An integrated approach of Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and vertical electrical resistivity sounding (VES) technique has been carried out to investigate regionally and locally the groundwater potentialities of Wadi Sar in the Hijaz Mountains. Our findings are (1) the terrestrial water storage variations (ΔTWS) are estimated at −2.06±0.34 mm/year; (2) the Global Land Data Assimilation System–derived soil moisture storage variations (ΔSMS) are estimated at −0.067±0.005 mm/year; (3) the groundwater storage variations (ΔGWS) show a negative trend estimated at −2.00±0.34 mm/year during the period April 2002–July 2017; and (4) the average annual precipitation (AAP) rate is estimated at 115 mm during the period 2002–2018. Three geoelectrical layers are identified from the inversion of the electrical resistivity data: (5) the surface layer of high resistivity values is consisted of dry unconsolidated Quaternary deposits; (6) the second layer represents the fractured groundwater aquifer of low resistivity values and variable thickness; (7) the third layer is composed of fractured basement rocks of higher resistivity values. The streams are draining the surface water toward the Najd Pedi plain aquifer; (8) the faults are acting as conduits for groundwater flow away from the Wadi. The current study indicates the occurrence of groundwater at the downstream zones of the Wadi Sar, but with a general decrease trend. The integrated approach provides a better understanding of the groundwater potentialities in the arid regions.

The North Western Sahara Aquifer System (NWSAS) is characterized by unsustainable groundwater exploitation whose magnitude depends on the still unclear recharge value. It is extending over Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria, with an area of 10⁶ km². Here, we proposed an integrated approach combining Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) data to reconstruct groundwater storage variations (ΔGWS) between April 2002 and July 2016. ΔGWS values are then introduced in a regional water budget equation accounting for the temporal evolution of withdrawals and natural discharge to calculate the time variations of the recharge. Yearly reconstruction of the recharge shows a large variability with alternation of net positive recharge and periods of net diffuse discharge associated with evaporation. The temporal average effective recharge value for the period of interest is 1.76 ± 0.44 mm yr⁻¹. Lag-times for the recharge to reach the water table of 45 and 100 yrs characteristic of a diffuse recharge and corresponding vadose thickness in the range 3.90 ± 3.60 and 8.60 ± 8.10 m were identified using a cross-correlation analysis between reconstructed annual recharge and annual rainfall (AR). Statistical interpretation of the relation between ΔGWS, AR, and withdrawals shows that the anthropogenic effect (groundwater extraction) is the main controlling factor (99% of explained variance) in comparison to AR variations for the ΔGWS time series under consideration. A relation between long-term recharge and average annual rainfall (AAR) suggests a recharge representing 1.8 ± 0.3% of AAR in transboundary aquifers of the Saharan belt.

Data from the Earth Gravitational Model (EGM2008) and the Earth Magnetic Anomaly Grid (EMAG2) were used to develop a continental scale crustal thickness model for Africa, and to estimate the depth to the bottom of the magnetic layer (DBML) and the geothermal gradient and heat flow. The results are: (1) the estimated DBML from the magnetic data varies from ~23.0 to ~37.2 km. The shallowest DBML values are located in the northern, eastern, and western parts of the continent, whereas the deepest values are observed in the central and southern regions. (2) The estimated crustal thickness based on gravity data varies from ~29.9 km in the northern and western parts of Africa to ~48.0 km in its southern regions, with an average thickness of 35.1 km for the whole continent. (3) The estimated heat flow varies between high values of 46–59 mW/m², observed in the northern, eastern, and western regions to low values of ~< 41 mW/m², observed in the central and southern parts of the continent. (4) The geothermal gradient values vary between 14.5 and 23.6 °C/km (5) The East African rift zone is underlain by shallow DBML characterized by high heat flow values that vary between 42 and 59 mW/m² (6) The heat flow anomalies in Egypt and Libya may be associated with the zone of the Pelusium megashear system, and it shows heat flow values that vary between 36.3 and 59.0 mW/m². The current study has taken advantage of the availability of the EGM2008 and EMAG2 datasets to map crustal thickness variations and DBML beneath the continental landmass of Africa.

The antimony tri-sulphide (Sb₂S₃) films were prepared by thermal evaporation technique. Four thicknesses (300, 521, 643 and 789 nm) were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed the amorphous structure of Sb₂S₃ films. Optical analyses revealed that Sb₂S₃ films exhibited optical energy gap between (1.98–1.16 eV) relaying on the film thickness. The films absorption coefficient was found to be higher than 2 × 10⁴ cm⁻¹(above its related optical energy gap) which makes these films reliable absorbers in photovoltaic applications. Optical constants were analyzed using Swanipole's method. The dark dc conductivity measurements of Sb₂S₃ thin films were conducted in the temperature range 298–503 K. The conduction mechanize was analyzed via Mott's variable -range hopping in three dimensions model. The correlated conductivity mechanize with increasing film thickness changed from extended

The spermicidal effects of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) hinder its application in the field of artificial insemination. In this study, silver-carbon NPs (Ag@C NPs) was synthesized and applied as an alternative antibiotic agent for bull semen extender. Ag@C NPs were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic absorption flame spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope (TEM), and high-resolution TEM (HR-TEM). Data analysis revealed the successful synthesis of Ag@C NPs with a particle size of 1-5 nm (average particle size of 2.5 nm) embedded into carbon. The antimicrobial activity of Ag@C NPs was tested against bacteriospermia of fresh semen collected from five fertile bulls (three ejaculates/bull). Escherichia coli (E. Coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) were isolated from fresh semen samples and identified by culture, staining, and conventional biochemical tests. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of Ag@C NPs against bacteriospermia was determined at 5 and 37 ºC. Ag@C NPs showed efficient antimicrobial activity (MIC: 3.125 - 12.5 μg/mL) against the tested strains and strong bactericidal effect on S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa (MBC: 3.125 μg/mL), with no detrimental effect (P ˃ 0.05) on the percentage of sperm motility (70.71±4.82; 74.65±4.46), plasma membrane integrity (68.39±4.31; 72.38±4.91), acrosome integrity (88.40±13.21; 86.77±14.23), and normal sperm morphology (86.85±7.43; 87.82±8.15) at concentrations of 15 and 30 μg/mL, respectively, after a cold storage of 48 h. However, Ag@C NPs showed a detrimental effect on sperm parameters in a dose dependent manner at concentrations ≥60 μg/mL. Ag@C NPs showed no adverse effect on the sperm´s ultrastructure with limited sperm internalization at MIC. In conclusion, Ag@C NPs could be used as an alternative antibiotic agent for bull semen extender without a significant cytotoxic effect on the sperm during cold storage. However, further investigations for their effects on embryo production and female genitalia are still required.

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Introduction: Cyclophosphamide (CP) causes redox imbalance and its use is associated with marked cardiotoxicity that limits its clinical applications. The present study investigated the protective effects of acetovanillone (AV) and edaravone (ED) against CP-induced oxidative stress and cardiac damage, emphasizing the role of PI3K/Akt/mTOR and Nrf2 signaling. Materials and Methods: Rats received either AV (100 mg/kg) or ED (20 mg/kg) orally for 10 days and CP (200 mg/kg) on day 7. At day 11, the rats were sacrificed, and samples were collected for analysis. Results: AV and ED ameliorated serum troponin I, CK-MB, LDH, AST and ALP, and prevented cardiac histological alterations in CP-intoxicated rats. Both treatments decreased cardiac lipid peroxidation and enhanced GSH, SOD and cytoglobin in CP-induced rats. AV and ED downregulated Keap1, whereas increased the expression of PI3K, Akt, mTOR and Nrf2 in the heart of rats received CP. Additionally, the binding modes of AV and ED to Keap1 were pinpointed in silico using molecular docking simulations. Conclusion: AV and ED prevent CP cardiotoxicity by attenuating oxidative stress and tissue injury, and modulating cytoglobin, and PI3K/Akt/mTOR and Keap1/Nrf2 signaling. Therefore, AV and ED may represent promising agents that can prevent cardiac injury in patients receiving CP.

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Color face recognition has more attention recently since it considered one of the most popular biometric pattern recognitions. With a considerable development in multimedia technologies, finding a suitable color information extraction from color images becomes a hard problem. Several color face recognition methods have been developed. However, these methods still suffer from some limitations, such as increasing the number of extracted features, which leads to an increase in computational time. Besides, among those features some of them are redundant and irrelevant that will influence the quality of the recognition. Therefore, this paper presents a novel color face recognition method that depends on a new family of fractional-order orthogonal functions, which is called orthogonal fractional-order exponent functions. Then, using these functions as the basis functions of novel multi-channel orthogonal fractional-order exponent moments (FrMEMs), these novel descriptors are defined in polar coordinates over the unit circle and have many characteristics. A set of experimental series are performed using a set of well-known color face recognition and compared with other CFR techniques. Besides, a group of feature selection methods with different classifiers used to evaluate the number of extracted features is suitable or needs to be enhanced. Experimental results illustrate that the proposed method based on FrMEMs outperforms other CFR methods. As well as, the recognition rate doesn’t influence by reducing the number of features using different FS methods.

The current study investigated the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZONPs) and oxytetracycline (OTC) supplementation on broilers’ behavior, performance, carcass quality, biochemical parameters, and intestinal microbial populations and birds’ response to Newcastle disease (ND) vaccine. A total of 336 seven-day-old IR broiler chicks were randomly allotted to six dietary treatments containing 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 ppm ZONPs or 50 ppm OTC. Each diet was fed to 7 replicates (8 birds/pen). The results clarified that 10 ppm ZONPs significantly improved the body weight gain and feed conversion in comparison to the control. No changes in behavior were recorded. The 10 ppm and 30 ppm ZONPs and OTC significantly reduced the gizzard weight in comparison to the control. While, 10 ppm ZONPs significantly increased the spleen weight, and all ZONPs doses increased bursa weight in comparison to the control and OTC groups. 20 ppm ZONPs increased the eviscerated yield and edible yield in comparison to the control and OTC groups. 40 ppm ZONPs increased pH, reduced meat color and overall acceptability in comparison to the control. In addition, results revealed that the 20 ppm ZONPs increased Calcium (Ca), High density low cholesterol (HDL-C), reduced urea (UA) and triglyceride (TG). Also, 40 ppm ZONPs and OTC increased creatinine (Cr) and reduced ND-HI titer in comparison to the control. For microbial population, OTC group was significantly lower than ZONPs groups in the total anaerobic, aerobic and lactobacilli count. In conclusion, the dietary inclusion of ZONPs can be applied as antibiotic growth promoter substitutions in broilers’ diet. However, further investigations are still needed.