Kafrelsheikh University

Abstract Throughout the centuries, nature has been a source of inspiration, with much still to learn from and discover about. Among many others, Swarm Intelligence (SI), a substantial branch of Artificial Intelligence, is built on the intelligent collective behavior of social swarms in nature. One of the most popular SI paradigms, the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (PSO), is presented in this work. Many changes have been made to PSO since its inception in the mid 1990s. Since their learning about the technique, researchers and practitioners have developed new applications, derived new versions, and published theoretical studies on the potential influence of various parameters and aspects of the algorithm. Various perspectives are surveyed in this paper on existing and ongoing research, including algorithm methods, diverse application domains, open issues, and future perspectives, based on the Systematic Review (SR) process. More specifically, this paper analyzes the existing research on methods and applications published between 2017 and 2019 in a technical taxonomy of the picked content, including hybridization, improvement, and variants of PSO, as well as real-world applications of the algorithm categorized into: health-care, environmental, industrial, commercial, smart city, and general aspects applications. Some technical characteristics, including accuracy, evaluation environments, and proposed case study are involved to investigate the effectiveness of different PSO methods and applications. Each addressed study has some valuable advantages and unavoidable drawbacks which are discussed and has accordingly yielded some hints presented for addressing the weaknesses of those studies and highlighting the open issues and future research perspectives on the algorithm.

Soil contamination by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) has led to adverse environmental impacts. In this review, we discussed remediation of PTEs contaminated soils through immobilization techniques using different soil amendments with respect to type of element, soil, and amendment, immobilization efficiency, underlying mechanisms, and field applicability. Soil amendments such as manure, compost, biochar, clay minerals, phosphate compounds, coal fly ash, and liming materials are widely used as immobilizing agents for PTEs. Among these soil amendments, biochar has attracted increased interest over the past few years because of its promising surface properties. Integrated application of appropriate amendments is also recommended to maximize their use efficiency. These amendments can reduce PTE bioavailability in soils through diverse mechanisms such as precipitation, complexation, redox reactions, ion exchange, and electrostatic interaction. However, soil properties such as soil pH, and clay, sesquioxides and organic matter content, and processes, such as sorption/desorption and redox processes, are the key factors governing the amendments' efficacy for PTEs immobilization in soils. Selecting proper immobilizing agents can yield cost-effective remediation techniques and fulfill green and sustainable remediation principles. Furthermore, long-term stability of immobilized PTE compounds and the environmental impacts and cost effectiveness of the amendments should be considered before application.

Abstract The use of antibiotics in the aquafeeds to mitigate infectious diseases or to boost growth performance is commonly practiced. Recently, the prophylactic use of antibiotics and chemotherapies have been criticized which eventually led to their ban in aquaculture by law on many countries. In view of the current restrictions on antibiotic use, there is a critical need to evaluate other possible alternatives. One potential substitute for antibiotics in aquafeeds is the use of functional feed additives. The present review is a comprehensive and an updated compilation of the available works on different feed additives, their examples, modes of action and useful applications for improving aquafeeds. It highlights several functional feed additives including probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, immunostimulants, organic acids, nucleotides and medicinal herbs. Apart from boosting aquafeeds and safeguarding general health of aquatic animals, some of these substances have been found to possess beneficial immunostimulant and anti‐stress relieving properties. Furthermore, the use of these natural substances increases the consumer confidence of farmed fish. Due care has been taken to cover the on‐going trends and recent advances with a perspective vision and their holistic usages and beneficial applications in aquatic animals’ systems. The current study also shed light regarding the management and production aspects of aquatic animals which will enlighten farmers and producers for better economic growth.

Nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by the reaction of nickel chloride with hydrazine at room temperature and thermal decomposition of the precursor nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)2) nanoparticles. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. The result of thermogravimetric analysis showed that the Ni(OH)2 nanoparticles are calcinated at ∼400 °C. The interactions between NiO nanoparticles and glucose have been studied using UV–vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The zeta-potential of NiO nanoparticles was used to gain insight about the interaction mode between NiO nanoparticles and glucose.

Biochar is produced as a charred material with high surface area and abundant functional groups by pyrolysis, which refers to the process of thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen. The carbon component in biochar is relatively stable, and, hence, biochar was originally proposed as a soil amendment to store carbon in the soil. Biochar has multifunctional values that include the use of it for the following purposes: soil amendment to improve soil health, nutrient and microbial carrier, immobilising agent for remediation of toxic metals and organic contaminants in soil and water, catalyst for industrial applications, porous material for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and odorous compounds, and feed supplement to improve animal health and nutrient intake efficiency and, thus, productivity. This article provides for the first time an overview of the multifunctional values and unintended consequences of biochar applications.

Abstract Fires in smart cities can have devastating consequences, causing damage to property, and endangering the lives of citizens. Traditional fire detection methods have limitations in terms of accuracy and speed, making it challenging to detect fires in real time. This paper proposes an improved fire detection approach for smart cities based on the YOLOv8 algorithm, called the smart fire detection system (SFDS), which leverages the strengths of deep learning to detect fire-specific features in real time. The SFDS approach has the potential to improve the accuracy of fire detection, reduce false alarms, and be cost-effective compared to traditional fire detection methods. It can also be extended to detect other objects of interest in smart cities, such as gas leaks or flooding. The proposed framework for a smart city consists of four primary layers: (i) Application layer, (ii) Fog layer, (iii) Cloud layer, and (iv) IoT layer. The proposed algorithm utilizes Fog and Cloud computing, along with the IoT layer, to collect and process data in real time, enabling faster response times and reducing the risk of damage to property and human life. The SFDS achieved state-of-the-art performance in terms of both precision and recall, with a high precision rate of 97.1% for all classes. The proposed approach has several potential applications, including fire safety management in public areas, forest fire monitoring, and intelligent security systems.

Abstract Intensive culture systems are usually employed to increase the production, but we suspect that, in such systems, fish suffer infection and stress, which weakens their health. However, such systems may fail due to lack of resources or difficulty in controlling the rearing conditions’ optimization. When intensive culture systems fail, aquatic animals gradually stop feeding. Accordingly, their physiological status deteriorates, and their immunity is suppressed. Through some strategies, it is possible to protect fish from disease by providing balanced food that maintain intestinal health and improve digestion, thereby increasing immunity. Protecting the health of the intestinal barriers is the primary guarantee of fish health. The local immunity of the intestine is associated with the innate and adaptive immunity of the fish’s entire body. Thus, it is necessary to understand the interaction between the gut microbiota and the general immune system, as well as the most important reasons that can increase or suppress intestinal immunity. Many studies have confirmed that balanced diets containing basic nutritional requirements are the primary factor for maintaining intestinal health in aquatic animals. Another strategy for improving the intestine’s local immunity is to use some non‐nutritional food additives that increase the activity of beneficial bacteria and the secretion of digestive enzymes and decrease the harmful bacteria. This review article aimed to clarify the relationship between a balanced aquafeed and the intestinal health of aquatic animals by discussing the findings of related studies. Awareness of this correlation between diet and intestinal health is expected to aid the aquaculture industry to develop proper nutritional strategies that ensure the protection of fish health.

Wound healing is highly specialized dynamic multiple phase process for the repair of damaged/injured tissues through an intricate mechanism. Any failure in the normal wound healing process results in abnormal scar formation, and chronic state which is more susceptible to infections. Chronic wounds affect patients' quality of life along with increased morbidity and mortality and are huge financial burden to healthcare systems worldwide, and thus requires specialized biomedical intensive treatment for its management. The clinical assessment and management of chronic wounds remains challenging despite the development of various therapeutic regimens owing to its painstakingly long-term treatment requirement and complex wound healing mechanism. Various conventional approaches such as cell therapy, gene therapy, growth factor delivery, wound dressings, and skin grafts etc., are being utilized for promoting wound healing in different types of wounds. However, all these abovementioned therapies are not satisfactory for all wound types, therefore, there is an urgent demand for the development of competitive therapies. Therefore, there is a pertinent requirement to develop newer and innovative treatment modalities for multipart therapeutic regimens for chronic wounds. Recent developments in advanced wound care technology includes nanotherapeutics, stem cells therapy, bioengineered skin grafts, and 3D bioprinting-based strategies for improving therapeutic outcomes with a focus on skin regeneration with minimal side effects. The main objective of this review is to provide an updated overview of progress in therapeutic options in chronic wounds healing and management over the years using next generation innovative approaches. Herein, we have discussed the skin function and anatomy, wounds and wound healing processes, followed by conventional treatment modalities for wound healing and skin regeneration. Furthermore, various emerging and innovative strategies for promoting quality wound healing such as nanotherapeutics, stem cells therapy, 3D bioprinted skin, extracellular matrix-based approaches, platelet-rich plasma-based approaches, and cold plasma treatment therapy have been discussed with their benefits and shortcomings. Finally, challenges of these innovative strategies are reviewed with a note on future prospects.

Recently, biochar has received significant attention, especially for the removal of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from water and wastewater. No review has been focused on the potential use of wood-based biochar (WB) for the removal of PTEs in water and wastewater. Here, we have critically reviewed the (i) preparation and characterisation of WB; (ii) removal efficiency of WB for PTEs in water with respect to its physicochemical characteristics, biochar/water ratio, pH, and sorption system; (iii) removal mechanisms of PTEs by WB; (iv) fate of the sorbed PTEs onto WB; and (v) recovery of the sorbed PTEs from the resultant sludge of WB. We also discussed the removal of PTEs by engineered/designer WB as compared to pristine WB. This review demonstrates the overarching scientific opportunities for a comprehensive understanding of using WB as an emerging biosorbent and a promising low-cost and effective material for the remediation of PTEs contaminated water.

BACKGROUND: Vaccine hesitancy poses serious challenges for achieving coverage for population immunity. It is necessary to achieve high COVID-19 vaccination acceptance rates and medical students' coverage as future health care providers. The study aimed to explore the level of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and determine the factors and barriers that may affect vaccination decision-making. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among medical students in Tanta and Kafrelsheikh Universities, Egypt. Data collection was done via an online questionnaire during January 2021 from 2133 students. RESULTS: The majority of the participant students (90.5%) perceived the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine, 46% had vaccination hesitancy, and an equal percentage (6%) either definitely accepted or refused the vaccine. Most of the students had concerns regarding the vaccine's adverse effects (96.8%) and ineffectiveness (93.2%). The most confirmed barriers of COVID-19 vaccination were deficient data regarding the vaccine's adverse effects (potential 74.17% and unknown 56.31%) and insufficient information regarding the vaccine itself (72.76%). CONCLUSION: The government, health authority decision-makers, medical experts, and universities in Egypt need to work together and make efforts to reduce hesitancy and raise awareness about vaccinations, consequently improving the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines.

Chromium (Cr) is a potentially toxic metal originating from natural processes and anthropogenic activities such as the iron-steel, electroplating, and leather industries, which is carcinogen to living organisms and has an ecological risk. Hence, research into the remediation of Cr pollution has attracted widespread attention. Bioremediation techniques have advantages of causing little disturbance to soil and water, low cost, simple and convenient operation, and less secondary pollution. In this review, we briefly describe the chemical properties of Cr, sources of Cr pollution, environmental quality, toxicological/health effects of Cr, and analytical methods. We also discuss the factors that govern methods for the bioremediation of Cr and compare their advantages and disadvantages. In particular, we focus on efforts to establish Cr bioremediation processes and their mechanisms. The main mechanisms include biosorption, bioaccumulation, complexation, electrostatic attraction, Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III), and ion exchange, which decrease the Cr(VI) concentrations and convert Cr(VI) into Cr(III) lowering its toxicity and making it environmentally benign. However, bioremediation is still a challenging technique and most studies remain at the laboratory stage. Therefore we suggest areas for future research and provide theoretical guidance and a scientific basis for the application of biosorbents for Cr(VI) bioremediation in soils and wastewater.

, respectively. Median topsoil PLI was 1.73, indicating elevated multi-element contamination, with 90th percentile and maximum values being 3.20 and 4.31, respectively. All PTE concentrations were higher in top- compared to subsoils. Also at the 50th percentile the most enriched elements were Sn and As, followed by Zr and Rb, while in the 90th percentile Sn and As were followed by Zn, Pb and Cu. Median children's hazard index (HI) was higher than unity (HI = 2.27) and the 90th percentile was 5.53, indicating elevated health risk. Adult median HIs were 0.18 for male and 0.21 for female persons. Arsenic was found to be the primary contributor to total risk, accounting of 57.4% of HI in all three-person groupings, with Cr (17.3%) being the second, and V (10.2%) the third. Children's health is at dramatically higher risk than that of adults; also As, Cr, Pb, and V have a predominant role in contamination-related health risks. The presence of V, a less-expected element, among those of major risk contribution, reveals the necessity of monitoring areas at large scale. Our results demonstrate that our study may serve as a model for similar works studying multi-element-contaminated areas in future.

Trace elements (TEs) may have toxic effects to plants and humans; thus, countries and organizations impose maximum allowable regulation limits of their concentrations in soils. Usually such limits are placed in different categories according to soil use, soil properties or based on both attributes. However, some countries have regulation limits irrespective of differentiation in soil properties. In this review, we aimed at collecting TE regulation limits in soils from major countries and organizations around the globe, and critiquing them by assessing potential human health risks in the case of soils attaining the maximum allowable values. We explored the soil-to-human pathway and differentiated among three major exposures from TEs, i.e., residential, industrial and agricultural. We observed the existence of problems concerning TE regulation limits, among which the fact that limits across countries do not regulate the same TEs, not even a minimum number of TEs. This indicates that countries do not seem to agree on which regulation limits of TEs pose a high risk. Also, these regulation limits do not take into account TE mobility to neighbouring environment interphases such as plant, especially edible, and water matrices. Moreover, limits for same TEs are vastly diverse across countries; this indicates that those countries have conflicting information concerning TE-related health risks. Subsequently, we addressed this problem of diversity by quantifying resultant risks; we did that by calculating human health risk indices, taking into consideration the cases in which the highest allowable TE limits are attained in soil. Arsenic limits were found to generate a relatively high hazard quotient (HQi, accounting for human intake over the maximum allowable oral reference dose for that same TE), indicating that its risk tends to be underestimated. Other TE limits, such as those of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn typically result in low HQi, meaning that limits in their cases are rather overprotective. Our approach reveals the need of reducing diversity in regulation limits by drafting soil legislations of worldwide validity, since risks are common across countries. We suggest that new directions should strategically tend to (a) reduce limits of TEs with underestimated contribution to health risk (such as As), (b) cautiously increase limits of TEs that currently cause minor health risks, (c) quantify TE risks associated with uptake to edible plants and potable water, and (d) consider multi-element contamination cases, where risks are cumulatively enhanced due to TE synergism.

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the primary causes of cancer death among women. Early detection of BC allows patients to receive appropriate treatment, thus increasing the possibility of survival. In this work, a new deep-learning (DL) model based on the transfer-learning (TL) technique is developed to efficiently assist in the automatic detection and diagnosis of the BC suspected area based on two techniques namely 80-20 and cross-validation. DL architectures are modeled to be problem-specific. TL uses the knowledge gained during solving one problem in another relevant problem. In the proposed model, the features are extracted from the mammographic image analysis- society (MIAS) dataset using a pre-trained convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture such as Inception V3, ResNet50, Visual Geometry Group networks (VGG)-19, VGG-16, and Inception-V2 ResNet. Six evaluation metrics for evaluating the performance of the proposed model in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision, F-score, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) has been chosen. Experimental results show that the TL of the VGG16 model is powerful for BC diagnosis by classifying the mammogram breast images with overall accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision, F-score, and AUC of 98.96%, 97.83%, 99.13%, 97.35%, 97.66%, and 0.995, respectively for 80-20 method and 98.87%, 97.27%, 98.2%, 98.84%, 98.04%, and 0.993 for 10-fold cross-validation method.

Abstract Aquaculture, which constitutes one of the largest food production sectors in the world, is preferably practiced with natural organic products rather than with synthetic chemicals or antibiotics. In addition to the daunting challenge of providing food and livelihood to the exponentially increasing world population, the aquaculture industry is key to ensuring that development is based on environmentally sustainable practices, specifically in the production of aquafeeds. Terrestrial microorganisms that act as natural defence systems of cultured species have been identified as the main producer for the beneficial bacterial candidates. Probiotics have recently gained popularity as beneficial microbes candidates in cultured organisms to maintain the health condition and well‐being of different aquatic animals. This review aimed to understand the necessity of using probiotics as a sustainable alternative to regulate the growth performance, feed utilisation and general health condition for sustainable aquaculture. Also, explanatory discussion about the host microbiota and its ability to produce different probiotic strains and the probiotic functionality to ameliorate the host immunity to provide the interactive effects on the host‐derived probiotics. By presenting the results obtained from the previous studies about the ability of probiotics to sustain the aquatic animal's performances, this study condensed the current knowledge and information for future research and development of the probiotic application in aquaculture.

Agricultural production is under threat due to climate change in food insecure regions, especially in Asian countries. Various climate-driven extremes, i.e., drought, heat waves, erratic and intense rainfall patterns, storms, floods, and emerging insect pests have adversely affected the livelihood of the farmers. Future climatic predictions showed a significant increase in temperature, and erratic rainfall with higher intensity while variability exists in climatic patterns for climate extremes prediction. For mid-century (2040-2069), it is projected that there will be a rise of 2.8°C in maximum temperature and a 2.2°C in minimum temperature in Pakistan. To respond to the adverse effects of climate change scenarios, there is a need to optimize the climate-smart and resilient agricultural practices and technology for sustainable productivity. Therefore, a case study was carried out to quantify climate change effects on rice and wheat crops and to develop adaptation strategies for the rice-wheat cropping system during the mid-century (2040-2069) as these two crops have significant contributions to food production. For the quantification of adverse impacts of climate change in farmer fields, a multidisciplinary approach consisted of five climate models (GCMs), two crop models (DSSAT and APSIM) and an economic model [Trade-off Analysis, Minimum Data Model Approach (TOAMD)] was used in this case study. DSSAT predicted that there would be a yield reduction of 15.2% in rice and 14.1% in wheat and APSIM showed that there would be a yield reduction of 17.2% in rice and 12% in wheat. Adaptation technology, by modification in crop management like sowing time and density, nitrogen, and irrigation application have the potential to enhance the overall productivity and profitability of the rice-wheat cropping system under climate change scenarios. Moreover, this paper reviews current literature regarding adverse climate change impacts on agricultural productivity, associated main issues, challenges, and opportunities for sustainable productivity of agriculture to ensure food security in Asia. Flowing opportunities such as altering sowing time and planting density of crops, crop rotation with legumes, agroforestry, mixed livestock systems, climate resilient plants, livestock and fish breeds, farming of monogastric livestock, early warning systems and decision support systems, carbon sequestration, climate, water, energy, and soil smart technologies, and promotion of biodiversity have the potential to reduce the negative effects of climate change.

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer with a high mortality rate. The different types of skin lesions result in an inaccurate diagnosis due to their high similarity. Accurate classification of the skin lesions in their early stages enables dermatologists to treat the patients and save their lives. This paper proposes a model for a highly accurate classification of skin lesions. The proposed model utilized the transfer learning and pre-trained model with GoogleNet. The model parameters are used as initial values, and then these parameters will be modified through training. The latest well-known public challenge dataset, ISIC 2019, is used to test the ability of the proposed model to classify different kinds of skin lesions. The proposed model successfully classified the eight different classes of skin lesions, namely, melanoma, melanocytic nevus, basal cell carcinoma, actinic keratosis, benign keratosis, dermatofibroma, vascular lesion, and Squamous cell carcinoma. The achieved classification accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and precision percentages are 94.92%, 79.8%, 97%, and 80.36%, respectively. The proposed model can detect images that do not belong to any one of the eight classes where these images are classified as unknown images.

With the growing recognition that effective action on climate change will require a combination of emissions reductions and carbon sequestration, protecting, enhancing and restoring natural carbon sinks have become political priorities. Mangrove forests are considered some of the most carbon-dense ecosystems in the world with most of the carbon stored in the soil. In order for mangrove forests to be included in climate mitigation efforts, knowledge of the spatial distribution of mangrove soil carbon stocks are critical. Current global estimates do not capture enough of the finer scale variability that would be required to inform local decisions on siting protection and restoration projects. To close this knowledge gap, we have compiled a large georeferenced database of mangrove soil carbon measurements and developed a novel machine-learning based statistical model of the distribution of carbon density using spatially comprehensive data at a 30 m resolution. This model, which included a prior estimate of soil carbon from the global SoilGrids 250 m model, was able to capture 63% of the vertical and horizontal variability in soil organic carbon density (RMSE of 10.9 kg m -3 ). Of the local variables, total suspended sediment load and Landsat imagery were the most important variable explaining soil carbon density. Projecting this model across the global mangrove forest distribution for the year 2000 yielded an estimate of 6.4 Pg C for the top meter of soil with an 86-729 Mg C ha -1 range across all pixels. By utilizing remotely-sensed mangrove forest cover change data, loss of soil carbon due to mangrove habitat loss between 2000 and 2015 was 30-122 Tg C with >75% of this loss attributable to Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. The resulting map products

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a spice utilized widely in India, China, and Southeast Asia as an aromatic stimulant, a food preservative, and coloring material. The commonly used names of turmeric are castor saffron, turmeric, and saffron root. Turmeric is a yellow-orange polyphenolic natural substance derived from C. longa rhizomes. It has been used to treat common inflammatory diseases, tumors, biliary diseases, anorexia, cough, topical wounds, diabetic injuries, liver disorders, rheumatism, and sinusitis. Extensive studies on the biological properties and pharmacological consequences of turmeric extracts have been conducted in recent years. Curcumin, the primary yellow biocomponent of turmeric, has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antiprotozoal, antiviral, antifibrotic, immunomodulatory, and antifungal properties. Defense assessment tests showed that curcumin is tolerated well at high doses, without adverse effects. Thus, curcumin is a highly active biological material with the potential to treat different diseases in modern medicine. This review article focuses on curcumin's biological characteristics. The most popular methods for curcumin encapsulation are also discussed. Several effective techniques and approaches have been proposed for curcuminoid capsulation, including nanocomplexing, gelation, complex coacervation, electrospraying, and solvent-free pH-driven encapsulation. This review also highlights curcumin's chemical properties, allowing the readers to expand their perspectives on its use in the development of functional products with health-promoting properties. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Wheat constitutes pivotal position for ensuring food and nutritional security; however, rapidly rising soil and water salinity pose a serious threat to its production globally. Salinity stress negatively affects the growth and development of wheat leading to diminished grain yield and quality. Wheat plants utilize a range of physiological biochemical and molecular mechanisms to adapt under salinity stress at the cell, tissue as well as whole plant levels to optimize the growth, and yield by off-setting the adverse effects of saline environment. Recently, various adaptation and management strategies have been developed to reduce the deleterious effects of salinity stress to maximize the production and nutritional quality of wheat. This review emphasizes and synthesizes the deleterious effects of salinity stress on wheat yield and quality along with highlighting the adaptation and mitigation strategies for sustainable wheat production to ensure food security of skyrocketing population under changing climate.