A study on the Flora of El-Qantara Sharq in North Sinai, Egypt

AbstractThe study on the Flora of El Qantara Sharq revealed that the presence of 138 species belonging to 110 genera follows 39 Angiospermae families. The percentages of the representation of these families were Gramineae by 15.9%, Compositae by 13.7%, Leguminosae by 10.8%, Chenopodiaceae by 10.1%, and Cruciferae by 4.3%, while each of Caryophyllaceae, Cyperaceae and Polygonaceae was represented by 3.6% and the percentage was 2.8% for both of Convolvulaceae and Zygophyllaceae whereas it was 2.1% for each of Aizoaceae, Amaranthaceae and Tamaricaceae. The percentage was 1.4% for each of Euphorbiaceae, Orobanchaceae, Solanaceae and Umbelliferae. The remainder families, Asclepiadaceae, Ceratophyllaceae, Combretaceae, Geraniaceae, Haloragiadaceae, Juncaceae, Labiatae, Malvaceae, Neuradaceae, Nitrariaceae, Palmae, Plantaginaceae, Potamogetonaceae, Primulaceae, Ranunculaceae, Salicaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Thymelaeaceae, Typhaceae, Urticaceae and Verbenaceae were represented by one species (0.7%) for each. Shrubs were represented by 11.5% of the recorded species while the percentages of perennial and annual herbs were 21.7% and 63% respectively. Three parasite species were recorded: Cistanche phelypaea (L.) Cout., Cuscuta campestris Yunck. and Orobanche crenata Forssk

Poisoning emergency visits among children: a 3-year retrospective study in Qatar

Background Poisoning in toddlers and infants is almost always unintentional due to their exploratory behavior, which is different from adults. The prevalence and background of childhood poisoning in Qatar is still unknown. The aim of this study is to explore the extent of childhood poisoning in Qatar and, specifically, to describe the frequency of poisoning as a cause of Accident & Emergency (A&E) admission, the demographic profile of affected patients, the circumstances leading to exposure, and the specific agents involved in poisoning among children under age 14 in our setting. Methods This study was a cross-sectional survey of children up to 14 years old utilizing retrospective data between October 2009 and October 2012. The data were collected from the childhood poisoning case registry and patient medical records at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit of all the Hamad Medical Corporation hospitals. Pharmacists reviewed all the handwritten medical records. Data written on the data collection form were transferred into excel and later into SPSS version 21. The data were analyzed using frequencies and percentages, and a chi-square test was used for categorical variables. Results Out of 1179 registered poisoning cases listed in the registry, only 794 cases (67.3 %) were usable and included in the final analysis. A&E admissions for unintentional poisoning for children accounted for 0.22 % of all A&E admissions from 2009 to 12. The majority of poisoning cases happened among children between 1 and 5 years old (n = 704, 59.7 %). Cases were more frequent among non-Qatari than Qatari children (39.4 % vs. 28.5 %). Most cases occurred in the living room (28.2 %) and typically took place in the afternoon (29.2 %). Analgesic and antipyretic medicines were the most common agents ingested by children (n = 194, 36.9 %), specifically paracetamol (n = 140, 26.6 %). Conclusions Cases of unintentional poisoning are higher among children aged 1 to 5 years, males and non-Qatari. Most cases occurred in the living room and typically took place in the afternoon. The most common type of poison ingested by children was medicines, i.e., analgesics and antipyretics, specifically paracetamol

Prevalence of Prediabetes in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Its Relation to In-Hospital Clinical Outcome

Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading causes of vascular disease. The caseload is expected to reach 350 million by the year 2030, and it is estimated that up to 30% of patients are undiagnosed. Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the prevalence of prediabetes in patients admitted with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) who were not known to have diabetes and to determine the impact of prediabetes on in-hospital clinical outcomes versus non-diabetic patients. Patients and methods: This prospective study was conducted on 60 patients with acute coronary syndrome who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University during the period from September 2019 to March 2020. All studied subjects were subjected to full history taking complete clinical examination, complete blood count, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profile, serum creatinine and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), ECG and ECHO. Results: There was a statistical significant difference between the studied groups regarding acute coronary syndrome types, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), serum creatinine, and high-density lipoproteins cholesterol. There was statistically significant difference between the studied patients grouped according to the clinical outcome regarding ACS types. Conclusion: Prediabetes is common in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome who are not previously known to have diabetes. Pre-diabetic patients had worse in-hospital clinical outcomes compared with patients without diabetes. Pre-diabetic patients with ACS have greater  prevalence of cardio-metabolic risk factors (abdominal obesity, and hypertension) as compared to non-diabetic patients

Immobilization of cyclodextrin glucanotransferase on aminopropyl-functionalized silica-coated superparamagnetic nanoparticles

Background: Cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGTase) from Amphibacillus sp. NPST-10 was successfully covalently immobilized on aminopropyl-functionalized silica coated superparamagnetic nanoparticles; and the properties of immobilized enzyme were investigated. The synthesis process included preparing of core magnetic magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles using solvothermal synthesis; followed by coating of Fe3O4 nanoparticles with dense amino-functionalized silica (NH2-SiO2) layer using in situ functionalization method. The structure of synthesized Fe3O4@NH2-SiO2 nanoparticles was characterized using TEM, XRD, and FT-IR analysis. Fe3O4@NH2-SiO2 nanoparticles were further activated by gluteraaldehyde as bifunctional cross linker, and the activated nanoparticles were used for CGTase immobilization by covalent attachment. Results: Magnetite nanoparticles was successfully synthesized and coated with and amino functionalized silica layer (Fe3O4/NH2-SiO2), with particle size of 50-70 nm. The silica coated magnetite nanoparticles showed with saturation magnetization of 65 emug-1, and can be quickly recovered from the bulk solution using an external magnet within 10 sec. The activated support was effective for CGTase immobilization, which was confirmed by comparison of FT-IR spectra of free and immobilized enzyme. The applied approach for support preparation, activation, and optimization of immobilization conditions, led to high yields of CGTase immobilization (92.3%), activity recovery (73%), and loading efficiency (95.2%); which is one of the highest so far reported for CGTase. Immobilized enzyme showed shift in the optimal temperature from 50 to 55\ubaC, and significant enhancement in the thermal stability compared with free enzyme. The optimum pH for enzyme activity was pH 8 and pH 7.5 for free and immobilized CGTase, respectively, with slight improvement of pH stability of immobilized enzyme. Furthermore, kinetic studies revealed that immobilized CGTase had higher affinity toward substrate; with km values of 1.18 \ub1 0.05 mg/ml and 1.75 \ub1 0.07 mg/ml for immobilized and free CGTase, respectively. Immobilized CGTase retained 87% and 67 of its initial activity after 5 and 10 repeated batches reaction, indicating that immobilized CGTase on Fe3O4/NH2-SiO2 had good durability and magnetic recovery. Conclusion: The improvement in kinetic and stability parameters of immobilized CGTase makes the proposed method a suitable candidate for industrial applications of CGTase. To best of our knowledge, this is the first report about CGTase immobilization on silica coated magnetite nanoparticles

Design of an automatic solar lighting system

Today, the worldwide research trends are heading towards producing environmental friendly outcomes. Thus, today the electricity is mostly generated from renewable sources such as sunlight, wind, tides and other to reduce dependency on non-renewable sources like hydroelectrics, fossil fuels and others. This paper presents an innovation of the automatic lighting system with the solar as a source of the system. Charger controller circuit is necessary to cut off the current of the rechargeable battery when reaching its maximum voltage. Dark-on relay circuit functions as an automatic switch to the light so that the light will be automatically turned on when there is no light or at night. Otherwise, the light will be turned off. The system can be applied to the room light, outdoor light, corridor light, spotlight or streetlight. The system is low cost and beneficial for home usage to save electricity bills and when the occupants are absent for relatively long period of time.Keywords: renewable energy; solar energy; green technology; sustainable; dark on relay; automatic lighting system; analog electronic circuits; LD

Cyclodextrin glucanotransferase immobilization onto functionalized magnetic double mesoporous core\u2013shell silica nanospheres

Background: Cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) from Amphibacillus sp. NPST-10 was covalently immobilized onto amino-functionalized magnetic double mesoporous core\u2013shell silica nanospheres (mag@d-SiO2@m-SiO2-NH2), and the properties of the immobilized enzyme were investigated. The synthesis process of the nanospheres included preparing core magnetic magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles, coating the Fe3O4 with a dense silica layer, followed by further coating with functionalized or non-functionalized mesoporous silica shell. The structure of the synthesized nanospheres was characterized using TEM, XRD, and FT-IR analyses. CGTase was immobilized onto the functionalized and non-functionalized nanospheres by covalent attachment and physical adsorption. Results: The results indicated that the enzyme immobilization by covalent attachment onto the activated mag@d-SiO2@m-SiO2-NH2, prepared using anionic surfactant, showed highest immobilization yield (98.1%), loading efficiency (96.2%), and loading capacity 58 \u3bcg protein [CGTase]/mg [nanoparticles]) which were among the highest yields reported so far for CGTase. Compared with the free enzyme, the immobilized CGTase demonstrated a shift in the optimal temperature from 50\ub0C to 50\u201355\ub0C, and showed a significant enhancement in the enzyme thermal stability. The optimum pH values for the activity of the free and immobilized CGTase were pH 8 and pH 8.5, respectively, and there was a significant improvement in pH stability of the immobilized enzyme. Moreover, the immobilized CGTase exhibited good operational stability, retaining 56% of the initial activity after reutilizations of ten successive cycles. Conclusion: The enhancement of CGTase properties upon immobilization suggested that the applied nano-structured carriers and immobilization protocol are promising approach for industrial bioprocess for production of cyclodextrins using immobilized CGTase

Isolation and characterization of novel potent Cr(VI) reducing alkaliphilic Amphibacillus sp. KSUCr3 from hypersaline soda lakes

A strain KSUCr3 with extremely high Cr(VI)-reducing ability under alkaline conditions was isolated from hypersaline soda lakes and identified as Amphibacillus sp. on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The results showed that Amphibacillus sp. strain KSUCr3 was tolerance to very high Cr(VI) concentration (75 mM) in addition to high tolerance to other heavy metals including Ni2+ (100 mM), Mo2+ (75 mM), Co2+ (5 mM), Mn2+ (100 mM), Zn2+ (2 mM), Cu2+ (2 mM) and Pb (75 mM). Strain KSUCr3 was shown to be of a high efficiency in detoxifying chromate, as it could rapidly reduce 5 mM of Cr(VI) to a non detectable level over 24 hrs. In addition, strain KSUCr3 could reduce Cr(VI) efficiently over a wide range of initial Cr(VI) concentrations (1-10 mM) in alkaline medium under aerobic conditions without significant effect on the bacterial growth. Addition of glucose, NaCl and Na2CO3 to the culture medium caused a dramatic increase in Cr(VI)-reduction by Amphibacillus sp. strain KSUCr3. The maximum chromate removal was exhibited in alkaline medium containing 1.5% Na2CO3, 0.8% glucose, and 1.2% NaCl, at incubation temperature of 40\ub0C and shaking of 100 rpm. Under optimum Cr(VI) reduction conditions, Cr(VI) reduction rate reached 237 \u3bcMh1 which is one of the highest Cr(VI) reduction rate, under alkaline conditions and high salt concentration, compared to other microorganisms that has been reported so far. Furthermore, the presence of other metals, such as Ni2+, Co2+, Cu2+ and Mn2+ slightly stimulated Cr(VI)-reduction ability by the strain KSUCr3.The isolate, Amphibacillus sp. strain KSUCr3, exhibited an ability to repeatedly reduce hexavalent chromium without any amendment of nutrients, suggesting its potential application in continuous bioremediation of Cr(VI). The results also revealed the possible isolation of potent heavy metals resistant bacteria from extreme environment such as hypersaline soda lakes

Pharmaceutical Policy Reforms to Regulate Drug Prices in Asia Pacific Region: The Case of Australia, China, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, and South Korea.

Medicine price directly affects affordability and access to medicines particularly in countries where a major portion of pharmaceutical spending is through out-of-pocket payment, such as in the Asia Pacific region. We have undertaken a detailed appraisal of the pharmaceutical policy reforms to regulate drug prices in 3 developed (Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea) and 3 emerging (China, India, and Malaysia) economies of the Asia Pacific region. Despite continuous efforts by the authorities in adopting a wide range of reformatory pharmaceutical pricing policies to ensure affordability of medicines, these policies may not be optimal where drug prices were not lowered as expected (eg, in Korea). On the contrary, considerable price reductions of various pharmaceuticals have been observed in New Zealand and India because of the reform in pharmaceutical pricing policy. This review of pharmaceutical pricing reforms reinforces the need for constant monitoring by policy makers in Asia Pacific countries to regulate drug prices and to undertake reform in pharmaceutical pricing policies when necessary to ensure affordability and access to medicines

Effects of substrates and reaction conditions on production of cyclodextrins using cyclodextrin glucanotransferase from newly isolated Bacillus agaradhaerens KSU-A11

The effects of reaction conditions on cyclodextrins (CDs) production by CGTase from newly isolated Bacillus agaradhaerens KSU-A11 is reported. Among six types of starch tested, potato starch gave highest starch conversion into CDs. In addition, CDs yield was about three fold higher when using gelatinized potato starch in comparison to raw starch. The total CDs production was increased with increasing pH, showing maximum starch conversion at pH 10. Furthermore, the proportion of \u3b3-CD was relatively higher under slightly acidic-neutral conditions than at alkaline pH with a maximum proportion of 35.6% at pH 7 compared to 7.6% at pH 10. Maximum starch conversion into CDs was seen at reaction temperature of 55\ub0C. Lower reaction temperature led to higher proportion of \u3b3-CD with maximum percentage at 35\ub0C. Cyclization reaction was significantly promoted in the presence CaCl2 (10 mM), while in the presence of ethyl alcohol there was significant decrease in CD production particularly at high concentration. f-CD was the major product up to 1 hr reaction period with traces of \u3b1-CD and no detectable \u3b3-CD. However, as the reaction proceed, \u3b3-CD started to be synthesised and \u3b1-CD concentration increased up to 4 hrs, where the CDs ratios were 0.27:0.65:0.07 for \u3b1-CD: f-CD:\u3b3-CD, respectively. In addition, optimum CGTase/starch ratio was obtained at 80 U/g starch, showing highest starch conversion into CDs. All the parameters involved have been shown to affect the products yield and/or specificity of B. agaradhaerens KSU-A11 CGTase