Symbiotic signaling in actinorhizal symbioses

Actinorhizal symbioses are mutualistic associations between plants belonging to eight angiosperm families and soil bacteria of the genus Frankia. These interactions lead to the formation of new root organs, actinorhizal nodules, where the bacteria are hosted and fix atmospheric nitrogen thus providing the plant with an almost unlimited source of nitrogen for its nutrition. It involves an elaborate signaling between both partners of the symbiosis. In recent years, our knowledge of this signaling pathway has increased tremendously thanks to a series of technical breakthroughs including the sequencing of three Frankia genomes [1] and the implementation of RNA silencing technology for two actinorhizal species. In this review, we describe all these recent advances, current researches on symbiotic signaling in actinorhizal symbioses and give some potential future research directions.     

Antifungal activities of amino acid ester functional pyrazolyl compounds against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. albedinis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast

Series of functional multidendate ligands based on pyrazole and amino acid derivatives were prepared in good and excellent yields (75–5%) by condensation of one equivalent of amino acid ester hydrochloride substrates with two equivalents of (3,5-dimethyl-1H–pyrazol-1-yl)methanol. These tridentate functionalized compounds and their starting materials were screened for their antifungal activities against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. albedinis and the yeast of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Considerable activities were recorded with respect to the two studied microorganisms.     

Structural and optical properties of thermally reduced graphene oxide for energy devices

Natural intercalation of the graphite oxide, obtained as a product of Hummer's method, via ultra-sonication of water dispersed graphite oxide has been carried out to obtain graphene oxide(GO) and thermally reduced graphene oxide(RGO).Here we report the effect of metallic nitrate on the oxidation properties of graphite and then formation of metallic oxide(MO) composites with GO and RGO for the first time. We observed a change in the efficiency of the oxidation process as we replaced the conventionally used sodium nitrate with that of nickel nitrate Ni(NO_3)_2, cadmium nitrate Cd(NO_3)_2,and zinc nitrate Zn(NO_3)_2. The structural properties were investigated by x-ray diffraction and observed the successful formation of composite of MO–GO and MO–RGO(M = Zn, Cd, Ni). We sought to study the effect on the oxidation process through optical characterization via UV-Vis spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy.Moreover, Thermo Gravimetric Analysis(TGA) was carried out to confirm 90% weight loss in each process thus proving the reliability of the oxidation cycles. We have found that the nature of the oxidation process of graphite powder and its optical and electrochemical characteristics can be tuned by replacing the sodium nitrate(NaNO_3) by other metallic nitrates as Cd(NO_3)_2, Ni(NO_3)_2, and Zn(NO_3)_2. On the basis of obtained results, the synthesized GO and RGO may be expected as a promising material in antibacterial activity and in electrodes fabrication for energy devices such as solar cell, fuel cell,and super capacitors.     

Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of essential oils from organically cultivated fennel cultivars

Essential oils of the fruits of three organically grown cultivars of Egyptian fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum, Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce and Foeniculum vulgare var. vulgare) were examined for their chemical constituents, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of the essential oils revealed the presence of 18 major monoterpenoids in all three cultivars but their percentage in each oil were greatly different. trans-Anethole, estragole, fenchone and limonene were highly abundant in all of the examined oils. Antioxidant activities of the essential oils were evaluated using the DPPH radical scavenging, lipid peroxidation and metal chelating assays. Essential oils from the azoricum and dulce cultivars were more effective antioxidants than that from the vulgare cultivar. Antimicrobial activities of each oil were measured against two species of fungi, two species of Gram negative and two species of Gram positive bacteria. All three cultivars showed similar antimicrobial activity.     

On one sided ideals of a semiprime ring with generalized derivations

Let R be a ring with center Z(R). An additive mapping ${F : R \longrightarrow R}$ is said to be a generalized derivation on R if there exists a derivation ${d : R \longrightarrow R}$ such that F(xy) = F(x)y + xd(y), for all ${x, y \in R}$ (the map d is called the derivation associated with F). Let R be a semiprime ring and U be a nonzero left ideal of R. In the present note we prove that if R admits a generalized derivation F, d is the derivation associated with F such that d(U) ≠ (0) then R contains some nonzero central ideal, if one of the following conditions holds: (1) R is 2-torsion free and ${F(xy) \in Z(R)}$ , for all ${x, y \in U}$ , unless F(U)U = UF(U) = Ud(U) = (0); (2) ${F(xy) \mp yx \in Z(R)}$ , for all ${x,y \in U}$ ; (3) ${F(xy) \mp [x,y] \in Z(R)}$ , for all ${x,y \in U}$ ; (4) F ≠ 0 and F([x,y]) = 0, for all ${x, y \in U}$ , unless Ud(U) = (0); (5) F ≠ 0 and ${F([x, y]) \in Z(R)}$ , for all ${x, y \in U}$ , unless either d(Z(R))U = (0) or Ud(U) = (0)n.     

Comparative efficacy of locally isolated fungal strains for Pb(II) removal and recovery from water

The present investigation aimed to study and compare the efficiency of non-viable fungal isolates to remove divalent lead (Pb(II)) from aqueous streams. The selected fungal isolates showed identity with Aspergillus caespitosus, Aureobasidium sp. RBSS-303 and Aspergillus flavus HF5 as confirmed using gene sequencing of ITS regions of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA). The obtained equilibrium data for Pb(II) biosorption of A. caespitosus fitted better to Langmuir isotherm with maximum sorption capacity of 351.0 mg/g and A. sp. RBSS-303 and A. flavus HF5 showed good fit to Freundlich isotherm with maximum sorption capacity of 271.5 and 346.3 mg/g respectively. The values of thermodynamic factors ascertained the nature of adsorption process is endothermic with A. caespitosus and A. flavus HF5 but exothermic with A. sp. RBSS-303. The experimental data for Pb(II) biosorption fits very well to pseudo second order kinetic model. With HCl the maximum 85.5, 75.3, 73.7% recovery of Pb(II) was obtained from A. caespitosus, A. sp. RBSS-303 and A. flavus HF5, respectively. The observed percentage loss in sorption capacity of Pb(II) was 3.9% by A. flavus HF5, 12.2% by A. caespitosus and 26.6% by A. sp. RBSS-303 after five cyclic studies of sorption and desorption. Results from the study confirmed the efficiency order of A. caespitosus > A. flavus HF5 > A. sp. RBSS-303 to remove and recover Pb(II) from aqueous solution. Finally, the fungal biosorbents can be used as soil conditioning agent after compositing into valuables fungal protein.     

Antioxidant activity and kinetics studies of eugenol and 6-bromoeugenol

In this work, we report the antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity of 6-bromoeugenol and eugenol. EC₅₀, the concentration providing 50% inhibition, is calculated and the antioxidant activity index (AAI) is evaluated. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging method. EC₅₀ values of 6-bromoeugenol, ascorbic acid and eugenol were 34.270 μg/mL, 54.888 μg/mL and 130.485 μg/mL, respectively. 6-Bromoeugenol showed higher AAI value (1.122) followed by ascorbic acid (0.700), then by eugenol (0.295). We also investigate the kinetics of DPPH radical scavenging activity of our products to determine the useful parameter TEC₅₀ to evaluate their antiradical efficiency (ARE). Our results have shown high ARE. This study has provided the following ARE ( × 10^? 3) order for the tested antioxidants: ascorbic acid (70.119)>6-bromoeugenol (34.842) > eugenol (21.313). Finally, we classify ascorbic acid and eugenol as fast kinetics reaction (TEC₅₀ 8.82 and 11.38 min, respectively) and 6-bromoeugenol as medium kinetics reaction (TEC₅₀ 39.24 min).     

A Novel Distachionate from Breynia distachia Treats Inflammations by Modulating COX-2 and Inflammatory Cytokines in Rat Liver Tissue

Breynia distachia is a plant of genus Breynia belonging to family Phyllanthaceae. This study was conducted to isolate and examine the anti-inflammatory attributes of the roots of Breynia distachia. Methanol extract from roots were prepared by simple maceration. For phytochemical studies, isolation, purification, structure elucidation, metal analysis, total phenolic content, and solubility test were done by chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated by cotton pallet edema model and carrageenan paw edema model, and antioxidant potential was evaluated by DPPH, FRAP, and ABTS antioxidants assays. Metal analysis of BD.Me revealed the presence of Na > Mg > K > Mn > Fe = Zn in respective order. Four phytochemicals such as gallic acid, quercetin, sinapic acid, and p-coumaric acid are found in Breynia distachia. Quercetin is present in relatively larger quantity, and shows antioxidant activity by reducing the ferric iron to ferrous iron. Novel distachionate shows high antioxidant activity in ABTS assay by reducing reactive oxygen species. Quantitative or qualitative analysis performed by HPLC indicates the ascending peaks or presence of secondary products (metabolites) respectively. Histopathology analysis of liver, spleen, heart, and kidney was done, revealing mild inflammations in spleen and liver, and no cytotoxicity in heart and kidney. Oral administration of BD.Me and ditachionate significantly inhibits the carrageenan and cotton pellet-induced paw edema in 1st and 2nd h with (ns = p > 0.05) than control. After 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th h, BD.Me and ditachionate showed inhibition of paw edema in a highly significant (*** = p < 0.001) manner as compared to control. In cotton-pellet edema model, distachionate shows a %inhibition of 57.3% at a dose level of 5 mg/kg. Docking values obtained from distachionate-COX-2 complex suggest a potent inhibitor evaluated for this protein. The distachionate shows effective anti-inflammatory activity. Methanol extracts of roots showed significant lipoxygenase inhibitory activity by IC₅₀ values of 155.7 ± 0.55 and 132.9 ± 0.33 μg/mL. Data from various in vitro and in vivo models suggest that novel distachionate isolated from Breynia distachia shows strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities; it should be further studied for the exploration of its medicinal potential.     

The role of Ga substitution on magnetic and electromagnetic properties of nano-sized W-type hexagonal ferrites

A series of nano-sized single phase W-type SrGa_xZn₂Fe_16?xO₂₇ (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) hexaferrites prepared by sol gel technique and sintered at 950 °C have been investigated. The thermal decomposition behavior of nitrate–citrate gel of as prepared powder was investigated by means of DTA/TGA analysis. The sintered powders were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM, VSM and vector network analyzer (VNA). X-ray diffraction patterns for pure and substituted W-type hexaferrites show the single phase structure with no impurity phase. The lattice parameters (a and c) decrease with the increase of Ga contents (x). The grain size estimated from SEM images is in the range of 139–76 nm which confirms the nanocrystalline nature of the investigated samples. The saturation magnetization (M_s) decreases whereas coercivity (H_c) increases with the increase of Ga contents (x). The values of H_c for all of the investigated samples lie in the range of few hundred oersteds which is one of the necessary conditions for EM materials. The microwave absorption property is enhanced in the frequency (with respect to ?20 dB) from 0.5 to 13 GHz, and the bandwidth reaches 0.899 GHz. The attenuation peak value is ?32 dB at the matching thickness of 3.4 mm.