Correlations between topological features and physicochemical properties of molecules

The article reviews in brief, thede novo group additivity approach and, at length, the different topological approaches to obtain predictive and internally consistent correlations between various properties and structural features of molecules. The stress has mainly been on the molecular connectivity method. A new rational scheme for nomenclature of connectivity indices of different orders and types is introduced. The concept of the perturbation connectivity parameter developed by us recently has been applied to obtain correlations for molar refraction, boiling point, molar volume, heat of atomisation, heat of combustion, heat of vaporisation, magnetic susceptibility and critical constants of alkanes, alcohols and alkylbenzenes. A comparative study of various approaches reveals that the present perturbation topological approach has an edge over other similar methods.     

Biotechnological Innovations from Ocean: Transpiring Role of Marine Drugs in Management of Chronic Disorders

Marine drugs are abundant in number, comprise of a diverse range of structures with corresponding mechanisms of action, and hold promise for the discovery of new and better treatment approaches for the management of several chronic diseases. There are huge reserves of natural marine biological compounds, as 70 percent of the Earth is covered with oceans, indicating a diversity of chemical entities on the planet. The marine ecosystems are a rich source of bioactive products and have been explored for lead drug molecules that have proven to be novel therapeutic targets. Over the last 70 years, many structurally diverse drug products and their secondary metabolites have been isolated from marine sources. The drugs obtained from marine sources have displayed an exceptional potential in the management of a wide array of diseases, ranging from acute to chronic conditions. A beneficial role of marine drugs in human health has been recently proposed. The current review highlights various marine drugs and their compounds and role in the management of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and cardiovascular disorders, which has led to the development of new drug treatment approaches.     

Investigations on order and width of RZ super Gaussian pulse in different WDM systems at 40 Gb/s using dispersion compensating fibers

In optical wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) systems the dispersion management is a key issue. In optical systems a lot of research is going on to reduce dispersion by selecting proper dispersion compensating techniques and proper modulation format for input data. One way to reduce dispersion is by using dispersion compensating fibers in the WDM systems. This paper analyzes the use of RZ super Gaussian pulse inputs for different WDM systems i.e. for conventional, dense and ultra dense WDM systems employing dispersion compensating fibers. The pulse width and the order of the RZ super Gaussian pulse was varied to evaluate the performance at 40 Gb/s. The experiment showed that to get minimum BER, pulse width of 7.5 ps and 10 ps along with third-order RZ super Gaussian pulse were found suitable and recommended to be used.     

Restricted estimation in multivariate measurement error regression model

We study a multivariate ultrastructural measurement error (MUME) model with more than one response variable. This model is a synthesis of multivariate functional and structural models. Three consistent estimators of regression coefficients, satisfying the exact linear restrictions have been proposed. Their asymptotic distributions are derived under the assumption of a non-normal measurement error and random error components. A simulation study is carried out to investigate the small sample properties of the estimators. The effect of departure from normality of the measurement errors on the estimators is assessed.     

Efficacy of Singing Bowls in Childhood Asthma—A Pilot and Feasibility Study

The potential use of sound and vibration for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes remains largely under-explored and under-estimated. Sound and vibrational energy has great positive impact on the mind and body. It could be particularly useful for psychosomatic diseases as a complementary therapy. Singing bowls, the spiritual ancient therapy has been claimed to aid in mind relaxation and painful and inflammatory conditions. Childhood asthma is an inflammatory airway disease and a psychosomatic disorder. The psychological management in it is often neglected leading to under-treatment or a relapse. Hence, we hypothesized that sound therapy with singing bowls might be useful as complementary therapy in management of childhood asthma. We aimed to study the effect of singing bowl session on child’s asthma severity and control and on the psychological well-being. Children <18 years of age and suffering from childhood asthma were recruited after informed written consent of parents. At the baseline, demographic and clinical details were noted. Anthropometric parameters, PEFR readings, asthma severity, parental and child’s subjective feeling of well-being, asthma control score, and pediatric symptom checklist score (based on age) were determined. The child was given 15 min of singing bowl session as per the set protocol. The subjective and objective evaluation of asthma control and psychological assessment was repeated at 1 month and 3 months follow-up and compared with the baseline results for clinical significance. Eighteen children formed the study group with a mean age of 9.13 ± 2.15 years (range 2–15.25 years). 4 children had psychological issues on initial screening. There was a significant improvement in asthma severity, subjective feeling of well-being and asthma control score at 3 months (p < 0.05). Singing bowl therapy could be a useful, low-cost complementary therapy in childhood asthmatics.     

Insights into the Explicit Protective Activity of Herbals in Management of Neurodegenerative and Cerebrovascular Disorders

The longstanding progressive neurodegenerative conditions of the central nervous system arise mainly due to deterioration, degradation and eventual neuronal cell loss. As an individual ages, the irreversible neurodegenerative disorders associated with aging also begin to develop, and these have become exceedingly prominent and pose a significant burden mentally, socially and economically on both the individual and their family. These disorders express several symptoms, such as tremors, dystonia, loss of cognitive functions, impairment of motor activity leading to immobility, loss of memory and many more which worsen with time. The treatment employed in management of these debilitating neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease (which mainly involves the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal region), Alzheimer’s disease (which arises due to accumulation of Tau proteins causing diffusive atrophy in the brain), Huntington’s disease (which involves damage of striatal and spinal neurons, etc.), have several adverse effects, leading to exploration of several lead targets and molecules existing in herbal drugs. The current review highlights the mechanistic role of natural products in the treatment of several neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, ischemic stroke and depression.     

Efficient Synthesis of a Styryl Analogue of (2S,3R,4E)‐N2‐Octadecanoyl‐4‐tetradecasphingenine via Cross‐Metathesis Reaction

The first total synthesis of sphingolipid (2S,3R,4E)‐N²‐octadecanoyl‐4‐tetradecasphingenine ( 1a ), a natural sphingolipid isolated from Bombycis Corpus 101A, and of its styryl analogue 1b was achieved in good overall yield (Schemes 1 and 2). The key step involved the installation with (E) stereoselectivity of a long lipophilic chain or phenyl group on allyl alcohol derivative 3 via a cross‐metathesis reaction (→ 5a or 5b ). The N‐Boc protected 3 was easily accessible from (S)‐Garner aldehyde.     

Chemical separation and determination of chromium(VI) from small quantities of cationic impurities

Summary A procedure has been worked out for the chemical and radiochemical separation of traces of chromium(VI) from its mixtures with copper, nickel, zinc and cadmium. The method is based on selective deposition, under predetermined experimental conditions, of the cations on silica gel, leaving the total quantity of the chromium in solution. The procedure has been used for the complete analysis of binary mixtures of Cr(VI) with copper and nickel. The separated chromium in solution is determined iodometrically (1 to 5 mg) or spectrophotometrically (5 to 20g). The deposited cationic component (0.2 to 0.5 mg) is brought into solution by elution with ca. 20 ml of 1N HCl, and determined by the complexometric method.

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Zusammenfassung Ein Verfahren zur chemischen und radiochemischen Trennung von Chrom(VI)-spuren aus Gemischen mit Kupfer, Nickel, Zink oder Cadmium wurde ausgearbeitet. Es beruht auf der unter bestimmten Versuchsbedingungen selektiven Bindung dieser Kationen an Kieselgel, während das gesamte Chrom in Lösung bleibt. Das Verfahren wurde für die vollständige Analyse binärer Gemische von Chrom(VI) mit Kupfer bzw. Nickel verwendet. Das abgetrennte Chrom wurde jodometrisch (1 bis 5 mg) oder spektralphotometrisch (5 bis 20yg) bestimmt. Das absorbierte Kation (0,2 bis 0,5 mg) wird mit zirka 20 ml n Salzsäure eluiert und komplexometrisch bestimmt.

     

Synthesis,Molecular Docking and Potential Antioxidant Activity of Di/Trisubstituted Pyridazinone Derivatives

A number of pyridazinone derivatives bearing substituted benzylidene and heterocyclic/aromatic rings at 4^th and 6^th positions, respectively were synthesized in good to moderate yields and screened for antioxidant activity. Antioxidant activity of pyridazinone derivatives was evaluated by using several in vitro radical scavenging methods such as 1,1‐diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), nitric oxide (NO), reducing power, and metal chelating assay etc. Molegro virtual docker software was used to study the binding affinity of the title compounds with the xanthine oxidoreductase enzyme. Amongst the tested compounds, 5a, 5d, 5g & 5j were found to exhibit excellent antioxidant activity at par with the positive control, ascorbic acid. The molecular docking studies of these compounds demonstrated a good selectivity profile with xanthine oxidoreductase receptors. A preliminary study of the structural‐activity relationship showed that the presence of electron withdrawing group and heterocyclic ring on pyridazinone nucleus are associated with the best potency and selectivity profile. It could be proposed that xanthine oxidoreductase receptor may be involved in observed antioxidant activity of pyridazinone derivatives bearing aromatic ring and benzylidene substituents and thus the synthesized compounds are worthy of further exploration.     

Expatiating the Pharmacological and Nanotechnological Aspects of the Alkaloidal Drug Berberine: Current and Future Trends

Traditionally, herbal compounds have been the focus of scientific interest for the last several centuries, and continuous research into their medicinal potential is underway. Berberine (BBR) is an isoquinoline alkaloid extracted from plants that possess a broad array of medicinal properties, including anti-diarrheal, anti-fibrotic, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, antihyperlipidemic, antihypertensive, antiarrhythmic, antidepressant, and anxiolytic effects, and is frequently utilized as a traditional Chinese medicine. BBR promotes metabolisms of glucose and lipids by activating adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, stimulating glycolysis and inhibiting functions of mitochondria; all of these ameliorate type 2 diabetes mellitus. BBR has also been shown to have benefits in congestive heart failure, hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and polycystic ovary syndrome. BBR has been investigated as an interesting pharmacophore with the potential to contribute significantly to the research and development of novel therapeutic medicines for a variety of disorders. Despite its enormous therapeutic promise, the clinical application of this alkaloid was severely limited because of its unpleasant pharmacokinetic characteristics. Poor bioavailability, limited absorption, and poor water solubility are some of the obstacles that restricted its use. Nanotechnology has been suggested as a possible solution to these problems. The present review aims at recent updates on important therapeutic activities of BBR and different types of nanocarriers used for the delivery of BBR in different diseases.