Implementation of the National Islamic Council Fatwa Number 47/DSN-MUI/II/2005 in Banks Syariah Mandiri Branch Manado

This study aims to determine the policies of Bank Syariah Mandiri Branch Manado in resolving murabahah receivables disputes for customers who are unable to pay and the realization of DSN No. fatwa. 47 / DSN-MUI / II / 2005 at Bank Syariah Mandiri, Branch Manado. The method used a qualitative research method using a normative approach. The informants interviewed were as many as five informants who were employees of the Bank Syariah Mandiri Branch of Manado. The concept of the settlement of murabahah receivables for customers who are unable to pay has two stages. First for customers who are categorized as having a reduced ability to pay but can still pay off the remaining debt by restructuring. The second stage is for customers who are classified as no longer able to pay their remaining debts even though the bank has provided several policies. Sharia Financial Institutions (LKS) may settle for customers who cannot complete or pay off their financing by agreed amounts and times; the system has been by the provisions of sharia in terms of the properties of the DSNI-MUI.

Assessment of serum total protein, albumin and calcium in pregnant women attending ante-natal clinic, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital

Background: Pregnancy is a normal physiological phenomenon with many biochemical changes including calcium metabolism. Calcium requirement increases during pregnancy, thereby increasing the chances of developing hypocalcaemia and hypoalbuminaemia. Aim: The aim of the present study was to assess serum levels of total protein, albumin, and calcium among pregnant women in University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital Maiduguri, Borno State. Methodology: A total of two hundred (200) subjects were recruited for this study. One hundred and twenty (120) are confirmed pregnant women and 80 non pregnant women age matched were used as controls, out of the 120 pregnant women that participated in the study, 30 were in first trimester, 50 were in second trimester and 40 were in third trimester. Blood chemistry analysis was conducted spectrophotometrically using Biurets method (For Total protein), Bromocresol green method (for Albumin) and O-Cresolphthalein complex one (for calcium). Results: The results show a significant lower value of calcium and albumin (p<0.05) among first trimester pregnant women when compared to the control subjects. The results show a significant decrease in calcium and albumin (p<0.05) among second trimester pregnant women when compared to control subjects. The results show a significant lower value in calcium and albumin (p<0.05) among third trimester pregnant women when compared to control subjects. The results between 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester pregnant women subjects show a significant difference in calcium and albumin (p<0.05), but there were no significant differences in total protein (p>0.05). The result shows no significant difference in total protein level (p> 0.005)among the first trimester pregnant women when compared to the control subjects. It also shows no any significant difference in total protein level (p> 0.005) among the third trimester pregnant women when compared to the control subjects. Conclusion: There is reduction or decrease in calcium and albumin levels in pregnant women especially in the third trimester. Key words: Pregnancy; Total Protein; Albumin; Calciu

Phytic acid against clostridium perfringens type a: a food matrix study

This study evaluated the inhibitory effect of phytic acid (PA) on the spore germination and vegetative cells growth of Clostridium perfringens type A, as well as its effect in combination with maltodextrin (MD) in cooked sausages. The addition of 1% PA showed a satisfactory inhibition of spores’ germination and vegetative cells growth of C. perfringens in BHI media. The inhibitory effect of 1% PA on vegetative cells was similar to the additive sodium sorbate (SS) at 10%. Subsequently, a mixture of PA-MD (1:1; w/w) was evaluated for the inhibition of C. perfringens spores in cooked sausages. The PA-MD 1.5% and 2.5% had a similar performance to SS 10% and a similar or higher performance than 0.015% NO2 (p < 0.05). In an unprecedented way, the present study demonstrated that PA inhibited spore germination and vegetative cells growth of C. perfringens, highlighting its potential use as an alternative and natural preservative for the meat industry.This research was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-Brazil (CAPES)-Finance Code 001, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico-Brazil (CNPq), and Fundação Araucária-Brazil-Programa Universal Pesquisa Básica e Aplicada (Edital 05/2011, Agreement 346/2014). J.S. Amaral is grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support by national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Divergent Evolution of CHD3 Proteins Resulted in MOM1 Refining Epigenetic Control in Vascular Plants

Arabidopsis MOM1 is required for the heritable maintenance of transcriptional gene silencing (TGS). Unlike many other silencing factors, depletion of MOM1 evokes transcription at selected loci without major changes in DNA methylation or histone modification. These loci retain unusual, bivalent chromatin properties, intermediate to both euchromatin and heterochromatin. The structure of MOM1 previously suggested an integral nuclear membrane protein with chromatin-remodeling and actin-binding activities. Unexpected results presented here challenge these presumed MOM1 activities and demonstrate that less than 13% of MOM1 sequence is necessary and sufficient for TGS maintenance. This active sequence encompasses a novel Conserved MOM1 Motif 2 (CMM2). The high conservation suggests that CMM2 has been the subject of strong evolutionary pressure. The replacement of Arabidopsis CMM2 by a poplar motif reveals its functional conservation. Interspecies comparison suggests that MOM1 proteins emerged at the origin of vascular plants through neo-functionalization of the ubiquitous eukaryotic CHD3 chromatin remodeling factors. Interestingly, despite the divergent evolution of CHD3 and MOM1, we observed functional cooperation in epigenetic control involving unrelated protein motifs and thus probably diverse mechanisms

Shell we cook it? An experimental approach to the microarchaeological record of shellfish roasting

In this paper, we investigate the microarchaeological traces and archaeological visibility of shellfish cooking activities through a series of experimental procedures with direct roasting using wood-fueled fires and controlled heating in a muffle furnace. An interdisciplinary geoarchacological approach, combining micromorphology, FTIR (in transmission and ATR collection modes), TGA and XRD, was used to establish a baseline on the mineralogical transformation of heated shells from aragonite to calcite and diagnostic sedimentary traces produced by roasting fire features. Our experimental design focused on three main types of roasting procedures: the construction of shallow depressions with heated rocks (pebble cuvette experiments), placing shellfish on top of hot embers and ashes (fire below experiment), and by kindling short-lived fires on top of shellfish (fire above experiments). Our results suggest that similar shellfish roasting procedures will largely create microstratigraphic signatures of anthropogenically reworked combusted material spatially "disconnected" from the actual combustion locus. The construction of shallow earth ovens might entail an increased archaeological visibility, and some diagnostic signatures of in situ hearths can be obtained by fire below roasting activities. We also show that macroscopic visual modifications and mineralogical characterization of discarded shellfish might be indicative of specific cooking activities versus secondary burning.Max Planck Societyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Structural and functional analyses of the DMC1-M200V polymorphism found in the human population

The M200V polymorphism of the human DMC1 protein, which is an essential, meiosis-specific DNA recombinase, was found in an infertile patient, raising the question of whether this homozygous human DMC1-M200V polymorphism may cause infertility by affecting the function of the human DMC1 protein. In the present study, we determined the crystal structure of the human DMC1-M200V variant in the octameric-ring form. Biochemical analyses revealed that the human DMC1-M200V variant had reduced stability, and was moderately defective in catalyzing in vitro recombination reactions. The corresponding M194V mutation introduced in the Schizosaccharomyces pombe dmc1 gene caused a significant decrease in the meiotic homologous recombination frequency. Together, these structural, biochemical and genetic results provide extensive evidence that the human DMC1-M200V mutation impairs its function, supporting the previous interpretation that this single-nucleotide polymorphism is a source of human infertility

Monophasic synovial sarcoma presenting as a primary ileal mass: a case report and review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Synovial sarcoma is a rare malignant mesenchymal tumor mainly arising in the peri-articular tissue in young adults. There are few cases reported in other areas.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report the case of a 29-year-old Saudi woman of Arabian ethnicity with synovial sarcoma arising primarily from the ileum who presented with abdominal pain, a palpable mass and incomplete intestinal obstruction. A literature review was performed to gather information on this rare gastrointestinal tract sarcoma.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although it is a rare tumor of the pre-articular tissues, synovial sarcoma can present, in exceedingly rare cases, in unusual anatomical sites such as the gastrointestinal tract. We believe the reporting of all rare or unexpected presentations of sarcoma will eventually improve our understanding of this relatively unusual malignancy.</p

Oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis by Anti-Retrovirals Raltegravir and Maraviroc Protects against HIV-1 Vaginal Transmission in a Humanized Mouse Model

Sexual HIV-1 transmission by vaginal route is the most predominant mode of viral transmission, resulting in millions of new infections every year. In the absence of an effective vaccine, there is an urgent need to develop other alternative methods of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Many novel drugs that are currently approved for clinical use also show great potential to prevent viral sexual transmission when administered systemically. A small animal model that permits rapid preclinical evaluation of potential candidates for their systemic PrEP efficacy will greatly enhance progress in this area of investigation. We have previously shown that RAG-hu humanized mouse model permits HIV-1 mucosal transmission via both vaginal and rectal routes and displays CD4 T cell loss typical to that seen in the human. Thus far systemic PrEP studies have been primarily limited to RT inhibitors exemplified by tenofovir and emtricitabine. In these proof-of-concept studies we evaluated two new classes of clinically approved drugs with different modes of action namely, an integrase inhibitor raltegravir and a CCR5 inhibitor maraviroc as potential systemically administered chemo-prophylactics. Our results showed that oral administration of either of these drugs fully protects against vaginal HIV-1 challenge in the RAG-hu mouse model. Based on these results both these drugs show great promise for further development as orally administered PrEPs

APC15 drives the turnover of MCC-CDC20 to make the spindle assembly checkpoint responsive to kinetochore attachment

Faithful chromosome segregation during mitosis depends on the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint (SAC) that monitors kinetochore attachment to the mitotic spindle. Unattached kinetochores generate mitotic checkpoint proteins complexes (MCCs) that bind and inhibit the Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome (APC/C). How the SAC proficiently inhibits the APC/C but still allows its rapid activation when the last kinetochore attaches to the spindle is important to understand how cells maintain genomic stability. We show that the APC/C subunit APC15 is required for the turnover of the APC/C co-activator Cdc20 and release of MCCs during SAC signalling but not for APC/C activity per se. In the absence of APC15, MCCs and ubiquitylated Cdc20 remain ‘locked’ onto the APC/C, which prevents the ubiquitylation and degradation of Cyclin B1 when the SAC is satisfied. We conclude that APC15 mediates the constant turnover of Cdc20 and MCCs on the APC/C to allow the SAC to respond to the attachment state of kinetochores