The northwestern Indian Ocean hosts globally crucial marine biodiversity, which is relatively understudied. There has, however, been significant research and conservation effort focused on marine ...turtles across the region in recent decades. We undertook an exhaustive review of 251 relevant publications to extract and collate the current information concerning marine turtles. To ensure completeness, we received input on a preliminary draft from a large group of experts who have worked extensively in the region. Data presented here are from all 13 countries with significant coastlines in the region (Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen) on occurrence, nesting biology, morphology, foraging areas, population status, threats, and relevant national legislation and international conservation strategies. The experts independently provided details on what they felt were the (1) most significant threats to marine turtles, (2) most critical knowledge gaps for marine turtle ecology, (3) impediments to practical conservation, and (4) essential strengths and opportunities in the region.
The measured data of global and diffuse solar radiation on a horizontal surface, the number of bright sunshine hours, mean daily ambient temperature, maximum and minimum ambient temperatures, ...relative humidity and amount of cloud cover for Jeddah (lat. 21°42′37′′N, long. 39°11′12′′E), Saudi Arabia, during the period (1996–2007) are analyzed. The monthly averages of daily values for these meteorological variables have been calculated. The data are then divided into two sets. The sub-data set I (1996–2004) are employed to develop empirical correlations between the monthly average of daily global solar radiation fraction (
H/
H
0) and the various weather parameters. The sub-data set II (2005–2007) are then used to evaluate the derived correlations. Furthermore, the total solar radiation on horizontal surfaces is separated into the beam and diffuses components. Empirical correlations for estimating the diffuse solar radiation incident on horizontal surfaces have been proposed. The total solar radiation incident on a tilted surface facing south
H
t
with different tilt angles is then calculated using both Liu and Jordan isotropic model and Klucher’s anisotropic model. It is inferred that the isotropic model is able to estimate
H
t
more accurate than the anisotropic one. At the optimum tilt angle, the maximum value of
H
t
is obtained as ∼36 (MJ/m
2
day) during January. Comparisons with 22
years average data of NASA SSE Model showed that the proposed correlations are able to predict the total annual energy on horizontal and tilted surfaces in Jeddah with a reasonable accuracy. It is also found that at Jeddah, the solar energy devices have to be tilted to face south with a tilt angle equals the latitude of the place in order to achieve the best performance all year round.
NiO thin film was prepared by sol–gel spin-coating method. This thin film annealed at
T
=
600
°C. The structure of NiO thin film was investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and ...scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optical properties of the deposited film were characterized from the analysis of the experimentally recorded transmittance and reflectance data in the spectral wavelength range of 300–800
nm. The values of some important parameters of the studied films are determined, such as refractive index (
n), extinction coefficient (
k), optical absorption coefficient (
α) and band energy gap (
E
g). According to the analysis of dispersion curves, it has been found that the dispersion data obeyed the single oscillator of the Wemple–DiDomenico model, from which the dispersion parameters and high-frequency dielectric constant were determined. In such work, from the transmission spectra, the dielectric constant (
ɛ
∞), the third-order optical nonlinear susceptibility
χ
(3), volume energy loss function (VELF) and surface energy loss function (SELF) were determined.
We sequenced and comprehensively analysed the genomic architecture of 98 fluorescent pseudomonads isolated from different symptomatic and asymptomatic tissues of almond and a few other Prunus spp. ...Phylogenomic analyses, genome mining, field pathogenicity tests, and in vitro ice nucleation and antibiotic sensitivity tests were integrated to improve knowledge of the biology and management of bacterial blast and bacterial canker of almond. We identified Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, P. cerasi, and P. viridiflava as almond canker pathogens. P. syringae pv. syringae caused both canker and foliar (blast) symptoms. In contrast, P. cerasi and P. viridiflava only caused cankers, and P. viridiflava appeared to be a weak pathogen of almond. Isolates belonging to P. syringae pv. syringae were the most frequently isolated among the pathogenic species/pathovars, composing 75% of all pathogenic isolates. P. cerasi and P. viridiflava isolates composed 8.3 and 16.7% of the pathogenic isolates, respectively. Laboratory leaf infiltration bioassays produced results distinct from experiments in the field with both P. cerasi and P. syringae pv. syringae, causing significant necrosis and browning of detached leaves, whereas P. viridiflava conferred moderate effects. Genome mining revealed the absence of key epiphytic fitness-related genes in P. cerasi and P. viridiflava genomic sequences, which could explain the contrasting field and laboratory bioassay results. P. syringae pv. syringae and P. cerasi isolates harboured the ice nucleation protein, which correlated with the ice nucleation phenotype. Results of sensitivity tests to copper and kasugamycin showed a strong linkage to putative resistance genes. Isolates harbouring the ctpV gene showed resistance to copper up to 600 μg/ml. In contrast, isolates without the ctpV gene could not grow on nutrient agar amended with 200 μg/ml copper, suggesting ctpV can be used to phenotype copper resistance. All isolates were sensitive to kasugamycin at the label-recommended rate of 100μg/ml.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Transient mathematical models are presented for an active single basin solar still (ASS) with and without a sensible storage material under the basin liner of the still. Sand is used as a storage ...material due to its availability. The flowing water temperature is assumed to vary with time and space coordinates. Analytical expressions are obtained for various temperatures of the still elements as well as for the temperature of sand. The performance of the still with and without storage is investigated by computer simulation using the climatic conditions of Jeddah (lat. 21° 42′ N, long. 39° 11′ E), Saudi Arabia. Effects of mass flow rate and thickness of the flowing water for different masses of the storage material on the daylight
P
dl, overnight
P
on and daily productivity
P
d and efficiency
η
d of the still are studied. The dependence of
P
d and
η
d on the thickness and thermal conductivity of the basin liner material is also investigated. It is found that
P
d and
η
d decrease as the mass of the storage material increases, due to the increased heat capacity of the storage material. Furthermore,
P
d and
η
d are found to decrease with increasing thermal conductivity of the basin linear material. Therefore, it is advisable to fabricate basin liners of ASS from cheap insulating materials such as glass and mica with an optimum thickness of 3
mm. On a summer day, a value of
P
d of 4.005 (kg/m
2
day) with a daily efficiency of 37.8% has been obtained using 10
kg of sand compared to 2.852 (kg/m
2
day) with a daily efficiency of 27% when the still is used without storage. The annual average of daily productivity of the still with storage is found to be 23.8% higher than that when it is used without storage.
The BRAF gene is responsible for transferring signals from outside of the cell to inside of the nucleus by converting a protein namely B-Raf through the RAS/MAPK pathway. This pathway contribute to ...cell division, proliferation, migration, and apoptotic cell death of human and animal. Mutation in this gene may cause the development of several cancers, including lung, skin, colon, and neuroblastoma. Currently, a few available drugs are being used that has developed by targeting the BRAF mutated protein, and due to the toxic side effects, patients suffer a lot during their treatment. Therefore this study aimed to identify potentially lead compounds that can target and block the expression of BRAF and subsequently inhibit the cancer. The hits were generated through the pharmacophore model-based virtual screening, molecular docking, pharmacohore model validation, ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) analysis molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to find more suitable candidate against the overexpress BRAF gene. The pharmacophore based screening initially identified 14 k possible hits from online database which were further screened by ligand scout advance software to get hit compound. Based on molecular docking score of ZINC70454679 (-10.6 kcal/mol), ZINC253500968 (-9.4 kcal/mol), ZINC106887736 (-8.6 kcal/mol), and ZINC107434492 (-8.1 kcal/mol), pharmacophore feature and toxicity evaluation, we selected four possible lead compounds. The dynamic simulation with Schrodinger Maestro software was used to determine the stability of the potential lead candidates with target protein (PDB ID: 5VAM). The results showed that the newly obtained four compounds were more stable than the control ligand (Pub Chem ID: 90408826). The current results showed that the ZINC70454679, ZINC253500968, ZINC106887736, and ZINC107434492 compounds may be able to work against several cancers through targeting the BRAF overexpressed gene. To develop a novel drug candidate, however the evaluation of the web lab based experimental work are necessary to evaluate the efficiency of the each compound against the BRAF target gene.
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has a 5-y survival rate of ∼16%, with most deaths associated with uncontrolled metastasis. We screened for stem cell identity-related genes preferentially expressed ...in a panel of cell lines with high versus low metastatic potential, derived from NSCLC tumors of KrasLA1/+;P53R172HΔG/+ (KP) mice. The Musashi-2 (MSI2) protein, a regulator of mRNA translation, was consistently elevated in metastasis-competent cell lines. MSI2 was overexpressed in 123 human NSCLC tumor specimens versus normal lung, whereas higher expression was associated with disease progression in an independent set of matched normal/primary tumor/lymph node specimens. Depletion of MSI2 in multiple independent metastatic murine and human NSCLC cell lines reduced invasion and metastatic potential, independent of an effect on proliferation. MSI2 depletion significantly induced expression of proteins associated with epithelial identity, including tight junction proteins claudin 3 (CLDN3), claudin 5 (CLDN5), and claudin 7 (CLDN7) and down-regulated direct translational targets associated with epithelial–mesenchymal transition, including the TGF-β receptor 1 (TGFβR1), the small mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3 (SMAD3), and the zinc finger proteins SNAI1 (SNAIL) and SNAI2 (SLUG). Overexpression of TGFβRI reversed the loss of invasion associated with MSI2 depletion, whereas overexpression of CLDN7 inhibited MSI2-dependent invasion. Unexpectedly, MSI2 depletion reduced E-cadherin expression, reflecting amixed epithelial–mesenchymal phenotype. Based on this work, we propose that MSI2 provides essential support for TGFβR1/SMAD3 signaling and contributes to invasive adenocarcinoma of the lung and may serve as a predictive biomarker of NSCLC aggressiveness.
We sequenced and comprehensively analysed the genomic architecture of 98 fluorescent pseudomonads isolated from different symptomatic and asymptomatic tissues of almond and a few other Prunus spp. ...Phylogenomic analyses, genome mining, field pathogenicity tests, and in vitro ice nucleation and antibiotic sensitivity tests were integrated to improve knowledge of the biology and management of bacterial blast and bacterial canker of almond. We identified Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, P. cerasi, and P. viridiflava as almond canker pathogens. P. syringae pv. syringae caused both canker and foliar (blast) symptoms. In contrast, P. cerasi and P. viridiflava only caused cankers, and P. viridiflava appeared to be a weak pathogen of almond. Isolates belonging to P. syringae pv. syringae were the most frequently isolated among the pathogenic species/pathovars, composing 75% of all pathogenic isolates. P. cerasi and P. viridiflava isolates composed 8.3 and 16.7% of the pathogenic isolates, respectively. Laboratory leaf infiltration bioassays produced results distinct from experiments in the field with both P. cerasi and P. syringae pv. syringae, causing significant necrosis and browning of detached leaves, whereas P. viridiflava conferred moderate effects. Genome mining revealed the absence of key epiphytic fitness-related genes in P. cerasi and P. viridiflava genomic sequences, which could explain the contrasting field and laboratory bioassay results. P. syringae pv. syringae and P. cerasi isolates harboured the ice nucleation protein, which correlated with the ice nucleation phenotype. Results of sensitivity tests to copper and kasugamycin showed a strong linkage to putative resistance genes. Isolates harbouring the ctpV gene showed resistance to copper up to 600 mug/ml. In contrast, isolates without the ctpV gene could not grow on nutrient agar amended with 200 mug/ml copper, suggesting ctpV can be used to phenotype copper resistance. All isolates were sensitive to kasugamycin at the label-recommended rate of 100mug/ml.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose
The treatment of displaced midshaft clavicle fractures in children remains controversial. The purpose of our study was to compare the outcome of displaced midshaft clavicle fractures in ...children who were managed operatively by flexible intramedullary nailing (FIN) with nonoperative treatment.
Methods
A prospective review of 31 children (mean age 10.5 years) with displaced midshaft clavicle fractures treated either by FIN or nonoperatively and with at least a six-month follow-up was undertaken. In all, 24 children underwent FIN and seven underwent nonoperative treatment. The patient outcomes included the Constant-Murley score, Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8), numeric pain rating scale, time to union and time to return to activity. Surgical complications were recorded.
Results
The two groups were comparable with regards to age, gender and mechanism of injury. At six months of follow-up, the Constant-Murley (97.8 versus 94.7, p < 0.001) and CSQ-8 (29.1 versus 19.1, p < 0.001) scores were higher in the FIN group. Time to union and return to activity were significantly shorter in the FIN group (7.3 and 9.2 weeks versus 10.4 and 16.6 weeks respectively, p < 0.01). The only surgical complication was a FIN exchange for skin irritation due to nail prominence.
Conclusion
FIN is a minimally invasive procedure for children with displaced midshaft clavicle fractures associated with shorter time to union, quicker return to activity and higher Constant-Murley and CSQ-8 scores when compared with nonoperative treatment. However, the difference in Constant-Murley scores was not clinically significant. Furthermore, the advantages of FIN are at the expense of an increased complication rate of 12.5% (upper 95% confidence interval 33.3%).
Level of Evidence
Therapeutic, II