(±)-4,12,15,18,26-Penta­hydroxy-13,17-dioxahepta­cyclo­[14.10.0.03,14.04,12.06,11.018,26.019,24]hexa­cosa-1,3(14),6(11),7,9,15,19,21,23-nona­ene-5,25-dione monohydrate

The title compound, C24H14O9·H2O, displays a cup-shaped form. The water mol­ecule is disordered over two set of sites with an occupancy ratio of 0.78:0.22. The mol­ecule of the compound has four stereocenters and corresponds to the SSRR/RRSS diastereoisomer. In the mol­ecule, the maximum dihedral angle between the planar benzene rings is 80.40 (4)°. The H atoms of the hy­droxy groups are engaged in hydrogen bonding, forming infinite chains parallel to the a axis. These chains are inter­linked through water mol­ecules, resulting in the formation of a two-dimensional network parallel to the (001) plane. Futhermore C—H⋯O, C—H⋯π and slipped π–π inter­actions result in the formation of a three-dimensional network

4-{2-[(Z)-(5-Methyl-2-fur­yl)methyl­idene­amino]­eth­yl}benzene­sulfonamide

In the title compound, C14H16N2O3S, the dihedral angle between the phenyl and 5-methyl­furan groups is 54.89 (14)° and the C=N bond assumes a trans conformation. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds generate R 2 2(8) ring motifs. The dimers are inter­linked by N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, resulting in the formation of infinite chains extending along the b axis. The packing is consolidated by weak C—H⋯π inter­actions

Factors Responsible for the Prolonged Stay of Surgical Neonates in Intensive Care Units

Objectives: The length of hospital stay (HS) for patients is a major concern due to its social, economic and administrative implications; this is particularly important for neonates admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). This study aimed to determine the factors responsible for prolonged HS in surgical neonates. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, in Muscat, Oman. The medical records of 95 neonates admitted to the neonatal ICU who underwent general surgical procedures between July 2009 and June 2013 were reviewed. Mann-Whitney U and Pearson’s Chi-squared tests were used for non-parametric numerical and categorical variables, respectively. A multiple regression analysis was performed to find a relationship between the variables and to detect the most important factor responsible for prolonged HS. A P value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Gestational age, birth weight, number of days on a ventilator and postoperative morbidity were associated with prolonged HS. Furthermore, the age of neonates at first full enteral feed was associated with increased HS using both independent and multiple regression analyses. Conclusion: Prolonged HS can occur as a result of many factors. In this study, a number of factors were identified, including low gestational age, low birth weight, increased number of days on a ventilator and postoperative morbidity. Additionally, neonate age at first full enteral feeds also correlated with increased HS. Further research on this topic is suggested to explore this correlation in more detail and to inform future practices

Latent activity of curcumin against leishmaniasis in vitro

In this study the anti-proliferative effect of curcumin (curcuma longa) that is the active ingredient of ground dried rhizome has been studied against three local and three reference leishmanial strains, Leishmania major, Leishmania tropica and Leishmania infantum (Pakistani isolate). Curcumin has shown an average IC50 of 5.3mM against promastigotes of various leishmanial strains which is much lower as compared with pentamidine that is one of the basic treatments against leishmaniasis. The main draw back attributed to these assays performed on promastigotes is the heterogeneity of results compared with those obtained with intracellular amastigotes or with in vivo effect. We also tested activity of curcumin against axenic amastigote like cells (AALC) of L. major strain (MHOM/PK/88/DESTO). Curcumin proves to be far more potent then pentamidine against AALC which further strengthens the fact about its leishmaniacidal activity

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Friction welding of titanium to 304L stainless steel using interlayers

Friction welding of commercially pure titanium to austenitic stainless steel (AISI 304L SS) using intermediate layers was studied. The interlayers used were commercially pure nickel, tantalum and vanadium in the form of thin foils. The interlayers were aimed at avoiding direct contact between the base materials which may otherwise lead to formation of mainly Ti-Fe intermetallic phases at the interface which may seriously affect the weld properties. Interlayer foils were used individually and in combination (nickeltantalum and nickel-vanadium) suitably called in the present work as single and double interlayer joint systems respectively. Same interlayer behaved differently with respect to extrudability in these two systems. All the joints showed moderate strengths in tensile test. However, joints with single interlayer exhibited poor bend ductility, and double interlayers improved it to about 40°. Microhardness studies revealed a peak in nickel single interlayer system alone, confirming presence of hard phases at the interface

Comparative study of Ce0.80Sm0.20Ba0.80Y0.20O3-delta (YB-SDC) electrolyte by various chemical synthesis routes

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells is received a significant attention in recent years due to higher efficiency and fuel flexibility. The one of the main challenge for SOFC is to lower the operating temperature of SOFCs. Therefore, different strategies are used in order to enhance the ionic conduction of electrolyte, which can lower the overall SOFC operating temperature. The present work is focused on this strategy to enhance the electrolytic conductivity. Therefore, the ceria based composite electrolytes Ce0.80Sm0.20B0.80Y0.20O3-delta (YBSDC) are synthesized using three different approaches i.e. co-precipitation (YBSDC-1), sol-gel (YBSDC-2) and ball milling (YBSDC-3). Their crystal structures and surface morphologies are characterized through X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques, respectively. The four-probe technique is employed to measure their dc conductivities in the temperature range (300-700) degrees C under air atmosphere. The open circuit voltage (OCV) and current are recorded with natural gas as fuel {flow rate kept at 100 ml min(-1) at 1 atm pressure} over the temperature range (300-600) degrees C. The electrolyte (YBSDC-1) prepared by co-precipitation technique is shown better results as compare to other two electrolytes (YBSDC-2 and YBSDC-3). The electrolyte (YBSDC-1) having maximum dc conductivity (0.096 S/cm), peak power density 224 mW cm(-2) and OCV 0.94 V at 600 degrees C. These results show that YBSDC-1electrolyte is potential candidate for low temperature SOFCs. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V

Assembling a DNA barcode reference library for the spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Pakistan.

Morphological study of 1,795 spiders from sites across Pakistan placed these specimens in 27 families and 202 putative species. COI sequences >400 bp recovered from 1,782 specimens were analyzed using neighbor-joining trees, Bayesian inference, barcode gap, and Barcode Index Numbers (BINs). Specimens of 109 morphological species were assigned to 123 BINs with ten species showing BIN splits, while 93 interim species included representatives of 98 BINs. Maximum conspecific divergences ranged from 0-5.3% while congeneric distances varied from 2.8-23.2%. Excepting one species pair (Oxyopes azhari-Oxyopes oryzae), the maximum intraspecific distance was always less than the nearest-neighbor (NN) distance. Intraspecific divergence values were not significantly correlated with geographic distance. Most (75%) BINs detected in this study were new to science, while those shared with other nations mainly derived from India. The discovery of many new, potentially endemic species and the low level of BIN overlap with other nations highlight the importance of constructing regional DNA barcode reference libraries