Preparation and dispersion stability of aqueous metal oxide nanofluids for potential heat transfer applications: a review of experimental studies

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Nanofluids have recently attracted attention of many researchers due to their growing potential applications in heat transfer devices. They possess...     

Selenium Alleviates the Adverse Effect of Drought in Oilseed Crops Camelina (Camelina sativa L.) and Canola (Brassica napus L.)

Drought poses a serious threat to oilseed crops by lowering yield and crop failures under prolonged spells. A multi-year field investigation was conducted to enhance the drought tolerance in four genotypes of Camelina and canola by selenium (Se) application. The principal aim of the research was to optimize the crop yield by eliciting the physio-biochemical attributes by alleviating the adverse effects of drought stress. Both crops were cultivated under control (normal irrigation) and drought stress (skipping irrigation at stages i.e., vegetative and reproductive) conditions. Four different treatments of Se viz., seed priming with Se (75 μM), foliar application of Se (7.06 μM), foliar application of Se + Seed priming with Se (7.06 μM and 75 μM, respectively) and control (without Se), were implemented at the vegetative and reproductive stages of both crops. Sodium selenite (Na₂SeO₃), an inorganic compound was used as Se sources for both seed priming and foliar application. Data regarding physiochemical, antioxidants, and yield components were recorded as response variables at crop maturity. Results indicated that WP, OP, TP, proline, TSS, TFAA, TPr, TS, total chlorophyll contents, osmoprotectant (GB, anthocyanin, TPC, and flavonoids), antioxidants (APX, SOD, POD, and CAT), and yield components (number of branches per plant, thousand seed weight, seed, and biological yields were significantly improved by foliar Se + priming Se in both crops under drought stress. Moreover, this treatment was also helpful in boosting yield attributes under irrigated (non-stress) conditions. Camelina genotypes responded better to Se application as seed priming and foliar spray than canola for both years. It has concluded that Se application (either foliar or priming) can potentially alleviate adverse effects of drought stress in camelina and canola by eliciting various physio-biochemicals attributes under drought stress. Furthermore, Se application was also helpful for crop health under irrigated condition.     

Is PF-00835231 a Pan-SARS-CoV-2 Mpro Inhibitor? A Comparative Study

The COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread worldwide at a rapid rate. Currently, the absence of any effective antiviral treatment is the major concern for the global population. The reports of the occurrence of various point mutations within the important therapeutic target protein of SARS-CoV-2 has elevated the problem. The SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) is a major therapeutic target for new antiviral designs. In this study, the efficacy of PF-00835231 was investigated (a Mpro inhibitor under clinical trials) against the Mpro and their reported mutants. Various in silico approaches were used to investigate and compare the efficacy of PF-00835231 and five drugs previously documented to inhibit the Mpro. Our study shows that PF-00835231 is not only effective against the wild type but demonstrates a high affinity against the studied mutants as well.     

Host-guest molecular encapsulation of cucurbit[7]uril with dillapiole congeners using docking simulation and density functional theory approaches

Structural Chemistry - Binding affinity and intermolecular interactions are essential characteristics that could be used to comprehend molecular recognition between molecules in supramolecular...     

Phosphorylated cellulose for water purification: a promising material with outstanding adsorption capacity towards methylene blue

Cellulose - Enhancing the sorption properties of cellulose is a prerequisite for its efficient use in water purification as an alternative to costly activated carbon. Here, solvent-free...     

Utilization of silica–chitosan nanocomposite for removal of 152+154Eu radionuclide from aqueous solutions

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Nano-silica (Si-AL800) was extracted from the thermally treated rice husk ash by acid leaching route. Coating surface of the extracted silica with...     

Evaluation of 2-Thioxoimadazolidin-4-one Derivatives as Potent Anti-Cancer Agents through Apoptosis Induction and Antioxidant Activation: In Vitro and In Vivo Approaches

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most widespread malignancies and is reported as the fourth most prevalent cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the probable mechanistic cytotoxic effect of the promising 2-thioxoimidazolidin-4-one derivative on liver cancer cells using in vitro and in vivo approaches. The compounds were tested for the in vitro cytotoxic activity using MTT assay, and the promising compound was tested in colony forming unit assay, flow cytometric analysis, RT-PCR, Western blotting, in vivo using SEC-carcinoma and in silico to highlight the virtual mechanism of action. Both compounds 4 and 2 performed cytotoxic effects against HepG2 cells with IC₅₀ values of 0.017 and 0.18 μM, respectively, compared to Staurosporine and 5-Fu as reference drugs with IC₅₀ values of 5.07 and 5.18 µM, respectively. Compound 4 treatment revealed apoptosis induction by 19.35-fold (11.42% compared to 0.59% in control), arresting the cell cycle at G2/M phase. Moreover, studying gene expression that plays critical roles in cell cycle and apoptosis by RT-PCR demonstrated that compound 4 enhances the expression of the pro-apoptotic genes p53, PUMA, and Caspase 3, 8, and 9, and impedes the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 gene in the HepG2 cells. It can also inhibit the PI3K/AKT pathway at both gene and protein levels, which was reinforced by the in silico predictions of the molecular docking simulations towards the PI3K/AKT proteins. Finally, in vivo study verified that compound 4 has a promising anti-cancer activity through activating antioxidant levels (CAT, SOD and GSH) and ameliorating hematological, biochemical, and histopathological findings.     

Stealth Liposomes (PEGylated) Containing an Anticancer Drug Camptothecin: In Vitro Characterization and In Vivo Pharmacokinetic and Tissue Distribution Study

Numerous attempts to overcome the poor water solubility of cam ptothecin (CPT) by various nano drug delivery systems are described in various sources in the literature. However, the results of these approaches may be hampered by the incomplete separation of free CPT from the formulations, and this issue has not been investigated in detail. This study aimed to promote the solubility and continuous delivery of CPT by developing long-lasting liposomes using various weights (M.W. 2000 and 5000 Daltons) of the hydrophilic polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG). Conventional and PEGylated liposomes containing CPT were formulated via the lipid film hydration method (solvent evaporation) using a rotary flash evaporator after optimising various formulation parameters. The following physicochemical characteristics were investigated: surface morphology, particle size, encapsulation efficiency, in vitro release, and formulation stability. Different molecular weights of PEG were used to improve the encapsulation efficiency and particle size. The stealth liposomes prepared with PEG₅₀₀₀ were discrete in shape and with a higher encapsulation efficiency (83 ± 0.4%) and a prolonged rate of drug release (32.2% in 9 h) compared with conventional liposomes (64.8 ± 0.8% and 52.4%, respectively) and stealth liposomes containing PEG₂₀₀₀ (79.00 ± 0.4% and 45.3%, respectively). Furthermore, the stealth liposomes prepared with PEG₅₀₀₀ were highly stable at refrigeration temperature. Significant changes were observed using various pharmacokinetic parameters (mean residence time (MRT), half-life, elimination rate, volume of distribution, clearance, and area under the curve) of stealth liposomes containing PEG₂₀₀₀ and PEG₅₀₀₀ compared with conventional liposomes. The stealth liposomes prepared with PEG₅₀₀₀ showed promising results with a slow rate of release over a long period compared with conventional liposomes and liposomes prepared with PEG₂₀₀₀, with altered tissue distribution and pharmacokinetic parameters.     

Analysis,design and simulation of MIM plasmonic filters with different geometries for technical parameters improvement

In this paper, four optical filter topologies based on metal–insulator–metal waveguides are proposed and the designed structures are investigated numerically using finite-difference timedomain method. Triangular-shaped adjunctions have been added to the filter structures to improve their transmission spectrum. These improved structures consist of air as the insulator and silver as the metal. The relative permittivity of metal has been described via the Drude,Drude–Lorentz, and Palik models. The first filter's transmission spectrum shows an acceptable transmittance. In the second optimized filter, the transmission spectrum has been improved. The transmittance spectrum can be tuned through adjusting the edge of the triangle in these four optimized filters. As a result, the bandwidths of resonance spectra can be adjusted. The theory of such tapered structures will be investigated by the tapered transmission line and will be solved with the transfer matrix method. This method shows a better performance and higher transmission efficiency in comparison with the basic structures. On the other hand, the final filter has been chosen as the best one because of its hexagonal resonator. The main reason for having a better result is due to a longer interaction length in comparison with the circular resonator. This in turn creates much better energy coupling and results in higher transmission.     

Ferroptosis: A New Road towards Cancer Management

Ferroptosis is a recently described programmed cell death mechanism that is characterized by the buildup of iron (Fe)-dependent lipid peroxides in cells and is morphologically, biochemically, and genetically distinct from other forms of cell death, having emerged to play an important role in cancer biology. Ferroptosis has significant importance during cancer treatment because of the combination of factors, including suppression of the glutathione peroxidase 4 (Gpx4), cysteine deficiency, and arachidonoyl (AA) peroxidation, which cause cells to undergo ferroptosis. However, the physiological significance of ferroptosis throughout development is still not fully understood. This current review is focused on the factors and molecular mechanisms with the diagrammatic illustrations of ferroptosis that have a role in the initiation and sensitivity of ferroptosis in various malignancies. This knowledge will open a new road for research in oncology and cancer management.