High Plasma Sphingosine 1-phosphate Levels Predict Osteoporotic Fractures in Postmenopausal Women: The Center of Excellence for Osteoporosis Research Study

Mohammed-Salleh M. Ardawi,Abdulrahim A. Rouzi,Nawal S. Al-Senani,Mohammed H. Qari,Ayman Z. Elsamanoudy,Shaker A. Mousa 대한골대사학회 2018 대한골대사학회지 Vol.25 No.2

Background: Higher sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) plasma levels are associated with decreased bone mineral density (BMD), and increased risk of prevalent vertebral fracture. So, we hypothesized that postmenopausal women with increased baseline plasma S1P levels have a greater risk for future incident fracture (osteoporosis-related fractures [ORFs]). Methods: This study was conducted in a prospective longitudinal cohort of 707 women recruited in 2004 and followed up annually for a mean period of 5.2±1.3 years. They were postmenopausal (aged ≥50 years). The primary outcome measure was the time to the first confirmed ORF event using radiographs and/or a surgical report. Results: The plasma S1P levels (μmol/L) were significantly higher in the women with incident fracture (7.23±0.79) than in those without ORFs (5.02±0.51; P<0.001). High S1P levels were strongly associated with increased fracture risk. After adjustment for age and other confounders, the hazard ratio (HR) was 6.12 (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.92-7.66) for each 1-standard deviation increase in plasma S1P levels. The women in the highest quartile of S1P levels had a significant increase in fracture risk (HR, 9.89; 95% CI, 2.83-34.44). Results were similar when we compared plasma S1P levels at the 1-year visit. Conclusions: The associations between plasma S1P levels and fracture risk were independent of BMD and other confounders. These findings demonstrate that high plasma S1P level at baseline and at years 1 to 5 is a strong and independent risk factor for future [ORFs] among postmenopausal women and could be a useful biomarker for fracture risk assessment in this population.

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of Heritiera fomes (Buch.-Ham), a mangrove plant of the Sundarbans

Islam Md. Emdadul,Islam Kazi Mohammed Didarul,Billah Md. Morsaline,Biswas Rana,Sohrab Md. Hossain,Rahman S. M. Mahbubur 경희대학교 융합한의과학연구소 2020 Oriental Pharmacy and Experimental Medicine Vol.20 No.2

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of Heritiera fomes ethanolic extract was evaluated.Query Ethanolic extraction of dried and grinded plant leaves and bark was performed. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazil (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and β-carotene bleaching inhibition assay. Total phenolic and flavonoid content were also determined. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by in vitro human RBC membrane stabilizing assay and in vivo mice paw edema test. Ethanolic bark and leaf extracts of H. fomes (S1 and S2, respectively) showed significant scavenging effect on DPPH scavenging 68.51 µg/ml for S1 and 108.64 µg/ml for S2. Potent reduction potential (FRAP) was observed in S1 (83.75 mM of ferrous equivalent) while the FRAP of standard ascorbic acid was found 86.66 μM of ferrous equivalent. S1 also exhibited 87.43% β-carotene bleaching inhibition as comparable to standard butylated hydroxytoluene with 98.85% inhibition. Substantial phenolic and flavonoid content was also observed in S1 (136.83 μg gallic acid equivalent/g of extract and 76.67 μg quercetin equivalent/g of extract, respectively). S1 could provide 61.73% and 53.27% protection of RBC membrane in hypotonicity and heat induced lysis of RBC, respectively while the standard diclofenac sodium provided 91.66% and 86.66% protection, respectively. Furthermore, 44.16% reduction in mice paw edema at 40 μg/kg bw concentration was observed in S1 as compared to standard indomethacine (53.54% in 10 μg/kg bw concentration). The results revealed that the bark extract (S1) of H. fomes possesses significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.

Complete Sequence of the Mitochondrial Genome of Spirometra ranarum: Comparison with S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens

전형규,Hansol Park,Dongmin Lee,최성준,강예슬,BIA MOHAMMED MEBAREK,이상화,Keeseon S. Eom 대한기생충학ㆍ열대의학회 2019 The Korean Journal of Parasitology Vol.57 No.1

This study was undertaken to determine the complete mitochondrial DNA sequence and structure of the mito- chondrial genome of Spirometra ranarum, and to compare it with those of S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens. The aim of this study was to provide information of the species level taxonomy of Spirometra spp. using the mitochondrial ge- nomes of 3 Spirometra tapeworms. The S. ranarum isolate originated from Myanmar. The mitochondrial genome se- quence of S. ranarum was compared with that of S. erinaceieuropaei (GenBank no. KJ599680) and S. decipiens (Gen- Bank no. KJ599679). The complete mtDNA sequence of S. ranarum comprised 13,644 bp. The S. ranarum mt genome contained 36 genes comprising 12 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs and 2 rRNAs. The mt genome lacked the atp8 gene, as found for other cestodes. All genes in the S. ranarum mitochondrial genome are transcribed in the same direction and arranged in the same relative position with respect to gene loci as found for S. erinaceieuropaei and S. decipiens mt ge- nomes. The overall nucleotide sequence divergence of 12 protein-coding genes between S. ranarum and S. decipiens differed by 1.5%, and 100% sequence similarity was found in the cox2 and nad6 genes, while the DNA sequence diver- gence of the cox1, nad1, and nad4 genes of S. ranarum and S. decipiens was 2.2%, 2.1%, and 2.6%, respectively.

Soil arching analysis in embankments on soft clays reinforced by stone columns

Mohammed Y. Fattah,Bushra S. Zabar,Hanan A. Hassan 국제구조공학회 2015 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.56 No.4

The present work investigates the behavior of the embankment models resting on soft soil reinforced with ordinary and stone columns encased with geogrid. Model tests were performed with different spacing distances between stone columns and two lengths to diameter ratios (L/d) of the stone columns, in addition to different embankment heights. A total number of 42 model tests were carried out on a soil with undrianed shear strength ≈10 kPa. The models consist of stone columns embankment at s/d equal to 2.5, 3 and 4 with L/d ratio equal 5 and 8. Three embankment heights; 200 mm, 250 mm and 300 mm were tested for both tests of ordinary (OSC) and geogrid encased stone columns (ESC). Three earth pressure cells were used to measure directly the vertical effective stress on column at the top of the middle stone column under the center line of embankment and on the edge stone column for all models while the third cell was placed at the base of embankment between two columns to measure the vertical effective stress in soft soil directly. The performance of stone columns embankments relies upon the ability of the granular embankment material to arch over the „gaps‟ between the stone columns spacing. The results showed that the ratio of the embankment height to the clear spacing between columns (h/s-d) is a key parameter. It is found that (h/s-d)< 1.2 and 1.4 for OSC and ESC, respectively; (h is the embankment height, s is the spacing between columns and d is the diameter of stone columns), no effect of arching is pronounced, the settlement at the surface of the embankment is very large, and the stress acting on the subsoil is virtually unmodified from the nominal overburden stress. When (h/s-d)≥2.2 for OSC and ESC respectively, full arching will occur and minimum stress on subsoil between stone columns will act, so the range of critical embankment height will be 1.2 (h/s- d) to 2.2 (h/s-d) for both OSC and ESC models.

Cellulitis in Broiler Chickens

AMER, Mohamed M.,MEKKY, Hoda M.,FEDAWY, Hanaa S.,AMER, Aziza M.,ELBAYOUMI, Khalid M. Korea FoodHealth Convergence Association 2020 식품보건융합연구 (KJFHC) Vol.6 No.5

Cellulitis in broiler chickens is one of the economically important problems that facing the broiler industry due to the presence of the lesion leads to condemnation of part of /or the entire carcasses. Broiler with cellulitis lesions showed lower body weight. Cellulitis was recorded on different body regions including the head, dorsum, thighs, breast, legs, and abdomen. Cellulitis results from the invasion of subcutaneous (s.c.) tissues by bacteria through disruption of skin integrity. Lesions revealed the existence of the characteristic s.c colored exudate varies from yellowish to green, which were either serosanguineous, fibrinous s.c exudate yellowish, greenish or suppurative. Many bacterial isolates including E. coli, Staphylococci, Clostridia, Aeromonas spp., Enterobacter spp., Proteus mirabilis, P. aeruginosa, and Streptococci were isolated from the lesion. Chickens exposed to immunosuppression proved to have a greater probability of developing cellulitis. The condition was experimentally induced by s.c inoculation of 25-day-old broiler chickens with E. coli, S. aureus and clostridia. Usually, bacterial isolates were multidrug-resistant. The usage of Bifidobacterium bifidum or antibiotic with avoiding immunosuppression can reduce lesion and condemnation rate resulted from cellulitis. The objective of this review is to collect different literature written about cellulitis to be available to students, researchers, and veterinarians in poultry practical.

Synergistic activity of Bacillus thuringiensis δ‐endotoxin and TMOF against Culex pipiens and Spodoptera littoralis larvae

Ahmed M.A. Mohammed,Mervat R. DIAB,Sayed M.S. KHALIL 한국곤충학회 2018 Entomological Research Vol.48 No.3

Trypsin Modulating Oostatic Factor (TMOF) is a decapeptide hormone that inhibits the biosynthesis of digestive enzymes in the mosquito midgut. The hormone inhibits food digestion and ultimately leads to starvation and death. It has been used as a biological insecticide to control mosquitoes. In an attempt to increase the insecticidal activity of TMOF, a combination of CryIC (δ‐endotoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis) and TMOF was determined. Eight recombinant proteins fused with GST (glutathione‐S‐transferase) were expressed in Escherichia coli cells. Their insecticidal activities were determined against Culex pipiens and Spodoptera littoralis larvae. Purified GST‐TMOF and its analogue GST‐YDPAS exhibited a moderate toxicity on C. pipiens larvae with LC50 of 145.9 and 339.9 μg/mL, respectively. Unexpectedly, no mortality was observed in first instar larvae of S. littoralis. Puirified GST‐TMOF and GST‐YDPAS together with Bt toxin showed a synergistic toxic effect on both Culex and Spodoptera larvae. In the presence of 100 μg/mL GST‐TMOF and GST‐YDPAS, the median lethal concentration of entomocidus on culex larvae decreased from 52.1 to 16.7 and 31.9 μg/mL, respectively. Likewise, GST‐TMOF and GST‐YDPAS incorporated with 0.07 μg/cm2 of enotmocidus showed insecticidal activity against S. littoralis with LC50 of 16.4 and 21.9 μg/cm2. The E. coli lysates containing GST‐CryIC and its 3′‐truncated version showed low toxicity against the lepidopteran insect (10.8 and 16.6 μg/cm2) compared to 0.15 μg/cm2 of the native crystalline form of CryIC. Similarly, the mosquitocidal activity of the recombinant Bt toxins was low.

Antioxidant and antibacterial activity of three herbs belonging to Zingiber genus of Bangladesh

Afiya Aunjum,Rana Biswas,Tauhidur Rahman Nurunnabi,S.M. Mahbubur Rahman,Md. Morsaline Billah,Md. Emdadul Islam,Kazi Mohammed Didarul Islam 경희대학교 융합한의과학연구소 2020 Oriental Pharmacy and Experimental Medicine Vol.20 No.3

Apart from boosting flavor, herbs and spices are also known for their preservative, antioxidant, antimicrobial and other medicinal properties. Bioactive metabolites with aspiring prospect have guided the present study to screen for antibacterial and antioxidant activity of three Zingiber plants available in Bangladesh. For that purpose, rhizomes of Zingiber officinale, Z. montanum and Z. zerumbet were extracted with ethanol as solvent system for bioactivity analysis. Antioxidant activity was assessed by employing DPPH free radical scavenging assay, reducing power assay and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. Z. officinale extract demonstrated the highest free radical scavenging activity ( IC50: 43.65 μg/ml), reducing power ( EC50: 189.026 μg/ml) and FRAP value (137.18 ± 0.116 μM Fe(II)/100 μg dry weight of extract). Moreover, total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin content were determined which significantly correlated (Pearson correlation) with the antioxidant activities. For the evaluation of antibacterial activity, zone of inhibition (ZOI) was measured by disc diffusion bioassay against four Gram positive bacteria Bacillus megaterium, Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus spp., and S. epidermidis as well as ten Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, S. paratyphi, Vibrio cholera, Shigella dysenteriae, S. flexneri, Proteus spp., Mycobacterium spp., and Campylobacter spp. Z. montanum extract exhibited significant activity against E. coli (13.67 ± 0.577 mm ZOI) and Micrococcus spp. (14.33 ± 0.763 mm ZOI) if compared to standard erythromycin with ZOI 15.33 ± 0.577 mm and 15.67 ± 0.577 mm, respectively. Furthermore, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of Z. montanum extract were determined against B. megaterium, Micrococcus spp., E. coli and S. paratyphi. Thus, Z. officinale and Z. montanum extracts could be utilized as source and template for the synthesis of potential drugs and food supplements as well.

TAS2R38 bitter taste perception in the Koṅkaṇī Sārasvata Brahmin population

Sequeira Jaison Jeevan,Nizamuddin Sheikh,van Driem George,Mustak Mohammed S. 한국유전학회 2023 Genes & Genomics Vol.45 No.11

Background The TAS2R38 gene carries markers for phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) sensitivity. Various studies have investigated the genotype–phenotype association pattern for bitter tasting ability and other factors in different populations. However, a paucity of such information for endogamous Indian populations is the reason behind this study. Objective To study the association of phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) sensitivity with TAS2R38 gene variations in Koṅkaṇī Sārasvata Brahmin population. Methods We studied the association of the alleles rs714598, rs1726866, rs10246939 with PTC sensitivity and other factors in the Koṅkaṇī Sārasvata Brahmin population. DNA was extracted from 114 individuals belonging to the Koṅkaṇī Sārasvata Brahmin community. The TAS2R38 gene was sequenced to find the genotype distribution pattern. The association between genotype and phenotype was checked using the Chi-Square test and multifactorial logistical regression. Results We observed a 58.8% frequency of the AVI haplotype, which is the most prevalent in European populations. A higher number of non-taster haplotypes and diplotypes were observed in Koṅkaṇī Sārasvata Brahmins, with the allele rs10246939 showing a significant association with PTC bitter taste sensitivity in both allelic (p = 8.6 × 10–4; Allele-G, OR = 3.57 [95% CI = 1.66–7.69]) and genotype-based (p = 6.9 × 10–4; genotype-AG, OR = 3.11 [95% CI = 0.73–13.20]; genotype-GG, OR = 40 [95% CI = 3.58–447.03]) tests. Conclusion Our results are in line with earlier studies, which report an association between PTC sensitivity and the TAS2R38 gene in different populations. In the global context, Koṅkaṇī Sārasvata Brahmins, who are mostly distributed along the southwestern coast of India, show a PTC sensitivity pattern slightly similar to that of West Eurasian populations. Our findings suggest ancestry specific selection in TAS2R38 gene variations for taste sensitivity at global level.

Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus from Nasal Specimens: Overcoming MRSA with Silver Nanoparticles and Their Applications

Abo-Amer Aly E.,Gad El-Rab Sanaa M. F.,Halawani Eman M.,Niaz Ameen M.,Bamaga Mohammed S. 한국미생물·생명공학회 2022 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.32 No.12

Staphylococcus aureus is a cause of high mortality in humans and therefore it is necessary to prevent its transmission and reduce infections. Our goals in this research were to investigate the frequency of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in Taif, Saudi Arabia, and assess the relationship between the phenotypic antimicrobial sensitivity patterns and the genes responsible for resistance. In addition, we examined the antimicrobial efficiency and application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) against MRSA isolates. Seventy-two nasal swabs were taken from patients; MRSA was cultivated on Mannitol Salt Agar supplemented with methicillin, and 16S rRNA sequencing was conducted in addition to morphological and biochemical identification. Specific resistance genes such as ermAC, aacA-aphD, tetKM, vatABC and mecA were PCR-amplified and resistance plasmids were also investigated. The MRSA incidence was ~49 % among the 72 S. aureus isolates and all MRSA strains were resistant to oxacillin, penicillin, and cefoxitin. However, vancomycin, linezolid, teicoplanin, mupirocin, and rifampicin were effective against 100% of MRSA strains. About 61% of MRSA strains exhibited multidrug resistance and were resistant to 3-12 antimicrobial medications (MDR). Methicillin resistance gene mecA was presented in all MDR-MRSA strains. Most MDR-MRSA contained a plasmid of > 10 kb. To overcome bacterial resistance, AgNPs were applied and displayed high antimicrobial activity and synergistic effect with penicillin. Our findings may help establish programs to control bacterial spread in communities as AgNPs appeared to exert a synergistic effect with penicillin to control bacterial resistance.

Improved Interlaminar Shear Behaviour of a New Hybrid Kevlar/Cocos Nucifera Sheath Composites with Graphene Nanoplatelets Modified Epoxy Matrix

J. Naveen,M. Jawaid,E. S. Zainudin,Mohamed T. H. Sultan,R. Yahaya 한국섬유공학회 2019 Fibers and polymers Vol.20 No.8

This research investigated the effect of hybridizing Kevlar/cocos nucifera sheath and the effect of adding differentwt.% of Graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) on the interlaminar shear behaviour of laminated composites. Initially, different wt.% (0,0.25, 0.50, and 0.75) of GNP’s were mixed with epoxy resin through Ultrasonic-sonication. Then the laminated compositeswere fabricated by hand lay-up method followed by hot pressing. The weight ratio of Kevlar (K) and cocous nucifera sheath(CS) are 100/0 (S1), 75/25(S2), 50/50 (S3), 25/75(S4), and 0/100(S5). Interlaminar shear strengths (ILSS) of differentlaminates were evaluated using a short beam shear test. The results revealed that hybrid composites S2 (75/25) possess higherILSS than other laminates in the absence of GNP. Addition of GNP at 0.25 wt.% exhibited higher ILSS in all the laminates(S1 to S5) due to the improved interfacial properties. Further addition of GNP (0.50, and 0.75 wt.%) has declined the ILSS ofthe laminated composites due to aggregation and overlapping of GNP. XRD analysis reveals that at 0.25 wt.% of GNP, all thehybrid composites exhibited higher crystallinity index. Statistical analysis of the results has been performed using one way-ANOVA (Analysis of variance) and it shows that there is a statistically significant difference between the obtainedinterlaminar shear strength of the laminated composites.