Synthesis of functionalized alkenes via Knoevenagel condensation using Marine Fish Scales as a new efficient and eco-friendly catalyst

The preparation of Marine Fish Scales (MFS) and its analog doped with NaNO3 (NaNO3/MFS) as new catalysts was discussed in this work. Then, these materials were characterized by ATG/ATD, X-ray diffraction, SEM, EDX, and IR spectrophotometer. The MFSand NaNO3/MFS can be used as eco-friendly catalysts for the Knoevenagel condensation and led to the functionalized alkenes in high yields with short reaction time. The tests show that 100 mg is the optimum mass, as well as the suitable solvent, is ethanol for the condensation of Knoevenagel. These parameters led to excellent yields (between 87 % and 99 % using NaNO3/MFS). These catalysts can be also reused for several times

Synthesis of some Thymol derivatives for enhanced antibacterial activity

Thymol derivatives were synthesized by condensation reactions implicating its phenolic hydroxyl group. Spectral analysis by 13C, 1H NMR, FT-IR and Mass Spectroscopy confirmed their chemical structures as the following compounds: 2-isopropyl-5-methylphenylformate (1), 2-isopropyl-5-methylphenyl benzoate (2), 5-methyl-2-propylphenyl acetate (3), 2-(2-(2-isopropyl-5-methylphenoxy)ethoxy) ethanol (4) and 2-isopropoxy-1-isopropyl-4-methylbenzene (5). Their antibacterial activity compared to Thymol was assessed by a standard broth microdilution method against five referenced bacterial strains: Escherichia coli a CIP 54127, Salmonella typhimurium an ATCC 133115, Staphylococcus aureus a CIP 4.83, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442 and Klebsiella pneumonia a CIP 104216. Obtained results confirmed enhancement of antibacterial activity of product (5) and moderately of product (3), while products 1, 2 and 4 exhibited low activity comparing to Thymol. These results suggest that the phenolic hydroxyl group of Thymol is involved in the interactions with bacterial structures leading to inhibition of their growth and even killing them at higher doses

Les invaginations intestinales chez l’adulte : A propos de 19 cas

Le cathétérisme veineux central occupe une place considérable dans le traitement de l’insuffisance rénale terminale dans l’attente de la création d’une fistule artério-veineuse. Cependant il n’est pas dénué de complications. Nous rapportons un cas de pneumomédiastin tardif révélé par un œdème aigu du poumon chez une jeune patiente en hémodialyse, et nous discutons ses particularités. L'invagination intestinale est une affection rare chez l’adulte. Elle conduit le plus souvent à la découverte d’une cause organique pouvant être tumorale. Le but de notre travail est de dégager les particularités épidémiologiques diagnostiques et thérapeutiques de cette affection; à travers une étude descriptive rétrospective, ayant portée sur 19 cas d'invagination intestinale de l'adulte opérés dans le service des Urgences Chirurgicales Viscérales du CHU Hassan II de Fès du 1er janvier 2009 au Mars 2016.La douleur abdominale était présente chez tous les patients; L'échographie abdominale pratiquée chez neuf patients; elle a montré une image en cocarde dans cinq cas, une  masse abdominale dans un cas,  et un épaississement grélique pour un seul patient. La tomodensitométrie abdominale faite chez 15 patients a objectivé l’invagination intestinale dans tous les cas.Le traitement chirurgical a été adopté chez 18 patients; il a permis de faire la résection des segments intestinaux invaginé dans 16 cas opérés (87,5%). Le résultat anatomopathologique de la pièce de résection a retrouvé une cause organique de l’invagination dans 17 cas (89,47%).L’invagination intestinale chez l’adulte est souvent secondaire à une lésion organique : tumorale ou inflammatoire. Elle se caractérise par son polymorphisme clinique. Il s’agit essentiellement de phénomènes subocclusifs à répétition. Concernant le traitement de l’invagination intestinale de l’adulte, la résection du segment invaginé est toujours nécessaire car dans 80% des cas, cette affection est secondaire à une lésion organique qui doit être traitée

Carcinome folliculaire de la thyroïde au Maroc: Facteurs prédictifs de métastases

Introduction: Dans la majorité des études, l’analyse des facteurs pronostics du carcinome folliculaire de la thyroïde (CFT) a été faite conjointement avec ceux du carcinome papillaire (CPT), ce qui rend leur identification difficile. Le but de cette étude était de déterminer les facteurs prédictifs de survenue de métastases chez les patients atteints de CFT dans un centre de soins tertiaires au Maroc. Méthode : L’étude incluait les patients atteints de CFT non métastatiques au moment du diagnostic suivis au service  de médecine nucléaire du CHU Ibn Rochd de Casablanca entre Janvier 2005 et Décembre 2012. Les caractéristiques clinico-pathologique, les traitements reçus et leur résultat ont été examinés en comparaison avec un échantillon de carcinome papillaire traité durant la même période. Une analyse univariée des caractéristiques des patients a été effectuée à l'aide du logiciel IBM SPSS. Résultats : Soixante-treize patients ont été inclus dans l’étude. L'âge moyen était de 51 ans (± 14), le sexe ratio (H / F) était de 0,17. Lors de l’analyse statistique, un âge supérieur à 45 ans (p=0,002) ; une taille tumorale supérieure à 5 cm (p=0,04), la multifocalité (p=0,04), les emboles vasculaires (p=0,02), un taux de thyroglobuline en défreination élevé (p=0,000) et un stade initial avancé (p=0,000) étaient retenus comme facteurs prédictifs de survenue de métastases à distance. Par rapport au CPT, le CFT était corrélé à un risque plus élevé de métastases (p = 0,000)

Uncommon cause of small bowel obstruction - gallstone ileus: a case report

Gallstone ileus is an uncommon cause of small bowel obstruction. We present a case of small intestinal obstruction owing to a large gallstone in lower ileum in a 65 years old man. The diagnosis was made by computed tomography

Pathological complete response in advanced gastric stromal tumor after imatinib mesylate therapy: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are a rare neoplasm exhibiting, in most cases, mutations of <it>c-kit</it>. Imatinib mesylate is the standard treatment for patients who have advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Although the response rate in patients treated with imatinib mesylate in prospective clinical studies is above 50%, a complete response is very rare. We report the case of a patient with a gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor who had a pathological complete response after neoadjuvant treatment with imatinib mesylate.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 54-year-old Arab woman with a gastrointestinal stromal tumor who had a pathological complete response after neoadjuvant treatment with imatinib mesylate.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The pathological examination of our patient documented a complete pathological response after imatinib therapy. Recently, it has been confirmed that the kinase genotype of <it>KIT </it>and <it>platelet-derived growth factor receptor α </it>can accurately predict a good response to imatinib mesylate therapy. We propose that this patient had a mutation conferring high sensitivity to imatinib mesylate.</p

Disruption of the CCL1-CCR8 axis inhibits vascular Treg recruitment and function and promotes atherosclerosis in mice

The CC chemokine 1 (CCL1, also called I-309 or TCA3) is a potent chemoattractant for leukocytes that plays an important role in inflammatory processes and diseases through binding to its receptor CCR8. Here, we investigated the role of the CCL1-CCR8 axis in atherosclerosis. We found increased expression of CCL1 in the aortas of atherosclerosis-prone fat-fed apolipoprotein E (Apoe)-null mice; moreover, in vitro flow chamber assays and in vivo intravital microscopy demonstrated an essential role for CCL1 in leukocyte recruitment. Mice doubly deficient for CCL1 and Apoe exhibited enhanced atherosclerosis in aorta, which was associated with reduced plasma levels of the anti-inflammatory interleukin 10, an increased splenocyte Th1/Th2 ratio, and a reduced regulatory T cell (Treg) content in aorta and spleen. Reduced Treg recruitment and aggravated atherosclerosis were also detected in the aortas of fat-fed low-density lipoprotein receptor-null mice treated with CCR8 blocking antibodies. These findings demonstrate that disruption of the CCL1-CCR8 axis promotes atherosclerosis by inhibiting interleukin 10 production and Treg recruitment and function.This study was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU, grants SAF2016-79490-R and SAF2014-57845-R) and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII, grants PI14/00526, PI17/01395, CP11/00145, and CPII16/00022) with co-funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, “Una manera de hacer Europa”), the Fundación Ramón Areces, European Union (EuroCellNet COST Action CA15214) and the INSERM. VZG is supported by the ISCIII, JMG-G by the ISCIII Miguel Servet Program and the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre (imas12), AdMM by the MCIU (predoctoral contract BES-2014-06779), and ZM by a British Heart Foundation Professorship. The CNIC is supported by the MCIU and the Pro CNIC Foundation and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (SEV-2015-0505).S

Performance evaluation of five ELISA kits for detecting anti-SARS-COV-2 IgG antibodies

ObjectivesTo evaluate and compare the performances of five commercial ELISA assays (EDI, AnshLabs, Dia.Pro, NovaTec, and Lionex) for detecting anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG. Methods70 negative control samples (collected before the COVID-19 pandemic) and samples from 101 RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 patients (collected at different time points from symptoms onset: ≤7, 8-14, and >14 days) were used to compare the sensitivity, specificity, agreement, positive and negative predictive values of each assay with RT-PCR. A concordance assessment between the five assays was also conducted. Cross-reactivity with other HCoV, non-HCoV respiratory viruses, non-respiratory viruses, and nuclear antigens was investigated. ResultsLionex showed the highest specificity (98.6%, 95%CI: 92.3-99.8), followed by EDI and Dia.Pro (97.1%, 95%CI: 90.2-99.2), NovaTec (85.7%, 95%CI: 75.7-92.1), then AnshLabs (75.7%, 95%CI: 64.5-84.2). All ELISA kits cross-reacted with one anti-MERS IgG positive sample except Lionex. The sensitivity was low during the early stages of the disease but improved over time. After 14 days from symptoms onset, Lionex and NovaTec showed the highest sensitivity at 87.9% (95%CI: 72.7-95.2) and 86.4% (95%CI: 78.5-91.7), respectively. The agreement with RT-PCR results based on Cohen’s kappa was as follows: Lionex (0.89)> NovaTec (0.70)> Dia.Pro (0.69)> AnshLabs (0.63)> EDI (0.55). ConclusionThe Lionex ELISA, which measures antibodies solely to the S1 protein, demonstrated the best performance.This work was made possible by grant No. RRC-2-032 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. GKN would like to acknowledge funds from Qatar University's internal grant QUERG-CMED-2020-2