Anti-oxidative effects of silkworm storage protein 1 in HeLa cell

Silkworm hemolymph contains unique proteins that exhibit anti-apoptotic activity in mammalian cells. Among them, 30 K protein, which is one of the major anti-apoptotic molecules in silkworm hemolymph, has been well investigated. However, little is known about the biological functions of storage protein 1 (SP1), another main protein in silkworm hemolymph. In this study, the anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative activities of SP1 were analyzed. A stable cell line expressing SP1 was constructed, which showed strong anti-apoptotic effect induced by staurosporine treatment. In addition, the cell line exhibited resistance to oxidative stress caused by hydrogen peroxide. For practical applications of SP1, recombinant SP1 was produced in Escherichia coli, and the supplementation of recombinant SP1 into culture medium exhibited anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative activities. In addition, SP1 was found to be a cell-penetrating protein and localized in the cytosol as well as on the plasma membrane. The findings showed that SP1 itself is not an anti-oxidant; rather, it mediates intracellular anti-oxidative activity. In conclusion, the cellular resistance of SP1 to apoptosis and oxidative stress will provide a new strategy that could be utilized in the bio-industry for the production of biologics as well as for the development of anti-aging cosmetics.     

Determination of phenolic compounds and diterpenes in roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza and Salvia przewalskii by two LC–MS tools: Multi-stage and high resolution tandem mass spectrometry with assessment of antioxidant capacity

Comparative phytochemical analyses of hydroalcoholic (50% EtOH) extracts from roots of S. miltiorrhiza (SM) and S. przewalskii (SP) were performed using two complementary LC–MS systems: the first system HPLC-DAD-MSⁿ an ion trap mass spectrometer and the second system consisted high resolution MS/MS Orbitrap mass spectrometer. The individual compounds were identified using a previously published approach via comparison of the exact molecular masses, mass spectra and retention times to those of standard compounds, online available databases and literature data. Moreover, the determination of antioxidative activities of extracts by DPPH and FRAP methods was carried out. Analysis allowed to identify 39 chemical compounds in extracts from both species. Extract from root of SP differs from SM in the presence of several metabolites such as: przewalskinic acid and their derivatives, przewaquinone C, przewaquinonate A, glycosides of rosmarinic acid, methyltanshinonate, whereas tanshinones, salvianolic acids and lithospermic acids occurred in both species. Moreover, it was shown that hydroalcoholic extract from roots of SM exerted stronger antioxidant properties in a FRAP test (max. 323.92 μM Fe²⁺/L) and in DPPH test (max. 78.64 nM TE) in comparison with SP extract.     

Synthesis,antiproliferative and antibacterial activity of new amides of salinomycin

A series of 11 novel amides of salinomycin were synthesized for the first time. All the obtained compounds were found to show potent antiproliferative activity against human cancer cell lines including the drug-resistant cancer cells. Four new salinomycin derivatives revealed good antibacterial activity against clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE).     

An intelligent system for estimating frog community calling activity and species richness

Over the past decade, dramatic declines in frog populations have been noticed worldwide. To examine this decline, monitoring frogs is becoming increasingly important. Compared to traditional field survey methods, recent advances in acoustic sensor technology have greatly extended spatial and temporal scales for monitoring animal populations. In this paper, we examine the problem of monitoring frog populations by analysing acoustic sensor data, where the population is reflected by community calling activity and species richness. Specifically, a novel acoustic event detection (AED) algorithm is first proposed to filter out those recordings without frog calls. Then, multi-label learning is used to classify each individual recording with six acoustic features: linear predictive coding coefficients, Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients, linear-frequency cepstral coefficients, acoustic complexity index, acoustic diversity index, and acoustic evenness index. Next, frog community calling activity and species richness are estimated by accumulating the results of AED and multi-label learning, respectively. Finally, ordinary least squares regression (OLS) is conducted to reveal the relationship between frog populations (frog calling activity and species richness) and weather variables (maximum temperature and rainfall). Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed intelligent system can significantly facilitate the effort to estimate frog community calling activity and species richness with comparable accuracies. The statistical results of OLS indicate that rainfall pattern has a lagged impact on frog community calling activity (significant in the first day after rainy day) and species richness (significant in the fourth day after rainy day). Temperature is shown to affect species richness but is less likely to change calling activity.     

Structure–activity relationships (SAR) and structure–kinetic relationships (SKR) of bicyclic heteroaromatic acetic acids as potent CRTh2 antagonists III: The role of a hydrogen-bond acceptor in long receptor residence times

The correct positioning and orientation of an hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) in the tail portion of the biaryl series of CRTh2 antagonists is a requirement for long receptor residence time. The HBA in combination with a small steric substituent in the core section (R^core ≠ H) gives access to compounds with dissociation half-lives of ⩾24 h.     

Cephalopod dynamic camouflage: bridging the continuum between background matching and disruptive coloration

Individual cuttlefish, octopus and squid have the versatile capability to use body patterns for background matching and disruptive coloration. We define—qualitatively and quantitatively—the chief characteristics of the three major body pattern types used for camouflage by cephalopods: uniform and mottle patterns for background matching, and disruptive patterns that primarily enhance disruptiveness but aid background matching as well. There is great variation within each of the three body pattern types, but by defining their chief characteristics we lay the groundwork to test camouflage concepts by correlating background statistics with those of the body pattern. We describe at least three ways in which background matching can be achieved in cephalopods. Disruptive patterns in cuttlefish possess all four of the basic components of ‘disruptiveness’, supporting Cott''s hypotheses, and we provide field examples of disruptive coloration in which the body pattern contrast exceeds that of the immediate surrounds. Based upon laboratory testing as well as thousands of images of camouflaged cephalopods in the field (a sample is provided on a web archive), we note that size, contrast and edges of background objects are key visual cues that guide cephalopod camouflage patterning. Mottle and disruptive patterns are frequently mixed, suggesting that background matching and disruptive mechanisms are often used in the same pattern.     

Drimane-type sesquiterpenoids from cultures of the fungus Xylaria polymorpha

Three new drimane-type sesquiterpenoids named xylariaines A–C (1–3), together with one known analogue (4), were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of cultures of the fungus Xylaria polymorpha (Pers.: Fr.) Grer. Their structures were elucidated unambiguously by NMR and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited weak anti-acetylcholinesterase activities at a concentration of 50 μg/mL with inhibition ratios of 12.4% and 18.0%, respectively.