Perisomalien A,a new cytotoxic scalarane sesterterpene from the fruits of Periploca somaliensis

Abstract

The CHCl₃ fraction of MeOH extract of Periploca somaliensis (family Asclepiadaceae) fruits afforded a new scalarane sesterterpene, namely perisomalien A (1), along with lupeol acetate (2), β-amyrin (3), cycloart-23Z-ene-3β,25-diol (4), and β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5). Their chemical structures were established by various spectroscopic analyses, in addition to comparison with the formerly reported data. Moreover, the cytotoxic activity of these metabolites was assessed towards MCF-7, HepG2, and HCT-116 tumour cell lines using sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Compound 4 showed the most potent cytotoxic profile with IC₅₀ 9.0?µM towards MCF-7, compared to doxorubicin (IC₅₀ 0.18?µM). Also, 1 and 4 possessed the most potent effect towards HepG2 with IC₅₀s 26.7 and 25.9?μM, respectively. In addition, all tested compounds showed cytotoxic effects with IC₅₀ values ranging from 19.9 to 39.3?µM against HCT-116.     

Platinum oxide catalyzed silylation of aryl halides with triethylsilane: an efficient synthetic route to functionalized aryltriethylsilanes

[STRUCTURE: SEE TEXT] The first platinum-catalyzed selective silylation of aryl halides including aryl iodides and bromides having an electron-withdrawing group is described. The reaction takes place rapidly in NMP with triethylsilane as a silicon source and sodium acetate to provide functionalized aryltriethylsilanes in moderate to good yields. Heteroaromatic halides also were found to be readily silylated with triethylsilane. The procedure is chemoselective and tolerates a wide variety of functional groups.     

Method development and optimization for the determination of selenium in bean and soil samples using hydride generation electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The present investigation is the first part of an initiative to prepare a regional map of the natural abundance of selenium in various areas of Brazil, based on the analysis of bean and soil samples. Continuous-flow hydride generation electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-ET AAS) with in situ trapping on an iridium-coated graphite tube has been chosen because of the high sensitivity and relative simplicity. The microwave-assisted acid digestion for bean and soil samples was tested for complete recovery of inorganic and organic selenium compounds (selenomethionine). The reduction of Se(VI) to Se(IV) was optimized in order to guarantee that there is no back-oxidation, which is of importance when digested samples are not analyzed immediately after the reduction step. The limits of detection and quantification of the method were 30 ng L⁻¹ Se and 101 ng L⁻¹ Se, respectively, corresponding to about 3 ng g⁻¹ and 10 ng g⁻¹, respectively, in the solid samples, considering a typical dilution factor of 100 for the digestion process. The results obtained for two certified food reference materials (CRM), soybean and rice, and for a soil and sediment CRM confirmed the validity of the investigated method. The selenium content found in a number of selected bean samples varied between 5.5 ± 0.4 ng g⁻¹ and 1726 ± 55 ng g⁻¹, and that in soil samples varied between 113 ± 6.5 ng g⁻¹ and 1692 ± 21 ng g⁻¹.     

Relative Entropies for Kinetic Equations in Bounded Domains (Irreversibility,Stationary Solutions,Uniqueness)

(Accepted December 3, 2002) Published online June 2, 2003 Communicated by C. M. Dafermos     

X-ray study of microdroplet plasma formation under the action of superintense laser radiation

We have measured the X-ray emission spectra of a plasma generated by laser radiation with an intensity above 10¹⁹W/cm² and a pulse duration of 30 fs acting upon an argon jet target with a large abundance of micron-sized clusters. The time variation of the X-ray yield from ions of various multiplicities, calculated within the framework of a nonstationary kinetic model, shows a good qualitative agreement with the experimental time-integrated spectrum.     

Efficient stochastic model for the point kinetics equations

A new stochastic model for the point kinetics equations with I-delayed neutron precursor groups is presented. In this stochastic model, the point kinetics equations are separated into three terms: prompt neutrons, delayed neutrons and external neutrons source. The matrix form of the efficient stochastic model is solved by a semi-analytical method. The semi-analytical method is based on the exponential function of the coefficient matrix. The eigenvalues of the coefficient matrix and Gaussian elimination are used to calculate this exponential function. The mean and standard deviation of neutron and precursor populations of the efficient stochastic model with step, ramp, and sinusoidal reactivities are computed. The results of the efficient stochastic model are compared with the results of Allen's stochastic model for the point kinetics equations. This comparison confirms that the efficient stochastic model is an accurate model compared with the deterministic point kinetics equations. This stochastic model is efficient to study the natural behavior of neutron and precursor populations in the nuclear reactor dynamics.     

On the Uniqueness Theory of Entire Functions and Their Difference Operators

In this paper, we consider uniqueness problems on entire functions that share a small periodic entire functions with their shifts and difference operators, we improve also some results due to B. Chen, Z. X. Chen and S. Li.     

Some chain conditions in pullbacks

The main purpose of this paper is to study when a (T, I, D) construction ring is a C-ring in the sense of Echi (Port Math 50:277–295, 1993) where I is not necessarily a maximal ideal of T. This study allows us to generalize some results proved in Echi (Port Math 50:13–23, 1994) and to give new examples of C-rings.     

Bruguiera gymnorhiza (L.) Lam. at the Forefront of Pharma to Confront Zika Virus and Microbial Infections—An In Vitro and In Silico Perspective

The recent emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in Brazil and the increasing resistance developed by pathogenic bacteria to nearly all existing antibiotics should be taken as a wakeup call for the international authority as this represents a risk for global public health. The lack of antiviral drugs and effective antibiotics on the market triggers the need to search for safe therapeutics from medicinal plants to fight viral and microbial infections. In the present study, we investigated whether a mangrove plant, Bruguiera gymnorhiza (L.) Lam. (B. gymnorhiza) collected in Mauritius, possesses antimicrobial and antibiotic potentiating abilities and exerts anti-ZIKV activity at non-cytotoxic doses. Microorganisms Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 70603, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43300 (MRSA), Salmonella enteritidis ATCC 13076, Sarcina lutea ATCC 9341, Proteus mirabilis ATCC 25933, Bacillus cereus ATCC 11778 and Candida albicans ATCC 26555 were used to evaluate the antimicrobial properties. Ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol and streptomycin antibiotics were used for assessing antibiotic potentiating activity. ZIKV^MC-MR766NIID (ZIKV^GFP) was used for assessing anti-ZIKV activity. In silico docking (Autodock 4) and ADME (SwissADME) analyses were performed on collected data. Antimicrobial results revealed that Bruguiera twig ethyl acetate (BTE) was the most potent extract inhibiting the growth of all nine microbes tested, with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 0.19–0.39 mg/mL. BTE showed partial synergy effects against MRSA and Pseudomonas aeruginosa when applied in combination with streptomycin and ciprofloxacin, respectively. By using a recombinant ZIKV-expressing reporter GFP protein, we identified both Bruguiera root aqueous and Bruguiera fruit aqueous extracts as potent inhibitors of ZIKV infection in human epithelial A549 cells. The mechanisms by which such extracts prevented ZIKV infection are linked to the inability of the virus to bind to the host cell surface. In silico docking showed that ZIKV E protein, which is involved in cell receptor binding, could be a target for cryptochlorogenic acid, a chemical compound identified in B. gymnorhiza. From ADME results, cryptochlorogenic acid is predicted to be not orally bioavailable because it is too polar. Scientific data collected in this present work can open a new avenue for the development of potential inhibitors from B. gymnorhiza to fight ZIKV and microbial infections in the future.     

Jacobian of meromorphic curves

The contact structure of two meromorphic curves gives a factorization of their jacobian. Abhyankar’s work was partly supported by NSF Grant DMS 91-01424 and NSA grant MDA 904-97-1-0010.