l-Arginine Improves Solubility and ANTI SARS-CoV-2 Mpro Activity of Rutin but Not the Antiviral Activity in Cells

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak prompts an urgent need for efficient therapeutics, and repurposing of known drugs has been extensively used in an attempt to get to anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents in the shortest possible time. The glycoside rutin shows manifold pharmacological activities and, despite its use being limited by its poor solubility in water, it is the active principle of many pharmaceutical preparations. We herein report our in silico and experimental investigations of rutin as a SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitor and of its water solubility improvement obtained by mixing it with l-arginine. Tests of the rutin/l-arginine mixture in a cellular model of SARS-CoV-2 infection highlighted that the mixture still suffers from unfavorable pharmacokinetic properties, but nonetheless, the results of this study suggest that rutin might be a good starting point for hit optimization.     

Approximating Band- and Energy-Limited Signals in the Presence of Jitter

This paper deals with recovering band- and energy-limited signals from a finite set of their perturbed samples taken at slightly wrong points. The perturbations in sample points reading (called jitter) and in the measurements of the corresponding samples are assumed to be bounded byγandδ, respectively. The goal is to analyze how the minimal worst-case recovery error depends onγandδ. This is accomplished by proving tight upper and lower bounds on the diameter of information. The main conclusion is that the jitter causes the error of orderγΔ^3/2+δ, whereΔis the bandwidth.     

Solubility of Solid 2-Methyl-1,3-butadiene (Isoprene) in Liquid Argon and Nitrogen at the Standard Boiling Points of the Solvents

The solubility of solid 2-methyl-1,3-butadiene (isoprene) in liquid argon at a temperature of 87.3 K and in liquid nitrogen at 77.4 K has been measured by the filtration method. The hydrocarbon contents in solutions were determined using gas chromatography. GC–MS was used to identify impurities in the solute. The experimental value of the mole fraction solubility of solid isoprene in liquid argon at 87.3 K is (1.41 ± 0.27) × 10^–6 and (1.56 ± 0.36) × 10^–7 in liquid nitrogen at 77.4 K. The Preston–Prausnitz method was used for calculation of the solubilities of solid hydrocarbon in liquid argon in the temperature range 84.0–110.0 K and in liquid nitrogen from 64.0 to 90.0 K. The solvent–solute interaction parameters l ₁₂ were also calculated. At 90.0 K liquid argon is a better solvent for isoprene than is liquid nitrogen. The experimental values of the solubilities of isoprene in liquid argon and nitrogen were compared with results obtained for selected unsaturated and aromatic hydrocarbons.     

Effect of the orientation of the optic axis on simulated scattering matrix elements of small birefringent particles

We study how the orientation of the optic axis affects single-scattering properties for small, birefringent calcite particles simulated using DDSCAT 7.1.1. We consider two irregular model particles, a flake and a rhomboid, in either a (i)?fixed or (ii)?random orientation. Simulations are performed for three volume-equivalent radii of 0.1, 0.45, and 1.0?μm. For each target, we repeat the computations for three sets of orientations of the optic axis. When a fixed spatial orientation of the target is considered, the simulations are significantly affected by the orientation of the optic axis. However, the effect is considerably weaker when assuming the same targets in random spatial orientation.     

Thermogravimetric Investigation of Antioxidant Activity of Selected Compounds in Lipid Oxidation

Uninhibited and inhibited autooxidation of ethyl linoleate(LnEt) in bulk phase initiated by 0.04 M azoisobutyronitrile (AIBN) was investigated by thermogravimetry in isothermal mode at 35, 40 and 50°C. LnEt oxidation was inhibited by:2,6-di-t-butyl-4-methylphenol (BHT), 2-t-butyl-6-methylphenol (BMP),2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (PAA), 2-hydroxyacetophenone (HAP), α-tocopherol,2,2'-methylene-bis-(4-methyl-6-t-butylphenol) (BIS), caffeic acid andβ-carotene. All investigated compounds showed antioxidant activity measured by induction time, values of rate of oxidation during induction period (R _inh) and values of kinetic chain length ν. At lower temperatures the monohydroxyphenols are more efficient inhibitors than dihydroxyphenols while at 50°C dihydroxyphenols have better antioxidant efficiency. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Symmetrically bifurcate hydrogen bonding—III (sym-o,o′ diacyl)-diphenylamines

Symmetrically bifurcate three-centre hydrogen bonding,

, was found in several (sym-o,o′-diacyl)-diphenylamines, [o(RCOC₆H₄)]₂NH.     

The Amsterdam–Granada Light Scattering Database

The Amsterdam Light Scattering Database proved to be a very successful way of promoting the use of the data obtained with the Amsterdam Light Scattering apparatus at optical wavelengths. Many different research groups around the world made use of the experimental data. After the closing down of the Dutch scattering apparatus, a modernized and improved descendant, the IAA Cosmic Dust Laboratory (CoDuLab), has been constructed at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA) in Granada, Spain. The first results of this instrument for water droplets and for two samples of clay particles have been published. We would now like to make these data also available to the community in digital form by introducing a new light scattering database, the Amsterdam–Granada Light Scattering Database (www.iaa.es/scattering). By combining the data from the two instruments in one database we ensure the continued availability of the old data, and we prevent fragmentation of important data over different databases. In this paper we present the Amsterdam–Granada Light Scattering Database.     

On the Fourier transform of SO(d)-finite measures on the unit sphere

The paper presents a simple new approach to the problem of computing Fourier transforms of SO(d)-finite measures on the unit sphere in the euclidean space. Representing such measures as restrictions of homogeneous polynomials we use the canonical decomposition of homogeneous polynomials together with the plane wave expansion to derive a formula expressing such transforms under two forms, one of which was established previously by F. J. Gonzalez Vieli. We showthat equivalence of these two forms is related to a certain multi-step recurrence relation for Bessel functions, which encompasses several classical identities satisfied by Bessel functions. We show it leads further to a certain periodicity relation for the Hankel transform, related to the Bochner- Coifman periodicity relation for the Fourier transform. The purported novelty of this approach rests on the systematic use of the detailed form of the canonical decomposition of homogeneous polynomials, which replaces the more traditional approach based on integral identities related to the Funk-Hecke theorem. In fact, in the companion paper the present authors were able to deduce this way a fairly general expansion theorem for zonal functions, which includes the plane wave expansion used here as a special case.Received: 7 May 2004; revised: 11 October 2004     

Facility for proton radiotherapy of eye cancer at IFJ PAN in Krakow

In the Henryk Niewodniczański Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Science in Krakow (IFJ PAN), Poland, in cooperation with the Department of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Oncology of the Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University and the Centre of Oncology of the Maria Sk?odowska-Curie Memorial Institute Krakow Branch, is running the project of designing and operating a proton ocular radiotherapy facility in which the 60 MeV proton beam accelerated in the AIC-144 isochronous cyclotron of IFJ PAN is applied. The facility will be able to satisfy national needs of ocular melanoma therapy in Poland (about 100 cases per year).     

Initial Studies on the Oxide System Cr2O3–Sb2O4

Differential thermal analysis (DTA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were utilized to study the phase equilibrium established in the subsolidus area of the system Cr₂ O₃ –Sb₂ O₄ . It was found that the components of the title system interact in ambient air to produce CrSbO₄ . The compound is stable up to ~1380°C, at which temperature it starts to decompose. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.