In Vitro and In Silico Screening and Characterization of Antimicrobial Napin Bioactive Protein in Brassica juncea and Moringa oleifera

The study aimed to investigate the antibacterial activity of Mustard (Brassica juncea) and Moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaf extracts and coagulant protein for their potential application in water treatment. Bacterial cell aggregation and growth kinetics studies were employed for thirteen bacterial strains with different concentrations of leaf extracts and coagulant protein. Moringa oleifera leaf extract (MOS) and coagulant protein showed cell aggregation against ten bacterial strains, whereas leaf extract alone showed growth inhibition of five bacterial strains for up to 6 h and five bacterial strains for up to 3 h. Brassica juncea leaf extract (BJS) showed growth inhibition for up to 6 h, and three bacterial strains showed inhibition for up to 3 h. The highest inhibition concentration with 2.5 mg/mL was 19 mm, and furthermore, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (0.5 mg/mL) and MBC (1.5 mg/mL) were determined to have a higher antibacterial effect for <3 KDa peptides. Based on LCMS analysis, napin was identified in both MOS and BJS; furthermore, the mode of action of napin peptide was determined on lipoprotein X complex (LpxC) and four-chained structured binding protein of bacterial type II topoisomerase (4PLB). The docking analysis has exhibited moderate to potent inhibition with a range of dock score −912.9 Kcal/mol. Thus, it possesses antibacterial-coagulant potential bioactive peptides present in the Moringa oleifera purified protein (MOP) and Brassica juncea purified protein (BJP) that could act as an effective antimicrobial agent to replace currently available antibiotics. The result implies that MOP and Brassica juncea purified coagulant (BJP) proteins may perform a wide degree of antibacterial functions against different pathogens.     

Chiral Interlocked Corrole Dimers Directly Linked at Inner Carbon Atoms of Confused Pyrrole Rings

A facile synthetic strategy towards conformationally stable chiral chromophores based on dimeric porphyrinoids has been established. A peculiar class of face-to-face intramolecularly interlocked corrole dimers were formed by the oxidative C−C coupling linked at the inner carbon sites upon simple treatment of copper(II) ions. Their intrinsic electronic structures were modulated by the peripheral corrole ring annulations, which lead to distinct optical properties and redox profiles. The stereogenic carbon centers implemented in the confused corrole skeleton provided a rationale for designing novel chiral materials.     

Morphological change of crystalline polymer films by annealing: substrate‐ and heating/cooling‐rate‐dependent surface roughness

We study the morphological change of crystalline polymer films by annealing using atomic force microscope, X‐ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. As typical samples, we employ high‐density and low‐density polyethylene films prepared by the cast method. After annealing at 135 °C for 4 h, the surface roughness of polyethylene films by the atomic force microscope significantly increases, and the crystallite size by the X‐ray diffraction also shows some increase, while the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum hardly exhibits any change. This can be well explained as a result of the growth of crystal structure by recrystallization during annealing. More interestingly, we find that the choice of the substrate and also the heating/cooling rates for annealing significantly influences the surface roughness of the films. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2-(Phenyltelluromethyl)tetrahydrofuran (L) and 2-(2-{4-methoxyphenyl}telluroethyl)-1,3- dioxolane (L) and their palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes

The nucleophile [ArTe⁻] generated in situ borohydride solution of Ar₂Te₂, reacts with 2-(chloromethyl) tetrahydrofuran and 2-(2-bromoethyl)-1,3-dioxolane resulting in L¹ and L², respectively. The complexes of palladium(II) and platinum(II) with L¹/L² having stoichiometries [MCl₂·L₂], [ML₂](ClO₄)₂, [(DPPE)ML₂](ClO)₄)₂, [(PPh₃)₂ML₂](ClO₄)₂ and [(phen)ML₂](ClO₄)₂ (where L = L¹/L² DPPE = Ph₂PC H₂CH₂PPh₂, PHEN = 1,10-phenanthroline and M = Pd/Pt) have been synthesized. IR, ¹H, ¹²⁵Te{¹H} and ³¹P{¹H} NMR and UV-vis spectral data of these species in conjunction with their molar conductance and molecular weight data have been used to authenticate the new species. In all complexes (1–20) the ligands L¹ and L² are coordinated through tellurium and in the complexes of formula [ML₂](ClO₄)₂ (M = Pd, Pt) the ligand is bidentate with the oxygen atom used in complexation. In solution, complexes PtCl₂L₂ exist as a mixture of cis and trans isomers whereas only the trans isomer was observed for the palladium analogues. The [(phen)PdL₂](ClO₄)₂(Q) quenches ¹O₂ readily. The plot of log [Q] vs time is linear. Mechanism compatible with the experimental observations is proposed.     

On the images of Sobolev spaces under the heat kernel transform on the Heisenberg group

The aim of this paper is to obtain certain characterizations for the image of a Sobolev space on the Heisenberg group under the heat kernel transform. We give three types of characterizations for the image of a Sobolev space of positive order $H^m(\mathbb {H}^n), m\in \mathbb {N}^n,$ under the heat kernel transform on $\mathbb {H}^n,$ using direct sum and direct integral of Bergmann spaces and certain unitary representations of $\mathbb {H}^n$ which can be realized on the Hilbert space of Hilbert‐Schmidt operators on $L^2(\mathbb {R}^n).$ We also show that the image of Sobolev space of negative order $H^{-s}(\mathbb {H}^n), s(>0) \in \mathbb {R}$ is a direct sum of two weighted Bergman spaces. Finally, we try to obtain some pointwise estimates for the functions in the image of Schwartz class on $\mathbb {H}^n$ under the heat kernel transform.     

Relative Stanley–Reisner theory and Upper Bound Theorems for Minkowski sums

In this paper we settle two long-standing questions regarding the combinatorial complexity of Minkowski sums of polytopes: We give a tight upper bound for the number of faces of a Minkowski sum, including a characterization of the case of equality. We similarly give a (tight) upper bound theorem for mixed facets of Minkowski sums. This has a wide range of applications and generalizes the classical Upper Bound Theorems of McMullen and Stanley.Our main observation is that within (relative) Stanley–Reisner theory, it is possible to encode topological as well as combinatorial/geometric restrictions in an algebraic setup. We illustrate the technology by providing several simplicial isoperimetric and reverse isoperimetric inequalities in addition to our treatment of Minkowski sums.     

Deriving crisp and consistent priorities for fuzzy AHP-based multicriteria systems using non-linear constrained optimization

Fuzzy optimization models are used to derive crisp weights (priority vectors) for the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based multicriteria decision making systems. These optimization models deal with the imprecise judgements of decision makers by formulating the optimization problem as the system of constrained non linear equations. Firstly, a Genetic Algorithm based heuristic solution for this optimization problem is implemented in this paper. It has been found that the crisp weights derived from this solution for fuzzy-AHP system, sometimes lead to less consistent or inconsistent solutions. To deal with this problem, we have proposed a consistency based constraint for the optimization models. A decision maker can set the consistency threshold value and if the solution exists for that threshold value then crisp weights can be derived, otherwise it can be concluded that the fuzzy comparison matrix for AHP is not consistent for the given threshold. Three examples are considered to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Results with the proposed constraint based fuzzy optimization model are more consistent than the existing optimization models.     

On the directed Full Degree Spanning Tree problem

We study the parameterized complexity of a directed analog of the Full Degree Spanning Tree problem where, given a digraph $D$ and a nonnegative integer $k$, the goal is to construct a spanning out-tree $T$ of $D$ such that at least $k$ vertices in $T$ have the same out-degree as in $D$. We show that this problem is W[1]-hard even on the class of directed acyclic graphs. In the dual version, called Reduced Degree Spanning Tree, one is required to construct a spanning out-tree $T$ such that at most $k$ vertices in $T$ have out-degrees that are different from that in $D$. We show that this problem is fixed-parameter tractable and that it admits a problem kernel with at most $8k$ vertices on strongly connected digraphs and $O\left(k^2\right)$ vertices on general digraphs. We also give an algorithm for this problem on general digraphs with running time $O(5.942^k?n^{O\left(1\right)})$, where $n$ is the number of vertices in the input digraph.     

Wind turbine noise measurement using a compact microphone array with advanced deconvolution algorithms

This paper experimentally investigates the noise from a large wind turbine (GE 1.5 MW) with a compact microphone array (OptiNav 24) using advanced deconvolution based beamforming methods, such as DAMAS and CLEAN-SC beamforming algorithms, for data reduction. Our study focuses on the ability of a compact microphone array to successfully locate both mechanical and aerodynamic noise sources on the wind turbine. Several interesting results have emerged from this study: (i) A compact microphone array is sufficient to perform a detailed study on wind turbine noise if advanced deconvolution methods are applied. (ii) Noise sources on the blade and on the nacelle can clearly be separated. (iii) Noise of the blades is dominated by trailing edge noise which is frequency dependent and is distributed along the length of the blade with the dominant noise source closer to the tip of the blade. (iv) The LP and DAMAS algorithms represent the distributed trailing edge noise source better than CLEAN-SC and classical beamforming. (v) Additional tonal noise produced during yawing operation is believed to be radiating from the tower of the wind turbine that acts like a resonator. (vi) Ground reflection is not believed to have a significant effect on noise source location estimates in this study.