The effect of 2.1 T static magnetic field on astrocyte viability and morphology

The viability and a number of morphological properties of in situ astrocytes of rat spinal cord cultures including changes in surface area and migration of both cell body and nucleus were investigated at magnetic field intensities comparable to those currently used for magnetic resonance imaging. Viability of rat spinal astrocytes was studied after up to 72 hours of 2.1T static magnetic field exposure. Surface areas and two-dimensional centroids of both soma and nucleus after 2 hours of magnetic field exposure were determined and compared with those of the same cells before magnetic field exposure. Cell membrane ruffling was quantified using fractal analysis.     

Solvent-free one-pot synthesis of 4-aryl-3,5-dimethyl-1,4,7,8-tetrahydrodipyrazolo[3,4-b:4′,3′-e]pyridines using Fe3O4@SiO2@(BuSO3H)3 catalytic Fe3+ system as selective colorimetric

Research on Chemical Intermediates - The synthesis of 4-Aryl-(3,5-dimethyl-1,4,7,8-tetrahydro-dipyrazolo[3,4b:4′,3′e]pyridine derivatives was accomplished using Fe3O4@SiO2@(BuSO3H)3...     

Efficient Catalytic and Thermal Syntheses of Novel Thiadiazole,Triazole, Benzothiazole,and Fused Quinazoline Derivatives

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - A thiourea derivative, 4-chloro-N-[(4-chlorophenyl)carbamothioyl]benzamide, was oxidized with iodine in acetic acid to give the corresponding disulfide,...     

In vitro antioxidant activities of five β-carboline alkaloids,molecular docking,and dynamic simulations

Structural Chemistry - Experimental and computational studies were performed to determine the antioxidant activities of harmine, harmaline, harmalol, harmane, and...     

Investigation and comparison of biological effects of regioselectively synthesized thiazole derivatives

In this study, anticancer, antibacterial (against hospital-isolated antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli strains), antifungal, and antioxidant effects of synthesized heterocyclic compounds 5 and 7 containing thiazole core were examined. Cytotoxicity testing was utilized against MCF-7 breast cancer cells via MTT cell viability assay. Antibacterial and antifungal activities were checked out according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines, and antioxidant properties were evaluated through scavenging 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals. Results showed the viability of breast cancer cell lines was reliant on concentration of heterocycles and time of incubation. Synthetic compounds exhibited excellent antibacterial and antifungal properties base on their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) values as well as high antioxidant activities according to their IC₅₀ values. Higher anticancer and antibacterial properties were observed with compound 7; on the contrary, thiazole 5 had better antioxidant effects. They can be introduced as potent antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer agents.     

Physiological and Immunological Changes Associated with Oral Microbiota When Using a Thermoplastic Retainer

Background: The study examined the oral microbiota, physiological and immunological changes in patients using thermoplastic retainers during three months of use. Methods: The study included several steps. Firstly, 10 swabs were collected from the buccal and palatal surfaces of the teeth of the patients, approximately 2 mL of saliva was collected from the same patients and 2 mL of saliva was collected from 10 healthy people to measure the pH and secretory IgA level. This was followed by the isolation and identfication of the bacterial isolates in the patient samples. Then, isolate susceptibility toward chlorhexidine (CHX) and their adhesion ability to thermoplastic retainer surfaces was measured. In addition to that the study estimated the numbers of Lactobacillus and Streptooccus mutans colonies during three months and finally, a comparsion of pH acidity and IgA level between the patients and healthy people was performed. The results showed the predominant bacteria during the three months were Lactobacillus spp. and Streptococcus spp. followed by different rates of other bacteria. Raoultella ornithinolytica showed more resistance to CHX while Lactobacillus spp. showed more sensitivity. Streptococcus mutans colony levels were higher than Lactobacillus spp. colonies during the three months, also S. mutans had the highest value in adherence to retainer thermoplastic. Finally, pH acidity showed a highly significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) in the third month, like IgA levels (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: According to the results obtained from the current study, the researchers noted that the thermoplastic retainers helped change the oral cavity environment.     

1H-NMR-Based Metabolomics: An Integrated Approach for the Detection of the Adulteration in Chicken,Chevon, Beef and Donkey Meat

Meat is a rich source of energy that provides high-value animal protein, fats, vitamins, minerals and trace amounts of carbohydrates. Globally, different types of meats are consumed to fulfill nutritional requirements. However, the increasing burden on the livestock industry has triggered the mixing of high-price meat species with low-quality/-price meat. This work aimed to differentiate different meat samples on the basis of metabolites. The metabolic difference between various meat samples was investigated through Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy coupled with multivariate data analysis approaches like principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least square-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). In total, 37 metabolites were identified in the gluteal muscle tissues of cow, goat, donkey and chicken using ¹H-NMR spectroscopy. PCA was found unable to completely differentiate between meat types, whereas OPLS-DA showed an apparent separation and successfully differentiated samples from all four types of meat. Lactate, creatine, choline, acetate, leucine, isoleucine, valine, formate, carnitine, glutamate, 3-hydroxybutyrate and α-mannose were found as the major discriminating metabolites between white (chicken) and red meat (chevon, beef and donkey). However, inosine, lactate, uracil, carnosine, format, pyruvate, carnitine, creatine and acetate were found responsible for differentiating chevon, beef and donkey meat. The relative quantification of differentiating metabolites was performed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey test. Our results showed that NMR-based metabolomics is a powerful tool for the identification of novel signatures (potential biomarkers) to characterize meats from different sources and could potentially be used for quality control purposes in order to differentiate different meat types.     

Psychrotolerant Mesorhizobium sp. Isolated from Temperate and Cold Desert Regions Solubilizes Potassium and Produces Multiple Plant Growth Promoting Metabolites

Soil potassium (K) supplement depends intensively on the application of chemical fertilizers, which have substantial harmful environmental effects. However, some bacteria can act as inoculants by converting unavailable and insoluble K forms into plant-accessible forms. Such bacteria are an eco-friendly approach for enhancing plant K absorption and consequently reducing utilization of chemical fertilization. Therefore, the present research was undertaken to isolate, screen, and characterize the K solubilizing bacteria (KSB) from the rhizosphere soils of northern India. Overall, 110 strains were isolated, but only 13 isolates showed significant K solubilizing ability by forming a halo zone on solid media. They were further screened for K solubilizing activity at 0 °C, 1 °C, 3 °C, 5 °C, 7 °C, 15 °C, and 20 °C for 5, 10, and 20 days. All the bacterial isolates showed mineral K solubilization activity at these different temperatures. However, the content of K solubilization increased with the upsurge in temperature and period of incubation. The isolate KSB (Grz) showed the highest K solubilization index of 462.28% after 48 h of incubation at 20 °C. The maximum of 23.38 µg K/mL broth was solubilized by the isolate KSB (Grz) at 20 °C after 20 days of incubation. Based on morphological, biochemical, and molecular characterization (through the 16S rDNA approach), the isolate KSB (Grz) was identified as Mesorhizobium sp. The majority of the strains produced HCN and ammonia. The maximum indole acetic acid (IAA) (31.54 µM/mL) and cellulase (390 µM/mL) were produced by the isolate KSB (Grz). In contrast, the highest protease (525.12 µM/mL) and chitinase (5.20 µM/mL) activities were shown by standard strain Bacillus mucilaginosus and KSB (Gmr) isolate, respectively.     

Electrochemical Derivatization of Acetaminophen for Indirect Determination of Eflornithine Using β‐CD Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

In the present work, the oxidation of acetaminophen in the absence and presence of eflornithine was electrochemically investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry at a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Our results indicate that N‐acetyl‐p‐benzoquinone imine (NAPQI) produced from two‐electron electrochemical oxidation of acetaminophen participates in a Michael addition reaction with eflornithine via an ECE mechanism. This fact was used for the determination of eflornithine using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) technique on the surface of β‐Cyclodextrin modified glassy carbon (β‐CD/GC) electrode. β‐CD/GC electrode was prepared through an electrodeposition procedure and characterized by Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. Under optimum conditions, the β‐CD/GC electrode showed a good linearity as a function of the eflornithine concentration over the range from 5 to 100 μM with detection limit and quantification limit of 1.94 and 5.8 μM, respectively. Finally, the proposed protocol was confirmed to be successful in determination of eflornithine in human urine samples with good recovery, ranging from 97.2 % to 104.8 %.     

Manufacturing of pH sensitive PVA/PVP/MWCNT and PVA/PEG/MWCNT nanocomposites: an approach for significant drug release

The purpose of this paper is studying the effect of incorporation of Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) into two different nanocomposites in poly vinyl alcohol (PVA)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and PVA/Polyethylene glycol (PEG). MWCNT were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using acetylene and Fe/Co/Al₂O₃ as carbon precursor and catalyst, respectively. Nitric acid and sulfuric acid were used for purification and functionalization of MWCNT. Afterward, highly pure and functionalized MWCNT (0, 0.02, and 0.05% w/w) were incorporated in PVA/PVP and PVA/PEG to synthesize PVA/PVP/MWCNT and PVA/PEG/MWCNT nanocomposites hydrogel membranes that cross-linked by freezing–thawing. PEG and PVP were selected in these nanocomposites as dispersion matrix for MWCNT as well as for increasing the elasticity of the nanocomposites membranes. The morphology of the hydrogels was characterized by SEM, FTIR, XRD, TGA, and the mechanical properties of the hydrogel membranes were investigated. The swelling behavior in different pH-buffer solutions was studied as well as studying weight loss percentage and swelling kinetic. The drug releasing process of the hydrogel membranes was investigated using salicylic acid as a model drug. It was found that MWCNT are dispersed well into the polymers and crystallinity, mechanical properties and thermal stability of the hydrogels contain MWCNT are better than that without MWCNT. Maximum degree of swelling was observed at pH 7 and swelling degree increases with increasing the ratio of MWCNT in the hydrogels from 0.02 to 0.05%. All hydrogel membranes followed non-Fickian mechanism and drug releasing were controlled by varying the pH and amount of MWCNT.