Seawater intrusion and crop response to salinity in coastal Lebanon

Research conducted between 1999 and 2004 to assess pressure on coastal zone focused on three main objectives: first, the evaluation of seawater intrusion in southern coastal wells, second, the soil salinization in greenhouses irrigated by well waters, and third the management of saline water in two soil textures. Groundwater contamination was assessed by regular sampling of six wells for 30 months. The salinity of water fluctuated around 3 dS m[-1] and the Simpson index [Cl/HCO[3]] indicated levels of moderate to injurious contaminations. The Na/Cl ratios remained < 1, suggesting a seawater intrusion rather than an anthropogenic origin. In all sites, greenhouse growers had to rely on other water sources [e.g. rainwater, domestic] to supply the crop needs. In some cases, the crop had to be interrupted as salinity decreased yields. Improving the management of water and nutrients was studied in a tomato/Jew's-mallow sequence. Three levels of water salinity [1, 2.5 and 5 dS m[-1]] were tested in sandy and clay soils. Under sound management of fertilizers input and a leaching fraction, the salinity had no obvious negative effect on tomato in the clay soil. The Jew's mallow had a role in the removal of residual salts.

agropastoral system as a practice to enhance organic matter in Lebanese inland mountainous soils

Organic matter [OM] is an essential soil component that results from the decomposition and decay of plant and animal materials. Decomposition processes are influenced by several biotic and abiotic factors. The Lebanese inland regions are characterized by low rain and elevated temperature. Soil formation and evolution occur under dry conditions and rare vegetation cover. Due to the absence or insufficiency of plant residues and frequent cultivation, the soils of the eastern mountain chain are characterized by low OM content. Given the importance granted to carbon sequestration in view of climate change and the importance of OM in soil fertility and resilience to erosion, the aim of this work is to assess the soil organic matter [SOM] levels by following an agropastoral system consisting of growing feed crops between the fruit trees as winter cover crops

A two-year study between 2009 and 2010 was conducted in Jurd Aarsal, Anti-Lebanon, to assess the biomass production from cover crop in orchards and to estimate the potential increase of SOM content in plots planted with legume species [Vicia sp., Lathyrus sp.] and barley [Hordeum vulgare]. Soil and plant samples were taken from 7 orchards ranging in altitude between 2016m and 2 236m. SOM was analyzed in composite samples before and after the experiment. Plant samples were collected throughout the season to assess the dry matter production. Result showed that the sites were supplemented with OM varying between 140 and 250 kg ha[-1]season[-1] resulting from the decomposition of plant root residues. The above-ground plants provided the orchards with 95-665.7 kg ha[-1]season[-1] of OM. It is suggested to follow the practice of winter cover leguminous fodder crop between fruit trees, in dry Lebanese regions, in order to provide additional biomass for small ruminants, enrich the soils with OM and fixed nitrogen and better use of surface soil moisture

Use of remote sensing and gis to assess the anthropogenic impact on forest fires in Nahr Ibrahim watershed, Lebanon

The Mediterranean forests are exposed yearly to several forest fire events threatening the social, economical, ecological and living conditions of human being. The majority of these fires are of anthropogenic origin. The Nahr Ibrahim watershed [NIW] represents a typical example of the Lebanese areas having abundant forest surface [38.23% of its surface] but suffering recently from forest fires. The preservation of these natural resources is a priority for the continuity, stability and prosperity of the country. Several methods were applied to evaluate the potential forest fire risk in order to identify hot spots and reduce the potential damage. In this context mapping forest fire risk is a priority and a preliminary tool for the prevention of catastrophic fire events and development of sustainable forest management plans. The use of remote sensing and GIS provided the solid base for similar studies such as the forest fire risk map done for Lebanon at 1:200.000 scale. Therefore, the need for more detailed analysis at the watershed level arises. In this study a comparative analysis was conducted at a large scale [1: 50.000] on the NIW to assess the effect of several natural factors [climate, topography, vegetation and soil conditions] on forest fire risk. A combination of natural and anthropogenic factors [urban settlements, roads and zones with agricultural activity] provided better understanding of the impact of anthropogenic activities on forest hazards and forest resources conservation. The results show that forest fire in high risk zones is aggravated by anthropogenic activities: an increase from 5% to 38% was detected. In areas of moderate risk the increase goes from 7 to 25%. On the other hand, areas with low risk zones noticed a significant decrease when the anthropogenic activities were incorporated. Areas with very low risk have almost vanished

[Study of muddy flows, "sails", in northern Bekaa using sig and remote sensing - Wadi-Elfakeh case]

Flash flood or "sail", is a typical flow of mud through dry valleys which are located in an arid and semi-arid area. It is the outcome of torrential rain which occurs suddenly during the end of the wet season and covers the dry valley of Assi river. It causes catastrophic consequences on the environment and the economy of some villages in the North Beqaa. It is essential to make a comprehensive study on the dry valley of Fakehe village which includes an analysis of the geo-morphological, hydrological, and climatic factors

Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System [GIS] are considered as an effective and advanced technological tool to study the hydrological characteristics of Fakehe valley such as the nature of hydrological network, drainage index, soil permeability, and slope gradient. Then combining together all these factors using a [GIS] model one can identify the weak spots which cause or intensify the flash floods

After identifying the sensitive areas in Fakehe area many appropriate solutions are proposed to reduce the effects of the "sail" such as terraces and reforestation of steep slopes. Another solution is to widen and deepen the U form of the flash flood bed in order to contain the big muddy waves. Finally, the installation of many pipes is another solution to protect farmlands

Rangeland degradation in two watersheds of lebanon

A complex and rugged nature characterizes the Lebanese mountains. The climatic pattern prevailing in the country, deforestation and man made erosion caused increased rangeland degradation. The purpose of this study was to monitor two contrasting watersheds, representing the Lebanese agro-ecological zones, to analyze the vegetation dynamics and trace the state of rangeland degradation. The Kfarselouane [205 km[2] and Aarsal [316.7 km[2]] watersheds are located in the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain chain and characterized by sub humid and semi-arid climate respectively. Using multitemporal spot vegetation images between 1999 and 2005 to analyze the normalized differential vegetation index [NDVI] revealed some improvement of the vegetation cover over recent years in Kfaselouane with a steady state in Aarsal. The NDVI trend curve inclines in spring and declines in summer and fall. Judging by the time scale amplitude change and highest magnitude between the peak and lower NDVI level in Aarsal, an increased vulnerability to drought is observed in the dry Lebanese areas. Comparing land cover/use in Aarsal area between 1962 and 2000 using aerial photos and large resolution Indian satellite images [IRS] showed wood fragmentation and slight increase of the degenerated forest cover from 1108 ha to 1168 ha. Landuse change was accompanied by a simultaneous increase of cultivated lands [mostly fruit trees from 932 ha to 4878 ha with absence of soil conservation and water harvesting practices. On the contrary, grasslands decreased from 29581 ha to 25000 ha. In Kfarselouane, the area of grassland was invaded by forestland where rangeland decreased from 8073 ha to 3568 ha and woodland increased from 5766 ha to 11800 ha. Forest expansion occurred even at the account of unproductive land which decreased from 2668 ha to 248 ha, while cultivated lands did not reveal any substantial change. Based on animals' seasonal feeding pattern, a mismatch between land carrying capacity and grazing pressure is observed indicating the necessity to develop intermixed irrigated pasture-fruit tree production for supplemental feeding during the dry months

Legumes diversity in the south bank of Nahr Ibrahim river in Lebanon

The target of studying biodiversity in the south bank of Nahr-Ibrahim valley was to study models for the rehabilitation of degraded areas, with an emphasis on the diversity of wild legumes. In an altitudinal transect, the rock substrate was limestone mostly, with a few sites on basalt. Habitats were found to be mostly oak dominated open forests. All sites on limestone were highly diverse, with Shannon index reaching 3.691. The high level of heterogeneity characterizes the relatively undisturbed sites of native vegetation. Vegetation on basalt was less diverse than on limestone. Thirty species of legumes belonging to 15 genera were identified, 23 species were annual and 7 perennial. Most dominant legume species were herbaceous, except for Calicotome villosa an abundant shrub. Legumes diversity was positively linked to the number of species, the Shannon index and the coverage by the herbaceous layer. A significant association was found between Tamus, Hordeum, Dactylocteneum, Trifolium spp, Calicotome villosa, Styrax officinalis and Quercus calliprinos. This could serve as a model for future combination of potentially useful plant species

Inventory and management of Lebanese soils integrating the soil geographical database of Euro-Mediterranean countries

Land management and degradation are among central issues in the 21[St] century. Several international and local organizations deal with land vulnerability to desertification and have elaborated databases addressing soil information and thematic mapping. Among these are the Global and National Soil and Terrain Database [SOTER], the FAO dbase, the Georeferenced Soil Database for Europe. These procedures are workable at different scales. The FAO-dbase is a soil profile and laboratory database. The remaining methodologies are not strictly a cartographic tool but conceptual models with computerized structure of the data. But, while SOTER uses the available soil maps as support to build the database, the Soil Geographical database of Euro-Mediterranean Countries aims at preparing a geographic database by relegating the problem of the cartographic representation of data to a secondary position. Extremely variable landform, lithology, climate and vegetation cover characterize the east Mediterranean including Lebanon. From the coastal strip to the high mountains different soil types are spread like Fluvisols, Cambisols, Vertisols, Luvisols, Regosols, Leptosols, and Calcisols. To build the soil database integrating the Euro-Mediterranean methodology, additional information was gathered from old studies of Lebanese soils run between 1950 and 1975. To complement the missing soil information reflecting the great variability of soil association, substantial fieldwork was recently undertaken for soil description and sampling. As a result, a new soil map of Lebanon at 1:1 M. scale was produced. The soil units were mapped using the lithology-landform association as separation criteria for the identification of soil entities. Both dominant and small typological units were maintained to reflect soil diversity and the need for differential land management. Beside the geometric dataset, the semantic dataset contains information on soil geomorphology, main physical and physico-chemical characteristics including land use, management practices and related problems. In this paper the work implemented to build a small scale, but comprehensive, soil database for Lebanon is reviewed. The paper discusses the database suitability for the assessment of current agricultural and environmental practices in relation to climatic conditions and soil parameters. A detailed analysis of the state and impact of land degradation, potential of land resources in view of geomorphology, land capability, and land vulnerability to desertification is presented

Monitoring of groundwater salination by seawater intrusion on the Lebanese coast

In order to monitor the effects of the seawater intrusion on the groundwater quality, the coastal region from Choueifat to Rmeyle located south Mount - Lebanon had been chosen to be studied. Six wells have been selected. Water samples have been collected for a period of three years from 1999 to 2002, at the rate of one sample a month. A complete physico-chemical analysis has been done in order to measure the increase in salinity as well as the variation in piezometric level. The results obtained from the study showed that the regions of Choueifat, Jiye and Rmeyle are subject to seawater intrusion. This intrusion is directly and simultaneously related to the pumping period and intensity but poorly related to the amount of rainfall. It also depends on the geologic nature of the study area. Furthermore, the actual intrusion in the study zone aggravates the existing salinity problems. Indeed the salinity rates of well water ranged between 0.7 dS/m and 5.5 dS/m [the majority being above 2 dS/m] resulting in salinity rates not tolerable for crops, thus threatening their growth and production

Study on some prognostic criteria in cases of organosphosphate insecticides poisoning

The most common insecticides used worldwide are the organophosphate. They are used in the industrial, commercial and household fields. They act as irreversible cholinesterase inhibitors [organophosphate cholinesterase bond is not spontaneously reversible without pharmacology intervention]. The aim of the present work was to study some prognostic criteria in cases of organophosphate insecticides admitted to the Poisoning Unit of Alexandria Main University Hospital in order to assess the validity of each criterion. This work was carried out on 50 cases of OP insecticide poisoning that were admitted during the period from February to August 2002, All patients were clinically assessed by a full clinical sheet including. Socio demographic data, time lapsed since intake of poisoning, clinical examination including vital signs investigations, ECU, blood gases, pseudo cholinesterase level that have been estimated on admission and before discharge. Antidotal therapy has also been reported. The present study showed that organophosphate poisoning is a serious health and social problem because of it's using as a suicidal tool especially by females, also the wide using in the agriculture aggravate this problem. History of short-term exposure plays a role in prognosis The characteristics of clinical signs and symptoms are important on the outcome. Improvement of signs and symptoms after treatment with atropine is a good prognostic sign. Results of the present work revealed also that decrease in serum cholinesterase activity per se is not reliable in prognosis but could be used to monitor the proper management of the cases. Other alarming signs, which could give an idea about the severity and prognosis of the case, are the decreased conscious level, blood gases changes, as well as the prolongation of QTc interval in the ECG

Evaluation of the role of some biochemical markers in the diagnosis of acute mycoardial infarction an antemortem and postmortem study

Cardiac disease is the most frequent cause of sudden death. Moreover, the beginning of myocardial damage does not necessarily conincide with the appearance of symptoms, and therefore an asymptomatic period may ensue. One of the most difficult problems that face the critical care clinicians and forensic pathologists is to diganose sudden death in subjects with acute cardiac processes that progressed rapidly, with non-specific symptoms in many cases, and led to death without obvious morphological alterations. In recent years, many researches has been done to look for rapid, sensitive and specific cardiac markers that can assist critical care clinicians and forensic pathologists to make an early diangosis of acute myocardial infarction [AMI]. The latest markers available in market include troponins [I and T], creatine kinase [CK] and myoglobin. Cardiac troponin I [cTnI] is eventually a more sensitive, and a more reliable serum marker than cardiac troponin [cTnT] for the determination of damaged cardiac tissue following AMI. The aim of the present work is to test the prognositc value and reliability of measuring levels of certain blood biochemical markers for diangosing death due to acute myocardial infarction. The study was conducted at the Critical Care Department Units of Alexandria Main University Hospital. It was carried out on 62 selected cases suffering from extensive acute myocardial infarction. A spectal sheet was designed to collect the required information. Follow up of the patients was carried out till either improvement or death. Blood was obtained from all patient for cardiac markers assays: on admission, six hours after admission, and two hours postmortem for those who died [femoral vein]. Serum samples were tested for Cardiac troponin I [cTnI], Myoglobin and Creatine kinase MB [CK-MB]. Aditional 10 control deaths were included in the study [non-AMI deaths]. The results of the present study revealed that statistically significant differences were obtained for cTnI, myoglobin and CK-MB between Survived-MI cases and Non-Survived ones on admission and 6 hours later. Similarly, the concentrations of the three studied biochemical parameters in myocardial infarction [MI] patients, 6 hours from admission and 2 hours after death showed statistically significnat differences. Furthermore, the study showed postmortem significantly higher serum levels of these cardiac markers in deaths due to AMI as compared to deaths due to Non-MI. When comparing the cut off values of the 3 cardiac markers, it was found that measuring cTn I and CK-MB provide prognositc information that permits the early identification of patients with AMI at increased risk of death, hence aggressive treatement is needed for them and claims of malpractice are ruled out

Effect of variation in site and time on the level of ethanol and methanol in postmortem blood samples

It is well recognized that postmortem [PM] drug levels in blood may be unstable as a consequence of redistribution artifact. Whereby drugs diffuse from their binding sites of high concentration in tissues and major organs, such as liver and lung, into blood. Also drugs can be expected to diffuse from gastric contents into blood. When measuring drug concentrations after death, it is important to consider the phenomenon of PM drug redistribution. PM drug concentrations may not be a true reflection of the antemortem one and as a result, wrong conclusions could be made about the cause of death. There is few published evidence for most drugs and poisons to show the important differences in their PM concentrations in blood and tissues according to choice of sampling site, sampling time, handling of samples including containers, preservation and documentation and type of laboratory investigation carried out on PM samples. The present work was carried out to evaluate experimentally in rabbits PM behavior of ethyl and methyl alcohol in relation to their concentration in different blood sampling sites at different time intervals. Furthermore to assess the effect of site of PM blood sampling on the level of ethyl alcohol and methyl alcohol at time of autopsy in human cadavers and compare it with the results from rabbit experiments. The study was conducted on ninety male rabbits as experimental animals, and the human cadavers that were positive on screening to ethanol [n = 4] and methanol [n = 3] during the period of the study. Rabbits were divided into three groups [30 rabbits each], two groups for each drug, which were given the LD50 of the drug. Blood samples [2ml] were drawn from right and left sides of the heart and femoral vein from each group of rabbits, immediately, twelve hours and twenty-four hours after death. As regards human cadavers, blood samples [5m1] were drawn from right and left sides of the beau and femoral vein at time of autopsy. Experimental and human blood sample extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography. The study showed that ethanol was detected in the control group after 12h PM. The highest mean value recorded was 681 g/ml in 24h PM Rt. cardiac. No significant changes could be detected in immediate PM blood concentration for ethanol and methanol from different sampling sites. The study also revealed that PM blood concentration for ethanol and methanol increased over time for different sampling sites. Where up to 24h PM femoral [peripheral] blood drug concentrations were the closest to the immediate PM values, followed by Rt. cardiac then Lt. cardiac blood. It was noticed also that up to 12h PM femoral [peripheral] blood methanol concentration could be used as a reliable indicator for the immediate PM values. Experimental animal studies, when interpreted carefully, are indicative of the PM drug changes observed in human, denoting that femoral [peripheral] blood is the best site for drug sampling

Protective effect of polyaspartic acid on apoptosis induced aminoglycoside nephrotoxicity in rats. an immunohistochemical study of cell regulatory proteins [p53 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen]

Aminoglycoside antibiotics as gentamicin can produce irreversible, cumulative nepbrotoxicity due to the toxic injury of the renal tubular epithelial cells resulting in acute or chronic renal failure due to the prolonged exposure to small amounts [Lieberthal and Levine, 1996]. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible protective effect of polyaspartic acid on apoptosis-induced gentamicin toxicity in albino rats. For this purpose 70 male albino rats were equally divided into seven groups: control group, gentamicin groups [rats treated with geritamicin alone at daily doses of 10, 20 or 40mg/kg of body weight intraperitoneally] and protected groups [rats treated with polyaspartic acid [250 mg/kg/day subcutaneously] concurrently with gentamicin at the different studied doses. All rats were treated for seven consecutive days. Kidney cortex apoptosis was detected by the p53 antibodies. The cortical proliferative activity was determined by the proliferating cell nuclear antigen [PCNA] labeling index. The expression of p53 oncogene and the PCNA monoclonal antibodies were detected and quantitated using immunohistoehemical methods. The mean percentage of p53 positive cells in gentamicin treated rats at doses of 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg/day for seven days was 41.3 +/- 2.21,47 +/- 2.26 and 53.5 +/- 2.42 respectively, while that of PCNA positive cells was 21.5 +/- 1.96, 27.7 +/- 2.31 and 35.7 +/- 3.97 respectively. The apoptotic figures as well as the cell proliferative activity were used for assessing the efficacy of polyaspartic acid [PAA]. The mean percentage of p53 positive cells in protected rats at doses of 10, 20 and 40mg/kg/day for seven days was 22.4 +/- 2.07, 24.7 +/- 2.41 and 28.7 +/- 3.27 respectively, while that of PCNA positive cells was 2.8 +/- 0.98, 5.05 +/- 0.90 and 6.65 +/- 0.94 respectively. Rats treated with gentamicin alone developed an apoptotic process as part of the various cortical alterations induced by this antibiotic. Also a relation between gentamicin-induced tubular apoptosis and cortical proliferative response has been established. The marked apoptotic reaction induced by gentamicin in proximal tubules was dose dependent. In low doses it occurred in the absence of necrosis and it was correlated with the proliferative response. Coadministration of polyaspartic acid [PAA] with gentamicin proved to reduce significantly gentamicin-induced apoptosis. Although the underlying mechanism for this reduction remains uncertain, yet the molecular mechanism of the protective effect of PAA is most likely related to its biochemical mechanisms, which include antioxidative activities

Age estimation by teeth examination

A total of 100 extracted incisors, canines and premolars were collected forthis study. The gender and age of the patient, as well as the cause ofextraction, were recorded. Only sound teeth were included in the study. Teeth were stored in 4% buffered formaldehyde solution. Using long coneparalleling technique with XCP film holder to facilitate standardization, eachtooth was embedded in wax and placed parallel to the film and perpendicular tothe X-ray beam. Measurements on dental radiography [to the nearestmillimeter] were done using a stereoscope with a measuring eyepiece [graduatedlens] and included pulp and root lengths and widths. Results showed thatratios presenting the size of the pulp cavity were negatively correlated withage, confirming the inverse relationship. It was also shown that sex madesignificant contribution in the regression formula [when using all variablesand when using densitometric measurements done] resulting in strongercorrelation with age [r 0.74 - 0.91, p <0.01 and 0.0001]. Yet, if sex was notknown still estimates of age based on dentition are more likely to be correctthan those based on osseous development

Personality traits, intelligence quotient and dactylography in juvenile delinquents

Sixty boys [30 delinquents and 30 control] were studied. All subjects underwent the following tests: Eysenck personality inventory to evaluate neuroticism [N] and extraversion [E], Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory to evaluate psychopathic deviation [PD], modification of draw a person test [DAP] to measure IQ, h and test to measure degree of aggression, acting out and violence, and dermatoglyphics of fingers of both h and s. Results showed that the 3 personality dimensions tested were significantly higher in juvenile delinquents than in the control group. Similarly, a significant difference existed for aggression and acting out at p <0.01 IQ was significantly lower among juvenile delinquents than among the control group [t = 3.77, p = 0.01]. As for the dermatoglyphics, radial loops were nearly absent in both h and s of juvenile delinquents. The only significant relationship elicited was in the right index for the drug abuse offense

Effect of pH on autolytic histological changes of liver cells

In the present work, rat liver tissue were incubated in different phosphatebuffer solution [pHs 4, 6, 7, 9 and 11] for different periods of times [2, 4and 12 hours]. Hematoxylin and eosin stained sections were studiedmicroscopically by oil immersion objective lens. The results showed that, atacidic PHs, the cells and their nuclei tend to shrink with relatively betterpreservation of structures and increased staining affinity even 12 hoursautolysis. At pH 11, the appearance of liver tissue was very deterioratedeven at 2 hours autolysis. At neutral PH, staining affinity of cells weremoderately low with less preservation of structure than at acidic ormoderately alkaline PHs. The study highly recommended the consideration ofunusual PH changes before any interpretation of antemortem or postmortemhistopathological changes or estimation of time of death. The study alsorecommended routine microscopic examination of liver tissue in autopsy cases, inwhom unusual PH deviation is expected such as some poisons or diabeticketoacidosis. In case of tissue fixation, whether by formalin orgluteraldehyde, it was recommended to adjust PH accurately to avoid artifactsdue to PH deviation