Alteration of repeat tract length within the SSR of phase variable genes may enhance the persistence of isolates within their host for a long time (a period of months) (Alamro et al.,2014). Alamro et al. (2014) showed there was trend towards selection for OFF state or low expression for five phase variable genes (opc, hmbr, nadA, nalP, hpuAB) in three carriers (V54, V124 and V64) within strains belonging into CC174 and CC167 in first, second and third time points. He concluded that the selection for low or OFF state helped N. meningitidis to persist for a long time (Alamro et al., 2014). The current study aimed to detect the alteration in the repeat tracts of the same five variable genes within the previous three carriers (V54, V124, and V64) but for other strains belonging to CC22, CC269, and CC198 at the fourth time point. There was also a trend towards selection for an OFF state or low expression for three genes which are (opc, hpuAb, nalP) with 2/3 (66.6%) carriers while hmbr gene showed ON state in all carriers (100%). This indicates that antibodies formed against (opc, HpuAb, nalP) genes in strains belonging to CC174 and CC167 in first, second and third time points were able to enhance immunization against the isolates in the current study for CC269 and CC22 resulting in the selection for the OFF state or low expression. Conversely, antibodies formed against hmbr gene in the previous time points on isolates within the CC167 may not show immunization against hmbr gene in the isolates of current study CC22, CC198 and CC269 and so the gene stayed in the ON state. Interestingly, the nadA gene was missing from isolates under the current study. These results may reflect important aspects in the vaccination program especially as nadA is one of the component of Bexsero vaccine.
Flexible molecular docking is a computational method of structure-based drug design to evaluate binding interactions between receptor and ligand and identify the ligand conformation within the receptor pocket. Currently, various molecular docking programs are extensively applied; therefore, realizing accuracy and performance of the various docking programs could have a significant value. In this comparative study, the performance and accuracy of three widely used non-commercial docking software (AutoDock Vina, 1-Click Docking, and UCSF DOCK) was evaluated through investigations of the predicted binding affinity and binding conformation of the same set of small molecules (HIV-1 protease inhibitors) and a protein target HIV-1 protease enzy
... Show MoreThe ground state proton, neutron, and matter density distributions and corresponding root-mean-square radii (rms) of the unstable neutron-rich
22C exotic nucleus are investigated by two-frequency shell model (TFSM) approach. The single-particle wave functions of harmonic-oscillator (HO)
potential are used with two oscillator parameters bcore and bhalo. According to this model, the core nucleons of 20C are assumed to move in the model
space of spsdpf. Shell model calculations are performed with (0+2)hw truncations using Warburton-Brown psd-shell (WBP) interaction. The outer (halo) two neutrons in 22C are assumed to move in HASP (H. Hasper) model space (2s1/2, 1d3/2, 2p3/2, and 1f7/2 orbits) using the HASP interaction. The halo st
Composite materials are widely used in the engineered assets as aerospace structures, marine and air navigation owing to their high strength/weight ratios. Detection and identification of damage in the composite structures are considered as an important part of monitoring and repairing of structural systems during the service to avoid instantaneous failure. Effective cost and reliability are essential during the process of detecting. The Lamb wave method is an effective and sensitive technique to tiny damage and can be applied for structural health monitoring using low energy sensors; it can provide good information about the condition of the structure during its operation by analyzing the propagation of the wave in the
... Show MoreThis study was conducted to determine the effect of vitamin A ( 10 mg/kg ) on avearage testis weight and sexual glands ( Prostate and Seminal Vesicle ) for albino male mice treated with Hexavalent chromium ( 1000 ppm ) .The current study 40 mice were divided into fife groups : 1st group treated with distilled water and considered an control group (C) / the 2nd group treated with sesame oil ( T1) / 3rd group was givin hexavalent chromium ( 1000 ppm ) (T2) / 4th group treated with vitamin A ( 10 mg / kg ) and exposed to hexavalent chromium ( 1000 ppm ) (T3) / 5th group treated with vitamin A ( 10 mg kg ) (T4) . The expermint lasted 35 day . the results showed a significant ( P ? 0.05 ) decrease in avearage testis weight and sexual glan
... Show MoreThe objective Effect of Internal and External Environment and its Psychological & Practical Reflection on the Political Decision-Making Process
Shear and compressional wave velocities, coupled with other petrophysical data, are vital in determining the dynamic modules magnitude in geomechanical studies and hydrocarbon reservoir characterization. But, due to field practices and high running cost, shear wave velocity may not available in all wells. In this paper, a statistical multivariate regression method is presented to predict the shear wave velocity for Khasib formation - Amara oil fields located in South- East of Iraq using well log compressional wave velocity, neutron porosity and density. The accuracy of the proposed correlation have been compared to other correlations. The results show that, the presented model provides accurate
... Show MoreThe research included preparation of new Schiff base (L) by two steps: preparation of precursor [bis(2-formyl-6-methoxyphenyl) succinate] (P) by reacting (3-methoxy salicyl aldehyde) with (succinoyl dichloride) as first step then react the prepared precursor (P) with (ethanethioamide) to have the new Schiff base [bis(2-((ethane thioyl imino) methyl)-6-methoxy phenyl) succinate] (L) as second step. Characterized compounds based on Mass spectra, 1 H, 13CNMR (for ligand (L)), FT-IR and UV spectrum, melting point, molar conduct, %C, %H, and %N, the percentage of the metal in complexes %M, magnetic susceptibility, while study corrosion inhibition (mild steel) in acid solution by weight loss. These measurements proved that by (Oxygen, Nitrogen, a
... Show More5-Fluorouracil is one of the commonly used chemotherapy drugs in anticancer therapy; unfortunately treatment with 5-FU by solely has many drawbacks low lipophilicity, low permeability, low molecular weight, and its relatively poor plasma protein binding; also a brief half-life therefore frequent administration is required to maintain the optimal therapeutic plasma level which in addition to its poor selectivity, drug resistance and limited penetration to cancer cells; leads to increased incidence of side-effects to healthy cells/tissues and low response rates. In order to minimize these drawbacks; 5-FU was chemically conjugated with pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) in a mutual prodrug moiety (S-(9H-purin-6-yl) 3-(
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