Exploring the Electronic Interactions of Adenine, Cytosine, and Guanine with Graphene: A DFT Study.

This study has provided new insights into the interaction between graphene and DNA nucleobases (adenine, cytosine, and guanine). It compares how each nucleobase interacts with graphene, examining their selectivity and binding energy. The research also explores how these interactions impact the electronic properties of graphene, showing potential applications in graphene-based biosensors and DNA sequencing technologies.

Correction: Clinical outcomes in a primary-level non-communicable disease programme for Syrian refugees and the host population in Jordan: A cohort analysis using routine data.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.

Chemical control and herbicide resistance of hairy fleabane (Erigeron bonariensis L.) in Jordan.

The effect of paraquat, oxadiazon and oxyfluorfen herbicides was tested on two populations of hairy fleabane (Erigeron bonariensis L.), collected from a date palm orchard at Tal al-Ramil (Central Jordan Valley) and al-Twal (Northern Jordan Valley) sites using the recommended rates (0.5, 1.

Traditional foodstuffs and household food security in a time of crisis.

Traditional foodstuffs play an important role in household food security. No research has, however, attempted to examine traditional foodstuffs in light of disasters and crises. Such research can provide a useful outlook on how traditional foodstuffs can aid households in a situation of disrupted food supply.

MSF experiences of providing multidisciplinary primary level NCD care for Syrian refugees and the host population in Jordan: an implementation study guided by the RE-AIM framework.

Background: In response to the rising global NCD burden, humanitarian actors have rapidly scaled-up NCD services in crisis-affected low-and-middle income countries. Using the RE-AIM implementation framework, we evaluated a multidisciplinary, primary level model of NCD care for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians delivered by MSF in Irbid, Jordan. We examined the programme's Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption and acceptance, Implementation and Maintenance over time.

Clinical outcomes in a primary-level non-communicable disease programme for Syrian refugees and the host population in Jordan: A cohort analysis using routine data.

Background: Little is known about the content or quality of non-communicable disease (NCD) care in humanitarian settings. Since 2014, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has provided primary-level NCD services in Irbid, Jordan, targeting Syrian refugees and vulnerable Jordanians who struggle to access NCD care through the overburdened national health system. This retrospective cohort study explored programme and patient-level patterns in achievement of blood pressure and glycaemic control, patterns in treatment interruption, and the factors associated with these patterns.

Personal hygiene among college students in Kuwait: A Health promotion perspective.

Background: Most infectious diseases result from a lack of knowledge and poor personal hygiene. Hand hygiene, in particular, is one of the most common means by which pathogens are transmitted. The aim of this study was to determine college student's knowledge and awareness of personal hygiene in Kuwait.

Application of Molecular and Serological Methods for Rapid Detection of Mycoplasma gallisepticum Infection (Avian mycoplasmosis).

Mycoplasma infection is a major problem in veterinary medicine and in poultry production. The pathogen has many strains, so that diagnosis of the disease using culture method is not effective. The objective of this work was to evaluate the prevalence of Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) in Kuwait poultry farms using serology and molecular methods in comparison to the culture under specific conditions.

Characterization and evaluation of an arbitrary primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) product for the specific detection of Brucella species.

Laboratory detection of Brucella is based largely on bacterial isolation and phenotypic characterization. These methods are lengthy and labor-intensive and have been associated with a heightened risk of laboratory-acquired infection. Antibody based indirect detection methods also suffer from limitations in proper diagnosis of the organism.

Evaluation of leptin, interleukin-1 beta and tumor necrosis factor alpha in serum of malaria patients as prognostic markers of treatment outcome.

Objective: To analyze serum leptin levels in patients with malaria falciparum and compare them with healthy controls and correlate with development and outcome of malaria infection.

Methods: Sixty cases of malaria falciparum were included in this study as patients. Thirty healthy individuals of comparable age, racial and body mass index were taken as controls.

Application of three uniplex polymerase chain reaction assays for the detection of atypical bacteria in asthmatic patients in Kuwait.

Background: Respiratory infections are known to exacerbate wheezing in many asthmatic patients. We aimed to use molecular methods for the fast detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila in respiratory specimens from asthmatic patients in Kuwait.

Methods: We used uniplex PCR assays to detect the three atypical bacteria in clinical specimens from 235 asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients in Kuwait.

Analysis of enzymatic digestion pattern of two open reading frames of Varciella-Zoster genome from Kuwaiti patients using the RFLP technique.

Background And Objectives: Varicella-Zoster virus (VZV) is a human herpes virus that usually attacks young children and commonly causes chicken pox (Varicella). Following primary infection, a lifelong latent infection is established. The virus often reactivates during adulthood or senesces to cause shingles (Zoster).

Diabetic status of patients with leprosy in Kuwait.

Objective: The aim of this study was to screen for diabetes mellitus in leprosy patients to elucidate whether leprosy infection may play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus in this population.

Subjects And Methods: Thirty patients of different ages and of both sexes with various types of leprosy were included in this study. In addition, 15 healthy individuals of comparable age and sex who had no family history of diabetes mellitus were identified as controls.

Detection and Quantification of Legionella pneumophila from Water Systems in Kuwait Residential Facilities.

The prevalence of Legionella pneumophilia in water systems of residential facilities in Kuwait was performed during the period from November 2007 to November 2011. A total of 204 water samples collected from faucets and showerheads in bathrooms (n = 82), taps in kitchens (n = 51), and water tanks (n = 71), from different locations of residential facilities in Kuwait were screened for Legionella pneumophila by the standard culture method and by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Out of the 204 samples, 89 (43.

Relationship between leptin levels and suppressed CD4 counts in HIV patients.

Objective: To examine the relationship between serum leptin levels and suppression of CD4 count in HIV-infected individuals with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Subjects And Methods: Thirty seropositive HIV male patients selected from the Infectious Disease Hospital were classified into two groups according to their immunological and virological response to HAART. The first group included 15 male patients with low viral load and low CD4 counts; the second included 15 male patients with low viral load and high CD4 counts.

Ephedra alte (joint pine): an invasive, problematic weedy species in forestry and fruit tree orchards in Jordan.

A field survey was carried out to record plant species climbed by Ephedra alte in certain parts of Jordan during 2008-2010. Forty species of shrubs, ornamental, fruit, and forest trees belonging to 24 plant families suffered from the climbing habit of E. alte.

Association between apolipoprotein E-polymorphism and Ischemic heart disease patients with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus: a preliminary study in Kuwait.

Background: We investigated the association between apolipoprotein E polymorphism and ischemic heart disease with or without type 2 diabetes in Kuwait and examined the impact of apolipoprotein E polymorphism in diabetic patients.

Methods: The present study was conducted from January 2005 to June 2006 in the Diabetic Clinic of Al-Amiri and Al-Sabah Hospitals in Kuwait City. Apolipoprotein E polymorphism was assessed in 250 subjects of which 83 were ischemic heart disease patients (41 diabetic and 42 non-diabetic) and 105 were diabetic patients without ischemic heart disease.

Identification and characterization of Streptococcus agalactiae isolates using 16S rRNA sequencing and cellular fatty acid composition analysis.

This study was undertaken to apply 16S rRNA sequence and Cellular Fatty Acid (CFA) composition analysis techniques for the identification and characterization of seven individual bacteria isolates obtained from seven infected fish samples. All samples were cultured on brain heart infusion agar. All the seven isolates were Gram positive and were identified as Streptococcus sp.

Meteorological factors, aeroallergens and asthma-related visits in Kuwait: a 12-month retrospective study.

Background: The increasing prevalence of asthma in many countries has been related to weather factors and aeroallergen concentrations, but this has not been studied in Kuwait. We evaluated the effect of meteorological factors and the occurrence of aerobiologicals on the number of asthma cases in Kuwait.

Methods: The number of daily asthma visits to the allergy center and emergency department at Al-Sabha Hospital for 1 year were examined on a monthly basis for correlation with major metereological factors (temperature, relative humidity, rain, wind speed and direction).

Legionella in clinical specimens and hospital water supply facilities: molecular detection and genotyping of the isolates.

Objective: To evaluate genus- and species-specific polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) for the detection of the genus Legionella and the species Legionella pneumophila in clinical specimens and hospital water supplies, and to establish a simple and reproducible random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR technique for genotyping of Legionella.

Materials And Methods: A total of 70 respiratory tract specimens(bronchoalveolar lavage: n = 46; endotracheal secretions: n = 9; sputum: n = 15) from patients with atypical pneumonia, and 283 environmental samples (water: 20; swabs: 263) collected from water storage and supply facilities of the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital, Kuwait, were tested by culture and genus-specific PCR for the detection of Legionella. The L.

Analysis and stability study of myristyl nicotinate in dermatological preparations by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Myristyl nicotinate is an ester prodrug under development for delivery of nicotinic acid to skin for treatment and prevention of conditions that involve skin barrier impairment such as chronic photodamage and atopic dermatitis or for mitigating skin barrier impairment that results from therapy such as retinoids or steroids. The formulation stability of myristyl nicotinate is crucial because even small amounts of free nicotinic acid cause skin flushing, an effect that is not harmful but would severely limit tolerability. We report here reversed-phase HPLC methods for the rapid analysis of myristyl nicotinate and nicotinic acid in dermatological preparations.

Kinetics of paclitaxel 2'-N-methylpyridinium mesylate decomposition.

This study was designed to examine the kinetics of decomposition of paclitaxel 2'-N-methylpyridinium mesylate (PNMM), a derivative of paclitaxel. Further, the potential for PNMM to act as a prodrug of paclitaxel was assessed in vitro. Stability studies of PNMM were conducted over a pH range of 4.

Polymerase chain reaction as a sensitive and rapid method for specific detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in clinical samples.

The fast diagnosis of Mycoplasma primary atypical pneumonia is impaired by the lack of routinely available culture methods for isolation of Mycoplasma pneumoniae from clinical specimens. Likewise, serological methods commonly used for diagnosis are insensitive and non-specific. In this study, we have established and applied the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique to detect M.

Identification of alpha-dicarbonyl scavengers for cellular protection against carbonyl stress.

Tissue deterioration and aging have long been associated with the accumulation of chemically induced protein and DNA damage. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive carbonyl species (RCS), especially alpha-dicarbonyl compounds, are key mediators of damage caused by oxidative stress, glycation, and UV-irradiation. The toxic effects of ROS are counteracted in vivo by antioxidants and antioxidant enzymes, and the deleterious effects of one RCS, methylglyoxal, are counteracted by a ubiquitous glyoxalase system.