New cytotoxic fatty acid esters from the black coral, Antipathes dichotoma

Purpose: To isolate new fatty acid esters from Antipathes dichotoma and investigate their cytotoxic effects on HepG2, WI-38, VERO and MCF-7 cells.Methods: Antipathes dichotoma was collected using scuba at a depth of 10 to 20 m from the Red Sea, and the lyophilized sample (1500 g) was exhaustively extracted thrice using a mixture of chloroform and methanol (1:1, v/v). The extract was concentrated using a vacuum rotatory evaporator to obtain a brown gummy paste which was fractionated on a silica gel chromatography column and further purified using preparative thin layer chromatography (PTLC). The chemical structures of the newly isolated compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods such as infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS). The cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds was examined in HepG2, WI 38, VERO and MCF-7 cell lines.Results: Three new aliphatic esters namely, (4Z, 7Z, 10Z, 13Z, 16Z)-1-hydroxynonadeca-4, 7, 10, 13, 16-pentaen-2-yl octanoate (1); (4Z, 7Z, 10Z, 13Z, 16Z)-1-hydroxynonadeca-4, 7, 10, 13, 16-pentaen-2- yl decanoate (2) and 1-hydroxynonadecan-2-yl-octanoate (3) were isolated from A. dichotoma. 1 and 2 displayed moderate cytotoxic activities against the examined cell lines with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) ranging from 30.1 to 43.0 μg/mL, while compound 3 exhibited poor anti-cancer activity.Conclusion: The results indicate that A. dichotoma is a reservoir of new compounds that have potential anticancer effects.Keywords: Red Sea, Black coral, Antipathes dichotoma, Esters, Cytotoxicit

Heavy neutrino-antineutrino oscillations at the FCC-ee

We discuss the impact of heavy neutrino-antineutrino oscillations (NNOs) on heavy neutral lepton (HNL) searches at proposed electron-positron colliders such as the future circular $e^+e^-$ collider (FCC-ee). During the $Z$ pole run, HNLs can be produced alongside a light neutrino or antineutrino that escapes detection and can decay into a charged lepton or antilepton together with an off-shell $W$ boson. In this case, signals of lepton number violation only show up in the final state distributions. We discuss how NNOs, a typical feature of collider-testable low-scale seesaw models where the heavy neutrinos form pseudo-Dirac pairs, modify such final state distributions. For example, the forward-backward asymmetry (FBA) of the reconstructed heavy (anti)neutrinos develops an oscillatory dependence on the HNL lifetime. We show that these oscillations can be resolvable for long-lived HNLs. We also discuss that when the NNOs are not resolvable, they can nevertheless significantly modify the theory predictions for FBAs and observables such as the ratio of the total number of HNL decays into $\ell^-$ over ones into $\ell^+$, in an interval of the angle~$\theta$ between the HNL and the beam axis. Our results show that NNOs should be included in collider simulations of HNLs at the FCCee.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure

Cytotoxic effect of acetogenins and sesquiterpenes obtained from the Red alga Laurencia majuscula

Purpose: To evaluate the cytotoxicity of n-hexane extract and its metabolites obtained from the red alga, Laurencia majuscula, against three cancer cell lines HCT-116 (colon cancer), PC-3 (prostate cancer) and HepG2 (liver cancer) cells; and to identify the phytochemical compound(s) involved. Methods: Solvent extraction, thin layer chromatography, aluminum oxide column chromatography, and preparative thin layer chromatography (PTLC) were employed for isolating pure compounds from nhexane extract of Laurencia majuscula. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) measurements were used for structural elucidation of the compounds. The cytotoxicity of the nonpolar extract and isolated compounds were evaluated against HCT, PC-3, and HepG2 cells using MTT assay, relative to the standard cytotoxic drug (cisplatin). Results: Three sesquiterpenes (1, 2 and 8), and five acetogenins (3-7) were isolated from the n-hexane extract. The n-hexane extract showed higher potent cytotoxic effect than sesquiterpenes and the acetogenins (3-7). Conclusion: These results indicate that the n-hexane extract of Laurencia majuscula exerts significant cytotoxicity against HCT-116, PC-3 and HepG2 cell lines, thus suggesting that the plant extract may be effective chemotherapeutic agents for the management of colon, postrate and liver cancer. Keywords: Red Sea alga, Rhodomelaceae, Polyketides, Terpenes, Anticance

Adequate Levels of Adherence with Controller Medication Is Associated with Increased Use of Rescue Medication in Asthmatic Children

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Medical Texture Recognition Based on Intelligent Technique

The aim of this paper is to improve a disease diagnosing system through classifying the skin diseases depending on the skin images of many patients by using the multiwavelet transformation. First, extract features from multiwavelet coefficients. Second, the skin images are classified as Warts, Vitiligo, Hemangioma, and Normal depending on the decision rules generated by the decision tree using the ID3 learning algorithm

A general wavelet-based profile decomposition in the critical embedding of function spaces

We characterize the lack of compactness in the critical embedding of functions spaces $X\subset Y$ having similar scaling properties in the following terms : a sequence $(u_n)_{n\geq 0}$ bounded in $X$ has a subsequence that can be expressed as a finite sum of translations and dilations of functions $(\phi_l)_{l>0}$ such that the remainder converges to zero in $Y$ as the number of functions in the sum and $n$ tend to $+\infty$. Such a decomposition was established by G\'erard for the embedding of the homogeneous Sobolev space $X=\dot H^s$ into the $Y=L^p$ in $d$ dimensions with $0<s=d/2-d/p$, and then generalized by Jaffard to the case where $X$ is a Riesz potential space, using wavelet expansions. In this paper, we revisit the wavelet-based profile decomposition, in order to treat a larger range of examples of critical embedding in a hopefully simplified way. In particular we identify two generic properties on the spaces $X$ and $Y$ that are of key use in building the profile decomposition. These properties may then easily be checked for typical choices of $X$ and $Y$ satisfying critical embedding properties. These includes Sobolev, Besov, Triebel-Lizorkin, Lorentz, H\"older and BMO spaces.Comment: 24 page

4-Chloro­anilinium hydrogen oxalate hemihydrate

In the title hydrated mol­ecular salt, C6H7ClN+·C2HO4 −·0.5H2O, the water O atom lies on a crystallographic twofold axis. In the crystal, the anions are linked by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains propagating along the b axis. These chains are inter­connected through O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds from the water mol­ecules and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds from the cations, building layers parallel to the ab plane

Antiproliferative effects of isoprenoids from Sarcophyton glaucum on breast cancer MCF-7 cells

Purpose: To evaluate the anticancer activity of isoprenoids of Sarcophyton glaucum on MCF-7 cells and to investigate the potential synergistic effect of doxorubicin.Methods: Isolation and purification of isoprenoids were performed by applying different planar chromatographic methods (CC and PTLC). Further analyses of the isoprenoids by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry (MS) carried out to identify the compounds. Sulforhodamine- B (SRB) assay was used to determine the cytotoxic activity of the compounds against the MCF-7 human cell line. Flow cytometric analysis was used to assess their impact on cell cycle of  MCF-7. Combination index (CI), when the compounds were combined with  doxorubicin, was calculated to determine possible synergism. The isoprenoid  compounds were also incubated at ¼ or ½ of their respective half-maximal  concentration (IC50) with equimolar concentrations of doxorubicin.Results: Four known isoprenoid derivatives (1-4) were identified as 10(14)-aromadendrene (1), sarcophinediol (2), ent-deoxysarcophine (3) and sarcotrocheliol acetate (4). It was observed that cells accumulated in pre-G phase as well. CI of compound 3 with doxorubicin was 0.67 and 0.79, respectively, at ¼ and ½ of IC50, indicating overt synergism. This was confirmed by re-assessing the cell cycle stages of MCF-7 cells.Conclusion: The results indicate that compound 3 exhibits promising cytotoxicity as well as synergism with doxorubicin in MCF-7 cells. This is attributed, at least partly, to its ability to generate intercellular apoptosis induction.Keywords: Sarcophyton glaucum, Combination index, Antiproliferation, Isoprenoidal derivatives, 10(14)-Aromadendrene,Sarcophinediol, Deoxysarcophine,  Sarcotrocheliol acetate, Doxorubici

Patterns of Antibiotic Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus Isolates and Detection the Heteroresistance to Vancomycin by Population analysis Method

Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of bacterial poisoning and spread widely in Iraq. In this study vancomycin resistant S. aureus (VRSA) were isolated from wounds, skin, and nose of human . The isolates were identified by using biochemical tests.Sixty one (72.6%) isolates were identified as S.aureus, followed by CoNS 23 (27.3%) from 250 sample collected. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by disk diffusion ,the results of the susceptibility test indicated that 59 S. aureus isolates have different levels of resistance to antibiotics.In this study tow methods were used to identify resistant and intermediate resistance to vancomycin: which were Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion and automated system Vitek2 method. Results of Disk diffusion method indicated that (19.6%) isolates were resistant to vancomycin.The results of Vitek2 resistant test for 20 isolates indicated that 9(45%) isolates were resistant to vancomycin, with MIC value of (32 μg / ml); 3(15%) isolates showed intermediate resistant to vancomycin, with MIC value of (4 μg / ml),8(40%) isolates showed sensitive to vancomycin with MIC value of (≤0.5-2 μg / ml).Population analysis profile (PAP) method was uesd to detect Heteroresistant Vancomycin-Intermediate Staphylococcus aureus for the 10 isolates. The results showed that 9 (90%) isolates of S.aureus were resistant to vancomycin , while 1(10%) isolate was sensitive

Recycling bins, garbage cans or think tanks? Three myths regarding policy analysis institutes

The phrase 'think tank' has become ubiquitous – overworked and underspecified – in the political lexicon. It is entrenched in scholarly discussions of public policy as well as in the 'policy wonk' of journalists, lobbyists and spin-doctors. This does not mean that there is an agreed definition of think tank or consensual understanding of their roles and functions. Nevertheless, the majority of organizations with this label undertake policy research of some kind. The idea of think tanks as a research communication 'bridge' presupposes that there are discernible boundaries between (social) science and policy. This paper will investigate some of these boundaries. The frontiers are not only organizational and legal; they also exist in how the 'public interest' is conceived by these bodies and their financiers. Moreover, the social interactions and exchanges involved in 'bridging', themselves muddy the conception of 'boundary', allowing for analysis to go beyond the dualism imposed in seeing science on one side of the bridge, and the state on the other, to address the complex relations between experts and public policy