Comparison and Evaluation of Three Diagnostic Methods for Detection of Beet Curly Top Virus in Sugar Beet Using Different Visualizing Systems

To diminish the time required for some diagnostic assays including polymerase chain reaction (PCR), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP; due to mainly DNA extraction step) and also triple antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (TAS-ELISA) into a minimum level, an innovative immunocapture LAMP (IC-LAMP) and immunocapture PCR (IC-PCR) protocol on the basis of beet curly top virus (BCTV) genome was used and optimized. TAS-ELISA was employed first to validate the existence of the virus. All six IC-LAMP primers (i.e. forward outer primer (F3), backward outer primer (B3), forward inner primer (FIP), backward inner primer (BIP), loop forward (LF) and loop backward (LB)) together with IC-PCR primers were designed on the basis of the replication-associated protein (rep) gene (GenBank accession AF379637.1) of BCTV genome. Also, a novel colorimetric IC-LAMP assay for rapid and easy detection of BCTV was developed here, its potential compared with TAS-ELISA and IC-PCR assays. The method, on the whole, had the following advantages over the two mentioned procedures: (i) fascinatingly, no need of DNA extraction; (ii) no requirement of expensive and sophisticated tools for amplification and detection; (iii) no post-amplification treatment of the amplicons and (iv) a flexible and easy detection approach, which is visually detected by naked eyes using diverse visual dyes.     

Characterization and High Level Expression of Acidic Endoglucanase in Pichia pastoris

Bioconversion of cellulosic material into glucose needs cellulase enzymes. One of the most important organisms that produces cellulases is Trichoderma reesei, whose cellulose enzymes are probably the most widely used in the industry. However, these enzymes are not stable enough at high pH and temperatures. The optimized synthetic endoglucanase II gene with Pichia pastoris codon preferences was secretary expressed in P. pastoris. Recombinant enzyme characterization showed maximum activity at pH 4.8 and temperature 75 °C, and it demonstrated increasing thermal stability in high temperature. The enzyme maintained its activity in a wide pH range from 3.5 to 6.5. The optimization of fermentation medium was carried out in shaking flasks. Recombinant protein expression at optimum conditions (pH 7, temperature 25 °C, and 1 % methanol induction) for 72 h demonstrated 2,358.8 U/ml endoglucanase activity units. To our knowledge, this is the highest acidic thermophilic endoglucanase activity that is reported in crude intracellular medium in P. pastoris. We conclude that P. pastoris is an appropriate host for high-level expression of optimized endoglucanase gene with improved thermal stability.     

Purification and Characterization of Pepsin-Solubilized Collagen from Skin of Sea Cucumber Holothuria parva

Pepsin-solubilized collagen (PSC) was extracted from the skin of sea cucumber Holothuria parva and was fractionally characterized. The PSC from H. parva skin consisted of three α₁ chains (α₁)₃, in contrast to calf skin collagen type I with two α₁ and one α₂ chains (α₁)₂α₂ with approximately 130 kDa each. The maximum transition (T_m) and denaturation temperature (T_d) of PSC were determined to be 46.94 and 32.5 °C, respectively. The amino acid composition analysis revealed that glycine, proline, alanine, and hydroxyproline were the abundant amino acids available in extracted PSC. The results showed that the isolated collagen from H. parva has some similar characteristics to previously reported collagens used in food and pharmaceutical industries.     

Controllable one-step synthesis of ZnO nanostructures using molybdophosphoric acid

ZnO nanostructures were synthesised in a hydrothermal reaction of zinc acetate in the presence of molybdophosphoric acid (H₃[PMo₁₂O₄₀]) as well as its vanadium-substituted acid (H₄[PMo₁₁VO₄₀]) at various times, temperatures, and concentrations. The ZnO nanostructures were characterised by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that the synthesised products are crystalline with a zincite hexagonal phase. Various ZnO nanostructures, such as nanoparticles, microrods, and nanosheets, were produced by changing the experimental conditions. The photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange was also investigated using the ZnO nanoparticles thus prepared. These particles exhibited high performance in the photocatalytic degradation of MO and almost 100 % decolourisation occurred within only 20 min.     

99mTc-radiolabeled imidazo[2,1-b]benzothiazole derivatives as potential radiotracers for glioblastoma

This study presents [^99mTc]BPTG-1 and [^99mTc]BPTG-2 for glioblastoma imaging. In vitro cellular uptakes of these radiotracers were examined in SKOV-3, MCF-7, U87-MG, HT-29, and A549 cell lines. U87-MG cell line displayed the highest radiotracers uptakes. Biodistribution study in U87-MG tumor bearing mice revealed higher uptake of radiotracers in tumor than muscle and brain. Liver, intestine, and kidneys displayed the highest radioactivity uptakes. The main route of radiotracers elimination was hepatobiliary. Due to the brain uptake of these radiotracers, they are promising radiotracers for future studies in the diagnosis of glioblastoma.

     

Copper-catalyzed domino reaction between terminal alkynes,isocyanates, and oxiranes: An atom-economic route to morpholine derivatives

In situ generated copper acetylides react with isocyanates and oxiranes to form a decent range of morpholine derivatives. The reactions proceeded with acceptable yields and excellent regioselectivity. The presence of oxygen and moisture completely inhibited the reaction. The scope of the reaction is wide and the reactions involve consecutive C–C, C–N, and C–O bond formations.     

Design,synthesis and antibacterial activity evaluation of novel 2-(4-((1-aryl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methoxy)phenyl)2-(2-oxoazetidin-1-yl)acetamide derivatives

In this paper, a novel series of 2-(4-((1-aryl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methoxy)phenyl)2-(2-oxoazetidin-1-yl)acetamide derivatives are synthesized in two steps. The first step involved Ugi multicomponent reaction of β-alanine, o-(propargyl)benzaldehyde and isocyanide derivatives. The product of this step, underwent a click 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with benzyl azide derivatives. The 2-(4-((1-aryl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methoxy)phenyl)2-(2-oxoazetidin-1-yl)acetamide product was characterized and their antibacterial activities were evaluated against various G-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and G-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) bacteria, using minimal inhibition concentration. The compounds showed very good antimicrobial activity and a number of products have been more active than ciprofloxacin.     

Glucose Electro‐oxidation on Graphite Electrode Modified with Nickel/Chromium Nanoparticles

In this study, an available and inexpensive graphite substrate, was easily modified with Ni/Cr nanoparticles via electrodeposition technique in a very short time (3 min) and used as an electrocatalyst for glucose oxidation in alkaline solution. Graphite electrode modified with Ni/Cr nanoparticles demonstrated an outstanding electrocatalytic performance to glucose oxidation in comparison to examined Ni‐based electrodes or even different materials in other reports. It is noteworthy to mention that adding a little Cr led to a synergistic effect with Ni; accordingly, the presence of Cr not only resulted in a greater adsorption of glucose molecules by chromium oxide but also boosted conductivity of the nickel oxide because of the enhancement of Ni(III) amount. The electrochemical studies were performed by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The morphology and structure of catalyst layer was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive x‐ray spectroscopy (EDS). The linear range of the electrode by cyclic voltammetry was between 2–31 mM with a high sensitivity of 2094 μA cm^?2 mM^?1. The repeatability and reproducibility of the proposed electrode was examined in glucose solution which were 0.3 % and 4.7 %, respectively. According to the low cost, ease and fast preparation, good repeatability and high sensitivity, this electrode can be a good candidate for nonenzymatic glucose oxidation.     

Non-isothermal pyrolysis of used lubricating oil and the catalytic effect of carbon-based nanomaterials on the process performance

Pyrolysis is a commonly used method for the recovery of used lubricating oil (ULO), which should be kinetically improved by a catalyst, due to its high level of energy consumption. In this research, the catalytic effects of carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene nanoplatelets on the pyrolysis of ULO were studied through thermogravimetric analysis. First, the kinetic parameters of ULO pyrolysis including activation energy were calculated to be 170.12 and 167.01 kJ mol^?1 by FWO and KAS methods, respectively. Then, the catalytic effects of CNT and graphene nanoplatelets on pyrolysis kinetics were studied. While CNT had a negligible effect on the pyrolysis process, graphene nanoplatelets significantly reduced the temperature of maximum conversion during pyrolysis from 400 to 350 °C, due to high thermal conductivity and homogenous heat transfer in the pyrolysis process. On the other hand, graphene nanoplatelets maximized the rate of conversion of highly volatile components at lower temperatures (<?100 °C), which was mainly due to the high affinity of these components toward graphene nanoplatelets and also the effect of nanoplatelets’ edges which have free tails and can bond with other molecules. Moreover, graphene nanoplatelets decreased the activation energy of the conversion to 154.48 and 152.13 kJ mol^?1 by FWO and KAS methods, respectively.

     

Numerical simulation of natural gas/diesel dual-fuel engine for investigation of performance and emission

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Due to global concerns about the emissions, limited hydrocarbon fuel resources and high fuel prices, a lot of researches have been done to improve the...