Ultrastructural and Molecular Changes in the Developing Small Intestine of the Toad Bufo regularis

The ontogenetic development of the small intestine of the toad Bufo regularis was investigated using twofold approaches, namely, ultrastructural and molecular. The former has been done using transmission electron microscope and utilizing the developmental stages 42, 50, 55, 60, 63, and 66. The most prominent ultrastructural changes were recorded at stage 60 and were more evident at stage 63. These included the appearance of apoptotic bodies/nuclei within the larval epithelium, the presence of macrophages, swollen mitochondria, distorted rough endoplasmic reticulum, chromatin condensation, and irregular nuclear envelop, and the presence of large vacuoles and lysosomes. The molecular investigation involved examining DNA content and fragmentation. The results showed that the DNA content decreased significantly during the metamorphic stages 60 and 63 compared with both larval (50 and 55) and postmetamorphic (66) stages. The metamorphic stages (60 and 63) displayed extensive DNA laddering compared with stages 50, 55, and 66. The percentage of DNA damage was 0.00%, 12.91%, 57.26%, 45.48%, and 4.43% for the developmental stages 50, 55, 60, 63, and 66, respectively. In conclusion, the recorded remodeling of the small intestine represents a model for clarifying the mechanism whereby cell death and proliferation are controlled

Pauli spin susceptibility of a strongly correlated two-dimensional electron liquid

Thermodynamic measurements reveal that the Pauli spin susceptibility of strongly correlated two-dimensional electrons in silicon grows critically at low electron densities - behavior that is characteristic of the existence of a phase transition.Comment: As publishe

Effect of FK 506 chronic administration on bromosulphthalein hepatic excretion in rats

There are several reports dealing with the hepatic effect of FK 506,1–4 some of which are beneficial while others are adverse. Because the liver is a major target organ that is often the site of drug toxicity, studies directed at determining whether FK 506 affects specific hepatic function and/or its histologic appearance are important. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to examine bromosulphthalein (BSP) elimination kinetics in rats as a sensitive index of hepatic excretory function under the influence of FK 506 in the rat

Effect of Various Proportions of Rice Husk Powder on Swelling Soil from New Cairo City, Egypt

Swelling soil leads to many types of constructional damages, deformations, and failures in the constructions’ roads, shoulders, and foundations. Depending on the amount of swell, they can be insignificant, moderate, or massive. This paper presents a method for swelling soil stabilization by adding rice husk powder (RHP) in variable percentages of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 by weight of dry soil. The properties of swelling soil stabilization were investigated by various lab tests such as consistency limits (plastic limit, liquid limit, and plasticity index), swelling potential, swelling pressure, free swelling, and free swell index. The swelling soil was also mineralogically examined using X‐ray diffraction of clay mineralogy. This stabilization reduced the plasticity from 56% (extremely high plasticity) to 4.5% (low plasticity). Swelling potential (S) and swelling pressure (SP) decreased by 48% to 45.5, 44.7, and 34.6%, from 1003 kN/m2 to 800, 653, and 489 kN/m2 for the partial replacement of the soil by 5%, 10%, and 15% RHP, respectively. The results show that the present approach is very efficient for improving the swelling soil properties and that the optimal amount of added RHP of the swelling soil is 15%. It will also be a database aimed at reducing construction risks in the future. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The APC was covered by “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, Romania. Acknowledgments: The author AE acknowledges the support of “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati, Romania, for APC support

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor gene polymorphism (rs2010963) in ST- Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction: An Egyptian Pilot Study

ST- segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is the most severe form of coronary artery disease. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) is critical in post- Myocardial Infarction (MI) angiogenesis. VEGF-A (rs2010963) gene polymorphism hasn’t been explored in Egyptian ethnicity. This study aimed to explore the role of the VEGF-A gene (rs2010963) polymorphism in STEMI and its outcome. It was carried out on 50 STEMI patients and 50 controls who gave blood samples for VEGF-A level estimation by ELISA and VEGF-A gene(rs2010963) polymorphism by real-time PCR. We revealed that VEGF-A level was higher in STEMI cases vs. control at baseline and in STEMI cases at 2-weeks vs. baseline. At a cut off value > 20 pg/ml was a statistically significant discriminator of STEMI vs. control [AUC (95% CI) = 0.785 (0.692-0.861), sensitivity 82%, specificity 72%]. Participants with C/G-G/G genotypes of VEGF-A (rs2010963) had 2.8-times higher odds vs. those with C/C genotype to exhibit STEMI. C/G genotype was associated with highest VEGF-A level. STEMI participants with C/G genotype had 4.3-times higher odds vs. those with C/C-G/G genotype to exhibit poor outcome. In conclusions, VEGF-A level can discriminate STEMI cases from control. VEGF-A (rs2010963) gene polymorphism affects VEGF-A level, associated with risk of developing STEMI and affects clinical outcome

Treatment options for muscle-invasive urothelial cancer for patients who were not eligible for cystectomy or neoadjuvant chemotherapy with methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin

BACKGROUND. Many patients with invasive urothelial cell cancer are poor candidates for cisplatin-based chemotherapy, and many are high risk for cystectomy. Southwest Oncology Group Trial 8733 was designed to address treatment for such patients. METHODS. Eligible patients had primary or recurrent muscle-invasive disease with transitional cell or squamous cell histology, a performance status from 0 to 2, no extrapelvic disease, a life expectancy >3 months, and adequate hematologic function. The treating clinician assigned patients to operable or inoperable groups. All patients received 2 cycles of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) at a dose of 1000mg/m 2 per day × 4 starting concurrently with radiation at a dose of 200 centigrays per day × 10 each cycle. After 2 cycles, operable patients with positive biopsies underwent cystectomy, and patients with negative biopsies received a third cycle of chemoradiotherapy. Patients in the inoperable group received 3 cycles without interim biopsy. RESULTS. Eighteen of 24 eligible patients in the operable group were evaluable for response. Five patients had a complete response (CR), 9 patients had stable disease, 1 patient had progressive disease, and 3 patients were not assessable. The median progression-free survival was 10 months (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 4–14 months), and the median overall survival was 18 months (95% CI, 7–28 months). In the inoperable group, 35 of 37 eligible patients were evaluable for response with 17 CRs (49%; 95% CI, 31%–66%). The median progression-free survival was 13 months (95% CI, 10–17 months), and the median overall survival was 20 months (95% CI, 11–53 months). There were no episodes of grade 4 toxicity. CONCLUSIONS. In the current study, the combination of 5-FU and radiation was found to be tolerated well by patients with numerous comorbidities who could not tolerate cisplatin-based therapy or cystectomy. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58591/1/23420_ftp.pd

Strong tuning of Rashba spin orbit interaction in single InAs nanowires

A key concept in the emerging field of spintronics is the gate voltage or electric field control of spin precession via the effective magnetic field generated by the Rashba spin orbit interaction. Here, we demonstrate the generation and tuning of electric field induced Rashba spin orbit interaction in InAs nanowires where a strong electric field is created either by a double gate or a solid electrolyte surrounding gate. In particular, the electrolyte gating enables six-fold tuning of Rashba coefficient and nearly three orders of magnitude tuning of spin relaxation time within only 1 V of gate bias. Such a dramatic tuning of spin orbit interaction in nanowires may have implications in nanowire based spintronic devices.Comment: Nano Letters, in pres

Adsorption of Yttrium Ions on 3-Amino-5-Hydroxypyrazole Impregnated Bleaching Clay, a Novel Sorbent Material

In this work, spent bleaching clay (SBC) was treated with ethyl acetate and impregnation with 3-amino-5-hydroxypyrazole (AHIBC) that utilized as economical sorbent material. The uptake of yttrium ions from aqueous solution using AHIBC was studied under batch process as a function of pH of the solution, contact time, adsorbent dosage, Yttrium ions concentration, and ambient temperature. The adsorption equilibrium was achieved at the value of pH = 6.0 and agitation time of 60 min at room temperature. The utmost adsorption capacity of Y(III) ions on AHIBC was 171.32 mg·g−1 . Kinetic, isotherm, and thermodynamic models were applied to the experimental data obtained. Adsorption follows a pseudo–second–order kinetic model, while the adsorption isotherm fits the Langmuir model. A negative value of Gibbs free energy ∆G◦ revealed that the adsorption of the Y ions on the AHIBC adsorbent was spontaneously in nature. In addition, the electrostatic interaction process between the metal ions and AHIBC was favorable. The negative value of ∆H◦ states that Y ions adsorption was an exothermic process. Desorption efficiency reduced from 97% to 80% after eight consecutive rounds. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This study was funded by Taif University Researchers Supporting Project number (TURSP2020/157), Taif University Taif, Saudi Arabia

Selective Recovery of Cadmium, Cobalt, and Nickel from Spent Ni–Cd Batteries Using Adogen® 464 and Mesoporous Silica Derivatives

Spent Ni–Cd batteries are now considered an important source for many valuable metals. The recovery of cadmium, cobalt, and nickel from spent Ni–Cd Batteries has been performed in this study. The optimum leaching process was achieved using 20% H2SO4, solid/liquid (S/L) 1/5 at 80 °C for 6 h. The leaching efficiency of Fe, Cd, and Co was nearly 100%, whereas the leaching efficiency of Ni was 95%. The recovery of the concerned elements was attained using successive different separation techniques. Cd(II) ions were extracted by a solvent, namely, Adogen® 464, and precipitated as CdS with 0.5% Na2S solution at pH of 1.25 and room temperature. The extraction process corresponded to pseudo-2nd-order. The prepared PTU-MS silica was applied for adsorption of Co(II) ions from aqueous solution, while the desorption process was performed using 0.3 M H2SO4. Cobalt was precipitated at pH 9.0 as Co(OH)2 using NH4OH. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were also investigated. Nickel was directly precipitated at pH 8.25 using a 10% NaOH solution at ambient temperature. FTIR, SEM, and EDX confirm the structure of the products. © 2022 by the authors.King Khalid University, KKU: KKU/RCAMS/22This work was supported by King Khalid University through a grant (KKU/RCAMS/22) under the Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS) at King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia

Sustainable Remedy Waste to Generate SiO2 Functionalized on Graphene Oxide for Removal of U(VI) Ions

The Hummer process is applied to generate graphene oxide from carbon stocks’ discharged Zn-C batteries waste. SiO2 is produced from rice husks through the wet process. Subsequently, SiO2 reacted with graphene oxide to form silica/graphene oxide (SiO2/GO) as a sorbent material. XRD, BET, SEM, EDX, and FTIR were employed to characterize SiO2/GO. Factors affecting U(VI) sorption on SiO2/GO, including pH, sorption time, a dosage of SiO2/GO, U(VI) ions’ concentration, and temperature, were considered. The experimental data consequences indicated that the uptake capacity of SiO2/GO towards U(VI) is 145.0 mg/g at a pH value of 4.0. The kinetic calculations match the pseudo second-order model quite well. Moreover, the sorption isotherm is consistent with the Langmuir model. The sorption procedures occur spontaneously and randomly, as well as exothermically. Moreover, SiO2/GO has essentially regenerated with a 0.8 M H2SO4 and 1:50 S:L phase ratio after 60 min of agitation time. Lastly, the sorption and elution were employed in seven cycles to check the persistent usage of SiO2/GO. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The authors express their gratitude to Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2022R13), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia