Bioactive principles,anti-diabetic,and anti-ulcer activities of Ducrosia anethifolia Boiss leaves from the Hail region,Saudi Arabia

This work aimed to identify the bioactive constituents of Ducrosia anethifolia Boiss eaves through cold methanolic extract. The GC–MS study of cold methanolic extract showed the presence of various pharmaceutically important bioactive compounds with unique peaks at specified retention time. The significant compounds are α-linoleic acid, α-sitosterol, n-hexadecanoic acid, palmitic acid β-monoglyceride, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol and benzoic acid, methyl ester. The FT-IR study showed them fingerprint region at 3326.80, 2943.53, 2831.74, 1450, 1110.67 and 1020.80 cm^?1. The FT-IR study suggested the presence of glycosides, flavonoids, tannins, steroids, saponins, fatty acids and squalene. Oral administration of Ducrosia anethifolia Boiss leaves powder (DLP) (100 mg/kg body weight) was successfully reduced the blood sugar level after 14 d treatment in STZ (50 mg/kg bodyweight) induced diabetic rats significantly from 327.93 ± 24.5 to 171 0.03 ± 3.78 mg/dL. Furthermore, DLP (400 mg/kg body weight) was showed 74 ± 1.9 % inhibition of ulcer. The results of this study showed that DLP has both anti-diabetic and anti-ulcer characteristics when tested in vivo.     

Biosynthesis and Anti-Mycotoxigenic Activity of Zingiber officinale Roscoe-Derived Metal Nanoparticles

Mycotoxigenic fungi have attracted special attention due to their threat to food security and toxicity to human health. Aqueous extract of Zingiber officinale Roscoe was used as reducing and capping agent for the synthesis of silver (AgNPs), copper (CuNPs), and zinc oxide (ZnONPs) nanoparticles. UV-Visible spectra of the AgNPs, CuNPs, and ZnONPs showed absorption peaks at λ_max 416 nm, 472 nm, and 372 nm, respectively. Zeta potential of AgNPs, CuNPs, and ZnONPs were −30.9, −30.4 and −18.4 mV, respectively. ZnONPs showed the highest activity against Aspergillus awamori ZUJQ 965830.1 (ZOI 20.9 mm and MIC 24.7 µg/mL). TEM micrographs of ZnONPs-treated A. awamori showed cracks and pits in the cell wall, liquefaction of the cytoplasmic content, making it less electron-dense. The sporulation and ochratoxin A production of A. awamori was inhibited by ZnONPs in a concentration-dependent pattern. The inhibition percentage of OTA were 45.6, 84.78 and 95.65% for 10, 15, 20 of ZnONPs/mL, respectively.     

An efficient and facile multicomponent synthesis of 4,6-diarylpyridine derivatives under solvent-free conditions

We present an efficient and facile synthesis of 4,6-diaryl-2-oxo-1,2-dihydropyridine-3-carbonitriles (5a–j) via a four-component system of aromatic aldehydes (1), acetophenones (2), ethyl cyanoacetate (3), and ammonium acetate (4). The short reaction time coupled with the simplicity of the reaction procedure and clean reaction make this method one of the most efficient methods for synthesis of this class of compounds.     

Phytochemical and Biological Characterization of Tephrosia nubica Boiss. Growing in Saudi Arabia

The chloroform (TNC), ethyl acetate (TNE) and n-butanol (TNB) fractions of Tephrosia nubica Bioss. growing in Saudi Arabia were investigated for the first time using UPLC-ESI-MS/MS in two ionization modes. The analysis revealed the tentative identification of 107 compounds. Moreover, the therapeutic potential of T. nubica fractions was determined by in vitro evaluation of their cytotoxic, antioxidant, and anti-obesity activities using MTT assay, DPPH radical scavenging activity and pancreatic lipase inhibitory assay, respectively. The results showed that TNE, TNB, TNC fractions revealed weak antioxidant activity with SC₅₀ 139.9 ± 0.8, 144.9 ± 1.5, 148.9 ± 1.3 µg/mL, respectively compared to ascorbic acid 14.2 ± 0.5 µg/ml. Moreover TNE, TNC fractions showed more significant cytotoxic activity against HepG-2 with IC₅₀ 82.1 ± 3.1, 101 ± 2.8 µg/mL and MCF-7 with IC₅₀ 114 ± 3.2, 124 ± 3.9 µg/mL respectively. The TNB fraction showed weak cytotoxic activity against both cell lines compared to the other fractions. Ultimately, TNE fraction showed a remarkable anti-obesity activity with IC₅₀ 62.4 ± 1.5 µg/mL compared to chloroform fraction with IC₅₀ 535.6 ± 2.1 µg/mL and n-butanol fraction which did not show any activity. In conclusion, these findings represent the first insights into the phytochemical constituents and pharmacological properties of T. nubica. The ethyl acetate fraction of T. nubica might be a promising source of functional constituents with antioxidant, cytotoxic and anti-obesity potentials. It might be a natural alternative therapy and nutritional strategy, for obesity treatment without dangerous side effects. Isolation of the bioactive compounds from the ethyl acetate fraction of T. nubica and evaluating their biological activities are recommended.     

Spectrophotometric determination of sparfloxacin in pharmaceutical formulations and urine samples

A simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of sparfloxacin in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations, and in artificial urine. Sparfloxacin was oxidized into a red colored product using ammonium monovanadate in acidic media. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of sparfloxacin in different pharmaceutical formulations (tablets) and in a spiked urine sample. The influence of commonly used excipients on the determination of sparfloxacin was studied. Percentage recoveries in the range of 98.0 ± 0.14 % to 100.0 ± 0.20 % were obtained. The observed data have been evaluated statistically which showed high accuracy and precision.     

Doppler effects of an oscillating line source in shear flow with a free surface

The linearised water-wave radiation problem for the oscillating 2D submerged source in an inviscid shear flow with a free surface is investigated analytically. There is a nonzero surface velocity. The depth is infinite and the vorticity is uniform. The amplitudes radiated from the source are calculated analytically. Due to Doppler effects, there may be up to four different emitted waves, and there is resonance with zero group velocity and infinite amplitude.     

An inverse problem of the three-dimensional wave equation for a general annular vibrating membrane with piecewise smooth boundary conditions

This paper deals with the very interesting problem about the influence of piecewise smooth boundary conditions on the distribution of the eigenvalues of the negative Laplacian inR ³. The asymptotic expansion of the trace of the wave operator $\widehat\mu (t) = \sum\limits_{\upsilon = 1}^\infty {\exp \left( { - it\mu _\upsilon ^{1/2} } \right)} $ for small ?t? and $i = \sqrt { - 1} $ , where $\{ \mu _\nu \} _{\nu = 1}^\infty $ are the eigenvalues of the negative Laplacian $ - \nabla ^2 = - \sum\limits_{k = 1}^3 {\left( {\frac{\partial }{{\partial x^k }}} \right)} ^2 $ in the (x ¹,x ²,x ³), is studied for an annular vibrating membrane Ω inR ³ together with its smooth inner boundary surfaceS ₁ and its smooth outer boundary surfaceS ₂. In the present paper, a finite number of Dirichlet, Neumann and Robin boundary conditions on the piecewise smooth componentsS ^* _i(i=1, …,m) ofS ₁ and on the piecewise smooth componentsS ^* _i(i=m+1, …,n) ofS ₂ such that $S_1 = \bigcup\limits_{i = 1}^m {S_i^* } $ and $S_2 = \bigcup\limits_{i = m + 1}^n {S_i^* } $ are considered. The basic problem is to extract information on the geometry of the annular vibrating membrane ω from complete knowledge of its eigenvalues by analyzing the asymptotic expansions of the spectral function $\widehat\mu (t)$ for small ?t?.     

Setup for fission and evaporation cross-section measurements in reactions induced by secondary beams

A setup for studying reactions induced by secondary radioactive beams has been constructed. It allows simultaneous measurement of α-particle and fission fragment energy spectra. By measuring the α particles, identification of evaporation residues is achieved. A set of three targets can be used so as to ensure sufficient statistics. Two silicon detectors, located at 90° to the secondary beam direction, face each target, thus covering 30% of the solid angle. This experimental setup is to be used to obtain excitation functions of fusion-fission reactions and of reactions leading to evaporation residue production.     

Asymptotic Expansions of the Heat Kernel of the Laplacian for General Annular Bounded Domains with Robin Boundary Conditions：Further Results

The asymptotic expansions of the trace of the heat kernel θ(t)=∑^∞v=1^exp(-tλv) for small positive t,where {λv} are the eigenvalues of the negative Laplacian -△n=-∑^ni=1(D/Dx^1)^2 in R^2(n=2 or 3),are studied for a general annular bounded domain Ω with a smooth inner boundary DΩ1 and a smooth outer boundary DΩ2,where a finite number of piecewise smooth Robin boundary conditions(D/Dnj γh)Ф=0 on the components Гj(j= 1,...,m) of (DΩ1 and on the components Гj (j=k 1,…,m) of of DΩ2 are considered such that DΩl=U^kj=lГj and DΩ2= U^m=k 1Гj and where the coefficients γj(j=1,...,m) are piecewise smooth positive functions. Some applications of θ(t) for an ideal gas enclosed in the general annular bounded domain Ω are given. Further results are also obtained.