As Egypt develops its 4th generation cities, housing affordability remains a critical determinant of urban well-being. This paper evaluates the relationship between housing affordability, socio-economic variables, and housing determinants across three housing mixes in and near the New Administrative Capital (NAC): middle-income housing (R3), luxury housing (R5), and social housing (Capital Gardens City: CG). The paper assesses the effect of nine independent variables on housing affordability by using multiple linear regression (MLR). The results demonstrate that affordability was most strongly associated with cost reduction and payment facilities across all housing levels. However, localized drivers emerge: the ownership system is pivotal in R5 and CG, while household size and employment type are significant in R3. In CG, marital status and income provide additional layers of influence. These findings underscore that affordability is a multidimensional, varied, local-context phenomenon. Finally, policy implications are proposed to enhance the sustainability of new urban housing markets.
The objective of the current study was to assess the hepatoprotective properties of nano-phytosomes (CRV-PNPs) loaded with carvacrol (CRV) in response to lead (Pb)- triggered liver injury. Male Wistar rats were assigned to six groups: Control, CRV, CRV-PNPs, Pb, Pb/CRV, and Pb/CRV-PNPs. Pb intoxication led to considerable blood profile disruption; in addition, it lowered serum total protein and its fractions. Pb also provoked an oxidative stress cascade, indicated by reductions in catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities and glutathione (GSH) levels, coinciding with a marked increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations. Pb also increased the inflammatory mediators (NF-kappa B, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-6, NLRP3). Compared to crude CRV, CRV-PNPs provided significantly better protection against Pb-induced hepatotoxicity by restoring hematological indices and liver function, correcting dyslipidemia, and attenuating histopathological alterations. This protective efficacy was associated with improved antioxidant enzyme activity, diminished oxidative damage, and reduced inflammatory response by downregulating key mediators. Molecular docking revealed that CRV has a strong affinity for antioxidant and inflammatory proteins. The CRV-PNPs exhibited a better protective effect against Pb-induced hepatic damage than crude CRV, which might be attributed to improved stability, solubility, and bioavailability, as well as multiple protective mechanisms.
This study presents a techno-economic and environmental assessment of a hybrid Earth-Air Heat Exchanger (EAHE) and photovoltaic (PV) system for a residential F2-type building under the hot-arid conditions of Cairo, Egypt (ASHRAE 2 B and Köppen-Geiger BWh). The analysis combines Meteonorm Typical Meteorological Year weather data, DesignBuilder/EnergyPlus building-load simulation, and EAHE/soil-temperature models validated against measured literature data; internal gains and operating schedules are standard-based assumptions rather than field-measured inputs. Results show that the EAHE moderates ambient air temperature, achieving an average air-temperature reduction of 5.18°C during the cooling season and an average increase of 6.62°C during the heating season. The EAHE reduces the July baseline cooling demand by 233.34 kWh (15.4%) and supplies 298.09 kWh of thermal energy in January, covering 92.0% of the heating demand. A year-1 PV capacity of 7.64 kWp was selected to cover the post-EAHE July demand using fourteen 550 W-class modules, requiring approximately 38.5 m2 of roof area. If the same coverage is required at the end of a 25-year PV lifetime under 0.5%/year degradation, the required design capacity increases to approximately 8.62 kWp. The economic results are scenario-dependent: the simple payback period is 3.8 years under a high avoided-cost tariff of 0.18 USD/kWh, whereas it increases to approximately 15.9 years when the official upper residential tariff in Egypt is used. Environmentally, the hybrid system reduces grid electricity use and associated CO2 emissions, although the long-term EAHE performance should be verified experimentally because multi-year soil thermal saturation was not modeled.
This work presents the simultaneous extraction and preconcentration of U(VI) and Cr(VI) using a green and flexible hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent (HDES) composed of Adogen 364 and cinnamic acid (1:1 M ratio) coupled with air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (AA-LLME) prior to ICP-OES determination. The developed HDES overcomes several limitations associated with conventional extraction solvents by providing efficient phase separation, low toxicity, emulsion-free operation, and enhanced extraction performance in complex aqueous matrices. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed method achieved a preconcentration factor of 20, with limits of detection of 0.16 and 0.18 mu g L-1 for U(VI) and Cr(VI), respectively. Excellent linearity and satisfactory precision (RSD < 2%) were obtained. The applicability of the method was successfully evaluated using industrial wastewater, seawater, groundwater, and river water samples spiked with the target analytes, yielding recoveries between 96.74% and 99.80%, indicating negligible matrix effects and high analytical accuracy. Furthermore, greenness assessment using the Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI) and Analytical GREEness Metric (AGREE) confirmed the environmental sustainability of the proposed approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report employing an Adogen 364/cinnamic acid-based HDES in combination with AA-LLME for the simultaneous extraction and determination of U(VI) and Cr(VI) in environmental water samples.
