The genus
is widely distributed in terrestrial and marine environments. In the marine environment, several
species have proved their potential to produce a plethora of secondary metabolites including ...polyketides, sterols, fatty acids, peptides, alkaloids, terpenoids and miscellaneous compounds, displaying a variety of pharmacological activities such as antimicrobial, cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. From the beginning of 2015 until December 2020, about 361 secondary metabolites were identified from different marine
species. In our review, we highlight secondary metabolites from various marine-derived
species reported between January 2015 and December 2020 along with their biological potential and structural aspects whenever applicable.
Al-Nakheel beach is located northwest of Alexandria city, Egypt, along the Mediterranean coast. During the period from 1998 to 2003, seven detached breakwaters were constructed along Al-Nakheel beach ...to create a sheltered area for swimming. Unfortunately, the structures amplify rip currents, shoreline accretions, and erosions. The aim of this research is to track the variations of the rip currents within the study area and show the effects of the breakwaters on the shoreline. The research is based on the hydrodynamic and morphological data of the study area and uses the Delft3D hydrodynamical model combined with other data analysis tools to serve the model input. The data include measured sea-level observations in 2013, the ERA-interim wave datasets from 2015 to 2018 and wind data in 2018, bed morphologies, and Google Earth satellite images from 2010 to 2020. The model is calibrated on the basis of the available current measurements within the nearshore zone. Results show that the shoreline eroded at an average rate of about 0.9 m/yr. Moreover, pairs of vortices are formed behind the breakwaters with an average current velocity of 0.6 m/s. The predominant northwest waves induce rip currents on the leeside of the structures with velocities reaching 1.2 m/s, associated with the rip pulsation that extends offshore. The problem solution decision recommends the removal of the sand deposition on the leeside of the breakwaters by an average amount of 100 000 m
3
/yr and the fencing of the safe area for swimming by a floating fence of 1 000 m length and 65 m average width.
The spread of fake news on social media continues to be one of the main challenges facing internet users, prohibiting them from discerning authentic from fabricated pieces of information. Hence, ...identifying the veracity of the content in social posts becomes an important challenge, especially with more people continuing to use social media as their main channel for news consumption. Although a number of machine learning models were proposed in the literature to tackle this challenge, the majority rely on the textual content of the post to identify its veracity, which poses a limitation to the performance of such models, especially on platforms where the content of the users’ post is limited (e.g., Twitter, where each post is limited to 140 characters). In this paper, we propose a deep-learning approach for tackling the fake news detection problem that incorporates the content of both the social post and the associated news article as well as the context of the social post, coined TChecker. Throughout the experiments, we use the benchmark dataset FakeNewsNet to illustrate that our proposed model (TChecker) is able to achieve higher performance across all metrics against a number of baseline models that utilize the social content only as well as models combining both social and news content.
Foods with medical value have been proven to be beneficial, and they are extensively employed since they integrate two essential elements: food and medication. Accordingly, diabetic patients can ...benefit from papaya because the fruit is low in sugar and high in antioxidants. An RP-HPLC method was designed for studying the pharmacokinetics of metformin (MET) when concurrently administered with papaya extract. A mobile phase of 0.5 mM of KH
PO
solution and methanol (65:35,
/
), pH = 5 ± 0.2 using aqueous phosphoric acid and NaOH, and guaifenesin (GUF) were used as an internal standard. To perform non-compartmental pharmacokinetic analysis, the Pharmacokinetic program (PK Solver) was used. The method's greenness was analyzed using two tools: the Analytical GREEnness calculator and the RGB additive color model. Taking papaya with MET improved the rate of absorption substantially (time for reaching maximum concentration (T
) significantly decreased by 75% while maximum plasma concentration (C
) increased by 7.33%). The extent of absorption reduced by 22.90%. Furthermore, the amount of medication distributed increased (30.83 L for MET concurrently used with papaya extract versus 24.25 L for MET used alone) and the clearance rate rose by roughly 13.50%. The results of the greenness assessment indicated that the method is environmentally friendly. Taking papaya with MET changed the pharmacokinetics of the drug dramatically. Hence, this combination will be particularly effective in maintaining quick blood glucose control.
Traditional air conditioning may be inappropriate for electric vehicles due to its moving parts noise besides using chlorofluorocarbons that harm the environment. In addition, it consumes a ...significant portion of the stored energy in batteries, reducing the vehicle's driving range. So, in this paper, a novel design of thermo-electric cooling (TEC) system coupled with a photovoltaic (PV) panel replacing the vehicle roof is studied. This system consists of a sandwich of PV panel outside the vehicle and TEC inside with a heat sink system integrated between them. The air temperature variation in the cabin during the daytime is predicted by solving a complete mathematical transient thermal model of the whole system before and after mounting the cooling system. The air streams through the vehicle moving are exploited to improve the TEC and PV system performance. The system performance is investigated for different cases during the day with and without including the PV output power and for the vehicle parks inside or outside. The results indicate that, for each scenario, the number of used TEC modules influences the system performance where the best number varies between 128 and 98. Coupling the PV panel with the TEC system reduces the daily required energy from batteries by about 19%. Running the TEC system during parking from 8 to 10 am decreases the cabin air temperature from 47.5 to 34°C while the input power declines by about 45%, which reduces the interior temperature to 25°C in 10 min (transition time). The contribution of the PV panel based on the studied conditions can increase the range of the vehicle by 10.4 km/day and about 160kWh/year energy saving. The reduction in the input power during transition time reaches 27.8% when the vehicle speed increases from 30 to 60 km/h, while this ratio declines to 10.8% as the vehicle speed rises from 60 to 90 km/h. During vehicle moving, powering the TEC system by the PV panel only can prevent the cabin temperature from rising over 40°C, whereas during parking, there is an optimum fan air velocity that gives the maximum reduction of the cabin temperature.
•A novel design of a thermo-electric air conditioning system for electric vehicles is studied.•Contribution of the PV panel reaches 19% of the daily energy consumption in some scenarios.•PV panel increases the range of the vehicle by 10.4 km and can save 160kWh/year.•The best number of TEC modules is about 128 for scenarios 1 and 2 and 98 for the others•Power the TEC by PV power in parking reduces the vehicle temperature less than ambient.
Economical, highly robust, selective, precise, and eco-friendly RP-UPLC and spectrophotometric methods were developed and validated for the concurrent estimation of selected pharmaceutical drugs ...represented in ceftazidime (CFZ) and pyridine (PYD) in their solutions using Agilent Zorbax SB-C18 RRHD (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm) column at flow rate 0.3 mL/min with wavelength 254 nm. Box-Behnken design (BBD) established Response surface methodology (RSM) to achieve the optimum chromatographic condition with minimal trials conducted. Three independent variables specifically acetonitrile ratio 60–70%, pH 3–7, and temperature 25–35 °C were implemented to evaluate the influences of these variables on the responses as resolution and retention time. Desirability and overlay plots were carried out to adjust the optimal condition that achieved the shortest retention time of less than 2 min and desired resolution of more than 1.5 using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile: purified water (70:30, v/v) at pH 5.0 adjusted by 0.1% orthophosphoric acid with the column oven temperature 30 °C and column void volume 0.46 mL. Mean centering of ratio spectra (MCR) and ratio subtraction (RS) methods were effectively applied to resolve drugs' spectral superposition at 220 nm, 255.4 nm, 260.3 nm, and 254.6 nm for CFZ and PYD, respectively. Linearity range was accomplished for UPLC, MCR, and RS methods over the concentration range of 2–100, 1–50,3–30 and 5–30 µg/mL for CFZ and PYD, respectively with correlation coefficient > 0.999 and good recovery results within 98–102%. Six Sigma methodology was achieved using the process capability index (Cpk) to compare the suggested and USP methods showing that both are highly capable with Cpk > 1.33. The proposed method was successfully validated depending on ICH guidelines and ANOVA results and applied for the accelerated stability study.
Graphical Abstract
Modified cellulose acetate membranes with bentonite clay (CA/bent) and TiO
nanoparticles (CA/TiO
) using the phase inversion method are successfully prepared and characterized. These Membranes are ...favored due to their high salt rejection properties and recyclability. The IR and EDX spectral data indicate the formation of modified membranes. The Scan Electron Microscope micrographs show that the modified membranes have smaller particle sizes with higher porosity than the neat membrane. The average pore diameter is 0.31 µm for neat cellulose acetate membrane (CA) and decreases to 0.1 µm for CA/0.05bent. All modified membranes exhibit tensile strengths and elongation percentages more than the neat membrane. The higher tensile strength and the maximum elongation% are 15.3 N/cm
and 11.78%, respectively, for CA/0.05bent. The thermogravimetric analysis of modified membranes shows higher thermal stability than the neat membrane. The modified membranes exhibit enhanced wettability and hydrophilicity compared with cellulose acetate, by measuring the contact angle which decreases from 60° (CA) to 40° (CA/0.1bent). The ultrafiltration tests indicated that the CA/bent and CA/TiO
are better than CA. The most efficient nanocomposite membrane is CA/0.05bent with 100% removal of (BSA) from industrial water with a flux equal to 9.5 mL/min under an applied pressure of 20 bar. Thus, this study introduces a novel ultrafiltration membrane (CA/0.05bent) that can be used effectively to completely remove bovine serum albumin from contaminated water.
Currently, the total number of diabetic people worldwide is constantly increasing. Metformin (MET) is known to be a first-line antidiabetic drug with varied, wide-reaching applications. Concurrent ...administration of phytomedicines such as fenugreek extract with synthetic drugs is very common. It is reported that concomitant administration of fenugreek extract with metformin maintains lower blood glucose levels than metformin alone. In this work, an ecofriendly RP-HPLC method was established to study and compare the pharmacokinetics of metformin with and without the contemporary administration of fenugreek extract using rat as an animal model. In the developed method, a solvent mixture of 0.5 mM KH
2
PO
4
solution : methanol (65 : 35, v/v) was used as a mobile phase and guaiphenesin was used as an internal standard. The plasma concentration-time curve was plotted, and non-compartmental pharmacokinetic analysis was performed using PKSolver. The results of the pharmacokinetic study showed that concurrent administration of fenugreek significantly increased the bioavailability of metformin and doubled the time required to reach the peak plasma concentration (
T
max
). Moreover, the volume of drug distribution decreased by about 70%, while its rate of clearance decreased by about 55.96%. Accordingly, the administration of fenugreek in combination with metformin significantly affected the pharmacokinetics of metformin, and this combination will be very useful in controlling blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. The greenness of the method was assessed using the Analytical Eco-Scale, Analytical Method Volume Intensity (AMVI), and National Environmental Method Index (NEMI), and all results affirmed that the method can be considered to be ecological.
The combination of fenugreek extract and metformin can be considered as an auspicious treatment for satisfactory diabetes control and minimizing the expected long-term complications of metformin.
The renin angiotensin aldosterone system has a localized key regulatory action, especially in liver and body circulation. Furthermore, it accomplishes a significant role in the downregulation of the ...PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway that is involved in type II diabetes mellitus pathogenesis. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of a synthetic pioglitazone analogue (benzenesulfonamide derivative) compared to the standard pioglitazone hypoglycemic drug on enhancing liver insulin sensitivity via ACE 2/Ang (1-7)/PI3K/AKT/mTOR in experimental STZ-induced diabetes. After the model was established, rats were distributed into the normal control group, diabetic group, pioglitazone group (20 mg/kg), and a benzenesulfonamide derivative group (20 mg/kg), with the last 2 groups receiving oral treatment for 14 consecutive days. Our results suggested enhancing liver insulin sensitivity against the ACE2/Ang (1-7)/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Moreover, the synthetic compound produced a reduction in blood glucose levels, restored hyperinsulinemia back to normal, and enhanced liver glycogen deposition. In addition, it up regulated the ACE2/Ang (1-7)/PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway via increasing insulin receptor substrate 1 and 2 sensitivity to insulin, while it increased glucose transporter 2 expression in the rat pancreas. The study findings imply that the hypoglycemic effect of the benzenesulfonamide derivative is due to enhancing liver sensitivity to regulate blood glucose level via the ACE2/Ang (1-7)/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a world wild health care issue marked by insulin resistance, a risk factor for the metabolic disorder that exaggerates endothelial dysfunction, increasing the risk ...of cardiovascular complications. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor PPAR) agonists have therapeutically mitigated hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia in T2D patients. Therefore, we aimed to experimentally investigate the efficacy of newly designed synthetic PPARα/Ƴ partial agonists on a High-Fat Diet (HFD)/streptozotocin (STZ)-induced T2D. Female Wistar rats (200 ± 25 g body weight) were divided into four groups. The experimental groups were fed the HFD for three consecutive weeks before STZ injection (45 mg/kg/i.p) to induce T2D. Standard reference PPARƳ agonist pioglitazone and the partial synthetic PPARƳ (PIO; 20 mg/kg/BW, orally) were administered orally for 2 weeks after 72 h of STZ injection. The aorta tissue was isolated for biological ELISA, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting investigations for vascular inflammatory endothelial mediators endothelin-1 (ET-1), intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), E-selectin, and anti-inflammatory vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), as well as microRNA126-5p and p-AKT/p-Pi3k/p-PDK-1/p-mTOR, endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase (eNOS) immunohistochemical staining all are coupled with and histopathological examination. Our results revealed that HFD/STZ-induced T2D increased fasting blood glucose, ET-1, ICAM-1, E-selectin, and VIP levels, while decreasing the expression of both microRNA126-5p and p-AKT/p-Pi3k/p-PDK-1/p-mTOR phosphorylation. In contrast, the partial synthetic PPARƳ derivative evidenced a vascular alteration significantly more than reference PIO via decreasing (ET-1), ICAM-1, E-selectin, and VIP, along with increased expression of microRNA126-5p and p-AKT/p-Pi3k/p-PDK-1/p-mTOR. In conclusion, the partial synthetic PPARƳ derivative significantly affected HFD/STZ-induced T2D with vascular complications in the rat aorta.
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