In vivo radioprotective effects of Nigella sativa L oil and reduced glutathione against irradiation-induced oxidative injury and number of peripheral blood lymphocytes in rats

Radiotherapy is one of the most common therapies for treating human cancers. Several studies have indicated that irradiation induces reactive oxygen species (ROS), which play an important role in radiation damage of the cell. It has been shown that Nigella sativa L. (NS) and reduced glutathione (GSH) have both an antiperoxidative effect on different tissues and a scavenger effect on ROS. The purpose of this study was to determine the antioxidant and radio-protective roles of NS and GSH against irradiation-induced oxidative injury in an experimental model. The NS group was administrated NS (1 mL/kg body weight), the GSH group was injected GSH (150 mg/kg body weight) and the control group was given physiologic saline solution (1 mL/kg body weight) for 30 consecutive days before exposure to a single dose of 6 Gy of radiation. Animals were sacrificed after irradiation. Malondialdehyde, nitrate, nitrite (oxidative stress markers) and ascorbic acid, retinol, beta-carotene, GSH and ceruloplasmin (nonenzymatic antioxidant markers) levels and peripheral blood lymphocytes were measured in all groups. There were statistically significant differences between the groups for all parameters (P < 0.05). Whole-body irradiation caused a significant increase in blood malondialdehyde, nitrate and nitrite levels. The blood oxidative stress marker levels in irradiated rats that were pretreated with NS and GSH were significantly decreased; however, non-enzymatic antioxidant levels were significantly increased. Also, our results suggest that NS and GSH administration prior to irradiation prevent the number of alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase peripheral blood T lymphocytes from declining. These results clearly show that NS and GSH treatment significantly antagonize the effects of radiation. Therefore, NS and GSH may be a beneficial agent in protection against ionizing radiation-related tissue injury.     

NMR, UV, FT-IR, FT-Raman spectra and molecular structure (monomeric and dimeric structures) investigation of nicotinic acid N-oxide: A combined experimental and theoretical study

In this work, the experimental and theoretical UV, NMR, and vibrational features of nicotinic acid N-oxide (abbreviated as NANO, C(6)H(5)NO(3)) were studied. The ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectrum of studied compound that dissolved in water was examined in the range of 200-800nm. FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra in solid state were observed in the region 4000-400cm(-1) and 3500-50cm(-1), respectively. The (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra in DMSO were recorded. The geometrical parameters, energies and the spectroscopic properties of NANO were obtained for all four conformers from density functional theory (DFT) B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) basis set calculations. There are four conformers, C(n), n=1-4 for this molecule. The computational results identified the most stable conformer of title molecule as the C1 form. The complete assignments were performed on the basis of the total energy distribution (TED) of the vibrational modes, calculated with scaled quantum mechanics (SQM) method. (13)C and (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts of the molecule were calculated by using the gauge-invariant atomic orbital (GIAO) method. The electronic properties, such as excitation energies, absorption wavelengths, HOMO and LUMO energies, were performed by CIS approach. Finally the calculation results were applied to simulate infrared, Raman, and UV spectra of the title compound which show good agreement with observed spectra.     

Effects of the substitution of gallium with boron on the physical and mechanical properties of Ni–Mn–Ga shape memory alloys

The effects of the substitution of gallium with boron on the physical, mechanical and magnetic shape memory properties of Ni₅₁Mn_28.5Ga_20.5?x B _x (at.%) (x = 0, 1, 2, 3) polycrystalline alloys are investigated. It has been found that transformation temperatures are decreasing while hardness is increasing with boron addition. B-doping of NiMnGa alloys results in the formation of a second phase that increases its ductility and strength in compression. Moreover, saturation magnetization of austenite is decreasing, while Curie temperature of austenite is increasing with B-doping.     

The nilpotence height of for odd primes

K. G. Monks has recently shown that the element has nilpotence height in the mod Steenrod algebra. Here the method and result are generalized to show that for an odd prime the element has nilpotence height in the mod Steenrod algebra.

     

The high-mass component (>m/z 10 000) of coal tar pitch by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry and size-exclusion chromatography

The size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) of acetone-soluble, pyridine-soluble and pyridine-insoluble fractions of a coal tar pitch indicates a bimodal distribution in each fraction. The proportion of high-mass material excluded from the SEC column porosity increases with solvent polarity. The polymer calibration of SEC shows the mass range of the small molecules to be from approximately 100 u to approximately 6000 u, with the mass range of the large excluded molecules above 200 000 u and up to several million u. In contrast, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) shows a similar low-mass range of ion abundances (< m/z 6000), but with a smaller range of high-mass ion abundances, from approximately m/z 10 000 to 100 000. The large molecules may have three-dimensional structures to allow molecules of relatively low mass to behave as if they are of large size in SEC. Laser desorption mass spectrometry of the acetone- and pyridine-soluble fractions produced molecular ions of polycyclic aromatics that can be related to the known compositions from gas chromatography (GC) mass spectrometry. The experimental conditions used to generate the bimodal distribution by MALDI-MS involve reducing the ion signal intensities to avoid overload of the detector and enable detection of the high-mass ions, by reducing the high-mass detector voltage (i.e. sensitivity) and increasing the laser power.     

The vibration and buckling of laminated non-homogeneous orthotropic conical shells subjected to external pressure

In this paper, the free vibration and buckling of laminated homogeneous and non-homogeneous orthotropic truncated conical shells under lateral and hydrostatic pressures are studied. At first, the basic relations, the modified Donnell type dynamic stability and compatibility equations have been obtained for laminated orthotropic truncated conical shells, the Young's moduli and density of which vary piecewise continuously in the thickness direction. Applying superposition and Galerkin methods to the foregoing equations, the buckling pressures and dimensionless frequency parameter of laminated homogeneous and non-homogeneous orthotropic conical shells are obtained. The appropriate formulas for single-layer and laminated cylindrical shells made of homogeneous and non-homogeneous, orthotropic and isotropic materials are found as a special case. Finally, the effects of the number and ordering of layers, the variations of conical shell characteristics, together and separately variations of the Young's moduli and densities of the materials of layers on the critical lateral and hydrostatic pressures, and frequency parameter are found for different mode numbers. The results are compared with other works.     

Synthesis of palladium complexes derived from imidazolidin‐2‐ylidene ligands and used for catalytic amination reactions

N‐Aryl amination and the Buchwald–Hartwig reaction are of great synthetic and industrial interest and scientists accept their usefulness and versatility for obtaining arylamines. In this study Ag–N‐heterocyclic carbene complexes were used as transmetallation reagents for the synthesis of Pd–N‐heterocyclic carbene complexes. The new Pd–N‐heterocyclic carbene complexes were characterized using elemental analysis and ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and infrared spectroscopies. The crystal structure of one, namely dichlorobis[1,3‐bis(2‐methylbenzyl)imidazolidin‐2‐yliden]palladium(II), is presented. The activity of the Pd(II) complexes in the coupling reaction of anilines or amines with bromobenzene was investigated. These complexes exhibited high catalytic activities in the direct synthesis of triarylamines and secondary amines in a single step. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coupling Infusion and Gyration for the Nanoscale Assembly of Functional Polymer Nanofibers Integrated with Genetically Engineered Proteins

Nanofibers featuring functional nanoassemblies show great promise as enabling constituents for a diverse range of applications in areas such as tissue engineering, sensing, optoelectronics, and nanophotonics due to their controlled organization and architecture. An infusion gyration method is reported that enables the production of nanofibers with inherent biological functions by simply adjusting the flow rate of a polymer solution. Sufficient polymer chain entanglement is obtained at Berry number > 1.6 to make bead‐free fibers integrated with gold nanoparticles and proteins, in the diameter range of 117–216 nm. Integration of gold nanoparticles into the nanofiber assembly is followed using a gold‐binding peptide tag genetically conjugated to red fluorescence protein (DsRed). Fluorescence microscopy analysis corroborated with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) data confirms the integration of the engineered red fluorescence protein with the nanofibers. The gold nanoparticle decorated nanofibers having red fluorescence protein as an integral part keep their biological functionality including copper‐induced fluorescence quenching of the DsRed protein due to its selective Cu⁺² binding. Thus, coupling the infusion gyration method in this way offers a simple nanoscale assembly approach to integrate a diverse repertoire of protein functionalities into nanofibers to generate biohybrid materials for imaging, sensing, and biomaterial applications.

     

Beeinflussung des O/P-verhältnisses bei azokupplungen mit 1-naphthol durch grenzflächenreaktion

At the interface of water-organic two-phase systems benzenediazonium salts couple with 1-naphthol preferentially at the 2-position.     

Ring-expanded iridium and rhodium N-heterocyclic carbene complexes: a comparative DFT study of heterocycle ring size and metal center diversity

A new series of ring-expanded six- and seven-membered N-heterocyclic carbene precursors (re-NHCs) and their transition metal complexes were synthesized. The basic properties of the synthesized materials were investigated by density functional theory (DFT). The six- and seven-membered re-NHCs were synthesized in good yield via reaction of the corresponding alkyldibromides or alkyldiiodides with N,N′-bis-(2-phenylbenzene)formamidine in the presence of K₂CO₃ under aerobic conditions. Complexes, represented by the formula [ML_1,2(COD)Cl] (where M = Ir or Rh and L is a ring-expanded N-heterocyclic carbene ligand), were synthesized in the presence of the corresponding free carbene and iridium or rhodium metal precursors in tetrahydrofuran. All new re-NHC complexes were characterized by different analytical techniques, including NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV spectroscopy and elemental analysis. According to molecular electrostatic potential calculations, the electrophilic properties of the complexes were aligned, from highest to lowest, as Ir-6-DiPh, Rh-6-DiPh and Ir-7-DiPh. The HOMO, LUMO and energy gaps of the complexes were calculated by DFT. On the basis of the DFT analysis, it can be predicted that Rh-6-DiPh is the most stable complex and Ir-7-DiPh is more reactive than Ir-6-DiPh.