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A systematic study was carried out on Nafion® 112 membranes to evaluate the effects of different electric field strengths on the structural and electrical properties of the membranes. The membranes were subjected to different electric field strengths (0, 40, 80, and 140 MV/m) at a temperature of 90 °C. Proton conductivity was measured using an LCR meter, revealing that conductivity values varied with the electric field strengths, with the optimal conductivity observed at 40 MV/m. Positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) spectroscopy provided insights into the free volume structure of the membranes, showing an exponential increase in the hole volume size as the electric field strength increased. It was also found that the positronium intensity of the Nafion® 112 membranes was influenced by their degree of crystallinity, which decreased with higher electric field strengths. This indicates complex interactions between structural changes and the effects of the electric field. Dielectric studies of the membranes were characterized over a frequency range of 50 Hz to 5 MHz, demonstrating adherence to Jonscher’s law. The Jonscher’s power law’s s-parameter values increased with the electric field strength, suggesting a transition from a hopping conduction mechanism to more organized ionic transport. Overall, the study emphasizes the relationship between the free volume, crystallinity, and macroscopic characteristics, such as ionic conductivity. The study highlights the potential to adjust membrane performance by varying the electric field.

Abstract Background To see if pre-treatment 18F-FDG PET/CT metabolic tumor volume (MTV) might predict occult axillary lymph node metastases (ALNM) in luminal early breast cancer (BC) with negative axilla on clinical examination, radiological studies, and conventional 18F-FDG PET/CT interpretation. Methods Out of 330 consecutive patients with early BC who were referred for preoperative staging, only 110 female patients with luminal early BC who had biopsy-proven axillary lymph node (ALN) status and negative axilla on clinical examination, radiological studies, and conventional 18F-FDG PET/CT interpretation, were eligible for analysis. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), SUVmean, MTV, total lesion glycolysis (TLG), and clinicopathological features were determined. Via ROC analysis, we determined the optimal cutoff values for SUVmax, SUVmean, MTV, and TLG of the primary tumor to predict ALNM. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to identify the most potent PET metabolic parameters to predict ALNM. Results Pathologic ALNM was identified in 29.1% of cases; 40.6% of them had lymphovascular invasion (LVI) compared to 9% of the ALN-negative group (P 4.83. In univariate analysis, MTV (P = 0.005) and LVI (P

Significant copper mineralization are observed to be associated, in most cases, with some radioactive anomalies related to increased uranium and thorium contents in Southern Sinai, Egypt. These mineralizations are related to intense post-magmatic, structurally controlled hydrothermal activities in many localities. Wadi Khosh El-Daba area is one of these locations which is mainly composed of monzogranites dissected by andesite dyke and pegmatite vein. This work deals with the application of ground magnetic and self-potential methods to establish the magnetic sources governing the mineralization, to interpret the significant trends that affected the study area, and to delineate the mineralized zones. The magnetic data were processed, enhanced and interpreted using advanced techniques, such as the first-order vertical derivative (FVD), the tilt derivative (TD), Euler deconvolution (ED), and source parameter image (SPI). The main structural lineaments/contacts that control the distribution of hydrothermal alterations and mineral distributions are oriented to the NW–SE, NE–SW, and NNW–SSE directions. The self-potential (SP) data show that there are numerous mineralized zones; most of them are distributed mainly along the structural lineaments deduced from the magnetic study. The quantitative interpretation revealed that the mineralized bodies are at shallow depths ranging from 5.6 m to 12.7 m, with half-width from 5 m to 13 m. These bodies are shallow to moderate dipping towards the south and north directions. Based on this study an anomaly map is originated to locate the preferred structural elements that may be controlling the mineralization in the area for further future exploration.

Bostonite rocks are widely spread in the Central Eastern Desert (CED) of Egypt, they are found in the form of sills or dykes injected in the Precambrian rocks. Postgeosynclinal (Hammamat) sediments were intruded by Postorogenic bostonites. The study of this area, using ground geophysical methods, aimed at tracking the radioactive mineralization under the surface, based on the possible association of this radioactive mineralization with some other mineralizations such as sulphides. The application of the self-potential survey shows that the highest negative anomalies are associated with the South El-Atshan bostonite sill and its contact zones. The depths to the centres of some selected anomalies range from 5.7 m to 24 m, half-widths oscillate from 6 to 32 m, with shallow dips towards the west and east directions. The horizontal-loop electromagnetic (HLEM) survey, which was conducted using four frequencies, revealed the presence of two conductive bodies. These conductive bodies possess narrow widths and depths, ranging from 25 m to 27 m, dipping towards the west direction with shallow angles of 25° and 40°, respectively. In addition, the induced polarization (IP) profile shows high chargeability values reaching more than 7.9 mV/V at depths starting from about 10 m to about 35 m. This zone corresponds to a high-resistance zone that may reflect a subsurface disseminated mineralization. The integration of the results obtained using the three techniques makes it possible to determine the most appropriate zones for the development of exploration in the area of investigation.

Abstract During the past few decades, classical in‐person communication has been enriched by opportunities for telemedicine. We are in a learning healthcare environment that takes advantage of the opportunities of telemedicine and in‐person consultations, reconciling the individuality of the patient and his/her psoriasis. A working group of experts in telemedicine was installed by the International Psoriasis Council (IPC) to formulate the opportunities and limitations of telemedicine in the diagnosis and treatment of psoriasis. The working group formulated statements on various aspects of telemedicine according to the nominal group technique to reach a consensus on these statements and explore the variation of opinions. Thirty‐six statements regarding teledermatology and psoriasis were agreed upon by the IPC working group. The value and necessity for the implementation of teledermatology in dermatologic healthcare practices for psoriasis are essential. Management of psoriasis through teledermatology is feasible with a few exceptions. In this communication, the statements are presented and discussed in the context of the available literature, and finally, a call to action by IPC is formulated related to these statements.

Abstract Background Psychotic experiences are reported in the general population. The Questionnaire for Psychotic Experiences (QPE) was created to test the phenomenological features of these experiences and compare them with those reported in patients with psychiatric and other medical conditions. The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the QPE. Methods We recruited 50 patients with psychotic disorders from the Hamad Medical Hospital in Doha, Qatar. Patients underwent assessment over three sessions with trained interviewees using the Arabic versions of QPE, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF). Patients were also reassessed using the QPE and GAF after 14-days from the initial assessment in order to test for the stability of the scale. In this respect, this is the first study that assesses the test–retest reliability of the QPE. The psychometric properties including convergent validity, stability, and internal consistency met the benchmarked criteria. Results Results confirmed that the Arabic version of QPE accurately measured the experiences of patients that were also reported using the PANSS, an internationally accepted, well-established scale for measuring psychotic symptom severity. Conclusion We propose the use of the QPE to describe the phenomenology of PEs across modalities in Arabic speaking communities.

Abstract Background Egyptian water buffalo as a dairy animal is adapted to the environmental conditions in Egypt and most of it is with small farmers, therefore, it was necessary to pay attention to improve its nutrition, increase its milk production, and improve its components by adding some feedstuffs of high nutritional value as Moringa oleifera which is a rapidly growing plant that is planted in tropical and subtropical area, in addition its leaves have high nutritive value, and it contains anti-oxidative and bioactive compounds, low anti-nutrient content and high amount of magnesium, which has positive effects on milk yield. Results The results revealed that, daily milk or 4% FCM yields was significantly (P

Abstract Background The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) has been clinically reappraised in several studies conducted mainly in the US and Europe. This report describes the methodology used to conduct one of the Middle East's largest clinical reappraisal studies. The study was carried out in conjunction with the World Mental Health Qatar—the first national psychiatric epidemiological study of common mental disorders in the country. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic consistency of core modules of the newly translated and adapted Arabic version of the CIDI 5.0 against the independent clinical diagnoses based on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐5 (SCID‐5). Methods Telephone follow‐up interviews were administered by trained clinicians using the latest research edition of the SCID for DSM‐5. Telephone administered interviews were key in the data collection, as the study took place during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Results Overall, within 12 months, 485 interviews were completed. The response rate was 52%. Quality control monitoring documented excellent adherence of clinical interviews to the rating protocol. Conclusions The overall methods used in this study proved to be efficient and effective. For future research, instrument cultural adaptation within the cultural context is highly recommended.

Abstract Background Qatar is a high-income country with 90% of the population being economic migrants from low income countries. Due to this unique population composition, it has been suggested that Qatar may not follow suicide trends of high-income countries. Additionally, there is paucity of information on suicidal trends and rates due to social and cultural reasons. The Covid-19 pandemic has additionally impacted mental health of migrants differently form native Qataris. Objectives This study explores suicidal behavior trends among individuals attending the main Emergency Department in the state of Qatar for mental health emergencies. The study also compared these trends for pre-pandemic period to early post pandemic period. Methods A cross-sectional study of individuals attending the main emergency department of the country from 1st December 2019 to 30th June 2020 was carried out using a composite data collection form. This identified 799 individuals presenting with mental health emergencies. Suicidal behaviors, relevant sociodemographic data, along with factors known to be associated with suicidal behaviors were collected for this group. Results 24.9% (n = 199) of the sample presented with suicidal behaviors. Younger age (31.16 ± 9.497), current hopelessness (70; 54.7%), history of suicidal thoughts (50; 47.2%), history of suicidal attempts (43; 34.7%), history of self-harm thoughts (35; 39.3%), history of self-harm attempts (41; 37.6%) were highly significantly associated with suicidal behavior (p

The safety performance of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is a very important factor in evaluating nuclear energy sustainability. Safety analysis of passive and active safety systems have a positive influence on reactor transient mitigation. One of the common transients is primary coolant leg rupture. This study focused on guillotine large break loss of coolant (LB-LOCA) in one of the reactor vessels, in which cold leg rupture occurred, after establishment of a steady-state condition for the VVER-1000. The reactor responses and performance of emergence core cooling systems (ECCSs) were investigated. The main safety margin considered during this simulation was to check the maximum value of the clad surface temperature, and it was then compared with the design licensing limit of 1474 K. The calculations of event progression used the engineering-level RELAP5/SCDAPSIM/MOD3.5 thermal-hydraulic program, which also provide a more detailed treatment of coolant system thermal hydraulics and core behavior. The obtained results show that actuation of ECCSs at their actuation set points provided core cooling by injecting water into the reactor pressure vessel, as expected. The peak cladding temperature did not overpass the licensing limit during this LB-LOCA transient. The primary pressure above the core decreased rapidly from 15.7 MPa to 1 MPa in less than 10 s, then stabilizes up to the end of transient. The fuel temperature decreased from 847 K to 378 K during the first 30 s of the transient time. The coolant leakage reduced from 9945 kg/s to approximately 461 kg/s during the first 190 s in the transient. Overall, the study shows that, within the design of the VVER-1000, safety systems of the have inherent robustness of containing guillotine LB-LOCA.

Abstract Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the main cause of disability and mortality in individuals under the age of 45 years. Elucidation of the molecular and structural alterations in brain tissue due to TBI is crucial to understand secondary and long-term effects after traumatic brain injury, and to develop and apply the correct therapies. In the current study, the molecular effects of TBI were investigated in rat brain at 24 h and 1 month after the injury to determine acute and chronic effects, respectively by Fourier transform infrared imaging. This study reports the time-dependent contextual and structural effects of TBI on hippocampal brain tissue. A mild form of TBI was induced in 11-week old male Sprague Dawley rats by weight drop. Band area and intensity ratios, band frequency and bandwidth values of specific spectral bands showed that TBI causes significant structural and contextual global changes including decrease in carbonyl content, unsaturated lipid content, lipid acyl chain length, membrane lipid order, total protein content, lipid/protein ratio, besides increase in membrane fluidity with an altered protein secondary structure and metabolic activity in hippocampus 24 h after injury. However, improvement and/or recovery effects in these parameters were observed at one month after TBI.

Abstract Background There is conflicting results of few published human 18F-FDG PET/CT studies about BAT activation in breast cancer (BC). The aim of the study is to evaluate the association between the levels of BAT metabolic activity detected by 18F-FDG PET/CT and clinicopathological characteristics of a tumor in patients with primary BC. Results BAT was activated in 16 out of 157 (10.2%) consecutive female patients with BC who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT for initial evaluation. The majority of patients (15/16) had bilateral uptake in the supraclavicular regions. The mean values of the highest SUVmax and total metabolic activity (TMA) of activated BAT were 13.3 ± 9.9 and 79.6 ± 45, respectively. Median outdoor temperature was significantly lower in the activated BAT group (P value=0.035). Patients with BAT activation tended to have a lower median primary tumor size and primary SUVmax, but not statistically significant than those without BAT activation. BAT activation was significantly more frequent among younger age groups (14/16) and patients with lower body mass index (BMI) (10/16), but it was insignificantly more frequent among estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), progesterone receptor-positive (PR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor2 negative (HER2-), invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), grade II, luminal B subtype, high Ki-67 expression level, patients with positive nodal metastasis, and in patients without distant metastasis. TMA was significantly higher among HER2+ patients (P value=0.019), but insignificantly higher among the younger age groups, stages I and II, invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), grade I, luminal B subtype, ER+, PR−, higher Ki-67 expression level, patients with positive nodal, and distant metastasis. BMI and patient’s age were the significant independent predictor factors for BAT activation on multivariate regression analysis. Conclusion BAT activation in young age females is sex hormone-dependent, positively associated with less aggressive molecular subtypes of BC, less frequent in patients with distant metastasis. BAT activation may be a prognostic factor that carries a better prognosis in BC.

Abstract Histopathology and immunohistology remain the gold standard for breast cancer diagnostic. Yet, these approaches do not usually provide a sufficiently detailed characterization of the pathology. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate for the first time that elemental analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy microscopic examination of breast tissue sections can be merged into one dataset to provide a single set of markers based on both organic molecules and inorganic trace elements. For illustrating the method, 6 mammary tissue sections were used. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy images reported a fingerprint of the organic molecules present in the tissue section and laser ablation elemental analysis (LA-ICP-MS) images brought inorganic element profiles. The 6 tissue sections provided 31 106 and 150,000 spectra for FTIR and LA-ICP-MS spectra respectively. The results bring the proof of concept that breast tissue can be analyzed simultaneously by FTIR spectroscopy and laser ablation elemental analysis (LA-ICP-MS) to provide in both case reasonably high resolution images. We show how to bring the images obtained by the two methods to a same spatial resolution and how to use image registration to analyze the data originating from both techniques as one block of data. We finally demonstrates the elemental analysis is orthogonal to all FTIR markers as no significant correlation is found between FTIR and LA-ICP-MS data. Combining FTIR and LA-ICP-MS imaging becomes possible, providing two orthogonal methods which can bring an unprecedented diversity of information on the tissue. This opens a new avenue of tissue section analyses providing unprecedented diagnostic potential.

One filed experiment was carried out to study the effect of Arbuscular Mycorrhiza fungi and three preceding winter crops, i.e., Meskawy cultivar of Egyptian clover berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), Careem cultivar of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) and Sakha 94 cultivar of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and five fertilizer combinations as treatments of NPK mineral and bio fertilizer which included 100% NPK (T1), 75% NPK + arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMFs) (T2), 50% NPK + arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMFs) (T3), 75% NPK + mycrobein (T4) and 50% NPK + mycrobein (T5) on maize intercropping with cowpea. The results showed that berseem was the best as a preceding crop and gave the highest values of maize and cowpea, followed by sugar beet as a preceding crop. While wheat recorded the lowest values. Fertilizer treatments had significant effect on all maize and cowpea traits. The treatment 75% NPK + arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMFs) (T2) gave the highest values. Meanwhile, no significant differences were found between fertilizer treatments T1 (100% NPK mineral) and T2 (75% NPK + arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMFs)) combination on all studied characters of maize. The interaction had a significant effect on most studied characters of maize and cowpea in the two growing seasons. The cultivation of the two components of intercropping after berseem with T2 fertilizer recorded the highest values. Mixing the third cut of cowpea with maize straw increased significantly the quality and digestibility of forge in both seasons. Planting after berseem and T2 fertilizer gave the highest values as yield advantageous for land equivalent ratio (LER) and relative crowding coefficient (K) which recorded 1.51 and 1.6 and 9.45 and 15.35 in the first and second seasons, respectively. The increases in net return were 3955.67 and 5062.50 L.E., which equates to a percentage of 34.25 and 44.71%, by cultivation intercropping component after berseem and T2 fertilizer treatment (75% NPK + arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMFs)) compared with maize pure stand in first and second seasons, respectively.

Human carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) (hCA) isoforms I, II, IX, and XII were investigated for their inhibitory activity with a series of new Schiff’s bases based on quinazoline scaffold 4–27. The hCA I isoform was efficiently inhibited by Schiff’s bases 4–6, 10–19, 22–27 and had an inhibition constant (Ki) value of 52.8–991.7 nM compared with AAZ (Ki, 250 nM). Amongst the quinazoline derivatives, the compounds 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 16, 18, 24, 26, and 27 were proven to be effective hCA II inhibitors, with Ki values of 10.8–52.6 nM, measuring up to AAZ (Ki, 12 nM). Compounds 2–27 revealed compelling hCA IX inhibitory interest with Ki values of 10.5–99.6 nM, rivaling AAZ (Ki, 25.0 nM). Quinazoline derivatives 3, 10, 11, 13, 15–19, and 24 possessed potent hCA XII inhibitory activities with KI values of 5.4–25.5 nM vs. 5.7 nM of AAZ. Schiff’s bases 7, 8, 9, and 21 represented attractive antitumor hCA IX carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (CAIs) with KI rates (22.0, 34.8, 49.2, and 45.3 nM, respectively). Compounds 5, 7, 8, 9, 14, 18, 19, and 21 showed hCA I inhibitors on hCA IX with a selectivity index of 22.46–107, while derivatives 12, 14, and 18 showed selective hCA I inhibitors on hCA XII with a selectivity profile of 45.04–58.58, in contrast to AAZ (SI, 10.0 and 43.86). Compounds 2, 5, 7–14, 19–23, and 25 showed a selectivity profile for hCA II inhibitors over hCA IX with a selectivity index of 2.02–19.67, whereas derivatives 5, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, and 22 showed selective hCA II inhibitors on hCA XII with a selectivity profile of 4.84–26.60 balanced to AAZ (SI, 0.48 and 2.10).

Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is an attractive transmission technique for high-bit-rate communication systems. However, high Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) of transmitted signals is a major shortcoming for Multi-Carrier Modulation (MCM) system such as the OFDM system. Traditional OFDM implementations use common Fourier filters for data modulation and demodulation via the Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) and the FFT operations respectively, in this paper the Fast Discrete Curvelet Transform (FDCT) is proposed for OFDM in order to reduce the PAPR. The software CurveLab, used in this work is available at http://www.curvelet.org. The proposed system used FDCT via both Unequispaced Fast Fourier Transform (USFFT) and Wrapping. In terms of PAPR, the results show that both transforms used in this work gives better PAPR results, FDCT via USFFT and FDCT via Wrapping are given approximately about 7.7 dB reduction compared to traditional OFDM. Moreover, the results show that the BER performance of the considered system nearly matches the theoretical BPSK BER performance in an Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be defined as a disorder in the function of the brain after a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, or penetrating head injury. Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can cause devastating effects, such as the initiation of long-term neurodegeneration in brain tissue. In the current study, the effects of mTBI were investigated on rat brain regions; cortex (Co) and corpus callosum (CC) after 24 h (subacute trauma) by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) imaging and immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC studies showed the formation of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques in the cortex brain region of mTBI rats. Moreover, staining of myelin basic protein presented the shearing of axons in CC region in the same group of animals. According to FTIR imaging results, total protein and lipid content significantly decreased in both Co and CC regions in mTBI group compared to the control. Due to this significant decrease in both lipid and protein content, remarkable consistency in lipid/protein band ratio in mTBI and control group, was observed. Significant decrease in methyl content and a significant increase in olefinic content were observed in Co and CC regions of mTBI rat brain tissues. Classification amongst distinguishable groups was performed using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering (HCA). This study established the prospective of FTIR imaging for assessing biochemical changes due to mTBI with high sensitivity, precision and high-resolution.

Background: The undescended testis represents one of the most common disorders of childhood. Laparoscopy has been widely used both in the diagnosis and treatment of non-palpable testis. In this study, we investigated and evaluated the usefulness of laparoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of no palpable testis. Patients and Methods: From January 2003 to January 2008, we used laparoscopy in the management of 64 patients with 75 impalpable testes. Their ages varied from 1 to 15 years (median age = 4.6 years). The site and the size of the testes were localised by abdominopelvic ultrasonography in all 64 children for accurate diagnosis. One stage laparoscopic orchiopexy was performed in 26 testes, staged Fowler-Stephens orchiopexy was underwent in 17 testes, while laparoscopic orchidectomy was done in 5 testes. Follow-up by clinical examination and colour Doppler ultrasound was performed in every patient who underwent orchiopexy. Results: There were 11 patients with bilateral non-palpable testes. The overall diagnostic agreement of ultrasound with laparoscopy was seen in only 16 out of 75 testes (21.3%). The results of diagnostic laparoscopy were varied and showed various pathological. Conditions and positioned of the testes, such as 20 low intra-abdominal testes (26.6%), 17 testes were high intra-abdominal (22.7%), and 18 testes (24%) entered the inguinal canal. Associated inguinal hernia was present in 4 patients. After a mean follow-up period of 26 months (6 months – 5 years), all testes were in the bottom of the scrotum except 3 testes were retracted to the neck of the scrotum and atrophy of the testis occurred in 2 patients (2.7%). Conclusion: Laparoscopy has proven to be the only diagnostic modality where the findings provide a clear dependable direction for the definitive management of impalpable testes, so it allows an accurate diagnosis and definitive treatment in the same sitting.

Objective: Stroke is the main cause of adult disability in the world, leaving more than half of the patients dependent on daily assistance. Understanding the post-stroke biochemical and molecular changes are critical for patient survival and stroke management. The aim of this work was to investigate the photo-thrombotic ischemic stroke in male rats with particular focus on biochemical and elemental changes in the primary stroke lesion in the somatosensory cortex and surrounding areas, including the corpus callosum.Materials and Methods: FT-IR imaging spectroscopy and LA-ICPMS techniques examined stroke brain samples, which were compared with standard immunohistochemistry studies.Results: The FTIR results revealed that in the lesioned gray matter the relative distribution of lipid, lipid acyl and protein contents decreased significantly. Also at this locus, there was a significant increase in aggregated protein as detected by high-levels Aβ1-42. Areas close to the stroke focus experienced decrease in the lipid and lipid acyl contents associated with an increase in lipid ester, olefin, and methyl bio-contents with a novel finding of Aβ1-42 in the PL-GM and L-WM. Elemental analyses realized major changes in the different brain structures that may underscore functionality.Conclusion: In conclusion, FTIR bio-spectroscopy is a non-destructive, rapid, and a refined technique to characterize oxidative stress markers associated with lipid degradation and protein denaturation not characterized by routine approaches. This technique may expedite research into stroke and offer new approaches for neurodegenerative disorders. The results suggest that a good therapeutic strategy should include a mechanism that provides protective effect from brain swelling (edema) and neurotoxicity by scavenging the lipid peroxidation end products.

Objective: Brain damage, long-term disability and death are the dreadful consequences of ischemic stroke. It causes imbalance in the biochemical constituents that distorts the brain dynamics. Understanding the sub-cellular alterations associated with the stroke will contribute to deeper molecular understanding of brain plasticity and recovery. Current routine approaches examining lipid and protein biochemical changes post stoke can be difficult. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) imaging spectroscopy can play a vital role in detecting these molecular alterations on a sub-cellular level due to its high spatial resolution, accuracy and sensitivity. This study investigates the biochemical and molecular changes in peri-infract zone (PIZ) (contiguous area not completely damaged by stroke) and ipsi-lesional white matter (WM) (right below the stroke and PIZ regions) nine weeks post photothrombotic ischemic stroke in rats. Materials and Methods: FTIR imaging spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques were applied to investigate brain tissue samples while hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained images of adjacent sections were prepared for comparison and examination the morphological changes post stroke. Results: TEM results revealed shearing of myelin sheaths and loss of cell membrane, structure and integrity after ischemic stroke. FTIR results showed that ipsi-lesional PIZ and WM experienced reduction in total protein and total lipid content compared to contra-lesional hemisphere. The lipid/protein ratio reduced in PIZ and adjacent WM indicated lipid peroxidation, which results in lipid chain fragmentation and an increase in olefinic content. Protein structural change is observed in PIZ due to the shift from random coli and α-helical structures to β-sheet conformation. Conclusion: FTIR imaging bio-spectroscopy provide novel biochemical information at sub-cellular levels that be difficult to be obtained by routine approaches. The results suggest that successful therapeutic strategy that is based on administration of anti-oxidant therapy, which could reduce and prevent neurotoxicity by scavenging the lipid peroxidation products. This approach will mitigate tissue damage in chronic ischemic period. FTIR imaging bio-spectroscopy can be used as a powerful tool and offer new approach in stroke and neurodegenerative diseases research.

Interactions between programmed death-1 (PD-1) with its ligand PD-L1 on tumor cells can antagonize T cell responses. Inhibiting these interactions using immune checkpoint inhibitors has shown promise in cancer immunotherapy. MDA-MB-231 is a triple negative breast cancer cell line that expresses PD-L1. In this study, we investigated the biochemical changes in MDA-MB-231 cells following treatment with atezolizumab, a specific PD-L1 blocker. Our readouts were Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and flow cytometric analyses. Chemometrical analysis, such as principal component analysis (PCA), was applied to delineate the spectral differences. We were able to identify the chemical alterations in both protein and lipid structure of the treated cells. We found that there was a shift from random coil and α-helical structure to β-sheet conformation of PD-L1 on tumor cells due to atezolizumab treatment, which could hinder binding with its receptors on immune cells, ensuring sustained T cell activation for potent immune responses. This work provides novel information about the effects of atezolizumab at molecular and cellular levels. FTIR bio-spectroscopy, in combination with chemometric analyses, may expedite research and offer new approaches for cancer immunology.

A new naproxen amide prodrug was synthesized and spectrally characterized and a simple, precise, and accurate stability-indicating RP-HPLC method was developed and validated for determination and chemical hydrolysis study of the prodrug. Forced degradation studies were conducted as per the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines to establish the stability-indicating power of the method. Separations were performed on a C18 column (150 × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 μm p.s.). The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile and phosphate buffer pH 4.0 in the ratio 60 : 40. The flow rate and injection volume were 1.0 mL/min and 15 μL, respectively. The peaks were monitored at 272 nm. The average retention time is 5.136 min. The linearity of the method was investigated in the range of 10–50 μg/mL and r2 was found to be larger than 0.9987. The LOD and LOQ were found to be 1.853 and 5.615 μg/mL, respectively. Results indicated that the degradants are well resolved and separated from the prodrug. Hydrolysis kinetics studies were carried out in buffer solutions (pH 1.2, 5.5 and 7.4) to establish the fate of the prodrug. The half-lives in the respective buffers were 23.5, 262, and 334 hours indicating sufficient stability to attain the goal of oral delivery.

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) is a non-destructive analytical technique that has been employed in this research to characterize the biochemical make-up of various rat brain regions. The sensorimotor cortex, caudate putamen, thalamus, and the hippocampus were found to have higher olefinic content—an indicator of a higher degree of unsaturated fatty acids—rich in short-chain fatty acids, and low in ester and lipid contents. While the regions of the corpus callosum, internal, and external capsule were found to contain long-chained and higher-esterified saturated fatty acids. These molecular differences may reflect the roles of the specific regions in information processing and can provide a unique biochemical platform for future studies on the earlier detection of pathology development in the brain, as a consequence of disease or injury. Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (LA-ICP-MS) is another vital analytical technique that was used in this work to analyze the elements’ distribution patterns in various regions of the brain. The complementary data sets allowed the characterization of the brain regions, the chemical dominating groups, and the elemental composition. This set-up may be used for the investigation of changes in the brain caused by diseases and help create a deeper understanding of the interactions between the organic and elemental composition.

Background. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is an important proinflammatory cytokine which plays an important role in the immunopathogenesis of Behcet’s disease (BD). B cell activating factor (BAFF) and its homolog A proliferation inducing ligand (APRIL) are members of the tumor necrosis factor family. BAFF binds to 3 receptors, B cell activating factor receptor (BAFF-R), transmembrane activator and calcium modulator ligand interactor (TACI), and B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) that are expressed by B cells. Objective. Estimation of the serum levels of TNF-α, APRIL, BAFF, and BCMA in patients with BD in an effort to evaluate their degree of involvement in the pathogenesis and development of BD. Patients and Methods. This study included 30 male patients fulfilling the international study group criteria for the diagnosis of BD. Twenty age-matched healthy male volunteers served as control. Serum samples were used for quantification of TNF-α, APRIL, BCMA, BAFF, and hsCRP using ELISA techniques. Results. The mean serum levels of TNF-α, APRIL, BCMA, and BAFF were more elevated in cases than in controls in a statistically significant manner (P

The importance of cooperative hydrogen-bonding effects has been demonstrated using novel 3-methylenecyclopropane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid (Feist’s acid (FA)) as hydrogen bond donor catalysts for the addition of indole and pyrrole to trans-β-nitrostyrene derivatives. Because of the hydrogen bond donor (HBD) ability, Feist’s acid (FA) has been introduced as a new class of hydrogen bond donor catalysts for the activation of nitroolefin towards nucleophilic substitution reaction. It has effectively catalyzed the Michael addition of indoles and pyrrole to β-nitroolefins under optimum reaction condition to furnish the corresponding Michael adducts in good to excellent yields (up to 98%). The method is general, atom-economical, convenient, and eco-friendly and could provide excellent yields and regioselectivities. Some newly synthesized compounds were for examined in vitro antimicrobial activity and their preliminary results are reported.

Background: Unwanted hair is one of the most common medical problems affecting women of reproductive age inducing a lot of psychological stress and threatening their femininity and self-esteem. Old methods of removing unwanted hair include shaving, waxing, chemical depilation, and electrolysis, all of which have temporary results. However laser-assisted hair removal is the most efficient method of long-term hair removal currently available. It is desirable to develop a reduced cost photodynamic therapy (PDT) system whose properties should include high efficiency and low side-effects. Method: Mice skin tissues were used in this study and divided into six groups such as controls, free methylene blue (MB) incubation, liposome methylene blue (MB) incubation, laser without methylene blue (MB), free methylene blue (MB) for 3 and 4 hrs and laser, liposome methylene blue (MB) for 3 hrs and laser. Methylene blue (MB)was applied to wax epilated areas. The areas were irradiated with CW He-Ne laser system that emits orange-red light with wavelength 632.8 nm and 10 mW at energy density of 5 J/ cm2 for 10 minutes. The UV-visible absorption spectrum was collected by Cary spectrophotometer. Results: Methylene blue (MB) is selectively absorbed by actively growing hair follicles due to its cationic property. Methylene blue (MB)untreated sections showed that hair follicle and sebaceous gland are intact and there is no change due to the laser exposure. Free methylene blue (MB) sections incubated for 3 hrs showed that He:Ne laser induced destruction in hair follicles, leaving an intact epidermis. Treated section with free methylene blue (MB) for 4 hrs showed degeneration and necrosis in hair follicle, leaving an intact epidermis. Liposomal methylene blue (MB) sections incubated for 3 hrs showed He:Ne laser induced destruction in hair follicles with intradermal leucocytic infiltration. Conclusions: Low power CW He:Ne laser and methylene blue (MB) offered a successful PDT system in selectively damaging hair follicles, leaving an intact epidermis. The current PDT system provides better outcome than hair destruction through laser heat transfer procedures and laser-mediated hair removal, due to complete destruction of hair follicles.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/ Na-rich Montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites were prepared using solution method to create polymer-clay nanocomposite (PCN) material. The PCN material was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), demonstrating polymer-clay intercalation that has a high d-spacing (lower diffraction angles) in the PCN XRD pattern, compared to the pure MMT clay XRD pattern, which has a low d-spacing (high diffraction angles). The nano-scanning electron microscope (NSEM) was used to study the morphological image of the PVA, MMT and PCN materials. The results showed that intercalation that took place between the PVA and MMT produced the PCN material. The mechanical properties of the pure PVA and the intercalated polymer material were studied. It was found that the small amount of MMT clay made the tensile modulus and percentage of the total elongation of the nano-composite significantly higher than the pure PVA polymer value, due to polymer-clay intercalation. The thermal stability of the intercalated polymer has been studied using thermal analytical techniques such as thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed that the PCN material is more thermally stable than the pure PVA polymer.