autonomous vehicles, non-autonomous vehicles, and VIP (emergency) autonomous cars are using intelligent road management techniques to interact with one another and enhance the effectiveness of the traffic system. All sorts of vehicles are managed and under control using the intersection management unit approach. This study focuses on transportation networks where VIP cars are a major disruption, accounting for 40% of accidents and 80% of delays. Intelligent Mobility (IM) is a strategy promoted in this study that proposes setting up intelligent channels for all vehicle communication. As part of its function, the IM unit keeps tabs on how often each junction is used so that it may notify drivers on traffic conditions and ease their workload. The suggested layout may drastically cut average wait times at crossings, as shown in SUMO simulations. The entrance of a VIP car should disrupt all traffic, but the IM (intersection management) unit effectively manages all traffic by employing preemptive scheduling and non-preemptive scheduling techniques for all types of vehicles. We are employing Nishtar roads, the M4 motorway, Mexico, and Washington roads in our scenario. In comparison to all other routes, the simulation results demonstrate that the Washington road route is better able to manage all vehicle kinds. Washington’s traffic delays for 50 cars of all sorts are 4.02 s for autonomous vehicles, 3.62 s for VIP autonomous vehicles, and 4.33 s for non-autonomous vehicles.
Journal Article
Effect of blending GGBS and silica fume on the mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete
This study investigates the mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete made with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and silica fume (SF) as binders. The influence of varying binder proportions and sodium silicate-to-sodium hydroxide (SS-to-SH) ratios of 1.5 and 2.0 in the alkali-activated solution was examined. Experimental tests evaluated slump, compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, and splitting tensile strength at 1, 7, and 28 days. Increasing SF content up to 50% in the binder with a solution ratio of 1.5 improved the 28-day compressive strength by 50% compared to mixes made solely with slag. However, further increase in SF reduced splitting tensile strength and compressive strength by 79 and 56%, respectively, at 28 days. Increasing the solution ratio from 1.5 to 2.0 enhanced compressive strength for slag-dominant mixes by up to 63% but reduced strength for SF-rich mixes by up to 87%. The highest modulus of elasticity, 18.7 GPa, was achieved with slag-only binders and a solution ratio of 2.0, marking a 240% increase over its counterpart mix with a lower solution ratio. Equal GGBS and SF blends improved splitting tensile strength compared to SF-rich mixes but were surpassed by GGBS-rich mixes in terms of overall structural performance.
Journal Article
Invasive Malaria Vector Anopheles stephensi Mosquitoes in Sudan, 2016–2018
Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes are urban malaria vectors in Asia that have recently invaded the Horn of Africa. We detected emergence of An. stephensi mosquitoes in 2 noncontiguous states of eastern Sudan. Results of mitochondrial DNA sequencing suggest the possibility of distinct invasions, potentially from a neighboring country.
Journal Article
Does KarXT (xanomeline-trospium) represent a novel approach to schizophrenia management? A GRADE-assessed systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials
Background
Schizophrenia is a complex psychiatric disorder characterized by positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms. KarXT, a novel combination of xanomeline and trospium, offers potential therapeutic benefits for schizophrenia treatment by targeting muscarinic receptors and avoiding dopamine receptor blockade. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of KarXT.
Methods
PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases were systematically searched for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) up to October 2024. Studies involving adult patients with schizophrenia treated with KarXT were included. Furthermore, the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework was used to assess evidence quality, and the risk of bias was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool.
Results
Four studies with 690 participants were included. KarXT significantly reduced Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total scores compared to placebo (mean difference (MD): -13.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-22.33 to -5.20], P-value = 0.002), with significant improvements in positive and negative subscale scores. It significantly increased the incidence of achieving ≥ 30% PANSS score reduction (risk ratio: 2.15, 95% CI [1.64 to 2.84],
P
< 0.00001). Moreover, KarXT demonstrated a favorable safety profile, with side effects such as nausea and constipation being mild and transient. Notably, it was not significantly associated with weight gain or extrapyramidal symptoms, which are common with traditional antipsychotics.
Conclusions
KarXT’s distinct mechanism and tolerability highlight its potential to address unmet needs in schizophrenia treatment. Future studies should explore its long-term efficacy, delayed adverse effects, and comparative effectiveness against existing therapies.
Clinical trial number
Not applicable.
Journal Article
Emergence of the invasive malaria vector Anopheles stephensi in Khartoum State, Central Sudan
The emergence of the Asian invasive malaria vector,
Anopheles stephensi
, has been identified in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan. This is the first report that confirms the geographical expansion of this urban mosquito into Central Sudan. We urgently recommend the launch of a national entomological survey to determine the distribution of this invasive disease vector and to generate essential information about its bionomics and susceptibility to available malaria control measures.
Graphical Abstract
Journal Article