Insights into the growth of GaN thin films through liquid gallium sputtering: A plasma-film combined analysis.

This study presents the detailed characterization of a magnetron-based Ar-N2 plasma discharge used to sputter a liquid Ga target for the deposition of gallium nitride (GaN) thin films. By utilizing in situ diagnostic techniques including optical emission spectroscopy and microwave interferometry, we determine different temperatures (rotational and vibrational of N2 molecules, and electronic excitation of Ar atoms) and electron density, respectively. Beyond providing insights into fundamental plasma physics, our research establishes a significant correlation between gas-phase dynamics, particularly those of gallium atoms (flux and average energy at the substrate) and deposited GaN thin film properties (growth rate and crystalline fraction).

Sons Shorten Mother's Lifespan in Preindustrial Families with a High Level of Infant Mortality.

AbstractIn dimorphic vertebrates where males are larger than females, the energetic costs of producing and rearing sons can exceed those of daughters. In humans, differences in maternal energy intake suggest that sons require 10% and 7% more energy than daughters during pregnancy and lactation, respectively. Due to a trade-off between reproduction and somatic maintenance, having sons is expected to have a more pronounced detrimental impact on a mother's lifespan than having daughters.

Corrigendum: An study to elucidate the effects of Product Nkabinde on immune response in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy donors.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.

An study to elucidate the effects of product Nkabinde on immune response in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy donors.

A significant number of the South African population still rely on traditional medicines (TM) as their primary healthcare due to their belief in their holistic healing and immune-boosting properties. However, little to no scientific data is available on the effects of most TM products on cytokine and cellular biomarkers of the immune response. Here, we evaluated the impact of traditional medicine [Product Nkabinde (PN)] in inducing cellular and cytokine biomarkers of inflammation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from eight healthy volunteers.

Indigofera cryptantha-induced pigmenturia in cattle in South Africa.

Two field cases of reddish-black pigmenturia occurred where cattle grazed on an established Cenchrus ciliaris (blue buffalo grass) pasture in South Africa. The pasture was noticeably invaded by Indigofera cryptantha, which was heavily grazed. Apart from the discolored urine, no other clinical abnormalities were detected.

Prioritised identification of structural classes of natural products from higher plants in the expedition of antimalarial drug discovery.

The emergence and spread of drug-recalcitrant Plasmodium falciparum parasites threaten to reverse the gains made in the fight against malaria. Urgent measures need to be taken to curb this impending challenge. The higher plant-derived sesquiterpene, quinoline alkaloids, and naphthoquinone natural product classes of compounds have previously served as phenomenal chemical scaffolds from which integral antimalarial drugs were developed.

Leveraging off higher plant phylogenetic insights for antiplasmodial drug discovery.

The antimalarial drug-resistance conundrum which threatens to reverse the great strides taken to curb the malaria scourge warrants an urgent need to find novel chemical scaffolds to serve as templates for the development of new antimalarial drugs. Plants represent a viable alternative source for the discovery of unique potential antiplasmodial chemical scaffolds. To expedite the discovery of new antiplasmodial compounds from plants, the aim of this study was to use phylogenetic analysis to identify higher plant orders and families that can be rationally prioritised for antimalarial drug discovery.

High glucose induces an activated state of partial epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human primary tubular cell cultures.

Tubulointerstitial fibrosis is observed in diabetic nephropathy. It is still debated whether tubular cells, undergoing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in high glucose (HG) conditions, may contribute to interstitial fibrosis development. In this study, we investigated the phenotypic and molecular EMT-like changes and the alteration of inflammatory and fibrogenic secretome induced by HG in human primary tubular cell cultures.

HPLC-Based Purification and Isolation of Potent Anti-HIV and Latency Reversing Daphnane Diterpenes from the Medicinal Plant ().

Despite the success of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), HIV persists in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) due to emerging drug resistance and insufficient drug accessibility. Furthermore, cART does not target latently-infected CD4+ T cells, which represent a major barrier to HIV eradication. The “shock and kill” therapeutic approach aims to reactivate provirus expression in latently-infected cells in the presence of cART and target virus-expressing cells for elimination.

In vitro dual activity of Aloe marlothii roots and its chemical constituents against Plasmodium falciparum asexual and sexual stage parasites.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Aloe marlothii A.Berger (Xanthorrhoeaceae) is indigenous to southern African countries where its aqueous preparations are used in traditional medicine to treat several ailments including hypertension, respiratory infections, venereal diseases, chest pain, sore throat and malaria.

Aim Of The Study: The aims of this study were as follows: (i) isolate and identify the antiplasmodial active compounds in A.

Use of hyphenated analytical techniques to identify the bioactive constituents of Gunnera perpensa L., a South African medicinal plant, which potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein-host ACE2 binding.

SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, continues to cause global morbidity and mortality despite the increasing availability of vaccines. Alongside vaccines, antivirals are urgently needed to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection and spread, particularly in resource-limited regions which lack access to existing therapeutics. Small molecules isolated from medicinal plants may be able to block cellular entry by SARS-CoV-2 by antagonising the interaction of the viral spike glycoprotein receptor-binding domain (RBD) with the host angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) receptor.

Lobostemon trigonus (Thunb.) H. Buek, a medicinal plant from South Africa as a potential natural microbicide against HIV-1.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: There have been different methods proposed to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV-1 and many of them have centered on the use of anti-retrovirals as microbicides. Given that a large section of the African population still relies on herbal medicine, Lobostemon trigonus (L. trigonus), a traditionally used medicinal plant in South Africa to treat HIV-1 was further investigated for its potential as a natural microbicide to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV-1.

Anti-DFS70 antibodies detected by specific methods in patients with thrombosis or recurrent pregnancy loss: no evidence of an association.

A dense fine speckled pattern (DFS) caused by antibodies to the DFS70 kDa nuclear protein is a relatively common finding while testing for anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) by indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) on HEp-2 cells. However, despite many efforts and numerous studies, the clinical significance of anti-DFS70 antibodies is still unknown as they can be found in patients with various disorders and even in healthy subjects. In this study we aimed at verifying whether these antibodies are associated with thrombotic events or with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL).

Arg tyrosine kinase modulates TGF-β1 production in human renal tubular cells under high-glucose conditions.

Renal tubular cells are involved in the tubular interstitial fibrosis observed in diabetic nephropathy. It is debated whether epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) affects tubular cells, which under high-glucose conditions overproduce transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), a fibrogenic cytokine involved in interstitial fibrosis development. Our study investigated the involvement of non-receptor tyrosine kinase Arg (also called Abl2) in TGF-β production.

[Mesenteric cyst: case report and review of the literature].

Mesenteric and retroperitoneal cysts are rare intra-abdominal tumours with an incidence of 1/140.000 in surgery departments and 1/20.000 in paediatric departments.

Eight full-length abelson related gene (Arg) isoforms are constitutively expressed in caki-1 cell line and cell distribution of two isoforms has been analyzed after transfection.

The human Arg (Abl2) nonreceptor tyrosine kinase has a role in cytoskeletal rearrangements by its C-terminal F-actin- and microtubule-binding sequences. We have previously identified Arg transcripts with different 5'- and 3'-ends, named respectively long and short 1A and 1B (1AL, 1AS, 1BL, 1BS) and long and short C-termini (CTL and CTS), that have different expression patterns in various cell types. The combination of the different ends permits to predict eight putative full-length Arg transcripts and corresponding proteins.

Gastrointestinal bleeding from enterically drained transplanted pancreas.

Gastrointestinal bleeding has been described as related complication of pancreas transplantation. Of 166 simultaneous pancreas kidney transplantations, 61 were enteric-drained pancreas transplants (eight done with and 53 without Roux-en-Y loop). The patients were divided into two groups according to Roux (group I, n = 8) or no Roux (group II, n = 53) technique.

Management of papillary microcarcinoma of the thyroid gland.

Design: To investigate the frequency, treatment and clinical behaviour of differentiated microcarcinoma of the thyroid gland (PTMC).

Patients And Methods: Out of 376 patients submitted to surgical treatment for differentiated thyroid cancer from June 1980 to October 2003, 77 had been identified has having a PTMC (63 females, 14 males; mean age 43+/-13 years). Sixty-seven patients (87%) met the AMES risk definition for low (group I) and 10 (13%) for high-risk (group II) definition.

Outcome of simultaneous kidney pancreas transplantation: a single center analysis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of simultaneous kidney pancreas transplantation (SKPT) by various surgical techniques. The 161 patients submitted to SKPT underwent the following: 36 pancreas with duct occlusion (from 1985 to 1989), 75 with whole pancreas with bladder diversion (from 1990 to 1998), and 50 whole pancreas with enteric diversion (40 with systemic and 10 with portal drainage) (from 1999 to September 2002). A positive effect on patient survival was evident using enteric diversion versus the duct occlusion group (P = .