Pharmacophore Synergism in Diverse Scaffold Clinches in Aurora Kinase B

Aurora kinase B (AKB) is a crucial signaling kinase with an important role in cell division. Therefore, inhibition of AKB is an attractive approach to the treatment of cancer. In the present work, extensive quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSAR) analysis has been performed using a set of 561 structurally diverse aurora kinase B inhibitors. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines were used to develop a QSAR model that has high statistical performance (R²_tr = 0.815, Q²_LMO = 0.808, R²_ex = 0.814, CCC_ex = 0.899). The seven-variable-based newly developed QSAR model has an excellent balance of external predictive ability (Predictive QSAR) and mechanistic interpretation (Mechanistic QSAR). The QSAR analysis successfully identifies not only the visible pharmacophoric features but also the hidden features. The analysis indicates that the lipophilic and polar groups—especially the H-bond capable groups—must be present at a specific distance from each other. Moreover, the ring nitrogen and ring carbon atoms play important roles in determining the inhibitory activity for AKB. The analysis effectively captures reported as well as unreported pharmacophoric features. The results of the present analysis are also supported by the reported crystal structures of inhibitors bound to AKB.     

Closure versus non-closure of peritoneum at cesarean section--evaluation of pain. A randomized study

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of leaving the parietal peritoneum open at lower segment cesarean section (LSCS) measured by postoperative pain. DESIGN: A randomized, prospective and double-blind study. SETTING: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. POPULATION: Forty women referred for an elective cesarean section were assigned to one of two groups: peritoneum open (n=21) or peritoneum closed (n=19). METHODS: Pain was evaluated twice a day from the first to the fifth postoperative day by Visual Analog Scales. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Postoperative pain. Other outcomes include usage of analgesics, bowel function, postoperative complications, and hospital stay. RESULTS: We found no overall difference in postoperative pain. A tendency to less pain was found in the non-closure group from the third postoperative day to the fifth postoperative day. No differences were found either in the incidence of postoperative complications, or the time to return of bowel function. Concerning opiate analgesics the non-closure group had a significantly higher use in the second postoperative 24-hour period, but in the remains of the registration period it was significantly lower. For oral analgesics no difference was found in the first 24-hour period, but in the remains of the period the non-closure group had a significantly lower use. CONCLUSIONS: The VAS-scales showed no difference in postoperative pain comparing closure to non-closure of the parietal peritoneum. However, the use of analgesics is lower in the non-closure group. We suggest leaving the parietal peritoneum open when performing LSCS.     

Computer-aided design of microstrip filters by iterated analysis

An iterative method for the design of microstrip low-pass elliptic function filters is described. The method, which is a direct extension of the work of H.J. Orchard (IEEE Trans. Circuit Syst., vol.CAS-32, no.11, p.1089-96, 1985), determines the microstrip line parameters that produce the same locations of the frequencies of transmission zeros and reflection zeros of an equivalent lumped-element prototype. Effects of the discontinuities at the junction are easily accounted for in the iteration. A design example is included, and an experimental seventh-order filter designed and constructed using the procedure gives measured results that agree closely with theory     

Extraction and separation of molybdenum(VI) from acidic media by fatty hydrazides

BACKGROUND: The increasing demand for molybdenum has encouraged the development of low‐cost and environmentally friendly extractants to recycle and recover this metal. In the present study, solvent extraction of Mo(VI) from acidic media using a mixture of fatty hydrazides synthesised from palm olein as the extractant was carried out. The effects of various parameters such as acid, diluent, contact time, extractant concentration, metal ion concentration and stripping agent and the separation of Mo(VI) from other metal ions such as Co(II), Ni(II), Al(III) and Mn(II) were investigated. RESULTS: It was found that the extraction of Mo(VI) into the organic phase involved the formation of 1:3 complexes. Mo(VI) was successfully separated from commonly associated metal ions such as Ni(II), Co(II), Al(III) and Mn(II). Mo(VI) stripping from the loaded organic phase was studied using different acidic and alkaline solutions and was found to be optimal with ammonium hydroxide solution. CONCLUSION: These results are useful for the development of a method to recover Mo(VI) from acidic media utilising fatty hydrazides as the extractant. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

CNN: A speaker recognition system using a cascaded neural network

This work includes the design and implementation of both conventional, and neural network approaches to recognition of the speakers templates which are introduced to the system via a voice master card and preprocessed before extracting the features used in the recognltion. The conclusion is that the system performance in case of neural network is better than that of the conventional one, achieving a smooth degradation when dealing with nolsy patterns and higher performance when dealing with noise-free patterns.     

Identification of the Volatile Constituents of the Egyptian Lemongrass Oil. Part II. Thin Layer Chromatography

The chemical components of the Egyptian Lemongrass oil were analysed. The oil gained by steam distillation of the vegetative organs of the plant. Thin-layer chromatography of Lemongrass oil was tried with two solvent systems, i. e. cyclohexane: ethylacetate with 85:15, and hexane: ethylacetate with 90:10 V/V. The following results were obtained: The constituents of this oil were eight components. The oil sample proved that the citral component was detected in Egyptian Lemongrass oil with 0.64 R_f value. The oil obtained also geraniol, linalool and their esters. The nerol, cineal and citronellal were also detected.     

Query costs in HB(1) trees versus 2–3 trees

Query costs in random AVL trees are compared to those in random 2–3 trees. Both data structures are assumed to reside in main storage. Costs are calculated in terms of the number of node visits and key comparisons required to find a match or no match for a given key. The comparison is based upon theoretical concepts and implementation dependent considerations; e.g., data and instruction fetch. It is shown that if the cost of a key comparison is greater than or equal to the cost of a node access, then AVL trees are more advantageous.