Green Synthesis of Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles from Berberis balochistanica Stem for Investigating Bioactivities

Green synthesis of nanomaterials is advancing due to its ease of synthesis, inexpensiveness, nontoxicity and renewability. In the present study, an eco-friendly biogenic method was developed for the green synthesis of nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiONPs) using phytochemically rich Berberis balochistanica stem (BBS) extract. The BBS extract was rich in phenolics, flavonoids and berberine. These phytochemicals successfully reduced and stabilised the NiNO₃ (green) into NiONPs (greenish-gray). BBS-NiONPs were confirmed by using UV-visible spectroscopy (peak at 305 nm), X-ray diffraction (size of 31.44 nm), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (identified -OH group and Ni-O formation), energy dispersive spectroscopy (showed specified elemental nature) and scanning electron microscopy (showed rhombohedral agglomerated shape). BBS-NiONPs were exposed to multiple in vitro bioactivities to ascertain their beneficial biological applications. They exhibited strong antioxidant activities: total antioxidant capacity (64.77%) and 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (71.48%); and cytotoxic potential: Brine shrimp cytotoxicity assay with IC₅₀ (10.40 µg/mL). BBS-NiONPs restricted the bacterial and fungal pathogenic growths at 1000, 500 and 100 µg/mL. Additionally, BBS-NiONPs showed stimulatory efficacy by enhancing seed germination rate and seedling growth at 31.25 and 62.5 µg/mL. In aggregate, BBS extract has a potent antioxidant activity which makes the green biosynthesis of NiONPs easy, economical and safe. The biochemical potential of BBS-NiONPs can be useful in various biomedical and agricultural fields.     

Lipoic Acid Combined with Melatonin Mitigates Oxidative Stress and Promotes Root Formation and Growth in Salt-Stressed Canola Seedlings (Brassica napus L.)

Lipoic acid (LA) and melatonin (MT) are pleiotropic molecules participating in plant stress resistance by modulating cellular biochemical changes, ion homeostasis, and antioxidant enzyme activities. However, the combined role of these two molecules in counteracting the detrimental impacts of salinity stress is still unknown. In the present study, we determined the effects of exogenous LA (0.5 µM), MT (1 µM) and their combination (LA + MT) on growth performance and biomass accumulation, photosynthetic pigments, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activities, and ions homeostatic in canola (Brassica napus L.) seedlings under salinity stress (0, 100 mM) for 40 days. The results indicate that exogenous application of LA + MT improved the phenotypic growth (by 25 to 45%), root thickness (by 68%), number of later lateral roots (by 52%), root viability (by 44%), and root length (by 50%) under salinity stress. Moreover, total soluble protein, chlorophyll pigments, the concentration of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase peroxidase (CAT), and ascorbic peroxidase (ASA) increased with the presence of salt concentration into the growth media and then decreased with the addition of LA + MT to saline solution. Leaf protein contents and the degradation of photosynthetic pigments were lower when LA + MT treatments were added into NaCl media. The proline and phenol contents decreased in the exogenous application of LA + MT treatments more than individual LA or MT treatments under the salinity stress. The incorporation of LA or MT or a combination of LA + MT to saline solution decreased salinity-induced malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage. In conclusion, the alteration of metabolic pathways, redox modulation, and ions homeostasis in plant tissues by the combined LA and MT application are helpful towards the adaptation of Brassica napus L. seedlings in a saline environment. The results of this study provide, for the first time, conclusive evidence about the protective role of exogenous LA + MT in canola seedlings under salinity stress.     

Unusual Structural Features in the Lysozyme Derivative of the Tetrakis(acetato)chloridodiruthenium(II,III) Complex

The reaction between the paddle‐wheel tetrakis(acetato)chloridodiruthenium(II,III) complex, [Ru₂(μ‐O₂CCH₃)₄Cl] and hen egg‐white lysozyme (HEWL) was investigated through ESI‐MS and UV/Vis spectroscopy and the formation of a stable metal–protein adduct was unambiguously demonstrated. Remarkably, the diruthenium core is conserved in the adduct while two of the four acetate ligands are released. The crystal structure of this diruthenium–protein derivative was subsequently solved through X‐ray diffraction analysis to 2.1 Å resolution. The structural data are in agreement with the solution results. It was found that HEWL binds two diruthenium moieties, at Asp101 and Asp119, respectively, with the concomitant release of two acetate ligands from each diruthenium center.     

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic Analysis of Breast Cancer Tissues; Identifying Differences between Normal Breast,Invasive Ductal Carcinoma,and Ductal Carcinoma In Situ of the Breast

Abstract

A nondestructive method employing Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy coupled with attenuated total reflectance (ATR) objective for the analysis of histopathological specimens is described. Malignant breast tissue specimens have been analyzed to demonstrate the hypothesis that chemical changes taking place in biological tissue can be reliably and reproducibly identified. This study is the first report to elucidate clear spectral differences between different ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) grades. Sixty individual cases of breast carcinoma including DCIS and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and seven cases of normal breast tissues were studied using the FTIR-ATR spectroscopic technique. FTIR analysis of tissue sections has provided distinct spectra that can be used to distinguish between the nuclear grades of DCIS and IDC of the breast. It was concluded that FTIR could objectively and reproducibly discriminate between DCIS and IDC grades without sample destruction. In the future, applications of FTIR approaches should become feasible in the nondestructive express classification of grades and diagnosis of breast carcinoma.     

Aloeverasides A and B: Two Bioactive C‐Glucosyl Chromones from Aloe vera Resin

Two new C‐glucosyl chromones named aloeverasides A ( 1 ) and B ( 2 ) were isolated from the resin of Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f . The structures of the two new natural products were elucidated based on 1D‐ (¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR) and 2D‐NMR (COSY, HSQC, and HMBC) spectroscopic techniques and mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS). Aloeverasides A ( 1 ) and B ( 2 ) were evaluated for their anticancer activity, and both induced a 76.4 and 70.5% growth inhibition of the breast cancer cell line (MDA‐MB‐231) at a concentration of 100 μm . Both compounds were also evaluated for their 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picryl‐hydrazyl antioxidant, urease enzyme, and α‐glucosidase enzyme inhibition activities. Aloeverasides A ( 1 ) and B ( 2 ) displayed good urease enzyme inhibition activities (62 and 55%, resp.), as well as antioxidant activity in which aloeveraside A ( 1 ) had a value of 60% inhibition, while aloeveraside B ( 2 ) demonstrated a more potent antioxidant activity with 80% inhibition.     

Raman spectroscopy detects melanoma and the tissue surrounding melanoma using tissue-engineered melanoma models

Invasion of melanoma cells from the primary tumor involves interaction with adjacent tissues and extracellular matrix. The extent of this interaction is not fully understood. In this study Raman spectroscopy was applied to cryo-sections of established 3D models of melanoma in human skin. Principal component analysis was used to investigate differences between the tumor and normal tissue and between the peri-tumor area and the normal skin. Two human melanoma cells lines A375SM and C8161 were investigated and compared in 3D melanoma models. Changes were found in protein conformations and tryptophan configurations across the entire melanoma samples, in tyrosine orientation and in more fluid lipid packing only in tumor dense areas, and in increased glycogen content in the peri-tumor areas of melanoma. Raman spectroscopy revealed changes around the perimeter of a melanoma tumor as well as detecting differences between the tumor and the normal tissue.     

Comparative study of MIRD,experimental and GEANT4 simulations for uniformly distributed I-131 in cylindrical and spherical thyroid models

Due to worldwide use of I-131 for the treatment of benign and malignant thyroid diseases, reliable dose estimation for various thyroid mass values is necessary. In this study computation of the radiation absorbed dose due to β- and γ-activity of I-131 to thyroid has been carried out using the GEANT4 code for water, ICRP and ICRU soft tissues simulating thyroid tissue. The results are validated by comparison with the MIRD calculations. The effect of size and shape of thyroid on absorbed dose has also been studied by varying the volume of thyroid in 10–150 cm³ range and by using spherical and cylindrical models for thyroid. Experimental measurements have also been performed using a group of 20 patients, who were treated for thyro-toxicosis with I-131. Dose equivalent was measured with a portable ionization chamber after the administration of 405–851 MBq of I-131. Comparison of peak energy and effective energy per transformation with the MIRD has been performed yielding only 0.5% relative differences between these two energies. For spherical model, the relative difference of peak and effective energies with the MIRD is 5.2% and 4.7% respectively and very similar for cylindrical models. Spherical model shows 0.45% increase as compared to that of cylindrical model. The use of water, ICRP or ICRU materials only implies negligible difference. Total energy deposition per decay of I-131 increases with volume for both models. The estimated results of spherical and cylindrical thyroid models show an excellent agreement with the corresponding the MIRD results. Simulated results for ambient dose equivalent rate show a good agreement with our experiment and corresponding errors remain less than 13% in the case of dose at 1 m, and are less than 8% for doses at the neck surface.     

Synthesis and Urease Inhibition Studies of Barbituric and Thiobarbituric Acid Derived Sulphonamides

Various novel barbituric and thiobarbituric acid derived sulphonamides were synthesized in excellent yield via three components single pot reaction; and these were screened for in vitro urease inhibition studies against jack bean urease. The compounds 1‐7 were found to exhibit a low to moderate activity whereas compounds 8‐14 showed a significant activity (88.3‐99.9% inhibition determined at 500 μM concentration). Structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis data.     

On iterative methods for the incompressible Stokes problem

In this paper, we discuss various techniques for solving the system of linear equations that arise from the discretization of the incompressible Stokes equations by the finite‐element method. The proposed solution methods, based on a suitable approximation of the Schur‐complement matrix, are shown to be very effective for a variety of problems. In this paper, we discuss three types of iterative methods. Two of these approaches use the pressure mass matrix as preconditioner (or an approximation) to the Schur complement, whereas the third uses an approximation based on the ideas of least‐squares commutators (LSC). We observe that the approximation based on the pressure mass matrix gives h‐independent convergence, for both constant and variable viscosity. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.