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Ab initio calculation and data mining are very useful methods to predict the interrelationships among structure properties. In this paper, the first-principles modelling based on the density functional theory (DFT) was used to explore the structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of ten hydrides REH2 (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm). From the present work, it can be noted that LaH2, CeH2, NdH2, and PrH2 compounds crystallizing in the hydrogen-rich cubic phase present good mechanical properties which could be of use to future applications in hydrogen storage. Furthermore, the electronic structures were also evaluated to provide a deep insight regarding their trends and confirm the metallic character of these systems. While, HoH2, DyH2, ErH2, TbH2, TmH2, SmH2 hydrides are mainly hard and rigid systems with high values of the bulk modulus (B), shear modulus (G), Young's modulus (E), micro-hardness (H), and low values of B/G ratio. More significantly, the adopted principal component analysis (PCA) provided an advantageous technique in selecting and identifying the minimum of inputs variables necessary to capture all information of the systems.

The costimulatory inhibitor Belatacept (Bela) has been shown to be an effective alternative in several clinical situations, including chronic antibody-mediated rejection, calcineurin toxicity, and de novo alloantibody formation. To further explore the usefulness of Belatacept under various clinical scenarios, we performed a retrospective analysis of a prospective database of all recipients who had a BPAR diagnosis of CAMR and were converted to a Belatacept maintenance immunosuppression regimen after kidney transplantation.We conducted a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database of all kidney transplants adult patients at SUNY Upstate Medical Hospital from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2021. Our inclusion criteria were the patients who have been diagnosed with CAMR according to their renal biopsy based on the 2013 Banff criteria. The primary objective was to compare the kidney viability and function using GFR between the two interest groups and finally compare the outcomes.A total of 48 patients met our inclusion criteria based on the kidney biopsy result, which showed chronic antibody-mediated graft rejection (CAMR). Nineteen patients (39.6%) were converted to the Belatacept, and we continued the previous immunosuppression regimen in 29 patients (60.4%). The mean time from the transplant date to the diagnosis of CAMR was 1385 days in the Belatacept group and 914 days for the non-Belatacept group (P = 0.15). The mean GFR comparison at each time point between the groups did not show a significant difference, and Belatacept did not show superiority compared to the standard immunosuppression regimen in terms of kidney function preservation. 1 (5.2%) patient from the Belatacept group and 1 (3.4%) patient from the non-Belatacept group had a biopsy-proven acute rejection (BPAR) after CAMR confirmation, and it was comparable (P = 0.76). De novo synthesis of the DSA rate was 12.5% in the Belatacept group and 15% In the non-Belatacept group, which was comparable. (P = 0.90). The patient survival rate was 100% in both groups.We conclude that compared to the standard Tacrolimus/MMF/Prednisone regimen, Belatacept did not significantly benefit in preserving the GFR in long-term follow-ups and stabilizing the DSA production, which is one of the main factors resulting in chronic graft failure.

Many broad-spectrum antibiotics (BSA) alter the intestinal microbiome that regulates adaptive immune responses. We hypothesized that BSA use before and early after kidney transplant may affect acute graft rejection (AGR). We carried out a retrospective cohort study on all patients who underwent kidney transplants in our institution. Patient demographics, clinical data, diagnosis, and treatment history were collected. Antibiotic use within 2 months prior to transplant and during the hospital admissions for transplant, as well as antibiotic types were recorded. A total of 357 consecutive first transplants were included for analysis. Median age was 52 years (range 7–76). A total of 67 patients received living donor and 290 deceased donor kidneys. A total of 19 patients received BSA within two months prior to transplant and 55 patients during the hospital admission for the transplant. With a median follow-up of 1270 days, 38 episodes of biopsy-proven AGR were recorded. There was no difference in the AGR rates during the first year between patients who received BSA and those who did not. However, the use of piperacillin/tazobactam or meropenem (PM) was associated with increased risks for the development of AGR, irrespective of the source of the donor grafts. Time to development of AGR was also shorter. Our data, therefore, suggest that the use of PM BSA prior to and immediately after kidney transplant increases the risks for AGR.

The fast and sensitive detection of copper ions would be essential for water monitoring. Herein, we report a novel development of an impedimetric sensor based on carbon dots/chitosan nanocomposite. Carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized by simple heating of an acidic aqueous solution of glucose. The prepared CDs were characterized by TEM, FTIR, XRD, UV-visible, and PL. These measurements revealed that the CDs possess a mean size of 3.2 nm, a graphitic structure with carboxyl and hydroxyl groups on the surface, and shows particular optical properties. A glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was modified with a carbon dot/chitosan nanocomposite and was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The CDs-CHITO/GCE electrode exhibits a large surface area, good conductivity film, and charge transfer at film/electrolyte interface. The proposed impedimetric sensor exhibits a linear response to Cu(II) ranging from 10−9 M to 10−5 M with a detection limit about 5 × 10−10 M. In addition, the sensor shows a good selectivity toward Cu(II) ions, which is less than 5%. Therefore, the as-developed impedimetric sensor exhibits good reproducibility, stability, selectivity, and a low limit of detection, which augur well for its application in water safety control processes.

In this work, the structural, elastic, mechanical, thermodynamic, and electronic properties of ErCu, ErAg, ErAu, DyCu, NdAg, LaCd, and YIn compounds have been investigated systematically using full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) within the density functional theory (DFT). In this approach, the exchange–correlation energy was calculated with generalized gradient approximation (GGA), by Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE). We have firstly calculated lattice constants, bulk modulus, elastic constants, and mechanical properties such as Young’s and shear moduli, Pugh factor (B/G), anisotropy constant, and Cauchy pressure, as well as Poisson coefficient. The elastic constants and their related properties verify the criteria of mechanical stability, signifying that these compounds are stable in B2 structure. The ductility of the intermetallics investigated here is evaluated. The obtained values show that ErCu is the most rigid while NdAg the most ductile. The total and partial electron density of states (DOS) were evaluated to offer a detailed explanation of the contribution of atomic orbitals in the energy bands. The thermodynamic properties of ErCu, ErAg, ErAu, NdAg, LaCd, YIn, and DyCu are calculated via the quasi-harmonic Debye model, in which the lattice vibrations are considered. So temperature-dependent parameters such as lattice constant, thermal expansion, and specific heat at constant volume are analyzed. Furthermore, the relationship between several thermo-physical and mechanical properties was discussed and analyzed with data mining techniques. The obtained results confirm that this B2-type of rare-earth intermetallics has very interesting mechanical and thermal properties for structural applications.

Objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as a chronic liver condition is largely associated with immune responses. Previous studies have revealed that different subsets of lymphocytes play fundamental roles in controlling or improving the development and outcome of solid tumors like HCC. Hence, this study aimed to investigate whether immune system changes were related to disease development in HCC patients. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from 30 HCC patients and 30 healthy volunteers using Ficoll density centrifugation. The isolated cells were stained with different primary antibodies and percentages of different immune cells were determined by flow cytometry. Results: HCC patients indicated significant reductions in the numbers of CD4+ cells, Tbet+IFNγ+cells, and GATA+IL-4+cells in peripheral blood in comparison with healthy individuals ( p < 0.05). There was no significant change in IL-17+RORγt+cells between patient and healthy groups. In contrast, Foxp3+CD127lowcell frequency was significantly higher in patients than healthy subjects ( p < 0.0001). The numbers of Th1, Th2, and Th17 cells were significantly lower in HCC patients than healthy control ( p < 0.0001), although the reduction in Th2 cell numbers was not statistically significant. On the contrary, Treg percentage showed a significant increase in patients compared to healthy subjects ( p < 0.0001). Other data revealed that Th1, Th2, and Th17 cell frequencies were significantly higher in healthy individuals than patients with different TNM stages of HCC, with the exception of Th2 in patients with stage II HCC ( p < 0.01–0.05). Treg percentage was significantly increased in patients with different TNM stages ( p < 0.0001). Among all CD4+ T cells, the frequency of Th2 cell was significantly associated with TNM stages of HCC ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: Our data provide further evidence to show that immune changes may participate in determining HCC progression and disease outcome. However, it should be mentioned that more investigations are needed to clarify our results and explain possible impacts of other immune cells on the pathogenesis of HCC.

Based on a PC1D (Personal Computer One-Dimensional) simulator device, we have investigated three solar prototypes of gallium arsenide structures labeled as SPI, SPII and SPIII, under AM1.5G condition at one sun irradiation. The PC1D simulation predicts 25% and 25.9% efficiency for n-p and n-i-p GaAs unit solar cells, which is comparable to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) measurement (27.6% for 1 cm2 GaAs solar cell). An experimental investigation of 1.9 μm GaInNAs (GINA) through the photoluminescence (PL) technique shows that the investigated quaternary is promising for solar application (Eg = 1.2 eV). Therefore, the i-GINA film sandwiched between n-GaAs and p-GaAs semiconductors is numerically simulated for an area of 1 cm2. The insertion of a GINA layer increases the light-to-electricity yield to 32.4%. The other solar parameters of the cell prototypes are estimated as the following: $$ V_{\rm{oc}}^{{{\rm{SP}}_{\rm{I}} }} = 1.024\;{\hbox{V}} $$ , $$ J_{\rm{sc}}^{{{\rm{SP}}_{\rm{I}} }} = 32.04\;{\hbox{mA}}/{\hbox{cm}}^{2} $$ , FF = 70.7%, $$ V_{\rm{oc}}^{{{\rm{SP}}_{\rm{II}} }} = 1.004\;V $$ , $$ J_{\rm{sc}}^{{{\rm{SP}}_{\rm{II}} }} = 32.11\;{\hbox{mA}}/{\hbox{cm}}^{2} $$ and FF = 66.3% and $$ V_{\rm{oc}}^{{{\rm{SP}}_{\rm{III}} }} = 0.818\;{\hbox{V}} $$ , $$ J_{\rm{sc}}^{{{\rm{SP}}_{\rm{III}} }} = 32.42\;{\hbox{mA}}/{\hbox{cm}}^{2} $$ and FF = 70.2%. An optimization of GINA thickness for a 0.3 μm n-GaAs/4 μm p-GaAs junction consists of a 2.2 μm layer to achieve the highest photovoltaic yield η = 32.6%.

We study the optical and vibrational properties of InAlAs alloy films on high-index InP (311)A/B substrate at a wide range of V/III flux ratio (25–125).The crystallinity, vibrational and optical characteristics of InAlAs/InP structures are determined using a combination of photoluminescence (PL) and micro-Raman spectroscopies. Raman studies of InAlAs layer grown on traditional (100)InP substrates show a strong dependence of the optical phonons on V/III molar ratio (Sayari et al. in J Raman Spectrosc 40:1023–1027, 2009). Analysis of PL spectra shows the formation of InAsxP1−x graded layer located at the inverted interface and a broadening of the InAlAs PL band suggests that a clustering effect. Also, a strong dependence of these PL bands on the V/III ratio and substrate polarity is observed and attributed to the clustering effect and to the presence of a strain-induced piezoelectric field. In addition, micro-Raman spectra show a line shape broadening and wave number shift of the Raman peaks for various V/III molar ratios. Furthermore, we discuss the effect laser excitation wavelength on the Raman spectrum. Then, micro-Raman investigations show the presence of an LO mode related to LO-like InAs in InAsP alloy at the inverted interface in our samples. At lower frequencies, disorder-activated longitudinal acoustic phonons are also observed, which considers the presence of potential fluctuations (cluster effect). Finally, by using the modified random-element-iso-displacement theory, we have explained the alloying effect in the InxAl1−xAs layers. A good consistency between calculated and measured InAs and AlAs-like phonon frequencies is obtained. Using the AlAs-like LO phonon frequency shifts, we have calculated the residual strain in the InxAl1−xAs layer. The lower residual strain value is obtained for the (311)A orientation with the lowest V/III ratio and for the (311)B orientation with the largest V/III ratio.

De nombreuses plantes aromatiques, considérées parfois comme adventices, possèdent des propriétés biologiques très intéressantes dont l’application s’étend à divers domaines telles que la médecine, la pharmacie, la cosmétologie et l’agriculture. Ce travail, réalisé sur l’huile essentielle des capitules de Chrysanthemum coronarium L., a pour objectifs de localiser les sites sécréteurs, de recenser les différents composés biochimiques et d’évaluer certains effets thérapeutiques. L’étude microscopique a montré la présence des glandes sécrétrices sessiles et des papilles responsables de la sécrétion de l’huile essentielle au niveau des capitules du chrysanthème à couronne. L’analyse par CG/MS de l’huile essentielle des capitules du chrysanthème à couronne, dont le rendement est de 0,15%, a permis l’identification de 57 constituants (89,51%) dont certains sont majoritaires, tels que l’ester d’acide acétoacétique, de 3(10)carèn-4-ol (14,01%) et l’acétate de verbanyle (8,20%). Malgré sa faible activité antimicrobienne, l’huile essentielle des capitules de Chrysanthemum coronarium L. testée sur 11 microorganismes par la méthode de diffusion sur Gélose se distingue par une activité remarquable sur Bacillus subtilis avec une zone d’inhibition de 20,33 mm ± 0,58. L’huile essentielle possède un effet anti-inflammatoire comparable à celui du diclofénac à une concentration de 50 mg/kg avec un pourcentage de réduction d’œdème de 46,95%.

This work is part of the valuation of essential oil of Mentha Rotundifolia harvested in the mountains of El Hamdania, in the Atlas Blideen (northern Algeria). The essential oil of Mentha rotundifolia extracted by hydro distillation have been analysed by means of Gas Chromatography GC-FID and GC-FID coupled to a Mass Spectrometer GC-MS in combination with retention indices. 34 constituents were identified accounting for 92 % of the essential oil. The main components were piperitenone oxide (30.37%) and piperitone oxide (23.78%). The antimicrobial activity evaluated on seven microbial strains revealed sensitivity for the majority of the bacteria except pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antioxidant activity was determined according to the ability of the tested samples to scavenge the free radicals 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH*). The essential oil were slightly active 21.8% comparing with Quercetin (98.2%) of these oils can be attributed to the absence of some phenolic components, which may play an important role. The inhibitory effect of this essential oil on the development of bacteria and more particularly its effect on staphylococcus aureus sees glimpses of applications in the pharmaceutical industry as a natural antibiotic, and for other applications in the food and cosmetic industries., Arabian Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Vol 7, No 3 (2021)

Organ transplants have been a life-saving form of treatment for many patients who are facing end stage organ failure due to conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, various congenital diseases, idiopathic diseases, traumas, and other end-organ failure. While organ transplants have been monumental in treatment for these conditions, the ten year survival and long-term outcome for these patients is poor. After receiving the transplant, patients receive a multi-drug regimen of immunosuppressants. These drugs include cyclosporine, mTOR inhibitors, corticosteroids, and antibodies. Polyclonal antibodies, which inhibit the recipient’s B lymphocytes, and antibodies targeting host cytokine inhibitors which prevent activation of B cells by T cells. Use of these drugs suppresses the immune system and increases the risk of opportunistic pathogen infections, tumors, and further damage to the transplanted organs and vasculature. Many regulatory mechanisms are present in organs to prevent the development of autoimmune disease, and Tregs are central to these mechanisms. Tregs secrete suppressive cytokines such as IL-10, TGF-B, and IL-35 to suppress T cells. Additionally, Tregs can bind to target cells to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and can inhibit induction of IL-2 mRNA in target T cells. Tregs also interact with CTLA-4 and CD80/CD86 on antigen presenting cells (APCs) to prevent their binding to CD28 present on T cells. Due to their various immunosuppressive capabilities, Tregs are being examined as a possible treatment for patients that receive organ transplants to minimize rejection and prevent the negative outcomes. Several studies in which participants were given Tregs after undergoing organ transplantations were reviewed to determine the efficacy and safety of using Tregs in solid organ transplantation to prevent adverse outcomes.

Mutations in DNAJC5 (encoding the J domain-containing HSP70 co-chaperone CSPα) are associated with adult neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (ANCL), a dominant-inherited neurodegenerative disease featuring lysosome-derived autofluorescent storage material (AFSM) termed lipofuscin. Functionally, CSPα has been implicated in chaperoning synaptic proteins and in misfolding-associated protein secretion (MAPS), but how CSPα dysfunction causes lipofuscinosis and neurodegeneration is unclear. Here we report two distinct protein quality control functions of CSPα at endolysosomes and perinuclear vesicles, respectively. We show that the endolysosome-associated CSPα promotes microautophagy of misfolded clients, but is dispensable for MAPS. By contrast, the perinuclear-localized CSPα, regulated by a previously unknown CSPα interactor named CD98hc, is critical for MAPS but unneeded for microautophagy. Importantly, these processes are coupled by CSPα in a J-domain regulated manner. Uncoupling these two processes, as seen in cells lacking CD98hc or expressing ANCL-associated CSPα mutants, generates CSPα-containing AFSMs resembling NCL patient-derived lipofuscin, and also induces neurodegeneration in a Drosophila ANCL model. These findings suggest that blocking MAPS while allowing CSPα-mediated microautophagy disrupts lysosome homeostasis, causing CSPα-associated lipofuscinosis and neurodegeneration.

Inula viscosa (L.) is a medicinal plant that has been used for a long time for its many therapeutic properties, especially to treat pain and inflammation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activities of methanolic extracts and decoctions of Inula viscosa leaves and flowers. The phenol content of the extracts was determined by spectrophotometric methods. The extracts were administered orally (400, 600, and 800 mg/kg) to mice and/or rats in the study of antiinflammatory (carrageenan-induced paw edema test), analgesic (acetic acid-induced writhes test), and antipyretic (Brewer’s yeast-induced pyrexia method) activities. The highest phenolic content was found in leaf methanolic extract. Methanolic extracts and decoctions of leaves and flowers showed significant decrease in mice paw edema after 4 h (P < 0.01; P < 0.001), and an appreciable analgesic effect at the tested doses with a maximum of writhing inhibition observed with leaf methanolic extract at the dose of 800 mg/kg (93.39%; P < 0.001). The rectal temperature of the rats decreased significantly (P < 0.01; P < 0.001) after 4 h in groups treated with leaves and flowers extracts at the doses of 600 and 800 mg/kg. The obtained results confirm the traditional uses of Inula viscosa.

L’objectif du travail est l’étude de la composition chimique de l’huile essentielle (HE) d’Origanum floribundum Munby, ainsi que l’évaluation de son activité antioxydante et antimicrobienne. L’analyse de la composition chimique réalisée par chromatographie phase gazeuse couplée à la spectrométrie de masse a permis d’identifier 27 composés représentant 99,8 % de la composition totale, dont le composant majoritaire est le p-cymène à 53,4 %. Les résultats de l’activité antimicrobienne de l’HE ont montré qu’elle présente un large spectre d’action vis-à-vis de tous les microorganismes testés, ainsi qu’un effet bactéricide et fongicide puissant. La zone d’inhibition la plus importante (50,67 ± 0,58 mm) a été observée chez Candida albicans et la plus faible chez Pseudomonas aeruginosa (13,33 ± 1,44 mm). L’activité d’inhibition du radical DPPH (2,2- diphényl-1-picrylhydrazyle) à 600, 800 et 1 000 mg/l par l’HE est comparable à l’hydroxytoluène butylé (BHT) et au tocophérol (vitamine E), antioxydants de référence, elle reste inférieure aux concentrations de 100, 200 et 400 mg/l avec une valeur IC50 de 500,71 ± 16,97 mg/l. Le pouvoir réducteur de l’HE d’origan aux concentrations (100, 200, 400, 600, 800 et 1 000 mg/l) est légèrement inférieur aux antioxydants de référence retenus pour cette étude.

Background. Several animal studies have shown the roles of cytokines in regulating liver regeneration following liver resection (LR), which is a type of surgery designed to remove cancerous tumors from the liver. This study investigated how the expressions and serum levels of some pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were changed during LR. Methods. Liver tissues from 15 patients with HCC were collected and the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), IL-1α, IL-1 β, IL-10, and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1) were assessed using real-time PCR assay at different times before and after LR. The serum values of TNF-α and IL-6 were also measured by ELISA. Results. After 60 and 90 minutes of LR, IL-6 gene expression was significantly increased P < 0.001 − 0.05 . The same trend was also observed in TNF-α expression after 90 minutes of LR P < 0.01 . No significant changes were observed in the expressions of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-10, and TGF-β1 before and after LR. In addition, LR had significant effects on TNF-α and IL-6 serum levels P < 0.05 − 0.0001 . Conclusion. Our data provided further evidence to reveal that IL-6 and TNF-α cytokines are critical to improve liver regeneration.

International audience; In-rich InxGa1−xAs epitaxial layers were grown on InP (1 0 0) substrates by a metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) technique. The effect of Indium (In) composition on the crystalline quality and optical properties are investigated. High resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) measurement and Raman scattering spectrum are used to evaluate the crystalline quality, the residual strain and dislocation density property. The number of dislocations in the epitaxial layers is found to increase by increasing the Indium content in order to release the stresses due to the epitaxial clamping. Photoluminescence (PL) measurement is used to characterize the optical properties. At 10 K, PL measurements show that the InGaAs band gap redshifts with the indium content. Moreover, the asymmetry at the low-energy side of the PL peak has been attributed to the presence of localized excitons. In all samples, a blue shift of PL peaks is evidenced by increasing the excitation power density, which is in line with the presence of carrier’s localization and non-idealities in this system. Moreover, the temperature-dependence of the PL peak energy displays an unusual red-blue-red shift (S-shaped) behavior when raising the temperature. These observations can be related to the inhomogeneous distribution of indium which gives rise to the appearance of dislocations and other defects which serve as traps for charge carriers. Interestingly, those highly In-content InxGa1−xAs epitaxial layers show PL emission located between 1637 and 1811 nm (depending on In content) and thus might be suitable for in the design of novel heterostructure devices such as short wave infrared (SWIR) detectors.

Essential oil of Ammodaucus leucotrichus subsp. leucotrichus Coss & Dur (endemic), extracted from the seeds by hydrodistillation, was screened for its possible antimicrobial activity as well as its chemical composition. According to the Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry analysis, 35 components were identified (98.23%), perillaldehyde (45.58%) and limonene (14.02%) being the major components. The antimicrobial test of the essential oil showed that Staphylococcus aureus (MIC = 4.5 mg/ml) and Bacillus cereus (MIC = 9 mg/ml) were the most sensitive strains, followed by Candida krusei and Candida albicans (MIC = 18 mg/ml both).

We performed first-principle calculations to investigate structural, phase stability, electronic and mechanical properties for the Laves phases YM2 (M = Mn, Fe, Co) with C15, C14 and C36 structures. We used the density functional theory within the framework of both pseudo-potentials and plane wave basis using VASP (Vienna Ab Initio Software Package). The calculated equilibrium structural parameters are in accordance with available theoretical values. Mechanical properties were calculated, discussed, and analyzed with data mining approach in terms of structure stability. The results reveal that YCo2 is harder than YFe2 and YMn2.

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the chemical composition of essential oil from Lavandula stoechas and its antibacterial activity against two phytopathogenic bacteria, Erwinia amylovora and Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum . These bacteria are respectively isolated from Algerian apples and potatoes. The Clevengerhydrodistilled essential oil from dried flowers showed a good yield (1.13 ± 0.11 % w/w). Chemical composition of the oil was determined by capillary gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS) from which 75 compounds were identified corresponding to 95.21% of the oil. The main constituents were fenchone (40.78%), camphor (9.76%), myrtenyl acetate (8.94%) and bornyl acetate (5.10%). The antibacterial effect evaluated by disk diffusion method revealed that the essential oil of flowers of Lavandula stoechas exhibited a good inhibitory activity with MIC values between 1.25 and 20 μg/ml.

Liver Transplantation (LT) is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage liver disease. Improvement in outcomes (allograft and patient survival) has led to widespread use of LT worldwide. This success is due to improvement in patient selection, transplantation surgery, anesthesia/postoperative care, and immunosuppression management. This review will focus on different aspects of LT, which every physician should know to provide better patient care.

The paper presents a study of M-doped anatase TiO2 (M = Fe or Au) electronic structures and optical behaviors within the density functional theory using the revised gradient-corrected Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (GGA-PBE), GGA + U, and HSE06 functional frame works along with the ab initio pseudo-potentials method. The results showed that the electronic structures are better described with the GGA + U method indicating that Fe and Au into anatase TiO2 incorporation serves to reduce the absorption under visible-light irradiation. Consequently, the incorporation of Fe-doped anatase TiO2 exhibited the enhanced optical absorption under visible-light irradiation compared to Au doped TiO2 and pure TiO2.

Organ Transplantation in Iran has come a long way with many different policies and approaches addressing demand and supply. The first successfully kidney transplantation was performed at Namazi Hospital in Shiraz from a living donor in 1967. However, there had been only limited transplant activities in Iran until mid-1970. Previously, patients compensated the lack of organ transplants in Iran by travelling outside the country including the United Kingdom for living related transplants or to India, taking advantage of commercially available organs, usually with poor outcomes. There have also been attempts in the past to import allografts from Europe and the United States. After 1979 revolution, kidney transplantation was activated in Iran by using living donors which was know as Iranian model. Recently, there has been emphasis to expand deceased donor kidney transplantation. However, there are several challenges to expand transplant care in Iran.

In this report, we use the photoluminescence (PL) and micro-Raman scattering techniques to systematically study the optical and vibrational properties of InAlAs/InP heterostructures grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on either Indium (A-face) or Phosphorous (B-face) terminated (311) oriented substrates. PL measurements show that the InAlAs band gap redshifts with sample polarity switching from B to A, which is attributed to the change of the indium composition with substrate polarity. Then, micro-Raman investigations have been realized with the aim to comprehend the influence of substrate polarity on the shifts in phonon frequencies in Raman spectra. By using the modified random-element-isodisplacement (MREI) theory, we have explained the alloying effect in the InxAl1-xAs layers. A good consistency between InAs and AlAs-like phonon frequencies from the fitting of Raman spectra and calculated is achieved. AlAs-like LO phonon frequency has been employed to calculate the In composition and residual strain in our samples. In addition, the In composition of the InxAl1-xAs layer has been also determined by PL measurements. A good agreement with the indium contents obtained by both methods and those measured during growth of the epilayers has been attained. Our findings suggest that optical and crystalline quality are better for the (311)A sample.

A comparative study of 3d (Cr, Mn, Cu, Zn), 4d (Zr, Nb, Mo) and 5d (Hf, W, Re) transition metals effect with a concentration x = 12.5 at % on γ-TiAl based alloys' structural, elastic, electronic and optical behaviors was carried out using the density functional theory (DFT) within the generalized gradient approximation framework. The site preference, elastic constants, bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young's modulus, hardness, Poisson's ratio, Cauchy pressures, B/G ratio, and melting temperature are systematically presented. From the present work, it can be noted that alloying with Cu, Zn, Mo, W, Re can better improve γ-TiAl ductility and our systems performance, while Zr, Nb, Hf still leave the brittle behavior with x = 12.5 at % doping concentration. However, it was found that Cr and Mn doping elements show a good hardness with appreciable ductility compared with the other systems. The electronic and optical behaviors were also discussed and evaluated to provide a deep insight regarding their trends. Finally, the combination of DFT calculations and data mining tools is very useful to classify the brittle/ductile systems and explore the correlations among alloy properties under study.

There has been ample of preclinical and animal studies whichshowed efficacy and safety of using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)after transplantation for tissue repair, immunosuppression ortolerance induction. However, there has been a significant progressrecently using MSCs in small clinical trials after transplantation. Recent results using MSCs after transplantation seem to befeasible and safe. However, there are some limitations to show theeffectiveness of these cells including source, dose, timing and routeof infusions. Currently, live donor kidney transplantation has beenespecially considered and development of recent regimes includingimmunosuppression drugs and MSCs administration to kidney andother organs and deceased donor transplantation would be crucial.Therefore, in this review we focused on immunomodulatory effectsof MSCs that have been extensively studied to suppress variousinflammatory responses in kidney transplantation.

In eukaryotic cells, elimination of misfolded proteins is essential for maintaining protein homeostasis and cell viability. Misfolding-associated protein secretion (MAPS) is a protein quality-control mechanism that exports misfolded cytosolic proteins via a compartment characteristic of late endosomes, but how cytosolic proteins enter this compartment is unclear. Because chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) is a known mechanism that imports cytosolic proteins bearing a specific CMA motif to lysosomes for degradation and because late endosomes and lysosomes overlap significantly in mammalian cells, we determined here whether CMA is involved in targeting protein cargoes to the lumen of late endosomes in MAPS. Using HEK293T and COS-7 cells and immunoblotting and -staining and coimmunoprecipitation methods, we show that, unlike CMA, the secretion of misfolded proteins in MAPS does not require cargo unfolding, is inhibited by serum starvation, and is not dependent on the CMA motif in cargo. Intriguingly, knockdown of lysosome-associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP2), which consists of three isoforms, including a variant proposed to form a protein channel on lysosomes for CMA, attenuated MAPS. However, this could not be attributed to the proposed channel function of the LAMP2a isoform because overexpression of a cytosolic MAPS stimulator, DnaJ heat shock protein family (Hsp40) member C5 (DNAJC5), fully rescued the secretion defect associated with LAMP2 deficiency. We conclude that, in MAPS, cargoes use a CMA-independent mechanism to enter a nondegradative prelysosomal compartment.

Cell-to-cell transmission of misfolded proteins propagates proteotoxic stress in multicellular organisms when transmitted polypeptides serve as a seeding template to cause protein misfolding in recipient cells, but how misfolded proteins are released from cells to initiate this process is unclear. Misfolding-associated protein secretion (MAPS) is an unconventional protein-disposing mechanism that specifically exports misfolded cytosolic proteins including various neurodegenerative disease-causing proteins. Here we establish the HSC70 co-chaperone DNAJC5 as an essential mediator of MAPS. USP19, a previously uncovered MAPS regulator binds HSC70 and acts upstream of HSC70 and DNAJC5. We further show that as a membrane-associated protein localized preferentially to late endosomes and lysosomes, DNAJC5 can chaperone MAPS client proteins to the cell exterior. Intriguingly, upon secretion, misfolded proteins can be taken up through endocytosis and eventually degraded in the lysosome. Collectively, these findings suggest a transcellular protein quality control regulatory pathway in which a deubiquitinase-chaperone axis forms a “triaging hub”, transferring aberrant polypeptides from stressed cells to healthy ones for disposal.

Alpha decay properties of superheavy nuclei are investigated within the Unified Fission Model based on a Modified Wood-Saxon potential. In a first step, the predictive power of the model was confirmed in the region of heavy and super-heavy nuclei using different mass tables. The present model was subsequently applied in Z = 120–130 region. The computed alpha decay half-lives are compared, on the one hand, with those obtained in the framework of the Coulomb and proximity potential model and, on the other hand, with the spontaneous fission half-lives.Alpha decay properties of superheavy nuclei are investigated within the Unified Fission Model based on a Modified Wood-Saxon potential. In a first step, the predictive power of the model was confirmed in the region of heavy and super-heavy nuclei using different mass tables. The present model was subsequently applied in Z = 120–130 region. The computed alpha decay half-lives are compared, on the one hand, with those obtained in the framework of the Coulomb and proximity potential model and, on the other hand, with the spontaneous fission half-lives.

Improved outcomes of liver transplantation have led to increases in the numbers of US transplant centers and candidates on the list. The resultant and ever-expanding organ shortage has created competition among centers, especially in regions with multiple liver transplant programs. Multiple reports now document that competition among the country's transplant centers has led to the listing of increasingly high-risk patients and the utilization of more marginal liver allografts. The transplant and medical communities at large should carefully re-evaluate these practices and promote innovative approaches to restoring trust in the allocation of donor organs and confirming that there is nationwide conformity in the guidelines used for evaluating and listing potential candidates for this scarce resource.