Application of Buccal Micronucleus Cytome Assay in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients on Etanercept: A Case–Control Study

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an inflammatory disease characterized by its chronicity and symmetrical pattern of involvement. The purpose of the present study was to assess the genotoxic effect of the antitumor necrosis factor-ɑ agent (Etanercept) in the adult rheumatoid arthritis patients by the mean of a buccal micronucleus cytome assay. Buccal smears from a normal mucosa of 30 rheumatoid arthritis patients on Etanercept and 30 healthy subjects were taken to apply the buccal micronucleus cytome assay on them. Significantly higher frequencies of micronuclei, pyknotic cells and nuclear buds were seen in those patients when compared to controls. In respect to these findings, the rheumatoid arthritis patients on Etanercept were showing a higher frequency of the genomic damage and cell death biomarkers than the healthy controls which indicates a higher risk of developing pathosis. Keywords: Rheumatoid arthritis, genotoxic effect, buccal micronucleus cytome assay

Influence of uniaxial tensile stress on the mechanical and piezoelectric properties of short-period ferroelectric superlattice

Tetragonal ferroelectric/ferroelectric BaTiO3/PbTiO3 superlattice under uniaxial tensile stress along the c axis is investigated from first principles. We show that the calculated ideal tensile strength is 6.85 GPa and that the superlattice under the loading of uniaxial tensile stress becomes soft along the nonpolar axes. We also find that the appropriately applied uniaxial tensile stress can significantly enhance the piezoelectricity for the superlattice, with piezoelectric coefficient d33 increasing from the ground state value by a factor of about 8, reaching 678.42 pC/N. The underlying mechanism for the enhancement of piezoelectricity is discussed

First Report of 13 Species of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Mainland Portugal and Azores by Morphological and Molecular Characterization

The genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) contains important vectors of animal and human diseases, including bluetongue, African horse sickness and filariosis. A major outbreak of bluetongue occurred in mainland Portugal in 2004, forty eight years after the last recorded case. A national Entomological Surveillance Plan was initiated in mainland Portugal, Azores and the Madeira archipelagos in 2005 in order to better understand the disease and facilitate policy decisions. During the survey, the most prevalent Culicoides species in mainland Portugal was C. imicola (75.3%) and species belonging to the Obsoletus group (6.5%). The latter were the most prevalent in Azores archipelago, accounting for 96.7% of the total species identified. The Obsoletus group was further characterized by multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction to species level showing that only two species of this group were present: C. obsoletus sensu strictu (69.6%) and C. scoticus (30.4%). Nine species of Culicoides were detected for the first time in mainland Portugal: C. alazanicus, C. bahrainensis, C. deltus, C. lupicaris, C. picturatus, C. santonicus, C. semimaculatus, C. simulator and C. subfagineus. In the Azores, C. newsteadi and C. circumscriptus were identified for the first time from some islands, and bluetongue vectors belonging to the Obsoletus group (C. obsoletus and C. scoticus) were found to be widespread

A computational study of the electronic properties, ionic conduction, and thermal expansion of Sm1−xAxCoO3 and Sm1−xAxCoO3−x/2 (A = Ba2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, and x = 0.25, 0.5) as intermediate temperature SOFC cathodes

The substitutional doping of Ca2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+ on the Sm-site in the cubic perovskite SmCoO3 is reported to improve both electronic and ionic conductivities for applications as solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathodes. Hence, in this study we have used density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate dopant configurations at two different dopant concentrations: 25 and 50%. To preserve the electroneutrality of the system, we have studied two different charge compensation mechanisms: the creation of oxygen vacancies, and electronic holes. After examining the electronic structure, charge density difference, and oxygen vacancy formation energies, we concluded that oxygen vacancy charge compensation is the preferred mechanism to maintain the electroneutrality of the system. Furthermore, we found that the improvement of the electronic conduction is not a direct consequence of the appearance of electron holes, but a result of the distortion of the material, more specifically, the distortion of the Co–O bonds. Finally, molecular dynamics were employed to model ionic conduction and thermal expansion coefficients. It was found that all dopants at both concentrations showed high ionic conduction comparable to experimental results

Fluoxetine during Development Reverses the Effects of Prenatal Stress on Depressive-Like Behavior and Hippocampal Neurogenesis in Adolescence

Depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period is a growing health problem, which affects up to 20% of women. Currently, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs) medications are commonly used for treatment of maternal depression. Unfortunately, there is very little research on the long-term effect of maternal depression and perinatal SSRI exposure on offspring development. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the role of exposure to fluoxetine during development on affective-like behaviors and hippocampal neurogenesis in adolescent offspring in a rodent model of maternal depression. To do this, gestationally stressed and non-stressed Sprague-Dawley rat dams were treated with either fluoxetine (5 mg/kg/day) or vehicle beginning on postnatal day 1 (P1). Adolescent male and female offspring were divided into 4 groups: 1) prenatal stress+fluoxetine exposure, 2) prenatal stress+vehicle, 3) fluoxetine exposure alone, and 4) vehicle alone. Adolescent offspring were assessed for anxiety-like behavior using the Open Field Test and depressive-like behavior using the Forced Swim Test. Brains were analyzed for endogenous markers of hippocampal neurogenesis via immunohistochemistry. Results demonstrate that maternal fluoxetine exposure reverses the reduction in immobility evident in prenatally stressed adolescent offspring. In addition, maternal fluoxetine exposure reverses the decrease in hippocampal cell proliferation and neurogenesis in maternally stressed adolescent offspring. This research provides important evidence on the long-term effect of fluoxetine exposure during development in a model of maternal adversity

Density functional study of electronic, charge density, and chemical bonding properties of 9-methyl-3-Thiophen-2-YI-Thieno [3,2-e] [1,2,4] Thriazolo [4,3-c] pyrimidine-8-Carboxylic acid ethyl ester crystals

A comprehensive theoretical density functional investigation of the electronic crystal structure, chemical bonding, and the electron charge densities of 9-Methyl-3-Thiophen-2-YI-Thieno [3, 2-e] [1, 2, 4] Thriazolo [4,3-c] Pyrimidine-8-Carboxylic Acid Ethyl Ester (C15H12N4O2S2) is performed. The density of states at Fermi level equal to 5.50 (3.45) states/Ry cell, and the calculated bare electronic specific heat coefficient is found to be 0.95 (0.59) mj/mole-K-2 for the local density approximation (Engel-Vosko generalized gradient approximation). The electronic charge density space distribution contours in (1 0 0) and (1 1 0) planes were calculated. We find that there are two independent molecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit exhibit intramolecular C-H center dot center dot center dot O, C-H center dot center dot center dot N interactions. This intramolecular interaction is different in molecules A and B, where A molecule show C-H center dot center dot center dot O interaction while B molecule exhibit C-H center dot center dot center dot N interaction. We should emphasis that there is pi-pi interaction between the pyrimidine rings of the two neighbors B molecules gives extra strengths and stabilizations to the superamolecular structure. The calculated distance between the two neighbors pyrimidine rings found to be 3.345 angstrom, in good agreement with the measured one (3.424(1) angstrom)

Post- synthetic fluorination of Scholl- coupled microporous polymers for increased CO2 uptake and selectivity

We report a facile, one-step post-synthetic fluorination method to increase the CO2 capacity and CO2/N2 selectivity of porous organic Scholl-coupled polymers. All of the fluorinated polymers that we synthesised showed increases in CO2/N2 IAST selectivity and CO2 isosteric heat; almost all materials also showed an increase in absolute CO2 uptake. Our best-performing material (SC-TPB F) demonstrated a CO2 capacity and CO2/N2 selectivity of 3.0 mmol/g and 26:1, respectively, at 298 K—much higher than the corresponding non-fluorinated polymer, SC-TPB. This methodology might also be applicable to other polymer classes, such as polymers of intrinsic microporosity, thus providing a more general route to improvements in CO2 capacity and selectivity

A Hybrid Photo-Electro Catalytic Conversion of Carbon dioxide Using CuO-MgO Nanocomposite

Reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) into fuels accompanied by renewable resources has been under research since it helps to decrease CO2 levels in the atmosphere. The most suited source is solar energy which is generous and sustainable. In this aspect, photocatalysis (PC) and photo electrocatalysis (PEC) are favorable methods to utilize solar energy for CO2 reduction to carbonaceous fuels. A PEC system is more efficient than a PC system because of the ability to separate photogenerated holes and electrons for higher efficiency. The photo-electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (PEC-CO2RR) can be considered as an artificial photosynthetic system that stores solar energy and stabilizes CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Here CuO�MgO nanocomposite (NC) is used for the effective PEC reduction of CO2 into viable carbonaceous fuels. A simple and scalable sol�gel process was used for synthesizing the CuO�MgO NC. The synthesized NC�s structural, morphological and elemental analysis was performed using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM and EDX. Optical properties were evaluated using UV spectroscopy. The electrochemical and PEC analysis was carried out to study the catalytic behavior of CuO�MgO towards CO2 reduction by the cyclic voltammetry method. The CuO�MgO NC exhibited significantly improved PEC-CO2RR performance compared to electrochemical reduction alone. Moreover, the CuO�MgO NC displayed high structural stability and durability, which benchmark its potential towards PEC reduction to CO2 into carbonaceous fuels.This work was carried by the NPRP11S-1221-170116 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are exclusively the accountability of the authors.Scopu

Structural, Electronic, and Optical Properties of CsPb(Br1−xClx)3 Perovskite: First-Principles Study with PBE–GGA and mBJ–GGA Methods

The effect of halide composition on the structural, electronic, and optical properties of CsPb(Br1−xClx)3 perovskite was investigated in this study. When the chloride (Cl) content of x was increased, the unit cell volume decreased with a linear function. Theoretical X-ray diffraction analyses showed that the peak (at 2θ = 30.4°) shifts to a larger angle (at 2θ = 31.9°) when the average fraction of the incorporated Cl increased. The energy bandgap (Eg) was observed to increase with the increase in Cl concentration. For x = 0.00, 0.25, 0.33, 0.50, 0.66, 0.75, and 1.00, the Eg values calculated using the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof potential were between 1.53 and 1.93 eV, while those calculated using the modified Becke−Johnson generalized gradient approximation (mBJ–GGA) potential were between 2.23 and 2.90 eV. The Eg calculated using the mBJ–GGA method best matched the experimental values reported. The effective masses decreased with a concentration increase of Cl to 0.33 and then increased with a further increase in the concentration of Cl. Calculated photoabsorption coefficients show a blue shift of absorption at higher Cl content. The calculations indicate that CsPb(Br1−xClx)3 perovskite could be used in optical and optoelectronic devices by partly replacing bromide with chloride

Self-perception, knowledge, and awareness of halitosis among female university students

Azizah Bin Mubayrik,1 Rana Al Hamdan,2 Emad M Al Hadlaq,1 Hamad AlBagieh,1 Dan AlAhmed,3 Hend Jaddoh,3 Mawadh Demyati,3 Rawan Abu Shryei3 1Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Science Department, 2Restorative Dental Science Department, 3Interns, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Background: Halitosis or oral malodor is defined as an unpleasant breath odor. It can become a serious problem affecting individuals’ social communication and self-confidence. Furthermore, it is a discomforting issue for the people around the person affected, because they consider it embarrassing to inform the person of the problem.Aim: This study was designed to measure self-perception, knowledge, and awareness of halitosis among female university students in Saudi Arabia.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey was implemented with 392 volunteer participants who responded to a questionnaire on their self-perception, knowledge, and awareness of halitosis.Results: The response rate was 89.1% (392/440). Self-perception of halitosis was low (21.4%), whereas a larger percentage (78.1%) indicated noticing people with bad breath. Most participants (80.4%) thought that the gastrointestinal tract is the primary source of halitosis. Seventy-seven percent preferred using personal methods such as mouthwash and chewing gum to treat oral malodor. According to 82.1% of respondents, a dentist is the most appropriate professional to treat halitosis.Conclusion: The investigation revealed low self-perception and limited knowledge regarding halitosis. Therefore, the role of dentists in informing and educating their patients concerning oral malodor should be enhanced. Public education about the causes of and possible ways of managing bad breath should be increased. Keywords: halitosis, female, self-perception, awarenes