First-principles modeling of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons reduction

Density functional theory modelling of the reduction of realistic nanographene molecules (C42H18, C48H18 and C60H24) by molecular hydrogen evidences for the presence of limits in the hydrogenation process. These limits caused the contentions between three-fold symmetry of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules and two-fold symmetry of adsorbed hydrogen pairs. Increase of the binding energy between nanographenes during reduction is also discussed as possible cause of the experimentally observed limited hydrogenation of studied nanographenes.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, accepted to J. Phys. Chem.

Development of biomass derived highly porous fast adsorbents for post-combustion CO2 capture

This study is carried out for a comparative screening of three groups of biomasses; soft or non-woody (peanut shell); intermediate woody (walnut shell) and hard woody (pine wood) for the development of adsorbents/activated carbons for post-combustion CO2 capture (over N2 balance). Three different groups of biomass residues are selected to study the role and nature of the material in adsorption and selection of the raw material for CO2 adsorbents synthesis for future researches because of the hot issue of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The adsorption isotherms studied by the thermal gravimetric analyser (TGA) revealed that CO2 adsorption capabilities are in the range of 2.53–3.92 mmol/g (over N2 balance) at 25 °C. The newly synthesised activated carbons (ACs) exhibited a fast rate of adsorption as 41–94% in the initial 2 min. Porous surface development with catalytic KOH activation is seen clearly through SEM surface morphological analyses and mathematically confirmed from SBET ranges from 146.86 to 944.05 m2/g. FTIR and XRD peaks verify the generation of basic or inorganic O2-rich moieties that help in acidic CO2 capture. It has also been observed from adsorption isotherms that the order of higher adsorption groups is as; peanut shell > pine wood > walnut shell, while the best activation mass ratio (sample/KOH) is 1:3. The synthesised low cost ACs with an amount of 1.93 US$ per kg production could help to overcome the environmental hazards and problems caused by CO2 and biomass waste

Research translation to inform national health policies: learning from multiple perspectives in Uganda

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Research and evidence can have an impact on policy and practice, resulting in positive outcomes. However, research translation is a complex, dynamic and non-linear process. Although universities in Africa play a major role in generating research evidence, their strategic approaches to influence health policies and decision making are weak. This study was conducted with the aim of understanding the process of translating research into policy in order to guide the strategic direction of Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) and similar institutions in their quest to influence health outcomes nationally and globally.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A case study approach using 30 in-depth interviews with stakeholders involved in two HIV prevention research project was purposively selected. The study sought to analyze the research-to-policy discourses for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and safe male circumcision (SMC). The analysis sought to identify entry points, strengths and challenges for research-to-policy processes by interviewing three major groups of stakeholders in Uganda – researchers (8), policy makers (12) and media practitioners (12).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the factors that facilitated PMTCT policy uptake and continued implementation were: shared platforms for learning and decision making among stakeholders, implementation pilots to assess feasibility of intervention, the emerging of agencies to undertake operations research and the high visibility of policy benefits to child survival. In contrast, SMC policy processes were stalled for over two years after the findings of the Uganda study was made public. Among other factors, policy makers demanded additional research to assess implementation feasibility of SMC within ordinary health system context. High level leaders also publicly contested the SMC evidence and the underlying values and messages – a situation that reduced the coalition of policy champions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study shows that effective translation of PMTCT and SMC research results demanded a “360 degree” approach to assembling additional evidence to inform the implementation feasibility for these two HIV prevention interventions. MakCHS and similar institutions should prioritize implementation research to guide the policy processes about the feasibility of implementing new and effective innovations (e.g. PMTCT or SMC) at a large scale in contexts that may be different from the research environments.</p

Thymoquinone inhibits tumor growth and induces apoptosis in a breast cancer xenograft mouse model: The role of p38 MAPK and ROS

Due to narrow therapeutic window of cancer therapeutic agents and the development of resistance against these agents, there is a need to discover novel agents to treat breast cancer. The antitumor activities of thymoquinone (TQ), a compound isolated from Nigella sativa oil, were investigated in breast carcinoma in vitro and in vivo. Cell responses after TQ treatment were assessed by using different assays including MTT assay, annexin V-propidium iodide staining, Mitosox staining and Western blot. The antitumor effect was studied by breast tumor xenograft mouse model, and the tumor tissues were examined by histology and immunohistochemistry. The level of antioxidant enzymes/molecules in mouse liver tissues was measured by commercial kits. Here, we show that TQ induced p38 phosphorylation and ROS production in breast cancer cells. These inductions were found to be responsible for TQ’s anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects. Moreover, TQ-induced ROS production regulated p38 phosphorylation but not vice versa. TQ treatment was found to suppress the tumor growth and this effect was further enhanced by combination with doxorubicin. TQ also inhibited the protein expression of anti-apoptotic genes, such as XIAP, survivin, Bcl-xL and Bcl-2, in breast cancer cells and breast tumor xenograft. Reduced Ki67 and increased TUNEL staining were observed in TQ-treated tumors. TQ was also found to increase the level of catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione in mouse liver tissues. Overall, our results demonstrated that the antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of TQ in breast cancer are mediated through p38 phosphorylation via ROS generation

A new species of cosmocercoides (Nematoda; cosmocercidae) and other helminths in leptodactylus latrans (anura; leptodactylidae) from Argentina

Cosmocercoides latrans n. sp. (Cosmocercidae) from the small intestine of Leptodactylus latrans (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from Northeastern Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina is described. The new species can be distinguished from their congeners by a combination of the characters, among which stands out the number of rosette papillae, the lack of gubernaculum and the presence of lateral alae in both sexes. There are over 20 species in the genus Cosmocercoides, and Cosmocercoides latrans n. sp. represents the third species from the Neotropical realm and the second for Argentina. Additionally, seven previously known taxa are reported; Pseudoacanthocephalus cf. lutzi, Catadiscus uruguayensis, Rauschiella palmipedis, Aplectana hylambatis, Cosmocerca parva, Schrankiana sp. and Rhabdias elegans; providing literature records and information on distribution and host-parasite relationships.Fil: Draghi, Regina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Drago, Fabiana Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Lunaschi, Lía Inés. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentin

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Harnessing the Potential of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells and Gene Editing for the Treatment of Retinal Degeneration

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: A major cause of visual disorders is dysfunction and/or loss of the light-sensitive cells of the retina, the photoreceptors. To develop better treatments for patients, we need to understand how inherited retinal disease mutations result in the dysfunction of photoreceptors. New advances in the field of stem cell and gene editing research offer novel ways to model retinal dystrophies in vitro and present opportunities to translate basic biological insights into therapies. This brief review will discuss some of the issues that should be taken into account when carrying out disease modelling and gene editing of retinal cells. We will discuss (i) the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) for disease modelling and cell therapy; (ii) the importance of using isogenic iPSC lines as controls; (iii) CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing of iPSCs; and (iv) in vivo gene editing using AAV vectors.RECENT FINDINGS: Ground-breaking advances in differentiation of iPSCs into retinal organoids and methods to derive mature light sensitive photoreceptors from iPSCs. Furthermore, single AAV systems for in vivo gene editing have been developed which makes retinal in vivo gene editing therapy a real prospect.SUMMARY: Genome editing is becoming a valuable tool for disease modelling and in vivo gene editing in the retina.</p

Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

BACKGROUND: Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for death and disability, but its overall association with health remains complex given the possible protective effects of moderate alcohol consumption on some conditions. With our comprehensive approach to health accounting within the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016, we generated improved estimates of alcohol use and alcohol-attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 195 locations from 1990 to 2016, for both sexes and for 5-year age groups between the ages of 15 years and 95 years and older. METHODS: Using 694 data sources of individual and population-level alcohol consumption, along with 592 prospective and retrospective studies on the risk of alcohol use, we produced estimates of the prevalence of current drinking, abstention, the distribution of alcohol consumption among current drinkers in standard drinks daily (defined as 10 g of pure ethyl alcohol), and alcohol-attributable deaths and DALYs. We made several methodological improvements compared with previous estimates: first, we adjusted alcohol sales estimates to take into account tourist and unrecorded consumption; second, we did a new meta-analysis of relative risks for 23 health outcomes associated with alcohol use; and third, we developed a new method to quantify the level of alcohol consumption that minimises the overall risk to individual health. FINDINGS: Globally, alcohol use was the seventh leading risk factor for both deaths and DALYs in 2016, accounting for 2·2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 1·5–3·0) of age-standardised female deaths and 6·8% (5·8–8·0) of age-standardised male deaths. Among the population aged 15–49 years, alcohol use was the leading risk factor globally in 2016, with 3·8% (95% UI 3·2–4·3) of female deaths and 12·2% (10·8–13·6) of male deaths attributable to alcohol use. For the population aged 15–49 years, female attributable DALYs were 2·3% (95% UI 2·0–2·6) and male attributable DALYs were 8·9% (7·8–9·9). The three leading causes of attributable deaths in this age group were tuberculosis (1·4% [95% UI 1·0–1·7] of total deaths), road injuries (1·2% [0·7–1·9]), and self-harm (1·1% [0·6–1·5]). For populations aged 50 years and older, cancers accounted for a large proportion of total alcohol-attributable deaths in 2016, constituting 27·1% (95% UI 21·2–33·3) of total alcohol-attributable female deaths and 18·9% (15·3–22·6) of male deaths. The level of alcohol consumption that minimised harm across health outcomes was zero (95% UI 0·0–0·8) standard drinks per week. INTERPRETATION: Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for global disease burden and causes substantial health loss. We found that the risk of all-cause mortality, and of cancers specifically, rises with increasing levels of consumption, and the level of consumption that minimises health loss is zero. These results suggest that alcohol control policies might need to be revised worldwide, refocusing on efforts to lower overall population-level consumption. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation