Inflammatory cytokines and atrial fibrillation: current and prospective views

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia and a challenging clinical problem encountered in daily clinical practice. There is an increasing body of evidence linking inflammation to a broad spectrum of cardiovascular conditions including AF. Historical evidence supports an association between AF and inflammation and is consistent with the association of AF with inflammatory conditions of the heart, such as myocarditis and pericarditis. AF has been associated with myocardial oxidative stress, and antioxidant agents have demonstrated antiarrhythmic benefit in humans. Increased plasma interleukin (IL)-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), and plasma viscosity support the existence of an inflammatory state among “typical” populations with chronic AF. These indexes of inflammation are related to the prothrombotic state and may be linked to the clinical characteristics of the patients (underlying vascular disease and comorbidities), rather than simply to the presence of AF itself. It has been suggested that inflammation may have a role in the development of atrial arrhythmias after cardiac surgery, and that a genetic predisposition to develop postoperative complications exists. Cytokines can have a prognostic significance; IL-6 levels, CRP, and other cytokines may have prognostic value in AF. Cytokine lowering therapies, statins, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and other anti-inflammatory agents may have a role in the treatment of AF. The present article provides an overview of the evidence linking inflammatory cytokines to AF and their therapeutic and prognostic implications

Estimation of some Immunological Factors in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients

هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى تقييم بعض معايير المناعة الخلوية لمرضى التدرن الرئوي من خلال تقدير مستويات الانترلوكينات IFN-γ )وIL-10و( IL-12   وتقدير فيتامين. D3  تم خلال الدراسة جمع عينات الدم من 50 مريضا بالتدرن الرئوي من المراجعات الى العيادة الاستشارية للأمراض الصدرية في الحلة -محافظة بابل خلال الفترة مابين شهر شباط 2016 إلى شباط 2017. ومن بين مرضى التدرن الرئوي، كان هناك 27 ذكور و23 إناث، وعمر المرضى يتراوح بين 12-80 عاما. تم قياس السايتوكينات وفيتامين D3باستخدام تقنية الاليزا. أظهر متوسط ​​تركيز مصل الدم IL-10  وIL-12 أن هناك زيادة معنوية (p˂ 0.05) في مرضى التدرن الرئوي بالمقارنة مع مجموعة السيطرة (4.024 و1.049) بغ / مل , (51.563 و13.514) بغ / مل على التوالي.  في حين لم يظهر متوسط ​​تركيز مصل IFN-γ زيادة معنوية (p˃0.05) في مرضى التدرن الرئوي مقارنة بمجموعة السيطرة (36.505 و25.019) بغ / مل. أظهر متوسط ​​تركيز مصل الدم ل VD3 انخفاضا معنويا (p ˂ 0.05) في مرضى التدرن الرئوي مقارنة بمجموعة السيطرة (18.186 و29.321) نغ/ لThis study aimed to assess the status of cell mediated immunity for pulmonary tuberculosis patients through evaluation levels of Interleukins (IFN-γ ,IL-10, IL-12) and estimation vitamin D3 . Whole blood samples collected from 50 pulmonary tuberculosis patients who are admitted to consultant clinic for respiratory diseases in Hilla – Babylon province during the period from February 2016 to February 2017. Out of the pTB patients, there were 27 males and 23 females, the patients age range was between 12-80 years. Cytokines levels and vitamin D3 estimated by using ELISA technique. The mean of serum concentration of IL-10  and IL-12 revealed that there is a significantly increased (p˂ 0.05) in pulmonary tuberculosis patients as compared to controls (4.024 and 1.049)pg/ml (51.563 and 13.514) pg/ml ,respectively. While, the mean of serum concentration of IFN-γ showed no significant increasing (p˃0.05) in pulmonary tuberculosis patients compared to controls (36.505 and 25.019)pg/ml.  The mean of serum concentration of VD3 showed a significant decreasing (p˂ 0.05) in pulmonary tuberculosis patients as compared to controls (18.186 and 29.321) ng/ml. Conclusions: The results provide a good correlation between the levels of  IL-10 , IL-12, IFN-γ and Vitamin D3 with the cellular immunity against pulmonary tuberculosis

Synthesis, Characterization and Thermal Behavior of Four Arms Poly(L-lactide) via Ring Opening Polymerization

Four (4-arms, polyL-Lactide) were prepared by having different repeating units (10, 25, 50 and 100) from Erythritols and L-Lactide. The polymers were characterized by several methods as FT-IR, 1HNMR, 13CNMR, Gel Permission Chromatography and Scanning Electron Microscopy and finally their thermal stability was evaluated. The all characterization methods were confirmed the expected structure of prepared polymers, on the other hand the prepared polymers have a thermal stabilizing above 175° C, therefore, it is expected to be suitable for use in tissue engineering and drug release applications.   Keywords: poly L-Lactide, four arms, ring-opening polymerization, thermal behavior.

Profiling the Oral Microbiome and Plasma Biochemistry of Obese Hyperglycemic Subjects in Qatar

The present study is designed to compare demographic characteristics, plasma biochemistry, and the oral microbiome in obese ( = 37) and lean control ( = 36) subjects enrolled at Qatar Biobank, Qatar. Plasma hormones, enzymes, and lipid profiles were analyzed at Hamad Medical Cooperation Diagnostic Laboratory. Saliva microbiome characterization was carried out by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing using Illumina MiSeq platform. Obese subjects had higher testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations compared to the control group. A negative association between BMI and testosterone ( < 0.001, r = -0.64) and SHBG ( < 0.001, r = -0.34) was observed. Irrespective of the study groups, the oral microbiome was predominantly occupied by , , and species. A generalized linear model revealed that the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio (2.25 ± 1.83 vs. 1.76 ± 0.58; corrected -value = 0.04) was higher, and phylum Fusobacteria concentration (4.5 ± 3.0 vs. 6.2 ± 4.3; corrected -value = 0.05) was low in the obese group compared with the control group. However, no differences in microbiome diversity were observed between the two groups as evaluated by alpha (Kruskal-Wallis ≥ 0.78) and beta (PERMANOVA = 0.37) diversity indexes. Certain bacterial phyla (Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria, Proteobacteria, Spirochaetes, and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes) were positively associated ( = 0.05, r ≤ +0.5) with estradiol, fast food consumption, creatinine, breastfed during infancy, triglycerides, and thyroid-stimulating hormone concentrations. In conclusion, no differences in oral microbiome diversity were observed between the studied groups. However, the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, a recognized obesogenic microbiome trait, was higher in the obese subjects. Further studies are warranted to confirm these findings in a larger cohort.Qatar National Research Fun

Computational screening of known broad-spectrum antiviral small organic molecules for potential influenza HA stem inhibitors.

With the emergence of new influenza virus strains that are resistant to current inhibitors such as oseltamivir (anti-neuraminidase (NA)) and amantadine (anti-M2 proton channel), influenza A viruses continue to be a serious threat to the public health worldwide. With this in view, there is a persistent need for the development of broader and more effective vaccines and therapeutics. Identification of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) that recognize relatively invariant structures ‎on influenza haemagglutinin (HA) stem has invigorated efforts to develop universal influenza vaccines. The current computational study is designed to identify potential flavonoid inhibitors that bind to the contact epitopes of HA stem that are targeted by broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAb). In this study, we utilized the three-dimensional crystallographic structure of different HA subtypes (H1, H2, H5, H3, and H7) in complex with bNAb to screen for potential broadly reactive influenza inhibitors. We performed Quantitative Structure-Activity and Relationship (QSAR) for 100 natural compounds known for their antiviral activity and performed molecular docking using AutoDock 4.2 suite. Furthermore, we conducted virtual screening of 1413 bioassay hit compounds by using virtual lab bench CLC Drug Discovery. The results showed 18 lead flavonoids with strong binding abilities to bNAb epitopes of various HA subtypes. These 18 broadly reactive compounds exhibited significant interactions with an average of seven Hbonds, docking energy of -22.43 kcal·mol-1, and minimum interaction ‎ energy of -4.65 kcal·mol-1, with functional contact residues. Procyanidin depicted strong interactions with group 1 HAs, whereas both sorbitol and procyanidin exhibited significant interactions with group 2 HAs. Using in silico docking analysis, we identified 18 bioactive flavonoids with potential strong binding cababilities to influenza HA-stems of various subtypes, which are the target for bNAb. The virtual screened bioassay hit compounds depicted a high number of Hbonds but low interaction and docking values compared to antiviral flavonoids. Using structure-based design and nanotechnology-based approaches, identified molecules could be modified to generate next generation anti-influenza drugs

Molecular epidemiology of Rotavirus in children with gastroenteritis in Qatar

Acute gastroenteritis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality of young children worldwide. The vast majority of diarrhea cases in developing and developed countries are attributable to the viruses and to a lesser extent to bacteria, fungi and toxins. Rotavirus (RV) is recognized as the most important etiological agent leading to acute gastroenteritis globally. In order to determine the burden and characteristics of RV infections in children in Qatar, profiling of circulating genotypes and their correlation with demographics and clinical manifestations were evaluated

Novel packet scheduling algorithm based on cross component carrier in LTE-advanced network with carrier aggregation

LTE-Advanced provides considerably higher data rates than the early releases of LTE. The carrier aggregation CA) technology allows scalable expansion of effective bandwidth provided to user equipment (UE) through simultaneous utilization of radio resources across multiple carriers. In this paper we propose a new packet scheduling (PS) criterion algorithm that charmingly satisfies the fairness among the different kinds of UEs by designing a weighting factor to proportional fair (PF) packet scheduling (PS) algorithms, while enhancing their throughput performance. The proposed PS algorithm is implemented and validated in a PS module for LTE\LTE-Advanced via system level simulations. Results show that PS-modified algorithms achieve higher throughput for both LTE and LTE-Advanced UEs

Impact of Physical Exercise on Gut Microbiome, Inflammation, and the Pathobiology of Metabolic Disorders.

The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) harbors a complex and diverse microbial composition that outnumbers our own body cells and their gene contents. These microbes play a significant role in host metabolism and energy homeostasis. Emerging evidence suggests that the GIT microbiome significantly contributes to host health and that impairments in the microbiome may cause the development of metabolic diseases. The microbiome architecture is shaped by several genetic and environmental factors, including nutrition and physical activity. Physical exercise has preventive or therapeutic effects in respiratory, cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and muscular diseases. Yet, we still have little information of the beneficial effects of physical exercise on GIT health and microbial composition. Furthermore, we are not aware whether exercise-derived benefits on microbiome diversity can beneficially influence other tissues and body organs. The aim of this article is to review the available literature on exercise-induced microbiome changes and to explain how these changes may induce inflammatory, immune, and oxidative responses that may contribute to the improvement of metabolic disorders. A systemic and comprehensive search of the relevant literature using MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases was conducted during fall 2018 and spring 2019. The search identified sixty-two research and review articles that discussed exercise-induced microbiome changes. The review of the relevant literature suggests that exercise-induced microbial changes affect the host's immune pathways and improve energy homeostasis. Microbes release certain neuroendocrine and immune-modulatory factors that may lower inflammatory and oxidative stress and relieve patients suffering from metabolic disorders. Exercise-induced changes in microbial diversity are able to improve tissue metabolism, cardiorespiratory fitness, and insulin resistance

Frequency selective surfaces on flexible thin plastic substrates

The capability of the flexible substrate of the frequency selective surface (FSS) to filter out particular frequency is discussed in this paper. A new type of FSS are applied using flexible thin plastic substrate to enhance the performance of the conventional FSS that lacks of flexibility and cannot be used in bending surface. A simulation based investigation shows that the diameter or length of the square has a significant effect on the band-stop selective characteristic of the FSS. The frequency response of the band-stop are at 2.45GHz that drop at -10dB