Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) causes up to 40% mortality in humans and is difficult to treat. ARDS is also one of the major triggers of mortality associated with coronavirus-induced disease (COVID-19). We used a mouse model of ARDS induced by Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), which triggers 100% mortality, to investigate the mechanisms through which Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) attenuates ARDS. SEB was used to trigger ARDS in C3H mice. These mice were treated with THC and analyzed for survival, ARDS, cytokine storm, and metabolome. Additionally, cells isolated from the lungs were used to perform single-cell RNA sequencing and transcriptome analysis. A database analysis of human COVID-19 patients was also performed to compare the signaling pathways with SEB-mediated ARDS. The treatment of SEB-mediated ARDS mice with THC led to a 100% survival, decreased lung inflammation, and the suppression of cytokine storm. This was associated with immune cell apoptosis involving the mitochondrial pathway, as suggested by single-cell RNA sequencing. A transcriptomic analysis of immune cells from the lungs revealed an increase in mitochondrial respiratory chain enzymes following THC treatment. In addition, metabolomic analysis revealed elevated serum concentrations of amino acids, lysine, n-acetyl methionine, carnitine, and propionyl L-carnitine in THC-treated mice. THC caused the downregulation of miR-185, which correlated with an increase in the pro-apoptotic gene targets. Interestingly, the gene expression datasets from the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of human COVID-19 patients showed some similarities between cytokine and apoptotic genes with SEB-induced ARDS. Collectively, this study suggests that the activation of cannabinoid receptors may serve as a therapeutic modality to treat ARDS associated with COVID-19.
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have gained much attention as biodegradable polymers, many efforts are being made to minimize the cost of PHAs by finding cheap carbon source depending on the type of microorganism and fermentation conditions. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effects of different glucose concentrations and other important conditions on the PHA production by Bacillus cereus isolated from soil. Polyhydroxyalkanoates PHAs accumulated by soil microorganisms were examined by screening the isolated bacteria using Sudan B Black and Nile Blue staining process. A Gram positive strain was identified using the 16s rRNA gene, deposited in the NCBI GenBank sequence database. Different growth conditions (favorite glucose concentrat
... Show MoreEphedra alata. is a plant that widely available around the world and long used in folk medicine as a natural medication, was employed in the current work to prepare extracts rich in alkaloids and to test their cytotoxic potential. Alkaloids-rich and crude extracts of E.alata were compared to pure ephedrine medication for mitosis on Allium cepa. test system. Alkaloids and crude aqueous extracts of A. cepa root tips were examined for a total of five hours at five different concentrations compared to ephedrine standard. Mitotic index, phase index, and chromosomal aberration as part of the study. IC50 values of 35 mg/ml were found for each extract, indicating a sub-lethal influence on cell viability. (Toxic and sublethal effects are thought to
... Show MoreAllah, in his Holy Quran introduced great prophet stories so as to learn from. The greatness of these stories lies in Allah himself being the author. He portrays his characters, lays the plot, defines the tests and Al- Ibtilla, provides ways of being patient, using Duaa to end all hard tests and generously describing the greatness of his rewards to all those who are patient. The purpose of this research is to study selected English prophet stories for children on three levels, the stories ability to convey lessons and Islamic teachings to children who do not speak Arabic, the stories portray the Islamic concept of patience, the teaching and learning styles andstrategies that Allah uses with each prophet. The concept of patience is defined a
... Show MoreWith the proliferation of both Internet access and data traffic, recent breaches have brought into sharp focus the need for Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS) to protect networks from more complex cyberattacks. To differentiate between normal network processes and possible attacks, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) often employ pattern recognition and data mining techniques. Network and host system intrusions, assaults, and policy violations can be automatically detected and classified by an Intrusion Detection System (IDS). Using Python Scikit-Learn the results of this study show that Machine Learning (ML) techniques like Decision Tree (DT), Naïve Bayes (NB), and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) can enhance the effectiveness of an Intrusi
... Show MoreThe field of autonomous robotic systems has advanced tremendously in the last few years, allowing them to perform complicated tasks in various contexts. One of the most important and useful applications of guide robots is the support of the blind. The successful implementation of this study requires a more accurate and powerful self-localization system for guide robots in indoor environments. This paper proposes a self-localization system for guide robots. To successfully implement this study, images were collected from the perspective of a robot inside a room, and a deep learning system such as a convolutional neural network (CNN) was used. An image-based self-localization guide robot image-classification system delivers a more accura
... Show MoreThe sol-gel route using an agar gel with calcium nitrate and phosphate solution as starting materials for producing hydroxyapatite (HAP). The product formed were needle like, zigzag and straight fibres. The fibrous products on sintering transformed into stoichiometric HAP with a biological Ca/P ratio of 1.67. The influences of pH, temperature, nature of base and phosphate solution on the growth of fibrous HAP were studied. The pH of the solution was found to greatly influence the growth rate and morphology of the resultant product. The optimum gel temperature was found to be 60oC and sintering temperature of 900oC for 1 hour. The crystalline, thermal, functional and morphological characteristics of the fibrous HAP were investigated.
Background: Dental implants provide a unique treatment modality for the replacement of a lost dentition .This is accomplished by the insertion of relatively an inert material (a biomaterial) into the soft and hard tissue of the jaws, there by providing support and retention for dental prostheses. Low level laser therapy (LLLT) is an effective tool used to prompt bone repair and remodeling, this has referred to the biostimulation effect of LLLT. The Aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of inflammatory cells on osseointegration of CpTi implant irradiated by low level laser. Materials and Methods: thirty two adult New Zealand white rabbits, received titanium implants were inserted in the tibia. The right side is considered as experime
... Show MoreCheckpoint inhibitors are a type of immune therapy used to treat different types of cancers. These drugs block different checkpoint proteins, for example, CTLA-4, PD-1, and PD-L1 inhibitors.
They block proteins that stop the immune system from attacking the cancer cells. Checkpoints are also described as a type of monoclonal antibody that antagonizes binding between B7 to CTLA-4 and PD-L1 to PD-1.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors are used to treat BARCA mutated triple-negative breast cancer (TNBCS) in patients who do not respond to chemotherapy, and also in the treatment of highly mutated and solid tumors such as brain tumors, liver, and pancreatic cancers.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors exhibit an effect on solid tumo
... Show MoreAsthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of airways mediated by T-helper 2 (Th2) cells involving complex signaling pathways. Although resveratrol has previously been shown to attenuate allergic asthma, the role of miRNA in this process has not been studied. We investigated the effect of resveratrol on ovalbumin-induced experimental allergic asthma in mice. To that end, BALB/c mice were immunized with ovalbumin (OVA) intraperitoneally followed by oral gavage of vehicle (OVA-veh) or resveratrol (100 mg/kg body) (OVA-res). On day 7, the experimental groups received intranasal challenge of OVA followed by 7 days of additional oral gavage of vehicle or resveratrol. At day 15, all mice were euthanized and bronchioalveolar fluid (BALF), se
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