Organophosphorus insecticide and growth regulator namely Ethephon (2-chloroethylphosphonic acid) are widely used as a ripening process accelerator and a cultivation duration inhibitor. Pomegranate extract (PPE) has recently been taken into consideration due to its pharmacological effects especially those associated with renal diseases. Thus, this study aims to investigate the possible protective effect of PPE against ethephon-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. In this study four groups of adult male rats were divided into control group, PPE 400 mg/kg group, Ethephon 250 mg/kg group, and finally, PPE + Ethephon group (treated with the same dose of PPE group and Ethephon group). In the current study, kidney function parameters (KIM-1, creatinine, and urea) along with oxidative stress markers, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2), glutathione (GSH) and its correlated enzymes, nitric oxide (NO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and catalase (CAT) were estimated. Additionally, mediators of renal inflammation: interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) were measured. Apoptotic biomarkers (Bax, caspase 3, and Bcl2) in addition to renal histopathological data were also investigated. Results revealed that Ethephon elicited a significant increase in oxidation markers and reduced antioxidant levels, accompanied by oxidative renal tissue injury. Consequently, administration of Ethephon was reported to provoke secretion of the pro-inflammatory mediators. Moreover, histopathological results showed that deformities in the renal tissues were noticed which is attributed to Ethephon exposure. Interestingly, co-administration of PPE and Ethephon resulted in significantly ameliorated the biochemical and histopathological alterations produced by Ethephon. Current results propose the potential effect of PPE in the protection of renal tissue from Ethephon induced nephrotoxicity in rats.
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computerized database management system for accumulating, storage, retrieval, analysis, and display spatial data. In general, GIS contains two broad categories of information, geo-referenced spatial data and attribute data. Geo-referenced spatial data define objects that have an orientation and relationship in two or three-dimensional space, while attribute data is qualitative data that can be counted for recording and analysis. The main aim of this research is to reveal the role of GIS technology in the enhancement of bridge maintenance management system components such as the output results, and make it more interpretable through dynamic colour coding and more sophisticated vi
... Show MoreA novel demountable shear connector for precast steel-concrete composite bridges is presented. The connector uses high-strength steel bolts, which are fastened to the top flange of the steel beam with the aid of a special locking nut configuration that prevents bolts from slipping within their holes. Moreover, the connector promotes accelerated construction and overcomes the typical construction tolerance issues of precast structures. Most importantly, the connector allows bridge disassembly. Therefore, it can address different bridge deterioration scenarios with minimum disturbance to traffic flow including the following: (1) precast deck panels can be rapidly uplifted and replaced; (2) connectors can be rapidly removed and replaced; and (
... Show MoreNearly a century and a half has passed since Sarah Orne Jewett published her much anthologized short story “A White Heron” (1886), but commentators on the tale missed one of the most important points in the text. It is the story’s similarity to the traditional Euro-centric fairy tale of “Little Red Riding Hood”. As an author, writing at the end of the ninetieth century, a time that witnessed the demise of the Romantic movement in America and the beginning of the age of Realism, Jewett did not romanticize her characters, despite the idyllic landscape in which “A White Heron” is set. Her story can be analyzed as a text that aims at disseminating ecological awareness among her young readers. This study focuses on Jewett
... Show MoreIn this work, an efficient energy management (EEM) approach is proposed to merge IoT technology to enhance electric smart meters by working together to satisfy the best result of the electricity customer's consumption. This proposed system is called an integrated Internet of things for electrical smart meter (2IOT-ESM) architecture. The electric smart meter (ESM) is the first and most important technique used to measure the active power, current, and energy consumption for the house’s loads. At the same time, the effectiveness of this work includes equipping ESM with an additional storage capacity that ensures that the measurements are not lost in the event of a failure or sudden outage in WiFi network. Then then these
... Show MoreABSTRACT:
Microencapsulation is used to modify and retard drug release as well as to overcome the unpleasant effect
(gastrointestinal disturbances) which are associated with repeated and overdose of ibuprofen per day.
So that, a newly developed method of microencapsulation was utilized (a modified organic method) through a
modification of aqueous colloidal polymer dispersion method using ethylcellulose and sodium alginate coating materials to
prepare a sustained release ibuprofen microcapsules.
The effect of core : wall ratio on the percent yield and encapsulation efficiency of prepared microcapsules was low, whereas
, the release of drug from prepared microcapsules was affected by core: wall ratio ,proportion of coa
The dynamic development of computer and software technology in recent years was accompanied by the expansion and widespread implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) based methods in many aspects of human life. A prominent field where rapid progress was observed are high‐throughput methods in biology that generate big amounts of data that need to be processed and analyzed. Therefore, AI methods are more and more applied in the biomedical field, among others for RNA‐protein binding sites prediction, DNA sequence function prediction, protein‐protein interaction prediction, or biomedical image classification. Stem cells are widely used in biomedical research, e.g., leukemia or other disease studies. Our proposed approach of
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