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Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a lethal and aggressive breast cancer subtype. It is characterized by the deficient expression of the three main receptors implicated in breast cancers, making it unresponsive to hormone therapy. Hence, an existing need to develop a targeted molecular therapy for TNBC. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway mediates critical cellular processes, including cell proliferation, survival, and angiogenesis. It is activated in approximately 10-21% of TNBCs, emphasizing the importance of this intracellular target in TNBC treatment. AKT is a prominent driver of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, validating it as a promising therapeutic target. Dysphania ambrosioides is an important ingredient of Nigeria's traditional herbal recipe for cancer treatment. Thus, our present study explores its anticancer properties through a structure-based virtual screening of twenty-five biologically active compounds domiciled in the plant. Interestingly, our molecular docking study identified several potent inhibitors of AKT 1 and 2 isoforms from D. ambrosioides. However, cynaroside and epicatechin gallate having a binding energy of -9.9 kcal/mol and -10.2 kcal/mol for AKT 1 and 2, respectively, demonstrate considerable drug-likeness than the reference drug (capivasertib), whose respective binding strengths for AKT 1 and 2 are -9.5 kcal/mol and -8.4 kcal/mol. Lastly, the molecular dynamics simulation experiment showed that the simulated complex systems of the best hits exhibit structural stability throughout the 50ns run. Together, our computational modeling analysis suggests that these compounds could emerge as efficacious drug candidates in the treatment of TNBC. Nevertheless, further experimental, translational, and clinical research is required to establish an empirical clinical application.

Cancer is a popular disease among many others that can threaten defiantly human life. This is not only because of its invasiveness but also because of its resistance and the highly effective cost of its treatment. Propolis is rich in natural sources of bioactive and polyphenolic compounds that have proven their strong effect on cancer cells such as MCF-7 and A549 cell lines. Propolis extract was inserted into the Albumin protein, Bovine Serum (BSA) conjugated to folic acid (FA) to increase control of its delivery and to increase their cellular uptake. The growth of MCF-7 and A549 was significantly decreased by propolis extract and BSA-propolis NPs after their incubation for 72h by (54 ± 0.01% and 45 ± 0.005%, P ≤ 0.001) and (20 ± 0.01% and 10 ± 0.005%, P ≤ 0.0001) respectively. Similarly, there is a significant inhibition in the growth of A549 obtained after their incubation (propolis extract and albumin-propolis NPs) for 72 h (15 ± 0.03% and 5 ± 0.01%, P ≤ 0.00001). Propolis extract and BSA-propolis NPs exhibited a greater effect on protein expression of MCF-7 and A549 showing significant modulation of caspase-3, cyclin D1, and LC3II. The result was supported by the presence of nuclear fragmentations and activation of acidic/neutral autophagosomes in AO/EB and DAPI stains. In the recent investigation, the expression of phospho-GSK3β (Ser9) (p < 0.001) increased significantly in MCF-7 and A549 cells after their exposure to propolis extract and BSA-propolis NPs. Results support the potency application of propolis and its encapsulation as an alternative therapeutic agent for cancer treatments instead of chemotherapies because of its action on multi-signaling pathways.

Drought stress is one of the main problems for the rice crop, as it reduces the production and productivity of the grain yield significantly. In Egypt, many restrictions were made on the cultivation of rice due to its high-water demand. Producing promising drought-tolerant rice cultivars combined with high yielding is one of the main targets for rice breeders. A set of 22 highly diverse rice genotypes were evaluated under normal and drought conditions. Morphological, physiological, and yield traits were recorded on each genotype. Drought susceptibility index (DSI) was estimated for six yield traits to identify the most drought-tolerant rice genotypes. A high genetic variation was found among genotypes tested in the experiment. Under normal conditions, the highest phenotypic correlation was found between grain yield (GY) and sterility percentage (SP) (− 0.73**), while it was among GY and chlorophyll content (CC) (0.82**) under drought conditions. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling yielding traits under drought and normal, a single marker analysis was performed between all yield traits under both conditions and a set of 106 simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker alleles. The genetic association analysis revealed 14 and 17 QTL under drought and normal conditions, respectively. The most drought-tolerant genotypes were selected based on phenotypic traits, the number of QTL in each selected genotype, and the level of genetic diversity existed among the genotypes. As a result, five genotypes (Giza 178, IET1444, GZ1368-S-5-4, Nahda, Giza 14) were identified as the most promising drought-tolerant rice genotypes. Eight QTL controlling drought tolerance were identified in Giza 178, Nahda, and GZ1368-S-5-4, while four QTL were found in IET1444. The number of different QTLs were estimated among the five selected genotypes. Giza 178 and GZ1368-S-5-4 shared the same QTLs. Seven different QTLs were found among Nahda, IET1444, GZ1368-S-5-4, and Giza 14. Combining information from phenotypic traits, genetic diversity analysis, and QTL analysis was very useful in identifying the true drought-tolerant rice genotypes that can be used for crossing in the future breeding program.

Aim of the work To test the reliability of fibroscan in detection of fibrosis in patients with Budd Chiari syndrome before and after endovascular intervention (after elimination of hepatic congestion). Background transient elastography (TE) is a noninvasive methodology that has been used to monitor liver stiffness in patients with chronic viral hepatitis. One of the limitations for accurate assessment of liver fibrosis by TE is the liver congestion. Liver congestion can result from Budd Chiari syndrome (BCS).The treatment of BCS is through restoring the flow of the blood between the portal vein to the inferior vena cava, which will lead to decongestion of the liver.TE, will be tested after liver decongestion for proper detection of liver fibrosis. Patients and methods This was a prospective cohort study conducted on 25 Egyptian patients with confirmed diagnosis of primary Budd-Chiari Syndrome (BCS) in the period from June 2017 to September 2019. TE was performed three days before endovascular intervention and three months after it. Liver biopsy was taken during the intervention for assessment of METAVIR score. Comparison was done between TE assessments before and after intervention in detection of the degree of liver fibrosis in comparison to METAVIR score measured in liver biopsy. Results FVLM was the most common hypercoagulable cause in the involved patients. There was significant drop in Liver Stiffness Measurements (LSM) measured three months post-intervention indicating improvement of liver fibrosis after relieving liver congestion but still not correlated to the METAVIR scores measured in the liver biopsy. Conclusion Liver congestion has high impact on Liver stiffness measurement giving overestimation which improves significantly after decongestion of the liver by the endovascular intervention.

Drought is one of the major limitations to rice productivity worldwide. The present study compared variation in seventeen rice genotypes of Egyptian origin for morpho-physiological traits to identify the best genotypes with combination of adaptive traits under water-limited condition (DS). The DS reduced days to heading (DTH), plant height (PH), flag leaf angle (FLA), flag leaf area (FLAR), chlorophyll content (CHC), relative water content (RWC), grain yield (GY), and its components. Among genotypes, Hybrid 2 expressed the highest GY, panicle length (PL), number of tillers (NT), panicles per plant (NPP), and harvest index (HI) with maximum spikelet sterility (SS) under non-stress condition (NS), while the same genotype expressed ≈ 41% yield reduction under DS. The genotype Giza 179 had earlier DTH, higher and stable GY, FLAR, and yield component traits such as NPP, PW, and HI across the water regimes with least yield reduction (30.5%) under DS. The GY and FLAR, RWC, PL, NT, NPP, PW, and HI were positively correlated under DS. The cluster analysis showed a similarity index of 25% among genotypes. The high yielding genotypes Giza 179, IET 1444, and IRAT 170 had also increased yield components (PL, NT, NPP, PW, TGW and HI) under DS that were attributed to highest FLAR, RWC, and PH, while having reduced LR, FLA, TR, and SS; therefore, these genotypes were categorized as drought-tolerant. The Hybrid 2 and Giza 179 genotypes can perform well under NS; however, the cultivation of Giza 179, Sakha 107, IET 1444, and IRAT 170 would give an advantage in DS-prone areas, hence, these can be used as a donor parental line in future rice breeding programs.

Background: laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is one among different bariatric surgeries, which became an effectivetreatment method for morbid obesity. CT may be performed after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy to assess acute complications as staple line leakage, abscesses, hematomas, portal vein thrombosis (PVT), splenic injury or infarction.Aim of the study: was to assess the value of multi- detector CT in the evaluation of the suspected early complications of LSG. Patients and Methods: This study was an observational study, included 25 patients who underwent LSG and CT was done for them to detect any suspected complication even in the presence of negative upper gastrointestinal (UGI) series.Results: MDCT detected complication in 15 patients out of the 25 patients (60%), with no mortality. Leakage occurred in 16%, abscess in 8%, hematoma in 8%, splenic injury, splenic infarction and PVT in 4% each. Conclusions: CT is an important imaging tool to diagnose suspected complications of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy procedure and should be used to ensure accurate diagnosis or in the case of mismatch between symptoms and routine upper GIT studies.

Our research tries to share solutions of the problems that faced who are working in the papermaking industries, especially the retention of the filler, fine fibers, drainage and machine run ability, besides paper strength, softness, smoothness and the increase in the absorption properties of the tissue paper. Starch, which is the most widely used as strengthening agent in papermaking, was modified in the current work with urea, caustic soda and were added to the pulp paste in ratios of 5 to 20 ml. On the other hand, the starch-caustic soda was further modified with trimethylamine hydrochloride in the presence of epichlorohydrin (ECH) as a cross-linker and was also added in the same above ratios to the pulp paste. Another modification was made to the starch which was polymerized with acrylic acid to give hydrogel which was added to the pulp paste in a tiny amount, i.e. 0.001g, and in the same manner, the bleached bagasse pulp was polymerized and added to the pulp paste. The results showed an improvement of the strength, softness, smoothness, stiffness, absorption and zeta potential compared to the blank, enabling them to be promising for making tissue paper or absorbing paper. The research also approaches the environmental address since the bagasse considered as a renewable and sustainable resource coming from agricultural residue (sugarcane) which lead to the decrease in both their environmental impact and economic cost.

Drought stress is one of the main problems for the rice crop, as it reduces the production and productivity of the grain yield significantly. In Egypt, many restrictions were made on the cultivation of rice due to its high-water demand. Producing promising drought-tolerant rice cultivars combined with high yielding is one of the main targets for rice breeders. A set of 22 highly diverse rice genotypes were evaluated under normal and drought conditions. Morphological, physiological, and yield traits were recorded on each genotype. Drought susceptibility index (DSI) was estimated for six yield traits to identify the most drought-tolerant rice genotypes. A high genetic variation was found among genotypes tested in the experiment. Under normal conditions, the highest phenotypic correlation was found between grain yield (GY) and sterility percentage (SP) (- 0.73**), while it was among GY and chlorophyll content (CC) (0.82**) under drought conditions. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling yielding traits under drought and normal, a single marker analysis was performed between all yield traits under both conditions and a set of 106 simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker alleles. The genetic association analysis revealed 14 and 17 QTL under drought and normal conditions, respectively. The most drought-tolerant genotypes were selected based on phenotypic traits, the number of QTL in each selected genotype, and the level of genetic diversity existed among the genotypes. As a result, five genotypes (Giza 178, IET1444, GZ1368-S-5-4, Nahda, Giza 14) were identified as the most promising drought-tolerant rice genotypes. Eight QTL controlling drought tolerance were identified in Giza 178, Nahda, and GZ1368-S-5-4, while four QTL were found in IET1444. The number of different QTLs were estimated among the five selected genotypes. Giza 178 and GZ1368-S-5-4 shared the same QTLs. Seven different QTLs were found among Nahda, IET1444, GZ1368-S-5-4, and Giza 14. Combining information from phenotypic traits, genetic diversity analysis, and QTL analysis was very useful in identifying the true drought-tolerant rice genotypes that can be used for crossing in the future breeding program.

Background Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization is one of the effective therapeutic options for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Ultraselective chemoembolization is an alternative approach to improve local control, and is associated with a reduced incidence of adverse effects. Objective It was to evaluate the sensitivity of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in detecting HCC tumors and their feeding vessels during transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Patients and Methods All patients were suspected of having or confirmed to have HCC on the basis of clinical history, underlying liver disease and/or viral infection, the diagnosis of HCC was made by imaging findings. Between January 2016 and January 2018, Dyna CT was retrospectively used in 19 consecutive patients with HCC tumor with HCC tumor. Results The detectability of the tumor with DSA obtained at the common, proper, right, or left hepatic artery (i.e., nonselective DSA) and cone-beam CT was compared as taking pre imaging as a gold standard. Tumor stain and feeding branches were evaluated. The detectability of the tumor-feeding branch with non-selective DSA and Dyna CT HA images was compared. Conclusion Tumor detectability on cone-beam CT was significantly greater than on non-selective. Cone beam HA taking pre imaging as a gold standard was (94.4%) and its specificity (71.6%) with accuracy (76.97%). The sensitivity of DSA in detection of additional tumor as taking the pre imaging (CT/MRI) as a gold standard was (88.9%) and its specificity (84.5%) with accuracy (85.53%). Cone-beam CT has satisfactory ability to detect tumors; the detectability of tumor-feeding branches with Dyna CT was significantly higher than that with nonselective DSA (P less than 0.001). We believe the technical success rates of ultraselective transcatheter arterial chemoembolization may be improved by chemoembolization guidance software that uses cone-beam CT technology.

Objective: It was aimed at investigating the role of lung ultrasonography in assessment of pneumonia as compared to chest x-ray in pediateric age group. Purpose: to evaluate the ultrasound efficiency in the assessment of pneumonia in pediatric age group as compared to chest x-ray. Methodology: This study was carried out at the general pediatric wards and PICUs of El-Demrdash hospital, Ain Shams University.40 patients were clinically diagnosed with pneumonia. For every child included in the study, a chest x-ray and a chest US were performed. Result: the detection rate of consolidative patches was higher in ultrasound compared to the x-ray technique. Conclusion: Lung ultrasound is safe and accurate for the diagnosis suspected cases of community-acquired pneumonia and it is more sensitive than chest X-ray and allows a radiation-free technique for detection of consolidations in children, thus reducing radiation exposure in this population.

The aim of this work is to compare between erasable and disappearing inks and study their role in the forgery of different documents. The obtained results showed differences between erasable and disappearing inks that help the documents examiner to deal with them when submitted in cases. The disappearing ink which contains phenolphthalein loses its color by time faster than that contains thymolphthalein. While the color of erasable ink did not generally change by time at room temperature but changed on exposure to UV light. On the other hand, the disappearing ink is absorbed by paper while erasable ink remains on paper surface. The two types of ink are more stable on polycarbonate polymer sheets. The polymer component of erasable ink is chemically bonded with polycarbonate polymer leading to ink stability. The presence of Ti in the pigment of disappearing ink acts as tag in forgery examination due to its diffusion inside polycarbonate sheet.

Aims Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by declined cognitive functions in the elderly. Quercetin (Q) is a potent flavonol that has neuroprotective effects on AD derangements. The present study aimed to evaluate the α-secretase stimulatory function of Q through activation of ADAM10 and ADAM17 gene expression in the aluminum chloride (AlCl3)-induced AD rat model. Main methods After induction of AD in rats by oral administration of AlCl3 (50 mg/kg) for 28 days, the Q doses (25 and 50 mg/kg) were orally administered for 28 days. Rats performed the behavioral assessments during the last week of the treatment period. Hippocampi were harvested for assessments of the neurochemical and histopathological examinations and gene expression analysis. Key findings Administration of Q to AlCl3-induced AD rat model attenuated behavioral deficits, improved cholinergic and dopaminergic dysfunctions, and diminished insoluble amyloid β (Aβ) plaques aggregation in the hippocampus. These ameliorative effects of Q were associated with down-regulation of APP, BACE1, APH1, and PSEN1 and up-regulation of ADAM10 and ADAM17 gene expression levels in the hippocampus. Significance The present study suggests that Q might attenuate neurotransmission impairment, Aβ aggregation in the hippocampus, and behavioral deficits in the AlCl3-induce AD rat model via up-regulating ADAM 10 and ADAM 17 (α-secretase) gene expression, leading to the inhibition of the amyloidogenic pathway. In support of the present finding, we suggest that ADAM10 and ADAM17 activation might be potential drug targets for AD to counteract the Aβ aggregation and cognitive deterioration.

Background: lung ultrasound is a part of the diagnostic armamentarium in Resuscitation and Recovery Units with an enormous potential due to its advantages capacity to diagnose more precisely than conventional radiology, earlier diagnosis, convenience due to being able to perform at the bedside, possibility of being performed by one person, absence of ionizing radiation and due to its dynamic character. Aim of the Work: this study aimed to assess the impact of chest ultrasonography in detecting, differentiation and management of the different pleural diseases. Patients and Methods: this prospective study included 50 patients who were presented with suspected clinical and/or radiological evidence of pleural disease in the Chest Department of Demerdash Hospital, during the period between November 2014 and June 2017. Patients with pleural diseases with lung involvement were excluded. Results: US was more statistically significantly sensitive and specific in the detection of pleural effusion compared to chest radiography. A sensitivity of 0.92 for US examination against 0.74 for chest radiography in detection of pleural thickening was noted. There were no statistically significant differences between the sensitivity and specificity of chest US and chest CT in detection of different pleural pathologies. Conclusion: US is an efficient and suitable method for the evaluation of different pleural diseases in critically ill patients in the RICU. US is mostly sensitive and specific in diagnosing pleural effusions. US-guided diagnostic and therapeutic pleural interventions are successful in achieving their goal with favorable outcomes and minimal complications. Recommendations: US accessibility was difficult for some patients because of tissue edema, subcutaneous emphysema and obesity. Thus further studies are needed in order to generalize these results.

Regulatory inactivation of DnaA (RIDA) is one of the major regulatory mechanisms of prokaryotic replication licensing. In RIDA, the Hda–sliding clamp complex loaded onto DNA directly interacts with adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-bound DnaA and stimulates the hydrolysis of ATP to inactivate DnaA. A prediction is that the activity of Hda is tightly controlled to ensure that replication initiation occurs only once per cell cycle. Here, we determined the crystal structure of the Hda–β clamp complex. This complex contains two pairs of Hda dimers sandwiched between two β clamp rings to form an octamer that is stabilized by three discrete interfaces. Two separate surfaces of Hda make contact with the β clamp, which is essential for Hda function in RIDA. The third interface between Hda monomers occludes the active site arginine finger, blocking its access to DnaA. Taken together, our structural and mutational analyses of the Hda–β clamp complex indicate that the interaction of the β clamp with Hda controls the ability of Hda to interact with DnaA. In the octameric Hda–β clamp complex, the inability of Hda to interact with DnaA is a novel mechanism that may regulate Hda function.

Superabsorbent polymers fabricated via grafting polymerization of acrylic acid from chitosan (CTS) yields materials that suffer from poor mechanical strength. Hybridization of chitosan with cellulose (Cell) via chemical bonding using thiourea formaldehyde resin increases the flexibility of the produced hybrid (CTS/Cell). The hybridization process and post graft polymerization of acrylic acid was followed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). Also, the obtained structures were homogeneous and exhibited uniform surface as could be shown from imaging with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thus, the polymers derived from the grafting of polyacrylic acid from (CTS/Cell) gave rise to much more mechanically robust structures ((CTS/Cell)-g-PAA) that bear wide range of pH response due to presence of chitosan and polyacrylic acid in one homogeneous entity. Additionally, the obtained structures possessed greater water absorbency 390, 39.5g/g in distilled water and saline (0.9wt.% NaCl solution), respectively, and enhanced retention potential even at elevated temperatures as revealed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). This could be explained by the high grafting efficiency (GE%), 86.4%, and grafting yield (GY%), 750%. The new superabsorbent polymers proved to be very efficient devices for controlled release of fertilizers into the soil which expands their use in agriculture and horticultural applications.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex immunological disease with multiple pathological features that is primarily induced by smoking together with additional genetic risk factors. COPD is frequently underdiagnosed; forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) is considered to be the main diagnostic measure for COPD, yet it is insufficiently sensitive to monitor disease progression. Biomarkers capable of monitoring COPD progression and severity are needed. In this report, we evaluated matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) as an early marker for the detection and staging of COPD, by assessing the mRNA levels of MMP-9 in peripheral blood samples collected from 22 COPD patients, 6 asymptomatic smokers, and 5 healthy controls. Our results demonstrate that the mRNA levels of MMP-9 increased more than two-fold in severe COPD relative to non-COPD smokers or moderate COPD groups. Moreover, in the very severe COPD group, MMP-9 mRNA levels showed a 4-fold increase relative to the non-COPD smokers or the moderate COPD groups, while there was a mild increase (∼40%) when compared to the severe COPD group. Taken together, our results suggest that MMP-9 serves as a biomarker for the grade and severity of COPD.

Introduction and aim. Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is caused by hepatic venous outflow obstruction. This work aims to analyze the pattern of vascular involvement in Egyptian patients with BCS, demonstrates its relation to etiology and shows its impact on clinical presentation. Material and methods. The current retrospective study was conducted at The Tropical Medicine Department, Ain Shams University on one hundred Egyptian patients with confirmed diagnosis of primary BCS who were presented to the Budd-Chiari Study Group (BCSG) from April 2014 to May 2016 by collecting clinical, laboratory and radiological data from their medical records. Results. Isolated hepatic vein occlusion (HVO) was the most common pattern of vascular involvement (43%), followed by combined HVO and inferior vena cava (IVC) compression by enlarged caudate lobe (32%), then combined HVO and IVC stenosis/webs (21%), and lastly isolated IVC occlusion (4%). Ascites was more significantly encountered in BCS patients with HVO than in those with isolated inferior vena cava (IVC) occlusion and patent HVs (P = 0.005). Abdominal pain was significantly encountered in patients with occluded three major HVs (P = 0.044). Behcet’s disease was significantly detected in isolated IVC occlusion. Protein C deficiency was significantly detected in patients with combined HVO and IVC compression. Conclusion. Isolated HVs occlusion was the most common pattern of vascular involvement in Egyptian patients with primary BCS. Vascular pattern of involvement affected the clinical presentation and was related to the underlying thrombophilia in those patients.

Let-7a, miR-34a, and miR-199 a/b have gained a great attention as master regulators for cellular processes. In particular, these three micro-RNAs act as potential onco-suppressors for hepatocellular carcinoma. Bioinformatics can reveal the functionality of these micro-RNAs through target prediction and functional annotation analysis. In the current study, in silico analysis using innovative servers (miRror Suite, DAVID, miRGator V3.0, GeneTrail) has demonstrated the combinatorial and the individual target genes of these micro-RNAs and further explored their roles in hepatocellular carcinoma progression. There were 87 common target messenger RNAs (p ≤ 0.05) that were predicted to be regulated by the three micro-RNAs using miRror 2.0 target prediction tool. In addition, the functional enrichment analysis of these targets that was performed by DAVID functional annotation and REACTOME tools revealed two major immune-related pathways, eight hepatocellular carcinoma hallmarks–linked pathways, and two pathways that mediate interconnected processes between immune system and hepatocellular carcinoma hallmarks. Moreover, protein–protein interaction network for the predicted common targets was obtained by using STRING database. The individual analysis of target genes and pathways for the three micro-RNAs of interest using miRGator V3.0 and GeneTrail servers revealed some novel predicted target oncogenes such as SOX4, which we validated experimentally, in addition to some regulated pathways of immune system and hepatocarcinogenesis such as insulin signaling pathway and adipocytokine signaling pathway. In general, our results demonstrate that let-7a, miR-34a, and miR-199 a/b have novel interactions in different immune system pathways and major hepatocellular carcinoma hallmarks. Thus, our findings shed more light on the roles of these miRNAs as cancer silencers.

Infantile hemangiomas are the most common benign childhood tumor that may have functional and/or cosmetic complications. We aimed to compare the clinical efficacy of propranolol alone and propranolol primed with systemic corticosteroids on the outcome of infantile hemangioma. A prospective randomized study included 40 infants aged less than 9 months with cutaneous hemangiomas. Patients were randomly assigned into two groups: group A were given oral prednisolone for the initial 2 weeks combined with oral propranolol, while group B were given oral propranolol alone for 6 months. The median age of the studied patients was 4.5 months (ranged 4 weeks–8 months). Sequential determination of the dimensions of the hemangiomas based on direct measurement and photographic analysis were performed. A significant reduction in the size of the lesions was found in group A in the 2-, 4-, and 8-week evaluation compared to group B (p

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been called the disease of the century with significant clinical and socioeconomic impacts. Pharmacological treatment has limited efficacy and only provides symptomatic relief without long-term cure. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to develop novel and effective medications for AD. Stem cell-based therapy is a promising approach to handling neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore the possible therapeutic role of single intravenous injection of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) after 4 months in management of AD in the experimental model. The work also extended to compare the therapeutic potential of BM-MSCs with 2 conventional therapies of AD; rivastigmine and cerebrolysin administered daily. BM-MSCs were able to home at the injured brains and produced significant increases in the number of positive cells for choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and survivin expression, as well as selective AD indicator-1 (seladin-1) and nestin gene expression. Histopathological examination indicated that BM-MSCs could remove beta-amyloid plaques from hippocampus. Significant improvement in these biomarkers was similar to or better sometimes than the reference drugs, clearly showing the potential therapeutic role of BM-MSCs against AD through their anti-apoptotic, neurogenic and immunomodulatory properties.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder in middle-aged and elderly people. This study aimed to elucidate the role of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in management of PD in ovariectomized rat model. MSCs were excised from adipose tissue of both the omentum and the inguinal fat pad of male rats, grown, and propagated in culture; then characterized morphologically; and by the detection of surface markers gene expression. In this study, 40 ovariectomized animals were classified into 5 groups; group 1 was ovariectomized control, groups 2 to 5 were subcutaneously administered with rotenone for 14 days after 1 month of ovariectomy for induction of PD. Group 2 was left untreated; groups 3, 4, and 5 were treated with Sinemet(®), Cerebrolysin(®), and a single dose of adipose tissue-derived MSCs (ADMSCs), respectively. Y-chromosome gene (sry) was assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in brain tissue of the female rats. Serum transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels were assayed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. Brain dopamine level was assayed fluorometrically, while brain tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene expression was detected by semiquantitative real-time PCR. The PD group showed significant increase in serum TGF-β and MCP-1 levels associated with significant decrease in serum BDNF, brain dopamine, and brain TH gene expression levels. In contrast, all treatments produce significant decrease in serum TGF-β and MCP-1 levels in concomitant with significant increase in serum BDNF, brain dopamine, and brain TH gene expression levels. In conclusion, the observed improvements in the studied biomarkers due to ADMSCs infusion might be attributed to their immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and neurotrophic effects.

Fifteen races resulted from silkworm breeding programat Sericulture Research Department (SRD) were used for hybridization. Fourteen hybrids were obtained and coded as; Giza C, D, R, S, T, U, A, V, W, P, H, L and Qanater 1, 2. The traits of cocoon weight, cocoon shell weight, pupal weight, cocoon shell ratio, silk productivity, fifth instar duration, total larval duration, number of cocoon per liter and pupation ratio were evaluated. Data were analyzed by using three formulae of heterosis over better, mid and checkparent values. Hybrids of Giza V, C, N, Qanater 1 and2 are promising and could be used in commercial cocoon production. Generally, there are some new hybrids can be exploited in commercial scale. Also, the local races can be evolved using the hybridization, inbreeding and selection program.

Grafting polymerization of acrylic acid onto cellulose in presence of potassium fulvate (KF) as a co-interpenetrating agent results enhanced water sorption compared to materials prepared similarly in its absence. The insertion of potassium fulvate (KF) did not affect the grafting process and is thought to proceed in parallel to the graft polymerization via intensive polycondensation reactions of its function groups (-COOH and OH) with COOH of the monomer and OH groups of cellulose. The combination of graft copolymerization and polycondensation reactions is assumed to produce interpenetrating network structure. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) confirmed successful incorporation within the network structure which is an evidence for formation of interpenetrating network. The obtained structures showed homogeneous uniform surface as revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The obtained superabsorbent possessed high water absorbency 422 and 48.8g/g in distilled water and saline (0.9wt.% NaCl solution), respectively, and enhanced water retention even at elevated temperatures as revealed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). This could be explained by the high content of hydrophilic groups. The new superabsorbents proved to be efficient devices for controlled release of fertilizers which expands their use in agricultural applications.

The C-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is a reiterated heptad sequence (Tyr1-Ser2-Pro3-Thr4-Ser5-Pro6-Ser7) that plays a key role in the transcription cycle, coordinating the exchange of transcription and RNA processing factors. The structure of the CTD is flexible and undergoes conformational changes in response to serine phosphorylation and proline isomerization. Here we report that the Ess1 peptidyl prolyl isomerase functionally interacts with the transcription initiation factor TFIIB and with the Ssu72 CTD phosphatase and Pta1 components of the CPF 3'-end processing complex. The ess1(A144T) and ess1(H164R) mutants, initially described by Hanes and coworkers (Yeast 5:55-72, 1989), accumulate the pSer5 phosphorylated form of Pol II; confer phosphate, galactose, and inositol auxotrophies; and fail to activate PHO5, GAL10, and INO1 reporter genes. These mutants are also defective for transcription termination, but in vitro experiments indicate that this defect is not caused by altering the processing efficiency of the cleavage/polyadenylation machinery. Consistent with a role in initiation and termination, Ess1 associates with the promoter and terminator regions of the PMA1 and PHO5 genes. We propose that Ess1 facilitates pSer5-Pro6 dephosphorylation by generating the CTD structural conformation recognized by the Ssu72 phosphatase and that pSer5 dephosphorylation affects both early and late stages of the transcription cycle.

The synthesis of mature mRNA in eukaryotes and its utilization in the cytoplasm require cotranscriptional modifications of the pre-mRNA by capping at the 5′ end, removal of introns by splicing, and cleavage at the 3′ end followed by the addition of a poly(A) tail (4, 27, 32). mRNA 3′-end formation is an essential step in mRNA biogenesis and acts at many levels to influence gene expression. Its execution prevents readthrough transcription from interfering with DNA elements such as promoters, centromeres, and replication origins. Without a poly(A) tail, mRNA is targeted for degradation by nuclear surveillance mechanisms, is exported inefficiently from the nucleus, and is poorly translated in the cytoplasm. The maturation of mRNA 3′ ends also serves as an important point at which the cell can regulate the type and amount of mRNA derived from a particular gene. Furthermore, 3′-end processing has been linked to other essential processes such as chromosome segregation, DNA repair, and tissue-specific protein expression (23, 26, 46). mRNA 3′-end formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires the concerted action of two multisubunit factors, cleavage factor (CF) I and cleavage/polyadenylation factor (CPF), that recognize processing signals around the poly(A) site. These complexes are phylogenetically conserved and are comparable to mammalian CstF and CPSF, respectively (27). Cleavage requires CF I and CPF, while tail synthesis requires these factors plus the Pab1 or Nab2 poly(A) binding protein (17). CF I is composed of Rna14, Rna15, Pcf11, Clp1, and Hrp1/Nab4 (21, 22, 35). The holo-CPF complex can be separated into core CPF and the APT subcomplex (29). Core CPF includes Pta1, Cft1, Cft2, Mpe1, Pfs2, Fip1, Pap1, the poly(A) polymerase, and Ysh1/Brr5, the putative pre-mRNA endonuclease (10, 12, 15, 28, 29, 36, 45). The APT subcomplex of CPF includes Pta1, Pti1, Ref2, Swd2, Syc1, and the two phosphatases Ssu72 and Glc7 (29). Even though holo-CPF is important for optimal processing, traditional multistep chromatographic fractionation showed that a smaller complex, called CF II, was sufficient for cleavage in combination with CF I and contained only the Cft1, Cft2, Ysh1, and Pta1 subunits (48). The essential Pta1 subunit was initially defined by a conditional growth mutation, pta1-1, that causes the accumulation of unspliced pre-tRNA in vivo (31). Pta1 is important for both cleavage and poly(A) addition (35, 48), and its phosphorylation inhibits the poly(A) addition step (16). Pta1 also has roles in redirecting the machinery to the 3′ end of nonadenylated snoRNA transcripts (29), in regulating the phosphorylated state of the RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) C-terminal domain (CTD) (25), and in the gene looping that juxtaposes the 5′ and 3′ ends of genes (1). Symplekin, the Pta1 homolog in higher eukaryotes, has been proposed to be a scaffold for assembling the mammalian 3′-end-processing complex (43). Symplekin has also been implicated in the formation of the cleaved, unadenylated ends of replication-dependent histone mRNAs (24), in the cytoplasmic polyadenylation of stored maternal mRNAs in preparation for their translation (2), and in the splicing of tRNA precursors (34). Consistent with a scaffold function, the 90-kDa Pta1 interacts physically and/or genetically with the CPF subunits Ysh1 (the candidate nuclease), Pti1 (thought to suppress CPF's polyadenylation activity on snoRNA transcripts), Ssu72 (an RNAP II CTD serine-5 phosphatase and the only factor dedicated to cleavage), Glc7 (a phosphatase needed for the polyadenylation step), and Syc1 (a negative regulator of mRNA 3′-end formation) (9, 15, 16, 29, 49). However, it is unknown whether all of these contacts are made simultaneously; perhaps some occur sequentially during mRNA synthesis or only in certain types of complexes, while others may never happen inside the cell. The range of Pta1 interactions, especially with three of the enzymes of the complex (Ssu72, Ysh1, and Glc7) and functionally with the fourth, Pap1, suggests that Pta1 occupies a central position within the 3′-end processing complex and helps coordinate its various activities. However, little is known about how Pta1 performs this critical function. In this study, we explore how Pta1 might act as a scaffold protein and show that it uses different regions to contact subunits that are essential to the function of CPF in mRNA 3′-end processing, snoRNA termination, CTD Ser5-P dephosphorylation, and gene looping. In addition, we identify new interactions between Pta1 and CF I, indicating that the organizational role of Pta1 includes making cross-factor connections. We also make the surprising observation that a Pta1 derivative that lacks the essential 300 amino acids at the N terminus and is incapable of interacting with and stabilizing Ssu72 is completely functional in cleavage and polyadenylation. These findings support a model in which the primary function of Ssu72 in mRNA 3′-end processing is to block an inhibitory activity of the Pta1 N-terminal domain.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is a key regulatory enzyme involved in the pentose phosphate pathway. This works represents purification of two buffalo liver glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenases (BLG6PD1 and BLG6PD2) using combination of ammonium sulfate precipitation and several chromatographic columns. Both enzymes (BLG6PD1 and BLG6PD2) were homogenous on both native PAGE as well as 12% SDS PAGE with molecular weights of 28 and 66 kDa. The molecular weight of BLG6PD1 and BLG6PD2 native forms were determined to be 28 and 66 kDa by gel filtration; indicating monomeric proteins. The K(m) values for BLG6PD1 and BLG6PD2 estimated to be 0.059 and 0.06 mM of β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate. The optimum activity of BLG6PD1 and BLG6PD2 were displayed at pH 8.0 and 8.2 with an isoelectric point (pI) of pH 7.7-7.9 and 5.7-5.9. The divalent cations MgCl2, and CoCl2 act as activators, on the other hand, FeCl2, CuCl2 and ZnCl2 are potent inhibitors of BLG6PD1 and BLG6PD2 activity. NADPH inhibited both isoenzymes competitively with Ki values of 0.012 and 0.030 mM. This study describes a reproducible purification scheme of G6PD from the liver of buffalo as a rich source.

Immobilized DNA templates, glycerol gradient centrifugation, and native gel analysis were utilized to isolate and compare functional RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) elongation complexes from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and human cell nuclear extracts. Yeast elongation complexes blocked by incorporation of 3′- O -methyl-GTP into the nascent transcript exhibited a sedimentation coefficient of 35S, were less tightly associated to the template than their human counterparts, and displayed no detectable 3′-5′ exonuclease activity on the associated transcript. In contrast, blocked human elongation complexes were more tightly bound to the template, and multiple forms were identified, with the largest exhibiting a sedimentation coefficient of 60S. Analysis of the associated transcripts revealed that a subset of the human elongation complexes exhibited strong 3′-5′ exonuclease activity. Although isolated human preinitiation complexes were competent for efficient transcription, their ability to generate 60S elongation complexes was strikingly impaired. These findings demonstrate functional and size differences between S. cerevisiae and human RNAPII elongation complexes and support the view that the formation of mature elongation complexes involves recruitment of nuclear factors after the initiation of transcription.

The central rift of the Red Sea contains 25 brine pools with different physicochemical conditions, dictating the diversity and abundance of the microbial community. Three of these pools, the Atlantis II, Kebrit and Discovery Deeps, are uniquely characterized by a high concentration of hydrocarbons. The brine-seawater interface, described as an anoxic-oxic (brine-seawater) boundary, is characterized by a high methane concentration, thus favoring aerobic methane oxidation. The current study analyzed the aerobic free–living methane-oxidizing bacterial communities that potentially contribute to methane oxidation at the brine-seawater interfaces of the three aforementioned brine pools, using metagenomic pyrosequencing, 16S rRNA pyrotags and pmoA library constructs. The sequencing of 16S rRNA pyrotags revealed that these interfaces are characterized by high microbial community diversity. Signatures of aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria were detected in the Atlantis II Interface (ATII-I) and the Kebrit Deep Upper (KB-U) and Lower (KB-L) brine-seawater interfaces. Through phylogenetic analysis of pmoA, we further demonstrated that the ATII-I aerobic methanotroph community is highly diverse. We propose four ATII-I pmoA clusters. Most importantly, cluster 2 groups with marine methane seep methanotrophs, and cluster 4 represent a unique lineage of an uncultured bacterium with divergent alkane monooxygenases. Moreover, non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) based on the ordination of putative enzymes involved in methane metabolism showed that the Kebrit interface layers were distinct from the ATII-I and DD-I brine-seawater interfaces.