ACTIVATION OF BUTYRYLCHOLINESTERASE ENZYME BY MAGNESIUM IONS

Human serum Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is an important enzyme in detoxification with its capacity for hydrolyzing esters. the inhibition of this enzyme lead to ill health. The reaction of enzyme with metals ions have grown in recent years,. in our study we examine the reaction of Mg+2 with normal and toxic form of enzyme .we collected samples as two groups for normal and toxic plasma, treated with different concentration of Mg+2 , compare the reading of plasma cholinesterase before and after treating , there are significant changing for that two groups at certain Mg+2 concentration. this changing may be for the allosteric effect of cholinesterase enzyme , reformation the binding site as its environment changing

MORPHOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL VARIABILITY OF LEBANESE CAROB VARIETIES

Morphological variation (pod length, width, thickness, seed number, volume, weight and specific gravity measurements) and chemical composition (protein, sugar, fiber, ash and total phenol content) of nine carob varieties from different regions of Lebanon were investigated. The obtained results showed that these two criteria exhibit significant differences (p<0.05) allowing thus to establish correlations between morphological aspects and location, mainly latitude. Moreover, the principal component analysis (PCA) of the data allowed separating these varieties in two grouped and two ungrouped populations

ALCOHOL IN DRIVERS FATALLY INJURED IN ROAD ACCIDENTS IN ALBANIA DURING THE YEARS 2010-2012

Aim: To assess the presence of alcohol among Albanian drivers involved in fatal road accidents between 2010 and 2012.Materials and methods: Samples were obtained for 365 drivers involved in road accidents from January 2010 to December 2012. Blood samples have been analyzed foe the presence of ethanol by GC –HS (Gas-Chromatograph Head Space) in the Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology in the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Tirana which is the only authorized institution to perform the toxicological investigation of road accidents that happen in Albania.Results: In the final cohort of 365 persons involved in traffic accidents, alcohol were found in concentrations above the legal limit in samples from 45.2% of subjects. BAC exceeded 0.50 g/l mostly in male subjects (98.8%). There were involved in traffic crashes mostly, car drivers (57.9%) and pedestrian (29.1%), consisting 41.9% of fatally cases each group.Conclusion: Males have the chance to crash 18% more than females. [OD: 1.18; CI95%: 1.01-7.76]. Blood alcohol concentrations (0.2 g/l ≥BAC≤ 0.5 g/l) are not an influence factor in fatal road accidents. Subjects whose blood alcohol concentrations have a alcohol blood level equal to (0.5 g/l ≥BAC≤ 1 g/l) have the chance to be involved in a fatal accident 2.2 times more then subjects whose blood alcohol concentration is below 0.2 g/l [OD = 2.2 ; CI 95%; 1.09-4.55]. Subjects with a blood alcohol concentration over > 1 g/l, have the chance to be involved in a fatal accident approximately two times more than a subject with a BAC <0.2g/l. [OD 1,98; CI 95%; (1.23-3.02)]

Modeling the Effect of Sea Water Intrusion into Shatt Al-Arab River (Iraq)

في الآونة الأخيرة ،عانى شط العرب في البصرة / جنوب العراق من القيم العالية للمواد الصلبه الذائبة الكلية (TDS) في المياه بسبب انخفاض المياه العذبة الواردة من المصادر التي تسببت في تسرب الملوحة إلى شط العرب . الهدف من هذه الدراسة هو تتبع توغل مياه البحر من الخليج العربي إلى شط العرب. تم استخدام نموذج الانتقال أحادي البعد باستخدام HEC-RAS 5.0.5 للتعرف على دينامياكية TDS في شط العرب. تم أخذ أربع حالات لتقدير تسرب الملوحة إلى SAAR وهي ، التصريف المنخفض والعالي الذي يساوي 29 م 3 / ث و 103 م 3 / ث والتي تم إطلاقها من ناظم  قلعة صالح مع المد المرتفع والمنخفض. يُلاحظ أنه إذا كان التصريف ضئيلاً ، فإن قيم المواد الصلبة الذائبة تتراوح بين 3000-4000 مجم / لتر على بعد 150 كم من المصب في حالة انخفاض المد والجزر الأعلى على التوالي ، وإذا كان التدفق في الحاله القصوى ، فإن المواد الصلبة الذائبة بين 1000- 2000 ملغم / لتر على بعد 150 كم من المصب في حالة انخفاض المد والجزر الأعلى على التوالي. يمكن الاستنتاج أن زيادة تصريف المياه العذبة الواردة إلى 103 م3 / ثانية وأكثر ، ستؤدي إلى منع تسرب الملوحة نحو مركز مدينة البصرة ، سواء في المد المنخفض أو المرتفع. تظهر النتائج التي تم الحصول عليها وصفًا جيدًا لتباين TDS من البحر باتجاه أعالي شط العرب . يسمح هذا النموذج بتقدير فوري لانتشار المواد الصلبة الذائبة نحو شط العرب ويمكن أن يساعد في ضمان توفير المياه الصالحة للشرب.Recently, the Shatt Al-Arab River (SAAR) in Basra/ south of Iraq, have suffered from high amounts of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)  in the water that is due to reducing the incoming fresh water from the sources which caused the salinity intrusion into the SAAR. The objective of this study is to track the seawater propagation from the Arabian Gulf into SAAR.  One-dimensional transport model using HEC-RAS 5.0.5 has been used to making knowledge of the dynamics of TDS into the SAAR. Four cases were taken to estimate the salinity intrusion into the SAAR which were, the low and high discharge that equal to 29 m3/s and  103 m3/s which released from Qalat Saleh regulator with  high and low tide. It is seen that if the flow is high, the TDS values were between 3000- 4000  mg/l  in the case of lowest low tide and highest high respectively, and if the flow is low, the TDS between 1000- 2000 mg/l  reach 150 km from the mouth in the case of lowest low tide and highest high respectively. It can be conclude that an increase of the incoming freshwater discharge to 103 m3/s, will lead to prevents the salinity intrusion towards the center of Basrah city, for both low and high tide.The obtained results show good describtion for the TDS variation from the sea towards the upstream of the SAAR. The model allows the immediate estimation of TDS propagation towards SAAR and can help to ensure the safe water supply to the province

Identification of a targetable KRAS-mutant epithelial population in non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths. Tumor heterogeneity, which hampers development of targeted therapies, was herein deconvoluted via single cell RNA sequencingin aggressive human adenocarcinomas (carrying Kras-mutations) and comparable murine model. We identified a tumor-specific, mutant-KRAS-associated subpopulation which is conserved in both human and murine lung cancer. We previously reported a key role for the oncogene BMI-1 in adenocarcinomas. We therefore investigated the effects of in vivo PTC596 treatment, which affects BMI-1 activity, in our murine model. Post-treatment, MRI analysis showed decreased tumor size, while single cell transcriptomics concomitantly detected near complete ablation of the mutant-KRAS-associated subpopulation, signifying the presence of a pharmacologically targetable, tumor-associated subpopulation. Our findings therefore hold promise for the development of a targeted therapy for KRAS-mutant adenocarcinomas

Measuring the specific concentration of the radioactive isotopes of 40K, 137Cs and (224Ra, 226Ra, 228Ra)

The specific concentration of radioisotopes of Potassium 40K; Cesium 137Cs and Radium (224Ra ,226Ra, 228Ra) have been identified for soil, sediment, fish samples (Liza abu, Liza klunzingeri, Brachirus orientalius, Tylosurus crocodilus, Cyprinus carpio and Acanthopagrus arabicus) and kladophora as well as snails in the stations: Qurmat Ali; Al sadir Teaching Hospital; Umm Qasr Port and and Arabian Gulf 1 in 2016.http://dx.doi.org/10.31257/2018/JKP/10011

Identification of a targetable KRAS-mutant epithelial population in non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths. Tumor heterogeneity, which hampers development of targeted therapies, was herein deconvoluted via single cell RNA sequencing in aggressive human adenocarcinomas (carrying Kras-mutations) and comparable murine model. We identified a tumor-specific, mutant-KRAS-associated subpopulation which is conserved in both human and murine lung cancer. We previously reported a key role for the oncogene BMI-1 in adenocarcinomas. We therefore investigated the effects of in vivo PTC596 treatment, which affects BMI-1 activity, in our murine model. Post-treatment, MRI analysis showed decreased tumor size, while single cell transcriptomics concomitantly detected near complete ablation of the mutant-KRAS-associated subpopulation, signifying the presence of a pharmacologically targetable, tumor-associated subpopulation. Our findings therefore hold promise for the development of a targeted therapy for KRAS-mutant adenocarcinomas. Maroni, Bassal, Krishnan et al. characterise human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) carrying Kras-mutations by single-cell RNA sequencing. They identify a tumour-specific population that is conserved in mice and responds to the drug, PTC596, which is currently in clinical trials and may offer a potential avenue for treating aggressive NSCLC expressing mutated Kras

Narrative medicine educational project to improve the care of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by a progressive loss of pulmonary function. Often patients do not adhere to inhaled therapies and this leads clinicians to switch treatments in order to improve control of the symptoms. Narrative medicine is a useful approach that helps healthcare professionals to think over the doctor–patient relationship and how patients live with their disease. The aim of this training project was to teach pulmonologists the basics of narrative medicine: to carefully listen to patients and to practice reflective writing in their relationship with them. Training on narrative medicine and parallel charts was provided through a webinar and a weekly newsletter. Across 362 narratives, written by 74 Italian pulmonologists, 92% of patients had activity limitations at their first visit. The main factor influencing the effectiveness and adherence to therapy was a positive doctor–patient relationship; indeed, if such relationship is difficult, only 21% of patients are able to resume all their activities. After learning the narrative approach, clinicians became aware of the need to spend more time listening to patients, to reflect through writing and to understand more deeply the motivations that lead people towards adherence to new therapies