Unveiling the Anthelminthic Potential of Merremia vitifolia Stem through in Vitro and in Silico Approach

This study aimed to assess the anthelmintic activity of methanol extracts from Merremia vitifolia stems using a combination approach encompassing experimental, in vitro, and in silico evaluations. Despite the well-recognized pharmacological properties of M. vitifolia, its potential as an anthelmintic agent remained unexplored. This plant's anthelmintic potential was assessed on adult earthworms (Pheretima posthuma), revealing a dose-dependent reduction in spontaneous motility leading to paralysis and eventual mortality. The most effective dose of M. vitifolia (200 mg/ml) for anthelmintic effects on Pheretima posthuma was identified. Complementary in silico investigations were also conducted, employing Autodock PyRx 0.8 for docking studies of reported M. vitifolia compounds. Notably, quercetin emerged as a promising candidate with superior binding energies against β-tubulin (−8.3 Kcal/mol). Moreover, this comprehensive research underlines the anthelmintic potential of Merremia vitifolia stem extract and highlights quercetin as a noteworthy compound for further investigation in the quest for novel anthelmintic agents.     

Exploring the Therapeutic Properties of Alga-Based Silver Nanoparticles: Anticancer,Antibacterial, and Free Radical Scavenging Capabilities

The current study was designed to evaluate the antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial activities of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) biosynthesized by Spirulina platensis extract. The biosynthesized silver nanoparticles were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The antioxidant activity of the biosynthesized AgNPs were determined via DPPH radical scavenging assay while its anticancer activity was determined using the MTT assay. The antimicrobial activity of the biosynthesized AgNPs were analyzed by disc diffusion method. Spirulina platensis acts as a reducing and capping agent. The efficacy of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in inhibiting the growth of Gram-negative bacteria, specifically Acetobacter, Klebsiella, Proteus vulgaris, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was assessed by the utilisation of the diffusion method. The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) against many strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. The findings of the study revealed that when administered in doses of 50 μl, 75 μl, and 100 μl, the largest observed zone of inhibition corresponded to measurements of 10.5 mm, 14 mm, and 16 mm, respectively. A zone of inhibition with dimensions of 8 mm, 10.5 mm, and 12 mm was detected during testing against Acetobacter at concentrations of 50 μl, 75 μl, and 100 μl, respectively. The findings also indicate that there is a positive correlation between the concentration of AgNP and the DPPH scavenging ability of silver nanoparticles. The percentage of inhibition observed at concentrations of 500 μg/ml, 400 μg/ml, 300 μg/ml, 200 μg/ml, and 100 μg/ml were recorded as 80±1.98, 61±1.98, 52±1.5, 42±1.99, and 36±1.97, respectively. In addition, it was observed that the silver nanoparticles exhibited the greatest antioxidant activity at a concentration of 500 g/ml, with a measured value of 80.89±1.99. The IC-50 values, representing the inhibitory concentration required to achieve 50 % inhibition, were found to be 8.16, 19.15, 30.14, 41.13, and 63.11 at inhibition levels of 36±1.97, 42±1.99, 52±1.5, 61±1.98, and 80±1.98, respectively.     

Proteomics evaluation of five economical commercial abundant protein depletion kits for enrichment of diseases-specific biomarkers from blood serum

Blood serum is arguably the most analyzed biofluid for disease prediction and diagnosis. Herein, we benchmarked five different serum abundant protein depletion (SAPD) kits with regard to the identification of disease-specific biomarkers in human serum using bottom-up proteomics. As expected, the IgG removal efficiency among the SAPD kits is highly variable, ranging from 70% to 93%. A pairwise comparison of database search results showed a 10%–19% variation in protein identification among the kits. Immunocapturing-based SAPD kits against IgG and albumin outperformed the others in the removal of these two abundant proteins. Conversely, non-antibody-based methods (i.e., kits using ion exchange resins) and kits leveraging a multi-antibody approach were proven to be less efficient in depleting IgG/albumin from samples but led to the highest number of identified peptides. Notably, our results indicate that different cancer biomarkers could be enriched up to 10% depending on the utilized SAPD kit compared with the undepleted sample. Additionally, functional analysis of the bottom-up proteomic results revealed that different SAPD kits enrich distinct disease- and pathway-specific protein sets. Overall, our study emphasizes that a careful selection of the appropriate commercial SAPD kit is crucial for the analysis of disease biomarkers in serum by shotgun proteomics.     

Treatment-resistant depression: definition,prevalence, detection,management, and investigational interventions

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is common and associated with multiple serious public health implications. A consensus definition of TRD with demonstrated predictive utility in terms of clinical decision-making and health outcomes does not currently exist. Instead, a plethora of definitions have been proposed, which vary significantly in their conceptual framework. The absence of a consensus definition hampers precise estimates of the prevalence of TRD, and also belies efforts to identify risk factors, prevention opportunities, and effective interventions. In addition, it results in heterogeneity in clinical practice decision-making, adversely affecting quality of care. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have adopted the most used definition of TRD (i.e., inadequate response to a minimum of two antidepressants despite adequacy of the treatment trial and adherence to treatment). It is currently estimated that at least 30% of persons with depression meet this definition. A significant percentage of persons with TRD are actually pseudo-resistant (e.g., due to inadequacy of treatment trials or non-adherence to treatment). Although multiple sociodemographic, clinical, treatment and contextual factors are known to negatively moderate response in persons with depression, very few factors are regarded as predictive of non-response across multiple modalities of treatment. Intravenous ketamine and intranasal esketamine (co-administered with an antidepressant) are established as efficacious in the management of TRD. Some second-generation antipsychotics (e.g., aripiprazole, brexpiprazole, cariprazine, quetiapine XR) are proven effective as adjunctive treatments to antidepressants in partial responders, but only the olanzapine-fluoxetine combination has been studied in FDA-defined TRD. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is established as effective and FDA-approved for individuals with TRD, with accelerated theta-burst TMS also recently showing efficacy. Electroconvulsive therapy is regarded as an effective acute and maintenance intervention in TRD, with preliminary evidence suggesting non-inferiority to acute intravenous ketamine. Evidence for extending antidepressant trial, medication switching and combining antidepressants is mixed. Manual-based psychotherapies are not established as efficacious on their own in TRD, but offer significant symptomatic relief when added to conventional antidepressants. Digital therapeutics are under study and represent a potential future clinical vista in this population.     

Native Enzyme Mobility Shift Assay (NEMSA): a new method for monitoring carboxyl group modification of carboxymethylcellulase from Aspergillus niger

A simple, sensitive, accurate and more informative assay for determining the number of modified groups during the course of carboxyl group modification is described. Monomeric carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) from Aspergillus niger was modified by 1-ethyl-3(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) in the presence of glycinamide. The different time-course aliquots were subjected to non-denaturing PAGE and the gel stained for CMCase activity. The number of carboxyl groups modified are directly read from the ladder of the enzyme bands developed at given time. This method showed that after 75 min of modification reaction there were five major species of modified CMCases in which 6 to 10 carboxyls were modified.     

Myelin basic protein purified on an ion-exchange continuous polymer bed in the presence of ethylene glycol and salt possesses activity againstp-nitrophenyl acetate

In this paper we describe a fast and mild method based on the use of a unique cation exchanger and buffers containing ethylene glycol and salt for the purification of the myelin basic protein (MBP; MW 18.5 kDa). MBP thus purified hydrolyses catalytically p-nitrophenyl acetate. This esterase activity facilitates not only the purification of MBP but also indicates that probably it is in its native state, i.e. there is a good chance that the purified molecules are structurally and chemically identical. This is a prerequisite to obtain crystals appropriate for x-ray diffraction and other studies.Abbreviations used MBP myelin basic protein - MW molecular weight - kDa kilo Dalton - octyl-POE n-octylpolydisperse oligooxyethylene - CHAPS 3-3-cholamidopropyl dimethylammonio-1-propane-sulfonate - CTAB cetyltrimethylammonium bromide - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate - SDS-PAGE polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of SDS - G 3707 heptaoxyethylene lauryl ether - TWEEN-20 polyoxyethylenesorbitan-monolaurat - EDTA ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid - HEPES N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-piperazine-N-(2-ethanesulfonic acid)     

Effects of metabolic inhibitors on the alcoholic fermentation by several yeasts in batch or in immobilized cell systems

Summary In previous papers it was shown that the bacterium Zymomonas mobilis might be an interesting alternative for industrial alcohol production from sugar, compared to Saccharomyces bayanus. Factors that might increase the glucose to ethanol conversion efficiency and which are in favour of the bacterium, are the production of less biomass and less by-products such as glycerol, succinic acid, butanediol, acetoin, and acetic acid. In order to reduce the synthesis of biomass three metabolic inhibitors were now studied: dinitrophenol, azide and arsenate. Their effects on the alcoholic fermentation in batch and in immobilized cell system were investigated, using three yeasts: Saccharomyces bayanus, Schizosacharomyces pombe, and Saccharomyces diastaticus. It was found that dinitrophenol in 0.1 mM concentration was effective in increasing the conversion of glucose to ethanol especially with Saccharomyces bayanus while azide in 0.1 mM concentration was better with Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In immobilized systems high steady state ethanol production from 15% glucose media was obtained by inclusion into the media of dinitrophenol or azide. Arsenate had less effect at the concentration used. Arsenate had less effect at the concentrations used. As a result ethanol productivity in g·l^-1·h^-1 was increased from around 70 in the absence of inhibitor to around 74 in the presence of dinitrophenol with Saccharomyces bayanus. With Schizosaccharomyces pombe the productivity was increased from around 65 in the absence of inhibitor to around 74 in the presence of azide. The specific ethanol productivity expressed as g ethanol formed per hour and per g viable cells was increased from 0.87 to 1.37 for Schizosaccharomyces pombe and from 1.02 to 1.66 for Saccharomyces bayanus.     

Survival of Curvularia lunata var. aeria in soil

Spore suspensions from 7 day old cultures of Curvularia lunata (Wakker) Boedijn var. aeria (Batista, Lima and Vasconcelos) M.B. Ellis were added to soil samples originally devoid of Curvularia propagules. The test fungus disappeared after six weeks of inoculation irrespective of soil amendments, like the application of green manure, urea, superphosphate, or soil cropped to Sorghum (dura) or cotton seedlings.     

Intestinal helminths of some Nile fishes near Cairo, Egypt with redescriptions of Camallanus kirandensis Baylis 1928 (Nematoda) and Bothriocephalus aegyptiacus Rysavy and Moravec 1975 (Cestoda)

Of 10 species of Nile fishes collected during the summer of 1975 at Giza near Cairo, Egypt, 7 harbored 7 helminth species. Recovered material includes 3 species of nematodes: Camallanus kirandensis Baylis 1928 (new host and geographical record), Cucullanus barbi Baylis 1923, and Rhabdochona congolensis Campana-Rouget 1961 (new host record); three species of cestodes: Khawia sp. (new in Africa), Polyonchobothrium clarias (Woodland 1925) Meggitt 1930, and Bothriocephalus aegyptiacus Rysavy and Moravec 1975; and one acanthocephalan species, Acanthosentis tilapiae Baylis 1947 (new geographical record). Morphologic observations of each species are reported. C. kirandensis and B. aegyptiacus are redescribed.