Search results for: biological synthesis
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 4194

Search results for: biological synthesis

2214 Anti-Viral Activity of Ethanolic Extract Derived from Chlorella sp. AARL G049 on Inhibition of Dengue Virus Serotype 2 Infection in vitro

Authors: Suthida Panwong, Jeeraporn Pekkoh, Yingmanee Tragoolpua, Aussara Panya

Abstract:

Dengue virus (DENV) infection is a major public health problem in many countries, especially in tropical and subtropical countries. DENV infection causes dengue fever that can progress to serious conditions of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) or dengue shock syndrome (DSS), relevant to a high risk of mortality. However, there are no effective treatments available against the manifestation and fatalities. Currently, natural extracts have been widely used for the treatment of infectious diseases due to their safety, non-accumulation in the body, or lower side effects. Chlorella spp. is a microalgae with anti-viral activity, but there is not much report to support its ability to inhibit DENV infection. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of ethanolic extract from Chlorella sp. AARL G049, which was explored in Thailand on inhibition of DENV-2 infection. The inhibitory effect on viral infection was assessed using a foci-forming assay (FFA), which revealed that a concentration of 125 µg/mL could inhibit viral infection in Vero cells by 75.45±8.06% when treated at the same time as DENV-2 infection. Moreover, the extract at an equal concentration effectively reduced viral protein synthesis by 90.51±5.48% when assessed in human cell lines using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Concordantly, the number of infected cells after treatment was reduced as measured by immunofluorescent assay (IFA). Therefore, the finding of this study supports the potential use of Chlorella sp. extract to suppress DENV infection.

Keywords: viral infection, flavivirus, treatment, natural extract

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2213 Value-Added Products from Recycling of Solid Waste in Steel Plants

Authors: B. Karthik Vasan, Rachil Maliwal, Somnath Basu

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Generation of solid waste is a major problem confronting the iron and steel industry around the world. Disposal of untreated wastes is no longer a viable solution in view of the environmental regulations becoming more and more stringent, as well as an increase in community awareness about the long-term hazards of indiscriminate waste disposal. The current work explores the possibility of converting some of the ‘problematic’ solid wastes generated during steel manufacturing operations, viz. dust from primary steelmaking, iron ore handling, and flux calcination processes, into value-added products instead of environmentally hazardous disposal practices. It was possible to develop a synthetic calcium ferrite, which helped to enhance the dissolution of calcined basic fluxes (e.g. CaO) and reduce the overall energy consumption during steel making. This, in turn, increased process efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The preliminary results from laboratory-scale experiments clearly demonstrate the potential of utilizing these ‘waste materials’ that are generated in-house in iron and steel manufacturing plants. The energy required for synthesis of the ferrite may be reduced further by partially utilizing the waste heat from the exhaust gases. In the longer run, it would result in significant financial benefits due to reduced dependence on purchased fluxes. The synthesized ferrite is non-hygroscopic and this provides an additional benefit during its storage and transportation, relative to calcined lime (CaO) that is widely used as a basic flux across the steel making industry.

Keywords: calcium ferrite, flux, slag formation, solid waste

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2212 Molecular Engineering of High-Performance Nanofiltration Membranes from Intrinsically Microporous Poly (Ether-Ether-Ketone)

Authors: Mahmoud A. Abdulhamid

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Poly(ether-ether-ketone) (PEEK) has received increased attention due to its outstanding performance in different membrane applications including gas and liquid separation. However, it suffers from a semi-crystalline morphology, bad solubility and low porosity. To fabricate membranes from PEEK, the usage of harsh acid such as sulfuric acid is essential, regardless its hazardous properties. In this work, we report the molecular design of poly(ether-ether-ketones) (iPEEKs) with intrinsic porosity character, by incorporating kinked units into PEEK backbone such as spirobisindane, Tröger's base, and triptycene. The porous polymers were used to fabricate stable membranes for organic solvent nanofiltration application. To better understand the mechanism, we conducted molecular dynamics simulations to evaluate the possible interactions between the polymers and the solvents. Notable enhancement in separation performance was observed confirming the importance of molecular engineering of high-performance polymers. The iPEEKs demonstrated good solubility in polar aprotic solvents, a high surface area of 205–250 m² g⁻¹, and excellent thermal stability. Mechanically flexible nanofiltration membranes were prepared from N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone dope solution at iPEEK concentrations of 19–35 wt%. The molecular weight cutoff of the membranes was fine-tuned in the range of 450–845 g mol⁻¹ displaying 2–6 fold higher permeance (3.57–11.09 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹) than previous reports. The long-term stabilities were demonstrated by a 7 day continuous cross-flow filtration.

Keywords: molecular engineering, polymer synthesis, membrane fabrication, liquid separation

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2211 Trade and Economic Relations between Georgia and Germany – the Impediments Caused by the Pandemic and Future Prospects

Authors: Tamar Lazariashvili

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There are a number of factors that determine the growth and development of the country's economy; however, trade and economic relations with other countries are the most important of all these factors. The paper analyzes the trade and economic relations between Georgia and Germany, identifies the impediments caused by the Covid pandemic, and substantiates the need for further economic cooperation between the countries. Research objectives. The objective of the research is to develop recommendations and reveal the prospects of further cooperation between Georgia and Germany based on identifying the problems in the field of trade and economy in the post-crisis situation. The research object is Georgian German economic relations. Germany is Georgia's largest trading partner in the European Union. Georgia and Germany actively cooperate within the framework of international organizations as well. The paper analyzes the multilateral and intensive economic relations between Germany and Georgia; evaluates the investments of German companies in Georgia and the activities of Georgian companies in Germany. Research methods. The paper uses general and specific research methods; in particular, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, comparison, statistical (selection, grouping, observation, trend), and other research methods.SWOT analysis is used to determine development opportunities between countries. As a result of the research economic ranking of Georgia and Germany are determined according to the above criteria, the causes of the impediments due to the pandemic are studied; the main problems in the field of trade and economy are identified. The paper provides conclusions on the problems in the trade relations between Georgia and Germany and suggests recommendations regarding the prospects for improving these relations.

Keywords: georgia-germany, trade and economic relations, economic ranking, perspective directions

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2210 Epigenetic Modifying Potential of Dietary Spices: Link to Cure Complex Diseases

Authors: Jeena Gupta

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In the today’s world of pharmaceutical products, one should not forget the healing properties of inexpensive food materials especially spices. They are known to possess hidden pharmaceutical ingredients, imparting them the qualities of being anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic. Further aberrant epigenetic regulatory mechanisms like DNA methylation, histone modifications or altered microRNA expression patterns, which regulates gene expression without changing DNA sequence, contribute significantly in the development of various diseases. Changing lifestyles and diets exert their effect by influencing these epigenetic mechanisms which are thus the target of dietary phytochemicals. Bioactive components of plants have been in use since ages but their potential to reverse epigenetic alterations and prevention against diseases is yet to be explored. Spices being rich repositories of many bioactive constituents are responsible for providing them unique aroma and taste. Some spices like curcuma and garlic have been well evaluated for their epigenetic regulatory potential, but for others, it is largely unknown. We have evaluated the biological activity of phyto-active components of Fennel, Cardamom and Fenugreek by in silico molecular modeling, in vitro and in vivo studies. Ligand-based similarity studies were conducted to identify structurally similar compounds to understand their biological phenomenon. The database searching has been done by using Fenchone from fennel, Sabinene from cardamom and protodioscin from fenugreek as a query molecule in the different small molecule databases. Moreover, the results of the database searching exhibited that these compounds are having potential binding with the different targets found in the Protein Data Bank. Further in addition to being epigenetic modifiers, in vitro study had demonstrated the antimicrobial, antifungal, antioxidant and cytotoxicity protective effects of Fenchone, Sabinene and Protodioscin. To best of our knowledge, such type of studies facilitate the target fishing as well as making the roadmap in drug design and discovery process for identification of novel therapeutics.

Keywords: epigenetics, spices, phytochemicals, fenchone

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2209 Electrochemical Synthesis of ZnTe and Cu-ZnTe Thin Films for Low Resistive Ohmic Back Contact for CdS/CdTe Solar Cells

Authors: Shivaji M. Sonawane, N. B. Chaure

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ZnTe is direct band gap, the P-type semiconductor with the high absorption coefficient of the order of 104cm-1 is suitable for solar cell development. It can be used as a low resistive ohmic contact to CdS/CdTe or tandem solar cell application. ZnTe and Cu-ZnTe thin film have been electrochemically synthesized on to fluorine-doped tin oxide coated glass substrates using three electrode systems containing Ag/AgCl, graphite and FTO as reference, counter and working electrode respectively were used to deposit the thin films. The aqueous electrolytic solution consist of 0.5M TeO2, 0.2M ZnSO4, and 0.1M Na3C6H5O7:2H2O, 0.1MC6H8O7:H2O and 0.1mMCuSO4 with PH 2.5 at room temperature was used. The reaction mechanism is studied in the cyclic voltammetry to identify the deposition potentials of ZnTe and Cu-ZnTe.The potential was optimized in the range -0,9 to -1,1 V. Vs Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The effect of deposition potential on the structural properties was studied by using X-ray diffraction. The X-ray diffraction result reveled cubic crystal structure of ZnTe with preferential (111) orientation with cubic structure. The surface morphology and film composition were analyzed by means of Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Analysis of X- Rays (EDAX). The optical absorption measurement has been analyzed for the band gap determination of deposited layers about 2.26 eV by UV-Visible spectroscopy. The drastic change in resistivity has been observed due to incorporation of copper probably due to the diffusion of Cu into grain boundaries.

Keywords: ohmic back contact, zinc telluride, electrodeposition, photovoltaic devices

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2208 Biomimetic Dinitrosyl Iron Complexes: A Synthetic, Structural, and Spectroscopic Study

Authors: Lijuan Li

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Nitric oxide (NO) has become a fascinating entity in biological chemistry over the past few years. It is a gaseous lipophilic radical molecule that plays important roles in several physiological and pathophysiological processes in mammals, including activating the immune response, serving as a neurotransmitter, regulating the cardiovascular system, and acting as an endothelium-derived relaxing factor. NO functions in eukaryotes both as a signal molecule at nanomolar concentrations and as a cytotoxic agent at micromolar concentrations. The latter arises from the ability of NO to react readily with a variety of cellular targets leading to thiol S-nitrosation, amino acid N-nitrosation, and nitrosative DNA damage. Nitric oxide can readily bind to metals to give metal-nitrosyl (M-NO) complexes. Some of these species are known to play roles in biological NO storage and transport. These complexes have different biological, photochemical, or spectroscopic properties due to distinctive structural features. These recent discoveries have spawned a great interest in the development of transition metal complexes containing NO, particularly its iron complexes that are central to the role of nitric oxide in the body. Spectroscopic evidence would appear to implicate species of “Fe(NO)2+” type in a variety of processes ranging from polymerization, carcinogenesis, to nitric oxide stores. Our research focuses on isolation and structural studies of non-heme iron nitrosyls that mimic biologically active compounds and can potentially be used for anticancer drug therapy. We have shown that reactions between Fe(NO)2(CO)2 and a series of imidazoles generated new non-heme iron nitrosyls of the form Fe(NO)2(L)2 [L = imidazole, 1-methylimidazole, 4-methylimidazole, benzimidazole, 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole, and L-histidine] and a tetrameric cluster of [Fe(NO)2(L)]4 (L=Im, 4-MeIm, BzIm, and Me2BzIm), resulted from the interactions of Fe(NO)2 with a series of substituted imidazoles was prepared. Recently, a series of sulfur bridged iron di nitrosyl complexes with the general formula of [Fe(µ-RS)(NO)2]2 (R = n-Pr, t-Bu, 6-methyl-2-pyridyl, and 4,6-dimethyl-2-pyrimidyl), were synthesized by the reaction of Fe(NO)2(CO)2 with thiols or thiolates. Their structures and properties were studied by IR, UV-vis, 1H-NMR, EPR, electrochemistry, X-ray diffraction analysis and DFT calculations. IR spectra of these complexes display one weak and two strong NO stretching frequencies (νNO) in solution, but only two strong νNO in solid. DFT calculations suggest that two spatial isomers of these complexes bear 3 Kcal energy difference in solution. The paramagnetic complexes [Fe2(µ-RS)2(NO)4]-, have also been investigated by EPR spectroscopy. Interestingly, the EPR spectra of complexes exhibit an isotropic signal of g = 1.998 - 2.004 without hyperfine splitting. The observations are consistent with the results of calculations, which reveal that the unpaired electron dominantly delocalize over the two sulfur and two iron atoms. The difference of the g values between the reduced form of iron-sulfur clusters and the typical monomeric di nitrosyl iron complexes is explained, for the first time, by of the difference in unpaired electron distributions between the two types of complexes, which provides the theoretical basis for the use of g value as a spectroscopic tool to differentiate these biologically active complexes.

Keywords: di nitrosyl iron complex, metal nitrosyl, non-heme iron, nitric oxide

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2207 The Synthesis and Analysis of Two Long Lasting Phosphorescent Compounds: SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+

Authors: Ghayah Alsaleem

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This research project focussed on specific compounds, whereas a literature review was completed on the broader subject of long-lasting phosphorescence. For the review and subsequent laboratory work, long lasting phosphorescence compounds were defined as materials that have an afterglow decay time greater than a few minutes. The decay time is defined as the time between the end of excitation and the moment the light intensity drops below 0.32mcd/m2. This definition is widely used in industry and in most research studies. The experimental work focused on known long-lasting phosphorescence compounds – strontium aluminate (SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+). At first, preparation was similar to literary methods. Temperature, dopant levels and mixing methods were then varied in order to expose their effects on long-lasting phosphorescence. The effect of temperature was investigated for SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+, and resulted in the discovery that 1350°C was the only temperature that the compound could be heated to in the Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in order to achieve any phosphorescence. However, no temperatures above 1350°C were investigated. The variation of mixing method and co-dopant level in the strontium aluminate compounds resulted in the finding that the dry mixing method using a Turbula mixer resulted in the longest afterglow. It was also found that an increase of europium inclusion, from 1mol% to 2mol% in these compounds, increased the brightest of the phosphorescence. As this increased batch was mixed using sonication, the phosphorescent time was actually reduced which produced green long-lasting phosphorescence for up to 20 minutes following 30 minutes excitation and 50 minutes when the europium content was doubled and mixed using sonication.

Keywords: long lasting, phosphorescence, excitation, europium

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2206 The State of Research on Medicinal Plants in Morocco

Authors: Alami Ilyass, Loubna Kharchoufa, Elachouri Mostafa

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The two great realms of living diversity are cultural and biological. Today, both are being lost at an alarming rate. Of all the Earth’s biological diversity, plant kingdom is of high significance, and most essential to human welfare, in fact, medicinal plants are extensively exploited for countless purposes. Among these multiple uses, medicinal plants are the most important source of medicine for humankind healthcare and well being. In recent years there has been a great surge of public interest in the use of herbs and plants. Some scientists have viewed this phenomenon as a modern “herbal renaissance”. The importance of plants as medicines in developed and developing countries has recently been acknowledged by the United Nations (UN). However, to date fewer than 5% of the approximately 250,000 species of higher plants have been exhaustively studied for their potential pharmacological activity. A number of drugs from ethnobotanical leads have provided significant milestones in Western medicine. Despite this success, pharmacognosy research on Moroccan flora needs more studies aimed at the exploration of their therapeutic potential. A major weakness is the absence of strong funding agencies in the country, and a real national drug discovery program. Moreover, the lack of the coordination between different universities and research institutions leads, in most cases, to a waste of time, money and efforts of many researchers. In this work, we focus our attention on research into traditional indigenous medicinal plants in Morocco. Three parts constitute the head lines of this work: In the first one, we take up Moroccan biodiversity matter, the second part is devoted principally to the state of research into medicinal plants by Moroccan scholars and the last one is consecrated to the debate of factors which handicap the progress of research on phytomedicine in Morocco. The objectives of the present study are twofold: first, to highlight the state of the medicinal plants researches in Morocco. Second goal is to assess and correlate the levels of knowledge of the local flora to the research on medicinal plants to attempt to build capacity for research within Moroccan Scientific community at rate of developing country.

Keywords: Morocco, medicinal plants, ethnobotanical, pharmacognosy, phytomedicine

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2205 Iron Response Element-mRNA Binding to Iron Response Protein: Metal Ion Sensing

Authors: Mateen A. Khan, Elizabeth J. Theil, Dixie J. Goss

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Cellular iron homeostasis is accomplished by the coordinated regulated expression of iron uptake, storage, and export. Iron regulate the translation of ferritin and mitochondrial aconitase iron responsive element (IRE)-mRNA by interaction with an iron regulatory protein (IRPs). Iron increases protein biosynthesis encoded in iron responsive element. The noncoding structure IRE-mRNA, approximately 30-nt, folds into a stem loop to control synthesis of proteins in iron trafficking, cell cycling, and nervous system function. Fluorescence anisotropy measurements showed the presence of one binding site on IRP1 for ferritin and mitochondrial aconitase IRE-mRNA. Scatchard analysis revealed the binding affinity (Kₐ) and average binding sites (n) for ferritin and mitochondrial aconitase IRE-mRNA were 68.7 x 10⁶ M⁻¹ and 9.2 x 10⁶ M⁻¹, respectively. In order to understand the relative importance of equilibrium and stability, we further report the contribution of electrostatic interactions in the overall binding of two IRE-mRNA with IRP1. The fluorescence quenching of IRP1 protein was measured at different ionic strengths. The binding affinity of IRE-mRNA to IRP1 decreases with increasing ionic strength, but the number of binding sites was independent of ionic strength. Such results indicate a differential contribution of electrostatics to the interaction of IRE-mRNA with IRP1, possibly related to helix bending or stem interactions and an overall conformational change. Selective destabilization of ferritin and mitochondrial aconitase RNA/protein complexes as reported here explain in part the quantitative differences in signal response to iron in vivo and indicate possible new regulatory interactions.

Keywords: IRE-mRNA, IRP1, binding, ionic strength

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2204 Investigation of Resistive Switching in CsPbCl₃ / Cs₄PbCl₆ Core-Shell Nanocrystals Using Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy: A Step Towards High Density Memory-based Applications

Authors: Arpan Bera, Rini Ganguly, Raja Chakraborty, Amlan J. Pal

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To deal with the increasing demands for the high-density non-volatile memory devices, we need nano-sites with efficient and stable charge storage capabilities. We prepared nanocrystals (NCs) of inorganic perovskite, CsPbCl₃ coated with Cs₄PbCl₆, by colloidal synthesis. Due to the type-I band alignment at the junction, this core-shell composite is expected to behave as a charge trapping site. Using Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy (STS), we investigated voltage-controlled resistive switching in this heterostructure by tracking the change in its current-voltage (I-V) characteristics. By applying voltage pulse of appropriate magnitude on the NCs through this non-invasive method, different resistive states of this system were systematically accessed. For suitable pulse-magnitude, the response jumped to a branch with enhanced current indicating a high-resistance state (HRS) to low-resistance state (LRS) switching in the core-shell NCs. We could reverse this process by using a pulse of opposite polarity. These two distinct resistive states can be considered as two logic states, 0 and 1, which are accessible by varying voltage magnitude and polarity. STS being a local probe in space enabled us to capture this switching at individual NC site. Hence, we claim a bright prospect of these core-shell NCs made of inorganic halide perovskites in future high density memory application.

Keywords: Core-shell perovskite, CsPbCl₃-Cs₄PbCl₆, resistive switching, Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy

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2203 Magnetic Silica Nanoparticles as Viable Support for the Immobilization of Oxidative Enzymes

Authors: Y. Moldes-Diz, M. Gamallo, G. Eibes, C. Vazquez-Vazquez, G. Feijoo, J. M. Lema, M. T. Moreira

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Laccases (benzenediol oxygen oxidoreductases, EC 1.10.3.2) are excellent biocatalysts for biotechnological and environmental applications because of their high activity, selectivity, and specificity. Specifically, these characteristics allow them to perform the oxidation of recalcitrant compounds with simple requirements for the catalysis (presence of molecular oxygen). Nevertheless, the low stability under unfavorable conditions (pH, inactivating agents or temperature) and high production costs still limits their use for practical applications. Immobilization of enzymes has proven particularly valuable to avoid some of the aforementioned drawbacks. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have received increasing attention as carriers for enzyme immobilization since they can potentially provide an easy recovery of the biocatalyst from the reaction medium under an external magnetic field. In the present work, silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4@SiO2) were prepared, characterized and used for laccase immobilization by covalent binding. The synthesis of Fe3O4@SiO2 was performed in a two-step procedure: co-precipitation and reverse microemulsion. The influence of immobilization conditions: concentrations of the functionalization agent (3-aminopropyl-triethoxy-silane) and the cross-linker (glutaraldehyde) as well as the influence of pH, T or inactivating agents were evaluated. In general, immobilized laccase showed superior stability compared to that of free enzyme. The reusability of the biocatalyst was demonstrated in successive batch reactions, where enzyme activity was maintained above 65% after 8 cycles of oxidation of the substrate 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate).

Keywords: silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles, laccase, immobilization, regeneration

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2202 Ergosterol Biosynthesis: Non-Conventional Method for Improving Process

Authors: Madalina Postaru, Alexandra Tucaliuc, Dan Cascaval, Anca Irina Galaction

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Ergosterol (ergosta-5,7,22-trien-3β-ol) is the precursor of vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol), known as provitamin D2 as it is converted under UV radiation to this vitamin. The natural sources of ergosterol are mainly the yeasts (Saccharomyces sp., Candida sp.), but it can be also found in fungus (Claviceps sp.) or plants (orchids). As ergosterol is mainly accumulated in yeast cell membranes, especially in free form in the plasma-membrane, and the chemical synthesis of ergosterol does not represent an efficient method for its production, this study aimed to analyze the influence of aeration efficiency on ergosterol production by S. cerevisiae in batch and fed-batch fermentations, by considering different levels of mixing intensity, aeration rate, and n-dodecane concentration. Our previous studies on ergosterol production by S. cerevisiae in batch and fed-batch fermentation systems indicated that the addition of n-dodecane led to the increase of almost 50% of this sterol concentration, the highest productivity being reached for the fed-batch process. The experiments were carried out in a laboratory stirred bioreactor, provided with computer-controlled and recorded parameters. In batch fermentation system, the study indicated that the oxygen mass transfer coefficient, kLa, is amplified for about 3 times by increasing the volumetric concentration of n-dodecane from 0 to 15%. Moreover, the increase of dissolved oxygen concentration by adding n-dodecane leads to the diminution for 3.5 times of the produced alcohol amount. In fed-batch fermentation process, the positive influence of hydrocarbon on oxygen transfer rate is amplified mainly at its higher concentration level, as the result of the increased yeasts cells amount. Thus, by varying n-dodecane concentration from 0 to 15% vol., the kLa value increase becomes more important than for the batch fermentation, being of 4 times

Keywords: ergosterol, yeast fermentation, n-dodecane, oxygen-vector

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2201 Ecological Evaluation and Conservation Strategies of Economically Important Plants in Indian Arid Zone

Authors: Sher Mohammed, Purushottam Lal, Pawan K. Kasera

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The Thar Desert of Rajasthan covers a wide geographical area spreading between 23.3° to 30.12°, North latitude and 69.3◦ to 76◦ Eastern latitudes; having a unique spectrum of arid zone vegetation. This desert is spreading over 12 districts having a rich source of economically important/threatened plant diversity interacting and growing with adverse climatic conditions of the area. Due to variable geological, physiographic, climatic, edaphic and biotic factors, the arid zone medicinal flora exhibit a wide collection of angiosperm families. The herbal diversity of this arid region is medicinally important in household remedies among tribal communities as well as in traditional systems. The on-going increasing disturbances in natural ecosystems are due to climatic and biological, including anthropogenic factors. The unique flora and subsequently dependent faunal diversity of the desert ecosystem is losing its biotic potential. A large number of plants have no future unless immediate steps are taken to arrest the causes, leading to their biological improvement. At present the potential loss in ecological amplitude of various genera and species is making several plant species as red listed plants of arid zone vegetation such as Commmiphora wightii, Tribulus rajasthanensis, Calligonum polygonoides, Ephedra foliata, Leptadenia reticulata, Tecomella undulata, Blepharis sindica, Peganum harmala, Sarcostoma vinimale, etc. Mostly arid zone species are under serious pressure against prevailing ecosystem factors to continuation their life cycles. Genetic, molecular, cytological, biochemical, metabolic, reproductive, germination etc. are the several points where the floral diversity of the arid zone area is facing severe ecological influences. So, there is an urgent need to conserve them. There are several opportunities in the field to carry out remarkable work at particular levels to protect the native plants in their natural habitat instead of only their in vitro multiplication.

Keywords: ecology, evaluation, xerophytes, economically, threatened plants, conservation

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2200 Green Synthesis of Spinach Derived Carbon Dots for Photocatalytic Generation of Hydrogen from Sulfide Wastewater

Authors: Priya Ruban, Thirunavoukkarasu Manikkannan, Sakthivel Ramasamy

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Sulfide is one of the major pollutants of tannery effluent which is mainly generated during the process of unhairing. Recovery of Hydrogen green fuel from sulfide wastewater using photocatalysis is a ‘Cleaner Production Method’, since renewable solar energy is utilized. It has triple advantages of the generation of H2, waste minimization and odor or pollution control. Designing of safe and green photocatalysts and developing suitable solar photoreactor is important for promoting this technology to large-scale application. In this study, green photocatalyst i.e., spinach derived carbon dots (SCDs 5 wt % and 10 wt %)/TiO2 nanocomposite was synthesized for generation of H2 from sulfide wastewater using lab-scale solar photocatalytic reactor. The physical characterization of the synthesized solar light responsive nanocomposites were studied by using DRS UV-Vis, XRD, FTIR and FESEM analysis. The absorption edge of TiO2 nanoparticles is extended to visible region by the incorporation of SCDs, which was used for converting noxious pollutant sulfide into eco-friendly solar fuel H2. The SCDs (10 wt%)-TiO2 nanocomposite exhibits enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production i.e. ~27 mL of H2 (180 min) from simulated sulfide wastewater under LED visible light irradiation which is higher as compared to SCDs. The enhancement in the photocatalytic generation of H2 is attributed to combining of SCDs which increased the charge mobility. This work may provide new insights to usage of naturally available and cheap materials to design novel nanocomposite as a visible light active photocatalyst for the generation of H2 from sulfide containing wastewater.

Keywords: carbon dots, hydrogen fuel, hydrogen sulfide, photocatalysis, sulfide wastewater

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2199 Synthesis and in vitro Characterization of a Gel-Derived SiO2-CaO-P2O5-SrO-Li2O Bioactive Glass

Authors: Mehrnaz Aminitabar, Moghan Amirhosseinian, Morteza Elsa

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Bioactive glasses (BGs) are a group of surface-reactive biomaterials used in clinical applications as implants or filler materials in the human body to repair and replace diseased or damaged bone. Sol-gel technique was employed to prepare a SiO2-CaO-P2O5 glass with nominal composition of 58S BG with the addition of Sr and Li modifiers which imparts special properties to the BG. The effect of simultaneous addition of Sr and Li on bioactivity and biocompatibility, proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of osteoblast cell line MC3T3-E1 and antibacterial property against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria were examined. BGs were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy before and after soaking the samples in the simulated body fluid (SBF) for different time intervals to characterize the formation of hydroxyapatite (HA) formed on the surface of BGs. Structural characterization indicated that the simultaneous presence of 5% Sr and 5% Li in 58S-BG composition not only did not retard HA formation because of opposite effect of Sr and Li of the dissolution of BG in the SBF but also, stimulated the differentiation and proliferation of MC3T3-E1s. Moreover, the presence of Sr and Li on dissolution of the ions resulted in an increase in the mean number of DAPI-labeled nuclei which was in good agreement with live/dead assay. The result of antibacterial tests revealed that Sr and Li-substituted 58S BG exhibited a potential antibacterial effect against MRSA bacteria. Because of optimal proliferation and ALP activity of MC3T3-E1cells, proper bioactivity and high antibacterial potential against MRSA, BG-5/5 is suggested as a multifunctional candidate for bone tissue engineering.

Keywords: antibacterial activity, bioactive glass, sol-gel, strontium

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2198 Development of an Integrated System for the Treatment of Rural Domestic Wastewater: Emphasis on Nutrient Removal

Authors: Prangya Ranjan Rout, Puspendu Bhunia, Rajesh Roshan Dash

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In a developing country like India, providing reliable and affordable wastewater treatment facilities in rural areas is a huge challenge. With the aim of enhancing the nutrient removal from rural domestic wastewater while reducing the cost of treatment process, a novel, integrated treatment system consisting of a multistage bio-filter with drop aeration and a post positioned attached growth carbonaceous denitrifying-bioreactor was designed and developed in this work. The bio-filter was packed with ‘dolochar’, a sponge iron industry waste, as an adsorbent mainly for phosphate removal through physiochemical approach. The Denitrifying bio-reactor was packed with many waste organic solid substances (WOSS) as carbon sources and substrates for biomass attachment, mainly to remove nitrate in biological denitrification process. The performance of the modular system, treating real domestic wastewater was monitored for a period of about 60 days and the average removal efficiencies during the period were as follows: phosphate, 97.37%; nitrate, 85.91%, ammonia, 87.85%, with mean final effluent concentration of 0.73, 9.86, and 9.46 mg/L, respectively. The multistage bio-filter played an important role in ammonium oxidation and phosphate adsorption. The multilevel drop aeration with increasing oxygenation, and the special media used, consisting of certain oxides were likely beneficial for nitrification and phosphorus removal, respectively, whereas the nitrate was effectively reduced by biological denitrification in the carbonaceous bioreactor. This treatment system would allow multipurpose reuse of the final effluent. Moreover, the saturated dolochar can be used as nutrient suppliers in agricultural practices and the partially degraded carbonaceous substances can be subjected to composting, and subsequently used as an organic fertilizer. Thus, the system displays immense potential for treating domestic wastewater significantly decreasing the concentrations of nutrients and more importantly, facilitating the conversion of the waste materials into usable ones.

Keywords: nutrient removal, denitrifying bioreactor, multi-stage bio-filter, dolochar, waste organic solid substances

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2197 Eco-Friendly Control of Bacterial Speck on Solanum lycopersicum by Azadirachta indica Extract

Authors: Navodit Goel, Prabir K. Paul

Abstract:

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is attacked by Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato causing speck lesions on the leaves leading to severe economic casualty. In the present study, aqueous fruit extracts of Azadirachta indica (neem) were sprayed on a single node of tomato plants grown under controlled contamination-free conditions. The treatment of plants was performed with neem fruit extract either alone or along with the pathogen. The parameters of observation were activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and lysozyme, and isoform analysis of PPO; both at the treated leaves as well as untreated leaves away from the site of extract application. Polyphenol oxidase initiates phenylpropanoid pathway resulting in the synthesis of quinines from cytoplasmic phenols and production of reactive oxygen species toxic to broad spectrum microbes. Lysozyme is responsible for the breakdown of bacterial cell wall. The results indicate the upregulation of PPO and lysozyme activities in both the treated and untreated leaves along with de novo expression of newer PPO isoenzymes (which were absent in control samples). The appearance of additional PPO isoenzymes in bioelicitor-treated plants indicates that either the isoenzymes were expressed after bioelicitor application or the already expressed but inactive isoenzymes were activated by it. Lysozyme activity was significantly increased in the plants when treated with the bioelicitor or the pathogen alone. However, no new isoenzymes of lysozyme were expressed upon application of the extract. Induction of resistance by neem fruit extract could be a potent weapon in eco-friendly plant protection strategies.

Keywords: Azadirachta indica, lysozyme, polyphenol oxidase, Solanum lycopersicum

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2196 Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Detecting Malignancy in Maxillofacial Lesions

Authors: Mohamed Khalifa Zayet, Salma Belal Eiid, Mushira Mohamed Dahaba

Abstract:

Introduction: Malignant tumors may not be easily detected by traditional radiographic techniques especially in an anatomically complex area like maxillofacial region. At the same time, the advent of biological functional MRI was a significant footstep in the diagnostic imaging field. Objective: The purpose of this study was to define the malignant metabolic profile of maxillofacial lesions using diffusion MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy, as adjunctive aids for diagnosing of such lesions. Subjects and Methods: Twenty-one patients with twenty-two lesions were enrolled in this study. Both morphological and functional MRI scans were performed, where T1, T2 weighted images, diffusion-weighted MRI with four apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were constructed for analysis, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy with qualitative and semi-quantitative analyses of choline and lactate peaks were applied. Then, all patients underwent incisional or excisional biopsies within two weeks from MR scans. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that not all the parameters had the same diagnostic performance, where lactate had the highest areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.9 and choline was the lowest with insignificant diagnostic value. The best cut-off value suggested for lactate was 0.125, where any lesion above this value is supposed to be malignant with 90 % sensitivity and 83.3 % specificity. Despite that ADC maps had comparable AUCs still, the statistical measure that had the final say was the interpretation of likelihood ratio. As expected, lactate again showed the best combination of positive and negative likelihood ratios, whereas for the maps, ADC map with 500 and 1000 b-values showed the best realistic combination of likelihood ratios, however, with lower sensitivity and specificity than lactate. Conclusion: Diffusion weighted imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy are state-of-art in the diagnostic arena and they manifested themselves as key players in the differentiation process of orofacial tumors. The complete biological profile of malignancy can be decoded as low ADC values, high choline and/or high lactate, whereas that of benign entities can be translated as high ADC values, low choline and no lactate.

Keywords: diffusion magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, malignant tumors, maxillofacial

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2195 Enhancing Animal Protection: Topical RNAi with Polymer Carriers for Sustainable Animal Health in Australian Sheep Flystrike

Authors: Yunjia Yang, Yakun Yan, Peng Li, Gordon Xu, Timothy Mahony, Neena Mitter, Karishma Mody

Abstract:

Sheep flystrike is one of the most economically important diseases affecting the Australian sheep and wool industry (>356M/annually). Currently, control of Lucillia cuprina relies almost exclusively on chemicals controls and the parasite has developed resistance to nearly all control chemicals used in the past. It is therefore critical to develop an alternative solution for the sustainable control and management of flystrike. RNA interference (RNAi) technologies have been successfully explored in multiple animal industries for developing parasites controls. This research project aims to develop a RNAi based biological control for sheep blowfly. Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) has already proven successful against viruses, fungi and insects. However, the environmental instability of dsRNA is a major bottleneck with a protection window only lasting 5-7 days. Bentonite polymer (BenPol) technology can overcome this problem, as it can be tuned for controlled release of the dsRNA in the gut challenging pH environment of the blowfly larvae, prolonging its exposure time to and uptake by target cells. We have investigated four different BenPol carriers for their dsRNA loading capabilities of which three of them were able to afford dsRNA stability under multiple temperatures (4°C, 22°C, 40°C, 55°C) in the sheep serum. Based on stability results, we further tested dsRNA from potential targeted genes loaded with BenPol carrier in larvae feeding assay, and get three knockdowns. Our results, establish that the dsRNA when loaded on BenPol particles is stable unlike naked dsRNA which is rapidly degraded in the sheep serum. A stable nanoparticles delivery system that can protect and increase the inherent stability of the dsRNA molecules at higher temperatures in a complex biological fluid like serum, offers a great deal of promise for the future use of this approach for enhancing animal protection.

Keywords: RNA interference, Lucillia cuprina, polymer carriers, polymer stability

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2194 Analysis of Computer Science Papers Conducted by Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education at Secondary Level

Authors: Ameema Mahroof, Muhammad Saeed

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to analyze the papers of computer science conducted by Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education with reference to Bloom’s taxonomy. The present study has two parts. First, the analysis is done on the papers conducted by Board of Intermediate of Secondary Education on the basis of basic rules of item construction especially Bloom’s (1956). And the item analysis is done to improve the psychometric properties of a test. The sample included the question papers of computer science of higher secondary classes (XI-XII) for the years 2011 and 2012. For item analysis, the data was collected from 60 students through convenient sampling. Findings of the study revealed that in the papers by Board of intermediate and secondary education the maximum focus was on knowledge and understanding level and very less focus was on the application, analysis, and synthesis. Furthermore, the item analysis on the question paper reveals that item difficulty of most of the questions did not show a balanced paper, the items were either very difficult while most of the items were too easy (measuring knowledge and understanding abilities). Likewise, most of the items were not truly discriminating the high and low achievers; four items were even negatively discriminating. The researchers also analyzed the items of the paper through software Conquest. These results show that the papers conducted by Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education were not well constructed. It was recommended that paper setters should be trained in developing the question papers that can measure various cognitive abilities of students so that a good paper in computer science should assess all cognitive abilities of students.

Keywords: Bloom’s taxonomy, question paper, item analysis, cognitive domain, computer science

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2193 Synthesis, Characterization, and Application of Novel Trihexyltetradecyl Phosphonium Chloride for Extractive Desulfurization of Liquid Fuel

Authors: Swapnil A. Dharaskar, Kailas L. Wasewar, Mahesh N. Varma, Diwakar Z. Shende

Abstract:

Owing to the stringent environmental regulations in many countries for production of ultra low sulfur petroleum fractions intending to reduce sulfur emissions results in enormous interest in this area among the scientific community. The requirement of zero sulfur emissions enhances the prominence for more advanced techniques in desulfurization. Desulfurization by extraction is a promising approach having several advantages over conventional hydrodesulphurization. Present work is dealt with various new approaches for desulfurization of ultra clean gasoline, diesel and other liquid fuels by extraction with ionic liquids. In present paper experimental data on extractive desulfurization of liquid fuel using trihexyl tetradecyl phosphonium chloride has been presented. The FTIR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR have been discussed for the molecular confirmation of synthesized ionic liquid. Further, conductivity, solubility, and viscosity analysis of ionic liquids were carried out. The effects of reaction time, reaction temperature, sulfur compounds, ultrasonication, and recycling of ionic liquid without regeneration on removal of dibenzothiphene from liquid fuel were also investigated. In extractive desulfurization process, the removal of dibenzothiophene in n-dodecane was 84.5% for mass ratio of 1:1 in 30 min at 30OC under the mild reaction conditions. Phosphonium ionic liquids could be reused five times without a significant decrease in activity. Also, the desulfurization of real fuels, multistage extraction was examined. The data and results provided in present paper explore the significant insights of phosphonium based ionic liquids as novel extractant for extractive desulfurization of liquid fuels.

Keywords: ionic liquid, PPIL, desulfurization, liquid fuel, extraction

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2192 Eco-Biological Study of Artemia salina (Branchiopoda, Anostraca) in Sahline Salt Lake, Tunisia

Authors: Khalil Trigui, Rafik Ben Said, Fourat Akrout, Neji Aloui

Abstract:

In this study, we examined in the first part the eco-biology of Artemia (A.salina) collected from Sahline Salt Lake (governorate of Monastir: Tunisia) during an annual cycle. The correlations between environmental factors and some biological parameters of Artemia were determined. The results obtained showed that the environmental factors affected the biology of Artemia. The highest abundance was recorded in May (550 ± 2,16 ind/l) and all life history stages existed with different seasonal proportions. The Artemia population is bisexual with ovoviviparous reproduction at the beginning and oviparous at the end of the life cycle. We also recorded the dominance of males at the start and the females at the end of the cycle. During all the study period, the size of mature females is bigger than that of males. The fertility obtained resulted in a significant production of cysts compared to the nauplii. A negative correlation with highly significant effect was deduced between environmental factors (temperature and salinity) and the production of nauplii (ovoviviparity) in contrast with dissolved oxygen. In the second part of our work is consecrated to the mastery of breeding Artemia. For this, we tested the effect of five external factors (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, light intensity and food) on the survival of this crustacean. Thereby, the survival rates of Artemia were affected by the different values of studied factors. The recorded results showed that Artemia salina has an optimum temperature ranged from 25 to 27°C with a survival rate ranging from 84 to 88%. The optimal salinity to breed Artemia salina was 37 psu (62 ± 0,23%). Nevertheless, this crustacean was able to survive and withstand the salinity of 0 psu (freshwater). The optimum concentration of dissolved oxygen was 7mg/l with a survival rate of 87,11 ± 0,04%. An optimum light intensity of 10 lux revealed a survival rate equal to 85,33 ± 0,01%. The results also showed that the preferred micro-algae by Artemia is Dunaliella salina with a maximum survival rate of the order of 80 ± 0,15%. There is a significant effect for all experienced parameters on the survival of Artemia reared except the nature of food.

Keywords: Artemia salina, biology, breeding, ecology, Sahline salt lake

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2191 Rapid Detection of the Etiology of Infection as Bacterial or Viral Using Infrared Spectroscopy of White Blood Cells

Authors: Uraib Sharaha, Guy Beck, Joseph Kapelushnik, Adam H. Agbaria, Itshak Lapidot, Shaul Mordechai, Ahmad Salman, Mahmoud Huleihel

Abstract:

Infectious diseases cause a significant burden on the public health and the economic stability of societies all over the world for several centuries. A reliable detection of the causative agent of infection is not possible based on clinical features, since some of these infections have similar symptoms, including fever, sneezing, inflammation, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Moreover, physicians usually encounter difficulties in distinguishing between viral and bacterial infections based on symptoms. Therefore, there is an ongoing need for sensitive, specific, and rapid methods for identification of the etiology of the infection. This intricate issue perplex doctors and researchers since it has serious repercussions. In this study, we evaluated the potential of the mid-infrared spectroscopic method for rapid and reliable identification of bacterial and viral infections based on simple peripheral blood samples. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is considered a successful diagnostic method in the biological and medical fields. Many studies confirmed the great potential of the combination of FTIR spectroscopy and machine learning as a powerful diagnostic tool in medicine since it is a very sensitive method, which can detect and monitor the molecular and biochemical changes in biological samples. We believed that this method would play a major role in improving the health situation, raising the level of health in the community, and reducing the economic burdens in the health sector resulting from the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. We collected peripheral blood samples from young 364 patients, of which 93 were controls, 126 had bacterial infections, and 145 had viral infections, with ages lower than18 years old, limited to those who were diagnosed with fever-producing illness. Our preliminary results showed that it is possible to determine the infectious agent with high success rates of 82% for sensitivity and 80% for specificity, based on the WBC data.

Keywords: infectious diseases, (FTIR) spectroscopy, viral infections, bacterial infections.

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2190 Synthesis of Montmorillonite/CuxCd1-xS Nanocomposites and Their Application to the Photodegradation of Methylene Blue

Authors: H. Boukhatem, L. Djouadi, H. Khalaf, R. M. Navarro, F. V. Ganzalez

Abstract:

Synthetic organic dyes are used in various industries, such as textile industry, leather tanning industry, paper production, hair dye production, etc. Wastewaters containing these dyes may be harmful to the environment and living organisms. Therefore, it is very important to remove or degrade these dyes before discharging them into the environment. In addition to standard technologies for the degradation and/or removal of dyes, several new specific technologies, the so-called advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), have been developed to eliminate dangerous compounds from polluted waters. AOPs are all characterized by the same chemical feature: production of radicals (•OH) through a multistep process, although different reaction systems are used. These radicals show little selectivity of attack and are able to oxidize various organic pollutants due to their high oxidative capacity (reduction potential of HO• Eo = 2.8 V). Heterogeneous photocatalysis, as one of the AOPs, could be effective in the oxidation/degradation of organic dyes. A major advantage of using heterogeneous photocatalysis for this purpose is the total mineralization of organic dyes, which results in CO2, H2O and corresponding mineral acids. In this study, nanomaterials based on montmorillonite and CuxCd1-xS with different Cu concentration (0.3 < x < 0.7) were utilized for the degradation of the commercial cationic textile dye Methylene blue (MB), used as a model pollutant. The synthesized nanomaterials were characterized by fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG–DTA). Test results of photocatalysis of methylene blue under UV-Visible irradiation show that the photoactivity of nanomaterials montmorillonite/ CuxCd1-xS increases with the increasing of Cu concentration. The kinetics of the degradation of the MB dye was described with the Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) kinetic model.

Keywords: heterogeneous photocatalysis, methylene blue, montmorillonite, nanomaterial

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2189 The Effects of Eriocitrin on Obesity and Hepatic Steatosis in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese C57BL/6 Mice

Authors: So Young Kim, Eun-Young Kwon, Bora Choi, Mi Kyeong Yu, Seon Jeong Lee, Myung-Sook Choi

Abstract:

Lemon (Citrus limon) has various beneficial effect. Eriocitrin (eriodictyol 7-rutinoside) is the main ingredient of lemon fruit and is known to have antioxidative effects. However, there has been little research about the effects of eriocitrin on obesity and regulation of lipid profiles levels. In the present study, we investigated the anti-obesity and lipid-lowering effects of eriocitrin in mice fed high-fat diet (HFD). The 4 week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups and were fed HFD (20% fat, w/w) and HFD supplemented with eriocitrin (0.005%, w/w, EC) for 16 weeks. Food intake, body weight and white adipose tissue weight (WAT) were measured and plasma free fatty acid (FFA), apolipoprotein (Apo) B100 level and hepatic enzyme activity were analyzed. No differences were shown between the HFD and EC groups in body weight and food intake. However EC supplementation significantly reduced the weights of epididymal, subcutaneous and total WAT. In addition, the levels of plasma FFA and Apo B100 were significantly decreased in the EC group compared with the HFD group. Moreover, the activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and malic enzyme (ME) related to fatty acids synthesis were significantly lower in the EC group than in the HFD group in liver. Therefore, this study indicates that eriocitrin has beneficial effects on adiposity and nonalcholic fatty liver diseases by modulating hepatic lipid-regulating enzyme activities and plasma lipid profile.

Keywords: antiobesity, eriocitrin, high fat diet, lipid lowering

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2188 Remote Controlled of In-Situ Forming Thermo-sensitive Hydrogel Nanocomposite for Hyperthermia Therapy Application: Synthesis and Characterizations

Authors: Elbadawy A. Kamoun

Abstract:

Magnetically responsive hydrogel nanocomposite (NCH) based on composites of superparamagnetic of Fe3O4 nano-particles and temperature responsive hydrogel matrices were developed. The nanocomposite hydrogel system based on the temperature sensitive N-isopropylacrylamide hydrogels crosslinked by poly(ethylene glycol)-400 dimethacrylate (PEG400DMA) incorporating with chitosan derivative, was synthesized and characterized. Likewise, the NCH system was synthesized by visible-light free radical photopolymerization, using carboxylated camphorquinone-amine system to avoid the common risks of the use of UV-light especially in hyperthermia treatment. Superparamagnetic of iron oxide nanoparticles were introduced into the hydrogel system by polymerizing mixture technique and monomer solution. FT-IR with Raman spectroscopy and Wide angle-XRD analysis were utilized to verify the chemical structure of NCH and exfoliation reaction for nanoparticles, respectively. Additionally, morphological structure of NCH was investigated using SEM and TEM photographs. The swelling responsive of the current nanocomposite hydrogel system with different crosslinking conditions, temperature, magnetic field efficiency, and the presence effect of magnetic nanoparticles were evaluated. Notably, hydrolytic degradation of this system was proved in vitro application. While, in-vivo release profile behavior is under investigation nowadays. Moreover, the compatibility and cytotoxicity tests were previously investigated in our studies for photoinitiating system. These systems show promised polymeric material candidate devices and are expected to have a wide applicability in various biomedical applications as mildly.

Keywords: hydrogel nanocomposites, tempretaure-responsive hydrogel, superparamagnetic nanoparticles, hyperthermia therapy

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2187 Organotin (IV) Based Complexes as Promiscuous Antibacterials: Synthesis in vitro, in Silico Pharmacokinetic, and Docking Studies

Authors: Wajid Rehman, Sirajul Haq, Bakhtiar Muhammad, Syed Fahad Hassan, Amin Badshah, Muhammad Waseem, Fazal Rahim, Obaid-Ur-Rahman Abid, Farzana Latif Ansari, Umer Rashid

Abstract:

Five novel triorganotin (IV) compounds have been synthesized and characterized. The tin atom is penta-coordinated to assume trigonal-bipyramidal geometry. Using in silico derived parameters; the objective of our study is to design and synthesize promiscuous antibacterials potent enough to combat resistance. Among various synthesized organotin (IV) complexes, compound 5 was found as potent antibacterial agent against various bacterial strains. Further lead optimization of drug-like properties was evaluated through in silico predictions. Data mining and computational analysis were utilized to derive compound promiscuity phenomenon to avoid drug attrition rate in designing antibacterials. Xanthine oxidase and human glucose- 6-phosphatase were found as only true positive off-target hits by ChEMBL database and others utilizing similarity ensemble approach. Propensity towards a-3 receptor, human macrophage migration factor and thiazolidinedione were found as false positive off targets with E-value 1/4> 10^-4 for compound 1, 3, and 4. Further, displaying positive drug-drug interaction of compound 1 as uricosuric was validated by all databases and docked protein targets with sequence similarity and compositional matrix alignment via BLAST software. Promiscuity of the compound 5 was further confirmed by in silico binding to different antibacterial targets.

Keywords: antibacterial activity, drug promiscuity, ADMET prediction, metallo-pharmaceutical, antimicrobial resistance

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2186 Phyto Diversity and Conservation of Pulicat Lake-Andhra Pradesh

Authors: S. K. M. Basha

Abstract:

Pulicat Lake is the second largest brackish water lagoon after Chilika Lake of Orissa along the east coast of India. Estuaries and lagoons have brackish water which shows high biological productivity than fresh or sea water. Hence it has wide range of aquatic, terrestrial flora and fauna. The World Wide Fund for Nature declared that it is a protected area. Present study aims to explore the flora and fauna of the lagoon along with the various threats for its eco-degradation which helps to plan necessary conservation methods.

Keywords: phytodiversity, Pulicat Lake, threats, conservation

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2185 Indenyl and Allyl Palladates: Synthesis, Bonding, and Anticancer Activity

Authors: T. Scattolin, E. Cavarzerani, F. Visentin, F. Rizzolio

Abstract:

Organopalladium compounds have recently attracted attention for their high stability even under physiological conditions and, above all, for their remarkable in vitro cytotoxicity towards cisplatin-resistant cell lines. Among the organopalladium derivatives, those bearing at least one N-heterocyclic carbene ligand (NHC) and the Pd(II)-η³-allyl fragment have exhibited IC₅₀ values in the micro and sub-micromolar range towards several cancer cell lines in vitro and in some cases selectivity towards cancerous vs. non-tumorigenic cells. Herein, a selection of allyl and indenyl palladates were synthesized using a solvent-free method consisting of grinding the corresponding palladium precursors with different saturated and unsaturated azolium salts. All compounds have been fully characterized by NMR, XRD and elemental analyses. The intramolecular H, Cl interaction has been elucidated and quantified using the Voronoi Deformation Density scheme. Most of the complexes showed excellent cytotoxicity towards ovarian cancer cell lines, with I₅₀ values comparable to or even lower than cisplatin. Interestingly, the potent anticancer activity was also confirmed in a high-serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) patient-derived tumoroid, with a clear superiority of this class of compounds over classical platinum-based agents. Finally, preliminary enzyme inhibition studies of the synthesized palladate complexes against the model TrxR show that the compounds have high activity comparable to or even higher than auranofin and classical Au(I) NHC complexes. Based on such promising data, further in vitro and in vivo experiments and in-depth mechanistic studies are ongoing in our laboratories.

Keywords: anticancer activity, palladium complexes, organoids, indenyl and allyl ligands

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