Remote detection of boundary-layer transition by an optical system

This instrument development program was funded because of the urgent need to measure boundary-layer transition in wind tunnels. In the course of this development program, a prototype was designed, built, and tested. Recent transonic experiments in the Boeing Model Transonic Wind Tunnel show that the interferometer results correlate very well with sublimating chemical tests

Is Low Alveolar Type II Cell SOD3 in the Lungs of Elderly Linked to the Observed Severity of COVID-19?

Human lungs single cell RNA sequencing data from healthy donors (elderly and young; GEO accession number GSE122960) were analyzed to isolate and specifically study gene expression in alveolar type II cells. Co-localization of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 enables SARS-CoV 2 to enter the cells. Expression of these genes in the alveolar type II cells of elderly and young patients were comparable and therefore do not seem to be responsible for worse outcomes observed in COVID-19 affected elderly. In cells from the elderly, 263 genes were downregulated and 95 upregulated. SOD3 was identified as the top-ranked gene that was most down-regulated in the elderly. Other redox-active genes that were also downregulated in cells from the elderly included ATF4 and M2TA. ATF4, an ER stress sensor that defends lungs via induction of heme oxygenase 1. The study of downstream factors known to be induced by ATF4, according to Ingenuity Pathway AnalysisTM, identified 24 candidates. Twenty-one of these were significantly downregulated in the cells from the elderly. These downregulated candidates were subjected to enrichment using the Reactome Database identifying that in the elderly, the ability to respond to heme deficiency and the ATF4-dependent ability to respond to endoplasmic reticulum stress is significantly compromised. SOD3-based therapeutic strategies have provided beneficial results in treating lung disorders including fibrosis. The findings of this work propose the hypotheses that lung-specific delivery of SOD3/ATF4 related antioxidants may work in synergy with promising anti-viral drugs such as remdesivir to further improve COVID-19 outcomes in the elderly

Identification of ligands that target the HCV-E2 binding site on CD81

Hepatitis C is a global health problem. While many drug companies have active R&D efforts to develop new drugs for treating Hepatitis C virus (HCV), most target the viral enzymes. The HCV glycoprotein E2 has been shown to play an essential role in hepatocyte invasion by binding to CD81 and other cell surface receptors. This paper describes the use of AutoDock to identify ligand binding sites on the large extracellular loop of the open conformation of CD81 and to perform virtual screening runs to identify sets of small molecule ligands predicted to bind to two of these sites. The best sites selected by AutoLigand were located in regions identified by mutational studies to be the site of E2 binding. Thirty-six ligands predicted by AutoDock to bind to these sites were subsequently tested experimentally to determine if they bound to CD81-LEL. Binding assays conducted using surface Plasmon resonance revealed that 26 out of 36 (72 %) of the ligands bound in vitro to the recombinant CD81-LEL protein. Competition experiments performed using dual polarization interferometry showed that one of the ligands predicted to bind to the large cleft between the C and D helices was also effective in blocking E2 binding to CD81-LEL

Systematic Importance of Pollen Morphology of Some Plants of (Lamiaceae)

Pollen morphology of seven taxa belonging to Lamiaceae and common used as medicinal plants were examined by light (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thymus vulgaris L., Mentha longifolia (L.) Huds. Mentha spicata L., Ocimum basillicium L., Salvia elegans Vahl, Salvia farinacea Benth, and Salvia splendens Sellow ex Roem. and Schult. Pollen morphological characteristics are provided for these taxa. Among the studied taxa, Mentha longifolia has the smallest pollen grains, and Ocimum basillicium possesses the largest ones. The main shape of pollen grains in the most taxa  suboblate, oblate – spheroidal or prolate–spheroidal. However subprolate are recorded for Salvia elegans. The grains are hexacolpate in all taxa, but in S. farinacea octacolpate pollen was found. Three distinct exine sculpturing exist, reticulate–perforate the common type, also reticulate, granulate and bi-reticulate. However, the fine details are characteristic to differentiate between the pollen species. Exine is microreticulate in case of S. elegans and S. farinacea, but reticulate-foveolate in case of S. splendens. As well as, the presence of holes on colpus membrane ornamentation can be used as a taxonomic tool for sectional division between. S. elegans from S. splendens is clearly distinct from the other taxa examined by its characteristic pollen morphology.Â

Alternative Child Care Governance: The Kafala Family-Based Care Arrangement in Egypt

Over the past decade, Egypt has witnessed several changes in relation to its alternative care system for orphans and children without parental care. Starting 2014, the Egypt government along with Civil Society actors started to adopt the UN General Assembly guidelines on Alternative Care; which call on States to take solid actions to develop their respective deinstitutionalization strategy that aims towards the progressive elimination of institutional cares and prompting family-based care approaches for children deprived of parental care. According to the current situation, kafala is the main alternative family- based care option practiced in Egypt. Generally, there is very limited academic research published on the alternative care system in Egypt. Accordingly, this study is presented to contribute to filling this research gap by analyzing the effectiveness of the alternative child care governance framework, specifically the kafala system, informed by the coordination and collaboration established between the State authorities and civil society actors including community initiatives. The study also aims to capture alternative families\u27 experience throughout their kafala journey as end users. A qualitative research methodology was used for this research as 10 key informants were interviewed besides hearing from 11 alternative families to gain insights on their experience. The main findings of this research identify that several key outcomes have been achieved including the development of a national strategy, legislative amendments, strengthening the technical expertise, existing monitoring mechanisms and generating more discussion around the kafala topic. The findings also show that there was no consensus among alternative families\u27 views on their kafala journey as some alternative families have talked positively about the process and the support they have received from their social affairs workers and available services while others have voiced their frustration and disappointment in regards to specific procedures such as the mental health assessment and the length of the process and staff capacities. The study concludes with several recommendations to MoSS, the government entity entrusted with the alternative care file in Egypt, to further enhance the kafala reform process including: strengthening the coordination mechanisms established, revising the new legislatives from a child-centered lens, developing the capacity of MoSS workers, establishing different child friendly accountability mechanisms and reviewing the end user experience of alternative families

Street vending challenges and opportunities: the case of women fish vendors in Fayoum

This exploratory research contributes to the documentation of the daily experiences of Egyptian women fish street vendors. The study explores the current situation of and prospects women fish vendors including daily constraints and potential for improvements. It informs about development interventions to improve their livelihoods; and finally, the hurdles and opportunities to optimize the benefits of interventions in a fishermen village in Fayoum governorate, Upper Egypt. Women face harassment and violence, the burden of performing paid and unpaid work, lack of access to credit, and the role of cultural norms in limiting women continuity in the business. This qualitative research attempts to narrow the literature gap identified in the studies of women street vendors in the Middle East and North Africa region, especially in the domain of fish vending in peri-urban and rural areas. The study findings demonstrate that saving groups have granted women entrepreneurs in the street vending business a great access to capital necessary to expand business and improve their livelihoods. The study concludes to the recommendation to continue investigating this important topic to inform policies that address women fish street vendors\u27 constraints and enhance the wellbeing of people working in this sector. In this study, recommendations aim to improve the working conditions of food street vendors especially in fish business. Recognizing the work of women fish street vendors by official authorities is important, promoting social networking solutions is essential, encouraging women fish street vendors to lobbying allows them to gain more rights. All these recommendations would benefit vendors, their wider communities, and the national economy

Biological performance of the predatory mite Neoseiulus barkeri Hughes (Phytoseiidae): a candidate for controlling of three mite species infesting grape trees

The life history and predation rate of Neoseiulus barkeri (Phytoseiidae) feeding on Colomerus vitis (Eriophyidae), Tetranychus urticae (Tetranychidae) and Brevipalpus lewisi (Tenuipalpidae) were determined in the laboratory at constant temperatures of 25, 30 and 35 °C, relative humidity of 50 ± 5 % and a photoperiod of 16:8 h (light:dark). Within the temperature range studied, the increase of temperature from 25-35 °C led to a shortened development period and an increased total predation rate and reproduction. Survival during immature stages development surpassed 94 % at all the temperatures from 25 to 35 °C. The highest fecundity (59.50, 48.25 and 35.30 eggs per female) was recorded at 35 °C, while the minimum (40.25, 31.00 and 20.50 eggs per female) was at 25 °C when N. barkeri fed on C. vitis, T. urticae and B. lewisi, respectively. It is demonstrated in the life table parameters that when the predatory mite N. barkeri is fed on C. vitis, the highest reproduction rates (rm = 0.195, 0.210 and 0.232 females/female/day) are obtained, while feeding on B. lewisi gave the minimum of reproduction rates (rm = 0.095, 0.105 and 0.115) at 25 °C, 30 °C and 35 °C, respectively. The population of N. barkeri multiplied 20.45, 22.63 and 24.89 times in a generation time of 16.80, 14.75 and 12.50 days when fed on C. vitis at the same temperatures mentioned above, respectively, while N. barkeri multiplied 10.70, 12.88 and 14.36 times in a generation time of 23.20, 21.11 and 18.08 days when fed on B. lewisi at the same temperatures, respectively. This shows that N. barkeri is a promising control agent for C. vitis, T. urticae and B. lewisi on grape trees

From gender equality to gender justice: the Egyptian revolution and public sphere debates

Living in an era of a global gender agenda in which concepts and frameworks travel across the world presents many challenges when it comes to discussions of women’s rights in Egypt. In the decade preceding the January 25, 2011 revolution, significant progress was made regarding Egyptian women’s legal rights, especially in the domain of family law reform. Hence expectations were high that Egyptian women’s rights would advance following the Jan 25, 2011 revolution. Unfortunately with the transformations of the political landscape suggested otherwise. During the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood between 2011 to June 2013, several women’s rights legislations were revisited and several attempts and concrete steps were taken to repeal certain family laws that had been regarded as gains for Egyptian women. This thesis explores the different strategies, tactics and engagement that women’s rights advocates adopted during this period. While the global conception of gender equality was one of the main frameworks adopted in Egypt to promote women’s rights prior to the revolution, in this thesis, I explore the tensions between women’s rights legal activists and the Muslim Brotherhood regarding conceptions of gender equality and gender justice

Identification of a Novel Drug Lead That Inhibits HCV Infection and Cell-to-Cell Transmission by Targeting the HCV E2 Glycoprotein

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infects 200 million individuals worldwide. Although several FDA approved drugs targeting the HCV serine protease and polymerase have shown promising results, there is a need for better drugs that are effective in treating a broader range of HCV genotypes and subtypes without being used in combination with interferon and/or ribavirin. Recently, two crystal structures of the core of the HCV E2 protein (E2c) have been determined, providing structural information that can now be used to target the E2 protein and develop drugs that disrupt the early stages of HCV infection by blocking E2’s interaction with different host factors. Using the E2c structure as a template, we have created a structural model of the E2 protein core (residues 421–645) that contains the three amino acid segments that are not present in either structure. Computational docking of a diverse library of 1,715 small molecules to this model led to the identification of a set of 34 ligands predicted to bind near conserved amino acid residues involved in the HCV E2: CD81 interaction. Surface plasmon resonance detection was used to screen the ligand set for binding to recombinant E2 protein, and the best binders were subsequently tested to identify compounds that inhibit the infection of Huh-7 cells by HCV. One compound, 281816, blocked E2 binding to CD81 and inhibited HCV infection in a genotype-independent manner with IC50’s ranging from 2.2 µM to 4.6 µM. 281816 blocked the early and late steps of cell-free HCV entry and also abrogated the cell-to-cell transmission of HCV. Collectively the results obtained with this new structural model of E2c suggest the development of small molecule inhibitors such as 281816 that target E2 and disrupt its interaction with CD81 may provide a new paradigm for HCV treatment

Controlled synthesis and characterization of hollow flower-like silver nanostructures

Kamel AM Eid, Hassan ME AzzazyNovel Diagnostics and Therapeutics Group, Yousef Jameel Science and Technology Research Center, School of Sciences and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo, EgyptBackground: The synthesis of anisotropic silver nanoparticles is a time-consuming process and involves the use of expensive toxic chemicals and specialized laboratory equipment. The presence of toxic chemicals in the prepared anisotropic silver nanostructures hindered their medical application. The authors have developed a fast and inexpensive method for the synthesis of three-dimensional hollow flower-like silver nanostructures without the use of toxic chemicals.Methods: In this method, silver nitrate was reduced using dextrose in presence of trisodium citrate as a capping agent. Sodium hydroxide was added to enhance reduction efficacy of dextrose and reduce time of synthesis. The effects of all four agents on the shape and size of silver nanostructures were investigated.Results: Robust hollow flower-like silver nanostructures were successfully synthesized and ranged in size from 0.2 µm to 5.0 µm with surface area between 25–240 m2/g. Changing the concentration of silver nitrate, dextrose, sodium hydroxide, and trisodium citrate affected the size and shape of the synthesized structures, while changing temperature had no effect.Conclusion: The proposed method is simple, safe, and allows controlled synthesis of anisotropic silver nanostructures, which may represent promising tools as effective antimicrobial agents and for in vitro diagnostics. The synthesized hollow nanostructures may be used for enhanced drug encapsulation and sustained release.Keywords: silver nanoparticles, 3D hollow, flower-like, green synthesi