Estrogen regulates muscle bioenergetic signaling

Non peer reviewe

The Foundation of the Right Bank in Wadi-Zarat Dam

The geotechnical engineering characteristics of a calcareous crust formation are evaluated in order to determine the feasibility of its stability under the right bank of Wadi Zarat Dam. The crust is a rock similar, extremely heterogeneous, material with location of collapsing susceptibility when saturated. The formation is caverned and locally very permeable and can present a risk of losing the reservoir water, dissolution, settlement, and piping. In this case study, several alternatives to treat the crust formation are presented, discussed, and compared. Rational justifications for the adopted solution are given and the predicted performance during operation of the dam is provided in order to be compared with the observed behaviour

Transition metal-free domino acyl substitution/Michael addition of alkenyl Grignard reagents to lactam esters: synthesis of lactam-bearing homoallylic ketones

A solvent-controlled protocol for the direct and transition metal-free addition of alkenyl Grignard reagents to vicinally functionalized sp3-rich morpholinones has been developed, leading to the chemo and regioselective synthesis of lactam-bearing homoallylic ketones. The addition of lithium chloride proved to be essential. In cases where a new stereocenter is generated, the doubly branched homoallylic ketones are obtained in unexpectedly high diastereoselectivities. Efforts to extend the methodology to other heterosubstituted lactams revealed some important reactivity and selectivity differences

Effect of essential oils extracted from Satureja calamintha, Mentha pulegium and Juniperus phoenicea on in vitro methanogenesis and fermentation traits of vetch-oat hay

The impact of inclusion of essential oils (EO) extracted from Juniperus phoenicea, Satureja calamintha and Mentha pulegium at three levels: 0, 1.66, 3.33 and 6.66 μl/ml of incubation medium, on methane production and rumen fermentation traits of vetch-oat hay was studied in in vitro gas production test, using 200 mg of substrate in a 60 ml graduated syringes. Gas production was recorded at 3, 6, 9, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h. Methane was measured at 3, 24 and 96 h, while pH and ammonia N were analyzed just at 24 h of incubation. At 24 h of fermentation, all doses of EO reduced significantly total gas and methane production (P < 0.05). At the highest concentration and after 24 h, methanogenesis was decreased by 60.98, 57.70 and 64.64% for J. phoenicea, M. pulegium and S. calamintha, respectively. This effect was more pronounced at the end of fermentation (96 h) where reduction in methane production was superior to 72%. However, addition of EO increased pH and decreased significantly ammonia concentration, mainly, for high EO concentrations. The results indicate that these EO had a potential to reduce methanogenesis in the rumen, but further in vitro and in vivo trials are required to search optimum dose which reduce methane production without adversely changing dietary fermentation and rumen function.Key words: Methane, ammonia, essential oils, Satureja calamintha (Calament), Mentha pulegium (fliou, Menthe pouliot), Juniperus phoenicea (Arar, Genévrier), in vitro gas production test

A framework for Building A Scada System for Beit Lahia Wastwater Pumping Station

Designers of the New Terminal Pumping Station (NTPS) which is currently being constructed at Beit Lahia have specified precisely the requirements and features of its automation system along with its Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA). However, the exact system configurations as well as the number of components or their model are left unspecified in order to provide flexibility for different manufacturer strategies. The aim of this research is to analyze the SCADA system requirements and propose a solution strategy which fulfils the designer specifications while minimizing costs and insuring long term system robustness

Modelica-Based Model for Activated Sludge System

Activated sludge system is the most important stage in municipal wastewater treatment process. It is a biological operation used for treating sewage by means of microorganism. One type of activated sludge systems is the oxidation ditch. In this work, models derived through object-oriented programming will be used to build a simulation model for a typical oxidation ditch. The derived model was constructed and programmed using Modelica language. The simulation model will help better understand the system behavior. Thereby, the model will be provided as an assessment or evaluation tool for the performance of control schemes. The tool gave the expected results, in terms of reducing the concentration of organic matter in wastewater coming out from oxidation ditche

WATER CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOR IN SEMI- RURAL AREAS IN THE GAZA STRIP: BEIT LAHYA TOWN AS ACASE STUDY

Groundwater is the major source of drinking water in both urban and rural areas in the Gaza Strip. Population growth and urban expansion have persistently raised the demand for water supply and consequently, greatly increased the exploitation of groundwater in the Gaza strip. The importance of this research is to investigate the water consumption behavior in semi-rural area by studying the current distribution situation, water demand and supply, the unaccounted for water and studying the effect of urban agriculture on the system efficiency. Therefore, field survey to determine the sources of water for irrigation, the agricultural area and water meter readings was conducted for continuous three periods two in summer and one in winter. Urban agriculture is one of the most persistent approaches for supplying food in the Gaza Strip. The main outcomes of the study are that; farmers use the domestic network illegally for irrigation purposes leading to high percentage of unaccounted for water. This leads to higher water consumption per capita in Beit Lahya which apparently exceeds 230 l/c/d according to water well production in year 2010 equal (6.098 MCM) and the unaccounted for water more than 60% in semi urban quarters where green houses are the main agricultural practice. The difference between supply and demand indicates that the farmers use illegal connections to irrigate the adjacent agricultural areas. The overall system efficiency for water distribution is 42.0% and 55.7% for summer and winter periods, respectively. The quarters with intensive agriculture show high percentage of unaccounted for water (73%), while the urban quarters unaccounted for water is 24%. Therefore new policy and regulations concerning water resources management should be implemented for the semi urban areas in the Gaza Strip. Key words: Water supply, Unaccounted for water, illegal connections, urban agricultur

Raman spectral signatures of mouse mammary tissue and associated lymph nodes: normal, tumor and mastitis

Raman spectroscopy involves the interaction of light with the molecular vibrations and therefore can provide information about molecular structure, tissue composition and changes in its environment. We explored whether Raman spectroscopy can reliably distinguish mammary tumors from normal mammary tissues and other pathological states in mice. We analyzed a large number of Raman spectra from the tumor and normal mammary glands of mice injected with 4T1 tumor cells, which were collected using a high-resolution (less than 4 cm −1 ) Raman spectrometer at a fixed (785 nm) laser excitation wavelength and with 60 mW of laser power. The spectra of normal and tumor mammary glands showed consistent differences in the intensity of certain Raman bands and loss of some bands in the tumor spectra. Multivariate statistical methods—principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant functional analysis (DFA)—were used to separate the data into different groups of mammary tumors, mastitis, lymph nodes contralateral and tumor-cell-injected sides, and normal contralateral and tumor-cell-injected sides. We demonstrate that this spectroscopic technique has the feasibility of discriminating tumor and mastitis from normal tissues and other pathological states in a short period of time and may detect tumor transformation earlier than the standard histological examination stage. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/55947/1/1565_ftp.pd

Recurrence of Cutaneous Coccidioidomycosis Six Years after Valley Fever: a Case Presentation and Literature Review

Coccidioidomycosis is usually acquired by inhalation of spores of Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasii. The disease ranges from a self-limited acute pneumonia (Valley Fever) to a disseminated disease. We present a 44-year-old healthy male who had patchy hair loss of several months duration resembling discoid lupus. He developed a firm non-scaly red plaque on the right forehead. Initial biopsy showed spongiotic dermatitis, and he was treated with systemic steroids. He then developed forehead and periorbital cellulitis and was treated with systemic antibiotics. A second biopsy showed fungal hyphae, and he was treated with itraconazole 200 mg bid for 4 months beyond clinical resolution. A year later, he presented with intermittent swelling of the right forehead lesion and worsening of the scalp lesions. A forehead biopsy showed interface dermatitis and negative PAS stain for fungi. Scalp biopsy was highly suggestive of discoid lupus and he was started on plaquenil. Many months later, a third biopsy showed fungal infection, and the culture grew C. immitis. He was treated with itraconazole. Retrospectively, the patient gave a history of Valley fever 6 years back when he was in Arizona, USA