Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
874
result(s) for
"Yusuf, AL"
Sort by:
Antimicrobial Resistance: A Growing Serious Threat for Global Public Health
Antibiotics are among the most important discoveries of the 20th century, having saved millions of lives from infectious diseases. Microbes have developed acquired antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to many drugs due to high selection pressure from increasing use and misuse of antibiotics over the years. The transmission and acquisition of AMR occur primarily via a human–human interface both within and outside of healthcare facilities. A huge number of interdependent factors related to healthcare and agriculture govern the development of AMR through various drug-resistance mechanisms. The emergence and spread of AMR from the unrestricted use of antimicrobials in livestock feed has been a major contributing factor. The prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria has attained an incongruous level worldwide and threatens global public health as a silent pandemic, necessitating urgent intervention. Therapeutic options of infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant bacteria are limited, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality with high financial impact. The paucity in discovery and supply of new novel antimicrobials to treat life-threatening infections by resistant pathogens stands in sharp contrast to demand. Immediate interventions to contain AMR include surveillance and monitoring, minimizing over-the-counter antibiotics and antibiotics in food animals, access to quality and affordable medicines, vaccines and diagnostics, and enforcement of legislation. An orchestrated collaborative action within and between multiple national and international organizations is required urgently, otherwise, a postantibiotic era can be a more real possibility than an apocalyptic fantasy for the 21st century. This narrative review highlights on this basis, mechanisms and factors in microbial resistance, and key strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance.
Journal Article
Polyphenolics with Strong Antioxidant Activity from Acacia nilotica Ameliorate Some Biochemical Signs of Arsenic-Induced Neurotoxicity and Oxidative Stress in Mice
Neurotoxicity is a serious health problem of patients chronically exposed to arsenic. There is no specific treatment of this problem. Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathological process of neurotoxicity. Polyphenolics have proven antioxidant activity, thereby offering protection against oxidative stress. In this study, we have isolated the polyphenolics from Acacia nilotica and investigated its effect against arsenic-induced neurotoxicity and oxidative stress in mice. Acacia nilotica polyphenolics prepared from column chromatography of the crude methanol extract using diaion resin contained a phenolic content of 452.185 ± 7.879 mg gallic acid equivalent/gm of sample and flavonoid content of 200.075 ± 0.755 mg catechin equivalent/gm of sample. The polyphenolics exhibited potent antioxidant activity with respect to free radical scavenging ability, total antioxidant activity and inhibition of lipid peroxidation. Administration of arsenic in mice showed a reduction of acetylcholinesterase activity in the brain which was counteracted by Acacia nilotica polyphenolics. Similarly, elevation of lipid peroxidation and depletion of glutathione in the brain of mice was effectively restored to normal level by Acacia nilotica polyphenolics. Gallic acid methyl ester, catechin and catechin-7-gallate were identified in the polyphenolics as the major active compounds. These results suggest that Acacia nilotica polyphenolics due to its strong antioxidant potential might be effective in the management of arsenic induced neurotoxicity.
Journal Article
Antibody-drug conjugates: the paradigm shifts in the targeted cancer therapy
Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases, causing million of deaths each year globally. Conventional anti-cancer therapies are non-targeted and have systemic toxicities limiting their versatile applications in many cancers. So, there is an unmet need for more specific therapeutic options that will be effective as well as free from toxicities. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are suitable alternatives with the right potential and improved therapeutic index for cancer therapy. The ADCs are highly precise new class of biopharmaceutical products that covalently linked a monoclonal antibody (mAb) (binds explicitly to a tumor-associated surface antigen) with a customized cytotoxic drug (kills cancer cells) and tied via a chemical linker (releases the drug). Due to its precise design, it brings about the target cell killing sparing the normal counterpart and free from the toxicities of conventional chemotherapy. It has never been so easy to develop potential ADCs for successful therapeutic usage. With relentless efforts, it took almost a century for scientists to advance the formula and design ADCs for its current clinical applications. Until now, several ADCs have passed successfully through preclinical and clinical trials and because of proven efficacy, a few are approved by the FDA to treat various cancer types. Even though ADCs posed some shortcomings like adverse effects and resistance at various stages of development, with continuous efforts most of these limitations are addressed and overcome to improve their efficacy. In this review, the basics of ADCs, physical and chemical properties, the evolution of design, limitations, and future potentials are discussed.
Journal Article
Compounds from the Petroleum Ether Extract of Wedelia chinensis with Cytotoxic, Anticholinesterase, Antioxidant, and Antimicrobial Activities
Wedelia chinensis is a folk medicine used in many Asian countries to treat various ailments. Earlier investigations reported that the petroleum ether extract of the plant has potential biological activity, but the compounds responsible for activity are not yet completely known. Therefore, the current work was designed to isolate and characterize the compounds from the petroleum ether extract and to study their bioactivities. Four compounds including two diterepenes (-) kaur-16α-hydroxy-19-oic acid (1) and (-) kaur-16-en-19-oic acid (2), and two steroids β-sitosterol (3), and cholesta-5,23-dien-3-ol (4) were isolated and characterized. Among the compounds, the diterpenes were found to have more biological activities than the steroidal compounds. Compound 1 showed the highest cytotoxicity with LC50 of 12.42 ± 0.87 μg/mL. Likewise, it possesses good antioxidant activity in terms of reducing power. On the contrary, compound 2 exerted the highest antiacetylcholinesterase and antibutyrylcholinesterase activity. Both the diterpenes showed almost similar antibacterial and antifungal activity. The identification of diterpenoid and steroid compounds with multifunctional activities suggests that W. chinensis may serve as an important source of bioactive compounds which should be further investigated in animal model for therapeutic potential in the treatment of different chronic diseases.
Journal Article
A Review of the Conceptualization and Operational Management of Seaport Microgrids on the Shore and Seaside
Seaports are well known as the medium that has evolved into the central link between sea and land for complex marine activities. The growth in maritime logistics particularly necessitates a large volume of energy supply in order to maintain the operation of sea trade, resulting in an imbalance between generation and demand sides. Future projections for three major concerns show an increase in load demand, cost of operation, and environmental issues. In order to overcome these problems, integrating microgrids as an innovative technology in the seaport power system appears to be a vital strategy. It is believed that microgrids enhance seaport operation by providing sustainable, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective energy. Although microgrids are well established and widely used in a variety of operations on land, their incorporation into the seaport is still limited. The involvement of a variety of heavy loads such as all-electric ships, cranes, cold ironing, and buildings infrastructure renders it a complicated arrangement task in several aspects, which necessitates further research and leaves space for improvement. In this paper, an overview of the seaport microgrids in terms of their concepts and operation management is presented. It provides the perspectives for integrating the microgrid concept into a seaport from both shore side and seaside as a smart initiative for the green port’s vision. Future research directions are discussed towards the development of a more efficient marine power system.
Journal Article
Superparamagnetic Multifunctionalized Chitosan Nanohybrids for Efficient Copper Adsorption: Comparative Performance, Stability, and Mechanism Insights
To limit the dangers posed by Cu(II) pollution, chitosan-nanohybrid derivatives were developed for selective and rapid copper adsorption. A magnetic chitosan nanohybrid (r-MCS) was obtained via the co-precipitation nucleation of ferroferric oxide (Fe3O4) co-stabilized within chitosan, followed by further multifunctionalization with amine (diethylenetriamine) and amino acid moieties (alanine, cysteine, and serine types) to give the TA-type, A-type, C-type, and S-type, respectively. The physiochemical characteristics of the as-prepared adsorbents were thoroughly elucidated. The superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles were mono-dispersed spherical shapes with typical sizes (~8.5–14.7 nm). The adsorption properties toward Cu(II) were compared, and the interaction behaviors were explained with XPS and FTIR analysis. The saturation adsorption capacities (in mmol.Cu.g−1) have the following order: TA-type (3.29) > C-type (1.92) > S-type (1.75) > A-type(1.70) > r-MCS (0.99) at optimal pH0 5.0. The adsorption was endothermic with fast kinetics (except TA-type was exothermic). Langmuir and pseudo-second-order equations fit well with the experimental data. The nanohybrids exhibit selective adsorption for Cu(II) from multicomponent solutions. These adsorbents show high durability over multiple cycles with desorption efficiency > 93% over six cycles using acidified thiourea. Ultimately, QSAR tools (quantitative structure-activity relationships) were employed to examine the relationship between essential metal properties and adsorbent sensitivities. Moreover, the adsorption process was described quantitatively, using a novel three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear mathematical model.
Journal Article
Mesoporous Magnetic Cysteine Functionalized Chitosan Nanocomposite for Selective Uranyl Ions Sorption: Experimental, Structural Characterization, and Mechanistic Studies
Nuclear power facilities are being expanded to satisfy expanding worldwide energy demand. Thus, uranium recovery from secondary resources has become a hot topic in terms of environmental protection and nuclear fuel conservation. Herein, a mesoporous biosorbent of a hybrid magnetic–chitosan nanocomposite functionalized with cysteine (Cys) was synthesized via subsequent heterogeneous nucleation for selectively enhanced uranyl ion (UO22+) sorption. Various analytical tools were used to confirm the mesoporous nanocomposite structural characteristics and confirm the synthetic route. The characteristics of the synthesized nanocomposite were as follows: superparamagnetic with saturation magnetization (MS: 25.81 emu/g), a specific surface area (SBET: 42.56 m2/g) with a unipore mesoporous structure, an amine content of ~2.43 mmol N/g, and a density of ~17.19/nm2. The experimental results showed that the sorption was highly efficient: for the isotherm fitted by the Langmuir equation, the maximum capacity was about 0.575 mmol U/g at pH range 3.5–5.0, and Temperature (25 ± 1 °C); further, there was excellent selectivity for UO22+, likely due to the chemical valent difference. The sorption process was fast (~50 min), simulated with the pseudo-second-order equation, and the sorption half-time (t1/2) was 3.86 min. The sophisticated spectroscopic studies (FTIR and XPS) revealed that the sorption mechanism was linked to complexation and ion exchange by interaction with S/N/O multiple functional groups. The sorption was exothermic, spontaneous, and governed by entropy change. Desorption and regeneration were carried out using an acidified urea solution (0.25 M) that was recycled for a minimum of six cycles, resulting in a sorption and desorption efficiency of over 91%. The as-synthesized nanocomposite’s high stability, durability, and chemical resistivity were confirmed over multiple cycles using FTIR and leachability. Finally, the sorbent was efficiently tested for selective uranium sorption from multicomponent acidic simulated nuclear solution. Owing to such excellent performance, the Cys nanocomposite is greatly promising in the uranium recovery field.
Journal Article
Optimal Configuration and Sizing of Seaport Microgrids including Renewable Energy and Cold Ironing—The Port of Aalborg Case Study
Microgrids are among the promising green transition technologies that will provide enormous benefits to the seaports to manage major concerns over energy crises, environmental challenges, and economic issues. However, creating a good design for the seaport microgrid is a challenging task, considering different objectives, constraints, and uncertainties involved. To ensure the optimal operation of the system, determining the right microgrid configuration and component size at minimum cost is a vital decision at the design stage. This paper aims to design a hybrid system for a seaport microgrid with optimally sized components. The selected case study is the Port of Aalborg, Denmark. The proposed grid-connected structure consists of renewable energy sources (photovoltaic system and wind turbines), an energy storage system, and cold ironing facilities. The seaport architecture is then optimized by utilizing HOMER to meet the maximum load demand by considering important parameters such as solar global horizontal irradiance, temperature, and wind resources. Finally, the best configuration is analyzed in terms of economic feasibility, energy reliability, and environmental impacts.
Journal Article
Sustainability reporting and performance of MENA banks: is there a trade-off?
Purpose
Sustainability reporting has been widely adopted by firms worldwide given stakeholders’ need for more transparency on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. This study aims to investigate the relationship between ESG and bank’s operational (return on assets [ROA]), financial (return on equity [ROE]) and market performance (Tobin’s Q) in a group of emerging countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines 59 banks listed on the stock exchanges of MENA countries over a period of 10 years (2008-2017). Only conventional banks with all data for at least two years are included in the sample. The core independent variable is ESG scores, and the dependent variables are ROA, ROE and Tobin’s Q. This study uses bank- and country-specific control variables to measure the relationship between sustainability reporting and bank’s performance.
Findings
The findings from the empirical results demonstrate a significant positive impact of ESG on performance and economic benefits to shareholders. However, the relationship between ESG disclosures varies individually; unlike the majority of published research, the authors found that social performance plays a negative role in determining bank’s profitability and value. Furthermore, the authors present evidence in support of the impact of bank- and country-specific factors in determining bank’s performance.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the impact of sustainability reporting on banks’ performance in the MENA region. It provides evidence that questions the positive relationship between sustainability reporting and financial measures of performance.
Journal Article