Enhancing thermal energy storage properties of blend phase change materials using beeswax.

This study aims to use beeswax, a readily available and cost-effective organic material, as a novel phase change material (PCM) within blends of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene (SEBS). LDPE and SEBS act as support materials to prevent beeswax leakage. The physicochemical properties of new blended phase change materials (B-PCM) were determined using an X-ray diffractometer and an infrared spectrometer, confirming the absence of a chemical reaction within the materials.

Effect of compression molding of CaCO powder on the kinetics of CO capture towards sustainable CO capture and sequestration cycle.

Reducing CO emissions from industrial sectors and motor vehicles is currently receiving much attention. There are different strategies for CO capture, one of which is using calcium oxide (CaO). In our proposed carbon dioxide cycle, limestone is first calcined to get CaO, which is then used to capture CO by converting it to CaCO.

Adsorptive Removal of Rhodamine B Dye Using Carbon Graphite/CNT Composites as Adsorbents: Kinetics, Isotherms and Thermodynamic Study.

The study of the adsorption efficiency of new carbon/CNT composites was undertaken to remove a cationic dye, Rhodamine B (RhB), from dye-contaminated wastewater. Indeed, we investigated the effect of different experimental parameters such as time, initial concentration of dye and temperature on the adsorption of RhB by the carbon composites (KS44-0 and KS44-20). The results showed that the adsorption uptake increased with the initial concentration and solution temperature while maintaining a relatively constant pH.

Phylogenetic analysis and growth profiles of Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex strains isolated from Tunisian cereals.

The Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex (FIESC) is a phylogenetically rich complex. It includes more than 30 cryptic phylogenetic species, making morphological identification problematic. FIESC has previously been detected in Tunisian cereals, but knowledge on the phylogeny and the ecophysiology of their species is lacking.

Contamination of Wheat, Barley, and Maize Seeds with Toxigenic Fusarium Species and Their Mycotoxins in Tunisia.

Background: Fusarium is a worldwide distributed fungal genus. It includes different species pathogenic to cereals among others crops. Some of these species can also produce toxic compounds toward animals and humans.

Sex chromosomes-linked single-gene disorders involved in human infertility.

Human infertility is a healthcare problem that has a worldwide impact. Genetic causes of human infertility include chromosomal aneuploidies and rearrangements and single-gene defects. The sex chromosomes (X and Y) are critical players in human fertility since they contain several genes essential for sex determination and reproductive traits for both men and women.

Prognostic Impact of Tumor Multinodularity in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

Background: The prognostic value of tumor multinodularity in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) remains debated. We aimed to evaluate the impact of tumor multinodularity according to the presence and distribution of multiples ICC's nodules.

Methods: A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database of patients undergoing resection for ICC from January 1995 to September 2017 was performed.

Biomedical potential of chitosan-silver nanoparticles with special reference to antioxidant, antibacterial, hemolytic and in vivo cutaneous wound healing effects.

The aim of the present study was to prepare chitosan-PVA-silver nanoparticles (CS-AgNPs) through green method. Chitosan and PVA polymers acted as stabilizing agents. DLS and TEM analyses showed that CS-AgNPs were homogeneously dispersed in matrix with an average size of 190-200 nm.

Autosomal single-gene disorders involved in human infertility.

Human infertility, defined as the inability to conceive after 1 year of unprotected intercourse, is a healthcare problem that has a worldwide impact. Genetic causes of human infertility are manifold. In addition to the chromosomal aneuploidies and rearrangements, single-gene defects can interfere with human fertility.

Mycoflora isolation and molecular characterization of and species in Tunisian cereals.

Wheat, barley and maize are the mainly consumed cereals in Tunisia. This study aimed to determine the mycoflora of these cereals with special focus on the mycotoxigenic and species. Freshly harvested samples and other stored samples of each type of cereal (31 and 34 samples, respectively) were collected in Tunisia and cultured for fungal isolation and identification.

Aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A and zearalenone in sorghum grains marketed in Tunisia.

A total of 64 samples of sorghum (37 Tunisian sorghum samples and 27 Egyptian sorghum samples) were collected during 2011-2012 from markets in Tunisia. Samples were analysed for contamination with aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A and zearalenone by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Fluorescence Detection (HPLC-FLD). Aflatoxin B1 was found in 38 samples in the range 0.

[Management of patients with major beta thalassemia in a paediatric department in the south of Tunisia: About 26 cases].

Aim: Our objectives were to assess the management of patients with major thalassemia and identify the various complications and monitoring means.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 26 β-thalassemic patients in the department of paediatrics, Hédi Chaker hospital, Sfax, Tunisia during a period of 25 years (from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2014).

Results: The mean age of the beginning of transfusion was 11.

Aflatoxins and ochratoxin A and their Aspergillus causal species in Tunisian cereals.

Occurrence of aflatoxins (AFs) AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2 and ochra toxin A (OTA) was studied in 65 samples of stored and freshly harvested wheat, barley and maize collected in Tunisia. The mycotoxins were simultaneously extracted and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography. Determination of AF-producing (section Flavi) and OTA-producing Aspergillus species (sections Nigri and Circumdati) was conducted in these samples by species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

[Extra medullary hematopoiesis associated to congenital dyserythropoietic anemia II in adult].

The congenital dyserythropoietic anemias comprise a group of rare hereditary disorders of erythropoiesis characterized by anemia with ineffective erythropoiesis and morphological abnormalities of erythroblasts in the bone marrow. Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type II or HEMPAS is the more frequent type. It is rare in adults.

Adult Gaucher disease in southern Tunisia: report of three cases.

Background: Gaucher disease (GD) is the most frequent lysosomal storage disorder; type 1 is by far the most common form. It is characterized by variability in age of onset, clinical signs and progression. It is usually diagnosed in the first or second decade of life with the appearance of bone pains, splenomegaly and thrombocytopenia, but the disease may be diagnosed at any age between 1 and 73 years.

[Acquired haemophilia B: a case report and literature review].

Acquired haemophilia is a rare disease; it occurs most frequently in elderly patients. The majority of cases are due to autoantibodies to factor VIII, which deplete circulating factor VIII or acquired haemophilia A. Only few cases of acquired haemophilia B are reported until today.

[Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis syndrome: a possible cause of multi-organ failure in severe head trauma?].

We report the case of a 26-year-old patient who was victim of severe head trauma following a trafic road accident. Two days after trauma, she had fever, pancytopenia and multi-organ failure. The haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis syndrome was suspected.

[Factor V deficiency and pregnancy: a case report].

The factor V deficiency is a very rare hereditary disease of the coagulation, which is accompanied by a high hemorrhagic risk in the event of delivery and in the post-partum. We report the case of a woman having a factor V deficiency which had a pregnancy, and which gave birth by Cesarean, as replacement therapy we proposed the transfusion of 20 mL/kg of fresh frozen plasma before surgery and of 5 mL/kg by 12 h during 7 days in post-partum, this attitude allowed to avoid the hemorrhagic complications.

Activator Gcn4 employs multiple segments of Med15/Gal11, including the KIX domain, to recruit mediator to target genes in vivo.

Mediator is a multisubunit coactivator required for initiation by RNA polymerase II. The Mediator tail subdomain, containing Med15/Gal11, is a target of the activator Gcn4 in vivo, critical for recruitment of native Mediator or the Mediator tail subdomain present in sin4Delta cells. Although several Gal11 segments were previously shown to bind Gcn4 in vitro, the importance of these interactions for recruitment of Mediator and transcriptional activation by Gcn4 in cells was unknown.

Elaboration of new ceramic microfiltration membranes from mineral coal fly ash applied to waste water treatment.

This work aims to develop a new mineral porous tubular membrane based on mineral coal fly ash. Finely ground mineral coal powder was calcinated at 700 degrees C for about 3 h. The elaboration of the mesoporous layer was performed by the slip-casting method using a suspension made of the mixture of fly-ash powder, water and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA).