Phylogeny and functional diversity of halophilic microbial communities from a thalasso environment

The El-Rawda solar saltern, located in North Sinai, Egypt, is formed through the process of water evaporation from the Bradawil lagoon. This evaporation leads to the precipitation of gypsum, halite minerals, and salt flats, which subsequently cover the southern and eastern areas of the lagoon. This study employed the shotgun metagenomic approach, the illumine platform, and bioinformatic tools to investigate the taxonomic composition and functional diversity of halophilic microbial communities in solar saltern. The metagenomic reads obtained from the brine sample exhibited a greater count compared to those from the sediment sample. Notably, the brine sample was primarily characterized by an abundance of archaea, while the sediment sample displayed a dominant abundance of bacteria. Both samples exhibited a relatively low abundance of eukaryotes, while viruses were only found in the brine sample. Furthermore, the comparative analysis of functional pathways showed many important processes related to central metabolism and protein processing in brine and sediment samples. In brief, this research makes a valuable contribution to the understanding of very halophilic ecosystems in Egypt, providing insights into their microbial biodiversity and functional processes

Design and fabrication of dioxyphenylcoumarin substituted cyclotriphosphazene compounds photodiodes

The present study introduces cyclotriphosphazene compounds substituted by dioxyphenylcoumarin as a photodiode application. Firstly, 7,8-dihydroxy-3-(3-methylphenyl)coumarin (1b) has been obtained by conventional as well as microwave assisted methods. Novel optoelectronic device characteristics for both mono and disubstituted dioxyphenylcoumarin bearing cyclotriphosphazene compounds (HCP-2 and HCP-4) have been synthesized from the reactions of cyclotriphosphazene containing dioxybiphenyl (HCP-1 and HCP-3) with compound 1b, respectively. The structures of compounds HCP 1–4 were identified by using elemental analysis, 1H, 13C-APT, 31P NMR and 2D HETCOR NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy methods. The Al/HCP-2/p-Si/Al and Al/HCP-4/-p-Si/Al photodiodes properties have been investigated from current-voltage (I−V) and capacitance-voltage (C−V) measurements. The electrical parameters of the prepared diodes such as ideality factor n and series resistance Rs were investigated in dark and at room temperature from (I−V) curve and Nord's method. As can be seen, the Al/HCP-2/p-Si/Al diode of high rectification ratio RR and with ideality factor greater than unity. The influence of light illuminations on the diode shows that the device can be used as photodiode with good efficiency. The barrier height ϕb and series resistance Rs have been calculated from the capacitance-voltage (C−V)and conductance-voltage (G−V) measurements under various applied frequencies from 10 kHz to 1 MHz. the high difference in the results of barrier height obtained from I-V and C-V calculations confirm the influence of series resistance and localized states on transport of charge carriers and the photodiode performance.TUBITAK-110T652 Fırat University, FÜBAP-FF.161

The sensitivity of Na+, K+ ATPase as an indicator of blood diseases

Background: Blood-related hereditary diseases are widespread in Eastern and SouthWestern regions of Saudi Arabia until recently. In this study, we used Na+, K+ATPase as an enzymatic indicator for the diagnosis of the diseases.Materials and methods: Individuals with different blood diseases (iron deficiency (n=13), anemia (n=14), thalassemia (n=16) and sickle cell anemia (n=12) were studied for Na+, K+-ATPase activity in the plasma membrane of red blood cell and compared with those of the healthy ones (n=20) of the same age and gender living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.Results: There was a significant elevation in the specific activity of Na+, K+ATPase in individuals with anemia compared with those of control (0.0094 + 0.001 nmol / mg protein/min versus 0.0061 0.001). On the other hand, there was a significant reduction in enzyme activity in thalassemia (0.0028 0.002 nmol / mg protein/min) and sickle cell anemia cases (0.0042 0.001 nmol / mg protein/min) compared to the control group. The cut off value for Na+, K+ATPase activity is 0.005 μmol Pi/minshowing 94% sensitivity and 93% specificity for the differentiation of blood abnormality.Conclusion: It can be recommended that the activity of Na+, K+-ATPase can be used for the diagnosis of individuals with blood diseases/disorders.Keywords: Na+, K+-ATPase, red blood cell, plasma membrane, iron deficiency anemia, thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, indicato

The sensitivity of Na+, K+ ATPase as an indicator of blood diseases.

Background: Blood-related hereditary diseases are widespread in Eastern and SouthWestern regions of Saudi Arabia until recently. In this study, we used Na+, K+ATPase as an enzymatic indicator for the diagnosis of the diseases. Materials and methods: Individuals with different blood diseases (iron deficiency (n=13), anemia (n=14), thalassemia (n=16) and sickle cell anemia (n=12) were studied for Na+, K+-ATPase activity in the plasma membrane of red blood cell and compared with those of the healthy ones (n=20) of the same age and gender living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Results: There was a significant elevation in the specific activity of Na+, K+ATPase in individuals with anemia compared with those of control (0.0094 + 0.001 nmol / mg protein/min versus 0.0061 \ub10.001). On the other hand, there was a significant reduction in enzyme activity in thalassemia (0.0028 \ub1 0.002 nmol / mg protein/min) and sickle cell anemia cases (0.0042 \ub1 0.001 nmol / mg protein/min) compared to the control group. The cut off value for Na+, K+ATPase activity is 0.005 \u3bcmol Pi/minshowing 94% sensitivity and 93% specificity for the differentiation of blood abnormality. Conclusion: It can be recommended that the activity of Na+, K+-ATPase can be used for the diagnosis of individuals with blood diseases/disorders