Evaluation of insulin-like growth factor-I gene polymorphism in Egyptian small ruminant breeds

The genetic improvement of production traits can be developed through marker assisted selection. Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is a member of the somatotrophic axis which has a remarkable variation of its biological effect including protein synthesis and skeletal growth. This study aimed to detect the genetic polymorphism of IGF-1 in different Egyptian sheep and goat breeds. The amplified fragments at 320-bp were digested with HaeIII endonuclease and the results show the presence of three different genotypes: CC (15.71%), CG (29.29%) and GG (55.0%). The nucleotide sequence analysis of C and G alleles declared the presence of a single nucleotide polymorphism (C→G) at position 282. The nucleotide sequences of alleles C and G in sheep and goat were submitted to GenBank with the accession number: KX432965, KX432966, KX432967 and KX432968, respectively. In conclusion, a nucleotide substitution (C→G) was detected in IGF-I gene in Egyptian sheep and goat breeds resulting in the presence of three different genotypes; CC, CG and GG. The association of IGF-I polymorphism with different growth trait parameters were reported at significant levels, so, the genetic and SNP variations in IGF-I gene may be a potential molecular marker for growth traits in different Egyptian sheep and goat breeds.Keywords: IGF-1, polymerase chain reaction - restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), DNA sequencing, sheep, goa

The study of polymer material characterisation using M-Z-N statistical analysis method

This paper proposes an implementation of alternative statistical signal analysis method in characterising material properties of polymer using impulse excitation technique (IET) in accordance with ASTM E1876 standard. Five types of cylindrical shape polymer specimens are used, namely acrylics (AC), poly vinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), cast nylon (MC), and polyoxymethylene (POM). Experimental procedure is done based on non-destructive testing (NDT) concept by tapping the specimens using an impact hammer within a specific range of impact force, while accelerometer sensor Endevco 751-100 is used to detect the vibration produced. The detected vibration and the impact force signal which is triggered by impact hammer are captured using NI 9234 data acquisition device and computer. The signal is interpreted and statistically analysed using Mesokurtosis Zonal Non-parametric (M-Z-N) analysis method. As a result, mathematical model equations for determining two material properties which are tensile strength and thermal conductivity have been successfully developed. They are derived through correlation between the signal data and M-Z-N coefficient. Verification of the equation is done and the calculated errors to be in the range of 5.55% to 9.74%. Hence, this proves that the correlation can be used as a standard for determining these material properties through M-Z-N method, which is efficient and low cost

Design of shunt hybrid active power filter for compensating harmonic currents and reactive power

For the past two decades, tremendous advancements have been achieved in the electricity industry. The usage of non-linear loads in the daily life has affected the power quality of the system and caused the presence of harmonics. To compensate the harmonic currents and reactive power in the system, the design of shunt hybrid active power filter has been proposed in this research. The design of the filter has included several control systems of instantaneous active and reactive power (p-q) theory and PI controller to investigate the performance of the filter. The robustness of the designed hybrid power filter has also been benchmarked with the other filter topologies available in literature. The hybrid power filter will combine passive power filter and active power filter configurated in shunt connection. The result of this research showed that the total harmonic distortion analyzed is below than 5% according to IEEE-519 standard requirements and reactive power is compensated proved by the increase in power factor. The shunt hybrid active power filter is designed, and simulation result is analyzed by using MATLAB-Simulink environment

Nephroprotective Role of Combined Sitagliptin and Oleuropein in Cisplatin-Induced Acute Kidney Injury: Regulation of SDF-1α/Nrf2/ HO-1 Axis and Autophagy

Background: Accumulating evidence proves that cisplatin, a widely used anticancer, causes acute kidney injury (AKI). Sitagliptin (Sita), a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) inhibitor, is a hypoglycemic agent that can promote tissue angiogenesis and cell survival. However, little is known about the nephroprotective effect of Sita in cisplatin-induced AKI especially its effect on SDF-1α, usually degraded by DPP4. Meanwhile, the olive oil component oleuropein (Ole) activates Nrf2/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) axis, which ultimately leads to SDF-1α activation. Herein, we studied the nephroprotective effects of combined Sita and Ole on oxidative stress and autophagy through SDF-1α/Nrf2/ HO-1 axis in cisplatin-induced AKI in rats. Methods: AKI was induced in vivo through single IP injection of cisplatin (7 mg/kg), while Sita (10 mg/kg) and Ole (16 mg/kg) were given separately and in combination for 7 days prior and 5 days after cisplatin injection. AKI was assessed through histopathological examination, measurement of serum creatinine and urea. Also, serum GLP-1, serum and kidney SDF-1α levels were measured by ELISA. LC3-II, P62, HO-1, Nrf2, and caspase-3 were investigated by western blotting. Results: Sita and Ole monotherapy and in combination accelerated kidney recovery as they suppress serum SDF-1α, serum BUN, creatinine and renal histopathological features. Each of Sita and Ole enhanced Nrf2/HO-1axis in renal tissues while only Sita enhanced renal SDF-1α. Sita and Ole monotherapy showed incompetent autophagy where the late steps of autophagy were incomplete. Combined treatment enhanced SDF-1α in kidney tissue which showed recovery through autophagy process. Conclusion: Sita and Ole show promising nephroprotective effects in cisplatin-induced AK

Assessing, quantifying and valuing the ecosystem services of coastal lagoons

The natural conservation of coastal lagoons is important not only for their ecological importance, but also because of the valuable ecosystem services they provide for human welfare and wellbeing. Coastal lagoons are shallow semi-enclosed systems that support important habitats such as wetlands, mangroves, salt-marshes and seagrass meadows, as well as a rich biodiversity. Coastal lagoons are also complex social-ecological systems with ecosystem services that provide livelihoods, wellbeing and welfare to humans. This study assessed, quantified and valued the ecosystem services of 32 coastal lagoons. The main findings of the study are: (i) the definitions of ecosystem services are still not generally accepted; (ii) the quantification of ecosystem services is made in many different ways, using different units; (iii) the evaluation in monetary terms of some ecosystem service is problematic, often relying on non-monetary evaluation methods; (iv) when ecosystem services are valued in monetary terms, this may represent very different human benefits; and, (v) different aspects of climate change, including increasing temperature, sea-level rise and changes in rainfall patterns threaten the valuable ecosystem services of coastal lagoons.DEVOTES project, from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration [308392]; networks and communities of Eurolag; Future Earth Coasts; SCOR; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) Investigador Programme [IF/00331/2013]; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia [UID/MAR/04292/2013]; CESAM by FCT/MEC national funds (PIDDAC) [UID/AMB/50017/2013 - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007638]; FEDER; European Commission, under the 7th Framework Programme through the collaborative research project LAGOONS [283157]; FCT [SFRH/BPD/107823/2015, SFRH/BPD/91494/2012

Discrimination analysis of hybrid Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Sauvage, 1983) (♀) × Pangasius nasutus (♂) (Bleeker, 1976) and its parental species

Comparative analysis was performed to discriminate a hybrid produced from the crossbreed of Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (♀) and Pangasius nasutus (♂) and its parental species based on morphology appearances and morphometric characters. Morphological structures of the vomerin and palatal teeth varied between the hybrid and both parents. Results of the univariate analysis revealed 22 morphometric characters were significantly different between the hybrid and its parental species. Under the stepwise discriminate function analysis, the first Function explained 86.10% of total variations and 13.90% in Function 2. Of the 30 characters, only 10 characters which include prepelvic, caudal peduncle length, dorsal fin length, pectoral fin length, anal fin height, anal fin length, adipose fin length, interorbital length, distant to isthmus, and predorsal length can be used to significantly differentiate these species. The predicted fish groups exhibited characters which 100% differentiate and validate them into their respective group. Examination on vomerin and palatal teeth distinct the hybrid and its parental species

Associations between Blood Metabolic Profile at 7 Years Old and Eating Disorders in Adolescence:Findings from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

Eating disorders are severe illnesses characterized by both psychiatric and metabolic factors. We explored the prospective role of metabolic risk in eating disorders in a UK cohort (n = 2929 participants), measuring 158 metabolic traits in non-fasting EDTA-plasma by nuclear magnetic resonance. We associated metabolic markers at 7 years (exposure) with risk for anorexia nervosa and binge-eating disorder (outcomes) at 14, 16, and 18 years using logistic regression adjusted for maternal education, child's sex, age, body mass index, and calorie intake at 7 years. Elevated very low-density lipoproteins, triglycerides, apolipoprotein-B/A, and monounsaturated fatty acids ratio were associated with lower odds of anorexia nervosa at age 18, while elevated high-density lipoproteins, docosahexaenoic acid and polyunsaturated fatty acids ratio, and fatty acid unsaturation were associated with higher risk for anorexia nervosa at 18 years. Elevated linoleic acid and n-6 fatty acid ratios were associated with lower odds of binge-eating disorder at 16 years, while elevated saturated fatty acid ratio was associated with higher odds of binge-eating disorder. Most associations had large confidence intervals and showed, for anorexia nervosa, different directions across time points. Overall, our results show some evidence for a role of metabolic factors in eating disorders development in adolescence

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Prospective of 31 P MR Spectroscopy in Hepatopancreatobiliary Cancer: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of liver and pancreatic cancer is rising. Patients benefit from current treatments, but there are limitations in the evaluation of (early) response to treatment. Tumor metabolic alterations can be measured noninvasively with phosphorus ( 31 P) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). PURPOSE: To conduct a quantitative analysis of the available literature on 31 P MRS performed in hepatopancreatobiliary cancer and to provide insight into its current and potential for therapy (non-) response assessment. POPULATION: Patients with hepatopancreatobiliary cancer. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 31 P MRS. ASSESSMENT: The PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane library databases were systematically searched for studies published to 17 March 17, 2022. All 31 P MRS studies in hepatopancreatobiliary cancer reporting 31 P metabolite levels were included. STATISTICAL TESTS: Relative differences in 31 P metabolite levels/ratios between patients before therapy and healthy controls, and the relative changes in 31 P metabolite levels/ratios in patients before and after therapy were determined. RESULTS: The search yielded 10 studies, comprising 301 subjects, of whom 132 (44%) healthy volunteers and 169 (56%) patients with liver cancer of various etiology. To date, 31 P MRS has not been applied in pancreatic cancer. In liver cancer, alterations in levels of 31 P metabolites involved in cell proliferation (phosphomonoesters [PMEs] and phosphodiesters [PDEs]) and energy metabolism (ATP and inorganic phosphate [Pi]) were observed. In particular, liver tumors were associated with elevations of PME/PDE and PME/Pi compared to healthy liver tissue, although there was a broad variety among studies (elevations of 2%-267% and 21%-233%, respectively). Changes in PME/PDE in liver tumors upon therapy were substantial, yet very heterogeneous and both decreases and increases were observed, whereas PME/Pi was consistently decreased after therapy in all studies (-13% to -76%). DATA CONCLUSION: 31 P MRS has great potential for treatment monitoring in oncology. Future studies are needed to correlate the changes in 31 P metabolite levels in hepatopancreatobiliary tumors with treatment response. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2

Partitioning clustering algorithms for protein sequence data sets

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genome-sequencing projects are currently producing an enormous amount of new sequences and cause the rapid increasing of protein sequence databases. The unsupervised classification of these data into functional groups or families, clustering, has become one of the principal research objectives in structural and functional genomics. Computer programs to automatically and accurately classify sequences into families become a necessity. A significant number of methods have addressed the clustering of protein sequences and most of them can be categorized in three major groups: hierarchical, graph-based and partitioning methods. Among the various sequence clustering methods in literature, hierarchical and graph-based approaches have been widely used. Although partitioning clustering techniques are extremely used in other fields, few applications have been found in the field of protein sequence clustering. It is not fully demonstrated if partitioning methods can be applied to protein sequence data and if these methods can be efficient compared to the published clustering methods.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We developed four partitioning clustering approaches using Smith-Waterman local-alignment algorithm to determine pair-wise similarities of sequences. Four different sets of protein sequences were used as evaluation data sets for the proposed methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show that these methods outperform several other published clustering methods in terms of correctly predicting a classifier and especially in terms of the correctness of the provided prediction. The software is available to academic users from the authors upon request.</p