Characteristics Of The Marble Industry In Egypt: Structure, Conduct, And Performance

This paper analyzes marble extraction and production in Egypt from an applied industrial economics point of view. The marble industry in Egypt could be a promising sector if regulated properly. Market structure, conduct and performance is analyzed including degree of differentiation, nature of competition, barriers to entry, and needed regulations. Technically, production matches increasing returns of a Cobb Douglas form while cost structure follows declining average cost with entry . Factor inputs in production are non-complementary with $1000 of capital substitutable by 7.5 units of labor. Efficiency concerns necessitate deep technological segmentation with declining profitability. Critically needed regulations are related to technological use in extraction and labor allocation in production. For higher efficiency, the industry should become more capital intensive even though the Egyptian economy is undeniably labor abundant

Study of chemical stability for chlorothalonil and their fungicidal effect against Fusarium solani and Botrytis cinerea.

This study investigated the degradation of two chlorothalonil formulations [Chlorcal 70% Wettable Powder (WP) and Open 72% Suspension Concentrate 72% (SC)]. The tested fungicides were stored at 54 ± 2°C for 14 days. During the different storage periods, samples were taken after 1, 3, 7, and 14 days to determine physical properties, evaluate the chemical stability of the active ingredient: Hexachlorobenzene as impurities by HPLC and fingerprint (GC/MS and IR), as well as the evaluation of their efficacy, by testing them against the mycelial growth of Fusarium solani and Botrytis cinerea under in vitro condition. The results indicated that Open 72% SC was the most effective fungicide against F. solani and B. cinerea it recorded the lowest EC50 value of 28.4 and 46.8 ppm respectively, followed by Chlorcal 70%WP with EC50 values of 42.9 and 59.4 ppm respectively. On the other hand, the effectiveness of tested fungicides deteriorated as the result of storage at 54 ± 2 ºC for 14 days with EC50 values increased from 28.4 to 130.9 and 46.8 to 278.1 in the case of Open 72% SC against F. solani and B. cinerea respectively, while the degradation efficiency of Chlorcal 70%WP was decreased at storage with EC50 values from 42.9 to 89.4 and 59.4 to 145.3 against these two fungi respectively. Chlorcal 70%WP was more stable at during storage and less effective against fungal pathogens and determination of chemical content (total soluble sugar; total protein; free amino acids) and some enzymes (amylase and catalase) activities of mycelium fungi. Potato dextrose (PD) media treated with chlorothalonil formulations induced a significant decrease in all components in each fungus except the catalase enzyme in the case of B. cinerea. The obtained results showed that active ingredients were 69.82%, 71.9% and reached 69.3%, and 70.75% after 14 days of storage at 54 ± 2 ºC for Chlorcal 70% WP, Open 72% SC, respectively. Also calculated half-life (T0.5) values for Chlorcal 70% WP, Open 72% SC were 1382.07 days and 614.035 days, respectively. This result refers that Chlorcal 70% WP is more stable than Open 72% SC after storage at 54 ± 2 oC for 14 days, whereas the amount of hexachlorobenzene was within the FAO limits for all sources before and after storage. Then the other tested GC / MS was used for the degradation of chlorothalonil fungicide, the two major degradation products in chlorothalonil were 2,5,6-trichloro- 4- hydroxyisophthalonitrile and 2,4,6-trichloroisophthalonitrile

Cardiac glycosides use and the risk and mortality of cancer; systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

Cardiac glycosides (CGs) including digitalis, digoxin and digitoxin are used in the treatment of congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Pre-clinical studies have investigated the anti-neoplastic properties of CGs since 1960s. Epidemiological studies concerning the association between CGs use and cancer risk yielded inconsistent results. We have performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the effects of CGs on cancer risk and mortality.PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane library, Medline and Web of Knowledge were searched for identifying relevant studies. Summary relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using random-effects model.We included 14 case-control studies and 15 cohort studies published between 1976 and 2016 including 13 cancer types. Twenty-four studies reported the association between CGs and cancer risk and six reported the association between CGs and mortality of cancer patients. Using CGs was associated with a higher risk of breast cancer (RR = 1.330, 95% CI: 1.247-1.419). Subgroup analysis showed that using CGs increased the risk of ER+ve breast cancer but not ER-ve. Using CGs wasn't associated with prostate cancer risk (RR = 1.015, 95% CI: 0.868-1.87). However, CGs decreased the risk in long term users and showed a protective role in decreasing the risk of advanced stages. CGs use was associated with increased all-cause mortality (HR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.248-1.46) but not cancer-specific mortality (HR = 1.075, 95% CI: 0.968-1.194).The anti-tumor activity of CGs observed in pre-clinical studies requires high concentrations which can't be normally tolerated in humans. However, the estrogen-like activity of CGs could be responsible for increasing the risk of certain types of tumors

Assessment of calprotectin in ascitic fluid as a marker for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis diagnosis in cirrhotic patients

Background Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a serious infection of ascitic fluid in cirrhotic patients. High mortality associated with the delay in diagnosis and treatment. There is a need for an accurate and a rapid method for SBP diagnosis. Objectives We aimed to evaluate ascitic fluid calprotectin as a diagnostic marker for SBP. Patients and methods Forty four cirrhotic patients were divided into two groups, non-SBP group: 22 patients with cirrhotic ascites without evidence of SBP and SBP group: 22 patients with cirrhotic ascites and SBP diagnosed by positive ascitic fluid bacterial culture and an increase in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) count in ascites (≥250 cells/mm3). Ascitic fluid calprotectin levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results There was a significant increase of ascitic fluid calprotectin, total leukocytic count, PMNLs, lactate dehydrogenase, and total protein in SBP group when compared to non-SBP group. There were significant positive correlations between white blood cell, ascitic fluid total leukocytic count, PMNLs, total protein, and model for end-stage liver disease score values and ascitic fluid calprotectin among SBP group. Ascitic fluid calprotectin with cutoff value 620 ng/ml, showed a sensitivity of 90.91% and a specificity of 95.45%, in diagnosis of SBP with positive predictive value 95.2% and negative predictive value 91.3%. Conclusion Ascitic fluid calprotectin may be valuable in rapid diagnosis of SBP