In silico CD4+, CD8+ & humoral immunity associated antigenic epitope prediction and HLA distribution analysis of HTLV-I
Purpose: The linkage of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) to fatal diseases is a well known fact for many years. However, there has been no significant progress in the field of the treatment that can lead to the development of a successful vaccine. Furthermore, there are no means [...]
Bioengineered intravaginal isolate of Lactobacillus plantarum expresses algal lectin scytovirin demonstrating anti-HIV-1 activity
Efforts to develop preventatives against HIV infection through sexual route have identified, among many, algal lectins as the potent molecules for scaffolding HIV entry inhibition. Algal lectin scytovirin (SVN) from Scytonema varium, a cyanobacterium, has anti-HIV effects with the potential for use in sculpting HIV neutralization. We created a recombinant [...]
Lactobionic/Folate Dual-Targeted Amphiphilic Maltodextrin-Based Micelles for Targeted Codelivery of Sulfasalazine and Resveratrol to Hepatocellular Carcinoma
In this study, promising approaches of dual-targeted micelles and drug-polymer conjugation were combined to enable injection of poorly soluble anticancer drugs together with site-specific drug release. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) as a hepatoprotective agent was grafted to maltodextrin (MD) via carbodiimide coupling to develop amphiphilic maltodextrin-ursodeoxycholic acid (MDCA)-based micelles. Sulfasalazine (SSZ), [...]
Vitamin D for the management of multiple sclerosis
Background: This review is an update of a previously published review, “Vitamin D for the management of multiple sclerosis” (published in the Cochrane Library; 2010, Issue 12). Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterised by inflammation, demyelination, axonal or neuronal loss, and astrocytic gliosis in the central nervous system (CNS), which can [...]
Synthesis, molecular modeling and biological screening of some pyrazole derivatives as antileishmanial agents
Aim: Novel open chain and cyclized derivatives containing pyrazole scaffold were designed, synthesized and evaluated as antileishmanial compounds. Methodology & results: In silico reverse docking experiment suggested Leishmania major pteridine reductase (Lm-PTR1) as a putative target for the synthesized compounds. In vitro antileishmanial screening against L. major promastigotes and amastigotes [...]
Identification of novel DNA sequence associated with pathogenicity island III536 locus in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolate and distribution of virulence determinants in β-lactam resistant isolates
Background: There is an increase in the number of Enterobacteriaceae with Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) type of antibiotic resistance in the Kingdom of Bahrain. However, the virulence determinants of the clinical isolates have not been previously assessed. The current study investigates the distribution of different virulence factors and the phylogenetic groups [...]
Characterizing temporal variability of PM 2.5 /PM 10 ratio and its relationship with meteorological parameters in Bahrain
The Kingdom of Bahrain is ranked in the top 10 most urban ambient air polluted countries in the world due to high particulate matter (PM) concentrations. The main objective of this article is to analyze comprehensively long-term temporal (annual, seasonal, and monthly) trends of PM 2.5 /PM 10 ratios using [...]
Cyber security challenges of deploying IoT in smart cities for healthcare applications
As technology improves at an astounding rate, cities have to improve their services in terms of safety, healthcare, transportation, and the overall welfare of their residents. Internet of Things (IoT) play a major role in the infrastructure of a smart city by gathering and processing data from distributed sensors to [...]
Tracking high-speed users using SNR-CQI mapping in LTE-A Networks
The task of estimating, tracking and controlling the speed of user equipment (UE), particularly with speed above allowed limits, is a challenge which has a significant impact on radio resource and mobility management in Long Term Evolution (LTE). This is very essential to control the speed and avoid traffic accidents [...]
Application of artificial neural networks for exploratory analysis of small dataset
This study aims to explore the use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) for estimating the relationship between accidents and other variables with a small dataset. ANNs have not been used to explore relationships between variables, especially for road accidents which have small datasets. Analysis of road traffic accidents is often [...]