Semisolid metal (SSM) processing is getting momentum to be the preferred fabrication route for near or net-shaped castings. For SSM processing of Al–Si alloys, there are two important microstructural ...features which influence the properties of finished products. These are the size and morphology of the primary α-Al phase and the eutectic matrix which consists of silicon, aluminum, and intermetallic phases. The presence of iron is beneficial to reduce the soldering effects in permanent mold castings, but it is unfavorable due to formation of a range of intermetallic phases. The casting parameters play an important role in avoiding the segregation of thin platelets of Fe-intermetallic, which is detrimental to mechanical properties. In this context, it is of particular interest to see the effects of melt stirring on the formation of eutectic silicon flakes and iron-based intermetallics during SSM processing.
The effects of process parameters such as cooling rate and superheat are investigated on the morphology and size distribution of eutectic silicon and iron-based intermetallics during application of electromagnetic stirring (EMS). It is concluded that melt stirring not only alters the morphology of α-Al phase to rosette or globule shape, but also refines the eutectic silicon and iron-intermetallics.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Most hepatocellular carcinoma cases are diagnosed at late stages of the disease, which makes it the second cause of cancer mortality worldwide. For advanced-stage patients, chemotherapeutic drugs are ...the best treatment option; however, their adverse effects and high cost are still major obstacles for effective treatment. Spirulina microalga is a rich source of nutritional and bioactive elements and potential pharmaceuticals, which has an -proliferative effect against several cancer cell lines. It also has a prophylactic effect against the early stages of some cancer models, including hepatocellular carcinoma.
The present study was carried out to evaluate the therapeutic anticarcinogenic effect of spirulina against advanced murine hepatocellular carcinoma.
Hepatocarcinoma was induced by a single injection of diethylnitrosamine (100 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) followed by 22 weekly injections of carbon-tetrachloride (0.5 mg/kg, i.p). Spirulina (250 and 500 mg/kg bw) was given orally, from week 25 to 28, after the establishment of hepatocellular carcinoma.
Spirulina inhibited HCC structural and functional alterations, manifested by improving the survival rate, significantly decreasing the tumor marker AFP, and the count and size of the hepatic nodules, as well as downstaging HCC. This was accompanied with the augmentation of the endogenous antioxidant capacity, apoptosis (Bax) and the tumor suppressor protein (p53), as well as the suppression of tissue levels of the lipid peroxidation marker (MDA) and neoangiogenesis marker (VEGF).
In conclusion, spirulina has an anticarcinogenic effect against advanced hepatocellular carcinoma exerted through activating the tumor suppressor protein p53 and apoptosis, and suppressing oxidative stress and angiogenesis.
•Spirulina improves the survival rate of HCC-bearing mice.•Spirulina downstages HCC and decreases the hepatic nodules in HCC-bearing mice.•Spirulina exerts an antiangiogenic through the activation of p53 and Bax.•Spirulina exerts an antiangiogenic through the inhibition of Bcl-2 and VEGF.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The Western Delta Deep Marine Concession (WDDM) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea is one of northern Africa's most recent petroleum-potential regions for gas and condensate exploration. The present ...study aims to determine the characteristics of the 15 natural gases and 5 associated condensate samples, using molecular compositions and isotopes from the Miocene reservoir rocks in the various wells located in the WDDM. The results of this study are also used to determine the gas-condensate correlation for their probable source rocks as well as the methane-generating mechanisms (i.e., thermogenic or microbiological). Results highlighted in this research reveal that most of the natural gases in WDDM are mainly thermogenic methane gases, with small contributions of biogenic methane gases that were generated from mainly mixed sources, with a high sapropelic organic matter input for biogenic gases. The thermogenic methane gases were formed from secondary oil and oil/gas cracking at the high maturity stage of the gas window. The biogenic gases are also contributed to the Miocene reservoirs, which are formed from the primary cracking of kerogen at low maturity stage by the action of CO
bacterial reduction. In addition, the saturated and aromatic biomarker results show that the condensate samples were generated from clay-rich source rocks. This source unit of the Miocene condensates were deposited in a fluvial deltaic environmental setting, containing mixed kerogen type II/III and accumulated during the Jurassic-Cretaceous, as evidenced by the age dating indicators. The properties of the natural gases and associated condensates in the Miocene reservoir rocks suggest that most of the thermogenic methane gases, together with the condensate, are derived primarily from mature Jurassic-Cretaceous source rocks and formed by secondary oil and oil/gas cracking at the gas generation window, as demonstrated by the 1-D basin modelling results highlighted in the prior works. Therefore, most of the natural gases in WDDM are non-indigenous and migrated from more mature Jurassic-Cretaceous source rocks in the nearby Northern Sinai provinces or the deeper sequences in the offshore Nile Delta provinces.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The purpose of the present research was to develop novel flat bread supplemented with quinoa flour to raise its nutritional quality and functional properties. Furthermore, evaluation of the quality ...of developed bread was realized with blends at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30% of quinoa flour. Chemical composition of supplemented flat bread was determined. Several properties on dough (water absorption, dough development time, stability time, elasticity, and extensibility) and their corresponding characteristics (loaf specific volume, baking loss, roundness, height, baking time, hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, resilience, gumminess, and chewiness) were then evaluated. The protein content in bread-based quinoa blends was significantly increased gradually with increasing the percentage of quinoa flour from 12.12±0.63% in control to 15.85±0.065% in 30% quinoa flour. Also, the amino acids content was increased with increasing the percentage of quinoa flour. Mineral contents in 30% quinoa flour blend such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc were higher than other ratios and control bread (100% wheat flour). Rheological properties of supplemented bread such as specific volume, appearance, crust and crumb texture, aroma-odor, and colour were evaluated and found to be excellent. Physicosensory characteristics of the bread fortified with quinoa flour were evaluated and the most of panelists accepted and preferred the bread supplemented with quinoa flour more than control. The obtained unique nutritional, physicochemical, and organoleptic characteristics of quinoa flour-based flat bread open a new promising prospect for utilization of quinoa flour in an industrial scale for treatment and/or prevention of malnutrition in developing counties.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
A potential and cost-effective treatment method utilizing thermally activated bentonite was evaluated for the treatment of highly loaded real petroleum processing wastewater (COD = 4500 mg/L) in ...order to reduce its COD and improve the corrosion properties. A save discharging COD limit of the treated effluent (800 mg/L) is achieved by using 6 g/L of calcinated bentonite after reaching the steady state (1 h of shaking) at pH 5. The durability of bentonite is proved. The corrosion behavior of the treated wastewater was investigated for mild steel by using electrochemical and weight loss measurements. The results proved that the corrosion rate of the wastewater was slightly reduced after the treatment process. More improvement of the corrosion resistance was achieved by adding sodium hexa-meta-phosphate (SHMP) corrosion inhibitor to the treated water. Tri-methyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) biocide was also added before discharging into municipal networks.
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•Bentonite is used for removing of hazardous organics from petroleum wastewater.•The activated bentonite was more effective than the non-activated of about 20%.•The treatment method is considered to be cost effective and reliable technology.•Durability of bentonite is proved during the treatment process.•Corrosion control of municipal pipelines is considered for treated wastewater.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)) has caused relatively high mortality rates in humans throughout the world since its ...first detection in late December 2019, leading to the most devastating pandemic of the current century. Consequently, SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic interventions have received high priority from public health authorities. Despite increased COVID-19 infections, a vaccine or therapy to cover all the population is not yet available. Herein, immunoinformatics and custommune tools were used to identify B and T-cells epitopes from the available SARS-CoV-2 sequences spike (S) protein. In the in silico predictions, six B cell epitopes QTGKIADYNYK, TEIYQASTPCNGVEG, LQSYGFQPT, IRGDEVRQIAPGQTGKIADYNYKLPD, FSQILPDPSKPSKRS and PFAMQMAYRFNG were cross-reacted with MHC-I and MHC-II T-cells binding epitopes and selected for vaccination in experimental animals for evaluation as candidate vaccine(s) due to their high antigenic matching and conserved score. The selected six peptides were used individually or in combinations to immunize female Balb/c mice. The immunized mice raised reactive antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in two different short peptides located in receptor binding domain and S2 region. In combination groups, an additive effect was demonstrated in-comparison with single peptide immunized mice. This study provides novel epitope-based peptide vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder associated with an increased blood glucose level. The world health burden of DM has increased as a result of numerous causes that necessitates suitable ...treatment. Pioglitazone (PGZ) is a generally prescribed medication for managing type II diabetes. However, its low solubility creates complications for its formulation. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to incorporate PGZ into a nanoemulsion (NE) formulation prepared with Nigella sativa oil (NSO) to boost the action of PGZ. To our knowledge, no previous study has addressed the combination and synergistic effect of PGZ and NSO as a hypoglycemic NE formulation intended for oral administration. An experiment was designed to test several PGZ-loaded NE formulations, varying factors such as NSO, surfactant and co-surfactant concentrations. These factors were investigated for their influence on responses including particle size and in vitro release. An optimized PGZ-loaded NE was selected and examined for its morphology, kinetic activity and stability. Further, the anti-diabetic effect of the optimized formulation was evaluated using diabetically induced rats. The optimized formula exhibited a good particle size of 167.1 nm and in vitro release of 89.5%. A kinetic study revealed that the drug release followed the Korsmeyer–Peppas mechanism. Additionally, the PGZ-loaded NE formulation was found to be stable, showing non-significant variation in the evaluated parameters when stored at 4 and 25 °C for a period of 3 months. In vivo investigation of the PGZ-loaded NE formulation showed a significant reduction in blood glucose level, which appeared to be enhanced by the presence of NSO. In conclusion, NS-NE could be a promising nanocarrier for enhancing the hypoglycemic effect of PGZ.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have important applications in adsorption, because of high porosity, diverse functionalities, and easy modification. Cobalt metal organic frame work (Co-MOF) based on ...diallylamine as the ligand was synthesized for the adsorption of Ce(III) and Eu(III) from aqueous solutions. Co-MOF was characterized by different spectroscopic techniques such as Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of adsorbent weight, pH of solutions, contact time, metal ion concentrations and gamma irradiation dose were studied. The adsorption efficiency of Ce(III) and Eu(III) onto Co-MOF was 93.3 and 27.47%, respectively, at pH 5.1. The distribution coefficient (Kd) of Ce(III) increased from 17.46 to 2791.30 ml/g, while for Eu(III) increased from 13.15 to 75.75 ml/g with changed the pH from 1.01 to 5.1. The Ce(III) and Eu(III) adsorption data were well fitted to the pseudo second order kinetic and Langmuir adsorption model. The maximum adsorption capacity of Ce(III) and Eu(III) onto Co-MOF were 102.24 and 52.93 mg/g respectively. The adsorption of Ce and Eu was slightly reduced by about 10% with increase dose of gamma radiation up to 400 kGy.
•Synthesis and characterization of cobalt metal organic frame work (Co-MOF).•Co-MOF exhibited highest efficiently adsorptive for Ce(III) than Eu(III).•There is an excellent agreement between the proposed model results and actual data.•Co-MOF has high γ-rays irradiation stability.•Co-MOF can be considered as a better adsorbent for Ce(III) recovery and waste water treatment.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Heat stress is one of the most challenging environmental stresses affecting domestic animal production, particularly commercial poultry, subsequently causing severe yearly economic losses. Heat ...stress, a major source of oxidative stress, stimulates mitochondrial oxidative stress and cell dysfunction, leading to cell damage and apoptosis. Cell survival under stress conditions needs urgent response mechanisms and the consequent effective reinitiation of cell functions following stress mitigation. Exposure of cells to heat-stress conditions induces molecules that are ready for mediating cell death and survival signals, and for supporting the cell's tolerance and/or recovery from damage. Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) confer cell protection against heat stress via different mechanisms, including developing thermotolerance, modulating apoptotic and antiapoptotic signaling pathways, and regulating cellular redox conditions. These functions mainly depend on the capacity of HSPs to work as molecular chaperones and to inhibit the aggregation of non-native and misfolded proteins. This review sheds light on the key factors in heat-shock responses for protection against cell damage induced by heat stress in chicken.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Insects could be a potential replacement of protein-rich ingredients in poultry diets. Among these insects, black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens, has a high content of protein and fat, which ...reinforces the potential of using it in poultry feed formulation and makes it one of the most promising insect species for commercial production. Protein content as well as amino acid profile in H. illucens larvae is comparable to those in many protein-rich feedstuffs such as fish meal and soybean meal. BSF can convert organic wastes into a precious source of nutrients, such as proteins, lipids, and chitin, which contribute to reducing the environmental burden and pollution potential arising from organic waste accumulation. This review emphasizes the significance of this insect as a “green” technology in the extremely variable recycling of organic waste and generates a sustainable protein source as well as the importance of its use as a substitute of protein-rich feedstuff in poultry feed manufacturing.
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