Millijoule laser pulse delivery for spark ignition through kagome hollow-core fiber

We report on power handling oriented design of kagome lattice hollow-core fiber and demonstrate through it for the first time nanosecond laser pulses induced spark ignition in a friendly manner. Two different core designs and transmission bands are investigated and evaluated. The energy threshold damage was measured to be in excess of the 10 mJ level and the output power density is approaching the TW/cm2 after focusing; demonstrating the outstanding ability of such fiber for high power delivery.     

Fortification of Acidophilus-bifidus-thermophilus (ABT) Fermented Milk with Heat-Treated Industrial Yeast Enhances Its Selected Properties

The improvement of milk dairy products’ quality and nutritional value during shelf-life storage is the ultimate goal of many studies worldwide. Therefore, in the present study, prospective beneficial effects of adding two different industrial yeasts, Kluyveromyces lactis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae pretreated by heating at 85 °C for 10 min to be inactivated, before fermentation on some properties of ABT fermented milk were evaluated. The results of this study showed that the addition of 3% and 5% (w/v) heat-treated yeasts to the milk enhanced the growth of starter culture, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacteria, and Streptococcus thermophilus, during the fermentation period as well as its viability after 20 days of cold storage at 5 ± 1 °C. Furthermore, levels of lactic and acetic acids were significantly increased from 120.45 ± 0.65 and 457.80 ± 0.70 µg/mL in the control without heat-treated yeast to 145.67 ± 0.77 and 488.32 ± 0.33 µg/mL with 5% supplementation of Sacch. cerevisiae respectively. Moreover, the addition of heat-treated yeasts to ABT fermented milk enhanced the antioxidant capacity by increasing the efficiency of free radical scavenging as well as the proteolytic activity. Taken together, these results suggest promising application of non-viable industrial yeasts as nutrients in the fermentation process of ABT milk to enhance the growth and viability of ABT starter cultures before and after a 20-day cold storage period by improving the fermented milk level of organic acids, antioxidant capacity, and proteolytic activities.     

Bioconvection Due to Gyrotactic Microorganisms in Couple Stress Hybrid Nanofluid Laminar Mixed Convection Incompressible Flow with Magnetic Nanoparticles and Chemical Reaction as Carrier for Targeted Drug Delivery through Porous Stretching Sheet

In this paper, the steady electrically conducting hybrid nanofluid (CuO-Cu/blood) laminar-mixed convection incompressible flow at the stagnation-point with viscous and gyrotactic microorganisms is considered. Additionally, hybrid nanofluid flow over a horizontal porous stretching sheet along with an induced magnetic field and external magnetic field effects that can be used in biomedical fields, such as in drug delivery and the flow dynamics of the microcirculatory system. This investigation can also deliver a perfect view about the mass and heat transfer behavior of blood flow in a circulatory system and various hyperthermia treatments such as the treatment of cancer. The simple partial differential equations (PDEs) are converted into a series of dimensional ordinary differential equations (ODEs), which are determined using appropriate similarities variables (HAM). The influence of the suction or injection parameter, mixed convection, Prandtl number, buoyancy ratio parameter, permeability parameter, magnetic parameter, reciprocal magnetic prandtl number, bioconvection Rayleigh number, coupled stress parameter, thermophoretic parameter, Schmidt number, inertial parameter, heat source parameter, and Brownian motion parameter on the concentration, motile microorganisms, velocity, and temperature is outlined, and we study the physical importance of the present problem graphically.     

Unsteady heat transfer in colloidal suspension containing hybrid nanostructures

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Theoretical investigation about the role of hybrid nanoparticles to enhance the effective thermal conductivity of working micropolar fluid over a...     

Therapeutic Importance of Kaempferol in the Treatment of Cancer through the Modulation of Cell Signalling Pathways

Plant-derived flavonoids are considered natural nontoxic chemo-preventers and have been widely studied for cancer treatment in recent decades. Mostly all flavonoid compounds show significant anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antioxidant properties. Kaempferol (Kmp) is a well-studied compound and exhibits remarkable anticancer and antioxidant potential. Kmp can regulate various cancer-related processes and activities such as cell cycle, oxidative stress, apoptosis, proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis. The anti-cancer properties of Kmp primarily occur via modulation of apoptosis, MAPK/ERK1/2, P13K/Akt/mTOR, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signalling pathways. The anti-cancer property of Kmp has been recognized in several in-vivo and in-vitro studies which also includes numerous cell lines and animal models. This flavonoid possesses toxic activities against only cancer cells and have restricted toxicity on healthy cells. In this review, we present extensive research investigations about the therapeutic potential of Kmp in the management of different types of cancers. The anti-cancer properties of Kmp are discussed by concentration on its capability to target molecular-signalling pathway such as VEGF, STAT, p53, NF-κB and PI3K-AKT signalling pathways. The anti-cancer property of Kmf has gained a lot of attention, but the accurate action mechanism remains unclear. However, this natural compound has a great pharmacological capability and is now considered to be an alternative cancer treatment.     

Integrating Pharmacological and Computational Approaches for the Phytochemical Analysis of Syzygium cumini and Its Anti-Diabetic Potential

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease caused by improper insulin secretion leading to hyperglycemia. Syzygium cumini has excellent therapeutic properties due to its high levels of phytochemicals. The current research aimed to evaluate the anti-diabetic potential of S. cumini plant’s seeds and the top two phytochemicals (kaempferol and gallic acid) were selected for further analysis. These phytochemicals were selected via computational tools and evaluated for α-Glucosidase inhibitory activity via enzymatic assay. Gallic acid (IC₅₀ 0.37 µM) and kaempferol (IC₅₀ 0.87 µM) have shown a stronger α-glucosidase inhibitory capacity than acarbose (5.26 µM). In addition, these phytochemicals demonstrated the highest binding energy, hydrogen bonding, protein–ligand interaction and the best MD simulation results at 100 ns compared to acarbose. Furthermore, the ADMET properties of gallic acid and kaempferol also fulfilled the safety criteria. Thus, it was concluded that S. cumini could potentially be used to treat DM. The potential bioactive molecules identified in this study (kaempferol and gallic acid) may be used as lead drugs against diabetes.     

Biodegradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons by Drechslera spicifera Isolated from Contaminated Soil in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia

Currently, the bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons employs microbial biosurfactants because of their public acceptability, biological safety, and low cost. These organisms can degrade or detoxify organic-contaminated areas, such as marine ecosystems. The current study aimed to test the oil-biodegradation ability of the fungus Drechslera spicifera, which was isolated from contaminated soil samples in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We used hydrocarbon tolerance, scanning electron microscopy, DCPIP, drop-collapse, emulsification activity, recovery of biosurfactants, and germination assays to assess the biodegradation characteristics of the D. spicifera against kerosene, crude, diesel, used, and mixed oils. The results of DCPIP show that the highest oxidation (0.736 a.u.) was induced by crude oil on the 15th day. In contrast, kerosene and used oil had the highest measurements in emulsification activity and drop-collapse assays, respectively. Meanwhile, crude and used oils produced the highest amounts of biosurfactants through acid precipitation and solvent extraction assays. Furthermore, the biosurfactants stimulated the germination of tomato seeds by more than 50% compared to the control. These findings highlight the biodegradation ability of D. spicifera, which has been proven in the use of petroleum oils as the sole source of carbon. That might encourage further research to demonstrate its application in the cleaning of large, contaminated areas.     

Multi-domain spectral method for modal analysis of optical waveguide

A multi-domain spectral method for scalar optical modal analysis is developed and presented. The method is mesh-free and is applicable to three-dimensional optical waveguide structures that are invariant in one direction. The mode profile is represented as a superposition of one-dimensional preselected basis functions with variable coefficients. As common to spectral methods, the presented method is inherently fast and efficient. Different optical waveguides are analyzed for comparison purpose to exhibit the validity and accuracy of the presented method.     

A Novel Rapid MALDI-TOF-MS-Based Method for Measuring Urinary Globotriaosylceramide in Fabry Patients

Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by deficiency of α-galactosidase A, resulting in the accumulation of glycosphingolipids in various organs. Globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) and its isoforms and analogues have been identified and quantified as biomarkers of disease severity and treatment efficacy. The current study aimed to establish rapid methods for urinary Gb3 extraction and quantitation. Urine samples from 15 Fabry patients and 21 healthy control subjects were processed to extract Gb3 by mixing equal volumes of urine, methanol containing an internal standard, and chloroform followed by sonication and centrifugation. Thereafter, the lower phase was analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS and the relative peak areas of the internal standard and four major species of Gb3 determined. The results showed high reproducibility with intra- and inter-assay coefficients variation of 9.9% and 13.7%, respectively. The limit of detection was 0.15 ng/μL and the limit of quantitation was 0.30 ng/μL. Total urinary Gb3 levels in both genders of classic Fabry patients were significantly higher than in healthy controls (p < 0.0001). Gb3 levels in Fabry males were higher than in Fabry females (p = 0.08). We have established a novel assay for urinary total Gb3 that takes less than 15 min from start to finish.

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Noise correction in gene expression data: a new approach based on subspace method

We present a new approach for removing the nonspecific noise from Drosophila segmentation genes. The algorithm used for filtering here is an enhanced version of singular spectrum analysis method, which decomposes a gene profile into the sum of a signal and noise. Because the main issue in extracting signal using singular spectrum analysis procedure lies in identifying the number of eigenvalues needed for signal reconstruction, this paper seeks to explore the applicability of the new proposed method for eigenvalues identification in four different gene expression profiles. Our findings indicate that when extracting signal from different genes, for optimised signal and noise separation, different number of eigenvalues need to be chosen for each gene. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.