An energy-based three-dimensional segmentation approach for the quantitative interpretation of electron tomograms.

Electron tomography allows for the determination of the three-dimensional structures of cells and tissues at resolutions significantly higher than that which is possible with optical microscopy. Electron tomograms contain, in principle, vast amounts of information on the locations and architectures of large numbers of subcellular assemblies and organelles. The development of reliable quantitative approaches for the analysis of features in tomograms is an important problem, and a challenging prospect due to the low signal-to-noise ratios that are inherent to biological electron microscopic images. This is, in part, a consequence of the tremendous complexity of biological specimens. We report on a new method for the automated segmentation of HIV particles and selected cellular compartments in electron tomograms recorded from fixed, plastic-embedded sections derived from HIV-infected human macrophages. Individual features in the tomogram are segmented using a novel robust algorithm that finds their boundaries as global minimal surfaces in a metric space defined by image features. The optimization is carried out in a transformed spherical domain with the center an interior point of the particle of interest, providing a proper setting for the fast and accurate minimization of the segmentation energy. This method provides tools for the semi-automated detection and statistical evaluation of HIV particles at different stages of assembly in the cells and presents opportunities for correlation with biochemical markers of HIV infection. The segmentation algorithm developed here forms the basis of the automated analysis of electron tomograms and will be especially useful given the rapid increases in the rate of data acquisition. It could also enable studies of much larger data sets, such as those which might be obtained from the tomographic analysis of HIV-infected cells from studies of large populations.     

Separation of lanthanides using ion-interaction chromatography with HDEHP coated columns

A rapid and high resolution separation of lanthanides by HPLC technique has been developed using Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (HDEHP) coated reverse phase column and a-hydroxy isobutyric acid as the complexing reagent for elution. A gradient elution technique has been developed for achieving the separation of the entire lanthanide series. Isocratic elution procedure has also been developed for the separation of lighter (La to Gd) as well heavier lanthanides (Lu to Tb). This paper describes the separation methods developed and their application for the determination of lanthanides in a fission product mixture.     

Electronic and optical properties of edge modified peritetracene: a DFT study

Peritetracene (PTA) molecules have promising applications in organic electronics and organic light-emitting diodes, but the major constraints come from their poor stability with higher energy gap. We have investigated the stability, electronic, and optical properties of different electron-donating- and electron-withdrawing-substituted PTA molecule groups using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) methods. On substituting suitable electron donor and acceptor groups, the energy gap of PTA molecules reduces up to 0.37 eV with an increase in their stability. The stabilities of considered PTA molecules have been investigated using the distribution pattern of frontier molecular orbital energies. The charge transfer properties with smaller ionization potential and larger electron affinity for PTA molecule have been evaluated using Koopmans’ theorem. Enhancement in dipole moment, polarizability, and hyperpolarizability of PTA substituted with electron-donating groups shows the presence of NLO properties. Also, we have investigated the spectroscopic properties of different electron-donating- and electron-withdrawing-substituted PTA molecule groups. Our spectroscopic properties show the bathochromic shift and small hypsochromic shifts in wavelengths of PTA with substituents groups. It is therefore concluded that the –NCH₃ and –NO₂ substituent groups on PTA are observed to have the strongest and highest stability than the other substituent groups considered.

     

Antimicrobial flavonoids isolated from Indian medicinal plant Scutellaria oblonga inhibit biofilms formed by common food pathogens

Scutellaria oblonga Benth., a hitherto phytochemically unexplored Indian medicinal folklore plant was extracted with acetone and subjected to chromatography to yield nine flavonoids, for the first time from this plant. Antimicrobial assays were performed against 11 foodborne pathogens, and three molecules (Techtochrysin, Negletein and Quercitin-3-glucoside) depicted significant activity. These molecules were assessed for their rate of antibacterial action using time–kill curves which depicted complete inhibition of most of the bacteria within 12–16 h. The significant biofilm-reducing capability exhibited by these three molecules formed a significant finding of the current study. In most of the experiments, a 90–95% reduction in biofilms was observed. Thus, flavonoids as natural molecules from S. oblonga could be further researched to be used as potent antimicrobial and antibiofilm agents.     

Rapid biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using Crotalaria verrucosa leaves against the dengue vector Aedes aegypti: what happens around? An analysis of dragonfly predatory behaviour after exposure at ultra-low doses

Aedes aegypti is a primary vector of dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease infecting 50–100 million people every year. Here, we biosynthesised mosquitocidal silver nanoparticles (AgNP) using the aqueous leaf extract of Crotalaria verrucosa. The green synthesis of AgNP was studied by UV–vis spectroscopy, SEM, EDX and FTIR. C. verrucosa-synthesised AgNPs were toxic against A. aegypti larvae and pupae. LC₅₀ of AgNP ranged from 3.496 ppm (I instar larvae) to 17.700 ppm (pupae). Furthermore, we evaluated the predatory efficiency of dragonfly nymphs, Brachydiplax sobrina, against II and III instar larvae of A. aegypti in an aquatic environment contaminated with ultra-low doses of AgNP. Under standard laboratory conditions, predation after 24 h was 87.5% (II) and 54.7% (III). In an AgNP-contaminated environment, predation was 91 and 75.5%, respectively. Overall, C. verrucosa-synthesised AgNP could be employed at ultra-low doses to reduce larval population of dengue vectors enhancing predation rates of dragonfly nymphs.     

Facile one-pot synthesis of functionalized organophosphonate esters via ketone insertion into bulky arylphosphites

The reaction of phosphorus trichloride with 2,6-diisopropyl phenol in the presence of LiCl under reflux conditions for 24 h produces a mixture of (ArO)PCl₂ and (ArO)₂PCl (Ar = 2,6-iPr₂C₆H₃). The hydrolysis of the aryloxy compounds in acetone/H₂O results in the formation of two novel phosphonate ester derivatives [(ArO)P(O)(OH)(CMe₂OH)] (1) and [(ArO)₂P(O)(CMe₂OH)] (2), respectively in a moderate yield. The title compounds have presumably formed via acetone insertion to the P-H bonds of (ArO)P(O)(H)(OH) and (ArO)₂P(O)(H), respectively, in the presence of HCl produced during the hydrolysis. Compounds 1 and 2 have been characterized by elemental analysis, and ESI-mass, Infrared and NMR spectroscopic techniques. Further, solid state structures of 1 and 2 have been established by single crystals X-ray diffraction studies.     

New Indole Alkaloids from Kopsia. Alkaloid Variation in Kopsia singapurensis

Five new indole alkaloids, viz., kopsiloscine G ( 2 ), kopsidarine ( 4 ), kopsimaline F ( 6 ), kopsidine C N‐oxide ( 7 ), and aspidophylline B ( 9 ), in addition to 17 other known alkaloids, were obtained from the leaf and stem‐bark extract of the Malaysian Kopsia singapurensis. The structures were determined by using NMR and MS analysis. The results are compared with the alkaloidal composition of another sample of K. singapurensis, collected from the same location but at a different time of the year, as well as with other samples of K. singapurensis collected from different locations.     

Organic-soluble tri-, tetra-, and pentanuclear titanium(IV) phosphates

Bulky 2,6-disubstituted aryl esters of phosphoric acid, 2,6-dimethylphenyl phosphate (dmppH 2), and 2,6-diisopropylphenyl phosphate (dippH 2) react differently with Cp*TiCl 3 (Cp* = C 5Me 5) under identical reaction conditions. While dippH 2 and Cp*TiCl 3 react in THF at 25 degrees C to yield air-stable trinuclear titanophosphate cage [(Ti 3Cp*Cl(mu 2 -O)(dipp) 2(dippH) 4(THF)].(toluene) ( 1), the similar reaction involving dmppH 2 yields the tetranuclear titanophosphate [Ti 4Cl 2(mu 2 -O) 2(dmpp) 2(dmppH) 6(THF) 2].(toluene) 2 ( 2). Interestingly, the change of titanium source to Ti(O iPr) 4 in the reaction with dippH 2 produces a pentanuclear titanophosphate, [Ti 5(mu 3-O)(O iPr) 6((dipp) 6(THF)] ( 3). Compounds 1- 3 were the only products isolated as single crystals from the respective reaction mixtures in 59, 75, and 54% yield, respectively. The new clusters 1- 3 have been characterized by elemental analysis, IR and NMR ( (1)H and (31)P) spectroscopy, and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The structural elucidation reveals that in the reactions leading to 1 and 2, extensive Cp*-Ti bond cleavage occurs, leaving only one residual Cp*-ligand in cluster 1 and none in 2. Closer analysis of the structures of 1- 3 shows common structural features which in turn imply that the formation of all three products could have proceeded via a common Ti-O-Ti dimeric building block.     

Cooperative binding of phosphate anion and a neutral nitrogen donor to alkaline-Earth metal ions. Investigation of group 2 metal-organophosphate interaction in the absence and presence of 1,10-phenanthroline

Alkaline-earth metal phosphates containing nitrogen-donor ligands have been prepared by the reaction of alkaline-earth metal acetates M(OAc) 2. xH 2O (M = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) with 2,6-diisopropylphenyl phosphate (dippH 2) in the absence and presence of 1,10-phenanthroline (phen). Interaction of strontium or barium acetate with dippH 2 in methanol at room temperature leads to the isolation of ionic phosphates [{M 2(mu-H 2O) 4(H 2O) 10}{dipp} 2].4L [M = Sr, L = CH 3OH ( 1); M = Ba, L = H 2O ( 2)]. The addition of a bidentate nitrogen-donor phen to these reactions leads to the isolation of dinuclear metal phosphates [Mg(dipp)(phen)(CH 3OH) 2] 2 ( 3) and [M(dippH) 2(phen) 2(H 2O)] 2 [M = Ca ( 4), Sr ( 5), Ba ( 6)]. While ionic phosphates 1 and 2 are soluble in water, the predominately covalent dimeric compounds 3- 6 are insoluble in all common solvents including water. The new compounds have been characterized in the solid state by elemental analysis, IR, UV-vis, and emission spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The cationic part in 1 and 2 is a {M 2(mu-H 2O) 4(H 2O) 10} unit, where each metal ion is surrounded by four bridging and five terminal water molecules as ligands. The dipp anion does not directly bind to the metal ions but is extensively hydrogen-bonded to the cationic unit through the phosphate oxygen and water hydrogen atoms to result in an infinitely layered structure where the hydrophobic aryl group protrudes out of the hydrophilic layer formed by the cationic part and -PO 3 (2-) units. In contrast, compounds 3- 6 are discrete dimeric molecules built around a central M 2O 4P 2 eight-membered ring. While the dippH 2 ligand exists in a doubly deprotonated form in 3, two monodeprotonated dippH 2 ligands are present per metal ion in compounds 4- 6. While 3 prefers only one phen ligand in the metal coordination sphere, two phen ligands chelate each metal ion in 4- 6. The conformations of the eight-membered rings in 3- 6 vary significantly from each other depending on the size of the cation and the coordination number around the metal. Further, intermolecular hydrogen bonding involving the phenanthroline C-H linkages result, in a gridlike structure in 1, one-dimensional chains in isostructural 2 and 3, and a two-dimensional layer arrangement in 4. Compounds 3- 6 are the only examples of alkaline-earth metal phosphate complexes with neutral M-N donor bonds. The thermal behavior of compounds 1- 6 has been examined with the help of thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry and also by bulk thermolysis followed by powder X-ray diffraction measurements. While compounds 1 and 2 yield M 2P 2O 7, decomposition of 4- 6 results in the formation of M(PO 3) 2, consistent with the M-P ratio in the precursor complexes.