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Chenbo Xu,1 Lizhe Sun,1 Mengya Dong,2 Habib Ullah,3 Hameed Ullah,1 Juan Zhou,1,4 Zuyi Yuan1,5 1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xi’an, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Cardiology, Dow University of Health and Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan; 4Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiology of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China; 5Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Ministry of Education, Xi’an, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zuyi Yuan; Hameed UllahDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710061, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 29 8532 3819; +86 29 8532 3524Email zuyiyuan@mail.xjtu.edu.cn; 807287144@qq.comPurpose: Anion gap (AG) is a valuable and easily obtained clinical tool for differentially diagnosis of acid-base disorders. Current understanding of the prognostic impact of AG on mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is limited. We aimed to investigate whether AG is a predictor of short-term and long-term all-cause mortality after AMI.Patients and Methods: We examined 1806 patients diagnosed with AMI in intensive care unit from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database. We analyzed the association of AG with 30-day, 180-day and 1-year all-cause mortality on a continuous scale and in categories, using multivariable Cox regression. We utilized restricted cubic splines to evaluate the linearity between hazard ratio (HR) and AG concentrations.Results: AG was associated with a higher risk of 30-day, 180-day and 1-year all-cause mortality, with adjusted HRs of 1.083 (95% CI 1.051 to 1.117), 1.077 (95% CI 1.049 to 1.105), and 1.074 (95% CI 1.047 to 1.101), respectively. The results were consistent in subgroup analyses. The association between AG and all-cause mortality was linear for 180-day and 1-year mortality, and near linear for 30-day mortality, as higher concentrations were associated with high all-cause mortality. When stratified according to quartiles, AG was associated with 30-day mortality (HR[95% CI]: second quartile, 2.243[1.273, 3.955]; third quartile, 3.026[1.763, 5.194]; top quartile, 4.402[2.573, 7.531]), 180-day mortality (HR[95% CI]: second quartile, 1.719[1.118, 2.645]; third quartile, 2.362[1.575, 3.542]; top quartile, 3.116[2.077, 4.676]), and 1-year mortality (HR[95% CI]: second quartile, 1.700[1.143, 2.528]; third quartile, 2.239[1.536, 3.264]; top quartile, 2.876[1.969, 4.201]) using bottom quartile as reference.Conclusion: We firstly demonstrated that higher AG was significantly associated with increased 30-day, 180-day and 1-year all-cause mortality in AMI patients. AG as an easily obtained marker is of strong and reliable predictive value for AMI mortality during follow-up.Keywords: acute myocardial infarction, anion gap, all-cause mortality

Blood consists of many numerous cells and presence of protein makes it thicker than water. According to medical research, a normal person has in excess of a 5 l of blood. Protein is natural compound which is naturally found in the human body. In this study, the absorbance of human blood in the range of ultraviolet (UV) and visible (VIS), from 190 to 1100 nm was measured. In our experimental work the absorbance peaks and transmittance peaks have been observed to agree with reported literature values. We have also studied the behaviour of human blood in region of near infrared and calculated the contents of protein with the help of spectrophotometric method by measuring the absorbance value in the test serum with enzymatic reagents. The qualitative measurement of all the samples were measure using dark field microscope with a laser wavelength of 630 nm and bandwidth of 15 nm. In this work we have also established the relation between the concentrations of total protein level with the complete blood count. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concern has been raised during the last decade about energy production from economical sources. As a result, several aspects of pristine and cadmium (Cd) induced SnZrO3 are investigated using first-principles calculations to forecast a material for applications, such as optical characteristics and optoelectronic devices, especially for solar cells. This study assesses the effects of the Cd on optical properties, structural properties, electrical band gap, and density of states. Generalized gradient approximation is used to examine how Cd affects the electronic behavior of the host material, thus directly influencing optical properties. Keeping the stability requirement in view, Cd is incorporated at the Sn site rather than the Zr site. Electronic bandgap (Eg), due to the systematic and gradual inclusion of Cd at the Sn site in SZO, decreases due to the emergence of new gamma points from 1.777 to 0.588 eV. Along with making the band gap smaller, cadmium addition also transforms direct nature of Eg into an indirect one. According to the density of states, P-states cause a decrease in the bandgap. The change in electronic properties directly influences the optical properties of SZO after Cd inclusion, such as refractive index dielectric function and other optical properties. The static refractive index for pristine SZO is 3.75, and we observe that it decreases due to Cd inclusion except at x = 0.33. The presented results predicted that the Cd-doped SZO is a replacement candidate for the present solar cell because of its optical response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testing natural antihyperlipidemic substances is necessary due to the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus, which leads to chronic hyperglycaemia and poses a significant threat to public health and well-being worldwide. The present study investigated the anti-diabetic effect of black pepper, turmeric, and ajwa date pulp + seed and their mixtures as hypolipidemic, antioxidant and protective agents on the liver and kidney by examining histological changes in alloxanised diabetic rats. Eleven groups consisting of eighteen males and eighteen females were divided into a normal control (non-diabetic), a positive control (diabetic), positive groups receiving glibenclamide (10 mg kg-1 body weight), black pepper (BP), turmeric (T), ajwa pulp (AP), ajwa seeds (AS) aqueous extracts and their various combinations. The dose of BP aqueous extract was 50 mg kg-1 body weight, while the dose of the other materials was 500 mg kg-1 body weight. The aqueous extracts were administered orally once daily for eight weeks. Our phytochemical screening detected the presence of flavonoids, tannins, saponins, steroids, and alkaloids in these extracts. The results pertaining to serum levels of glucose, lipids, glycosylated haemoglobin, and antioxidant biomarkers revealed significant improvements after administration of AS, BP + AS, and the mixture of all extracts. Moreover, histological analyses demonstrated the protective effects of these extracts. In conclusion, all tested materials, especially ajwa seeds administered alone and in combination with black pepper extract, exerted significant antihyperlipidemic and weight-stabilising effects in alloxanised diabetic rats. Therefore, these natural substances hold promise as potential herbal medicines for managing diabetes mellitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoparticles of CuO have been synthesized by the sol-gel technique and their structural, optical and chemical properties were studied to assess their antibacterial properties. These nanoparticles were found to be excellent antibiotic against E.coli and cocci gram-positive. Graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles were also synthesized by hummers modified method and their optical, chemical and structural properties were confirmed. A composite of CuO and GO has also been prepared by sonication method. Using laser interferometry its ultraviolet (UV)-visible (VIS) spectrum has been observed to be consistent with its reference UV-VIS spectrum, which verified the formation of nanocomposite. The composites were prepared in suspension form, and were used for antibacterial activity, appeared to be a great antibacterial substance against two different types (E.coli and pseudo) of gram-positive bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intellectual disability (ID) is a neuro-developmental condition that affects a person's cognitive ability and results in a learning defect. It affects 1-3% of the general population; however, the ratio may be expected to be more in a consanguineous population. Herein in the present study, we identified a nuclear family from Dera Ismail Khan City in Pakistan. Whole exome sequencing was performed to map the pathogenic variant. Protein structural modeling and interaction studies were carried out to validate the variant with diseaseassociation. Molecular modeling of normal and mutated proteins was performed through I-TASSER and Chimera tools, while docking and interaction analysis was carried out using Cluspro. Clinical analysis of the patient determined mild intellectual disability and gait problem. Candidate gene analysis in this family found a homozygous missense mutation NM_002508:c.C2512T (p.Arg838Cys) in the 12th exon of NID1 gene. Molecular modeling of wild-type and mutant NID1 proteins determined a significant effect on the protein's secondary and tertiary structure. Hence, based on the exome sequence analysis, NID1 is proposed to be a strong novel candidate ID gene in this family. The genetic mapping of the present family led us to determine a novel candidate gene to be associated with intellectual disability. Linkage of additional ID families with genes would confirm its validity and strengthen our notion. Furthermore, expression studies and pathway analysis will help in exploring the biological mechanism of learning and memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of climate change on ecosystems, especially at the species level, can be currently observed in many parts of the world. Species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used to predict the likely changes in the distribution of species in future climate change scenarios. The aim of the present study is to predict the effect of climate change on a valuable threatened tree species Dysoxylum binectariferum in the northeastern part of Bangladesh using the maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model on species’ occurrence data. The future distribution of D. binectariferum was predicted under two scenarios from the IPCC 5th assessment (RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5) in 2050 and 2070. Model results showed that approximately 32% (2177 km2) of the studied area is currently suitable for this species to grow. However, future predictions obtained by the model projected a complete loss of suitable habitat for D. binectariferum in the studied area by both 2050 and 2070. Therefore, urgent measures are required for the conservation of D. binectariferum in northeastern Bangladesh. The application of species distribution models to simple inventory data (such as the occurrence of the species) may provide policymakers and conservationists with a useful tool for the prediction of future distribution (at both local and regional scales) of poorly known species with high preservation concerns.