A comparative review of potential ammonia-based carbon capture systems.

Carbon capturing technologies are recognized as a cornerstone solution in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to meet the 2050 emissions targets set during the past Paris agreement. Recently, ammonia has become a major carbon-free chemical to absorb CO2 emissions from flue gases. In this regard, this paper concerns the recently developed novel ammonia-based carbon capturing systems in the open literature and comparatively evaluates them from various perspectives in addition to discussing their advantages and disadvantages. The systems considered are basically classified into three categories, namely renewable energy-based systems, energy savings-focused systems, and Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC)-based systems. Then, comparative assessments of the novel systems are conducted to see their advantages and weaknesses as compared to the typical chilled ammonia process. Generally, the novel systems have significantly lower energy requirements. The highest reduction is 37.3%. Another result of the comparative study is that renewable energy-based systems of carbon capturing have higher operational costs that can reach up to C$136 ton-1 of CO2 captured. Future efforts are expected to focus on reducing these costs since renewable energy-based systems are also used to co-produce chemical commodities, such as urea and ammonium bicarbonate. These high-value commodities have the potential to generate enough economic value to compensate for the operational costs of carbon capturing using ammonia as a chemical solvent.

The role of the deficiency of vitamin B12 and folic acid on homocysteinemia in children with Turner syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: Premature atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease represent a major cause of comorbidities among children with Turner syndrome. The identification of non-traditional risk aspects is crucial for the early identification and management of such comorbidities through establishing effective preventive measures. The aim of the study is to explore the role of the deficiency of vitamin B12, folic acid and homocysteine in children with Turner syndrome. METHODS: The study included 78 children with Turner syndrome and 67 healthy age and sex matched children. Karyotype was implemented for all patients. The serum levels of vitamin B12, folic acid and serum homocysteine were assessed. The prevalence of the deficiency of vitamin B12 and folic acid was estimated to study its correlation to hyperhomocysteinemia in Turner syndrome children. RESULTS: The karyotype analysis showed 45,X (monosomy X) in the 78 patients. Vitamin B12 and folic acid were significantly decreased in children with Turner syndrome in 65-73% of the patients, respectively, while the serum level of homocysteine significantly increased to 48.7% compared to healthy controls. Homocysteine level negatively correlated with vitamin B12 and folic acid. The deficiency of vitamin B12 and folic acid increased the risk of hyperhomocysteinemia in children with Turner syndrome (OR 2.49 and 2.36, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This report highlights that hyperhomocyste-inemia in children with Turner syndrome may be related to the deficiency vitamin B12 and folic acid.

Oro-dental features in Egyptian patients with familial mediterranean fever.

INTRODUCTION: Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an episodic inflammatory disease that is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. It is primarily featured by fever, pain in joints, chest, and abdomen due to Serositis. AIM: This study delineated the oro-facial structures presented associated with FMF, as well as, the determination of the potential influences of the long-term inflammatory process of FMF on several oral structures. METHODS: Fifty eight Egyptian FMF patients were examined to define different oro-facial structures. Serum amyloid A (SAA) was requested for the selected patients, MEFV gene mutation was also investigated. RESULTS: The clinical examination revealed peritonitis in 79%, fever in 63.7%, and arthritis in 55% of FMF patients examined, while, oral features as high arched palate, enamel defect, dental malocclusion, and macroglossia in 32%, 27.5%. 26%, and 13.5%, respectively. The previous symptoms might be attributed to the pathology of the disease. Macroglossia when tested versus SAA levels, a highly significant difference was detected. The ROC curve when examining the SAA value to assess macroglossia, displayed reasonable sensitivity and specificity values of, 87.5% and 77.8%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The noticed oro-dental in FMF patients might be influenced by the chronic inflammatory process.

Dynamic disequilibrium-based pathogenicity model in mutated pyrin's B30.2 domain-Casp1/p20 complex.

BACKGROUND: The B30.2 variants lead to most relevant severity forms of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) manifestations. The B30.2 domain plays a key role in protein-protein interaction (PPI) of pyrin with other apoptosis proteins and in regulation the cascade of inflammatory reactions. Pyrin-casp1 interaction is mainly responsible for the dysregulation of the inflammatory responses in FMF. Lower binding affinity was observed between the mutant B30.2 pyrin and casp1 without the release of the complete pathogenicity mechanism. The aim of this study was to identify the possible effects of the interface pocked residues in B30.2/SPRY-Casp1/p20 complex using molecular mechanics simulation and in silico analysis. RESULTS: It was found that Lys671Met, Ser703Ile, and Ala744Ser variants led mainly to shift of the binding affinity (∆G), dissociation constant (Kd), and root mean square deviation (RMSD) in B30.2/SPRY-Casp1/p20 complex leading to dynamic disequilibrium of the p20-B30.2/SPRY complex toward its complex form. The current pathogenicity model and its predicted implementation in the relevant colchicine dosage were delineated. CONCLUSION: The molecular mechanics analysis of B30.2/SPRY-p20 complex harboring Lys671Met, Ser703Ile, and Ala744Ser variants showed dynamic disequilibrium of B30.2/SPRY-casp1/p20complex in context of the studied variants that could be a new computational model for FMF pathogenicity. This study also highlighted the specific biochemical markers that could be useful to adjust the colchicine dose in FMF patients.

The Effect of Anti-inflammatory Diet and Vitamin D Supplementation on the Amelioration of the Clinical Status and Cognitive functions of Familial Mediterranean Fever Patients.

Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disorder, characterized by recurrent attacks of fever, serositis and articular pain. Mutations in the MEFV gene causes inflammation that may trigger cognitive impairment in FMF patients. The objectives were to identify the effect of anti-inflammatory diet containing curcumin, flaxseed and vitamin D supplementation on the clinical presentation and cognitive functions of FMF patients. The study included 73 FMF patients, that followed in addition to their regular colchicine doses an anti-inflammatory diet (rich in fresh vegetables and fruits, low in saturated and unsaturated fats and carbohydrates, low in food additives, sugar, fast foods and processed foods). In addition, to dietary supplementation with vitamin D, curcumin and flax seeds. Results: Statistically significant improvement was observed regarding clinical presentation, cognitive functions, CRP and subjective wellbeing. Conclusion: Our study highlights the importance of anti-inflammatory diet in the amelioration of the clinical presentation, cognitive functions and general wellbeing of FMF patients. We recommend that our findings would be confirmed by a randomized controlled trial.

Epidemiology of Glomerular Disease in Southern Arizona: Review of 10-Year Renal Biopsy Data.

Glomerulonephritis stands third in terms of the etiologies for end-stage kidney disease in the USA. The aim of this study was to look at the patterns of biopsy-proven glomerulonephritis based on data from a single center.Kidney biopsy specimens of all patients above the age of 18 years, over a 10-year period, who had diagnosis of nondiabetic glomerular disease, were selected for the study.The most common histopathological diagnosis was focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (22.25%, 158/710) followed by membranous nephropathy (20.28%, 144/710) and immunoglobulin (Ig)A nephropathy (19.71%, 140/710). There was male preponderance in all histological variants except IgA nephropathy, lupus nephritis, and pauci-immune glomerulonephritis. The race distribution was uneven, and all histological variants, except minimal change disease and lupus nephritis, were more commonly seen in whites. In a separate analysis of the histological pattern in Hispanics, lupus nephritis was the most common pathology (28.70%, 62/216) followed by FSGS (18.05%, 39/216). In American Indian population, the most common pathology was IgA nephropathy (33.33%, 8/24) followed by FSGS (16.67%, 4/24).This study highlights the histopathological patterns of glomerular disease in southern Arizona. The data suggest regional and ethnic variations in glomerular disease that may point towards genetic or environmental influence in the pathogenesis of glomerular diseases.