This paper presents an archaeogeophysical prospection in Abydos, a rich archaeological site including royal monuments and tombs from multiple periods of Ancient Egypt. Abydos is the most important burial site of ancient Egypt, having a history extending back about 7500 years. Near-surface geophysical techniques, particularly ground magnetic and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys, have been used to discover hidden ancient archaeological objects that will help with the site's long-term development. The main objective of this work was the depth estimation and geometry determination of the buried archaeological objects southwest Seti I temple, such as walls, tombs and other features. A proton-precession magnetometer (G-857) and an SIR-4000 equipment with an antenna of 200 MHz were used as instrumentation for the magnetic and GPR surveys, respectively. A final output is a total magnetic intensity (TMI) anomaly map, which has undergone extensive filtering to separate the residual components related to the shallow objects that could potentially serve as archaeological targets from the regional components of the deeper anomalies. Depth was estimated using source parameter imaging and 3D Euler deconvolution. The qualitative interpretation of the obtained magnetic maps reveals that there are clusters of anomalies that could indicate archaeological remains. On the other hand, the GPR findings reveal the presence of reflection hyperbolae within the measured profiles coinciding with the magnetic anomalies, supporting the probable existence of archaeological buried objects, which need to be confirmed by excavation. The main depths of these objects range approximately between 1 and 3 m. Our results bring new light on yet uninvestigated archaeological features at Abydos, paving the road to renewed archaeological research in this area.

This paper presents a comprehensive seismic hazard assessment of the Mila earthquake epicentral area that occurred on August 7, 2020 (Mw 5.0) in northeast Algeria. The analysis emphasizes the environmental factors that likely played a crucial role in amplifying the earthquake’s damaging impacts on the region. This interdisciplinary methodology encompasses several key aspects, including the earthquake catalog, an analysis of coseismic geological factors according to the environmental seismic intensity (ESI) scale, and the estimation of peak ground acceleration (PGA) values using both probabilistic and deterministic seismic hazard approaches (PSHA and DSHA, respectively). A comprehensive assessment of seismic intensity was conducted by examining primary and secondary impacts across three districts: El-Kherba, Grareme-Gouga, and Azzeba. Both PSHA and DSHA were conducted for the region, revealing that the varying intensity levels are linked to the distributions of modified mercalli intensity (MMI) and PGA. Our findings show that the hazard estimation methods used can result in significant variations in the PGA distributions. Moreover, PGA values often diverge significantly from macroseismic intensity levels derived using the ESI scale. Consequently, incorporating environmental factors into hazard assessments is essential for achieving a more accurate seismic evaluation. In the final phase, seismic hazard assessment methods are employed to estimate damage distributions at risky locations, considering a 50-year exposure period. The results show the importance of taking precautions to reduce earthquake casualties in vulnerable old urban centers. This work proposes a methodology for conducting site-specific hazard and vulnerability estimations to mitigate earthquake hazard and support risk reduction measures.

In this study the seismic hazard in Northern Algeria is analyzed by using a probabilistic approach, and specifically the parametric-historic method. This method enables the incorporation of the entire accessible seismic history into the analysis and effectively addresses both the spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability of the seismicity parameters. The recently compiled earthquake catalog covering the region and spanning the period from 1658 to 2018 was used for estimating the seismicity parameters. The seismic hazard maps in terms of peak ground acceleration (PGA) were calculated for return period of 475 years for rock, stiff soil, and soft soil conditions. The uniform hazard spectra (UHS) for the major cities in Northern Algeria were calculated for the same conditions. The largest PGA values are observed near the cities of Chlef, Algiers, Blida, Medea, and Tipasa. Arguably the most important obtained result is evident in the seismic hazard estimates for the capital city of Algiers, which significantly exceed previously published estimates.

Recently, extensions of the gamma and beta functions have been studied due to their appealing properties and wide range of applications in various scientific fields. This note aims to investigate generalized inequalities associated with the extended beta and gamma functions.

Various biomaterials have been evaluated to enhance bone formation in critical-sized bone defects; however, the ideal scaffold is still missing. The objective of this study was to investigate the in vitro and in vivo regenerative capacity of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) and graphene oxide (GO) nanomaterials to stimulate critical-sized bone defect regeneration. The in vitro cytotoxicity and hemocompatibility of g-C₃N₄ and GO were evaluated, and their potential to induce the in vitro osteogenesis of human fetal osteoblast (hFOB) cells was assessed using qPCR. Then, bone defect in femoral condyles was created in rabbits and left empty as control or filled with either g-C₃N₄ or GO. The osteogenesis of the different implanted scaffolds was evaluated after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of surgery using X-ray, computed tomography (CT), macro/microscopic examinations, and qPCR analysis of osteocalcin (OC) and osteopontin (OP) expressions. Both materials displayed good cell viability and hemocompatibility with enhanced collagen type-I (Col-I), OC, and OP expressions of the hFOB cells. Compared to the control group, the bone healing process in g-C₃N₄ and GO groups was promoted in vivo. Moreover, complete healing of the bone defect was observed radiologically and grossly in g-C₃N₄ implanted group. Additionally, g-C3N4 implanted group showed higher percentages of osteoid tissue, mature collagen, biodegradation, and expressions of OC and OP. In conclusion, our results revealed that g-C₃N₄ and GO nanomaterials could induce osteogenesis in critical-sized bone defects.