S6 Kinase: A Compelling Prospect for Therapeutic Interventions

S6 kinase, a member of AGC family of protein kinases and a downstream effector of mTORC1 pathway has over the years found much relevance in maintaining a normal cellular state by virtue of its established role in regulation of cell growth and proliferation. S6 kinase activity has been linked to different cellular processes like glucose homeostasis, translational and transcriptional regulation. Hence any dysregulation in S6K1 leads to the emergence of various pathological conditions like diabetes, cancer and obesity. It is as such S6 kinase has emerged as a potential target for therapeutic interventions employed in curing such diseases. The Present Chapter reviews the regulation of S6K1, its structural organization and functions, besides highlighting its potential to act as an alternative therapeutic target for various cancerous situations exhibiting deranged mTOR signaling so as to overcome the possibility of relapses observed otherwise while using conventional drug

Jordan ?-Centralizers of Prime and Semiprime Rings

The purpose of this paper is to prove the following result: Let R be a 2-torsion free ring and T: R?R an additive mapping such that T is left (right) Jordan ?-centralizers on R. Then T is a left (right) ?-centralizer of R, if one of the following conditions hold (i) R is a semiprime ring has a commutator which is not a zero divisor . (ii) R is a non commutative prime ring . (iii) R is a commutative semiprime ring, where ? be surjective endomorphism of R . It is also proved that if T(x?y)=T(x)??(y)=?(x)?T(y) for all x, y ? R and ?-centralizers of R coincide under same condition and ?(Z(R)) = Z(R)

Detection of irinotecan using titanium nanoparticles modified electrode

A tool has been developed in this study to estimate one of the Irinotecan (INR) cancer drugs used in the treatment of lung cancer by using square wave voltammetry (SWV) techniques, on surface of electrode graphite (GrE) and through of study the optimal condition that enhance the work of this electrode. The measurements are also enhanced by the electro-polymerization process of the neutral red pigment (NR) and using when presence of titanium nanoparticles (TiO2NPs) to be greatly enhanced by measuring of LOD, LOQ and applied to human serum samples.                     KEY WORDS: Irinotecan, Lung cancer, Square wave voltammetry, Titanium nanoparticles, Serum   Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2020, 34(2), 227-236 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v34i2.

Trends in sexually transmitted infections in general practice 1990-2000: population based study using data from the UK general practice research database

Objective: To describe the contribution of primary care to the diagnosis and management of sexually transmitted infections in the United Kingdom, 1990-2000, in the context of increasing incidence of infections in genitourinary medicine clinics. Design: Population based study. Setting: UK primary care. Participants: Patients registered in the UK general practice research database. Main outcome measures: Incidence of diagnosed sexually transmitted infections in primary care and estimation of the proportion of major such infections diagnosed in primary care. Results: An estimated 23.0% of chlamydia cases in women but only 5.3% in men were diagnosed and treated in primary care during 1998-2000, along with 49.2% cases of non-specific urethritis and urethral discharge in men and 5.7% cases of gonorrhoea in women and 2.9% in men. Rates of diagnosis in primary care rose substantially in the late 1990s. Conclusions: A substantial and increasing number of sexually transmitted infections are diagnosed and treated in primary care in the United Kingdom, with sex ratios differing from those in genitourinary medicine clinics. Large numbers of men are treated in primary care for presumptive sexually transmitted infections

Comparison of various oxidative treatments for removal of reactive black CNN

Decolorization of reactive black CNN by chemical oxidation and reduction using KMnO4, H2O2 and Ferrioxalate as oxidizing agents and Na2SO3 as reducing agent individually as well as in combination was studied on batch scale using UV-visible spectroscopy. Degradation of dye occurred in acidic medium with KMnO4 and in alkaline medium with H2O2 and ferrioxalate. The most efficient methods for decolorization of reactive black CNN is oxidation using KMnO4 as an oxidizing agent which removed 97.64% of dye. Maximum decolorization was obtained at 60 min of treatment under static conditions. H2O2 and ferrioxalate could remove only 50.71 and 44.21% dye, respectively. Sequential treatment was more successful with H2O2 and ferrioxalate when compared with KMnO4. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) contents of treated wastewater decreased appreciably from 83.6 to 63.7 mg/L and 86.8 to 72.8 mg/L, respectively. Additionally, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) study revealed the degradation of reactive black CNN after treatment into non toxic products.Keywords: Reactive black CNN, KMnO4, ferrioxalate, sodium sulphite, chemical oxygen demand (COD)

Toxic Effects of Low Concentration of Cyanotoxin (Microcystin¬-LR) on Mice and Study of Protective Efficacy of the Antioxidants Vitamins (C&E) and Capparis spinosa L. Root Extract

In this study the protective efficacy of vitamin C&E and  ethanolic  extract roots of C.spinosa against toxic effects of algal toxin (Microcystin –LR) in mice  were done .Results showed significant decreasing p≤0.05 in values of hemoglobin (HB) and packed cell volume  (PCV) reach to 7.77 and 27.23 g/l in blood of mice treated  with  low  concentration of cyanotoxin (MC-LR = 0.15 ug/kg/day) compared with control group which reach to 12.21 and  40.22 respectively. Significant increasing were showed in some liver enzymes  ALT,AST and ALP when exposed to toxin only  which reach to 68.80 , 167.85 and 274 U/l respectively compared with control group , While groups treated with vitamins and extract showed non -significant differences with control group in values of blood parameters and enzymes. Histopathological  changes in liver  when group treated with toxin only represented by pyknotic hepatocyte , hypertrophy , binucleation  , infiltration of lymphocyte, karyolysis. While  kidney showed hypertrophy of cell glomerular arterioles , metaplasia of squamous epithelial tissue of bowman capsule wall in to cuboidal, hypertrophy of renal tubules cells , hyperplasia , also results showed the important role of vitamin C&E and root extract of C. spinosa to keep the normal values of blood parameters and prevent histological changes as control group. Keywords: Algal toxin ( Microcystin-LR) ,  protective efficacy of  Vitamin C&E  ,  C.spinos

Trapped ion mobility mass spectrometry of new psychoactive substances:Isomer-specific identification of ring-substituted cathinones

New psychoactive substances (NPS) are synthetic derivatives of illicit drugs designed to mimic their psychoactive effects. NPS are typically not controlled under drug acts or their legal status depends on their molecular structure. Discriminating isomeric forms of NPS is therefore crucial for forensic laboratories. In this study, a trapped ion mobility spectrometry time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TIMS-TOFMS) approach was developed for the identification of ring-positional isomers of synthetic cathinones, a class of compounds representing two-third of all NPS seized in Europe in 2020. The optimized workflow features narrow ion-trapping regions, mobility calibration by internal reference, and a dedicated data-analysis tool, allowing for accurate relative ion-mobility assessment and high-confidence isomer identification. Ortho-, meta- and para-isomers of methylmethcathinone (MMC) and bicyclic ring isomers of methylone were assigned based on their specific ion mobilities within 5 min, including sample preparation and data analysis. The resolution of two distinct protomers per cathinone isomer added to the confidence in identification. The developed approach was successfully applied to the unambiguous assignment of MMC isomers in confiscated street samples. These findings demonstrate the potential of TIMS-TOFMS for forensic case work requiring fast and highly-confident assignment cathinone-drug isomers in confiscated samples

Risk factors for wound infection in surgery for spinal metastasis

Wound infection rates are generally higher in patients undergoing surgery for spinal metastasis. Risk factors of wound infection in these patients are poorly understood. Purpose To identify demographic and clinical variables that may be associated with patients experiencing a higher wound infection rate. Study design Retrospective study with prospectively collected data of spinal metastasis patients operated consecutively at a University Teaching Hospital, adult spine division which is a tertiary referral centre for complex spinal surgery. Patient sample Ninety-eight patients were all surgically treated, consecutively from January 2009 to September 2011. Three patients had to be excluded due to inadequate data. Outcome measures Physiological measures, with presence or absence of microbiologically proven infection. Methods Various demographic and clinical data were recorded, including age, serum albumin level, blood total lymphocyte count, corticosteroid intake, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) score, neurological disability, skin closure material used, levels of surgery and administration of peri-operative corticosteroids. No funding was received from any sources for this study and as far as we are aware, there are no potential conflict of interest-associated biases in this study. Results Higher probabilities of infection were associated with low albumin level, seven or more levels of surgery, use of delayed/non-absorbable skin closure material and presence of neurological disability. Of these factors, levels of surgery were found to be statistically significant at the 5 % significance level. Conclusion Risk of infection is high (17.9 %) in patients undergoing surgery for spinal metastasis. Seven or more vertebral levels of surgery increase the risk of infection significantly (p < 0.05). Low albumin level and presence of neurological disability appear to show a trend towards increased risk of infection. Use of absorbable skin closure material, age, low lymphocyte count, peri-operative administration of corticosteroids and MUST score do not appear to influence the risk of infection

Blended fertilizers as draw solutions for fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis desalination

In fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis (FDFO) desalination, the final nutrient concentration (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium (NPK)) in the product water is essential for direct fertigation and to avoid over fertilization. Our study with 11 selected fertilizers indicate that blending of two or more single fertilizers as draw solution (DS) can achieve significantly lower nutrient concentration in the FDFO product water rather than using single fertilizer alone. For example, blending KCl and NH 4H 2PO 4 as DS can result in 0.61/1.35/1.70 g/L of N/P/K, which is comparatively lower than using them individually as DS. The nutrient composition and concentration in the final FDFO product water can also be adjusted by selecting low nutrient fertilizers containing complementary nutrients and in different ratios to produce prescription mixtures. However, blending fertilizers generally resulted in slightly reduced bulk osmotic pressure and water flux in comparison to the sum of the osmotic pressures and water fluxes of the two individual DSs as used alone. The performance ratio or PR (ratio of actual water flux to theoretical water flux) of blended fertilizer DS was observed to be between the PR of the two fertilizer solutions tested individually. In some cases, such as urea, blending also resulted in significant reduction in N nutrient loss by reverse diffusion in presence of other fertilizer species. © 2012 American Chemical Society

Absolute frequency measurements of 85Rb nF7/2 Rydberg states using purely optical detection

A three-step laser excitation scheme is used to make absolute frequency measurements of highly excited nF7/2 Rydberg states in 85Rb for principal quantum numbers n=33-100. This work demonstrates the first absolute frequency measurements of rubidium Rydberg levels using a purely optical detection scheme. The Rydberg states are excited in a heated Rb vapour cell and Doppler free signals are detected via purely optical means. All of the frequency measurements are made using a wavemeter which is calibrated against a GPS disciplined self-referenced optical frequency comb. We find that the measured levels have a very high frequency stability, and are especially robust to electric fields. The apparatus has allowed measurements of the states to an accuracy of 8.0MHz. The new measurements are analysed by extracting the modified Rydberg-Ritz series parameters.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, submitted to New. J. Phy