Nearest point problem in countably normed spaces

In a countably normed space which is a linear space equipped with a countable number of pair-wise compatible norms, we prove the existence of a common nearest point (in all norms) from a point outside a nonempty subset if this subset is compact with respect to all norms. We also prove the uniqueness of that common nearest point if the completion of the space equipped with only one of its norms is uniformly convex

A reproducible protocol for regeneration and transformation in canola (Brassica napus L.)

The objective of the present study is to develop an efficient protocol for shoot and plant regeneration using five commercial canola cultivars grown under the Egyptian agricultural conditions. The regeneration efficiency from hypocotyl explants was examined. The data indicated that embryonic calli were formed within two weeks in the presence of 1 mgl-1 2,4-D. Adventitious shoots emerged from the embryonic callus in the presence of 4.5 mgl-1 BA. The cultivars showed a varied response to shoot regeneration. Regeneration frequency was high in the cultivar Sarow-4 (68%) followed by Masrri L-16 (64%) compared with the other cultivars tested. Hypocotyl explants from the cultivars Sarow-4 and Semu-249 were inoculated and co-cultivated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harboring a binary vector pBI-121 containing the neomycin phosphotransferase-II gene (NPT-II). The resulted putative transgenic plantlets were able to grow under knanamycin containing medium. The stable integration of the NPT-II gene into the plant genomes was tested by PCR using NPT-II -specific primers. The GUS gene expression can be detected only in the transgenic plants. The reported protocol in the present study is repeatable and can be used to regenerate transgenic canola plants expressing the genes present in A. tumifaciens binary vectors.Keywords: Agrobacterium, canola, GUS assay, regeneration, fransformation, NPT II gen

Synthesis and antitumor activity of some novel thiophene, pyrimidine, coumarin, pyrazole and pyridine derivatives

2-Cyano-N-(thiazol-2-yl) acetamide (2a) and 2-cyano-N-(oxazol-2-yl) acetamide (2b) were obtained via the reaction of ethylcyanoacetate with either 2-aminothiazole (1a) or 2-aminooxazole (1b). The the formed products were directed toward the reaction with cyclopentanone and elemental sulphur in the presence of triethylamine to give cyclopenta[b]thiophene derivatives (3a,b). The latter products when reacted with either ethylcyanoacetate or malononitrile to form compounds 4a,b and 5a,b, respectively. Compounds 4a,b were aimed to synthesize some heterocyclic compounds; thus internal cyclization reactions were introduced to form compounds 6a,b. Also, compounds 4a,b reacted with salicylaldehyde, hydrazine derivatives and either urea or thiourea to produce coumarin derivatives (7a,b), pyrazole derivatives (8a-d) and pyrimidine derivatives (9a-d), respectively. Reaction of either benzaldehyde or benzene diazonium chloride (11) with compounds 4a,b afforded compounds 10a,b and 12a,b, respectively. On the other hand, compounds 5a,b underwent internal cyclization to form pyrimidine derivatives 13a,b. Also when compounds 5a,b reacted with either ethylcyanoacetate or malononitrile they gave pyridine derivatives (15a-d) through the formation of intermediates (14a-d). Finally, formation of fused pyrimidine derivatives (17a,b) was afforded through the reaction of compounds 5a,b and salicylaldehyde, applying two different pathways. First pathway used catalytic amount of piperidine to form compounds 16a,b; the latter products underwent cyclization to give compounds 17a,b. The second pathway using catalytic amount of sodium ethoxide solution directly in one step afforded compounds 17a,b. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were established using IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and mass spectrometry and their antitumor activity was investigated. Some of these compounds showed promising inhibitory effects on the three different cell lines. However, fused pyrimidine acetonitrile derivatives 6a and 6b exerted the highest inhibitory effect comparable to that of doxorubicin

A pilot study in humans of microneedle sensor arrays for continuous glucose monitoring

Although subcutaneously implanted continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices have been shown to support diabetes self-management, their uptake remains low due to a combination of high manufacturing cost and limited accuracy and precision arising from their invasiveness. To address these points, minimally invasive, a solid microneedle array-based sensor for continuous glucose monitoring is reported here. These intradermal solid microneedle CGM sensors are designed for low cost manufacturing. The tolerability and performance of these devices is demonstrated through clinical studies, both in healthy volunteers and participants with type 1 diabetes (T1D). The geometry of these solid microneedles allows them to penetrate dermal tissue without the need for an applicator. The outer surface of these solid microneedles are modified as glucose biosensors. The microneedles sit in the interstitial fluid of the skin compartment and monitor real-time changes in glucose concentration. Optical coherence tomography measurements revealed no major axial movement of the microneedles in the tissue. No significant adverse events were observed and low pain scores were reported when compared to catheter insertion, deeming it safe for clinical studies in T1D. These amperometric sensors also yielded currents that tracked venous blood glucose concentrations, showing a clinically acceptable correlation. Studies in people with T1D gave a mean absolute relative difference (MARD) of 9% (with respect to venous blood glucose) with over 94% of the data points in the A and B zones of the Clarke error grid. These findings provide baseline data for further device development and a larger clinical efficacy and acceptability study of this microneedle intradermal glucose sensor in T1D

A gender difference in false recall of negative words: Women DRM more than men

Gender differences in susceptibility to associative memory illusions in the Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm were investigated using negative and neutral word lists. Women (n = 50) and men (n = 50) studied 20 lists of 12 words that were associates of a nonpresented critical lure. Ten lists were associates of negatively-valenced lures (e.g., cry, evil) and ten were associates of neutral lures (e.g., chair, slow). When asked to recall the words after each list, women falsely recalled more negative lures than men, but there was no gender difference in the false recall of neutral lures. These findings suggest that women reflect on associations within negative lists to a greater degree than men and are thereby more likely to generate the negative critical lures

Performance Analysis of Solar Adsorption Cooling System - Effect of Position of Heat Storage Tank

An insulated storage tank has been added with adsorption cooling system run by solar heat collected by CPC panel. It has been expected and seen that the storage tank has a vital contribution in the performance of the chiller. The storage tank is connected with a solar heat driven single stage two bed basic adsorption chillers activated with silica gel-water pair in two ways. The tank is connected in such a way that (i) the solar collectors supply hot water to the desorption bed, the outflow of the desorber is collected in the reserve tank. The reserve tank supplies water to the collector and complete the heat transfer cycle. (ii) The solar collector supply hot water which is collected in the storage tank first and then supplied to the desorber. The outflow of the desorber is carried to the collector again. Comparative studies have been conducted at the steady state for both of the systems with heat storage. It has been observed that the system is robust with design (i) while with design (ii) performance enhances beyond the sunset time with heat storage

Epidemiological, molecular characterization and antibiotic resistance of Salmonella enterica serovars isolated from chicken farms in Egypt

Background Salmonella is one of major causes of foodborne outbreaks globally. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence, typing and antibiotic susceptibilities of Salmonella enterica serovars isolated from 41 broiler chicken farms located in Kafr El-Sheikh Province in Northern Egypt during 2014–2015. The clinical signs and mortalities were observed. Results In total 615 clinical samples were collected from broiler flocks from different organs (liver, intestinal content and gall bladder). Salmonella infection was identified in 17 (41%) broiler chicken flocks and 67 Salmonella isolates were collected. Recovered isolates were serotyped as 58 (86.6%) S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, 6 (9%) S. enterica serovar Enteritidis and 3 (4.5%) were non- typable. The significant high mortality rate was observed only in 1-week-old chicks. sopE gene was detected in 92.5% of the isolates which indicating their ability to infect humans. All S. enterica serovar Enteritidis isolates were susceptible to all tested antimicrobials. The phenotypically resistant S. enterica serovar Typhimurium isolates against ampicillin, tetracycline, sulphamethoxazole and chloramphenicol were harbouring BlaTEM, (tetA and tetC), (sul1 and sul3) and (cat1 and floR), respectively. The sensitivity rate of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium to gentamycin, trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole and streptomycin were 100, 94.8, 89.7%, respectively. The silent streptomycin antimicrobial cassettes were detected in all Salmonella serovars. A class one integron (dfrA12, orfF and aadA2) was identified in three of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium strains. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this study considered first report discussing the prevalence, genotyping, antibiotic susceptibility and public health significance of S. enterica serovars in broilers farms of different ages in Delta Egypt. Further studies are mandatory to verify the location of some resistance genes that are within or associated with the class one integron

Differential regulation of four members of the ACC synthase gene family in plum

The regulation of ACC synthase (ACS) genes was studied in early (‘Early Golden’) and late (‘Shiro’) Japanese plum cultivars (Prunus salicina L.) in order to determine the role of this gene family in fruit ripening. Of the four Ps-ACS cDNAs isolated, two (Ps-ACS1 and -3) showed differential expression between the two cultivars. Ps-ACS1 accumulated during fruit ripening of ‘Early Golden’ (‘EG’) and ‘Shiro’ (‘SH’) in ethylene-dependent and -independent manners, respectively. Ps-ACS3a transcripts accumulated throughout fruit development and during ‘EG’ fruit ripening. Ps-ACS3b was detected only during ripening of ‘SH’ fruit. Furthermore, Ps-ACS3a transcript accumulation was negatively regulated by ethylene, whereas Ps-ACS3b was positively induced by the hormone. In both cultivars, the expression of Ps-ACS4 and -5 is under positive and negative feedback control by ethylene, respectively. Genetic analyses of ‘EG’ and ‘SH’ cultivars demonstrated that ‘EG’ is homozygous for Ps-ACS3a whereas ‘SH’ is heterozygous for Ps-ACS3 (a/b). The role of ethylene-overproducer 1-like in delaying fruit ripening by interacting with Ps-ACS proteins was also studied. The effect of the plant hormones, auxin, gibberellin, and cytokinin, in regulating ethylene production by promoting the induction of the different Ps-ACS mRNAs in plum was investigated. A model is presented in which differences in Ps-ACS alleles and gene expression between early and late plums are critical in determining the ripening behaviour of the cultivars