The Commitment of Industrial Companies in the Kingdom of Bahrain to Disclose Environmental Cost (Case Study in the Aluminum Bahrain Company “Alba”)

The present paper aims to identify the commitment of industrial companies to disclose environmental costs through a case study of the Bahrain Aluminum Company (Alba), explore the relationship between the environmental cost and the efficiency of applying the environment disclosure, and to remove the obstacles preventing its application. The study problem focused on the obstacles that impede Alba Companys commitment to implementing environmental costs requirements disclosure efficiently as well as the application constraints and their appropriateness for the laws and regulations issued by international associations and organization versions in accordance with general accepted accounting principles. This study adopts an empirical descriptive approach using detailed questionnaire that assesses Alba’s compliance with the disclosure environmental costs requirements as well as its ability to overcome the constraints of implementation requirements. The sample comprised eighteen employees from two departments at Alba company. The results showed that weakness of Alba companys discloser resulted from not adopting the particular instructions that necessitate the companys implementation of a special form to disclose the environmental costs in the financial statements. The study recommends developing standardized form of cost environmental disclosure that contributes to the improvement of the companies accounting system

Bioaugmentation process of secondary effluents for reduction of pathogens, heavy metals and antibiotics

The study probed into reducing faecal indicators and pathogenic bacteria, heavy metals and β-lactam antibiotics, from four types of secondary effluents by bioaugmentation process, which was conducted with Bacillus subtilis strain at 45 'C. As a result, faecal indicators and pathogenic bacteria were reduced due to the effect of thermal treatment process (45 'C), while the removal of heavy metals and β-lactam antibiotics was performed through the functions of bioaccumulation and biodegradation processes of B. subtilis. Faecal coliform met the guidelines outlined by WHO and U. S. EPA standards after 4 and 16 days, respectively. Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus were reduced to below the detection limits without renewed growth in the final effluents determined by using a culture-based method. Furthermore, 13.5% and 56.1% of cephalexin had been removed, respectively, from secondary effluents containing 1 g of cephalexin L�1 (secondary effluent 3), as well as 1 g of cephalexin L�1 and 10 mg of Ni2 L�1 (secondary effluent 4) after 16 days. The treatment process, eventually, successfully removed 96.6% and 66.3% of Ni2 ions from the secondary effluents containing 10 mg of Ni2 L�1 (secondary effluent 2) and E4, respectively. The bioaugmentation process improved the quality of secondary effluents

Challenges and Considerations in Assessing GERD: A Critical Review of a Study in Southern Punjab, Pakistan [Response to Letter]

Muhammad Fawad Rasool,1 Rimsha Sarwar,1 Muhammad Subhan Arshad,1,2 Imran Imran,3 Hamid Saeed,4 Abdul Majeed,1 Muqarrab Akbar,5 Muhammad Omer Chaudhry,6 Anees Ur Rehman,1 Waseem Ashraf,3 Tanveer Ahmad,7 Waleed Badoghaish,8 Faleh Alqahtani9 1Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan; 2Department of Pharmacy, Southern Punjab Institute of Health Sciences, Multan, 60000, Pakistan; 3Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan; 4University College of Pharmacy, Allama Iqbal Campus, University of the Punjab, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan; 5Department of Political Science, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan; 6School of Economics, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan; 7Institute for Advanced Biosciences (Iab), CNRS UMR5309, INSERM U1209, Grenoble Alpes University, La Tronche, 38700, France; 8Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, 71411, Saudi Arabia; 9Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Muhammad Fawad Rasool; Faleh Alqahtani, Email [email protected]; [email protected]

Genome-Wide Analysis of Müller Glial Differentiation Reveals a Requirement for Notch Signaling in Postmitotic Cells to Maintain the Glial Fate

Previous studies have shown that Müller glia are closely related to retinal progenitors; these two cell types express many of the same genes and after damage to the retina, Müller glia can serve as a source for new neurons, particularly in non-mammalian vertebrates. We investigated the period of postnatal retinal development when progenitors are differentiating into Müller glia to better understand this transition. FACS purified retinal progenitors and Müller glia from various ages of Hes5-GFP mice were analyzed by Affymetrix cDNA microarrays. We found that genes known to be enriched/expressed by Müller glia steadily increase over the first three postnatal weeks, while genes associated with the mitotic cell cycle are rapidly downregulated from P0 to P7. Interestingly, progenitor genes not directly associated with the mitotic cell cycle, like the proneural genes Ascl1 and Neurog2, decline more slowly over the first 10–14 days of postnatal development, and there is a peak in Notch signaling several days after the presumptive Müller glia have been generated. To confirm that Notch signaling continues in the postmitotic Müller glia, we performed in situ hybridization, immunolocalization for the active form of Notch, and immunofluorescence for BrdU. Using genetic and pharmacological approaches, we found that sustained Notch signaling in the postmitotic Müller glia is necessary for their maturation and the stabilization of the glial identity for almost a week after the cells have exited the mitotic cell cycle

Deep Sequencing Analyses of Low Density Microbial Communities: Working at the Boundary of Accurate Microbiota Detection

Introduction: Accurate analyses of microbiota composition of low-density communities (10 3 –10 4 bacteria/sample) can be challenging. Background DNA from chemicals and consumables, extraction biases as well as differences in PCR efficiency can significantly interfere with microbiota assessment. This study was aiming to establish protocols for accurate microbiota analysis at low microbial density. Methods: To examine possible effects of bacterial density on microbiota analyses we compared microbiota profiles of seria

Recurrence of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis After Liver Transplant in Children : An International Observational Study

Background and Aims Recurrent primary sclerosing cholangitis (rPSC) following liver transplant (LT) has a negative impact on graft and patient survival; little is known about risk factors for rPSC or disease course in children. Approach and Results We retrospectively evaluated risk factors for rPSC in 140 children from the Pediatric PSC Consortium, a multicenter international registry. Recipients underwent LT for PSC and had >90 days of follow-up. The primary outcome, rPSC, was defined using Graziadei criteria. Median follow-up after LT was 3 years (interquartile range 1.1-6.1). rPSC occurred in 36 children, representing 10% and 27% of the subjects at 2 years and 5 years following LT, respectively. Subjects with rPSC were younger at LT (12.9 vs. 16.2 years), had faster progression from PSC diagnosis to LT (2.5 vs. 4.1 years), and had higher alanine aminotransferase (112 vs. 66 IU/L) at LT (all P < 0.01). Inflammatory bowel disease was more prevalent in the rPSC group (86% vs. 66%; P = 0.025). After LT, rPSC subjects had more episodes of biopsy-proved acute rejection (mean 3 vs. 1; P < 0.001), and higher prevalence of steroid-refractory rejection (41% vs. 20%; P = 0.04). In those with rPSC, 43% developed complications of portal hypertension, were relisted for LT, or died within 2 years of the diagnosis. Mortality was higher in the rPSC group (11.1% vs. 2.9%; P = 0.05). Conclusions The incidence of rPSC in this cohort was higher than previously reported, and was associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Patients with rPSC appeared to have a more aggressive, immune-reactive phenotype. These findings underscore the need to understand the immune mechanisms of rPSC, to lay the foundation for developing new therapies and improve outcomes in this challenging population.Peer reviewe

Gene expression in the rat brain: High similarity but unique differences between frontomedial-, temporal- and occipital cortex

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The six-layered neocortex of the mammalian brain may appear largely homologous, but is in reality a modular structure of anatomically and functionally distinct areas. However, global gene expression seems to be almost identical across the cerebral cortex and only a few genes have so far been reported to show regional enrichment in specific cortical areas.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the present study on adult rat brain, we have corroborated the strikingly similar gene expression among cortical areas. However, differential expression analysis has allowed for the identification of 30, 24 and 11 genes enriched in frontomedial -, temporal- or occipital cortex, respectively. A large proportion of these 65 genes appear to be involved in signal transduction, including the ion channel <it>Fxyd6</it>, the neuropeptide <it>Grp </it>and the nuclear receptor <it>Rorb</it>. We also find that the majority of these genes display increased expression levels around birth and show distinct preferences for certain cortical layers and cell types in rodents.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Since specific patterns of expression often are linked to equally specialised biological functions, we propose that these cortex sub-region enriched genes are important for proper functioning of the cortical regions in question.</p

Transcriptome Analysis of the Vernalization Response in Barley (Hordeum vulgare) Seedlings

Temperate cereals, such as wheat (Triticum spp.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare), respond to prolonged cold by becoming more tolerant of freezing (cold acclimation) and by becoming competent to flower (vernalization). These responses occur concomitantly during winter, but vernalization continues to influence development during spring. Previous studies identified VERNALIZATION1 (VRN1) as a master regulator of the vernalization response in cereals. The extent to which other genes contribute to this process is unclear. In this study the Barley1 Affymetrix chip was used to assay gene expression in barley seedlings during short or prolonged cold treatment. Gene expression was also assayed in the leaves of plants after prolonged cold treatment, in order to identify genes that show lasting responses to prolonged cold, which might contribute to vernalization-induced flowering. Many genes showed altered expression in response to short or prolonged cold treatment, but these responses differed markedly. A limited number of genes showed lasting responses to prolonged cold treatment. These include genes known to be regulated by vernalization, such as VRN1 and ODDSOC2, and also contigs encoding a calcium binding protein, 23-KD jasmonate induced proteins, an RNase S-like protein, a PR17d secretory protein and a serine acetyltransferase. Some contigs that were up-regulated by short term cold also showed lasting changes in expression after prolonged cold treatment. These include COLD REGULATED 14B (COR14B) and the barley homologue of WHEAT COLD SPECIFIC 19 (WSC19), which were expressed at elevated levels after prolonged cold. Conversely, two C-REPEAT BINDING FACTOR (CBF) genes showed reduced expression after prolonged cold. Overall, these data show that a limited number of barley genes exhibit lasting changes in expression after prolonged cold treatment, highlighting the central role of VRN1 in the vernalization response in cereals