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.     

Bosonic quartic couplings at LEP2

We list the set of and conserving anomalous quartic vector bosons self-couplings which can be tested at LEP2 through triple vector boson production. We show how this set can be embedded in manifestly gauge invariant operators exhibiting an global symmetry. We derive bounds on these various couplings and show the most relevant distributions that can enhance their contribution. We also find that an collider running at 500 GeV can improve the LEP2 limits by as much as three-orders of magnitude. Received: 9 September 1999 / Revised version: 19 October 1999 / Published online: 17 February 2000     

Double Higgs production at the linear colliders and the probing of the Higgs self-coupling

We study double Higgs production in the e⁺e^? and γγ modes of the linear collider. It is also shown how one can probe the scalar potential in these reactions. We discuss the effective longitudinal W approximation in γγ processes and the W _LW_L luminosities in the two modes of a high-energy linear collider. A generalised non-linear gauge-fixing condition, which is particularly useful for tree-level calculations of electroweak processes for the laser induced collider, is presented. Its connection with the background-field approach to gauge fixing is given.     

Chemical properties and cytotoxic activity of complexes of platinum(II) and palladium(II) containing dmso and various anions; synthesis and structural characterization of [Pt(dmso)2{O2(CO)2CCH2CH2CH2}]

Treatment of cis-[Pt(dmso)₂Cl₂] with 2 mol of KBr or KI leads to the formation of the analogous dibromide or diiodide complexes. Treatment of [M(dmso)₂Cl₂] [M = Pt (cis-) or Pd (trans-)] with AgNO₃ (2 mol) in H₂O followed by 1mol of potassium oxalate, maleate, cyclobutane dicarboxylate (CBDC), malonate or 2mol of potassium cyclohexane carboxylate or pivalate leads to the formation of the corresponding Pt^II and Pd^II carboxylate complexes. The single crystal X-ray structure determination of [Pt(dmso)₂(CBDC)] has been discussed and compared with data on other related complexes. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of some of these complexes against eight tumour cell lines has been examined using the MTT-colorimetric assay.     

Full one-loop corrections to the relic density in the MSSM: A few examples

We show the impact of the electroweak, and in one instance the QCD, one-loop corrections on the relic density of dark matter in the MSSM which is provided by the lightest neutralino. We cover here some of the most important scenarios: annihilation into fermions for a bino-like neutralino, annihilation involving gauge bosons in the case of a mixed neutralino, the neutralino–stau co-annihilation region and annihilation into a bottom quark pair. The corrections can be large and should be taken into account in view of the present and forthcoming increasing precision on the relic density measurements. Our calculations are made possible thanks to a newly developed automatic tool for the calculation at one-loop of any process in the MSSM. We have implemented a complete on-shell gauge invariant renormalisation scheme, with the possibility of switching to other schemes. In particular we will report on the impact of different renormalisation schemes for tanβ$\tan \beta$.     

Impact of Tween 60 on physicochemical properties and stability of Pistacia lentiscus fruit oil-in-water emulsion at a semi-low temperature

This study shows the effects of the Tween 60 emulsifier at different concentrations on the aqueous emulsion containing 5% of Pistacia lentiscus fruit oil. The rheological behavior and the droplet size distribution of cosmetic oil-in-water emulsions were investigated. This investigation was carried out by analyzing the shear flow and dynamic oscillatory followed by microscopic analysis and physical stability study for 24?hours and 4 months. During the period of 4 months, the emulsions were stored in a refrigerator at a semi-low temperature 12?°C. The physical stability test showed that the sample not emulsified yielded a creaming process after a short aging time. Flow curves of emulsions prepared with TW 60 exhibited a non-linear relationship between the shear stress σ and shear rate γ ?, which implies that the Herschel–Bulkley rheological model was the appropriate model for the shear flow. The increase of emulsifier quantities leading to an increase in the internal structure coherence, whereas the excess quantity affects the structure. Therefore, the optimal quantity proposed was 3.47%. Furthermore, the storage time at a semi-low temperature performed the stability and maintain the structure of emulsions.     

Looking for the LEP at LEP. The excited neutrino scenario

It is suggested to use LEP for a systematic search of excited neutrinos. These are expected to be the lightest excited particles (LEPs) in models of substructure and therefore could be the first direct signal of compositeness in the fermionic sector. Their signatures and production are presented. It is shown how one can extract their masses and couplings or else set limits on these parameters in case of a negative search. A comparison with heavy sequential neutrinos and heavy neutrals emanating from theories of grand unification and supersymmetry is briefly made.