Antioxidant Capacity of Novel Pigments from an Antarctic Bacterium

Daniela N. Correa-Llantén,Maximiliano J. Amenábar,Jenny M. Blamey 한국미생물학회 2012 The journal of microbiology Vol.50 No.3

In Antarctica microorganisms are exposed to several conditions that trigger the generation of reactive oxygen species, such as high UV radiation. Under these conditions they must have an important antioxidant defense system in order to prevent oxidative damage. One of these defenses are pigments which are part of the non-enzymatic antioxidant mechanisms. In this work we focused on the antioxidant capacity of pigments from an Antarctic microorganism belonging to Pedobacter genus. This microorganism produces different types of pigments which belong to the carotenoids group. The antioxidant capacity of a mix of pigments was analyzed by three different methods: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, ROS detection and oxygen electrode. The results obtained from these approaches indicate that the mix of pigments has a strong antioxidant capacity. The oxidative damage induced by UVB exposure to liposomes was also analyzed. Intercalated pigments within the liposomes improved its resistance to lipid peroxidation. Based on the analysis carried out along this research we conclude that the antioxidant properties of the mix of pigments protect this bacterium against oxidative damage. These properties make this mix of pigments a powerful antioxidant mixture with potential biotechnological applications.

Vaginal Laser Therapy for Stress Urinary Incontinence: A Systematic Review of Prospective Randomized Clinical Trials

Amene Ranjbar,Vahid Mehrnoush,Fatemeh Darsareh,Ahmed Kotb,Ahmed Zakaria,Mitra Shekari,Malihe Shirzadfard Jahromi 대한폐경학회 2022 대한폐경학회지 Vol.28 No.3

The most common type of urinary incontinence in women is stress urinary incontinence (SUI) which negatively impacts several aspects of life. The newly introduced vaginal laser therapy is being considered for treating SUI. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the efficacy of vaginal laser therapy for stress urinary incontinence in menopausal women. We searched the following databases: MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE, Cochrane Library databases, Web of Science, clinical trial registry platforms, and Google Scholar, using the MeSH terms and keywords [Urinary Incontinence, Stress] and [(lasers) OR laser]. In our systematic review, prospective randomized clinical studies on women diagnosed with SUI as per the International Continence Society’s diagnostic criteria were included. The Cochrane Risk-of-Bias assessment tool for randomized clinical trials was used to evaluate the quality of studies. A total of 256 relevant records in literature databases and registers and 25 in additional searches were found. Following a review of the titles, abstracts, and full texts, four studies involving 431 patients were included. Three studies used CO2-lasers, and one used Erbium: YAG-laser. The results of all four studies revealed the short-term improvement of SUI following both the Erbium: YAG-laser and CO2-laser therapy. SUI treatment with CO2-laser and Erbium: YAG-laser therapy is a quick, intuitive, well-tolerated procedure that successfully improves incontinence-related symptoms. The long-term impact of such interventions has not been well established as most trials focused on the short-term effects.

Parasitism capacity and searching efficiency of Diaeretiella rapae parasitizing Brevicoryne brassicae on susceptible and resistant canola cultivars

Amene Karami,Yaghoub Fathipour,Ali Asghar Talebi,Gadi V.P. Reddy 한국응용곤충학회 2018 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.21 No.4

Different cultivars of aplant species can affect the foraging and efficiency of natural enemies, both directly through physical and biochemical properties or indirectly through the herbivore's diet. In this study, the parasitism capacity and functional response of Diaeretiella rapae McIntosh were determined on the cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae (L.) reared on susceptible (Opera) and resistant (Okapi) canola cultivars under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% RH and a16:8 h L:D photoperiod. The parasitoid exhibited Type II and Type III functional responses on the resistant and susceptible cultivars, respectively. The estimated value of searching efficiency (a) was 0.1637 ± 0.1095 h −1 on the resistant cultivar whereas its value was dependent on host density on the susceptible cultivar. The handling times (T h ) on the susceptible and resistant canola cultivars were 0.108 ± 0.040 and 0.320 ± 0.048 h, respectively. The net parasitism rate (C 0 ) of the parasitoid wasp varied from 128.09 hosts per parasitoid lifetime on the susceptible to 71.01hosts on the resistant canola cultivar. The transformation rate from host population to parasitoid offspring (Qp) was equal to 1 on both cultivars (C 0 = R 0 ). The finite parasitism rate (ω) on the susceptible cultivar (0.819 hosts per parasitoid per day) was significantly higher than that on the resistant one (0.578 hosts per parasitoid per day). In conclusion, canola cultivars affected the performance of D. rapae in controlled small-scale laboratory experiments and compared with the susceptible cultivar, the resistant one had anadverseeffect on the efficiency of the parasitoid.

One-step solid-state synthesis of Mx-ZnBi2O4–Bi2O3 (Mx = Fe, Co, Ni, Eu, and Ho) nanocomposites and catalytic production of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-(1H)-ones

Mirzazadeh Amene,Hakimyfard Alireza,Tahmasebi Nemat,Kafi-Ahmadi Leila,Khademinia Shahin 한국세라믹학회 2023 한국세라믹학회지 Vol.60 No.5

This paper presented the synthesis of Mx-ZnBi2O4–Bi2O3 (Mx = Fe, Co, Ni, Eu, and Ho) nanomaterials by a one-pot facile solid-state method at 650 ˚C for 10 h. Rietveld analysis data displayed the formation of ZnBi2O4–Bi2O3 composite in which ZnBi2O4 was crystallized as a main phase in orthorhombic crystal system with Pmmm space group. The investigation of optical properties indicated that doping the metal ions into the ZnBi2O4–Bi2O3 nanocomposite decreased the band-gap energy amount. Results indicated that the synthesized samples displayed paramagnetic behavior without any preferred magnetization direction. However, the data indicated that Co3+-doped ZnBi2O4 showed highest magnetization value. In addition, cyclic voltammetry (CV) data and low EIS values revealed a pseudocapacitor behavior of the synthesized samples. Biginelli reaction to synthesize heterocyclic DHPMs compounds was applied to evaluate the catalytic performance of the samples. Results indicated that the synthesis yields of DHPMs at optimum condition were 92% and 96% for undoped and Eu-doped ZnBi2O4–Bi2O3, respectively.

Study of the Shannon Entropy in the Quantum Model Obtained from SO(2,2)

Hossein Panahi,Amene Najafizade,Hassan Hassanabadi 한국물리학회 2019 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.75 No.2

In this study, we have tried to use the representation achieved for the $SO(2,2)$ group by using the factorization method to show the properties of the Shannon entropy information. Subsequently, some features of the probability densities for the $SO(2,2)$ group, as well as some numerical results for the Shannon entropy in position space and in corresponding momentum space and the relationship of the uncertainty between these two (BBM inequality), are extracted.

Why is Hepatocellular Carcinoma Less Attributable to Viral Hepatitis in Yemen?

Saeed, Nadeem Mohammed,Bawazir, Amen Ahmed,Al-Zuraiqi, Masuod,Al-Negri, Fadhel,Yunus, Faisel Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.8

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) and the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are still public health problems in Yemen, with older individuals having much higher prevalence than younger generations. However, research on the prevalence of viral hepatitis in association with hepatocellular cancer (HCC) has not yet been undertaken in Yemen. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HBV and HCV infection among HCC patients and to estimate the risk of these infections being associated with the development of HCC. A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients attending oncology outpatient in Sana'a, Yemen, through the period 2008-mid 2010 with confirmed diagnosis of HCC. A total of 88 cases were studied thoroughly with different investigations such as CT-scan, ultrasound, tumour marker, alpha-feto-protein and histopathological biopsy. A structured questionnaire was also applied and physical examination done to assess the general condition of the patients. Statistical package (SPSS version 16) was used for analysis of the data. The mean age of the cases was 61.2 years (${\pm}12.6$) with half over 60 years. There were fewer male patients (36%) compared to females and most (97%) only had basic /no formal education. Seventy nine (89%) were diagnosed as HCC cases with histopathological biopsy while the rest were diagnosed by ultrasound, CT scan, tumour marker, and alpha-feto-protein. Around one-third of the subjects were positive for HBsAg and HCV antibodies. Multivariate analysis showed infection with HCV and use of smoking was associated with HCC diagnosis. Although an association was observed between the occurrence of HCC and viral hepatitis (either HBV or HCV) and cigarette smoking, but the rate of viral infection was lower than what has been reported elsewhere.

Reaction of blast resistance on monogenic lines and tropically adapted cold tolerant japonica rice variety in the cool climatic area of the Philippines

Jung-Pil Suh,Jesson Del-Amen,Faith T. Estepa,Myrish Pacleb,Lenie Pautin,Thelma Padolina,Mary Jeanie Yanoria,Van ScheplerLuu,Sherry Lou Hechanova,Sung-Ryul Kim 한국육종학회 2023 한국육종학회 공동학술발표집 Vol.2023 No.-

Spatial epidemiology of COVID-19 infection through the first outbreak in the city of Mashhad, Iran

Hasan Mansouritorghabeh,Ahmad Bagherimoghaddam,Saeid Eslami,Amene Raouf‑Rahmati,Davidson H. Hamer,Behzad Kiani,Shahab MohammadEbrahimi 대한공간정보학회 2022 Spatial Information Research Vol.30 No.5

The COVID-19 epidemic is currently the most important public health challenge worldwide. The current study aimed to survey the spatial epidemiology of the COVID-19 outbreak in Mashhad, Iran, across the first outbreak. The data was including the hospitalized lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases from Feb 4 until Apr 13, 2020. For comparison between the groups, classical statistics analyses were used. A logistic regression model was built to detect the factors affecting mortality. After calculating the empirical Bayesian rate (EBR), the Local Moran’s I statistic was applied to quantify the spatial autocorrelation of disease. The total cumulative incidence and case fatality rates were respectively 4.6 per 10,000 (95% CI: 4.3–4.8) and 23.1% (95% CI: 23.2–25.4). Of 1535 cases, 62% were males and were more likely to die than females (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR): 1.58, 95% CI: 1.23–2.04). The odds of death for patients over 60 years was more than three times (aOR: 3.66, 95% CI: 2.79–4.81). Although the distribution of COVID-19 patients was nearly random in Mashhad, the downtown area had the most significant high-high clusters throughout most of the biweekly periods. The most likely factors influencing the development of hotspots around the downtown include the congested population (due to the holy shrine), low socioeconomic and deprived neighborhoods, poor access to health facilities, indoor crowding, and further use of public transportation. Constantly raising public awareness, emphasizing social distancing, and increasing the whole community immunization, particularly in the highpriority areas detected by spatial analysis, can lead people to a brighter picture of their lives.

Incorporating zirconia nanoparticles into activated carbon as electrode material for capacitive deionization

Yasin, Ahmed S.,Mohamed, Ibrahim M.A.,Amen, Mohamed T.,Barakat, Nasser A.M.,Park, Chan Hee,Kim, Cheol Sang Elsevier 2019 Journal of alloys and compounds Vol.772 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>In recent years, capacitive deionization (CDI) has attracted intensive research due to its environmentally-friendly nature and low power requirement. Although the characteristics of titania (TiO<SUB>2</SUB>) and zirconia (ZrO<SUB>2</SUB>) are almost the same, ZrO<SUB>2</SUB> has not attracted the same attention since the characteristics of the carbonaceous material need to be modified to enhance its performance as an electrode in CDI cells. In this study, the wettability and electrochemical behavior of activated carbon (AC), as a widely used, effective, and inexpensive material, was distinctively improved by doping with zirconia nanoparticles. The introduced AC/ZrO<SUB>2</SUB> nanocomposite was fabricated using the alkaline hydrothermal method. Investigation of the surface morphology, phase and crystallinity by SEM, TEM, XPS, and XRD demonstrated the successful doping of AC by zirconia nanoparticles. Interestingly, the wettability measurement showed excellent enhancement, since the water contact angles of pristine and doped AC are 45° and 148°, respectively. The electrochemical experiments demonstrated that the synthesized composite (AC/ZrO<SUB>2</SUB>) has a specific capacitance of 282.8 F g<SUP>−1</SUP>, which is higher than that for AC (207.5 F g<SUP>−1</SUP>). Due to the significant improvement in wettability and specific capacitance, the desalination performance and the salt ion electrosorption capacity were also enhanced: 40.4% and 68.5%, and 2.82 and 4.79 mg/g for AC and AC/ZrO<SUB>2</SUB>, respectively. Moreover, the introduced AC/ZrO<SUB>2</SUB> revealed 99% remaining desalination retention suggesting high stability. Overall, this study demonstrates ZrO<SUB>2</SUB> is an effective, stable, and environmentally safe material for improving the performance of carbonaceous CDI electrodes.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> ZrO<SUB>2</SUB> NPs/AC is introduced as effective CDI electrode material. </LI> <LI> The salt removal efficiency has been improved to 68.5%. </LI> <LI> Good performance is due to improving the specific capacitance. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Patterns of Childhood Cancer Incidence in Saudi Arabia (1999-2008)

Al-Mutlaq, Hind M.,Bawazir, Amen Ahmed,Jradi, Hoda,Al-Dhalaan, Zeyad Abdulaziz,Al-Shehri, Ali Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.2

Background: Although childhood cancer is a rare disease, 100,000 children younger than 15 years of age die from cancer each year, the majority of them in developing countries. More data need to be gathered and published particularly in developing countries to better understand the scale of the problem. Aims: This study aimed to describe the patterns of childhood cancers in Saudi Arabia over a period of ten years (1999-2008). Materials and Methods: This descriptive retrospective study was based on secondary data from the Saudi Cancer Registry from 1999 to 2008. All Saudi cases (both genders), under the age of 15 years, who were diagnosed with cancer during the study period, were included in this study. Results: Childhood cancer in Saudi Arabia, in the period between 1999 and 2008, accounted for about 8% of total cancer cases. The most common encountered cancers were leukemia (34.1%), followed by lymphoma (15.2%), brain (12.4%), and kidney cancers (5.3%). The overall incidence of childhood cancers increased from 8.8 per 100,000 in 1999 to 9.8 per 100,000 in 2008. The incidence rates of cancers per 100,000 in the years 1999 and 2008 were generally higher among males, (9.4 and 11.5 in males vs. 8.3 and 8.1 in females). The highest incidence rate in the surveyed years was apparent in the birth to age 4 years group. Conclusions: Cancer is an important public health problem in Saudi Arabia and a major ascending contributor to mortality and morbidity in children. More studies are required to describe the patterns of childhood cancers and related risk factors in Saudi Arabia.