Selenium concentrations of selected medicinal and aromatic plants in Turkey

Recent scientific studies have proven the importance of trace elements on human health. The main food supplies are plants and animals, which are significant sources of these minerals. Studies on determining mineral compositions of herbs, spices and some other crops have increased all over the world. Published works revealed that spices, herbs and medicinal plants should be consumed to obtain beneficial trace elements. Selenium (Se), one of the most vital trace elements, has a significant role in human diet acting as a preventative agent against some serious illnesses. Despite numerous scientific works on mineral compositions of medicinal and aromatic plants, investigations of selenium content in these foods could not be successfully studied until recently due to the lack of suitable analytical methods for selenium analysis. Thus, publications on selenium concentrations of foods are recent. In this regard, selenium contents of some medicinal and aromatic plants commonly used as spices, herbal teas and traditional medicines in Turkey were studied in the present research. Selenium contents of the most used parts of these plants were analyzed by ICP-OES (Varian Vista-Pro, Australia). Of the analyzed 26 medicinal and aromatic plants, the highest Se concentration (1133 microg kg-1) was found in sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and the lowest in sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) fruits (11 microg kg(-1)).     

Novel Naphthalimide Derivatives as Selective G-Quadruplex DNA Binders

A new derivate of 4-bromo-1,8-naphthalic anhydride and its quaternized analogue have been prepared and characterized. The interactions of both derivatives with human telomere quadruplex-DNA and ds-DNA have been comparatively studied by UV-visible (UV-Vis), fluorescent intercalator displacement assays, competition dialysis, circular dichroism (CD), agarose gel electrophoresis, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The results show that both derivatives can stabilize G-quadruplexes DNA, and they show different binding affinities for G-quadruplexes-DNA and ds-DNA. All spectroscopic studies have shown that the derivatives have a modest selectivity for G-quadruplex versus ds-DNA.     

Biological Response of Osteoblastic and Chondrogenic Cells to Graphene-Containing PCL/Bioactive Glass Bilayered Scaffolds for Osteochondral Tissue Engineering Applications

Graphene-containing 13-93 bioactive glass and poly(ε-caprolactone)-based bilayer, electrically conductive scaffolds were prepared for osteochondral tissue repair. Biological response of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 and chondrogenic ATDC5 cells to the composite scaffolds was assessed under mono-culture and co-culture conditions. Cytotoxicity was investigated using MTT assay, cartilage matrix production was evaluated by Alcian blue staining, and mineralization of both types of cells in the different culture systems was observed by Alizarin red S staining. Results showed that osteoblastic and chondrogenic cells utilized in the study did not show toxic response to the prepared scaffolds under mono-culture conditions and higher cell viability rates were obtained in co-culture conditions. Larger mineralized areas were determined under co-culture conditions and calcium deposition amount significantly increased compared with that in control group samples after 21 days. Additionally, the amount of glycosaminoglycans synthesized in co-culture was higher compared to mono-culture conditions. Electric stimulation applied under mono-culture conditions suppressed the viability of MC3T3-E1 cells whereas it enhanced the viability rates of ATDC5 cells. The study suggests that the designed bilayered osteochondral constructs have the potential for osteochondral defect repair.     

Effects of POSS nanoparticles on glass transition temperatures of ultrathin poly(t‐butyl acrylate) films and bulk blends

As a model system, thin films of trisilanolphenyl‐POSS (TPP) and two different number average molar mass (5 and 23 kg mol^?1) poly(t‐butyl acrylate) (PtBA) were prepared as blends by Langmuir–Blodgett film deposition. Films were characterized by ellipsometry. For comparison, bulk blends are prepared by solution casting and the samples are characterized via differential scanning calorimetry. The increase in T_g as a function of TPP content for bulk high and low molar mass samples are in the order of ～10 °C. Whereas bulk T_g shows comparable increases for both molar masses (～10 °C), the increase in surface T_g for higher molar mass PtBA is greater than for low molar mass (～22 °C vs. ～10 °C). Nonetheless, the total enhancement of T_g is complete by the time 20 wt % TPP is added without further benefit at higher nanofiller loads. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 175–182     

Electrocatalytic Reduction of Oxygen at Glassy Carbon Electrodes Coated with Diazonium‐derived Porphyrin/Metalloporphyrin Films

In this study, the influence of the film structure was investigated on the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction at GC electrodes covered with porphyrin and metalloporphyrin rings via the diazonium modification method. For that purpose, primarily, tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) films on GC electrode surfaces were prepared by electroreduction of in situ generated diazonium salts of 5‐(4‐aminophenyl)‐10,15,20‐triphenylporphyrin (APP) and 5,10,15,20‐tetrakis(4‐aminophenyl)porphyrin (TAPP) molecules. Next, the formation of metalloporphyrin films on the modified surfaces was accomplished through the complexation reactions of surface porphyrin rings with metal ions in the salt solutions containing Mn(II), Fe(III) and Co(II) ions. The resulting porphyrin and metalloporphyrin layers were identified with XPS and ICP‐MS. The electrochemical barrier properties of the films on GC surfaces were examined by cyclic voltammetry in K₃Fe(CN)₆ aqueous solution. The electrocatalytic abilities of the resulting films were also investigated for the oxygen electrochemical reduction by employing cyclic voltammetry in PBS solutions saturated with oxygen. The results showed that the oxygen reduction potentials on modified GC electrodes were shifted to less negative potentials compared to that of bare GC electrode. Also, it was obtained that the oxygen reduction reaction was more effective on the GC electrodes modified with TPP rings by using TAPP molecules than those prepared by using APP molecules.     

Antioxidant and DNA damage protecting activities of newly synthesized thiol bridged bis-benzimidazole derivative and its dicationic analogue

Two new types of bis-benzimidazole derivatives containing thiol group have been prepared and characterized. The compounds contain sulfur with imidazole ring show promising biological activities such as antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial and etc. The aim of this study was synthesis of benzimidazole derivatives which not only show antioxidant activity but also protect DNA from oxidative damage. Antioxidant activities of the synthesized compounds were investigated with DPPH and hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging assays. DNA nicking assay was applied to establish activity of compounds to protect plasmid DNA from Fenton's reagent radicals. Both compounds had antioxidant activity, however, activity of dicationic analogue was greater than well-known antioxidant Vit C. IC₅₀ values calculated according to DPPH method were 14.5 μM for dicationic analogue ( 2 ) and 57.5 μM for 1,2-bis(1-methyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-ylthio)ethane ( 1 ). In hydrogen peroxide scavenge assay IC₅₀ values of compounds were 638.6 μg/mL for 1,2-bis(1-methyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-ylthio)ethane ( 1 ), 398.9 μg/mL for dicationic analogue ( 2 ). Furthermore, dicationic analogue promised an effective DNA protection due to its positive charge interacting with negatively charged DNA. Also the high solubility of the dicationic analogue in water due to its positive charge could provide a great advantage in biological applications.     

Outlining In Vitro and In Silico Cholinesterase Inhibitory Activity of Twenty-Four Natural Products of Various Chemical Classes: Smilagenin,Kokusaginine, and Methyl Rosmarinate as Emboldening Inhibitors

Cholinesterase (ChE) inhibition is an important treatment strategy for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) are involved in the pathology of AD. In the current work, ChE inhibitory potential of twenty-four natural products from different chemical classes (i.e., diosgenin, hecogenin, rockogenin, smilagenin, tigogenin, astrasieversianins II and X, astragalosides I, IV, and VI, cyclocanthosides E and G, macrophyllosaponins A-D, kokusaginin, lamiide, forsythoside B, verbascoside, alyssonoside, ipolamide, methyl rosmarinate, and luteolin-7-O-glucuronide) was examined using ELISA microtiter assay. Among them, only smilagenin and kokusaginine displayed inhibitory action against AChE (IC₅₀ = 43.29 ± 1.38 and 70.24 ± 2.87 µg/mL, respectively). BChE was inhibited by only methyl rosmarinate and kokusaginine (IC₅₀ = 41.46 ± 2.83 and 61.40 ± 3.67 µg/mL, respectively). IC₅₀ values for galantamine as the reference drug were 1.33 ± 0.11 µg/mL for AChE and 52.31 ± 3.04 µg/mL for BChE. Molecular docking experiments showed that the orientation of smilagenin and kokusaginine was mainly driven by the interactions with the peripheral anionic site (PAS) comprising residues of hAChE, while kokusaginine and methyl rosmarinate were able to access deeper into the active gorge in hBChE. Our data indicate that similagenin, kokusaginine, and methyl rosmarinate could be hit compounds for designing novel anti-Alzheimer agents.     

Optimal exercise of jointly held real options: A Nash bargaining approach with value diversion

This paper provides a two-stage decision framework in which two or more parties exercise a jointly held real option. We show that a single party’s timing decision is always socially efficient if it precedes bargaining on the terms of sharing. However, if the sharing rule is agreed before the exercise timing decision is made, then socially optimal timing is attained only if there is a cash payment element in the division of surplus. If the party that chooses the exercise timing can divert value from the project, then the first-best outcome may not be possible at all and the second-best outcome may be implemented using a contract that is generally not optimal in the former cases. Our framework contributes to the understanding of a range of empirical regularities in corporate and entrepreneurial finance.     

Synthesis and characterization of new metal-free and metallophthalocyanines fused α-methylferrocenylmethoxy units

Synthesis of metal-free and metallophthalocyanines bearing α-methylferrocenylmethoxy units was described. Precursor 3 required for the preparation of phthalocyanines 4–9, was synthsized by the nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction between α-methylferrocenylmethanol and 4-nitrophthalonitrile in dry DMF. The metal-free phthalocyanine 4 was prepared from 4-(α-methylferrocenylmethoxy)phthalonitrile 3 in 1-pentanol with a catalytic amount of 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU). Metallophthalocyanines (M = Zn, Cu, Co, Ni and Pb) were prepared by cyclotetramerization reaction of phthalonitrile with appropriate materials. The phthalonitrile, metal-free and metallophthalocyanines were characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR, FT-IR UV–Vis and mass spectral data, as well as elemental analyses, which were consistent with the proposed structures.     

Spectral properties of some regular boundary value problems for fourth order differential operators

In this paper we consider the problem $\begin{gathered} y^{iv} + p_2 (x)y'' + p_1 (x)y' + p_0 (x)y = \lambda y,0 < x < 1, \hfill \\ y^{(s)} (1) - ( - 1)^\sigma y^{(s)} (0) + \sum\limits_{l = 0}^{s - 1} {\alpha _{s,l} y^{(l)} (0) = 0,} s = 1,2,3, \hfill \\ y(1) - ( - 1)^\sigma y(0) = 0, \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $ where λ is a spectral parameter; p _j (x) ∈ L ₁(0, 1), j = 0, 1, 2, are complex-valued functions; α _s;l , s = 1, 2, 3, $l = \overline {0,s - 1} $ , are arbitrary complex constants; and σ = 0, 1. The boundary conditions of this problem are regular, but not strongly regular. Asymptotic formulae for eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the considered boundary value problem are established in the case α _3,2 + α _1,0 ≠ α _2,1. It is proved that the system of root functions of this spectral problem forms a basis in the space L _p (0, 1), 1 < p < ∞, when α _3,2+α _1,0 ≠ α _2,1, p _j (x) ∈ W ₁ ^j (0, 1), j = 1, 2, and p ₀(x) ∈ L ₁(0, 1); moreover, this basis is unconditional for p = 2.