EXPRESSION OF CANCER STEM CELL MARKER OCTAMER-BINDING TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR 4 IN HIGH-GRADE TRANSITIONAL CELL CARCINOMA

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to provide an outlook of urothelial carcinoma through the immunohistochemical expression patterns of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) in high-grade transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urinary bladder. Methods: A total number of 60 tissue samples were collected for the study. Patients were divided into two groups according to the pathological diagnosis of the bladder tissue, Group A: 30 cases with high-grade TCC of the bladder and Group B: 30 cases with apparently normal bladder tissue. Tissue immunohistochemical analysis was applied to investigate the expression patterns of cancer stem cell (CSC) markers OCT4 in bladder samples. Results: OCT4 was positive in 80% of specimens of Group A and 3.3% in specimens of Group B. The association between OCT4 marker result and certain histopathological features in high-grade group: Positive OCT4 result was found in patients with inflammation and necrosis (90.9%) with a significant association (p=0.013). Regarding muscular invasion, we noticed that 87.5% of patients with muscular invasion showed positive OCT4 marker result with a significant association (p=0.039) between OCT4 marker result and muscular invasion. As well, OCT4 marker was highly sensitive and specific (sensitivity=66.7%, specificity=96.7%, and accuracy=76.7%). Conclusion: There was a significant expression of CSC OCT4 in high-grade TCC, OCT4 can be considered as a key regulator of tumor progression, aggressive behavior, and metastasis

Spectrophotometric method for the determination of Captopril in pharmaceutical formulations

A simple, rapid and sensitive spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of captopril in aqueous solution. The method is based on reaction of captopril with 2,3-dichloro 1,4- naphthoquinon(Dichlone) in neutral medium to form a stable yellow colored product which shows maximum absorption at 347 nm with molar absorptivity of 5.6 ×103 L.mole-1. cm-1. The proposed method is applied successfully for determination of captopril in commercial pharmaceutical tablets

NATURAL CONVECTION HEAT TRANSFER IN AN INCLINED CIRCULAR CYLINDER

Experiments were carried out to investigate natural convection heat transfer in an inclined uniformly heated circular cylinder . The effects of surface heat flux and angle of inclination on the temperature and local Nusselt number variations along the cylinder surface are discussed . The investigation covers heat flux range from 92 W/m² to 487 W/m², and angles of inclination 0° ( horizontal) , 30° , 60° and 90° (vertical) . Results show an increase in the natural convection as heat flux increases and as angle of inclination moves from vertical to horizontal position. An empirical equation of average Nusselt number as a function of Rayliegh number was deduced for each angle of inclination

Modified extended complex Kalman filter for DC offset and distortion rejection in grid-tie transformerless converters

Proper operation of the grid-tie transformerless converters under unbalanced and distorted conditions entails a precise detection of the frequency and fundamental component of the grid voltage. One of the main problems that could arise during the estimation of grid parameters is the existence of a DC offset generated from measurement and A/D conversion. This undesirable induced DC offset could appear as a part of the reference sinusoidal current of grid-tie converters. Although literature has proposed the use of an extended complex Kalman filter (ECKF) for the estimation of positive and negative sequence voltage components as a promising competitor to phase locked loops, mitigating the effect of possible DC offsets when a Kalman filter is employed remains scarce. This paper proposes a new extended complex Kalman filter to improve the filter stability for estimating the frequency and the fundamental positive and negative symmetrical components of the grid voltages, where DC offset, scaling error, and noise can successfully be rejected. The theoretical findings are experimentally validated

Synthesis, characterization, and challenges faced during the preparation of zirconium pillared clays

In this study, Zr-pillared montmorillonite clays (Zr-PILCs) were synthesized using two different precursor materials: raw montmorillonite (CM) and sodium ion-saturated montmorillonite (Na-CM) at different Zr/clay ratios (2.5, 5 and 10 mmol/g). To study the effect of Zr concentration and clay pre-treatment with NaCl on pillaring, the modified clay samples were characterized in detail using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (STEM-EDX). The XRD analysis showed the increase of basal spacing of Zr-PILCs prepared from both precursor materials: from 1.26 to 1.74 nm in the case of CM, and from 1.13 to 1.93 nm for Na-CM. Results from FT-IR revealed new bands ascribed to Zr-O bonds in the range of 400–500 cm−1 in Zr-pillared samples obtained from Na-CM at Zr/clay ratios of 2.5 and 5 mmol/g. The distribution and nature of Zr species in between the silicate layers were studied using STEM-EDX and HAADF imaging. They were found to be separated by a distance of 1.5–3 nm and their thickness lies in the range of 1–2 nm. Pillared clays prepared from pre-treatment with NaCl were more thermally stable at higher temperatures

Widespread applicability of bacterial cellulose-ZnO-MWCNT hybrid membranes

The novel photoactive membranes have grabbed the attention in the field of environmental protection by employing wastewater treatments and the removal of microorganisms or organic pollutants from wastewater. Here we present a promising self-supported photoactive hybrid membrane for future antimicrobial and water treatment applications. In this study, the efficiency of bacterial cellulose (BC) - zinc oxide (ZnO) - multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) hybrid membranes in the adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV radiation and the removal of Escherichia coli (E. coli) was investigated. It was found that the photocatalytic efficiency is strongly dependent on both the preparation method and the amount of ZnO-MWCNT additives loaded into the hybrid membranes. The characterization of BC-ZnO-MWCNT membranes was done using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and X-ray micro computed tomography (μCT) to study the morphological and porosity aspect of the prepared-membranes. The promising results of this study could provide a new pathway in the field of photocatalysed-based water treatment technology by the application of hybrid membranes

Overview On Surgical Management Of Overactive Bladder

Overactive bladder syndrome is a persistent and incapacitating disorder that has profound medical, psychological, and social implications, greatly impacting the wellbeing of countless individuals globally. A significant number of individuals experience urine urgency, which can be extremely bothersome. The primary indicator of overactive bladder (OAB) is a sense of urgency, often accompanied by increased urine frequency and nocturia. After ruling out other medical conditions with similar symptoms, the initial approach to managing OAB is providing guidance on fluid consumption and bladder training. If needed, antimuscarinic medicines may be added as a supplement. If patients have significant distress from OAB symptoms even after maximizing medicinal treatment, they may choose to undergo invasive procedures. There is currently a limited understanding of the hierarchical structure of central nervous system control. However, the use of functional imaging is starting to reveal the difficulties that need to be addressed in this area. Current research is exploring the use of botulinum neurotoxin-A injection, oral β3-adrenergic agonists, and innovative methods for nerve stimulation as potential therapies. The inherent subjectivity of urine urgency, the absence of animal models, and the complex pathophysiology of overactive bladder (OAB) pose substantial obstacles to achieving effective clinical therapy

Demystifying Smoker's Paradox: A Propensity Score-Weighted Analysis in Patients Hospitalized With Acute Heart Failure.

Background Smoker's paradox has been observed with several vascular disorders, yet there are limited data in patients with acute heart failure (HF). We examined the effects of smoking in patients with acute HF using data from a large multicenter registry. The objective was to determine if the design and analytic approach could explain the smoker's paradox in acute HF mortality. Methods and Results The data were sourced from the acute HF registry (Gulf CARE [Gulf Acute Heart Failure Registry]), a multicenter registry that recruited patients over 10 months admitted with a diagnosis of acute HF from 47 hospitals in 7 Middle Eastern countries. The association between smoking and mortality (in hospital) was examined using covariate adjustment, making use of mortality risk factors. A parallel analysis was performed using covariate balancing through propensity scores. Of 5005 patients hospitalized with acute HF, 1103 (22%) were current smokers. The in-hospital mortality rates were significantly lower in current smoker's before (odds ratio, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.52-0.96) and more so after (odds ratio, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.31-0.70) covariate adjustment. With the propensity score-derived covariate balance, the smoking effect became much less certain (odds ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.36-1.11). Conclusions The current study illustrates the fact that the smoker's paradox is likely to be a result of residual confounding as covariate adjustment may not resolve this if there are many competing prognostic confounders. In this situation, propensity score methods for covariate balancing seem preferable. Clinical Trial Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/. Unique identifier: NCT01467973.Gulf CARE (Gulf Acute Heart Failure Registry) is an investigator- initiated study conducted under the auspices of the Gulf Heart Association and funded by Servier, Paris, France; and (for centers in Saudi Arabia), by the Saudi Heart Association (The Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [research group number: RG -1436- 013]). This does not alter our adherence to policies on sharing data and materials; and the funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library