Hygrothermal performance of building envelopes in the tropics under operative conditions : condensation and mould growth risk appraisal

Poor indoor hygrothermal performance increases the risk of indoor moisture problems and deterioration due to mould growth, corrosion and damage to archival materials. Hence, proper control of indoor thermohygric intensity abates indoor moisture and its associated problems. This paper presents the results of envelopes hygrothermal performance assessments in a hot and humid climate building with varying operational profile between adjacent spaces. The case-studied building runs on 24hrs cooling mode in one part against natural and/or mechanical supply-exhaust fan means on the other. In-situ experiments were combined with hygrothermal analytical methods to assess the envelope thermal quality together with the operative conditions against condensation and mould growth risks. The results show that the building is overcooled leading to poor envelope hygrothermal performance with associated condensation and mould growth problems on non-airconditioned sides of the envelopes

Structural systematics of series of benzamides and carboxamides

The effects of X (CH3, F, Cl) and pyridine N atom substitution patterns on molecular structure/conformation in benzamides, pyridinecarboxamides and isophthalimides have been reported by us (Figure 1). Research integrates crystal structure analyses, computational calculations of conformations, with NMR data and melting point data. This poster highlights the crystal structures of six isophthalimides (DxE) and pyridine relatives (PxE) (D = meta-C6H4, P = meta-pyridine; xE = 2-/3-/4-ethyl ester substitution)

PHYTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF BIOACTIVE CONSTITUENTS FROM SATUREJA MONTANA L. GROWING IN EGYPT AND THEIR ANTIMICROBIAL AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES

 Objective: This work aimed to investigate the lipid constituents and flavonoidal compounds of Satureja montana, in addition to evaluation of different extracts and/or isolated compounds as antimicrobials and antioxidants.Methods: The volatile and lipid constituents were extracted with n-hexane by partition from hydroalcoholic extract of S. montana L. aerial parts, after then were fractionated to unsaponifiable matters and fatty acid methyl esters which were identified by gas–liquid chromatography and/or gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The phenolic constituents were isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction of the aqueous methanolic extract of the aerial parts of the plant. The antimicrobial activity of different extracts and the isolated compounds was evaluated against Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria, yeast, and fungus using a modified Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method.Results: The identified compounds are luteolin-7-rhamnoside-4'-O-β-glucopyranoside (1), quercetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (2), quercetin- 7-O-glucopyranoside (3), luteolin-7-O-glucopyranoside (4), 5-hydroxy-6,7,8,4'-tetramethoxy flavone (5), gallic acid (6), 2,3-hexahydroxydiphenoyl 1-galloyl glucopyranoside (7), and quercetin (8). The structure of all isolated compounds was established using different chromatographic and spectroscopic measurements (PC, thin-layer chromatography, ultraviolet [UV], 1D, 2D-nuclear magnetic resonance, and MS). Compound-2 showed the highest antibacterial activity against all the tested microorganisms. Hydroalcoholic extract exhibited high antioxidant activity (87.7%). On the other hand, hexane fraction showed a low antioxidant activity (46.4%), in addition to the compound-8 showed the highest antioxidant activity (96.27%) in 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay.Conclusion: It can be concluded that the hydroalcoholic extract of S. montana showed significant antimicrobial and antioxidant activity

Serum Leptin Levels in Patients with Ocular and Nonocular Behçet's Disease

Aims. To investigate serum leptin levels in Behçet's patients with or without ocular involvement compared with healthy subjects and the relationship between serum leptin and uveitis activity in patients with ocular involvement. Methods. Fifty-seven patients with Behçet's disease and 20 healthy control subjects were included in this study. While 27 patients had ocular involvement (18 had acute uveitis, 9 had inactive ocular involvement), 30 did not have ocular disease. C-reactive protein, alpha 1-antitrypsin, and serum leptin levels were measured in all samples. Results. There was a significant difference between the patients with Behçet's disease and control group for both logarithm of leptin (P = .000) and logarithm of CRP (P = .031). Logarithm of leptin in non-ocular Behçet's patients was significantly higher compared to its level in ocular Behçet's disease and controls (P = .009). There was a significant difference between the patients with active ocular disease and control group (P = .03). Conclusions. Leptin might have a possible role in the pathogenesis of Behçet's disease

Ovarian Cancer in the Sudan - Identifying the Social and Clinical Factors that Prevent an Early Diagnosis

Ovarian cancer, because it often presents with vague symptoms, is a difficult disease to diagnose at the early stages, especially in developing countries. In Sudan, diagnosis is further complicated by additional factors and challenges. First, as in any developing country, access to treatment, facilities and medical staff is generally lacking. Secondly, Sudan is the second largest country in Africa: its very size presents difficulties for the implementation of a centralized health system. The two tertiary hospitals in or near the capital have long patient waiting lists.The lack of female education in sub-Saharan Africa, together with social and economic issues affecting women, is a further obstacle to disease diagnosis and management. Misdiagnosis, leading to inappropriate treatment, may result from the presence of comorbid diseases such as Tuberculosis (TB), which can mimic ovarian cancer and obstruct early detection. Most patients are identified at the later stages when the complications associated with invasive procedures and conventional chemotherapy make treatment much less effective. The early detection of biomarkers may prove to be a vital tool to indicate targets for immunotherapy treatment.Financial aid may help improve the outcomes for patients with ovarian cancer in the Sudan, assisting with diagnosing and management procedures including training medical staff. Research and development, documentation and updating the statistical register for the whole country are also important requirements for future improvements.Finally, there is a need to promote interdisciplinary work between surgeons and clinical oncologists to optimize international guidelines and protocols in accordance with the facilities available

Structure, conformation and contact analyses of six aromatic diamide diesters

Six meta-substituted isophthalamide diesters (DxE) and pyridinedicarboxamides (PxE) are reported with spectroscopic and crystal structure analyses (D = meta-C6H4; P = meta-pyridine; xE = 2-/3-/4-ethyl ester substitution). Comparisons are made between the solid-state and minimised structures from ab initio computational calculations. The six compounds are potentially useful ligands for metal-complex coordination, spanning a range of molecular conformations. D2E adopts a planar molecular structure, as influenced by the C-H· · · O intramolecular interactions with all 34 nonhydrogen atoms within 0.1 Å of the D2E mean molecular plane. Extensive intermolecular ring· · ·ring stacking arises with the shortest interplanar C· · · C of 3.372(2) Å. For D3E (Zprime = 4) and D4E, the hierarchy of intermolecular interactions is the determining factor driving the crystal structure formation with concomitant twinning, as influenced by the weaker interactions. In the pyridine-related P2E, the O1W water molecule (site occupancy = 0.441(5)) forms four hydrogen bonds, as follows: (i) O1W−H· · · O=C, (ii) O1W−H· · · π(arene) and (iii) two aromatic C−H· · · O1W. The meta�and para-substituted PxE•2(H2O) structures (x = 3 or 4) adopt open conformations with pairs of hydrogen-bonded water molecules located in molecular niches between the flanking benzamide ester groups. The Hirshfeld surface, two-dimensional fingerprint plots and contact enrichment ratio were investigated to statistically analyse the different types of intermolecular interaction

Response of Matured Tissue Cultured Bartemoda and SakkotiDate Palms to Spraying Vitamins K, A& B

Abstract: This study was carried out during 2013 and 2014 seasons to test the beneficial effects of using vitamins K, B, A each at 50 ppm on yield and fruit quality of matured tissue cultured Sakkoti and Bartemoda date palms grown under Aswan conditions. The palms were sprayed four times at the first week of Feb April, June and August. Single and combined applications of vitamins K, A , B each at 50 ppm materially caused an obvious promotion on all vegetative growth characters, chlorophylls a & b , total chlorophylls, total carotenoids, total carbohydrates %, nutrients , flowering , fruit setting %, yield and fruit quality in both cvs. over the check treatment. The best vitamin in this respect was vitamin B followed by vitamin A and K. The studied vitamin treatments had pronounced effect on advancing harvesting date in both date palms cvs. Treating matured tissue cultured Sakkoti and Bartemoda date palms grown under Aswan conditions four times with a mixture of vitamins K, A, B each at 50 ppm proved to be very effective in improving yield and fruit quality

Roles of hydrogen, halogen bonding and aromatic stacking in a series of Isophthalamides

Abstract: The synthesis and spectroscopic characterisation of six bis(5-X-pyridine-2-yl)isophthalamides (X = H, F, Br, Cl, I, NO2) are reported, together with five crystal structure analyses ( for X = H, F to I). The isophthalamides span a range of conformations as syn/anti (H-DIP; I-DIP), anti/anti- (F-DIP; Br-DIP) and with both present in ratio 2:1 in Cl-DIP. The essentially isostructural F-DIP and Br-DIP molecules (using strong amide . . . amide interactions) aggregate into 2D molecular sheets that align with either F/H or Br atoms at the sheet surfaces (interfaces), respectively. Sheets are linked by weak C-H· · · F contacts in F-DIP and by Br· · · Br halogen bonding interactions as a ‘wall of bromines’ at the Br atom rich interfaces in Br-DIP. Cl-DIP is an unusual crystal structure incorporating both syn/anti and anti/anti molecular conformations in the asymmetric unit (Z’ = 3). The I-DIP•1/2(H2O) hemihydrate structure has a water molecule residing on a twofold axis between two I-DIPs and has hydrogen and N· · · I (Nc = 0.88) halogen bonding. The hydrate is central to an unusual synthon and involved in six hydrogen bonding interactions/contacts. Contact enrichment analysis on the Hirshfeld surface demonstrates that F-DIP, Cl-DIP and Br-DIP have especially over-represented halogen···halogen interactions. With the F-DIP, Cl-DIP and Br-DIP molecules having an elongated skeleton, the formation of layers of halogen atoms in planes perpendicular to the long unit cell axis occurs in the crystal packings. All six DIPs were analysed by ab initio calculations and conformational analysis; comparisons are made between their minimized structures and the five crystal structures. In addition, physicochemical properties are compared and assessed

NF-κB-HOTAIR axis links DNA damage response, chemoresistance and cellular senescence in ovarian cancer.

The transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) HOTAIR (HOX transcript antisense RNA) play diverse functional roles in cancer. In this study, we show that upregulation of HOTAIR induced platinum resistance in ovarian cancer, and increased HOTAIR levels were observed in recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian tumors vs. primary ovarian tumors. To investigate the role of HOTAIR during DNA damage induced by platinum, we monitored double-strand breaks and show that HOTAIR expression results in sustained activation of DNA damage response after platinum treatment. We demonstrate that ectopic expression of HOTAIR induces NF-κB activation during DNA damage response and MMP-9 and IL-6 expression, both key NF-κB target genes. We show that HOTAIR regulates activation of NF-κB by decreasing Iκ-Bα (NF-κB inhibitor) and establish that by inducing prolonged NF-κB activation and expression of NF-κB target genes during DNA damage, HOTAIR plays a critical role in cellular senescence and platinum sensitivity. Our findings suggest that

Extracellular cardiac matrix biomarkers in patients with reduced ejection fraction heart failure as predictors of response to cardiac resynchronisation therapy: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) is an effective therapy for selected patients with heart failure (HF); however, a significant non-response rate exists. We examined current evidence on extracellular cardiac matrix (ECM) biomarkers in predicting response following CRT. METHODS: Complete literature review of PubMed, Ovid SP MEDLINE, Cochrane Library and TRIP, reference lists, international cardiology conferences and ongoing studies between December 1999 and December 2015 conducted according to prospectively registered study selection and analysis criteria (PROSPERO:CRD42016025864) was performed. All observational and randomised control trials (RCT) were included if they tested prespecified ECM biomarkers' ability to predict CRT response. Risk of bias assessment and data extraction determined pooling of included studies was not feasible due to heterogeneity of the selected studies. RESULTS: A total of 217 studies were screened; six (five prospective cohort and one RCT substudy) were included in analysis with 415 participants in total. Study sizes varied (n=55-260), cohort characteristics contrasted (male: 67.8%-83.6%, ischaemic aetiology: 40.2%-70.3%) and CRT response definitions differed (three clinical/functional, three echocardiographic). Consistent observation in all ECM biomarker behaviour before and after CRT implantation was not observed between studies. Lower type I and type III collagen synthesis biomarkers (N-terminal propeptides of type I and III procollagens) expression demonstrated replicated ability to predict reverse left ventricular remodelling. CONCLUSION: Collagen synthesis biomarkers offer the most potential as ECM biomarkers for predicting CRT response. Heterogeneity between these studies was large and limited the ability to pool and compare results numerically. Use of different response definitions was one of the biggest challenges