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Translation accuracy is one of the most critical factors for protein synthesis. It is regulated by the ribosome and its dynamic behavior, along with translation factors that direct ribosome rearrangements to make translation a uniform process. Earlier structural studies of the ribosome complex with arrested translation factors laid the foundation for an understanding of ribosome dynamics and the translation process as such. Recent technological advances in time-resolved and ensemble cryo-EM have made it possible to study translation in real time at high resolution. These methods provided a detailed view of translation in bacteria for all three phases: initiation, elongation, and termination. In this review, we focus on translation factors (in some cases GTP activation) and their ability to monitor and respond to ribosome organization to enable efficient and accurate translation.This article is categorized under:Translation > Ribosome Structure/FunctionTranslation > Mechanisms

IntroductionCorona Virus-induced disease – 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic stimulates research works to find a solution to this crisis from starting 2020 year up to now. With ending of the 2021 year, various advances in pharmacotherapy against COVID-19 have emerged.Regarding antiviral therapy, Casirivimab and imdevimab antibody combination is a type of new immunotherapy against COVID-19. Standard antiviral therapy against COVID-19 includes Remdesivir and Favipravir.Aim of StudyTo compare the efficacy and safety of antibodies cocktail (casirivimab and imdevimab), Remdesivir, and Favipravir in the COVID-19 patientsPatients and Population265 hospitalized COVID-19 patients were used to represent the COVID-19 population and were assigned into three groups in a ratio of (1:2:2) respectively, Group (A) received REGN3048-3051(Antibodies cocktail (casirivimab and imdevimab), group (B) received remdesivir, and group (C) received favipravir.MethodsThe study design is a single-blind non-Randomized Controlled Trial (non-RCT). The drugs of the study are owned by Mansoura University Hospital (MUH) and prescribed by chest diseases lectures of the faculty of medicine-Mansoura University. The duration of the study is about 6 months after ethical approval.Results and discussionCasirivimab and imdevimab achieve less 28-day mortality rate, less mortality at hospital discharge, more negative swab cases, less need for O2 therapy and IMV, less duration of this need, less hospital and ICU stay, less case progression as presented by lower World Health Organization (WHO) scale and better multi-organ functions as presented by lower Sequential Organ Function Assessment (SOFA) score than Remdesivir and Favipravir.ConclusionFrom all of these results, it is concluded that Group A (Casirivimab & imdevimab) has more favorable clinical outcomes than B (remdesivir) & C (favipravir) intervention groups.Clinical Trial Registration:NCT05502081, 16/08/2022,Clinicaltrials.gov, retrospectively registered

Background: COVID-19 is an abnormal host response to the SARS-CoV-2 infection, which is associated with endothelial dysfunction and multi-organ failure. Atorvastatin has been proposed to reduce COVID-19 severity and mortality. Methods: This randomized double-blind trial included 220 COVID-19 patients admitted to Mansoura University's isolation hospital in Egypt. One hundred and ten cases were given 40 mg of atorvastatin once daily for 28 days (group A), while 110 received a placebo (group B). All patients received treatment as per hospital protocol. The primary outcome is all-cause mortality at 28 days. We also tracked six-month mortality, time to clinical improvement, the risk of invasive mechanical ventilation, acute kidney injury, potential adverse events, and hospital and intensive care length of stay. Results: The 28-day all-cause mortality was 52/104 (50%) in group A vs. 54/103 (52.4%) in group B, odds ratio (OR) = 0.907 (0.526, 1.565), P = 0.727; adjusted OR = 0.773 (0.407, 1.47), P = 0.433. Six-month mortality occurred in 53/102 (52%) and 59/79 (60.8%) in group A vs. B, respectively, P = 0.208. Among hospital survivors in group A vs. group B, the median time to clinical improvement was 10 days (7–14) vs. 10 (7–15), P = 0.715; the duration of hospital stay was 10 days (7–14) vs. 10 (8–17), P = 0.378. Discontinuation was higher in group B (four vs. one), P = 0.369. Conclusions: In adults with severe or critical COVID-19, atorvastatin did not reduce the risk of 28-day or six-month mortality and did not improve other clinical outcomes. Trial registration: Clinical Trial Registry (NCT04952350) on July 1st, 2021. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04952350

Introduction: Corona Virus induced disease – 2019 (COVID-19) disaster motivates scientific research to find a settling to this pandemic. With ending of 2021 year, various advances in immunotherapy against COVID-19 have emerged. Regarding antiviral therapy, Casirivimab and imdevimab antibody combination is a type of new immunotherapy against COVID-19. Other antiviral therapy against COVID-19 includes Remdesivir and Favipravir. Aim of Study: To compare the efficacy and safety of casirivimab and imdevimab, Remdesivir and Favipravir as antiviral agents in hospitalized COVID19 patients. Patients and Population: 265 COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) positive patients are included in this study and will be assigned into 3 groups in a ratio of (1:2:2): 1- Group A: REGN3048-3051 2-group B: Remdesivir 3-group C: Favipravir Methods: Study design is single blind non-Randomized Controlled Trial (non-RCT). The duration of study is about 6 months after ethical approval. Results and discussion: Casirivimab and imedivimab achieves less 28-day mortality rate, less mortality at hospital discharge, more negative swab cases than Remdesivir and Favipravir. Conclusion: the results show that Group A (Casirivimab & imedivimab) achieves more favorable clinical outcomes than B (remdesivir) & C (favipravir) groups.

Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related death worldwide. An accurate preop-erative rectal cancer staging is crucial to the correct manage-ment of the disease. Despite great controversy around this issue, pelvic magnetic resonance is said to be the standard modality. Aim of Study: The aim of this study is to assess the role of MRI in detection and local staging of rectal cancer. Patients and Methods: 30 patients with rectal carcinoma were included with MRI and histopathological assessment of cancer staging to evaluate MRI accuracy. All patients received pre-operative neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Results: T3 staging with MRI, calculation of sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive value were 73.3%, 40%, 60% and 55% respectively. T4 staging with MRI, cal-culation of sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive value were 100%, 77%, 100% and 40% respectively. Conclusion: MRI has a good sensitivity for tumor staging and nodal staging.

The Mo-dependent enzyme YiiM enzyme from Escherichia coli is a member of the sulfite oxidase family and shares many similarities with the well-studied human mitochondrial amidoxime reducing component (mARC). We have investigated YiiM catalysis using electrochemical and spectroscopic methods. EPR monitored redox potentiometry found the active site redox potentials to be Mo

This paper evaluates the effect of dynamic thermal conductivity (λ) change of expanded polystyrene insulation (EPS) on temperature change through a conventional wall assembly at varying positions of the insulation within the assembly in question. According to the findings, in the case of the application of the variable λ-value of the insulation, compared to that obtained when the constant λ-value for polystyrene (EPS) insulation is adopted in the same conditions, the temperature profile through the wall assembly during the daytime is greater. In the event of applying the constant and variable λ-values, the temperature shift on the inside is seen to decline as the location of the insulation material is positioned towards the surface of the inner wall. The highest level of time lag between position 1 to 2 is over 1.3 h and around 3.47 h between position 1 and 3, and as the density level of the insulation materials rises, it leads to better transient thermal performance due to a lower temperature rise on the inside wall surface. These results suggest that considering betterment in the insulation's thermal conductivity would provide the most performant wall configuration by placing the material in the middle of the wall assembly, taking into account the change in the thermal conductivity of the insulation.

In this paper, novel geopolymer-coated expanded clay-phase change material (GP- L -PCM) macrocapsules added to geopolymer concrete (GPC) with volume ratios of 25%, 50%, and 75% for the production of GP- L -PCM slabs are described. The same amounts of lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA) were used to develop LECA slabs. The thermal and structural performances of LECA and GP- L -PCM slabs were compared with a reference GPC slab. It was observed that LECA and GP- L -PCM slabs exhibit lower heat transmission, represented by lower maximum surface temperatures (a decrease of 5.6 °C and 8.0 °C on the back surface) than that of GPC slab. Accordingly, the LECA and GP- L -PCM slabs exhibit U-values of 1.6 and 0.9 W/m2K, respectively, with 75% addition of LECA and GP- L -PCM capsules compared to 2 W/m2K for GPC. Substantial decrease in compressive strength was observed in the LECA and GP- L -PCM slabs as compared to GPC for all tested samples.

The endogenous yeast 2-μm plasmid while innocuous to the host, needs to be properly regulated to avoid a toxic increase in copy number. The plasmid copy number control system is under the control of the plasmid encoded recombinase, Flp1. In case of a drop in 2-μm plasmid levels due to rare plasmid mis-segregation events, the Flp1 recombinase together with the cell’s homologous recombination machinery, produce multiple copies of the 2-μm plasmid that are spooled during DNA replication. The 2-μm plasmid copy number is tightly regulated by controlled expression of Flp1 as well as its ubiquitin and SUMO modification. Here, we identify a novel regulator of the 2-μm plasmid, the ATPase, ubiquitin ligase, Irc20. Irc20 was initially identified as a homologous recombination regulator, and here we uncover a new role for Irc20 in maintaining the 2-μm plasmid copy number and segregation through regulating Flp1 protein levels in the cell.

This paper examines the change of the temperature through a typical wall assembly comprising a polystyrene insulation material (EPS) with constant and variable thermal conductivity (λ). Four levels of the insulation density, namely, low density (LD), high density (HD), super high density (SHD), and ultra-high density (UHD) impeded at three different locations within the wall have been considered in this study. During the day, the evolution of temperatures through the wall section was observed on inner wall surface when EPS is located at different positions of the wall section. Thereafter, the thermal performance across the wall section incorporating insulation layers at different positions applying variable λ-value was compared to a non-variable thermal conductivity case by quantifying the net heat reduction due to the λ-relationship with time. As a result obtained, the change of the temperature through the wall with variable λ is higher compared to the case of constant λ. The temperature change on the inner wall surface with constant and variable λ is shown to decrease as the position of the insulation material is located toward the inner wall surface. Therefore, locating the insulation material in the middle of the wall assembly will provide the best dynamic thermal performance.

Background/Aims: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, and within this cancer type, triple-negative breast cancers have the worst prognosis. The identification of new genes associated with triple-negative breast cancer progression is crucial for developing more specific anti-cancer targeted therapies, which could lead to a better management of these patients. In this context, we have recently demonstrated that SMARCAD1, a DEAD/H box-containing helicase, is involved in breast cancer cell migration, invasion, and metastasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the stable knockdown of SMARCAD1 on human breast cancer cell progression. Methods: Using two different designs of shRNA targeting SMARCAD1, we investigated the impact of the stable knockdown of SMARCAD1 on human breast cancer cell proliferation and colony growth in vitro and on tumour growth in chick embryo and nude mouse xenograft models in vivo using MDA-MB-231 (ER-/PR-/ HER2-) and T47D (ER+/PR+/-/HER2-) human breast cancer cell lines. Results: We found that SMARCAD1 knockdown resulted in a significant decrease in breast cancer cell proliferation and colony formation, leading to the significant inhibition of tumour growth in both the chick embryo and nude mouse xenograft models. This inhibition was due, at least in part, to a decrease in IKKβ expression. Conclusion: These results indicate that SMARCAD1 is involved in breast cancer progression and can be a promising target for breast cancer therapy.

This paper illustrates the impact of transient thermal conductivity of the insulation layer embedded in a typical residential building on cooling effect and energy performance. The test was performed applying expanded polystyrene (EPS), as an example of insulation material, in the extremely hot climate of UAE at different levels of densities, and three moisture content levels (10%, 20%, and 30%) compared to dry insulation material for Low density (LD) material. Thermal wall resistance was evaluated by applying a conjugate heat-transfer model based on enthalpy-based formulation. The thermal performance of the building incorporating expanded polystyrene with variable thermal conductivity was compared to non-variable thermal conductivity by quantifying the additional cooling demand and capacity due to the λ relationship with time using the e-quest as a building energy analysis tool. The results show that, when the λ value is modeled as a function of operating temperature, its effect on the temperature profile during daytime is significant. The LD expanded polystyrene insulation leads to the lowest heat resistance across the wall section. Applying different levels of moisture showed that 30% moisture content has the lowest heat resistance compared with 10% and 20%, resulting in the highest change of 6.5% and 8.9% in cooling demand and capacity, respectively. Keywords: Temperature profile, Building insulation materials, Operating temperature, Moisture content, Heat release, AC capacity

In our effort to develop novel and powerful agents with anti-proliferative activity, two new series of 1H-benzo[f]chromene derivatives, 4a–h and 6a–h, were synthesised using heterocyclocondensation methodologies under microwave irradiation condition. The structures of the target compounds were established on the basis of their spectral data, IR, 1H NMR, 13 C NMR, 13 C NMR-DEPT/APT, and MS data. The new compounds have been examined for their anti-proliferative activity against three cancer cell lines, MCF-7, HCT-116, and HepG-2. Vinblastine and Doxorubicin have been used as positive controls in the viability assay. The obtained results confirmed that most of the tested molecules revealed strong and selective cytotoxic activity against the three cancer cell lines. Moreover, these molecules exhibited weak cytotoxicity on the HFL-1 line, which suggested that they might be ideal anticancer candidates. The SAR study of the new benzochromene compounds verified that the substituents on the phenyl ring of 1H-benzo[f]chromene nucleus, accompanied with the presence of bromine atom or methoxy group at the 8-position, increases the ability of these molecules against the different cell lines. Due to their high anti-proliferative activity, compounds 4c and 6e were selected to be examined their proficiency to inhibit the invasiveness of the highly sensitive and invasive breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231. The anti-invasion behaviour of these molecules against the highly sensitive, non-oestrogen, and progesterone MDA-MB-231 cell line gave rise to their decreasing metastatic effect compared to the reference drug. Furthermore, this report explores the apoptotic mechanistic pathway of the cytotoxicity of the target compounds and reveals that most of these compounds enhance the Caspase 3/7 activity that could be considered as potential anticancer agents.

Although many advanced insulation materials have been recently developed, very few are eco-friendly and their production requires a substantial amount of energy and complex manufacturing processes. To address this issue, a bio-based thermal insulation material was developed using short- and long-grained puffed rice. A set of experiments was subsequently carried out to identify the best rice type and the optimal range for the most influential parameters (sample amount, temperature, and moisture level). Our findings revealed that short-grained rice exhibited greater puffing ability and was thus adopted in further material optimization experiments. These assessments indicated that the most optimal thermal conductivity of the insulation material and the highest puffing ratio was attained at 12–15% moisture, 260–270 °C temperature, and 15–18 g sample weight. The thermal properties, including thermal conductivity and fire reaction, and thermal performance of samples obtained using these parameters were similar to those of common insulation materials.

This paper investigated the impact of the changes of thermal conductivity of an expanded polystyrene insulation layer embedded in a typical residential building on the cooling effect at different temperatures and moisture contents. The simulation was performed using expanded polystyrene (EPS) in the extremely hot conditions of Al-Ain (United Arab Emirates, UAE) at different levels of density, denoted as low density LD (12 kg/m3), high density HD (20 kg/m3), ultra-high density UHD (30 kg/m3), and super-high density SHD (35 kg/m3), and three moisture content levels (10%, 20%, and 30%), compared to dry LD insulation material. The thermal performance of the building incorporating polystyrene with variable thermal conductivity (&lambda, value) was compared to one with a constant thermal conductivity by assessing the additional cooling demand and capacity due to the &lambda, relationship with time, using e-quest as a building energy analysis tool. The results showed that, when the &lambda, value was modeled as a function of operating temperature, its effect on the temperature profile during daytime was significant compared with the use of a constant &lambda, value. The monthly energy consumption for cooling required by the building was found to be higher in the case of variable thermal conductivity for the LD sample. The yearly average change in space cooling demand and cooling capacity when employing polystyrenes with constant and variable thermal conductivity increased with the increase of the moisture content. Indeed, the highest changes in cooling demand and capacity were 6.5% and 8.8% with 30% moisture content polystyrene.

In this work, the dynamic thermal effect of thermal conductivity, K-value, is investigated at different operating temperatures and moisture levels of polystyrene expanded insulation material (EPS) by using computational modelling of heat transport. In building energy analysis and assessment, the heat transfer through the building envelope usually considers a constant single K-value and neglects the effect of the moisture content within the insulation. In reality, the building envelope is subjected to the combined thermal and moisture gradients. Therefore, an accurate analysis requires a simultaneous calculation of both sensible and latent effects. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the dynamic thermal effect on the K-value of EPS by using the conduction finite difference (CondFD). The results of this research show a slight difference in the thermal conductivity value of EPS insulation at different operating temperatures for different densities of the material. However, a greater difference is observed at higher moisture contents compared with the dry sample when the K-value of the insulation is temperature dependent. Keywords: Thermal conductivity, Operating temperature, Moisture content, EPS insulation

Sulfite is a neurotoxin, which is detoxified by the molybdenum cofactor (Moco)-dependent enzyme sulfite oxidase (SOX). In humans, SOX deficiency causes the formation of the glutamate analog S-Sulfocysteine (SSC) resulting in a constant overstimulation of ionotropic glutamatergic receptors. Overstimulation leads to seizures, severe brain damage, and early childhood death. SOX deficiency may be caused either by a mutated sox gene or by mutations in one of the genes of the multi-step Moco biosynthesis pathway. While patients affected in the first step of Moco biosynthesis can be treated by a substitution therapy, no therapy is available for patients affected either in the second or third step of Moco biosynthesis or with isolated SOX deficiency. In the present study, we used a combination of behavior analysis and vital dye staining to show that SSC induces increased swimming, seizure-like movements, and increased cell death in the central nervous system of zebrafish larvae. Seizure-like movements were fully revertible upon removal of SSC or could be alleviated by a glutamatergic receptor antagonist. We conclude that in zebrafish SSC can chemically induce phenotypic characteristics comparable to the disease condition of human patients lacking SOX activity.

The thermal and structural performance of geopolymer-coated polyurethane foam&ndash, phase change material capsules/geopolymer concrete composites was investigated. Three groups of concrete composites were prepared. The first was pure geopolymer (GP, control sample), the second was a GP/polyurethane foam (F) concrete composite, and the third was GP-coated polyurethane foam-phase change material capsules (GP-F-PCM)/GP concrete composites. Three different percentages of foam and GP-F-PCM capsules (25%, 50%, and 75%) were used in the composites. Thermal and U-value tests were conducted for all composites to characterize their peak temperature damping and insulation performances. The addition of 75% foam has been noticed to increase the back-surface temperature by 5.9 &deg, C compared to the control sample. This may be attributed to the degradation of foam into low molecular constituents in the presence of a strong alkali. However, a temperature drop of 12.5 &deg, C was achieved by incorporating 75% of GP-F-PCM capsules. The addition of 50% foam as a sandwich layer between two halves of a geopolymer concrete cube is also investigated. It was found that inserting a foam layer reduced the back-surface temperature by 3.3 &deg, C, which is still less than the reduction in the case of GP-F-PCM capsules. The compressive strength was tested to check the integrity of the prepared concrete. At 28 days of aging, the compressive strength dropped from 65.2 MPa to 9.9 MPa with the addition of 75% GP-F-PCM capsules, which is still acceptable for certain building elements (e.g., nonloadbearing exterior walls). Generally, the best results were for the GP-F-PCM composite capsules as a heat insulator.

Skylights and windows are building openings that enhance human comfort and well-being in various ways. Recently, a massive drive is witnessed to replace traditional openings with building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems to generate power in a bid to reduce buildings’ energy. The problem with most of the BIPV glazing lies in the obstruction of occupants’ vision of the outdoor view. In order to resolve this problem, new technology has emerged that utilizes quantum dots semiconductors (QDs) in glazing systems. QDs can absorb and re-emit the incoming radiation in the desired direction with the tunable spectrum, which renders them favorable for building integration. By redirecting the radiation towards edges of the glazing, they can be categorized as luminescent solar concentrators (QD-LSCs) that can help to generate electricity while maintaining transparency in the glazing. The aim of this paper is to review the different properties of core/shell quantum dots and their potential applications in buildings. Literature from various disciplines was reviewed to establish correlations between the optical and electrical properties of different types, sizes, thicknesses, and concentration ratios of QDs when used in transparent glazing. The current article will help building designers and system integrators assess the merits of integrating QDs on windows/skylights with regards to energy production and potential impact on admitted daylighting and visual comfort.

We propose and demonstrate a novel surface-grating vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL)-integrated amplifier/beam scanner. When the surface of the VCSEL section is periodically etched, a single slow-light mode which travels laterally into the amplifier section is selected due to the wavelength selectivity of the grating. The coupled slow light can be amplified with pumping the amplifier above the threshold. The far field angle of the amplified slow light can be continuously tuned through changing the pumping current at the VCSEL. We fabricated the integrated device with a 400 μm long VCSEL section and 1 mm long amplifier section, realizing in a single mode coupling power of over 7 mW and high output power of over 500 mW under pulsed operations of the amplifier. The continuous fan beam steering of 1.5° and a diffraction-limited narrow beam divergence of 0.06° are also achieved. We also fabricated device with extending the amplifier section length to 2 mm. A high single mode power of 1 W under pulsed operations is achieved, which is the record high power operation for single-mode VCSELs. With the performance of both high power and good beam quality, our new device shows great potential to be used as light source for LiDAR and other sensing applications.

The green building rating system within the sustainability framework of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Pearl Rating System (PRS), similar to most international rating systems such as LEED, considers several strategies, regulations, and policies to improve the energy and water performance in buildings. However, the applicability of considering water as part of energy or the fact that the utilization of energy mandates the usage of water seems unexplored and is not yet included in any of the existing building rating systems. A unified approach of water and energy resources is thus vital for future considerations in energy policy, planning, and the inclusion of the same in the sustainability rating systems. This paper investigated, as a case study, the prospects of water–energy nexus in the prevailing UAE green building rating system—PRS—to uncover whether any water conservation strategy has an adverse effect on energy and vice versa. The review revealed that the major shortcomings of the PRS in terms of water–energy nexus strategy are the usage of reference codes that are not suitable for the UAE’s climate and geographical conditions, inexistent synergy between some credit categories, the oversight of rebound effects, and a need for credit reassessment. The paper also recommends that any proposed strategy to realign credit categories in terms of the water–energy nexus with the potential risk to also have a hidden negative rebound effect that researchers and practitioners should identify lest the water–energy tradeoff brings unprecedented repercussions. The theoretical analysis establishes that the bifurcating management of water and energy in the sustainability rating system and energy policy needs to be revisited in order to reap more sustainable and optimum results that are environmentally, ecologically, and financially consistent.

A series of heterocyclic compounds with a sulfonamide moiety were synthesized from reaction of enaminone 4 with active methylene compounds, glycine derivatives, 1,4-benzoquinone, hydroxylamine hydrochloride, hydrazonyl halides and dimethylacetylenedicarboxylate. The newly synthesized sulfonamide derivatives were characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, mass spectroscopy, elemental analysis and alternative synthetic routes. The reactions products were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against a panel of three different human cancerous cell lines, MCF-7 (breast), HepG-2 (liver) and HCT-116 (colon) and the results were deployed to derive the structure–activity relationships (SAR). Various test compounds were potent antiproliferative to cancerous cells; reaching very low micromolar levels, as in case of 21 which showed IC50 value of 6.2 μM against HepG-2 cell. In addition, treatment of cancerous cells with the synthesized compounds induced cell apoptosis and G2/M phase arrest evidenced by flow cytometric analysis. Furthermore, the activity of the synthesized compounds against TOP I and II were documented by DNA relaxation assays. Data revealed that compound 24 significantly interfered with TOP I- and II-mediated DNA relaxation, nicking and decatenation, with IC50 values 27.8 and 33.6 μM, respectively. Moreover, the molecular docking studies supported the results from enzymatic assays, where compound 24 was intercalated between nucleotides flanking the DNA cleavage site via pi-pi stacking and hydrophobic interactions. In conclusion, aromatic heterocycles linked to sulfonamides are excellent molecular frameworks amenable for optimization as dual TOP I and II poisons to control various human malignancies.

Phytochemicals have been of great interest as a source of natural antioxidants used for health promotion, food preservation, food flavoring and cosmetics. In this research, alcoholic extract from Caralluma arabica and different solvent fractions were evaluated for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties as well as their polyphenolic compositions. The total antioxidant property was estimated by the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2, 2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS+) and β-carotene bleaching tests. Among the ethanol extract and three fractions, the ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest phenolic content (33.1 mg gallic acid/g) and the best antioxidant activity. The ascorbic acid equivalent antioxidant capacities of the ethyl acetate fraction were 143.64, 381.3, 112.6 μmol/g in FRAP, ABTS and DPPH assays, respectively. This study verified that the ethanol extract and ethyl acetate fraction from Caralluma arabica have strong antioxidant activity that was correlated with their high level of phenolic content. Furthermore, the same extract showed appreciable anti-inflammatory via Lipoxygenase inhibitory activity (LOX), the IC50 values ranged from 11.2 - 30.77 μg/mL. Moreover, Ethyl acetate fraction showed the strongest cytotoxic effect (IC50 = 87.55 μg/mL) against MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. These findings suggest that Caralluma arabica may be considered as an interesting source of antioxidants for nutraceutical industries.

This paper illustrates the impact of embedding an insulation layer of variable thermal conductivity in a typical building wall on the cooling effect and energy performance. The evaluation was performed by applying a conjugate heat transfer model, which was tested in extremely hot conditions of Al Ain (UAE). The thermal performance of a building incorporating insulation layers of variable thermal conductivity (k-value) was compared to a non-variable thermal conductivity system by quantifying the additional heat transferred due to the k-relationship with time. The results show that, when the k-value is a function of operating temperature, its effects on the temperature profile through the wall assembly during daytime is significant compared with that obtained when a constant k-value for the polystyrene (EPS) insulation is adopted. A similar trend in the evolution of temperatures during the day and across the wall section was observed when EPS material with different moisture content was evaluated. For the polyurethane insulation, the inner surface temperature reached 44 °C when constant k-value was adopted, increasing to 48.5 °C when the k-value was allowed to vary under the same ambient conditions.

Background Inguinal hernia occurs in ∼1.5% of the general population and in 5% of male individuals. The bilateral type affects about 12% of patients, the direct and the combined ones being more frequent than the indirect. Simultaneous or sequential repair has been debated especially after tension-free repairs. Aim This study was carried out to compare Stoppa procedure with bilateral Lichtenstein hernioplasty for the treatment of primary bilateral inguinal hernia. Patients and methods This trial included 80 male patients with primary bilateral inguinal hernias. They were divided randomly into two equal groups. Group A underwent bilateral Lichtenstein hernioplasty and group B underwent Stoppa repair. Preoperative, operative, and postoperative characteristics were recorded for each patient in the study. Patients were followed up at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Results As regards preoperative data, there was no statistically significant difference between both groups. The Stoppa operation took a significantly shorter time than the bilateral Lichtenstein technique; the mean operative time for Stoppa and bilateral Lichtenstein was 84.0±8.6 and 96.4±6.2 min, respectively. Visual analogue scoring of pain 12 h postoperatively was significantly lower in the Stoppa group than in the bilateral Lichtenstein group. As regards operative and postoperative complications, there was no significant difference between both groups. Hospital stay, return to normal daily activities, and inguinodynia rates were similar in both groups. There was no recorded recurrence in both groups up to 1 year of follow-up. Conclusion Bilateral primary inguinal hernias can be operated upon in one setting without an increase in morbidity or recurrence rate. The Stoppa technique can be a good alternative to bilateral Lichtenstein procedure for the treatment of bilateral inguinal hernia, with comparable outcome.

A number of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and multiple system atrophy are characterized by the formation and intraneuronal accumulation of fibrillar aggregates of alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn) protein in affected brain regions. These and other findings suggest that the accumulation of alpha-syn in the brain plays an important role in the pathogenesis of these diseases. However, more recently it has been reported that early amyloid aggregates or 'soluble oligomers' are the pathogenic species that lead to neurodegeneration and neuronal cell death rather than the later 'mature fibrils'. In this study, we investigated the presence of alpha-syn oligomers in brain lysates prepared from frozen post-mortem brains of normal, Alzheimer's disease and DLB patients. The brain extracts were subjected to high speed centrifugation, to remove insoluble alpha-syn aggregates, followed by specific detection of soluble oligomers in the supernatants by employing FILA-1, an antibody that specifically binds to alpha-syn aggregates, but not to alpha-syn monomers, or to tau or beta-amyloid aggregates. Using this novel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method to quantify the amounts of alpha-syn oligomers in the brain extracts, our data clearly show an increase in the levels of soluble oligomers of alpha-syn in the DLB brains compared to those with Alzheimer's disease and the controls (P < 0.0001). Our findings provide strong evidence to support the contention that elevated soluble oligomers of alpha-syn are involved in the pathogenesis of DLB. Furthermore, these findings establish FILA-1 as a very sensitive tool for the detection of oligomeric forms of alpha-syn in human brain lysates.

The SWI/SNF and SAGA chromatin-modifying complexes contain bromodomains that help anchor these complexes to acetylated promoter nucleosomes. To study the importance of bromodomains in these complexes, we have compared the chromatin-remodeling and octamer-transfer activity of the SWI/SNF complex to a mutant complex that lacks the Swi2/Snf2 bromodomain. Here we show that the SWI/SNF complex can remodel or transfer SAGA-acetylated nucleosomes more efficiently than the Swi2/Snf2 bromodomain-deleted complex. These results demonstrate that the Swi2/Snf2 bromodomain is important for the remodeling as well as for the octamer-transfer activity of the complex on H3-acetylated nucleosomes. Moreover, we show that, although the wild-type SWI/SNF complex displaces SAGA that is bound to acetylated nucleosomes, the bromodomain mutant SWI/SNF complex is less efficient in SAGA displacement. Thus, the Swi2/Snf2 bromodomain is required for the full functional activity of SWI/SNF on acetylated nucleosomes and is important for the displacement of SAGA from acetylated promoter nucleosomes.

The functions of the SAGA and SWI/SNF complexes are interrelated and can form stable “epigenetic marks” on promoters in vivo. Here we show that stable promoter occupancy by SWI/SNF and SAGA in the absence of transcription activators requires the bromodomains of the Swi2/Snf2 and Gcn5 subunits, respectively, and nucleosome acetylation. This acetylation can be brought about by either the SAGA or NuA4 HAT complexes. The bromodomain in the Spt7 subunit of SAGA is dispensable for this activity but will anchor SAGA if it is swapped into Gcn5, indicating that specificity of bromodomain function is determined in part by the subunit it occupies. Thus, bromodomains within the catalytic subunits of SAGA and SWI/SNF anchor these complexes to acetylated promoter nucleosomes.