Introduction During the course of archaeological research completed in the area of Bilad al-Qadim in the northeast of Bahrain in 2001, trial excavations and survey were undertaken at the spring of Abu Zaydan (N26 12¢ 24.5¢¢ E050 32¢ 50.7¢¢). The focus of this research project was to investigate the Islamic period on Bahrain, hence the remains recorded at Abu Zaydan were unexpected, comprising a...

These comparative studies on the aggregation behaviour of Ac-(Z)-∆Abu-NMe2 and Ac-L-AbuNMe2 in carbon tetrachloride were performed by the analysis of their FTIR spectra and by theoretical calculations. The percentage of the monomeric form (α) decreased as concentration increased and this occurred to a higher degree for the (Z)-∆Abu derivative than for its saturated analogue. The dimerization co...

The severity of urinary tract infection (UTI) reflects the quality and magnitude of the host response. While strong local and systemic innate immune activation occurs in patients with acute pyelonephritis, the response to asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) is low. The immune response repertoire in ABU has not been characterized, due to the inherent problem to distinguish bacterial differences from ...

Escherichia coli is the most common organism associated with asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) in humans. In contrast to uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) that cause symptomatic urinary tract infection, very little is known about the mechanisms by which these strains colonize the urinary tract. Here, we have investigated the biofilm-forming capacity on abiotic surfaces of groups of ABU strains and UPEC...

The Melkites, Jacobites, and Nestorians were the main Christian communities under Muslim rule. Several pre-Islamic Arab Christian authors wrote treatises concerning their beliefs in Arabic, some of which date back to the early Islamic centuries. The multiplicity of such polemical works suggests an intellectually open society and a degree of tolerance shown by Muslim leaders. Abu Raʾita...

The endoplasmic reticulum stress response, also known as the unfolded protein response (UPR), has been implicated in the normal physiology of immune defense and in several disorders, including diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative disease. Here, we show that the apoptotic receptor CED-1 and a network of PQN/ABU proteins involved in a noncanonical UPR response are required for proper defense t...