Exogenous Application of Green Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) to Improve the Germination,Physiochemical, and Yield Parameters of Wheat Plants under Salinity Stress

Agriculture is the backbone of every developing country. Among various crops, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) belongs to the family Poaceae and is the most important staple food crop of various countries. Different biotic (viruses, bacteria and fungi) and abiotic stresses (water logging, drought and salinity) adversely affect the qualitative and quantitative attributes of wheat. Among these stresses, salinity stress is a very important limiting factor affecting the morphological, physiological, biochemical attributes and grain yield of wheat. This research work was carried out to evaluate the influence of phytosynthesized TiO₂ NPs on the germination, physiochemical, and yield attributes of wheat varieties in response to salinity. TiO₂ NPs were synthesized using TiO₂ salt and a Buddleja asiatica plant extract as a reducing and capping agent. Various concentrations of TiO₂ nanoparticles (20, 40, 60 and 80 mg/L) and salt solutions (NaCl) (100 and 150 mM) were used. A total of 20 mg/L and 40 mg/L improve germination attributes, osmotic and water potential, carotenoid, total phenolic, and flavonoid content, soluble sugar and proteins, proline and amino acid content, superoxide dismutase activity, and reduce malondialdhehyde (MDA) content at both levels of salinity. These two concentrations also improved the yield attributes of wheat varieties at both salinity levels. The best results were observed at 40 mg/L of TiO₂ NPs at both salinity levels. However, the highest concentrations (60 and 80 mg/L) of TiO₂ NPs showed negative effects on germination, physiochemical and yield characteristics and causes stress in both wheat varieties under control irrigation conditions and salinity stress. Therefore, in conclusion, the findings of this research are that the foliar application of TiO₂ NPs can help to improve tolerance against salinity stress in plants.     

Sarcorucinine-D Inhibits Cholinesterases and Calcium Channels: Molecular Dynamics Simulation and In Vitro Mechanistic Investigations

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors and calcium channel blockers are considered effective therapies for Alzheimer’s disease. AChE plays an essential role in the nervous system by catalyzing the hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. In this study, the inhibition of the enzyme AChE by Sarcorucinine-D, a pregnane type steroidal alkaloid, was investigated with experimental enzyme kinetics and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation techniques. Kinetics studies showed that Sarcorucinine-D inhibits two cholinesterases—AChE and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE)—noncompetitively, with K_i values of 103.3 and 4.66 µM, respectively. In silico ligand-protein docking and MD simulation studies conducted on AChE predicted that Sarcorucinine-D interacted via hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds with the residues of the active-site gorge of AChE. Sarcorucinine-D was able to relax contractility concentration-dependently in the intestinal smooth muscles of jejunum obtained from rabbits. Not only was the spontaneous spasmogenicity inhibited, but it also suppressed K⁺-mediated spasmogenicity, indicating an effect via the inhibition of voltage-dependent Ca²⁺ channels. Sarcorucinine-D could be considered a potential lead molecule based on its properties as a noncompetitive AChE inhibitor and a Ca²⁺ channel blocker.     

Simple Stereoselective HPLC Method for Studying the Isomerisation of Cefditoren Pivoxil and Its Isomeric Purity in Pharmaceuticals

A new rapid, simple and stereoselective HPLC method for studying the isomerisation of cefditoren pivoxil in bulk and its isomeric purity in dosage form was developed and validated. This kind of isomerisation could form due to the effect of temperature on analyte during the manufacturing process or improper storage of pharmaceutical formulations. The separation between cefditoren pivoxil and cefditoren ∆3 isomer was obtained with resolution not less than 2.00 in the presence of methanol and phosphate buffer at pH 5.20 (70:30, v:v) onto Luna C18 stationary phase within 15 min analysis time. Under the validated stereoselective HPLC conditions, isomeric purity of cefditoren pivoxil was successfully determined in tablets with inter and intra-days relative standard deviation ≤4.6 %.

     

Dispersive optical bistability in a Fabry-Perot cavity

This is a numerical analysis of the steady-state Maxwell-Bloch equations in a Fabry-Perot cavity with standing waves, atomic detuning and cavity mistuning; the atoms are homogeneously broadened. In the Mean-Field Approximation (MFA) limit, the resulting output-input characteristics agree exactly with the analytical predictions for a ring cavity. This leads to the derivation of a state equation for the Fabry-Perot cavity in the MFA limit identical to that for a ring cavity. Agreement with the MFA within 4% are obtained when αL < 3, the mirror reflectivity is above 90%, and the cavity mistuning below 4% of its free spectral range. Simulations beyond the scope of the MFA are also made and the case of purely dispersive optical bistability is also considered.     

Alpha Cluster in Hartree-Fock Calculations

Hartree-Fock (HF) calculations have been performed fcr ¹²C nucleus assuming a trigonal D_3h equilibrium configuration. Different aspects including symmetry, kinds of two-body interactions are investigated. The HF calculations have been carried out using a velocity dependent effective potential of s-wave interaction. The results are compared with previous calculations. In all HF calculations no deviation from axial symmetry is obtained.     

1H and C-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of Tiaprofenic Acid

¹H-NMR spectrum of tiaprofenic acid in CDCI3 was obtained and proton chemical shifts from tetramethylsilane were assigned to each proton and set of equivalent protons of the molecule. The hydroxy proton of the carboxylic acid group was confirmed by deuterium exchange. The natural abundance C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the compound in CDCI3 was recorded using Fourier transorm technique. The chemical shifts of carbon resonances have been assigned on the basis of the chemical shift additivity theory and the signal multiplicity observed in the single frequency off-resonance decoupled (SFORD) spectrum. Also comparison with carbon chemical shifts of model compounds were useful.     

Spectrophotometric Determination of Pyrithioxin in Pharmaceutical Preparations

Rapid direct and induced difference spectrophotometric methods for determination of pyrithioxin in single dosage forms (tablets and syrups) are reported. The direct methods depend upon measurement of the absorbance of pyrithioxin in different media at λ_max i-e at 296 nm in 0.1 M hydrochloric acid, at 328 nm in citric acid-phosphate buffer of pH 7 and at 314 nm in 0.1 M sodium hydroxide. The mean percentage recovery of the authentic samples were 100.55±0.43, 101.21±0.58 and 100.29±0.64 respectively (P=0.05). The absorbance difference methods are based upon either measurement of the difference between the acid and the alkaline solutions i-e. Δ A (Alk-Acid) at 318 nm with an accuracy of 100.72±0.88 or the absorbance difference between the acid and neutral solutions i-e Δ A (pH 7-acid) at 328 nm with an accuracy of 100.31±0.68.     

Perfect quantum excitation energy transport via single edge perturbation in a complete network

We consider quantum excitation energy transport (EET) in a network of two-state nodes in the Markovian approximation by employing the Lindblad formulation. We find that EET from an initial site, where the excitation is inserted to the sink, is generally inefficient due to the inhibition of transport by localization of the excitation wave packet in a symmetric, fully-connected network. We demonstrate that the EET efficiency can be significantly increased up to ≈100% by perturbing hopping transport between the initial node and the one connected directly to the sink, while the rate of energy transport is highest at a finite value of the hopping parameter. We also show that prohibiting hopping between the other nodes which are not directly linked to the sink does not improve the efficiency. We show that external dephasing noise in the network plays a constructive role for EET in the presence of localization in the network, while in the absence of localization it reduces the efficiency of EET. We also consider the influence of off-diagonal disorder in the hopping parameters of the network.     

A Review on Effects of Lubricant Formulations on Tribological Performance and Boundary Lubrication Mechanisms of Non-Doped DLC/DLC Contacts

Tribological efficiency of industrial applications involving boundary lubrication regime can be improved to an appreciable extent by the deposition of hard coatings on interacting surfaces. Among such coatings, diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are considered to be one of the most suitable ones for the said role. DLC coatings possess a unique combination of physical, chemical, and material properties due to which they can help in minimizing friction-induced energy and material losses even under starved lubrication conditions. Since commercial lubricants are optimized for steel surfaces, therefore, a lot of experimental investigations were carried out to analyze the tribological compatibility of these lubricants with various DLC coatings. However, there is still a lack of understanding about how DLC coatings interact with conventional lubricant additives. Some researchers reported tribologically beneficial interactions between DLC coatings and formulated lubricants while others observed no such behavior. To address these inconsistencies, there is a need to rearrange the published data in a more apprehensible and organized manner with a special emphasis on the mechanisms responsible for a particular tribological behavior. In this way, it can be determined whether synergistic or antagonistic correlation exists between a particular DLC-lubricant combination and research on DLC coatings can be continued in a logical way. In this article, most widely investigated non-doped DLC coatings (ta-C, a-C:H, a-C, and ta-C:H) are tribologically analyzed. Average values of friction and wear coefficients are calculated for various DLC-lubricant combinations using already published data and compared to quantify the effectiveness of a particular lubricant additive in enhancing tribological characteristics of symmetrical non-doped DLC contacts. Moreover, tribological performance parameters of non-doped DLC coatings are compared with those of doped-DLC coatings to understand differences in their tribological behavior in combination with additives.