Search

Examining proficient electro‐catalyst from earth abundant and sustainable material is highly required for clean energy generation and a step toward fuel cell. In this study, ZnO/ZrO2 mixed metal oxide has been synthesized using organic chemicals in a straightforward and environmentally friendly manner. The greener routes are not only employed for the synthesis of nano structured material but they also improve the charge transfer properties of material in term of high surface area. The as prepared nano‐oxides were probed for phase structure, morphology, surface chemistry and optical properties by spectroscopic techniques. The embedded phyto‐functionalized compounds in the prepared nano‐material were probed by FTIR and GC–MS demonstrating the phyto‐functionalization of ZnO/ZrO2 nanomaterial. Thereafter, effects of functionalization were observed on the electrochemical behavior of synthesized material. The electrochemical investigation revealed remarkable catalytic activity of fabricated ZnO/ZrO2 with small overpotential and Tafel slope for current density of 10 mA cm−2. Therefore, current work demonstrated the promising electrocatalytic potential of fabricated mixed metal oxide and paved a cost effective and efficient organic template to synthesize binary or ternary mixed oxide with enhanced electrocatalytic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent anthropogenic sources and excess usage have immensely threatened the communities and habitat ecology of this region's medicinally and economically significant crops. Therefore, our study aims to evaluate the community structure and related environmental characteristics sustaining Nasturtium officinale communities along the river basin (RB) in Northwest Pakistan, using the clustering procedure (Ward's method) and Redundancy analysis (RDA). From 340 phytosociological plots (34 x 10 = 340), we identified four ecologically distinct assemblages of N. officinale governed by different environmental and anthropogenic factors for the first time. The floristic structure shows the dominance of herbaceous (100%), native (77%), and annual (58.09%) species indicating relatively stable communities; however, the existence of the invasive plants (14%) is perturbing and may cause instability in the future, resulting in the replacement of herbaceous plant species. Likewise, we noticed apparent variations in the environmental factors, i.e., clay percentage (p = 3.1 x 10-5), silt and sand percentage (p< 0.05), organic matter (p< 0.001), phosphorus and potassium (p< 0.05), and heavy metals, i.e., Pb, Zn, and Cd (p< 0.05), indicating their dynamic role in maintaining the structure and composition of these ecologically distinct communities. RDA has also demonstrated the fundamental role of these factors in species-environment correlations and explained the geospatial variability and plants' ecological amplitudes in the Swat River wetland ecosystem. We concluded from this study that N. officinale communities are relatively stable due to their rapid colonization; however, most recent high anthropogenic interventions especially overharvesting and sand mining activities, apart from natural enemies, water deficit, mega-droughts, and recent flood intensification due to climate change scenario, are robust future threats to these communities. Our research highlights the dire need for the sustainable uses and conservation of these critical communities for aesthetics, as food for aquatic macrobiota and humans, enhancing water quality, breeding habitat, fodder crop, and its most promising medicinal properties in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a biophysical fractional diffusive cancer model with virotherapy is thoroughly analyzed and analytically simulated. The goal of this biophysical model is to represent both the dynamics of cancer development and the results of virotherapy, which uses viruses to target and destroy cancer cells. The Caputo sense is applied to the fractional derivatives. We look at the governing model's existence and uniqueness. For analytical solutions, the Laplace residual power series approach is used. The study investigates the model's dynamic behavior, shedding light on the development of cancer and the effects of virotherapy. The research advances our knowledge of cancer modeling and treatment options. Numerical simulations show the agreement between the analytical results and the related numerical solutions, proving the usefulness of the analytical solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease and is associated with an enhanced risk for liver and cardiovascular diseases and mortality. NAFLD can progress from simple hepatic steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, the mechanisms predisposing to this progression remain undefined. Notably, hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction is a common finding in patients with NASH. Due to a lack of appropriate experimental animal models, it has not been evaluated whether this mitochondrial dysfunction plays a causative role for the development of NASH. Methods: To determine the effect of a well-defined mitochondrial dysfunction on liver physiology at baseline and during dietary challenge, C57BL/6J-mtFVB/N mice were employed. This conplastic inbred strain has been previously reported to exhibit decreased mitochondrial respiration likely linked to a non-synonymous gene variation (nt7778 G/T) of the mitochondrial ATP synthase protein 8 (mt-ATP8). Results: At baseline conditions, C57BL/6J-mtFVB/N mice displayed hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction characterized by decreased ATP production and increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, genes affecting lipid metabolism were differentially expressed, hepatic triglyceride and cholesterol levels were changed in these animals, and various acyl-carnitines were altered, pointing towards an impaired mitochondrial carnitine shuttle. However, over a period of twelve months, no spontaneous hepatic steatosis or inflammation was observed. On the other hand, upon dietary challenge with either a methionine and choline deficient diet or a western-style diet, C57BL/6J-mtFVB/N mice developed aggravated steatohepatitis as characterized by lipid accumulation, ballooning of hepatocytes and infiltration of immune cells. Conclusions: We observed distinct metabolic alterations in mice with a mitochondrial polymorphism associated hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction. However, a second hit, such as dietary stress, was required to cause hepatic steatosis and inflammation. This study suggests a causative role of hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction in the development of experimental NASH. Keywords: NAFLD, Steatohepatitis, Mitochondrial gene polymorphism, Mitochondrial dysfunction, Lipid metabolism, TNFα

IgG3 is the IgG subclass with the strongest effector functions among all four IgG subclasses and the highest degree of allelic variability among all constant immunoglobulin genes. Due to its genetic position, IgG3 is often the first isotype an antibody switches to before IgG1 or IgG4. Compared with the other IgG subclasses, it has a reduced half-life which is probably connected to a decreased affinity to the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). However, a few allelic variants harbor an amino acid replacement of His435 to Arg that reverts the half-life of the resulting IgG3 to the same level as the other IgG subclasses. Because of its functional impact, we hypothesized that the p.Arg435His variation could be associated with susceptibility to autoantibody-mediated diseases like pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and bullous pemphigoid (BP). Using a set of samples from German, Turkish, Egyptian, and Iranian patients and controls, we were able to demonstrate a genetic association of the p.Arg435His variation with PV risk, but not with BP risk. Our results suggest a hitherto unknown role for the function of IgG3 in the pathogenesis of PV.

Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCA) targeting proteinase 3 (PR3) and myeloperoxidase expressed by innate immune cells (neutrophils and monocytes) are salient diagnostic and pathogenic features of small vessel vasculitis, comprising granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis, and eosinophilic GPA. Genetic studies suggest that ANCA-associated vasculitides (AAV) constitute separate diseases, which share common immunological and pathological features, but are otherwise heterogeneous. The successful therapeutic use of anti-CD20 antibodies emphasizes the prominent role of ANCA and possibly other autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of AAV. However, to elucidate causal effects in AAV, a better understanding of the complex interplay leading to the emergence of B lymphocytes that produce pathogenic ANCA remains a challenge. Different scenarios seem possible; e.g., the break of tolerance induced by a shift from non-pathogenic toward pathogenic autoantigen epitopes in inflamed tissue. This review gives a brief overview on current knowledge about genetic and epigenetic factors, barrier dysfunction and chronic non-resolving inflammation, necro-inflammatory auto-amplification of cellular death and inflammation, altered autoantigen presentation, alternative complement pathway activation, alterations within peripheral and inflamed tissue-residing T- and B-cell populations, ectopic lymphoid tissue neoformation, the characterization of PR3-specific T-cells, properties of ANCA, links between autoimmune disease and infection-triggered pathology, and animal models in AAV.

The continued growth of intensive aquaculture is dependent on the development of sustainable protein sources to replace conventional fish meals in aquafeeds. Practical alternatives are plant-derived protein, protein from micro-organisms and protein from under-utilized marine resources. The challenges are to find alternative ingredients with high protein, suitable amino acid content, high palatability and absence of anti-nutritional factors. There is considerable biotechnology-based research in this area, including genetic modification of plant-based proteins, use of probiotics to enhance digestibility and the renewed application of fermentation technologies to produce single cell proteins. Research in Oman is focused on the utilization of marine protein resources. Fisheries by-catch and processing waste have been evaluated as liquid hydrolysates and as meals for inclusion in aquafeeds and new research is planned on the utilization of meso-pelagic fish (myctophids), which occur in abundance in the Arabian Sea and the Sea of Oman. Initial studies have been conducted on the biochemical composition of the lantern fish, Benthosema pterotum, which revealed favorable protein, amino acid and long-chain PUFA content. Potential limiting factors were high levels of saturated lipids and the heavy metals arsenic and cadmium. These results will be discussed within a general review of marine resources and aquafeed development in Oman.

Lepidium sativum seed (LSS) (family: Cruciferae) has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of jaundice, liver problems, spleen diseases and gastrointestinal disorders. It was also reported to possess antihypertensive, diuretic, anti-asthmatic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. Attempt has been made to study hepatoprotective potential of LSS available in Saudi Arabian Market. The aim of the present study was to determine the hepatoprotective effect of ethanolic extracts of LSS against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced acute liver injury in rats. The bioactive compounds responsible for this activity have been analyzed by GC–MS. To evaluate the hepatoprotective activity, six groups (n = 6) of rats were taken. First group was control, second was toxic and other groups received oral test solutions: 100 mg/kg silymarin, or LSS (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg), once daily for 7 consecutive days, followed by hepatotoxicity induction with CCl4. Blood and liver tissues were collected for biochemical, antioxidant and microscopic analyses. The bioactive constituents present in the extract were analyzed by GC–MS. Results showed that pretreatment with LSS and silymarin significantly reduced the level of serum alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and bilirubin (BIL), which was increased significantly in toxic group treated with only CCl4. Histological analysis of liver tissues in groups pretreated with LSS and silymarin showed mild necrosis and inflammation of the hepatocytes compared to the toxic group. GC–MS analysis of LSS showed the presence of twelve major fatty acids including alpha-linolenic acid as a major constituent. These results indicated that LSS exerts enhance hepatoprotective activity that could be attributed towards its antioxidant activity, coupled together with the presence of anti-inflammatory compounds in LSS extract.