Pharmacological Effects of Grifolin: Focusing on Anticancer Mechanisms

Grifolin is a volatile compound contained in essential oils of several medicinal plants. Several studies show that this substance has been the subject of numerous pharmacological investigations, which have yielded interesting results. Grifolin demonstrated beneficial effects for health via its multiple pharmacological activities. It has anti-microbial properties against bacteria, fungi, and parasites. In addition, grifolin exhibited remarkable anti-cancer effects on different human cancer cells. The anticancer action of this molecule is related to its ability to act at cellular and molecular levels on different checkpoints controlling the signaling pathways of human cancer cell lines. Grifolin can induce apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, autophagy, and senescence in these cells. Despite its major pharmacological properties, grifolin has only been investigated in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, further investigations concerning pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic tests are required for any possible pharmaceutical application of this substance. Moreover, toxicological tests and other investigations involving humans as a study model are required to validate the safety and clinical applications of grifolin.     

Hidden attractors in a new fractional–order discrete system: Chaos,complexity, entropy, and control

This paper studies the dynamics of a new fractional-order discrete system based on the Caputo-like difference operator.This is the first study to explore a three-dimensional fractional-order discrete chaotic system without equilibrium. Through phase portrait, bifurcation diagrams, and largest Lyapunov exponents, it is shown that the proposed fractional-order discrete system exhibits a range of different dynamical behaviors. Also, different tests are used to confirm the existence of chaos,such as 0–1 test and C0 complexity. In addition, the quantification of the level of chaos in the new fractional-order discrete system is measured by the approximate entropy technique. Furthermore, based on the fractional linearization method, a one-dimensional controller to stabilize the new system is proposed. Numerical results are presented to validate the findings of the paper.     

Polynuclear 3d complexes based on potentially tetra-anionic heptadentate ligands including amido,amino and phenoxo donors: Synthesis,crystal structure and magnetic properties

The synthesis and characterization of new dinuclear Mn^III and tetranuclear Cu^II complexes, [HL¹Mn(DMSO)]₂ (1) and [H₂L²Cu₂(MeO)₂]₂ (2), are reported (H₄L¹ = 2-hydroxy-N-[2-({2-[(2-hydroxybenzoyl)amino]ethyl}amino)ethyl]benzamide and H₄L² = 2-hydroxy-N-[3-({3-[(2-hydroxybenzoyl)amino]propyl}(methyl)amino)propyl]benzamide). Single crystal X-ray structures have been determined for 1 and 2. In 1 only one of the two amide functions of H₄L¹ is deprotonated in addition to the phenol ones, while in 2 all the amide functions of H₄L² are protonated and none of the potential nitrogen donors (amide and amine) is involved in the coordination to copper. HL¹ and H₂L² do not play the role of compartmental ligands and do not wrap around one Mn and one Cu ion, respectively, but embrace two metal centers yielding, with the respective assistance of auxiliary DMSO and methoxo ligands, dinuclear manganese and tetranuclear copper complexes, respectively. 1 includes two well isolated Mn^III ions (Mn?Mn′ = 7.33 Å) that do not interact magnetically. The intermolecular Mn?Mn″ distance along the 1D chains (10.17 Å) is also too large to allow extended magnetic interactions. The pairwise magnetic interactions between the copper(II) ions in the tetranuclear complex 2 are so large that the χ_MT product is already equal to zero at room temperature, implying that the antiferromagnetic interaction is around −1000 cm⁻¹, as observed previously for di-μ-hydroxo–dicopper complexes.     

Charge kinetics in spinel and yttria-stabilized zirconia

Spinel and zirconia were studied by measuring the total secondary electron emission (SEE) yield σ in a dedicated scanning electron microscope (SEM) especially equipped to study the fundamental aspects of the charge trapping in insulating materials during a 1.1 keV electron irradiation at room temperature. The variation of the total SEE yield with the injected dose for both spinel and zirconia is different. In spinel the coefficient σ starts from its intrinsic value σ₀ = 4 and reaches a plateau at σ = 1 at the end of irradiation, which corresponds to the self-regulated regime. The continuity of the curves, shot after shot, proves that the trapped charges are stable and does not spread out in the material as injection proceeds. In this case spinel is called “trapper insulator”. In contrast with the spinel, σ in zirconia, never reaches unity while the injected charge increases: it evolves from its intrinsic yield σ₀ = 2.3 to a steady value a few percent above 1. The curve shows the relaxation of the positive generated charge. In this case zirconia is called “conductive insulator”. The difference in the charging kinetics of the two materials is attributed to the difference in conductivities.     

Highly stereoselective coordination polymerization of β‐myrcene from a lanthanide‐based catalyst: Access to bio‐sourced elastomers

Polymerization of β‐myrcene with neodymium borohydride‐based coordination catalysts is very efficient, affording poly‐β‐myrcene (polymyrcene, PMy) with high selectivity. With stoichiometric amounts of n‐butylethyl magnesium (BEM) as co‐catalyst, good control over macromolecular data along with cis‐stereoselectivity up to 98.5%, are obtained. In the presence of excess BEM, high level of transfer reactions efficiency between neodymium and magnesium is clearly evidenced whereas the selectivity switches to 3,4‐rich. Combining the neodymium pre‐catalyst with triisobutyl aluminum in the presence of a boron activator affords PMy in good yield, but the polymer material displays low solubility, likely due to the occurrence of crosslinking. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Treatment with Glyphosate Induces Tolerance of Citrus Pathogens to Glyphosate and Fungicides but Not to 1,8-Cineole

During the postharvest period, citrus fruits are exposed to Penicillium italicum, Penicillium digitatum, and Geotrichum candidum. Pesticides such as imazalil (IMZ), thiabendazole (TBZ), orthophenylphenol (OPP), and guazatine (GUA) are commonly used as antifungals. Glyphosate (GP) is also used in citrus fields to eliminate weed growth. The sensitivity of fungal pathogens of citrus fruit to these pesticides and 1,8-cineole was evaluated, and the effect of GP on the development of cross-resistance to other chemicals was monitored over a period of 3 weeks. IMZ most effectively inhibited the mycelial growth and spore germination of P. digitatum and P. italicum, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 0.01 and 0.05 mg/mL, respectively, followed by 1,8-cineole, GP, and TBZ. 1,8-Cineole and GP more effectively inhibited the mycelial growth and spore germination of G. candidum, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 0.2 and 1.0 mg/mL, respectively, than OPP or GUA. For the spore germination assay, all substances tested showed a total inhibitory effect. Subculturing the fungal strains in culture media containing increasing concentrations of GP induced fungal tolerance to GP as well as to the fungicides. In soil, experiments confirmed that GP induced the tolerance of P. digitatum to TBZ and GP and the tolerance of P. italicum to IMZ, TBZ, and GP. However, no tolerance was recorded against 1,8-cineole. In conclusion, it can be said that 1,8-cineole may be recommended as an alternative to conventional fungicides. In addition, these results indicate that caution should be taken when using GP in citrus fields.     

A fractional map with hidden attractors: chaos and control

The European Physical Journal Special Topics - This paper studies the dynamics of a new fractional-order map with no fixed points. Through phase plots, bifurcation diagrams, largest Lyapunov...     

The bridged effect on the geometric,optoelectronic and charge transfer properties of the triphenylamine–bithiophene-based dyes: a DFT study

Research on Chemical Intermediates - The dye-sensitized solar cells containing a triphenylamine unit as the electron donor connected with a terminal cyanoacrylic acid electron acceptor by...     

Vegetables and Their Bioactive Compounds as Anti-Aging Drugs

Aging is a continuous process over time that is mainly related to natural alterations in mechanical–biological processes. This phenomenon is due to several factors, including the time and energy of biological processes. Aging can be attributed to biological factors such as oxidative stress, cell longevity, and stem cell senescence. Currently, aging is associated with several diseases, such as neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and other diseases related to oxidative stress. In addition, certain natural molecules, including those derived from vegetables, have shown the ability to delay the aging process. Their effects are linked to different mechanisms of action, such as tissue regeneration and the activation of longevity and anti-senescence genes. The present work discusses the impact of vegetables, and bioactive compounds isolated from vegetables, against the physiological and pathological aging process and accompanying human diseases.     

Synthesis of Cyclic Phosphates in Hot,Concentrated Phosphoric Acid

The synthesis of transition metal phosphates in hot, concentrated phosphoric acid medium leads to highly crystalline materials and to increased condensation of the phosphate at higher temperatures. Aluminum extraction from the porcelain crucible is also observed in some circumstances. Two new compounds were produced: (Al_3.28Cr_0.72)(P₄O₁₂)₃ a = 13.512(8) Å, cubic, I-43d, V = 2470(3) ų, Z = 6, density = 2.887 mg/m³, R = 0.055, GOF = 1.29 for 254 data points, was prepared at 748 K whereas (Al_1.97Cr_1.03)P₉O₂₇ a = b = 11.170(6), c = 9.412(9) Å, trigonal P – 3c1, V = 1017(1) ų, Z = 2, density = 2.669 mg/m³, R = 0.0581, GOF = 0.87 for 676 data points, was produced at 798 K from the heating of Cr₂O₃ in H₃PO₄ in a porcelain crucible. Crystal structures of both materials show mixed metal sites containing Al and Cr.