Molecular research on the genetic diversity of Tunisian date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) using the random amplified microsatellite polymorphism (RAMPO) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) methods

The genetic diversity organization and evaluation of relationships within Tunisian date-palm cultivars were assessed using the random amplified microsatellite polymorphism (RAMPO) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) methods. 18 combinations of random/ISSR primers and six AFLP primers combinations were tested with DNAs isolated from 40 date-palm cultivars. Our results show that using both markers systems, the Tunisian date-palm germplasm is characterized by a large and continuous genetic diversity. In addition, due to the greater number of markers per assay, the AFLP technique seems to be more informative than the RAMPO method. In fact, 186 and 428 polymorphic bands were detected using RAMPO and AFLP primers, respectively. Moreover, AFLP markers were found most polymorphic with the highest average PIC value (0.7) and marker index (50.54). In addition, independent as well as combined analyses of the cluster analyses of the RAMPO and AFLP fragments showed that cultivars are clustered independently from the sex of trees or else their geographical origin. On the other hand, based on Pearson and Spearman correlation between RAMPO and AFLP distance, matrices were positive and highly significant. This result indicates good congruence between these two molecular markers. The opportunity of the designed methods is discussed with the molecular characterization of genotypes in order to enhance the conservation and the improvement of the local date-palm germplasm.Key words: Phoenix dactylifera, genetic diversity, random amplified microsatellite polymorphism (RAMPO), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), Tunisian

Experimental and numerical study of the behavior of RC slabs with openings reinforced by metal mesh under impact loading

The main objective of the following work is to inspect the effect of reinforcing metal mesh on the behavior of slabs with openings under impact loadings. Based on an earlier numerical study by Shaheen et al. (2017), slabs with mid-side openings revealed the worst behavior regarding to deflection and cracked pattern when subjected to impact loading compared to other slabs with different locations of openings. Hence, the present work focuses specifically on this type of slabs and the variation in their behavior when reinforced by welded or expanded metal mesh. Seven specimens were prepared and tested in Faculty of Engineering, Menoufia University, Egypt. Moreover, a FE model for the slabs was built using Abaqus 6.14 and verified against test results. It was found that expanded metal mesh had a significant effect on reducing deflection due to impact load as well as controlling of cracks in contrast with welded metal mesh

Detection of DoS Attacks Using ARFIMA Modeling of GOOSE Communication in IEC 61850 Substations

Integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in modern smart grids (SGs) offers many advantages including the use of renewables and an effective way to protect, control and monitor the energy transmission and distribution. To reach an optimal operation of future energy systems, availability, integrity and confidentiality of data should be guaranteed. Research on the cyber-physical security of electrical substations based on IEC 61850 is still at an early stage. In the present work, we first model the network traffic data in electrical substations, then, we present a statistical Anomaly Detection (AD) method to detect Denial of Service (DoS) attacks against the Generic Object Oriented Substation Event (GOOSE) network communication. According to interpretations on the self-similarity and the Long-Range Dependency (LRD) of the data, an Auto-Regressive Fractionally Integrated Moving Average (ARFIMA) model was shown to describe well the GOOSE communication in the substation process network. Based on this ARFIMA-model and in view of cyber-physical security, an effective model-based AD method is developed and analyzed. Two variants of the statistical AD considering statistical hypothesis testing based on the Generalized Likelihood Ratio Test (GLRT) and the cumulative sum (CUSUM) are presented to detect flooding attacks that might affect the availability of the data. Our work presents a novel AD method, with two different variants, tailored to the specific features of the GOOSE traffic in IEC 61850 substations. The statistical AD is capable of detecting anomalies at unknown change times under the realistic assumption of unknown model parameters. The performance of both variants of the AD method is validated and assessed using data collected from a simulation case study. We perform several Monte-Carlo simulations under different noise variances. The detection delay is provided for each detector and it represents the number of discrete time samples after which an anomaly is detected. In fact, our statistical AD method with both variants (CUSUM and GLRT) has around half the false positive rate and a smaller detection delay when compared with two of the closest works found in the literature. Our AD approach based on the GLRT detector has the smallest false positive rate among all considered approaches. Whereas, our AD approach based on the CUSUM test has the lowest false negative rate thus the best detection rate. Depending on the requirements as well as the costs of false alarms or missed anomalies, both variants of our statistical detection method can be used and are further analyzed using composite detection metrics

Simulation and performance assessment of a modified throttled load balancing algorithm in cloud computing environment

Load balancing is crucial to ensure scalability, reliability, minimize response time, and processing time and maximize resource utilization in cloud computing. However, the load fluctuation accompanied with the distribution of a huge number of requests among a set of virtual machines (VMs) is challenging and needs effective and practical load balancers. In this work, a two listed throttled load balancer (TLT-LB) algorithm is proposed and further simulated using the CloudAnalyst simulator. The TLT-LB algorithm is based on the modification of the conventional TLB algorithm to improve the distribution of the tasks between different VMs. The performance of the TLT-LB algorithm compared to the TLB, round robin (RR), and active monitoring load balancer (AMLB) algorithms has been evaluated using two different configurations. Interestingly, the TLT-LB significantly balances the load between the VMs by reducing the loading gap between the heaviest loaded and the lightest loaded VMs to be 6.45% compared to 68.55% for the TLB and AMLB algorithms. Furthermore, the TLT-LB algorithm considerably reduces the average response time and processing time compared to the TLB, RR, and AMLB algorithms

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) Fruit Coating with Gum – Arabic for Quality and Fruit Fly Control

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is a lovely tropical and subtropical fruit that originates in Mexico, Central America, and then taken to other distant and near parts around the world. In Sudan this popular fruit is produced in orchards and household and is so profitable but yet attacked by a lot of fruit fly species of the Genera Ceratitis and Bactrocera and the result is a loss of more than 70%. This research aimed at evaluating the effect of Gum Arabic coating (GAC) in extending the shelf life of guava fruit and disinfesting it from these notorious pests. Guava fruits from Kadaro orchards, Khartoum North, were tested using seven concentrations of Gum Arabic solutions. The results reflect that 1: 4 (25%) and 1: 8 (12.5%) (GA: water) concentrations attained 56 and 40% disinfestation, respectively whereas the other lower concentrations effected corresponding results in a range from 20 – 08%. The reduction in maggots per test fruit reached upto 188% as compared to the control.  The highest concentrations (1: 4 & 1: 8) effected a sustainability of 52% in fruit firmness (FF) with an average of medium (3) FF compared to soft FF (4) in the control. The corresponding results in other lower concentrations (1: 16; 1: 32; 1: 64; 1: 72 & 1: 96) were 36, 24, 24, 20 and 16%, respectively. In addition to an average FF of 4 (soft) for all these concentrations and 5 (very soft) for all the corresponding controls. Nevertheless, the sustainability of fruit color (FC) effected by the test concentrations was 52, 44, 24, 22, 24, 20, and 24%, respectively. Regarding these results, the two highest test concentrations effected a sizeable disinfestation and control of fruit flies and a good extension of shelf life of guava in Khartoum State. These findings support using this treatment as an effective IPM tool to extend guava fruit shelf life and upgrading its postharvest quality

Isolation of biologically active metabolites from Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd. cultivated in Egypt

Bougainvillea spectabilis Willd.  is an ornamental plant cultivated in tropical, subtropical regions and other places as Egypt. The present study aimed to perform bioassay guided fractionation and isolation of some of the bioactive compounds from the Egyptian cultivate. The total ethanol extracts of the leaves (T.ET.L.), stems (T.ET.S.) and flowers (T.ET.F.) were screened for some pharmacological activities viz. in vivo anti-oxidant and anti-hepatotoxic, in addition to in vitro cytotoxic activities. The anti-oxidant effect was assessed by measuring serum glutathione level (GSH) in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. The anti-hepatotoxic activity was evaluated via measuring serum markers level viz. alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. In vitro cytotoxicity of the different extracts was estimated for liver cancer cell line (HEPG2) adopting Sulforhodamine B stain assay. T.ET.L. exhibited significantly potent anti-oxidant and anti-hepatotoxic activities, while T.ET.S. showed the highest cytotoxic activity. Through biological guided fractionation, leaves and stems were subjected to successive solvent extraction, whereas the leaves ethyl acetate (Et.Ac.L.) and the stems ethanol 70% (Et.70%S.) extracts showed highly potent activities. Thus, different chromatographic techniques were performed on Et.Ac.L. and Et.70%S. extracts leading to the isolation of five bioactive metabolites. Three flavonoids were isolated from Et.Ac.L.; genistein-7-O-rutinoside (1), formononetin-7-O-rutinoside (2) and myricetin (3), while orobol-7-O-glucoside (4) and hesperidin (5) were isolated from Et.70%S. This work demonstrated the importance of the plant as a promising anti-oxidant, anti-hepatotoxic and cytotoxic product for nutraceutical use

National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank: A standard based biospecimen and clinical data resource to enhance translational research

Background: Advances in translational research have led to the need for well characterized biospecimens for research. The National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank is an initiative which collects annotated datasets relevant to human mesothelioma to develop an enterprising biospecimen resource to fulfill researchers' need. Methods: The National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank architecture is based on three major components: (a) common data elements (based on College of American Pathologists protocol and National North American Association of Central Cancer Registries standards), (b) clinical and epidemiologic data annotation, and (c) data query tools. These tools work interoperably to standardize the entire process of annotation. The National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank tool is based upon the caTISSUE Clinical Annotation Engine, developed by the University of Pittsburgh in cooperation with the Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid™ (caBIG™, see http://cabig.nci.nih.gov). This application provides a web-based system for annotating, importing and searching mesothelioma cases. The underlying information model is constructed utilizing Unified Modeling Language class diagrams, hierarchical relationships and Enterprise Architect software. Result: The database provides researchers real-time access to richly annotated specimens and integral information related to mesothelioma. The data disclosed is tightly regulated depending upon users' authorization and depending on the participating institute that is amenable to the local Institutional Review Board and regulation committee reviews. Conclusion: The National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank currently has over 600 annotated cases available for researchers that include paraffin embedded tissues, tissue microarrays, serum and genomic DNA. The National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank is a virtual biospecimen registry with robust translational biomedical informatics support to facilitate basic science, clinical, and translational research. Furthermore, it protects patient privacy by disclosing only de-identified datasets to assure that biospecimens can be made accessible to researchers. © 2008 Amin et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Synthesis and antitumor testing of certain new fused triazolopyrimidine and triazoloquinazoline derivatives

AbstractNew series of 1,2,4-triazolopyrimidine and 1,2,4-triazoloquinazoline derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their antitumor activity. Compounds 6, 11, 26, 29, 41, 44, 48, 49 and 58 were tested as antitumor agents by the use of DNA-binding assay on TLC-plates, colorimetric assay for the degree of DNA-binding (Methyl green-DNA displacement assay), evaluation of antineoplastic activity against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma in mice, and finally modulation of apoptosis. 5-Flurouracil, vitamin C and ethidium bromide were used as positive controls in these techniques. Compound 26 proved to be the most active member of these series as antitumor agent with IC50 value of 47±1. Several characteristic features were observed to be essential for activity such as the morpholine group and the phenylazo group, in addition the electron-withdrawing groups favor the activity than the electron-donating ones

Evaluation of some biological activities of Abelia triflora R Br (Caprifoliaceae) constituents

Purpose: To investigate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic,  cardiovascular and cytotoxic activities of the leaf extract and major compounds isolated from Abelia triflora R. Br. (Caprifoliaceae)Methods: The chloroform soluble fraction of A. triflora leaves was subjected to several column chromatographic separations to isolate its constituents.  Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities were determined in terms of the ability to inhibit NF-kB, iNOS activity and lipoxygenase enzyme, and to decrease oxidative stress in HepG2 cells. Antidiabetic and cardiovascular activities were determined by screening for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) and PPARɣ agonistic activities. In vitro cytotoxic activity was determined against a set of four human cancer cell lines (SK-MEL, KB, BT-549, SK-OV-3) and two  non-cancerous kidney cell lines (LLC-PK1 and VERO). Cell viability was measured by neutral red assay.Results: Three triterpene acids were isolated from the chloroform fraction namely; ursolic acid (4), 2, 3-dihydroxy ursolic acid (5) and 2, 3, 21-trihydroxy ursolic acid (6). The results showed that ursolic acid exhibited potent inhibition of lipoxygenase enzyme and iNOS (inducible nitric oxide synthase) activity with IC50 (half-maximal inhibitory concentration) value of 13.0 μg/mL, compared to parthenolide positive standard (IC50, 0.3μg/mL); furthermore, it inhibited NF-kB (nuclear factor-kappa B) with IC50 of 25.0 μg/mL, compared to parthenolide (positive standard, (IC50, 0.5 μg/mL). Also, ursolic acid possessed the highest cytotoxic effect against the three cell lines, SK-MEL (IC50, 14.5 μg/mL), BT-549 (IC50, 16.0 μg/mL) and SK-OV-3 (IC50, 12.5 μg/mL). Only 2,3-dihydroxy ursolic acid activated PPARɣ (1.5-fold at 25 μM), compared to rosiglitazone (positive standard, 3.7 fold at 10 μM)Conclusion: Among the investigated compounds, ursolic acid exhibited the highest anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities, while 2,3-dihydroxy ursolic acid demonstrated antidiabetic activity via activation of PPARɣ.Keywords: Abelia triflora, Anti-inflammatory, Antidiabetic, Cardiovascular activity, Antioxidant, Cytotoxi