630 research outputs found

    Protective effect of some plant oils on diazinon induced hepatorenal toxicity in male rats

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    AbstractEnvironmental pollution and exposure to environmental pollutants are still some of the major global health issues. Pesticides have been linked to a wide range of health hazards. The toxicity of pesticides depends on several factors such as its chemical properties, doses, exposure period, exposure methods, gender, genetics, age, nutritional status and physiological case of exposed individuals. Medicinal plants, natural products and nutrition continue to play a central role in the healthcare system of large proportions of the world’s population. Alternative medicine plays an important role in health services around the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of olive, sesame and black seed oils on hepatorenal toxicity induced by diazinon (DZN) in male rats. The experimental animals were divided into nine groups. The first group served as control. The second group was exposed to DZN. The third group was treated with olive oil and DZN. Rats of the fourth group were subjected to sesame oil and DZN. Rats of the fifth group were exposed to black seed oil and DZN. The sixth, seventh and eighth groups were supplemented with olive, sesame and black seed oils respectively. Rats of the ninth group were treated with corn oil. Levels of serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, gamma glutamyl transferase, total bilirubin, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and malondialdehyde were significantly increased in rats exposed to DZN. Moreover, levels of serum glutathione and superoxide dismutase were significantly decreased. Several histopathological changes were observed in the structures of liver and kidney due to DZN exposure. This study showed that these oils attenuated the physiological disturbances and histopathological alterations induced by DZN intoxication. Moreover, the antioxidant properties of these oils support the bioactive roles of its protective effects on DZN toxicity. This study therefore suggests that these oils could be used as preventive factors against the toxicity of DZN due to its antioxidant properties

    Performance Evaluation of Roughened Solar Air Heaters for Stretched Parameters

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    Artificial roughness applied to a Solar Air Heater (SAH) absorber plate is a popular technique for increasing its total thermal efficiency (ηt−th). In this paper, the influence of geometrical parameters of V-down ribs attached below the corrugated absorbing plate of a SAH on the ηt−th was examined. The impacts of key roughness parameters, including relative pitch p/e (6–12), relative height e/D (0.019–0.043), angles of attack α (30–75°), and Re (1000–20,000), were examined under real weather conditions. The SAH ηt−th roughened by V-down ribs was predicted using an in-house developed conjugate heat-transfer numerical model. The maximum SAH ηt−th was shown to be 78.8% as predicted under the steady-state conditions of Re = 20,000, solar irradiance G = 1000 W/m2, p/e = 8, e/D = 0.043, and α = 60. The result was 15.7% greater efficiency compared to the default smooth surface. Under real weather conditions, the ηt−th of the roughened SAH with single- and double-glass covers were 17.7 and 20.1%, respectively, which were higher than those of the smooth SAH

    Co-Evolution between New Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and Genetic Diversity: Insights on Population Susceptibility and Potential Therapeutic Innovations

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    The DNA sequences are different between the distinct individuals and these variations produce the species genetic diversity. SARS-CoV-2 virus is a zoonotic SARS-like coronavirus that spreads globally, causing the COVID-19 pandemic disease. The immune response genes are the most various and different in the human genome, correlating with infectious diseases. Genetic variants in the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, TMPRSS2, HO-1, BCL11A, and CYP2D6 are predicted to either encourage or inhibit the interaction with the viral proteins and subsequently contribute to coronavirus genetic risk factors. The genetic susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 was investigated by analyzing different genes’ polymorphisms such as ACE2 and TMPRSS2, HO-1, and BCL11A. A specific genetic susceptibility to COVID-19 was found through different populations in TMPRSS2, ACE2, HO-1, and BCL11A genes. Particularly, ACE2 gene polymorphisms were shown to be correlated with pulmonary and cardiovascular conditions by modifying the angiotensinogen-ACE2 system, which recommends the possible explanations of COVID-19 susceptibility based on genetic diversity. Moreover, the COVID-19 treatment could be complicated by such genetic polymorphisms. In conclusion, a good characterization of functional polymorphisms and the host genetics can assist in identifying the pathophysiology of the disease pathway to stratify the risk evaluation and to personalize the treatment procedures

    Editorial: EBV-Associated Carcinomas: Presence, Role, and Prevention Strategies.

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    This special issue addresses an important topic related to the role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in human carcinomas initiation and progression, which is one of the most common viral infections worldwide. Today, the relationship between EBV infection and several types of human lymphomas is clearly established, including Hodgkin and Burkitt's lymphoma; meanwhile, it was recently pointed out that EBV is present in nasopharyngeal carcinomas as well as other epithelial cancers (1). EBV is ubiquitous human herpesvirus 4, its genome codes more than 85 proteins of which only few are well-understood; More specifically, six nuclear antigens (EBNA: 1, 2, 3A, 3B, 3C, and LP); three latent membrane proteins/genes (LMP: 1, 2A, 2B) as well as small non-polyadenylated RNAs, EBERs 1 and 2 in addition to few microRNAs have been identified so far, as key regulators, of the oncogenic activity of this virus (2, 3). Present estimates indicate that EBV causes 200,000 new cancer cases annually, accounting for ~2% of cancers worldwide (Cancer Research UK). On the other hand, it is important to emphasize that recent investigations have revealed the possible involvement of EBV in other cancers such as cervical, gliomas, and breast, which are highlighted in this issue.This work is supported by Qatar University grants# GCC-2017-002 QU/KU and QUCG-CMED-20182019-3

    Influence of artificial aging and ZrO2 nanoparticle-reinforced repair resin on the denture repair strength

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    Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of aging process on the tensile strength (TS) of repaired acrylic denture base using ZrO2 nanoparticles (nano-ZrO2)-reinforced autopolymerized resin. Material and Methods: A total of 240 heat-polymerized acrylic resin specimens (n=10) were prepared and sectioned creating 2 mm-repair-gap. Autopolymerized acrylic resin, pure and modified with 2.5, 5, and 7.5wt% nano-ZrO2were used for specimens repair. TS of repaired specimens were measured using the universal testing machine af-ter water immersion at 37oC for 2, 7 and 30 days. At each time interval, half the immersed specimens underwent thermo-cycling aging process (5000 cycles at 5/55°C) before TS testing. One-way ANOVA and Tukey-Kramer multiple-comparison tests were used for data analysis at ?=0.05. Results: Aging process for all groups showed significant differences in TS between unreinforced and nano-ZrO2reinforced groups (p<0.05). Within immersed nano-ZrO2-reinforced specimens, 5% group immersed for 30-days showed the highest significant TS value (p<0.05). With regards to thermocycling, 5% group showed the highest TS values after 2-days and 30-days groups while after 7-days, significant differences were found between 2.5% group and 5% and 7.5% groups (p?0.05). SEM images analysis displayed the ductile fracture type for nano-ZrO2reinforced groups.Conclusions: In summary, 5.0%-nano-ZrO2 addition to repair resin showed an improvement in tensile strength of repaired acrylic resin with different aging processes

    The co-presence of high-risk human papillomaviruses and Epstein-Barr virus is linked with tumor grade and stage in Qatari women with breast cancer.

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    High-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV) can be present and cooperate with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to promote the onset and/or progression of various cancers including cervical, breast, head and neck as well as colorectal. In this investigation, we explored the co-prevalence of high-risk HPV and EBV in 74 breast cancer tissues from Qatari women using polymerase chain reaction. We found that high-risk HPV and EBV are present in 48/74 (65%) and 36/74 (49%) of the cases, respectively. While we noted that the presence of HPV presence is associated with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) ( = .008), however, the presence of EBV did not correlate with any breast cancer subgroup. Moreover, our data revealed that high-risk HPV and EBV are co-present in 35/74 (47%) of the samples and their co-presence is significantly associated with tumor grade ( = .04) and tumor stage ( = .04). These data indicate that HPV and EBV are commonly co-present in breast cancer and their association could be linked with a more aggressive tumor phenotype. Thus, further investigations are essential to understand the underlying mechanisms of HPV and EBV cooperation in breast carcinogenesis.grants from Qatar University [QUCG-CMED-2018/2019-3, QUHI-CMED-19/20-1 and QUCG-CMED-20/21-

    The Need to Develop an Individualized Intervention for Mathematics Anxiety

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    Mathematics anxiety is prevalent in many societies around the world, ranging from 30 to 70% (for a review, see Betz, 1978; Dowker et al., 2016). More than 30% of 15-year-old students across the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries reported having mathematics anxiety (OECD, 2013). Several studies have shown that mathematics anxiety is related to both mathematics performance and joining Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-related careers (Moustafa et al., 2017, 2020; Zhang et al., 2019). While most prior studies on the link between mathematics anxiety and interest in STEM careers are correlational, it is plausible to assume that mathematics anxiety at early school years (Krinzinger et al., 2009) could have led to low interest in STEM careers later in life. Importantly, there are almost no existing approved interventions for mathematics anxiety. The purpose of this current opinion article is to highlight the need to develop an individualized intervention that targets factors leading to mathematics anxiety in students.This study was supported in the form of funding by NPRP-C # Subproject (NPRP12C-33955-SP-90), which is part of a cluster project (NPRP12C-0828-190023), and from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Scopu

    Coliform Bacteria and Hatching Egg Disinfectants

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    (This study aimed to monitoring the microbial status of broiler breeder hatching eggs through isolation of coliform bacteria, especially Salmonella and E coli from eggs and hatched chicks and identification of isolated microorganism by PCR. Besides, the reduction of the contamination rate by using different egg disinfectants. A total of 600 broiler breeder Saso fertile eggs was purchased from a commercial broiler breeder flock aged 27 wk, which reared on a deep litter system at a private farm in Gharbiya Governorate, Egypt. The eggs were allocated randomly into four equal treatment groups (n?150) according to the disinfectant used. The eggs in the first group were kept as a control without treatment. While, the eggs in the second group were disinfected by 1.4% H2O2. The eggs in the third group were disinfected by 0.5
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