Promotion of immune and glycaemic functions in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats treated with un-denatured camel milk whey proteins

T cell mediated autoimmune diabetes is characterized by immune cell infiltration of pancreatic islets and destruction of insulin-producing β-cells. This study was designed to assess the effect of whey proteins (WP) on the responsiveness of lymphocytes in rats after four months of Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced Type 1 diabetes (T1D). A diabetic group was supplemented with WP daily for five weeks at a dose of 100 mg/kg. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) was extracted from stimulated lymphocytes in order to analyse gene expressions using real time PCR and RT-PCR. PCR results were confirmed with ELISA. The proliferation capacity of lymphocytes and their homing to the spleen were studied. Antigen-activated lymphocytes showed that diabetes impaired the mRNA expression of the protein kinase B (Akt1), Cdc42, and the co-stimulatory molecule, CD28, which are important for cell survival, actin polymerization and T cell activation, respectively. Accordingly, proliferation of lymphocytes was found to be suppressed in diabetic rats, both in vivo and in vitro. WP was found to restore Akt1, Cdc42 and CD28 mRNA expression during diabetes to normal levels. WP, therefore, served to activate the proliferation of B lymphocytes in diabetic rats both in vivo and in vitro. Although WP was found to up-regulate mRNA expression of both interleukin (IL)-2 and interferon gamma (IFN-γ), it suppressed the proliferation activity of almost all T cell subsets. This was confirmed by WP normalizing the structure and function of ß cells. Meanwhile, WP was found to down regulate the mRNA expression of Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and its programmed cell death-receptor (Fas). Taken together, the results of this study provide evidence for the potential impact of WP in the treatment of immune impairment in T1D, suggesting that it serves to reverse autoimmunity by suppressing autoreactive T cells and down regulating TNF-α and Fas, resulting in improved pancreatic ß cell structure and function

Exact solutions for the generalized Klein–Gordon equation via a transformation and Exp-function method and comparison with Adomian’s method

AbstractIn this paper, a suitable transformation and a so-called Exp-function method are used to obtain different types of exact solutions for the generalized Klein–Gordon equation. These exact solutions are in full agreement with the previous results obtained in Refs. [Sirendaoreji, Auxiliary equation method and new solutions of Klein–Gordon equations, Chaos, Solitons & Fractals 31 (4) (2007) 943–950; Huiqun Zhang, Extended Jacobi elliptic function expansion method and its applications, Communications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation, 12 (5) (2007) 627–635]. One of these exact solutions is compared with the approximate solutions obtained by the modified decomposition method. Accurate numerical results for a wider range of time are obtained after using different types of ADM-Padè approximation. Our results show that the Exp-function method is very effective in finding exact solutions for the problem considered while the modified decomposition method is very powerful in finding numerical solutions with good accuracy for nonlinear PDE without any need for a transformation or perturbation

A Novel Reduced Components Model Predictive Controlled Multilevel Inverter for Grid-Tied Applications

This paper presents an improved single-phase Multilevel Inverter (MLI) which is conceptualized to reduce power switches along with separate DC voltage sources. Compared with recent modular topologies, the proposed MLI employs a reduced number of components. The proposed inverter consists of a combination of two circuits, i.e., the level generation and polarity generation parts. The level generation part is used to synthesize different output voltage levels, while the polarity inversion is performed by a~conventional H-bridge circuit. The performance of the proposed topology has been studied using s single-phase seven-level inverter, which utilizes seven power switches and three independent DC voltage sources. Model Predictive Control (MPC) is applied to inject a sinusoidal current into the utility grid which exhibits low Total Harmonic Distortion (THD). Tests, including a~change in grid current amplitude as well as operation under variation in Power Factor (PF), have been performed to validate the good performance obtained using MPC. The effectiveness of the proposed seven-level inverter has been verified theoretically using MATLAB Simulink. In addition, Real-Time (RT) validation using the dSPACE-CP1103 has been performed to confirm the system performance and system operation using digital platforms. Simulation and RT results show improved THD at 1.23% of injected current

The Relationship Between Government Expenditure, Oil Price And Economic Growth: A Case Study Of Kuwait

Kajian ini mengkaji hubungan antara dua jenis perbelanjaan pelaburan kerajaan, penggunaan dan pertumbuhan ekonomi dalam kes di Kuwait sebagai salah satu daripada negara-negara pengeksport minyak This study examines the relationship between two types of government expenditure 'investment, consumption' and economic growth in the case of Kuwait as one of oil exporting countries

Comparative immunomudulating effects of five orally administrated bifidobacteria species in male albino rats

Bifidobacteria belong to effective probiotics in preventing and reducing the severity of some diseases by modulating the host immune response. Each probiotic species is unique, and thus its properties and effects have to be assessed separately. We investigate here the effects of B.infantis, B.longum, B.adolescentis, B.bifidum, B.breve and B.bifidum on immune parameters of albino rats orally administrated a yogurt fermented with one of the five bifidobacteria species for 30 days.B.adolescentis (adult-type bifidobacteria) induced a significant increase in pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion (IL-1, IL-4, IL-12 and TNF-alpha) relative to B.breve and B.infantis (infanttypebifidobacteria). B.bifidum, B.longum and B.adolescentis induced significantly high levels of the anti-inflammatory IL-10. B.adolescentis stimulated and increased the release of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, glutathione and catalase), and also stimulated secretion of high levels of total serum Ig. All studied bifidobacteria species, particularly B. adolescentis, caused significant reduction of the number of the pathogenic bacteria. In conclusion, B. adolescentis is superior tothe other studied species of bifidobacteria in enhancing immune parameters

Lignin Nanoparticles Comparative Study for their Emulsifying, Antibacterial and Antioxidant Properties

Converting lignin, the second most natural abundant polymer on earth, into lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) form has potential applications. LNPs’ emulsifying, antibacterial and antioxidant properties of three different lignins, softwood kraft lignoboost (LB), hardwood birch (BB) and alkali protobind 1000 (PB) were evaluated in a comparative study at different pH and concentrations. Lower ionic strength of 5 millimole (mM) citric acid (CA) and pH of 7 were found to be the most optimum conditions for emulsion formation. Comparison among the two homogenization techniques revealed that microfluidizer is favored in case of BB- and PB-LNPs based emulsions, while ultrasonication is optimum in case of LB-LNPs based emulsions. LNPs’ concentrations were found directly in proportion with their emulsifying activity to stabilize emulsions. LNPs based rapeseed oil (RO)/water emulsions showed slightly better yield than LNPs based hexadecane (HD)/water emulsions in terms of particle size distribution (PSD) in PB-LNPs and LB-LNPs based samples while the opposite in case BB-LNPs emulsions. As an emulsifier, PB-LNPs showed the highest effect versus LP- LNPs least effective. In terms of antioxidant activity, BB-LNPs showed the highest effect represented by 83 % of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) inhibition while LB-LNPs’ DPPH inhibition was the lowest by 67 at 0.5 w/w% LNPs concentration. Microbiologically, LNPs exhibited strong inhibition against gram positive Staphylococcus aureus by achieving 3 logs of reduction; however, found less effective against gram negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) without major reduction. This study expands on the potential applications of LNPs to be employed in food, agriculture, and pharmaceutical industries

Design and construction of a small gas turbine to drive a permanent magnet high speed generator

Radial gas turbines engines have established prominence in the field of small turbomachinery because of their simplicity, relatively high performance and installation features. Thus they have been used in a variety of applications such as generator sets, small auxiliary power units (APu), air conditioning of aircraft cabins and hybrid electric vehicles turbines. The current research describes the design, manufacturing, construction and testing a radial type small gas turbine. The aim was to design and build the engine to drive directly a high-speed permanent magnet alternator running at 60000 rpmand developing a maximum of 60 W. This direct coupling arrangement produces a portable, light, compact, reliable and environment friendly power generator. These features make the generator set very attractive to use in many applications including emergency power generation for hospitals, in areas of natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, in remote areas that cannot be served from the national grid, oil rigs, and in confined places of limited spaces. It is important to recognize that the design of the main components, that is, the inward flow radial UFR turbines, the centrifugal compressor and the combustion chamber involve consideration of aero-dynamics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, stress analysis, vibration analysis, selection of bearings, selection of suitable materials and the requirements for manufacturing. These considerations are all inter-linked and a procedure has been followed to reach an optimum design. This research was divided into three phases: phase I dealt with the complete design of the inward radial turbine, the centrifugal compressor, the power transmission shaft, the selection of combustion chamber and the bearing housing including the selection of bearings. Phase 2 dealt with mechanical consideration of the rotating components that is stress, thermal and vibration analyses of the turbine rotor, the impeller and the rotating shaft, respectively. Also it dealt with the selection of a suitable fuel and oil lubrication systems and a suitable starting system. Phase 3 dealt with the manufacturing of the gas turbine components, balancing the rotating components, assembling the engine and finally commissioning and then testing the engine. The current work in this thesis has put the light on a new design methodology on determining the optimum principal dimensions of the rotor and the impeller. This method, also, has defined the optimum number of blades and the axial length of the rotor and the impeller. Mathematical models linking the performance parameters and the design variables for the turbine and the compressor have been developed to assist in carrying out parametric studies to study the influence of the design parameters on the performance and on each other. Also, a new graphical matching procedure has been developed for the gas turbine components. This technique can serve as a valuable tool to determine the operating range and the engine running line. Furthermore, it would decide whether the gas turbine engine operates in a region of satisfactory compressor and turbine efficiencie

Production of C-2/C-3 Oxygenates from Planar Copper Nitride-Derived Mesoporous Copper via Electrochemical Reduction of CO2

Electrochemical reduction of CO2 provides an opportunity to produce fuels and chemicals in a carbon-neutral manner, assuming that CO2 can be captured from the atmosphere. To do so requires efficient, selective, and stable catalysts. In this study, we report a highly mesoporous metallic Cu catalyst prepared by electrochemical reduction of thermally nitrided Cu foil. Under aqueous saturated CO2 reduction conditions, the Cu3N-derived Cu electrocatalyst produces virtually no CH4, very little CO, and exhibits a faradaic efficiency of 68% in C2+ products (C2H4, C2H5OH, and C3H7OH) at a current density of ∼18.5 mA cm-2 and a cathode potential of -1.0 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. Under these conditions, the catalyst produces more oxygenated products than hydrocarbons. We show that surface roughness is a good descriptor of catalytic performance. The roughest surface reached 98% CO utilization efficiency for C2+ product formation from CO2 reduction and the ratio of oxygenated to hydrocarbon products correlates with the degree of surface roughness. These effects of surface roughness are attributed to the high population of undercoordinated sites as well as a high pH environment within the mesopores and adjacent to the surface of the catalyst

Technetium-99m Sestamibi Scintigraphy Pattern in Patients with Secondary Hyperparathyroidism

complications of end stage renal disease (ESRD). We aimed in this investigation to explore the role of Technetium-99m sestamibi (99mTc MIBI) scintigraphy in the pre-operative assessment of refractory hyperparathyroidism in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Methods: Dual-phase 99mTc MIBI parathyroid scintigraphy was performed for 23 patients with ESRD who have persistent intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels exceeding 300 pg/ml. Based on scintigraphy results, 13 patients underwent neck exploration during which only glands with positive scintigraphy findings were removed. Results: Among the six patients who had iPTH levels < 800 pg/ml, only one patient had positive scintigraphy findings (16.7%). Among the 17 patients who had iPTH levels ≥ 800 pg/ml, 16 patients had positive scintigraphy findings (94.1%). 99mTc MIBI scan detected 23 positive sites of focal trace uptake in those 17 patients. Partial parathyroidectomy was performed for 13 patients, removing in total 19 glands, while four patients declined surgery. On histological examination, 12 glands showed diffuse hyperplasia, four glands showed nodular hyperplasia and three glands revealed parathyroid adenoma. The three glands with parathyroid adenoma were correctly identified prior to surgery by 99mTc MIBI scintigraphy. The long-term outcomes of these patients are now being monitored. Conclusion: ESRD patients with iPTH level ≥ 800 pg/ml are more likely to have positive sites of focal tracer uptake on MIBI scan than patients with lower iPTH levels. Dual-phase 99mTc MIBI scintigraphy has the ability to correctly identify parathyroid adenoma prior to surgical exploration in these patients. Keywords: Hyperparathyroidism, parathyroid adenoma, parathyroid hyperplasia, scintigraphy, 99mTc sestamib