High-mobility group box 1, an endogenous ligand of toll-like receptors 2 and 4, induces astroglial inflammation via nuclear factor kappa B pathway

Background: Neuroinflammation has a definitive role in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to its pathoge- nic ligands, toll-like receptors (TLRs) can be activated by damaged endogenous molecules that induce inflammatory signalling pathways such as high-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1).  Materials and methods: Using an ex-vivo rat optic nerve (RON) model, we sought to determine the effects of lipopolysaccharides (LPS; TLR4 agonist), zymosan (TLR2 agonist) or HMGB1 — with or without TLR2/4 antagonists, on the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-ҡβ) for signalling pathway and astrocyte reactivity, using double immunohistochemistry; as well as on the modulation of the neurotoxicity. HMGB1-treated RON had significantly higher expression and co-localisation of GFAP and NF-ҡβ as compared to the un- treated control, which was a similar result to those treated with LPS and zymosan.  Results: Moreover, the HMGB1-induced inflammation was blocked by TLR2/4 antagonists (p = 0.05). However, the HMGB1-induced cell death was unblocked by TLR antagonists. Overall, HMGB1 endogenously mediates the signalling me- chanisms of neuroinflammation through TLR2/4.  Conclusions: Whereas, the neuronal death mechanism resulting from HMGB1 could be caused by a different signalling pathway. Gaining an understanding of these mechanisms may help researchers discover new therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative diseases.

Critical and Comparative Evaluation of the English Translations of the Near-Synonymous Divine Names in the Quran

Despite the fact that many problematic areas in the English translations of the Qurān have been thoroughly investigated, no substantial work has so far been devoted to critically evaluating the translation of the Divine Names, which pose paramount challenges for all translators. Critical and evaluative studies of Qurān translations seem to avoid investigating and assessing the Divine Names, which are the most sensitive and delicate Qurānic terms. This study critically and comparatively investigates how accurate and consistent are the English renderings of these Divine Names; al-Asmā al-Ḥusnā, The Most Beautiful Names (MBNs) which are recurring terms in the Qurānic text. The complexity of meanings and morphological features of these Divine Names is evidently reflected in so many cases of inaccuracy as well as inconsistency in their English translations, particularly in the renderings of the near-synonymous root-sharing Names. Translators of the Qurān have unjustifiably used different corresponding terms for the very same Divine Name when it appears on more than one occasion, and sometimes in similar Qurānic contexts. Most Qurān translators have also inaccurately used the very same English corresponding terms to translate two, if not three, near-synonymous Divine Names, whether they share the same linguistic root or otherwise. For the purpose of this evaluative study, hundreds of occurrences of the root-sharing Divine Names in five well-known English translations, namely Pickthall (1930), A. Y. Ali (1936/1986), Arberry (1955), Hilali-Khan (1985) and Abdel-Haleem (2004), have been collected, analysed and critically and comparatively evaluated. The comparative evaluation of the English renderings of the Divine Names has revealed that all the five translations not only fall short in their attempts to distinguish between the near-synonymous Names, particularly the root-sharing ones, but prove unsuccessful in rendering them accurately and consistently. The study has also revealed that the translation of Arberry shows much better quality, in terms of accuracy and consistency, in rendering the root-sharing Divine Names than other translations do. In addition to critically revealing shortcomings, inaccuracies and inconsistencies of the renderings of the Divine Names, the study suggests the use of translation technology solutions (or computer-assisted tools), such as translation memory and bilingual concordances, to improve the quality and consistency of future Qurān translations in general, and the renderings of the recurring Divine Names in particular

Case report: breast cancer associated with contralateral tuberculosis of axillary lymph nodes

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer coexisting with tuberculous axillary lymph nodes is rare. CASE REPORT: We report a 69 years old Yemeni patient with a left breast invasive ductal carcinoma associated with contralateral tuberculous axillary lymph nodes containing microcalcifications mimicking malignancy. The patient had to be investigated for the possibility of bilateral breast cancer since she had no history of previous exposure to tuberculosis. CONCLUSION: Tuberculosis involving lymph nodes can create a diagnostic dilemma in the presence of a malignant process. The presence of calcifications in lymph nodes should raise the possibility of tuberculosis even in the absence of contact history with tuberculosis

General characteristics and common practices for ICT projects: Evaluation perspective

In today's business world, organizations are more dependent on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) resources. Cloud services, communication services and software services are most common resources, enterprises are spending large amount. To install new services and upgrade existing services, ICT project are essential part of organization's business strategies. Researchers highlighted the real problem for the organization is to initiate new ICT projects and its evaluation after implementation. This research investigated the common approaches organizations using to start with ICT projects and how to evaluate its impact on after implementation. For this, we have extracted the number of steps with the help of literature review. To validate those steps, six case studies are selected for collecting the samples. The findings of this study elaborate that every ICT project has list of objectives i.e. strategic, informational, IT infrastructure and others. Furthermore, the results highlight that organizations believe on both financial and non-financial evaluation methods based on the type of organization i.e. public or private. Moreover, measurement process applied on project wise, monthly and yearly bases. Importantly, we have found that currently outsourcing plays significant role in success of ICT projects. The results of this study can be helpful for the organization to understand the type of ICT investments, approaches and possible impact on the organizations goals

Changes in erythrocyte ATPase activity under different pathological conditions

Background: Studies have shown that Na+-K+ ATPase activity was altered in disrupted red blood cell membranes and this enzyme is believed to be the site of active transport of Na+ and K+ in intact red blood cells. The enzyme is often referred to as Na+- K+ pump because it pumps Na+ out and K+ into the cell against gradients with the concomitant hydrolysis of intracellular ATP.Objective: The aim of this study was to find out the possibility of using Na+-K+-ATPase activity as a biomarker for the diagnosis of individuals with different physiological conditions.Materials and methods: The activity of Na+-K+ ATPase was determined in blood samples collected from different pathological and physiological conditions such as pregnancy, smoking, diabetes and renal dysfunction compared with healthy subjects matched for age and sex.Results: The Na+-K+ ATPase activity in pregnancy (0.094 ± 0.0051 μM Pi/min. mg protein), smoking (0.064 ± 0.0011 μM), diabetes (0.047 μM 0.002 μM) and kidney disease (0.069 ± 0.0014 μM) was higher compared to the measurements in healthy individuals (0.0081 ± 0.0031 μM).Conclusion: Na+- K+ATPase specific activity is a biomarker for the diagnosis of individuals with different physiological diseases.Keywords: Na+-K+ATPase, red blood cell, pregnancy, smoking, diabetes, kidney diseases

Phytochemical investigation of Rhus tripartita and its activity against cyclooxygenases and acetylcholinesterase

Purpose: To investigate the inhibitory activity of crude methanol extract, fractions and two pure compounds from Rhus tripartita stem cyclooxygenases (COX-1 and COX-2) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE); also, to evaluate their antioxidant properties in in-vitro assays.Methods: R. tripartita extract and fractions were examined as inhibitors of COX-1 and COX-2 and AChE. Their antioxidant properties were also evaluated using various antioxidant tests, including free radical scavenging, nitric oxide, and total antioxidant capacity.Results: Ethyl acetate fraction (RT2), aqueous fraction (RT4), subfraction RT2-II, and subfraction RT2-III had a potent inhibitory effect on AChE with low IC50 values. At the same time, a subfraction (RT2-III) was an effective COX-2 inhibitor (94.5 % at 10 μg/mL) followed by ethyl acetate fraction (RT2; 79.39 %), aqueous fraction (RT4; 70 %), total extract (RT; 66.18 %), subfraction RT2-III (64.08 %), compound 5 (epicatechin; 61.25 %), compound 2 (taxifolin; 55.63 %), subfraction RT2-II (46.85 %), and butanol fraction (RT3; 40.80%). RT2, RT4, RT2-II, RT2-III, and compound 2 each showed 100 % inhibition at 20 μg/mL.Conclusion: The ethyl acetate fraction (RT2), aqueous fraction (RT4) and subfractions RT2-II and RT2- III are effective natural inhibitors of AChE. Subfraction RT2-III is the best COX-2 inhibitor, followed by ethyl acetate fraction RT2 and aqueous fraction (RT4). These bioactive materials can be considered natural COX-2 and AChE inhibitorsKeywords: Cyclooxygenase, Anti-nflammatory, Acetylcholinesterase, Anacardiaceous, Taxifolin, Epicatechi

Aberrant right subclavian artery in a cadaver: a case report of an aortic arch anomaly

In early embryogenesis, aortic anomalies occur as a consequence of disorders in the development of the primitive aortic arches system. Aberrant right subclavian artery, also known as arteria lusoria, is one of the important congenital anomalies of the aortic arch, in which the right subclavian artery arises from the arch of aorta instead of the brachiocephalic trunk. During routine dissection of a female cadaver, we observed retro-oesophageal aberrant right subclavian artery arising as the fourth branch from the aortic arch. In this case, the brachiocephalic trunk was absent. Early detection of aortic arch anomalies through diagnostic interventions is helpful to avoid complications during surgical procedures

Therapeutic effect of combination vitamin D3 and siponimod on remyelination and modulate microglia activation in cuprizone mouse model of multiple sclerosis

Stimulation of remyelination is critical for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) to alleviate symptoms and protect the myelin sheath from further damage. The current study aimed to investigate the possible therapeutic effects of combining vitamin D3 (Vit D3) and siponimod (Sipo) on enhancing remyelination and modulating microglia phenotypes in the cuprizone (CPZ) demyelination mouse model. The study was divided into two stages; demyelination (first 5 weeks) and remyelination (last 4 weeks). In the first 5 weeks, 85 mice were randomly divided into two groups, control (n = 20, standard rodent chow) and CPZ (n = 65, 0.3% CPZ mixed with chow for 6 weeks, followed by 3 weeks of standard rodent chow). At week 5, the CPZ group was re-divided into four groups (n = 14) for remyelination stages; untreated CPZ (0.2 ml of CMC orally), CPZ+Vit D3 (800 IU/kg Vit D3 orally), CPZ+Sipo (1.5 mg/kg Sipo orally), and CPZ+Vit D3 (800 IU/kg Vit D3) + Sipo (1.5 mg/kg Sipo orally). Various behavioral tasks were performed to evaluate motor performance. Luxol Fast Blue (LFB) staining, the expression level of myelin basic protein (MBP), and M1/M2 microglia phenotype genes were assessed in the corpus callosum (CC). The results showed that the combination of Vit D3 and Sipo improved behavioral deficits, significantly promoted remyelination, and modulated expression levels of microglia phenotype genes in the CC at early and late remyelination stages. These results demonstrate for the first time that a combination of Vit D3 and Sipo can improve the remyelination process in the cuprizone (CPZ) mouse model by attenuating the M1 microglia phenotype. This may help to improve the treatment of MS patients

Reliability Centered Maintenance Concepts And Applications: A Case Study

In this paper the concepts and implementation steps of Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) are presented. A systematic methodology for implementing RCM to evaluate and improve an existing time-based maintenance program at a local plant in Saudi Arabia is discussed. A comparison between the existing and RCM based program illustrated the benefit of using RCM systematic approach to optimize and streamline maintenance programs. Implementation of the RCM program has resulted in substantial benefits to the plant. Significance: RCM is an effective approach for developing efficient preventive maintenance (PM) programs. The developed PM programs minimize equipment failures and provide industrial plants with effective equipment and extra capacity to meet customer demands and supercede competition

Impact of Knowledge and Attitude on Saudis’ Physical Activity Practice and Inactivity Barriers: A Questionnaire-based Study

BACKGROUND: Community participation in physical activity is considered a major public health preference of WHO. Saudi Arabia in the last decades faced many tremendous economic changes leading to adoption of western dietary habits associated with sedentary lifestyle. AIM: We aimed to study the relationship between both physical activity knowledge and attitude of community to the practice of individuals. METHODS: We used a questionnaire consists of a mixture of closed-ended questions. Participants were recruited through direct meetings in local markets, schools, and workplaces. Seven hundred and sixty six individuals agreed to participate. RESULTS: Overall correct answers to questions about importance of physical activity were 76.58%. The predominance of participants’ attitude was to establish public places for physical activity in each neighborhood (92.1%). Participants acknowledged that they exercise to improve their health (47.5%). Participants mainly perform light exercises (47.2%) on basis of 1–3 times weekly (48.9%). About 90.8% of participants admitted that they like to increase duration of their physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: Overall physical activity practice of participants’ needs encourage overcoming obstacles that prevent individuals from practicing especially lack of time