Prof. Hala El Mesallamy works as Head of Biochemistry Department (since 2001) Professor of Biochemistry since 2006 and served as Vice Dean for Postgraduates Affairs and Scientific research (2013-2015),), ExVice Dean for Community and Environmental Affairs (2007-2009), Member in the permanent committee (since 2013), Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University. Member in Council Patent of Academy of Scientific Research and Technology in Ministry of Scientific Research (2009-2011), Lecturer and Consultant in Unesco (since 2008), Reviewer in Some International Journals,) Member in the Counseling committee for special prices (since 2012).

Diabetes mellitus is a complex metabolic disease with a huge worldwide prevalence. In vitro generation of β-cells from stem cells may provide bases for diabetes cell therapy. We examine the effect of gut hormones including glucagon like peptide-1(GLP-1) and obestatin in generation of IPCs in-vitro from WJ-MSCs in comparison to exendin-4. WJ-MSCs were isolated from umbilical cords and characterized by immunophenotyping and in vitro differentiation into adipocytes as an example of mesenchymal lineages. WJ-MSCs under proliferation conditions were incubated with either10nM exendin-4, 10nM GLP-1 and 100nM obestatin. Moreover, WJ-MSCs were induced to differentiate into IPCs using either of those factors using short differentiation protocol (10 days) and long differentiation protocol (30 days). The stem cell markers, nestin and Oct-4; and β-cells differentiation markers, Pdx-1, Maf-A and Isl-1, were assessed by qRT-PCR, while, the functionality of the generated IPCs was assessed by glucose stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS).WJ-MSCs exhibit all characteristics of MSCs including plastic adherence, expression of mesenchymal CDs and lacking hematopoietic ones beside their ability to differentiate into adipocytes. Incubation of these cells with either exendin-4, GLP-1 and obestatin under proliferation conditions decreased the expression of stem cell markers, nestin and Oct-4, indicating the exit of these cells from stemness state. Interestingly, using obestatin in short protocol managed to induce expression of Pdx-1 and Maf-A, as was the case with exendin-4. However, GLP-1 failed to show this. In addition, in long protocol, exendin-4, GLP-1 and obestatin generated IPCs showing increased expression of Pdx-1, Maf-A and Isl-1. As for GSIS, both GLP-1 and obestatin showed higher secretion of insulin but failed to show response to increased glucose concentrations. These results may indicate that obestatin can be potentially used in the differentiation protocols for the generation of IPCs from MSCs.

Vidushi Sharma is a Ph.D student in the deptt of pharmaceutical chemistry in Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research (DIPSAR) (affiliated to university of Delhi). After finishing her masters in pharmaceutical chemistry (from DIPSAR) she worked as an assistant professor (~ 2 years). She is currently doing her PhD on a “Departent of Science and Technology (DST)” funded project which is entitled as “Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of phosphodiesterase-4b inhibitors”. She has one national and two international publications (recently accepted).

Phosphodiesterase 4B (PDE4B) hydrolyses cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and thus regulates its intracellular levels. The enzyme has been proposed as a potential drug target against diseases like inflammation and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. But use of current PDE4B inhibitors is limited due to dose-dependent nausea and vomiting. Adverse effects associated with current PDE4B inhibitors are possibly results of PDE4D inhibition, a highly similar homolog of PDE4B. Here we considered quinoline analogs and applied ligand-based pharmacophore and atom based 3D-QSAR modeling with structure-based docking and ADME approach. A 5-point pharmacophore model was developed and used to derive a predictive 3D-QSAR model for studied dataset. The obtained r2 and q2 values were 0.96 and 0.91 respectively. The result suggested that the generated 3D-QSAR model is reliable and can be considered for PDE4B activity prediction. Further, pharmacophore model was employed for virtual screening to identify potent PDE4B inhibitors. The selective ligands for PDE4B identified through docking and prime binding energy analysis of ligands in both PDE4B and PDE4D. ADME analysis was performed to confirm the drugeability of selective ligand.

Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the department of Life Sciences of Al-Quds University. Director of the Biochemical laboratory. Educated at Birzeit University, West Bank and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Jerusalem. A member of the Medical Screening Society .London .UK.

Malaria is the most prevalent infectious disease in the world, killing 1-2 million people each year. New drugs are urgently needed to treat drug-resistant strains of malaria. In a previous study we found that extracts from Salvia palestinia leaves inhibited the formation of β-hematin with efficiency similar to that of chloroquine. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of other plant extracts on hemozoin formation. A comparison between the efficiency of aqueous extracts or infusions of Artemisia annua from Luxembourg and Artemisia sieberi from Palestine in inhibiting β-hematin formation was done. Although it was found that the Artemisia sieberi leaf tea infusion was less effective than that of the Artemisia annua, the stem infusion of Artemisia sieberi was\r\nfound to be better than that of Artemisia annua stems. Results obtained with infusions prepared with tap or well water may be different from results obtained in the laboratory with distilled water. Artemisia annua leaf infusions prepared using salt water (0.5g salt/150ml water) had higher efficiency in inhibiting β-hematin formation than\r\nthose infusions done with distilled water. Mixing equal amounts of Artemisia annua leaf and Artemisia sieberi stem water extract showed an increase in their inhibitory effect on β-hematin formation. An important finding in this investigation was that the Artemisia annua lyophilized extracts lost activity with time, which may have an impact not only on in vitro laboratory results but also on in vivo treatment efficiency obtained with old extracts. In light of this finding it might be advisable to use Artemisia annua in the form of dried leaf powder and not in the form of extracts or infusion. Stored in dry, ventilated conditions the plant keeps its properties for many years\r\n

Gopal Natesan has completed his Doctoral degree (PhD) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from\r\nHamdard University (Jamia Hamdard) New Delhi, India in 2000 and currently serving as Professor of Medicinal Chemistry & Deputy Dean of Research & Innovation and Students Affairs in Faculty of Pharmacy, MAHSA University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His research focuses on the synthesis of newer small chemical entities, quinazolinones heterocyclic pharmacophore and their preliminary screening in both in-vivo and in-vitro models mainly focusing on pain & inflammation and also for newer microbial agents. He has published >40 articles in indexed journals and presented >80 papers in conferences and invited speaker at international scientific meetings and conferences and serves as reviewer for several scientific international journals and also as Editorial/Advisory board of various journals.\r\n

Heterocyclic chemistry forms the basis of many pharmaceutical, agrochemical and\r\nveterinary products. Quinazoline-4(3H)-one ring system has been consistently regarded as promising privileged structural icon owing to its pharmacodynamic versatility in many of its synthetic derivatives as well as in several naturally occurring alkaloids. The literature reveals that substitution at the 2nd & 3rd positions of quinazolin-4(3H)-ones showed a wide range of biological spectrum and isatin moiety displayed valuable biological activities. It was therefore considered worthwhile to incorporate these features in an appropriate molecule for better pharmacological actions. A series of 2,3-disubstituted-4(3H)-quinazolin-4-one derivatives were synthesized by reacting anthranilic acid with benzoyl chloride followed by condensing with hydrazine hydrate. The 3-amino -2-substituted quinazolinone was further subjected to Schiff base with isatin followed by mannich reaction with secondary amine. The chemical structures of the newly synthesized compounds were established by FT-IR, 1H NMR & Mass spectra. The synthesized 2-(4-substituted phenyl)-3-[1-(substituted amino methyl)-2-oxoindolin-3- ylideneamino] quinazolin-4(3H)-one derivatives were evaluated for their analgesic properties by acetic acid-induced writhing method at different doses 25, 50 & 100 mg/kg of body weight (bw) and Diclofenac (25 mg/kg bw) was used as reference drugs. From the results of the study it has been observed that parent compounds, 2-(4’-substituted phenyl)-3-[(N-2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene amino)-quinazolin-4(3H)-one derivatives exhibited moderate degree of analgesia and among the final mannich bases, compound IVd, i.e., 2-(4’-methoxy phenyl)-3-[1-(piperazinyl methyl)-2- oxoindolin-3-ylideneamino] quinazolin-4(3H)-one exhibited the highest analgesic activity while the remaining compounds exhibited moderate activity. None of the synthesized compound showed ulcer index whereas the standard drug, diclofenac [25 mg/kg (bw)] showed significantly higher gross ulcer index values.\r\n

Ewelina Juszczyk completed her pharmaceutical studies from Jagiellonian University in Krakow (Poland) at the age of 25 years. She has started her PhD studies at the same university. She has already participated in some conferences, where gained some awards presenting results of her work.

Karl-Fischer titration is commonly used to measure the water content in a sample. In the present work we have used this method to determine the distribution of water content in the hydrated matrix tablets made of sodium alginate with a spatial resolution of 1mm. For the purpose of the study the 12 mm, round flat faced tablets of pure sodium alginate (Protanal LF240D, FMC Biopolymers, USA) were prepred using EK0 laboratory tablet press (Korsch-Erweka, Germany). The samples for Karl-Fisher titration were prepared in a home-made device which allows unilateral hydration of the tablet. The device contains a micrometric screw, which allowes moving up the tablet in the holder to the reguired\r\nheight and subsequent cutting a slice for futher analysis. After predefined hydration time (1, 2, 3,4 h), the device was removed from the medium, then the slices were cut and weighted on analytical weight. In such a way 5 slices (of 1 mm each) were obtained. The samples were then put into flasks, filled with methanol, introduced into ultrasounds in order to extract total water amount existing in the sample and measured following Karl-Fischer protocole. The results are shown as the water content (%) in each slice\r\nof the hydrated tablet. In order to figure out whether the free water exists in the hydrated tablets, we combined Karl-Fischer study with DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry). The samples for DSC measurements were prepared by mixing sodium alginate and distilled water in a mortar in appropriate ratio to obtain always the same final sample weight. Then 10-15 mg of each sample were put into an aluminum pan, sealed and measured in the determined temperature program. We observed that starting\r\nfrom 40% of water content, the free water apeared, which was demonstrated as a prominent peak in both cooling and heating run. Futhermore, unfreezing and freezing bound water was observed up to the concentration of 40%. The water content of 40% corresponded to the second slice of hydrated tablet in KF experiment. In this way we confirmed the presence of free water in the first and the second slice. Hence, the combination of these two methods allowed identification of the regions of the hydrated\r\nmatrix which contained free water. We were also able to show that the properties of the water in the hydrated matrix change across the tablet.\r\n

Dr. Mohd Alaraj is an Associate Professor at the Department of Pharmacology, University of Hail, Saudi Arabia. He received BS and MS from Warsaw University of Technology, Poland—in the field of Chemistry and Technology of Medicines. He received PhD from Medical University of Warsaw- Faculty of Pharmacy, Poland- in the field of Pharmacology. Ph.D. thesis: Role of Some Peptides in Antiepileptic Drug\'s Action. Prior to his present position in Saudi Arabia, he was engaged in teaching and research in Jordan and Poland. He has 26 publications. His present research focuses on pharmacological activity of natural products in mammalian systems.

Background: The high prevalence of morbidity and mortality observed in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) is mainly attributed to inadequacy of hemodialysis (HD). The proposed approaches that have been used to optimize HD performance are not fully successful. Part of this frustrating situation may be attributed to poor understanding of the factors affecting the HD process, including patient’s serum uric levels (UA). In the current study we aimed to assess the relationship between serum UA levels and hemodialysis efficiency among ESRD patients in Hail, Saudi Arabia. \r\nMethods: A total of 255 hemodialysis patients (102 males and 153 females) were enrolled in this retrospective study. The range was 25 to 83 years with median age of 51 years. Blood samples drawn from patients before and after the hemodialysis session were analyzed for urea, creatinine, and uric acid. \r\nResults: We found that the proportion of female patients with ESRD was significantly higher (60 %; p<0.05), than the males in the patient group examined. Among hemodialysis patients, the incidence of hypertension was 86 % (p<0.05). There was a negative association between UA and HD efficiency in patients aged less than 50 years. In addition, a significant correlation was observed between levels of UA and urea (r=0.579 p <0.001) and creatinine (r=0.736 p <0.001). \r\nConclusions: Taken together, the results of this study indicate that the hemodialysis efficiency in HD subjects, particularly in the < 50 years of age may be improved by lowering the serum uric levels.\r\n