The Antimicrobial efficacy of Elaeis guineensis: characterization, in vitro and in vivo studies

The urgent need to treat multi-drug resistant pathogenic microorganisms in chronically infected patients has given rise to the development of new antimicrobials from natural resources. We have tested Elaeis guineensis Jacq (Arecaceae) methanol extract against a variety of bacterial, fungal and yeast strains associated with infections. Our studies have demonstrated that E. guineensis exhibits excellent antimicrobial activity in vitro and in vivo against the bacterial and fungal strains tested. A marked inhibitory effect of the E. guineensis extracts was observed against C. albicans whereby E. guineensis extract at ?, 1, or 2 times the MIC significantly inhibited C. albicans growth with a noticeable drop in optical density (OD) of the bacterial culture. This finding confirmed the anticandidal activity of the extract on C. albicans. Imaging using scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy was done to determine the major alterations in the microstructure of the extract-treated C. albicans. The main abnormalities noted via SEM and TEM studies were the alteration in morphology of the yeast cells. In vivo antimicrobial activity was studies in mice that had been inoculated with C. albicans and exhibited good anticandidal activity. The authors conclude that the extract may be used as a candidate for the development of anticandidal agent.     

Aspherical‐Atom Modeling of Coordination Compounds by Single‐Crystal X‐ray Diffraction Allows the Correct Metal Atom To Be Identified

Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction (XRD) is often considered the gold standard in analytical chemistry, as it allows element identification as well as determination of atom connectivity and the solid‐state structure of completely unknown samples. Element assignment is based on the number of electrons of an atom, so that a distinction of neighboring heavier elements in the periodic table by XRD is often difficult. A computationally efficient procedure for aspherical‐atom least‐squares refinement of conventional diffraction data of organometallic compounds is proposed. The iterative procedure is conceptually similar to Hirshfeld‐atom refinement (Acta Crystallogr. Sect. A­ 2008 , 64, 383–393; IUCrJ. 2014 , 1,61–79), but it relies on tabulated invariom scattering factors (Acta Crystallogr. Sect. B­ 2013 , 69, 91–104) and the Hansen/Coppens multipole model; disordered structures can be handled as well. Five linear‐coordinate 3d metal complexes, for which the wrong element is found if standard independent‐atom model scattering factors are relied upon, are studied, and it is shown that only aspherical‐atom scattering factors allow a reliable assignment. The influence of anomalous dispersion in identifying the correct element is investigated and discussed.     

Dynamical analysis of an elementary X + Y → P reaction in a continuously stirred tank reactor

This paper investigates the bifurcation behaviour of a model oxidation reaction in a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR). We assume that two gaseous chemical species are pumped separately into the CSTR, at constant total pressure, reacting to produce an inert product. The reaction is assumed to be a single step reaction that is described by Arrhenius kinetics. It is capable of producing oscillatory behaviour as well as steady state multiplicity in certain parameter regions. Bifurcation diagrams in various control parameter spaces are presented. We show that the system always possesses a globally attracting invariant region. The equivalence of a CSTR having n feed streams and the one pipe version, by appropriate rescaling, is also discussed.     

3D nanogap interdigitated electrode array biosensors

Three-dimensional interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) have been investigated as sensing elements for biosensors. Electric field and current density were simulated in the vicinity of these electrodes as a function of the electrode width, gap, and height to determine the optimum geometry. Both the height and the gap between the electrodes were found to have significant effect on the magnitude and distribution of the electric field and current density near the electrode surface, while the width of the electrodes was found to have a smaller effect on field strength and current density. IDEs were fabricated based on these simulations and their performance tested by detecting C-reactive protein (CRP), a stress-related protein and an important biomarker for inflammation, cardiovascular disease risk indicator, and postsurgical recuperation. CRP-specific antibodies were immobilized on the electrode surface and the formation of an immunocomplex (IC) with CRP was monitored. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was employed as the detection technique. EIS data at various concentrations (1 pg/mL to 10 μg/mL) of CRP spiked in buffer or diluted human serum was collected and fitted into an equivalent electrical circuit model. Change in resistance was found to be the parameter most sensitive to change in CRP concentration. The sensor response was linear from 0.1 ng/mL to 1 μg/mL in both buffer and 5% human serum samples. The CRP samples were validated using a commercially available ELISA for CRP detection. Hence, the viability of IDEs and EIS for the detection of serum biomarkers was established without using labeled or probe molecules.     

Bayesian estimation of generalized gamma shared frailty model

Multivariate survival analysis comprises of event times that are generally grouped together in clusters. Observations in each of these clusters relate to data belonging to the same individual or individuals with a common factor. Frailty models can be used when there is unaccounted association between survival times of a cluster. The frailty variable describes the heterogeneity in the data caused by unknown covariates or randomness in the data. In this article, we use the generalized gamma distribution to describe the frailty variable and discuss the Bayesian method of estimation for the parameters of the model. The baseline hazard function is assumed to follow the two parameter Weibull distribution. Data is simulated from the given model and the Metropolis–Hastings MCMC algorithm is used to obtain parameter estimates. It is shown that increasing the size of the dataset improves estimates. It is also shown that high heterogeneity within clusters does not affect the estimates of treatment effects significantly. The model is also applied to a real life dataset.     

Uranyl ion luminescence quenching with benzene derivatives and related compounds. Linear free energy relationship

Irradiation of uranyl ion with light of wavelength =345 nm to singlet state, through vibrational relaxation populates the lowest excited triplet state from where it emits luminescence emission at 486, 506, 535 nm. Elongation and weakening of uranium-oxygen multiple bonds is evident from the lower stretching frequency (701.15 cm^–1) in the excited state relative to the ground state (942.5 cm^–1). Series of aromatic molecules including benzene derivatives, aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic molecules very efficiently quench uranyl ion luminescence through nonradiative donor-acceptor complex formation. Increasing inductive effect, resonance phenomena and extension of aromatic -electron cloud determine the order of Stern-Volmer constant to measure their quenching action.     

Oscillatory thermal-diffusive instability of combustion waves in a model with chain-branching reaction and heat loss

In this paper we investigate the properties and the linear stability of premixed combustion waves in a non-adiabatic thermal-diffusive model with a two-step chain-branching reaction mechanism. Here we focus only on the emergence of the pulsating instabilities, and the stability analysis is carried out for Lewis numbers for fuel greater than one, and various values of Lewis number for radicals. We consider the problem in two spatial dimensions to allow perturbations of a multidimensional nature. It is demonstrated that the flame speed as a function of the parameters is a double-valued C-shaped function, i.e. for a given set of parameter values there are either two solutions, fast and slow solution branches, propagating with different speed, or the combustion wave does not exist. The extinction of combustion waves occurs at finite values of the parameters and non-zero flame speed. The flame structure demonstrates a slow recombination regime behaviour with negligible fuel leakage for the fast solution branch away from the extinction condition. For parameter values close to the extinction condition and on the slow solution branch, the fuel leakage is significant and a fast recombination regime is observed. It is demonstrated that two types of instabilities emerge in the model: the uniform planar and the travelling instability. The slow solution branch is always unstable due to the uniform perturbations. The fast solution branch is either stable or loses stability due to the travelling or uniform perturbations. The switching between the onset of various regimes of instability is due to the bifurcation of co-dimension two. In the adiabatic limit this bifurcation is found for Lewis number for fuel equal to one, whereas in the non-adiabatic case it moves towards values above unity. The properties of the travelling instability are studied in detail.     

At a glance: cellular biology for engineers

Engineering contributions have played an important role in the rise and evolution of cellular biology. Engineering technologies have helped biologists to explore the living organisms at cellular and molecular levels, and have created new opportunities to tackle the unsolved biological problems. There is now a growing demand to further expand the role of engineering in cellular biology research. For an engineer to play an effective role in cellular biology, the first essential step is to understand the cells and their components. However, the stumbling block of this step is to comprehend the information given in the cellular biology literature because it best suits the readers with a biological background. This paper aims to overcome this bottleneck by describing the human cell components as micro-plants that form cells as micro-bio-factories. This concept can accelerate the engineers' comprehension of the subject. In this paper, first the structure and function of different cell components are described. In addition, the engineering attempts to mimic various cell components through numerical modelling or physical implementation are highlighted. Next, the interaction of different cell components that facilitate complicated chemical processes, such as energy generation and protein synthesis, are described. These complex interactions are translated into simple flow diagrams, generally used by engineers to represent multi-component processes.     

Radionuclides in produced water from Norwegian oil and gas installations — Concentrations and bioavailability

Substantial amounts of produced water, containing elevated levels of radionuclides (mainly ²²⁶Ra and ²²⁸Ra) are discharged to the sea as a result of oil and gas production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. So far no study has assessed the potential radiological effects on marine biota in connection with radionuclide discharges to the North Sea. The main objective of the project is to establish radiological safe discharge limits for radium, lead and polonium associated with other components in produced water from oil and gas installations on the Norwegian continental shelf. This study reports results indicating that the presence of added chemicals such as scale inhibitors in produced water has a marked influence on the formation of radium and barium sulphates when produced water is mixed with sea water. Thus, the mobility and bioavailability of radium (and barium) will be larger than anticipated. Also, the bioavailability of food-borne radium is shown to increase due to presence of such chemicals.