Dramatizing national dignity in El Lozy\u27s trilogy

Mahmoud El Lozy\u27s trilogy, We That Are Young, consists of three plays: Bay the Moon, And Then Went Down to the Ship, and Us and Them (a widely circulating unpublished typescript written in 1998-2005 that has been performed and directed by the author or/and directed as staged reading in Cairo privately-- or by invitation--as well as publicly in New York). This thesis analyses how El Lozy dramatizes the concept of national dignity from the Arab and Egyptian perspectives. The trilogy is contextualized using the writings of Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, and Galal Amin. El Lozy\u27s status as a dramatist and critic is presented. The close reading of three crucial scenes demonstrates how Egyptian/Arab independence is threatened through co-option and the manner with which it is defended in the plays. The three scenes are also used to explore the intertwining themes of national honor, the neo-colonialist tendencies of the West, the Western use of media to undermine Arab dignity and distort the Arab image, and the overall arc of deterioration exhibited by the scenes. The conclusion is that in spite of all attempts to undermine Arab and national integrity, El Lozy\u27s trilogy is optimistic because neither of the protagonists succumbs to co-option

Genome sequence of carboxylesterase, carboxylase and xylose isomerase producing alkaliphilic haloarchaeon Haloterrigena turkmenica WANU15

AbstractWe report draft genome sequence of Haloterrigena turkmenica strain WANU15, isolated from Soda Lake. The draft genome size is 2,950,899bp with a G+C content of 64% and contains 49 RNA sequence. The genome sequence can be accessed at DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank under the accession no. LKCV00000000

Composición química, actividad antioxidante y antimicrobiana del aceite esencial y extractos de metanol de limoncillo egipcio Cymbopogon proximus Stapf.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the essential oil (Eo) and methanol extract from a unique, Egyptian endemic plant, Cymbopogon proximus STAPF. The chemical composition of a hydrodistilled Eo of C. proximus was analyzed by a GC and GC/MS system. A total of 19 constituents representing 95.47% of the oil were identified: piperitone (72.44%), elemol (9.43%), α - eudesmol (4.34%), limonene (2.45%) and β- eudesmol (1.26%) were the main components comprising 88.92% of the oil. The antimicrobial test results showed that the Eo of C. proximus strongly inhibited the growth of the test bacteria studied, except for yeast species while the methanol extract had moderate antibacterial, but no anti-candida activity. Bacillus cereus and Salmonella choleraesuis were proven to be the most susceptible against Eo. The exposure time of Eo for complete inhibition of cell viability of B. cereus and S. choleraesuis were found to be 5 % at 10 min and 1% at 10 min, respectively. The antioxidative potential of the samples was evaluated using methods of inhibition of the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) system. The methanol extract was able to reduce the stable free radical DPPH with an IC50 of 48.66±3.1 μg/ml. The results presented here may suggest that the Eo and extracts of C. proximus possess antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, and therefore, can be used as natural preservative ingredients in food and/or pharmaceuticals.El presente estudio fue llevado a cabo para evaluar las propiedades antioxidantes y antimicrobianas in vitro del aceite esencial (Eo) y extractos de metanol de una genuina y endémica planta egipcia, Cymbopogon proximus Stapf. La composición química de un hidrodestilado Eo de C. proximus fue analizado por GC y GC/MS. Un total de 19 constituyentes representando el 95.47% del aceite fueron identificados; piperitona (72.44%), elemol (9.43%), α-eudesmol (4.34%), limoneno (2.45%) and β-eudesmol (1.26%) fueron los principales componente, que comprenden el 88.92% del aceite. Los resultados de los ensayos antimicrobianos mostraron que el Eo de C. proximus inhibió fuertemente el crecimiento de las bacterias ensayadas, aunque no el de las especies de levaduras, mientras que el extracto de metanol tuvo una moderada actividad antibacteriana, pero ninguna actividad anti-candida. Bacillus cereus and Salmonella choleraesuis fueron las más susceptibles con Eo. El tiempo de exposición con Eo para una completa inhibición de la viabilidad celular de B. cereus y S. choleraesuis fue de 10 min con un 5% y 10 min con 1%, respectivamente. El potencial antioxidante de las muestra fue evaluado usando el método de inhibición del radical libre 2,2-difenil-1- picrilhidrazyil (DPPH). Los extractos de metanol fueron capaces de reducir el radical libre estable DPPH con un IC50 de 48.66±3.1 μg/ml. Los resultados presentados aquí pueden sugerir que el Eo y los extractos de C. proximus poseen propiedades antioxidantes y antimicrobianas, y además, ellos pueden ser usados como ingrediente en la conservación de alimentos y/o en la industria farmacéutica

Characterization of Polyhydroxybutyrate, PHB, Synthesized by Newly Isolated Haloarchaea Halolamina spp.

This work aims to characterize the haloarchaeal diversity of unexplored environmental salty samples from a hypersaline environment on the southern coast of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, looking for new isolates able to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Thus, the list of PHA producers has been extended by describing two species of Halolamina; Halolamina sediminis sp. strain NRS_35 and unclassified Halolamina sp. strain NRS_38. The growth and PHA-production were investigated in the presence of different carbon sources, (glucose, sucrose, starch, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and glycerol), pH values, (5–9), temperature ranges (4–65 °C), and NaCl concentrations (100–350 g L−1). Fourier-transform infra-red analysis (FT-IR) and Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were used for qualitative identification of the biopolymer. The highest yield of PHB was 33.4% and 27.29% by NRS_35 and NRS_38, respectively, using starch as a carbon source at 37 °C, pH 7, and 25% NaCl (w/v). The FT-IR pattern indicated sharp peaks formed around 1628.98 and 1629.28 cm−1, which confirmed the presence of the carbonyl group (C=O) on amides and related to proteins, which is typical of PHB. LC-MS/MS analysis displayed peaks at retention times of 5.2, 7.3, and 8.1. This peak range indicates the occurrence of PHB and its synthetic products: Acetoacetyl-CoA and PHB synthase (PhaC). In summary, the two newly isolated Halolamina species showed a high capacity to produce PHB using different sources of carbon. Further research using other low-cost feedstocks is needed to improve both the quality and quantity of PHB production. With these results, the use of haloarchaea as cell factories to produce PHAs is reinforced, and light is shed on the global concern about replacing plastics with biodegradable polymers.This work was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, under Grant no. (UJ-02-015-ICGR)

PRODUCTION OF INDUSTRIALLY IMPORTANT ENZYMES BY THERMOBACILLI ISOLATED FROM HOT SPRINGS OF INDIA

Enzymes from thermophilic bacteria have received great attention for their potential applications in various industrial sectors. The present study deals with the production of five thermozymes (amylase, lipase, xylanase, protease and cellulase) from 10 thermophilic bacterial species, originally isolated from two hot springs namely Soldhar and Ringigad in Uttarakhand Himalaya, India. The bacterial isolate GBPI_25 produced maximum amylase (1217.86 U/ml) at 45 °C and 5 pH, GBPI 3 produced maximum lipase (22.59 U/ml) at 65 °C and 9 pH, GBPI_25 produced maximum xylanase (98.07 U/ml) at45 °C and 9 pH, GBPI_35 produced maximum protease (16.66 U/ml) at 55 °C and 9 pH, and GBPI 4 produced maximum cellulose (108.68 U/ml) at 45 °C and 5 pH. Crude enzyme preparations showed thermal and pH activities at broad temperature and pH range between 10-100 °C and 3-11 pH, respectively, with different temperature and pH optima. Amylase, xylanase and cellulase showed maximum activity at 50 °C while lipase and protease showed higher activity at 40 and 60 °C, respectively. Enzyme activity at wide temperature range-cellulase and protease from 10-100 °C, amylase and xylanasefrom10-90 °C, and lipase activity from 10-80 °C were the remarkable records from this study. Similarly, pH range for amylase and lipase activity was recorded from 4-11, for xylanase from 3-9, and for protease and cellulase from 3-10. All the thermozymes showed maximum stability at 40 °C and pH 5 except cellulase that showed higher stability at40 °C and neutral pH

Synergistic Effect of Anemia and Red Blood Cells Transfusion on Inflammation and Lung Injury

Anemia and resultant red blood cell transfusion may be associated with adverse long-term clinical outcomes. To investigate the mechanism(s) responsible, we profiled inflammatory biomarkers and circulating levels of the bioactive lysophospholipid mediator sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) in control and anemic mice with or without LPS-induced systemic inflammation. Acute anemia or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge alone triggered an increase of circulating levels of the inflammatory markers IL-6 and keratinocyte-derived chemokine (CXCL1/KC). Moreover, administration of LPS to anemic mice reduced circulating S1P levels and augmented lung injury and pulmonary vascular permeability. Transfusion of aged, but not fresh, red blood cells (RBCs) worsened pulmonary vascular leak. S1P levels decline markedly during storage of mouse RBCs. Loading stored murine RBCs with S1P prior to transfusion partially attenuated anemia-associated acute pulmonary vascular leak. Taken together, our results indicate that anemia and systemic inflammation can alter the S1P buffering capacity of RBCs, suggesting possible strategies for alleviating transfusion-related lung injury in clinical practice

Integrated Pangenome Analysis and Pharmacophore Modeling Revealed Potential Novel Inhibitors against Enterobacter xiangfangensis

Enterobacter xiangfangensis is a novel, multidrug-resistant pathogen belonging to the Enterobacter genus and has the ability to acquire resistance to multiple antibiotic classes. However, there is currently no registered E. xiangfangensis drug on the market that has been shown to be effective. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify novel therapeutic targets and effective treatments for E. xiangfangensis. In the current study, a bacterial pan genome analysis and subtractive proteomics approach was employed to the core proteomes of six strains of E. xiangfangensis using several bioinformatic tools, software, and servers. However, 2611 nonredundant proteins were predicted from the 21,720 core proteins of core proteome. Out of 2611 nonredundant proteins, 372 were obtained from Geptop2.0 as essential proteins. After the subtractive proteomics and subcellular localization analysis, only 133 proteins were found in cytoplasm. All cytoplasmic proteins were examined using BLASTp against the virulence factor database, which classifies 20 therapeutic targets as virulent. Out of these 20, 3 cytoplasmic proteins: ferric iron uptake transcriptional regulator (FUR), UDP-2,3diacylglucosamine diphosphatase (UDP), and lipid-A-disaccharide synthase (lpxB) were chosen as potential drug targets. These drug targets are important for bacterial survival, virulence, and growth and could be used as therapeutic targets. More than 2500 plant chemicals were used to molecularly dock these proteins. Furthermore, the lowest-binding energetic docked compounds were found. The top five hit compounds, Adenine, Mollugin, Xanthohumol C, Sakuranetin, and Toosendanin demonstrated optimum binding against all three target proteins. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations and MM/GBSA analyses validated the stability of ligand–protein complexes and revealed that these compounds could serve as potential E. xiangfangensis replication inhibitors. Consequently, this study marks a significant step forward in the creation of new and powerful drugs against E. xiangfangensis. Future studies should validate these targets experimentally to prove their function in E. xiangfangensis survival and virulence