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Abstract The main objective of the study conducted here was to estimate the concentration of 2,3‐Bisphosphoglycerate (2,3‐BPG), 1,3‐Bisphosphoglycerate (1,3‐BPG), bisphospho‐glycerate mutase (BPGM) and 3‐phosphoglycerate (3PG) in cattle clinically diagnosed with acute ruminal acidosis. A secondary objective was to examine the physical and chemical characteristics of the ruminal fluid in affected cattle. A total of 20 cattle clinically diagnosed with acute ruminal acidosis and eight clinically normal cattle were included in this study. The results showed that decrease of ruminal pH changed the ruminal fluid colour, odour and consistency, as well as decreased the sedimentation time, increased the methylene blue reduction time, and decreased ruminal microflora motility. The study indicated that the concentration of 2,3‐BPG, BPGM and BPGP decreased with the decrease of ruminal pH, while 3‐PG concentration was not affected with the decrease of ruminal pH. In conclusion, 2,3‐BPG could play a role in the pathogenesis of ruminal acidosis, and thus, the intravenous administration of sodium bicarbonate is important, particularly in severe cases, to correct any systemic acidosis that can decrease 2,3‐BPG concentration and results in tissue hypoxia.

Abstract This study is to estimate in‐hospital mortality in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) patients stratified by hemoglobin (Hb) level. Patients were stratified according to hemoglobin level into two groups, that is, Hb 100 g/L. A total of 6931 patients were included. Of these, 6377 (92%) patients had hemoglobin levels >100 g/L. The mean age was 44 ± 17 years, and 66% of the patients were males. The median length of overall hospital stay was 13 days [2; 31]. The remaining 554 (8%) patients had a hemoglobin level 100 g/L (52, 0.82%). Risk factors associated with increased mortality were determined by multivariate analysis. The Kaplan‐Meier survival analysis showed hemoglobin as a predictor of mortality. Cox proportional hazards regression coefficients for hemoglobin for the HB ≤ 100 category of hemoglobin were significant, B = 2.79, SE = 0.17, and HR = 16.34, p

Efforts were made in this search to design a physical and computer model using the CFD techniques to simulate the problem of transporting pollutants through a porous media in unsteady state case. A physical model was built to measure the transmission of a copper nitrate pollutant at an initial concentration of 25 mg/l in a medium consists of (sand + gravel) and study the movement of the pollutant through. Then the results of the pollutant transport through used in the physical model were entered as entry data to the CFD simulated model using COMSOL 5.4. Software. The results of the CFD simulated model showed that the change in the inlet velocity to more than 20% of the initial velocity increases the pollutant concentration and reduces the time wanted to reach the highest value of the pollutant, while reducing the inlet velocity to less than 20% of the initial velocity, cause to decrease the concentration and increase the time to reach the highest pollutant value. When changing the porosity by (30%, -15%) of the initial porosity, it was noticed that increasing the porosity value reduces the pollutant concentration and increases the time required to reach the highest value of the pollutant. while when the porosity decreases to 15% of the initial porosity, the concentration increases the time decreases to reach the highest value of the pollutant at all control points. The adsorption factor has a noticeable effect on the emergence of the pollutant, while the temperature change was almost imperceptible for all degrees. However, the results of laboratory work were compared with the results of the CFD simulated model, which showed a good match between them.

Abstract Background The use of the hookah-smoking device is increasing at a large scale in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Hookah users are exposed to an array of chemical compounds and may suffer several chronic diseases as a result. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of hookah use among male high school students in the region and to study different associated factors in order to provide local tobacco control officials with an understanding of this public health problem. Methods A convenient non-probability sampling study was conducted among students in three high schools in Al-Karkh district, Baghdad. The study period was from October 2017 till January 2019 and included 847 male students aged 15–18 years old. Using a simple random technique to select the high schools from a list of schools we chose one school from each directorate. Descriptive, chi-square test of significance, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression analyses of data were carried out for identifying the risk factors associated with hookah smoking among these high school adolescent males. Results The overall prevalence of hookah smoking in the last 30 days among male high school students was 46.1% while in the past 6 months it was as high as 85.7%. More than two-thirds (70.6%) of the students thought that hookah smoking was more socially acceptable than cigarette smoking. Factors such as having first heard about it from friends, the media, or the presence of a hookah café near their residence were significantly associated (p > 0.05) with hookah smoking among the students. Similarly, being surrounded by friends who used hookah was also found to be significantly associated with hookah smoking, with an odds ratio of 0.18, 95% CI (0.087–0.394). Hookah smokers were less likely than non-hookah smokers to report its use as forbidden in Islam and more likely to say it is allowed in Islam. Conclusions We found an alarmingly high use of hookah smoking among male high school students in this study. Family members and peers had an important role in the prevention of hookah smoking among these students. There is a need for students to be educated about the toxicity of hookah tobacco smoking and its direct effect on their health.

Abstract Background There is an urgent need to elucidate the epidemiology of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) and characterize its potential impact. Investing in characterising the SARS-CoV2 will help plan and improve the response to the pandemic. Furthermore, it will help identify the most efficient ways of managing the pandemic, avoiding public health policies and interventions that may be unduly restrictive of normal activity or unnecessarily costly. This paper describes the design and reports findings of a population based epidemiological study undertaken to characterise SARS-CoV2 in Qatar using limited resources in a timely manner. Methods Asymptomatic individuals ≥10 years registered with Qatar’s publicly funded primary health provider were eligible. A stratified random sampling technique was utilized to identify the study sample. Participants were invited to an appointment where they completed a questionnaire and provided samples for polymerase chain reaction and Immunoglobulin M and G immunoassay tests. Data collected were analyzed to calculate point and period prevalence by sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical characteristics. Results Of 18,918 individuals invited for the study, 2084 participated (response rate 10.8%). The overall point prevalence and period prevalence were estimated to be 1.6% (95% CI 1.1–2.2) and 14.6% (95% CI 13.1–16.2) respectively. Period prevalence of SARS-CoV2 infection was not considerably different across age groups (9.7–19.8%). It was higher in males compared to females (16.2 and 12.7% respectively). A significant variation was observed by nationality (7.1 to 22.2%) and municipalities (6.9–35.3%). Conclusions The study provides an example of a methodologically robust approach that can be undertaken in a timely manner with limited resources. It reports much-needed epidemiological data about the spread of SARS-CoV2. Given the low prevalence rates, majority of the population in Qatar remains susceptible. Enhanced surveillance must continue to be in place, particularly due to the large number of asymptomatic cases observed. Robust contact tracing and social distancing measures are key to prevent future outbreaks.

Background: High-throughput assays that can infer neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 are of great importance for assessing the immunity induced by natural infection and COVID-19 vaccines. We aimed to evaluate the performance and degree of correlation of three fully automated anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassays with neutralization activity using a surrogate virus-neutralizing test (sVNT) from GenScript, targeting the receptor-binding domain. Methods: 110 sera collected from PCR-confirmed asymptomatic COVID-19 individuals were tested for neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) using the sVNT. Positive samples were tested on three automated immunoassays targeting different viral antigens: Mindray CL-900i®, Abbott Architect, and Ortho VITROS®. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, agreement, and correlation with the sVNT were assessed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine optimal thresholds for predicting the presence of neutralizing activity by each assay. Results: All three assays showed 100% specificities. The highest sensitivity was 99.0%, demonstrated by VITROS®, followed by 94.3%, for CL-900i®, and 81.0%, for Architect. Both VITROS® and CL-900i® had the strongest correlation with the sVNT (ρ = 0.718 and ρ = 0.712, respectively), while Architect showed a moderate correlation (ρ = 0.618). ROC curve analysis indicated that the manufacturer’s recommended cutoff values are adequate for predicting the presence of nAbs and providing a strong correlation with the sVNT. Conclusion: VITROS® and CL-900i® serological assays, which detect antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, could serve as reliable assays to predict neutralization activity after infection or vaccination.

يهدف البحث بشكل أساس الى التعرف عَلى تأثير الملكية الإدارية والرافعة المالية وحجم الشركة فِي الأداء المالي للمصارف العراقية التجارة مقاسا بأنموذج (Tobin’s Q)، وقد تم قياس جميع متغيرات البحث بشكل كمي بالاعتمـاد علـى النمـاذج التـي طورتهـا الادبـيات السـابقة، فضـلا عـن مجـموعة مـن الأسـاليب الإحصـائية لاخـتبار فرضـيات البحـث ومعـرفة حجـم الارتبـاط والاثـر ومسـتوى المـعـنوية بيـن متغـيرات البحـث وباستخـدام البرامـج الإحصـائية (Statistical Package for Social Sciences-SPSS Vr.20)، (Eviews-v9)، (Amos). اظهرت النتائج التي توصل اليها البحث: وجود علاقة تأثير ذات دلالة إحصائية للرافعة المالية وحجم الشركة في الأداء المالي، وعدم وجود تأثير دال من الناحية الإحصائية لملكية الإدارية في الأداء المالي، أمّا العلاقة بين الملكية الإدارية وحجم الشركة والرافعة المالية فكان لها تأثير ذو دلالة إحصائية فِي الأداء المالي للشركة.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate if the protective effect of Isoliquiritigenin (ISL) against doxorubicin-induced nephropathy in rats entails activation of Nrf2 signaling. Methods: Adult male Wistart rats were treated as control, ISL, DOX, DOX, and ISL + DOX + ISL + Nrf2 inhibitor (brusatol) (n = 8/group). Treatments with ISL (25 mg//kg, oral) were carried out 10 days before and 10 days after the single dose of DOX (15 mg/kg, i.p). Results: Treatment with ISL attenuated the glomerular and tubular damage and reduced interstitial fibrosis and collagen accumulation in the kidneys of DOX-intoxicated animals. It also increased urinary flow and volume, stimulated urinary creatinine excretion, and decreased albumin excretion. These effects were associated with high transcription of Bcl2, suppression of ROS, MDA, and inflammatory cytokines production (i.e., TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β), downregulation of apoptotic markers (Bax and caspase-3/9), TGF-β1, Collagen I/III. Besides, ISL stimulated renal expression, translation, and nuclear localization of Nrf2, as well as levels of GSH and SOD, independent of keap-1. All these effects afforded by ISL were reversed by suppressing Nrf2 with brusatol. Conclusion: Pre-treatment with ISL is an effective strategy to alleviate DOX-induced nephropathy in rats by stimulating the Nrf2/antioxidant axis, which encourages further pre-clinical studies.

Background: One of the primary health concerns for diabetes individuals is wounds. The used drugs have several side effects, urging the need for new natural sources for therapeutics. Materials and methods: This study was designed to estimate the wound healing potential of the methanolic extract of Globularia arabica and Malva sylvestris leaves and Rhus coriaria fruits. plant extracts were orally administered to the rats to determine their effect on the wound-healing process. Results: Plant extracts significantly increased the contraction of the wound in non-diabetic and diabetic rats (P < 0.05) and increased the fibroblast's proliferation and migration resulting in a faster healing process. The plant extracts have no cytotoxic effects. The proliferation assay exhibited the lowest cell mortality after treatment with plant extract. Conclusion: These findings may indicate that the methanolic leaf extract of the above plants can be used as new therapeutics for wound healing in diabetic patients.

The sinoatrial node (SAN) is composed of highly specialized cells that mandate the spontaneous beating of the heart through self-generation of an action potential (AP). Despite this automaticity, the SAN is under the modulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). In diabetes mellitus (DM), heart rate variability (HRV) manifests as a hallmark of diabetic cardiomyopathy. This is paralleled by an impaired regulation of the ANS, and by a pathological remodeling of the pacemaker structure and function. The direct effect of diabetes on the molecular signatures underscoring this pathology remains ill-defined. The recent focus on the electrical currents of the SAN in diabetes revealed a repressed firing rate of the AP and an elongation of its tracing, along with conduction abnormalities and contractile failure. These changes are blamed on the decreased expression of ion transporters and cell-cell communication ports at the SAN (i.e., HCN4, calcium and potassium channels, connexins 40, 45, and 46) which further promotes arrhythmias. Molecular analysis crystallized the RGS4 (regulator of potassium currents), mitochondrial thioredoxin-2 (reactive oxygen species; ROS scavenger), and the calcium-dependent calmodulin kinase II (CaMKII) as metabolic culprits of relaying the pathological remodeling of the SAN cells (SANCs) structure and function. A special attention is given to the oxidation of CaMKII and the generation of ROS that induce cell damage and apoptosis of diabetic SANCs. Consequently, the diabetic SAN contains a reduced number of cells with significant infiltration of fibrotic tissues that further delay the conduction of the AP between the SANCs. Failure of a genuine generation of AP and conduction of their derivative waves to the neighboring atrial myocardium may also occur as a result of the anti-diabetic regiment (both acute and/or chronic treatments). All together, these changes pose a challenge in the field of cardiology and call for further investigations to understand the etiology of the structural/functional remodeling of the SANCs in diabetes. Such an understanding may lead to more adequate therapies that can optimize glycemic control and improve health-related outcomes in patients with diabetes.

Background: There is scarce information about the occurrence of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) from patients with typhoid fever. Objective: To study the antimicrobial resistance and ESBL encoding genes among S. Typhi isolates in aforesaid patients from Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: S. Typhi isolates were collected from blood samples of typhoid fever patients from 4 academic medical centers in Lagos, Nigeria. The identification of isolates and their antibiotic susceptibility testing were performed by standard bacteriological techniques and disc diffusion method, respectively. The production of ESBLs was investigated using combination disk test (CDT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: A total of 27 S. Typhi isolates was collected. All isolates were susceptible to imipenem and nitrofurantoin. Fifteen (55.6%) isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR). The CDT test showed 11 (40.7%) ESBL producer isolates. However, the PCR revealed a higher occurrence rate for ESBL producers (66.7%, n = 18/27). The ESBL genes were as follows: blaCTX-M (37.0%, n = 10/27), blaSHV (18.5%, n = 5/27), and blaTEM (44.4%, n = 12/27). All ESBL positive S. Typhi isolates were MDR. Conclusions: This study showed the emergence of ESBL-harboring S. Typhi in patients with typhoid fever from Nigeria.

Software engineering, a fairly recent engineering discipline, is still evolving without a wide consensus on a body of fundamental principles as in traditional engineering fields with their own long-established principles originating from physics, chemistry and mathematics. This paper reports on a systematic mapping study (SMS) that identified 30 papers and books from 1969 to January 2020, each proposing their own sets of software engineering principles (SEP). Within these studies a total of 592 SEP were proposed, these studies were reviewed and classified on the basis of four mapping questions examining publication trends, use of explicit criteria for the proposed SEP, whether authors clearly described a methodology to come up with the proposed SEP, and the applicability of SEP throughout the development process. The key finding in this study are: a) the majority of the studies were published over two decades from 1989 to 2009, and then the publication rate slowed in the following decade; b) the largest number of SEP, by far, was proposed by Davis; c) only six studies used explicit criteria to identify their proposed SEP, and the other 24 studies identified their principles based on their own analysis without traceability to a methodology or selection criteria; d) most authors did not identify which principles to use in specific contexts of the software engineering domain; e) only two studies used some of the proposed SEP throughout the software development process.

This study proposes the use of Residual Neural Networks (ResNets) to recognise Arabic offline isolated handwritten characters including Arabic digits. ResNets is a deep learning approach which showed effectiveness in many applications more than conventional machine learning approaches. The proposed approach consists of three main phases: pre-processing phase, training the ResNet on the training set, and testing the trained ResNet on the datasets. The evaluation of the proposed approach is performed on three available datasets: MADBase, AIA9K, and AHCD. The proposed approach achieved accuracies of 99.8%, 99.05% and 99.55% on these datasets, respectively. It also achieved a validation accuracy of 98.9% on the constructed dataset based on the three datasets. [JJCIT 2021; 7(2.000): 192-205]

Tigris River is the only potable source in Baghdad city therefor many water treatment plants were built on the banks such as Al-Karkh, Sharq Dijla, Al-Sadr, Al-Wathba, Al-Karama, AlQadisia, Al-Dora, Al-Wahda, and Al-Rashed project. Tigris River suffers from the pollution that comes from various sources such as Industry, domestic sanitation, and farming activities therefore several indices were used to calculate water quality within Baghdad to convert physicochemical parameters of water to a single value that represents the river status (good, bad, very bad, etc..).The aim of this review paper to show the results of previous studies about the water quality for the Baghdad region. Most results showed that water quality was good in the north of the city of Baghdad and bad in the south of Baghdad. The deterioration of water quality was due to many reasons such as the discharge of wastewater directly into the river without pretreatment, increase in (Electic conductivity, Turbidity, and total suspended solids, total hardness, Iron ion, the fecal coliform)concentrations, and Climate change, therefore, Tigris River needs intensive treatment before using by humans.

Hepatitis B infection is one of the most important health problems around the world. The high mortality rate of the hepatitis B encouraged research that led to the finding of an effective vaccine against it. The aim of the present study was to find out the use of the Euvax-B vaccine in sectors of Nineveh province. According to the results obtained in this study, in the next five years, the vaccination coverage for the second and third doses needs to improve.

Abstract Aims/Introduction Abnormalities in Ca2+ signaling have a key role in hemodynamic dysfunction in diabetic heart. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetes on Ca2+ signaling in epicardial (EPI) and endocardial (ENDO) cells of the left ventricle after 5–6 months of STZ injection. Materials and Methods Whole‐cell patch clamp was used to measure the L‐type Ca2+ channel (LTCC) and Na+/Ca2+ exchanger currents. Fluorescence photometry techniques were used to measure intracellular free Ca2+ concentration. Results Although the LTCC current was not significantly altered, the amplitude of Ca2+ transients increased significantly in EPI‐STZ and ENDO‐STZ compared with controls. Time to peak LTCC current, time to peak Ca2+ transient, time to half decay of LTCC current and time to half decay of Ca2+ transients were not significantly changed in EPI‐STZ and ENDO‐STZ myocytes compared with controls. The Na+/Ca2+ exchanger current was significantly smaller in EPI‐STZ and in ENDO‐STZ compared with controls. Conclusions STZ‐induced diabetes resulted in an increase in amplitude of Ca2+ transients in EPI and ENDO myocytes that was independent of the LTCC current. Such an effect can be attributed, at least in part, to the dysfunction of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger. Additional studies are warranted to improve our understanding of the regional impact of diabetes on Ca2+ signaling, which will facilitate the discovery of new targeted treatments for diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Aspirin are commonly used analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-pyretic drug in medicine, oral route is the most common one for drug administration as a result it will produce different adverse effects like peptic ulcer, nephropathy, and thrombocytopenia even with low and continuous therapeutic dose, so the alternative topical route is preferable with minimal adverse effects and effective concentration.Therefore, in the present study was to investigate whether the antinociceptive property of aspirin would enhance if used aspirin as nanoparticles after preparing it in several forms (gel, cream and ointment). Thirty-two healthy male mice weighing 30-35 gm. were used in the present study. The animals were divided as a randomized design. Each mouse was treated topically. All drug concentration of aspirin was prepared using gel, cream and ointment as vehicle and topically application on fore and hind paw of experimental animals. Pain was induced by application of hot plate for assessment of latency of pain stimulus. Time from placement to jumping or hind paw licking was recorded as latency of response. The result showed that the median effective concentration (EC50) for analgesic effect of aspirin (gel, cream, and ointment) were 0.848, 0.958 and 1.00% respectively while these EC50s were decrease when used nanoparticles aspirin (gel, cream and ointment) to 0.72, 0.657, and 0.701% respectively. In conclusion, topical applied of aspirin will produce effective therapeutic antinociceptive effects in mice although gel preparation produce a better response followed by cream, then ointment due to pharmacokinetic properties. Also nanoparticle preparation will produce superior response in all forms, whether Nano aspirin is prepared in gel form, cream or ointment.

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a highly challenging and threatening situation worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 patients develop various clinical symptoms. The olfactory and taste dysfunctions are potential neurological manifestations among SARS-CoV-2 patients; however, their relationship with blood groups has rarely been investigated. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of chemosensitive neurological disorders of smell and taste and their association with blood groups in SARS-CoV-2 patients. The present cross-sectional study was performed in the Department of Pathology, and Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A well-structured, self-administered questionnaire was designed and distributed through social media platforms. A total of 922 Saudi and non-Saudi adults aged 18 years or older participated in the study. Out of 922 participants, the number of people who had anosmia was 309 (33.5%), 211 (22.9%) had hyposmia, and 45 (4.8%) had dysosmia. Moreover, 180 (19.52%) had ageusia, 47 (5.1%) and 293 (31.8%) had hypogeusia and dysgeusia, respectively. Among all the participants, 565 (61.27%) had smell-related disorders and 520 (56.39%) participants had taste-related clinical symptoms. The occurrence of anosmia and ageusia was relatively high among females compared to males (p = 0.024). The prevalence of smell-related disorders was 25.0% (230) and taste-related disorders was 23.21% (214) among the study participants with blood group O compared to all other blood group (A, B, and AB) participants who have smell allied disorders 30.69% (283), and taste allied disorders 27.98% (258). The prevalence of chemosensitive neurological disorders involving impaired smell and taste was higher in SARS-CoV-2 patients. These clinical symptoms were common among the participants with blood group type O compared to all other ABO blood group types. The role of certain demographic characteristics was consistent throughout multiple studies, notably with female gender and young adults.

Foodborne pathogens can have devastating repercussions and significantly threaten public health. Therefore, it is indeed essential to guarantee the sustainability of our food production. Food preservation and storage using nanocomposites is a promising strategy. Accordingly, the present research’s objectives were to identify and isolate a few foodborne pathogens from food products, (ii) synthesize and characterize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using wet chemical reduction into the lamellar space layer of montmorillonite (MMT), and (iii) investigate the antibacterial potential of the AgNPs/MMT nanocomposite versus isolated strains of bacteria. Six bacterial species, including Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus were isolated from some food products (meat, fish, cheese, and vegetables). The Ag/MMT nanocomposite was synthesized and characterized using UV–visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, particle size analyzer, zeta potential, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy with dispersive energy X-ray (EDX). The antibacterial effectiveness of the AgNPs/MMT nanocomposite further investigated distinct bacterial species using a zone of inhibition assay and microtiter-based methods. Nanoparticles with a narrow dimension range of 12 to 30 nm were identified using TEM analysis. The SEM was employed to view the sizeable flakes of the AgNPs/MMT. At 416 nm, the most excellent UV absorption was measured. Four silver metallic diffraction peaks were found in the XRD pattern during the study, and the EDX spectrum revealed a strong signal attributed to Ag nanocrystals. AgNPs/MMT figured out the powerful antibacterial action. The AgNPs/MMT nanocomposite confirmed outstanding minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) against six isolates of foodborne pathogens, ranging from 15 to 75 µg/mL, respectively. The AgNPs/MMT’s antibacterial potential against gram-negative bacteria was noticeably better than gram-positive bacteria. Therefore, the AgNPs/MMT nanocomposite has the potential to be used as a reliable deactivator in food processing and preservation to protect against foodborne pathogenic bacteria. This suggests that the nanocomposite may be effective at inhibiting the growth and proliferation of harmful bacteria in food, which could help to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.

Water pollution is a grave risk to mankind. Water pollutants including organic toxins, dyes effluents, and heavy metals have posed great stress on water quality in recent years. This has necessitated the search for an affordable, eco-friendly, inexpensive, stable, and effective strategy for wastewater remediation. In this work, a pollyoxometallate K6[H2AlBW11O40].9H2O (KAB) was impregnated on kaolin clay to synthesize a clay-based nanocomposite KAB-K which was then evaluated for adsorptive removal of brilliant green dye (BG) from wastewater. The prepared composite was characterized by different techniques such as FTIR, SEM, and EDX analysis. The characterization results indicated the fine distribution of KAB on kaolin's surface. The adsorption studies of BG involved evaluation of optimum parameters such as time contact (30 min), quantity of adsorbent (20 mg), pH (5), temperature (40 °C), and agitation speed (125 rpm). 99.5% of BG was removed by KAB-K within 30 min. The assessment of kinetic data was performed via Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin models. The experimental data was found to be in good agreement with the Langmuir model (R2 > 0.9965) as compared to other models. Qmax value of KAB-K (144.92 ± 0.005 mg/g) was much higher than simple kaolin (33.22 ± 0.01 mg/g). The applicability of the pseudo-second-order kinetic model suggested that the process was predominately chemisorption. KAB-K was easier to recycle and efficiently removed up to 68.7% dye in 3 subsequent cycles. Thus rapid adsorption rate, high adsorption capacity, efficient recovery, and reusability of KAB-K endorses that the synthesized composite is an effective adsorbent for wastewater pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan is an agricultural country producing plenty of fruits, like: mango, banana, apple, peaches, grapes, plums, variety of citrus fruits including lemon, grapefruit, and oranges. So far the peels of most of the fruits are usually wasted and not properly utilized anywhere. In this work, the peels of banana and grapefruit are converted into biochar by slow pyrolysis under controlled supply of air and used for sequestering cyanide ions from aqueous medium after chemical modification with ZnCl2 and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The modified biochar was characterized by various instrumental techniques, like: SEM, FTIR, TGA, and CHNS. Different parameters, like: time, temperature, pH, and dose of adsorbent affecting the adsorption of cyanide ions, onto prepared biochar were optimized and to understand the adsorption phenomenon, kinetic and thermodynamic studies were performed. Concentration of cyanide ions was estimated by employing standard ion selective electrode system and it is found that Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate treated biochar of banana peels shown more adsorption capacity, i.e.,: 17.080 mg/g as compared to all samples. Present work revealed that the biochar produced from the fruit waste has sufficient potential to eliminate trace quantities of cyanide from water, especially after treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate. An industrial area in Asian and African countries where mining is done using traditional techniques is the major cause of cyanide toxicity in wastewater streams. So, here chemically fabricated biochar made by peels of banana and grape fruit is employed for removal of cyanide ion for controlling aquatic pollution using local resources in green way. Favorable results indicated the feasibility of this process, which is cost effective, convenient, ecofriendly, and sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This is study aimes to demonstrate the effect of chlorohexidine gelfoam on the salivary Tumor Necrosis factor and Interleukin-6 after extraction of lower third molar to compare these effect before and after extraction ' and to know the benefit of using chlorhexidine gelfoam after extraction of lower third molar . Material and method:-twenty four patients were involved, patients classified into group 1[control group],group 2 [chlorhexidine group] saliva was taken from all patients by using salivette before extraction and seven day after extraction then measure TNF andIL-6 by using [ELISA] kits' Results:- there is significance difference in (IL-6) after one week of extraction without treatment from the baseline (before extraction) and the result respectively was (1.96±0.51),( 6.20±5.22),and the result of (TNF-α) appeared no significance difference before and after treated the result after treatment is(25.9±30.8) and before treatment is (95.2±131.6) and the result of group used chlorhexidine gelfoam show significance difference in both (IL-6, TNF-α) after and before treatment, the result of IL-6 after treatment is (16.99±13.31) and before treatment is (1.57±0.18) and the result of (TNF-α) after treatment is (56±79.3) and before treatment is (102.9±133.3) Conclusion:- the use of chlorohexidine gelfoam after extraction help to decrease the salivary TNF-α. with significant difference and decrease level of IL-6 with a significant differences compare it with control group which enhance healing process and decrease the chance of infection.

Communities play an important and active role in preventing and controlling the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Reduction of COVID-19-related barriers and threats perceived by the public should be the top priority in promoting positive preventive behaviors among people. This cross-sectional study aimed at identifying the barriers and threats perceived by public university students in the southwestern part of Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The students were recruited through a snowball sampling technique, and data were collected using a web-based questionnaire. Data on socio-demographic aspects, perceived barriers, and perceived threats were collected. Perceived barriers were estimated using the Health Belief Model (HBM) questionnaire, and perceived threats were estimated using the patient threat perceptions in the emergency department scale. This study was conducted between March and June 2020. Approximately 50% of the study participants had a high level of perceived barriers and a moderate level of total perceived threats. Notable factors associated with participants’ perceived barriers and threats were age, college type, and monthly income. Perceived barriers, participants’ residence location, and sex were also significantly related to each other. Moreover, perceived barriers were significantly correlated with perceived threats. COVID-19-related perceived barriers and threats ranged from a moderate level to a high level among most of the participating students. Perceived barriers were associated with some of the demographic variables. The findings from this study may help the government in formulating strategies for planning interventions to reduce COVID-19 pandemic propagation.

The use of raw white eggshells (WES) as a catalyst, and promoted WES with acetic acid as a promoted catalyst for study the adsorption of cobalt (CO+2) and lithium (Li+) ions from polluted soils was investigated in this paper. The selection of a treated chemical substance was achieved after performing several experiments under controlled laboratory conditions using three chemical substances covering different range of pH: acidity (acetic acid), neutral (potassium iodide), and alkalinity (baking soda) media to determine the optimal conditions for improving CO+2 and Li+ recovery from soil contaminated samples. Several operating factors were examined in order to detect their corresponding effects on the catalyst behavior. These factors were: pH, incubation time, the initial concentration of CO+2 and Li+ ions, the dose of the WES, and the ambient temperature. The maximum adsorption efficiency of CO+2 and Li+ions were 94 and 85% for promoted WES at the incubation time of 21 and 7 days, pH of 5 and 4, temperature of 50 and 45 °C, and WES dose of 2.5 and 3 g, respectively. A regression equation was developed to investigate the removable percentage for both pollutants at different dosage of ordinary WES. This method introduces an innovative idea for promoting the process of remediation of light and heavy metals using a low-cost adsorbent under controlled laboratory conditions.

Background: Shift work impacts workers' health, mainly by disrupting the circadian rhythm, and gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances are among the health effects of shift work. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the association between shift work, work stress, and GI disturbance among nurses. Methods: In July 2018, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Dammam Medical Complex, Saudi Arabia. A total of 250 nurses were selected through convenience sampling from several departments. They completed a validated questionnaire, which included questions about their demographic data, GI symptoms, and effort–reward imbalance (ERI). Work stress was classified into two groups based on the ERI ratio. GI symptoms were categorized into three indices: total, upper, and lower GI. The sampling plan was designed to cover most of the shifts in the included departments throughout nonspecified dates. The daytime nurses' group was selected from the same hospital as a comparison group to the shift workers. Means and standard deviations were calculated for continuous variables and frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical variables. The associations were assessed using the Chi-squares and analysis of variance. Results: Work stress among nurses, as measured by the ERI scale, was strongly associated with both upper and lower GI symptoms, with odds ratios of 5.7 (CI: 3.3–7.9) and 2.2 (CI: 1.8–4.3), respectively. The total GI symptom score of the shift workers was greater than that for the daytime workers, with means of 7.8 ± 6.9 and 5.4 ± 5.1, respectively (P = 0.005). Multivariable regression analysis showed that ERI was associated with both lower and upper GI symptoms after adjusting for shift work and years on the job. Conclusions: Shift work was associated with the high prevalence of GI symptoms. Stress (ERI) increased the risk for GI disturbance. Controlling work stress is necessary because it affects nurses' physical and social health, as well as their performances at work and the quality of care they provide.

The serine/threonine protein kinases CDK2 and GSK-3β are key oncotargets in breast cancer cell lines, therefore, in the present study three series of oxindole-benzofuran hybrids were designed and synthesised as dual CDK2/GSK-3β inhibitors targeting breast cancer (5a–g, 7a–h, and 13a–b). The N1-unsubstituted oxindole derivatives, series 5, showed moderate to potent activity on both MCF-7 and T-47D breast cancer cell lines. Compounds 5d–f showed the most potent cytotoxic activity with IC50 of 3.41, 3.45 and 2.27 μM, respectively, on MCF-7 and of 3.82, 4.53 and 7.80 μM, respectively, on T-47D cell lines, in comparison to the used reference standard (staurosporine) IC50 of 4.81 and 4.34 μM, respectively. On the other hand, the N1-substituted oxindole derivatives, series 7 and 13, showed moderate to weak cytotoxic activity on both breast cancer cell lines. CDK2 and GSK-3β enzyme inhibition assay of series 5 revealed that compounds 5d and 5f are showing potent dual CDK2/GSK-3β inhibitory activity with IC50 of 37.77 and 52.75 nM, respectively, on CDK2 and 32.09 and 40.13 nM, respectively, on GSK-3β. The most potent compounds 5d–f caused cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase in MCF-7 cells inducing cell apoptosis because of the CDK2/GSK-3β inhibition. Molecular docking studies showed that the newly synthesised N1-unsubstituted oxindole hybrids have comparable binding patterns in both CDK2 and GSK-3β. The oxindole ring is accommodated in the hinge region interacting through hydrogen bonding with the backbone CO and NH of the key amino acids Glu81 and Leu83, respectively, in CDK2 and Asp133 and Val135, respectively, in GSK-3β. Whereas, in series 7 and 13, the N1-substitutions on the oxindole nucleus hinder the compounds from achieving these key interactions with hinge region amino acids what rationalises their moderate to low anti-proliferative activity.

The novel coronavirus disease COVID-19, caused by the virus SARS CoV-2, has exerted a significant unprecedented economic and medical crisis, in addition to its impact on the daily life and health care systems all over the world. Regrettably, no vaccines or drugs are currently available for this new critical emerging human disease. Joining the global fight against COVID-19, in this study we aim at identifying a potential novel inhibitor for SARS COV-2 2′-O-methyltransferase (nsp16) which is one of the most attractive targets in the virus life cycle, responsible for the viral RNA protection via a cap formation process. Firstly, nsp16 enzyme bound to Sinefungin was retrieved from the protein data bank (PDB ID: 6WKQ), then, a 3D pharmacophore model was constructed to be applied to screen 48 Million drug-like compounds of the Zinc database. This resulted in only 24 compounds which were subsequently docked into the enzyme. The best four score-ordered hits from the docking outcome exhibited better scores compared to Sinefungin. Finally, three molecular dynamics (MD) simulation experiments for 150 ns were carried out as a refinement step for our proposed approach. The MD and MM-PBSA outputs revealed compound 11 as the best potential nsp16 inhibitor herein identified, as it displayed a better stability and average binding free energy for the ligand-enzyme complex compared to Sinefungin.