Two new angular methyl dioxygenated D:A-fried-oleananes

Two new trioxygenated D:A-friedo-oleananes from Elaeodendron glaucum have been shown to be the angular methyl dioxygenated 25,28-dihydroxy-D:A-friedo-oleanan-3-one(1) and 3,28-dioxo-D:A-friedo-oleanan-25-ol(2) by interconversion and deoxygenation of the alcohol(2) using Lithium-ethyle diamine reduction coupled with spectroscopic methods.     

Metal-binding properties of the peptide APP170-188: a model of the ZnII-binding site of amyloid precursor protein (APP)

Amyloid precursor protein (APP) plays a key role in Alzheimer's disease (AD), although the function of this membrane protein is still unclear. Metal ions are implicated in AD and they also interact with APP. APP possesses a strong ZnII binding site, which is evolutionary conserved. In this paper a synthetic peptide, APP170-188, with a sequence corresponding to the conserved ZnII-binding domain of APP, was synthesised and its metal-binding properties analysed. Titration experiments pointed to the binding of a stoichiometric amount of divalent ions. Further studies indicated that the binding of divalent metals like ZnII, CdII and CoII induces the dimerisation of the peptide. This dimer contains a dinuclear cluster in which the two divalent metals are bridged by two thiolate ligands from cysteine residues. The other two ligands of the tetrahedral coordination sites of each metal ion are terminal thiolate ligands. This structure was supported by the following arguments. The complex formed with CoII presents the characteristic features for tetrahedral tetrathiolate coordination in its UV-visible spectrum. The sequence of APP170-188 contains only three cysteine residues, which is incompatible with a monomeric CoII-APP170-188 complex. EPR measurements of the complex with one equivalent of CoII show almost no signal at 4 K, which is compatible with an antiferromagnetic spin-coupling of the metal ions in a cluster structure. Size-exclusion chromatography indicated that the elution time for the complexes with ZnII and CdII corresponds to the expected molecular weight of a dimer. The circular dichroism (CD) spectrum of the complex with one equivalent of CdII shows a band at 265 nm+, and an ellipticity similar to those observed for similar CdII-thiolate clusters. Possible biological implications of the ZnII binding site and the metal-induced dimerisation are discussed.     

Strong Regularizing Effect of a Gradient Term in the Heat Equation with a Weight

We deal with the following parabolic problem, $$(P)\left\{\begin{array}{lll} u_t - \Delta{u} + |\nabla{u}|^q \quad=\quad \lambda{g}(x)u + f(x, t),\quad u > 0 \; {\rm in} \; \Omega \; \times \; (0, T),\\ \qquad\quad\quad\; u(x, t) \quad=\quad 0 \quad{\rm on}\; {\partial}{\Omega}\; \times ; (0, T),\\ \qquad\quad\quad\; u(x, 0) \quad=\quad u_{0}(x), \quad x \in {\Omega},\end{array}\right.$$ where is a bounded regular domain or ${\Omega = \mathbb{R}^N}$ , ${1 < q \leq 2, \lambda > 0\; {\rm and}\; f \geq 0, u_{0} \geq 0}$ are in a suitable class of functions. We give assumptions on g with respect to q for which for all λ >  0 and all ${f \in L^1(\Omega_T ), f \geq 0}$ , problem (P) has a positive solution. Under some additional conditions on the data, the Cauchy problem and the asymptotic behavior of the solution are also considered.     

Synthesis and evaluation of some new hydrazones as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel in acidic media

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Mild steel corrosion in HCl solution is an example of corrosion in acidic mediums. The ongoing research efforts to develop novel environmentally friendly...     

Efficiency of Site-Specific Clicked Laccase–Carbon Nanotubes Biocathodes towards O2 Reduction

A maximization of a direct electron transfer (DET) between redox enzymes and electrodes can be obtained through the oriented immobilization of enzymes onto an electroactive surface. Here, a strategy for obtaining carbon nanotube (CNTs) based electrodes covalently modified with perfectly control-oriented fungal laccases is presented. Modelizations of the laccase-CNT interaction and of electron conduction pathways serve as a guide in choosing grafting positions. Homogeneous populations of alkyne-modified laccases are obtained through the reductive amination of a unique surface-accessible lysine residue selectively engineered near either one or the other of the two copper centers in enzyme variants. Immobilization of the site-specific alkynated enzymes is achieved by copper-catalyzed click reaction on azido-modified CNTs. A highly efficient reduction of O₂ at low overpotential and catalytic current densities over −3 mA cm⁻² are obtained by minimizing the distance from the electrode surface to the trinuclear cluster.     

FTIR-determination of sterols from the red alga Asparagopsis armata: Comparative studies with HPLC

An analytical procedure was developed for the determination of the total amount of sterols in the red alga Asparagopsis armata, globally determined as cholesterol, which is the major sterol contained in red algae. Samples, previously saponified with KOH were preconcentrated on DSC-18 solid phase cartridges (SPE) and eluted with dichloromethane stabilized with β-amylene. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry was employed for selective detection at 1049 cm⁻¹ with a baseline established between 1000 and 1079 cm⁻¹. The results were compared to those obtained by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The concentration obtained in actual samples from alga was 3.37% (w/w) by FTIR and 3.30% (w/w) by HPLC, showing a good comparability between the two methods.     

A Comparison of Bioactive Metabolites,Antinutrients, and Bioactivities of African Pumpkin Leaves (Momordica balsamina L.) Cooked by Different Culinary Techniques

Prior to consumption, African pumpkin leaves (Momordica balsamina L.) are generally cooked. In this study, the effects of common household cooking methods (boiling, steaming, microwaving, stir-frying) on bioactive metabolites, carotenoids, antioxidant activity, antinutrients and inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities were examined. A set of 14 bioactive metabolites were identified in raw and cooked African leaves using UPLC-QTOF/MS. The results showed that the four different types of household cooking methods had different effects on the bioactive metabolomics profile of African pumpkin leaves. In comparison to raw leaves and leaves cooked in other methods, the concentrations of six phenolic compounds, rutin, cryptochlorogenic acid (4-caffeoylquinic acid), pseudolaroside A, isorhamnetin 3-O-robinoside, quercetin 3-galactoside, and trans-4-feruloylquinic acid, were highest in stir-fried leaves. Of all household cooking methods tested, stir-frying increased the content of lutein, β-carotene, and zeaxanthin by 60.00%, 146.15%, and 123.51%, respectively. Moreover, stir-frying African pumpkin leaves increased the antioxidant activity (DPPH and ABTS) and the inhibition of α-glucosidase and α-amylase. Compared to all four methods of household cooking, stir-frying reduced the antinutritive compounds compared to raw leaves. This work provides useful information to the consumers on the selection of suitable cooking methods for African pumpkin leaves.