Study of the inhibitory effect of the small molecule Diethylthia tri carbocyanine iodide, as an anti- Alzheimer's candidate drug on human recombinant tau aggregation

Background and aims: Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is affected by different factors. Forming aggregations of the tau proteins in the brain is one of the most commonly observation in the patients’ brains suffered from this disease. Several strategies have been devised to target the tau aggregates in the neuronal cells of the patients. Recently, chaperones have drawn the attention of the researchers as a tool to inhibit or disaggregate the tau protein aggregations. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of small molecule chaperone called Diethylthia tri carbocyanine iodide on the formation of tau aggregates. Methods: In this basic laboratory study, Tau protein was expressed in bacteria. Then, Tau protein was purified by the ion-exchange chromatography and affinity chromatography, and its purity was evaluated by SDS-PAGE. Heparin was added as the inducer of tau aggregation, and the inductive effect of heparin on tau aggregation was examinated by circular dichroism (CD) method. Then, Diethylthia tri carbocyanine iodide chaperones was added to the aggregated tau and its effect was evaluated using SDS-PAGE and thioflavin T fluorescence assay. Results: Electrophoresis SDS-PAGE confirmed the expression of tau protein and its purity. CD validated the successful induction of tau aggregation by heparin. Following treatment of the tau aggregates with Diethylthia tri carbocyanine iodide, the results of SDS-PAGE showed that induced aggregation, remarkably reduced compared to the control sample. Thioflavin T fluorescence assay was used to confirm the results of SDS-PAGE analysis. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that Diethylthia tri carbocyanine iodide could inhibit the aggregation of the tau protein which they were produced in the presence of heparin inductor. These results can propose Diethylthia tri carbocyanine iodide as a potential treatment to target the tau aggregates in people with Alzheimer’s disease

Impact of Corner Radius on Cold-formed Steel Member Strength

The objectives of this paper are to expl ore (a) how corners of cold-formed steel members are included or ignored in current design methods, and (b) the effectiveness of recent proposals for modifying the strength prediction for local buckling to account for corners. The imp act of round corners is examined on the behavior and strength of isolated elements and on full members using material and geometric nonlinear collapse analysis with shell finite elements in ABAQUS. Comparisons between the available methods and the nonlinear finite element analysis are completed to explore the regimes in which the methods are accurate, as well as when they are deficient. The current appr oach in the main Specification of AISI-S100-07, which applies no reductions regardless of corner size, is demonstrated to be uncons ervative. Initial recommendations for the design of sections with large corner radi us by effective width and direct strength methods are provided

Improved Reliability Determination When Testing Cold-formed Steel Components

The objectives of this paper are to (a) determine the sensitivity of the reliability calculations in Chapter F of the AISI Specification (AISI-S100-07) to controlling load combinations and loading ratios, and (b) develop a more robust alternative for the use of Chapter F. To complete this study the bias factors and variances for all loading conditions are established. In addition, a range of practical load ratios is agreed upon. Parametric studies are performed to explore load case and load ratio dependency for use in the determination of the resistance factor, Φ; specifically, the pre-factor term CΦ and the load variance term VQ. The parametric studies are simplified into a table that provides load case dependent CΦ and VQ factors. The table is recommended for use in Chapter F reliability analysis of new products

Metallic tube type energy absorbers: a synopsis

This paper presents an overview of energy absorbers in the form of tubes in which the material used is predominantly mild steel and/or aluminium. A brief summary is also made of frusta type energy absorbers. The common modes of deformation such as lateral and axial compression, indentation and inversion are reviewed. Theoretical, numerical and experimental methods which help to understand the behaviour of such devices under various loading conditions are outlined. Although other forms of energy absorbing materials and structures exist such as composites and honeycombs, this is deemed outside the scope of this review. However, a brief description will be given on these materials. It is hoped that this work will provide a useful platform for researchers and design engineers to gain a useful insight into the progress made over the last few decades in the field of tube type energy absorbers

Optimization and One-Step Purification of Recombinant V Antigen Production from Yersinia pestis

The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient and inexpensive method for the useful production of recombinant protein V antigen, an important virulence factor for Yersinia pestis. To this end, the synthetic gene encoding the V antigen was subcloned into the downstream of the intein (INT) and chitin-binding domain (CBD) from the pTXB1 vector using specific primers. In the following, the produced new plasmid, pTX-V, was transformed into E. coli ER2566 strain, and the expression accuracy was confirmed using electrophoresis and Western blotting. In addition, the effects of medium, inducer, and temperature on the enhancement of protein production were studied using the Taguchi method. Finally, the V antigen was purified by a chitin affinity column using INT and CBD tag. The expression was induced by 0.05 mM IPTG at 25 °C under optimal conditions including TB medium. It was observed that the expression of the V-INT�CBD fusion protein was successfully increased to more than 40 of the total protein. The purity of V antigen was as high as 90. This result indicates that V antigen can be produced at low cost and subjected to one-step purification using a self-cleaving INT tag. © 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

Finite Element Analysis of Flush End Plate Moment Connections under Cyclic Loading

This paper explains the results of an investigation on the analysis of flush end plate steel connections by means of finite element method. Flush end plates are a highly indeterminate type of connection, which have a number of parameters that effect their behavior. Because of this, experimental investigations are complicated and very costly. Today, the finite element method provides an ideal method for analyzing complicated structures. Finite element models of these types of connections under monotonic loading have previously been investigated. A numerical model, which can predict the cyclic behavior of these connections, is of critical importance, as dynamic experiments are more costly. This paper summarizes a study to develop a three-dimensional finite element model that can accurately capture the cyclic behavior of flush end plate connections. Comparisons between FEM results and experimental results obtained from full-scale tests have been carried out, which confirms the accuracy of the finite element model. Consequently, design equations for this connection have been investigated and it is shown that these predictions are not precise in all cases. The effect of end plate thickness and bolt diameter on the overall behavior of this connection is discussed. This research demonstrates that using the appropriate configuration, this connection has the potential to form a plastic hinge in the beam--desirable in seismic behavior

Evaluation of Anti-depressant and Anti-anxiety Activity of Methanol Extract of Stachys annua L. in Mice

Background and objectives: Development of new medicines with fewer side effects and more efficacy is needed for treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders. The present study was designedto investigate the antidepressant and anti-anxiety effects of Stachys annua L. methanol extract in mice.Methods: The extract was prepared by maceration method and the total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride methods, respectively. Elevated plus-maze (EPM) and open field tests (OFT) were applied to evaluate the anti-anxiety and locomotor activity of animals treated with the intraperitoneal (i.p.) extract (12.5, 25, 50, and100 mg/kg), respectively. Antidepressant activity was evaluated by forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test(TST). Results: The total phenolic content of the extract was 54.13±0.01 mg of gallic acid equivalents per gram of dry extract and total flavonoid content was 67.89±0.005 mg of quercetin as equivalents/ g of extract. Intraperitoneal administration of the extract (50 and 100 mg/kg) significantly increased thepercentage of time spent and the percentage of arm entries into the open arms of EPM and decreased locomotor activity, compared with the vehicle control group. In addition, the immobility time of animals significantly decreased in both FST and TST with doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg of the extract, compared with the vehicle control group. Conclusion: The extract of Stachys annua L. might be used as an adjunct therapy in clinical studies for the treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders. However, determination of active ingredients needs further evaluation.<br/

Adopting Scenario-Based approach to solve optimal reactive power Dispatch problem with integration of wind and solar energy using improved Marine predator algorithm

The penetration of renewable energy resources into electric power networks has been increased considerably to reduce the dependence of conventional energy resources, reducing the generation cost and greenhouse emissions. The wind and photovoltaic (PV) based systems are the most applied technologies in electrical systems compared to other technologies of renewable energy resources. However, there are some complications and challenges to incorporating these resources due to their stochastic nature, intermittency, and variability of output powers. Therefore, solving the optimal reactive power dispatch (ORPD) problem with considering the uncertainties of renewable energy resources is a challenging task. Application of the Marine Predators Algorithm (MPA) for solving complex multimodal and non-linear problems such as ORPD under system uncertainties may cause entrapment into local optima and suffer from stagnation. The aim of this paper is to solve the ORPD problem under deterministic and probabilistic states of the system using an improved marine predator algorithm (IMPA). The IMPA is based on enhancing the exploitation phase of the conventional MPA. The proposed enhancement is based on updating the locations of the populations in spiral orientation around the sorted populations in the first iteration process, while in the final stage, the locations of the populations are updated their locations in adaptive steps closed to the best population only. The scenario-based approach is utilized for uncertainties representation where a set of scenarios are generated with the combination of uncertainties the load demands and power of the renewable resources. The proposed algorithm is validated and tested on the IEEE 30-bus system as well as the captured results are compared with those outcomes from the state-of-the-art algorithms. A computational study shows the superiority of the proposed algorithm over the other reported algorithms

Modes of Failure for Suction Caissons under Vertical Pull-Out Loads

ABSTRACT Suction caissons have a fair base in the offshore industry, however, prediction of their behaviour and capacities still need extra attentions. Understandin