The radiation shielding offered by the commercial glass installed in Bangladeshi dwellings

One sign of a vibrant Bangladeshi economy has been the move away from the use of more traditional housing materials towards a preference for modern constructional media. Glass, one such example, used both decoratively and in a structural context, offers various advantageous properties and facets including a protective feature against radiation that has not previously been considered. Current interest examines the dosimetric possibilities offered by the commercial glass as a secondary shield and also in retrospective ionising radiation exposure analysis. Four popular brands of window glass are investigated, all available within the local market (PHP-Bangladesh, Usmania-Bangladesh, Nasir-Bangladesh and Rider-China), all with the same thickness and colour, varying in terms of elemental weight fractions as evaluated by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. As potential attenuators of transmitted radiation thereby forming secondary barriers against radiation exposure from penetrating radiations, the four brands of glass have been studied using photon energies from 59 up to 1332 keV, a range of values representative of that potentially encountered in incidents. Use has been made of a well-shielded high-purity germanium γ-ray spectrometer and associated electronics, providing for evaluation of the characteristic barrier parameters of half-value layer, radiation protection efficiency and effective atomic number (Z_eff). Of the four brands investigated, Rider provides superior secondary shielding performance. Concerning potential retrospective dosimetry the effective atomic number of the glass samples are comparable with that of the commercial thermoluminescence (TL) dosimeter TLD-200. At high doses, the TL yields are sufficient to provide for retrospective accident dosimetry.     

Synthesis,Antimicrobial, Anticancer,PASS, Molecular Docking,Molecular Dynamic Simulations & Pharmacokinetic Predictions of Some Methyl β-D-Galactopyranoside Analogs

A series of methyl β-D-galactopyranoside (MGP, 1) analogs were selectively acylated with cinnamoyl chloride in anhydrous N,N-dimethylformamide/triethylamine to yield 6-O-substitution products, which was subsequently converted into 2,3,4-tri-O-acyl analogs with different acyl halides. Analysis of the physicochemical, elemental, and spectroscopic data of these analogs revealed their chemical structures. In vitro antimicrobial testing against five bacteria and two fungi and the prediction of activity spectra for substances (PASS) showed promising antifungal functionality comparing to their antibacterial activities. Minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) tests were conducted for four compounds (4, 5, 6, and 9) based on their activity. MTT assay showed low antiproliferative activity of compound 9 against Ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells with an IC₅₀ value of 2961.06 µg/mL. Density functional theory (DFT) was used to calculate the thermodynamic and physicochemical properties whereas molecular docking identified potential inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (6Y84). A 150-ns molecular dynamics simulation study revealed the stable conformation and binding patterns in a stimulating environment. In-silico ADMET study suggested all the designed molecules to be non-carcinogenic, with low aquatic and non-aquatic toxicity. In summary, all these antimicrobial, anticancer and in silico studies revealed that newly synthesized MGP analogs possess promising antiviral activity, to serve as a therapeutic target for COVID-19.     

Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure and its Impacts on Cutaneous Phosphorylation Signaling in Carcinogenesis: Focusing on Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases†

Sunlight exposure is a significant risk factor for UV-induced deteriorating transformations of epidermal homeostasis leading to skin carcinogenesis. The ability of UVB radiation to cause melanoma, as well as basal and squamous cell carcinomas, makes UVB the most harmful among the three known UV ranges. UVB-induced DNA mutations and dysregulation of signaling pathways contribute to skin cancer formation. Among various signaling pathways modulated by UVB, tyrosine phosphorylation signaling which is mediated by the action of protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) on specific tyrosine residues is highly implicated in photocarcinogenesis. Following UVB irradiation, PTKs get activated and their downstream signaling pathways contribute to photocarcinogenesis by promoting the survival of damaged keratinocytes and increasing cell proliferation. While UVB activates oncogenic signaling pathways, it can also activate tumor suppressive signaling pathways as initial protective mechanisms to maintain epidermal homeostasis. Tyrosine dephosphorylation is one of the protective mechanisms and is mediated by the action of protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs). PTP can counteract UVB-mediated PTK activation and downregulate oncogenic signaling pathways. However, PTPs have not been studied extensively in photocarcinogenesis with previous studies regarding their inactivation induced by UVB. This current review will summarize the recent progress in the protective function of PTPs in epidermal photocarcinogenesis.     

Education in medical genetics for physicians: Germany

We have assessed the relative amount of genetics education at each of the 3 levels of medical training in Germany, namely the undergraduate, postgraduate and continuous medical education stages. Our data show that genetics is ill represented at all levels. Written examinations at the end of the relevant section at the undergraduate level include very few questions related to medical genetics, and particularly few in subjects such as pathology, internal medicine and gynaecology and obstetrics. At the postgraduate level, only 4 specialties require knowledge in medical genetics that may be subject to examination. At the continuous medical education level, medical genetics plays a very minor role. All 3 levels have been subject to reform in recent years, but effects that might ensue from these reforms cannot be expected before 2008.     

Rational design of a BiFeWO6 nanostructure for supercapacitor applications

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Scientists are increasingly interested in improving electroactive technologies for supercapacitor applications, since energy storage devices have improved...     

Strategy for purifying maltose binding protein fusion proteins by affinity precipitation

The maltose binding protein (MBP) affinity tag has been extensively used for protein purification. A commercial grade cationic starch could precipitate MBP or an MBP-tagged protein quantitatively by simultaneous addition of 10% (w/v) polyethylene glycol (PEG) and 50 mM calcium chloride. The precipitated MBP or MBP-tagged protein could be selectively dissociated by suspending the precipitate in 1 M NaCl. In the case of a soluble MBP fusion with a fragment of human immunodeficiency virus protein gp120, 38% of the contaminating proteins could be removed by precipitation with PEG/CaCl(2) and 100% of the fusion protein was recovered. In all cases, the purified proteins showed a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the expected changes in fluorescence emission spectra upon binding to maltose.     

Reactions of the phenylium cation with small oxygen- and nitrogen-containing molecules

The reactions of phenylium with water and ammonia and their methyl homologs have been investigated using a quadrupole ion trap and semiempirical molecular orbital calculations. The results indicate that both types of molecules react with phenylium through lone pair electrons even though, for methyl-containing compounds, insertion into a C-H bond would lead to more stable products. For the excited adducts formed by reaction with methyl-containing reactant neutrals, the only dissociation observed is loss of a methyl radical. Neutral losses of H₂ or CH₄, which are more thermodynamically stable, are not observed, which indicates that these reactions are either not kinetically competitive or have high energy transition states due to the fact that the reactions would need to occur via orbital symmetry forbidden 1,2 eliminations.     

Impact of enzymatic and alkaline hydrolysis on CBD concentration in urine

A sensitive and specific analytical method for cannabidiol (CBD) in urine was needed to define urinary CBD pharmacokinetics after controlled CBD administration, and to confirm compliance with CBD medications including Sativex—a cannabis plant extract containing 1:1 ?⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and CBD. Non-psychoactive CBD has a wide range of therapeutic applications and may also influence psychotropic smoked cannabis effects. Few methods exist for the quantification of CBD excretion in urine, and no data are available for phase II metabolism of CBD to CBD-glucuronide or CBD-sulfate. We optimized the hydrolysis of CBD-glucuronide and/or -sulfate, and developed and validated a GC-MS method for urinary CBD quantification. Solid-phase extraction isolated and concentrated analytes prior to GC-MS. Method validation included overnight hydrolysis (16 h) at 37 °C with 2,500 units β-glucuronidase from Red Abalone. Calibration curves were fit by linear least squares regression with 1/x ² weighting with linear ranges (r ²?>?0.990) of 2.5–100 ng/mL for non-hydrolyzed CBD and 2.5–500 ng/mL for enzyme-hydrolyzed CBD. Bias was 88.7–105.3 %, imprecision 1.4–6.4 % CV and extraction efficiency 82.5–92.7 % (no hydrolysis) and 34.3–47.0 % (enzyme hydrolysis). Enzyme-hydrolyzed urine specimens exhibited more than a 250-fold CBD concentration increase compared to alkaline and non-hydrolyzed specimens. This method can be applied for urinary CBD quantification and further pharmacokinetics characterization following controlled CBD administration.     

Synthesis,reactions, and antimicrobial activity of some novel pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine,pyrazolo[4,3-e][1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidine,and pyrazolo[4,3-e][1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-c]pyrimidine derivatives

Treatment of N-phenyl-substituted benzenecarbo-hydrazonoyl chlorides 1a - d with malononitrile in sodium ethoxide solution gave 5-amino-4-cyanopyrazole derivatives 2 - 5 . Compounds 2 - 5 were converted to formidate derivatives 6 - 9 upon treatment with TEOF in acetic anhydride. The reaction of the latter products 6 - 9 with hydrazine hydrate gave imino-amino derivatives 10 - 13 , which was converted to hydrazino derivatives 14 - 17 by refluxing with hydrazine hydrate. Hydrazino as well as imino-amino derivatives undergo condensation, cyclization, and cycloaddition reactions to give pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine 18 - 21 , pyrazolo[4,3-e][1,2,4]triazolo-[3,4-c]pyrimidine 22 - 27 , and pyrazolo[3′,4′:4,5]pyrimido[1,6-b][1,2,4]triazine 42 - 44 derivatives. Antimicrobial studies are performed using two Gram-positive bacteria and two Gram-negative bacteria. Data indicated that compounds 5 , 28D , 29B , and 31D are exploring elevated antibacterial effects against all strains tested. Compound 28D is the most promising antibacterial agent against the delicate bacterial strain Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa with high effectiveness (low minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] value) 40 and 60 μg/mL, respectively.