Conversion of Glycerol into Value Added Products by Catalytic Processing

The conversion of glycerol into value added chemicals have emerged in recent years as a result of glycerol unique structure, properties, bioavailability, and renewability. Glycerol is produced in large amounts during trans-esterification of fatty acids into biodiesel, and as such represents a useful by-product. In this paper, the liquid phase oxidation of glycerol has been studied over gold nanoparticles supported on TiO2, and synthesized by using deposition-precipitation method. The catalysts are characterized by XRD, TEM, XPS, and activity towards CO oxidation. Active catalysts comprise particle size distributions (2-5 nm diameters) for gold nanoparticles. The results indicate that the Au/TiO2 catalyst showed the best performances both for activity and selectivity toward glyceric acid. We have also studied the effect of reaction conditions such as, amount of catalyst and concentration of base in the catalytic activity

Validity of serum galectin-4(Gal-4) in diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma:

Background: Galectin-4 is one of a b-galactosides binding proteins family that recognize a variety of glycan -containing proteins at the cell surface and are overexpressed in various tumors, including gastric cancer. Galectin-4 overexpression as well as changes in their subcellular distribution has been associated with gastric cancer progression and poor prognosis. It may provide diagnostic molecular markers for gastric cancer as well as clues for developing therapeutic targets on individual basis. Objectives : The aims of the present study were to determine the levels of GAL-4in the sera of healthy people and patients with gastric cancer and also, to investigate the validity of using GAL-4 as a specific diagnostic marker of gastric cancer. Patients and methods: twenty five gastric cancer patients were included in this study. They were among patients who attending the Endoscopy Department in Baghdad Medical City Teaching Hospital, during the period from December 2011 to July 2012. In addition, fifteen apparently healthy person were chosen as a healthy control group. For these two groups, serum level of GAL-4 using sandwich ELISA technique was carried out. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in serum level of GAL-4 among gastric adenocarcinoma patients in comparison to healthy controls (p≤0.001), using receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) area, serum GAL-4 has high area under the curve (0.924) with a cut off value equal to or above 0.42ng/ml which was associated with the highest sensitivity (100%). Conclusions: The current study showed that serum levels of GAL-4 were significantly higher in patients with malignant gastric adenocarcinoma which may confirm a possible role of this marker in the pathogenesis of the disease, furthermore the highest sensitivity and best accuracy obtained from serum GAL-4 was by using a cut off values equal to or above 0.42ng/ml; Therefore, GAL-4 may be promising new diagnostic tools especially at early stages and among patients at high risk

A comparison of the prevalence of anti-Liver/Kidney Microsome antibody type-1(LKM-1) in individuals with chronic hepatitis C and those with autoimmune hepatitis

Background: Autoantibodies are frequently found in patients with chronic hepatitis C, which suggests that HCV elicit an immune response in the host. ). The relationship of type-2 AIH to chronic hepatitis C (HCV) is an interesting and as yet unresolved problem. Importantly, antibodies to liver/kidney microsome type-1 (LKM1), the serologic marker of type 2-AIH, have been recognized in serum of some patients with chronic hepatitis C. Methods: Anti-liver kidney microsome type 1 (LKM-1) autoantibodies were studied by indirect immuno florescence assay (IIF) and confirmed by immunoblot in the serum of 73 Iraqi patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) in comparison with 50 patients control (HCV infection) and 50 healthy individuals. Results: anti-LKM 1 with high titers (≥1/160) present in serum of all patients with AIH-2, whereas they present in titer (≤1/80) in serum of 19 patients with chronic HCV, while all healthy control group are negative. Conclusion: AIH is easily distinguished from chronic viral hepatitis since patients with AIH are more commonly women than those with chronic viral hepatitis, and they have higher serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, gamma-globulin, IgG, alkaline phosphates, and higher frequency of multilobular necrosis on histologic examination than counters with chronic viral hepatitis

MARVEL analysis of the measured high-resolution spectra of 14NH3

Accurate, experimental rotational–vibrational energy levels and line positions, with associated labels and uncertainties, are reported for the ground electronic state of the symmetric-top 14NH3 molecule. All levels and lines are based on critically reviewed and validated high-resolution experimental spectra taken from 56 literature sources. The transition data are in the 0.7–17 000 cm−1 region, with a large gap between 7000 and 15 000 cm−1. The MARVEL (Measured Active Rotational–Vibrational Energy Levels) algorithm is used to determine the energy levels. Out of the 29 450 measured transitions 10 041 and 18 947 belong to ortho- and para-14NH3, respectively. A careful analysis of the related experimental spectroscopic network (SN) allows 28 530 of the measured transitions to be validated, 18 178 of these are unique, while 462 transitions belong to floating components. Despite the large number of spectroscopic measurements published over the last 80 years, the transitions determine only 30 vibrational band origins of 14NH3, 8 for ortho- and 22 for para-14NH3. The highest J value, where J stands for the rotational quantum number, for which an energy level is validated is 31. The number of experimental-quality ortho- and para-14NH3 rovibrational energy levels is 1724 and 3237, respectively. The MARVEL energy levels are checked against ones in the BYTe first-principles database, determined previously. The lists of validated lines and levels for 14NH3 are deposited in the Supporting Information to this paper. Combination of the MARVEL energy levels with first-principles absorption intensities yields a huge number of experimental-quality rovibrational lines, which should prove to be useful for the understanding of future complex high-resolution spectroscopy on 14NH3; these lines are also deposited in the Supporting Information to this paper

An improved rovibrational linelist of formaldehyde, H₂¹²C¹⁶O

Published high-resolution rotation-vibration transitions of H₂¹²C¹⁶O the principal isotopologue of methanal, are analyzed using the MARVEL (Measured Active Rotation-Vibration Energy Levels) procedure. The literature results are augmented by new, high-accuracy measurements of pure rotational transitions within the ground, ν_{3}, ν_{4}, and ν_{6} vibrational states. Of the 16 596 non-redundant transitions processed, which come from 43 sources including the present work, 16 403 could be validated, providing 5029 empirical energy levels of H₂¹²C¹⁶O with statistically well-defined uncertainties. All the empirical rotational-vibrational energy levels determined are used to improve the accuracy of ExoMol’s AYTY line list for hot formaldehyde. The complete list of collated experimental transitions, the empirical energy levels determined, as well as the extended and improved line list are provided as Supplementary Material

MicroRNAs (20a, 146a, 155, and 145) expressions in a sample of Iraqi patients with multiple sclerosis

Background: Multiple sclerosis is a devastating central nervous system autoimmune disorder that is characterized by a series of inflammations, demyelinations, and neurodegenerations that affect the brain and spinal cord. The epigenetic studies specially micro Ribonucleic acid expression represent an important field of researches that probably uncover the obscurities behind the multiple sclerosis pathogenesis. Objectives: to study the expression of micro Ribonucleic acids (20a, 146a, 155, and 145) in multiple sclerosis patients by the use of real time polymerase chain reaction. Patients and Methods: A case-control study was performed using real time polymerase chain reaction technique to measure the relative expression of micro Ribonucleic acids (20a, 146a, 155, and 145) in peripheral blood leukocytes of 25 newly diagnosed untreated multiple sclerosis patients and comparing them with that of 25 clinically apparent healthy controls . Results: Studying of micro Ribonucleic acids expression in multiple sclerosis patients revealed a significant down-regulation in micro Ribonucleic acid-20a while up- regulation of micro Ribonucleic acid-155 expression in multiple sclerosis patients in comparison to controls. Micro Ribonucleic acids -146a and 145 were not associated with significant changes in its expression in multiple sclerosis patients in comparison to controls. Conclusion: multiple sclerosis is associated with significant changes in micro Ribonucleic acids expression including micro Ribonucleic acid-20a, and micro Ribonucleic acid-155 but not micro Ribonucleic acid 146a and-145 that can be measured by real time polymerase chain reaction technique

An improved rovibrational linelist of formaldehyde, H212C16O

Published high-resolution rotation-vibration transitions of H212C16O, the principal isotopologue of methanal, are analyzed using the MARVEL (Measured Active Rotation-Vibration Energy Levels) procedure. The literature results are augmented by new, high-accuracy measurements of pure rotational transitions within the ground, ν3, ν4, and ν6 vibrational states. Of the 16 596 non-redundant transitions processed, which come from 43 sources including the present work, 16 403 could be validated, providing 5029 empirical energy levels of H212C16O with statistically well-defined uncertainties. All the empirical rotational-vibrational energy levels determined are used to improve the accuracy of ExoMol's AYTY line list for hot formaldehyde. The complete list of collated experimental transitions, the empirical energy levels determined, as well as the extended and improved line list are provided as Supplementary Material

Correlation of Total Cholesterol and Glucose in Serum of Iraqi Patients with Atherosclerosis and Diabetes Mellitus Type 2

Cholesterol is a fatty substance (lipid) classified as a waxy steroid of fat. It is absorbed by the intestine into blood stream and is packaged inside a protein coat a chylomicron. Blood glucose is a simple monosaccharide absorbed directly into the blood stream during digestion. The level of blood glucose normally represents a balance between the inflow of glucose into blood and it is uptake by the tissue. Atherosclerosis is a general term for a number of different medical conditions that affect the heart, this is occurs when the blood supply to a part of heart is interrupted, must commonly due to plaque, is build up in the coronary arteries consist of lipid cholesterol and calcium. It causes a damage of potential disease of heart muscle due to thickening and hardening of arteries. Diabetes mellitus is a disorder in which the level of blood glucose is persistently elevated above the normal range due to decrease secretion of insulin. The main objective of this study is to determine the concentrations of total cholesterol and glucose into blood serum of Iraq patients with atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus type 2. This study included 60 specimens of patients with atherosclerosis and 60 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus; their age range was 45-65 years. These patients were then matched by age and sex to 30 healthy individuals. Results revealed that there was highly significantly increased in the mean value of total cholesterol and glucose concentrations in patients of atherosclerosis (p<0.001) and diabetes mellitus (p<0.001) as compared with healthy individuals

IUPAC critical evaluation of the rotational-vibrational spectra of water vapor, Part III: Energy levels and transition wavenumbers for H2 16O

This is the third of a series of articles reporting critically evaluated rotational–vibrational line positions, transition intensities, and energy levels, with associated critically reviewed labels and uncertainties, for all the main isotopologues of water. This paper presents experimental line positions, experimental-quality energy levels, and validated labels for rotational–vibrational transitions of the most abundant isotopologue of water, H216O. The latest version of the MARVEL (Measured Active Rotational–Vibrational Energy Levels) line-inversion procedure is used to determine the rovibrational energy levels of the electronic ground state of H216O from experimentally measured lines, together with their self-consistent uncertainties, for the spectral region up to the first dissociation limit. The spectroscopic network of H216O containstwo components, an ortho (o) and a para (p) one. For o-H216O and p-H216O, experimentally measured, assigned, and labeled transitions were analyzed from more than 100 sources. The measured lines come from one-photon spectra recorded at room temperature in absorption, from hot samples with temperatures up to 3000 K recorded in emission, and from multiresonance excitation spectra which sample levels up to dissociation. The total number of transitions considered is 184 667 of which 182 156 are validated: 68 027 between para states and 114 129 ortho ones. These transitions give rise to 18 486 validated energy levels, of which 10 446 and 8040 belong to o-H216O and p-H216O, respectively. The energy levels, including their labeling with approximate normal-mode and rigid-rotor quantum numbers, have been checked against ones determined from accurate variational nuclear motion computations employing exact kinetic energy operators as well as against previous compilations of energy levels. The extensive list of MARVEL lines and levels obtained are deposited in the supplementary data of this paper, as well as in a distributed information system applied to water, W@DIS, where they can easily be retrieved

Hyperfine coupling constants on inner‐sphere water molecules of GdIII‐based MRI contrast agents

[Abstract] Herein we present a theoretical investigation of the hyperfine coupling constants (HFCCs) on the inner‐sphere water molecules of [Gd(H2O)8]3+ and different GdIII‐based magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents such as [Gd(DOTA)(H2O)]−, [Gd(DTPA)(H2O)]2−, [Gd(DTPA‐BMA)(H2O)] and [Gd(HP‐DO3A)(H2O)]. DFT calculations performed on the [Gd(H2O)8]3+ model system show that both hybrid‐GGA functionals (BH&HLYP, B3PW91 and PBE1PBE) and the hybrid meta‐GGA functional TPSSh provide 17O HFCCs in close agreement with the experimental data. The use of all‐electron relativistic approaches based on the DKH2 approximation and the use of relativistic effective core potentials (RECP) provide results of essentially the same quality. The accurate calculation of HFCCs on the [Gd(DOTA)(H2O)]−, [Gd(DTPA)(H2O)]2−, [Gd(DTPA‐BMA)(H2O)] and [Gd(HP‐DO3A)(H2O)] complexes requires an adequate description of solvent effects. This was achieved by using a mixed cluster/continuum approach that includes explicitly two second‐sphere water molecules. The calculated isotropic 17O HFCCs (Aiso) fall within the range 0.40–0.56 MHz, and show deviations from the corresponding experimental values typically lower than 0.05 MHz. The Aiso values are significantly affected by the distance between the oxygen atom of the coordinated water molecule and the GdIII ion, as well as by the orientation of the water molecule plane with respect to the Gd‐O vector. 1H HFCCs of coordinated water molecules and 17O HFCCs of second‐sphere water molecules take values close to zero.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia; CTQ2009‐10721Xunta de Galicia; IN845B‐2010/06