The Potential Efficacy of Glycyrrhizic Acid and Its Nanostructure Against Brown Rot of Peach fruits

Production of peaches (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) for both local market and export is increasing each year in Egypt. Brown rot disease, caused by Monilinia laxa and Monilinia fructigena, is considered one of the most important postharvest rots affecting peaches in Egypt and economic losses are increasing. Antifungal activity of glycyrrhizic acid nanoparticles (GA-NPs) and glycyrrhizic acid (GA) at 0.2 and 0.4 mmol/L was investigated as a control for both these brown rot pathogens on peach fruits in both in vitro and in vivo studies. In the in vitro studies, GA-NPs were the most effective as shown by the ability to decrease linear growth of both brown rot pathogens in potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with 0.4 mmol/L GA-NPs. Micrographs of M. fructigena exposed to 0.4 mmol/LGA showed mycelial deformations, nodule formation, detachment of the cell wall, shrinkage and inhomogeneous cytoplasmic materials with large vacuoles. Mycelium of M. laxa exposed to 0.4 mmol/ LGA-NPs resulted in thinner and distorted hyphae, nodule formation, cell wall thinning, and swellings. The GANPs and GA treatments improved fruit quality by maintaining firmness and total soluble solids (TSS). GA-NPs were more effective in decreasing decay incidence than their bulk material. The 0.4 mmol/L GA-NPs completely inhibited the disease on naturally infected peach fruits for both seasons of 2018 and 2019. Furthermore, 0.4 mmol/L GA-NPs reduced the disease incidence in inoculated fruits by 95 (M. laxa) and 88% (M. fructigena) in 2018 season and 96 (M. laxa) and 85% (M. fructigena) in 2019 season. In conclusion, GA-NPs could enhance the resistance of peaches against brown rot caused by M. laxa and M. fructigena.     

Therapeutic Potential of Clove Essential Oil in Diabetes: Modulation of Pro-Inflammatory Mediators,Oxidative Stress and Metabolic Enzyme Activities

Type 1 diabetes is characterized by insulin deficiency due to the destruction of pancreatic β cells, leading to hyperglycemia, which in turn induces vascular complications. In the current study, we investigated the effect of intraperitoneal administration of clove essential oil (CEO: 20 mg/kg body weight) on certain oxidative stress and glucose metabolism enzymes, as well as the expression of proinflammatory mediators. Administration of CEO to diabetic rats showed a significant decline in blood glucose levels, total cholesterol, and xanthine oxidase, compared to the streptozotocin group. Furthermore, these treated rats elicited a notable attenuation in the levels of lipid peroxides, and thiols groups in both liver and brain tissues. The activities of antioxidant and metabolic enzymes were reverted to normality in diabetic upon CEO administration. In addition to its protective effects on red blood cell hemolysis, CEO is a potent α-amylase inhibitor with an IC₅₀=298.0±2.75 μg/mL. Also, treatment of diabetic rats with CEO significantly reduced the iNOS expression in the spleen. Our data showed that CEO has potential beneficial effects on diabetes, which can possibly prevent the pathogenesis of diabetic micro- and macrovascular complications.     

Synthesis,Biological Evaluation,and Molecular Modeling Studies of New 1,3,4-Thiadiazole Derivatives as Potent Antimicrobial Agents

In this work, the synthesis, characterization, and biological activities of a new series of 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives were investigated. The structures of final compounds were identified using ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, elemental analysis, and HRMS. All the new synthesized compounds were then screened for their antimicrobial activity against four types of pathogenic bacteria and one fungal strain, by application of the MIC assays, using Ampicilin, Gentamycin, Vancomycin, and Fluconazole as standards. Among the compounds, the MIC values of 4 and 8 μg/mL of the compounds 3f and 3g , respectively, are remarkable and indicate that these compounds are good candidates for antifungal activity. The docking experiments were used to identify the binding forms of produced ligands with sterol 14-demethylase to acquire insight into relevant proteins. The MD performed about 100 ns simulations to validate selected compounds’ theoretical studies. Finally, using density functional theory (DFT) to predict reactivity, the chemical characteristics and quantum factors of synthesized compounds were computed. These results were then correlated with the experimental data. Furthermore, computational estimation was performed to predict the ADME properties of the most active compound 3f .     

Facile Synthesis of Hybrid Nanoflowers Using Glycine and Phenylalanine and Investigation of Their Catalytic Activity

In the context of the proposed work, two different amino acids (Glycine, Phenylalanine) have interacted with copper ions in a phosphate buffer (PBS) in place of enzymes. This interaction resulted in the nucleation of copper phosphate crystals and the formation of flower-shaped amino acid-copper hybrid nanostructures (AA-hNFs), which grew through self-assembly. While Cu (II) ions in the structure of AA-hNFs were used as Fenton's agent for the catalytic activity. SEM, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements were used to define the AA-hNFs′ characterisation. The peroxidase-like activities of AA-hNFs were investigated by UV/VIS spectrophotometer. Metal nanoparticles have peroxidase-like activity. A class of enzymes known as peroxidases is able to catalyze the conversion of hydrogen peroxide into hydroxyl radicals. These radicals also take part in electron transfers with substrates, which results in color during oxidation. When cupric oxide nanoparticles are added to the peroxidase substrate while H₂O₂ is present, a blue color product with a maximum absorbance at=652 nm can result, demonstrating the catalytic activity of a peroxidase. The morphology and composition of AA-hNFs were carefully characterized and the synthesized parameters were optimized systematically. Results showed that the nanoparticles were dispersed with an average diameter of 7–9 μm and indicated a uniform flower shape. The results of the investigation are anticipated to significantly advance a number of technical and scientific sectors.     

Maturational changes in responses of tissue and airway resistance to histamine

Dreshaj, Ismail A., Musa A. Haxhiu, Charles F. Potter, FatonH. Agani, and Richard J. Martin. Maturational changes in responsesof tissue and airway resistance to histamine. J. Appl.Physiol. 81(4): 1785-1791, 1996.We determinedhow postnatal maturation affects the relative contributions of airwaysand lung parenchyma to pulmonary resistance(RL) and whether there are developmental differences in their respective responses to constrictive agents. We studied open-chest ventilated anesthetized piglets of threeages: 2-4 days, 2-3 wk, and 10 wk.RL was partitioned into tissue(Rti) and airway (Raw) resistance by means of alveolar capsules underbaseline conditions and after intravenous histamine. Postnatalmaturation was associated with a progressive decline inRL, Rti, and Raw and with anincrease in the contribution of Rti toRL from 38 ± 8% at 2-4days to 72 ± 2% at both 2-3 and 10 wk. Histamine causedRL to increase at all ages. Whenpartitioned into Rti and Raw, the percent increase in Rti significantlyexceeded that of Raw at both 2-4 days and 2-3 wk. Incontrast, the percent increase in Raw significantly exceeded that ofRti at 10 wk. Administration of atropine before histamine in pigletsaged 10 wk reduced the response of Rti and Raw to histamine.Histamine-induced responses ofRL were blocked by priorH₁-receptor blockade withpyrilamine (2 mg/kg). These results indicate that1) the contribution of Rti and Rawto RL changes during maturationand that 2) contractile responses toexogenous histamine are manifest predominantly in most distal airwaysand lung parenchyma during early postnatal life; with advancingmaturation there is greater contribution of airways to the increase inRL induced by histamine.

     

Fermentation and recovery of glutamic acid from palm waste hydrolysate by Ion-exchange resin column

Glutamic acid produced from palm waste hydrolysate by fermentation with Brevibacterium lactofermentum ATCC 13869 is produced with a remarkably high yield compared with that produced from pure glucose as a carbon source. The produce yield is 70 g/L with glucose, wherease, when palm waste hydrolysate is the fermentation medium in the same bioreactor under same conditions, it is 88 g/L. The higher yield may be attributed to the fact that this organism has the ability to convert sugars other than only glucose present in the hydrolysate. Bioreactor conditions most conducive for maximum production are pH 7.5, temperature of 30 degrees rmentation period of 48 h, inoculum size 6%, substrate concentration of 10 g per 100 mL, yeast extract 0.5 g per 100 mL as a suitable N source, and biotin at a concentration of 10 pg/L. Palm waste hydrolysate used in this study was prepared by enzymic saccharification of treated palm press fiber under conditions that yielded a maximum of 30 g/L total reducing sugars. Glutamic acid from fermentation broth was recovered by using a chromatographic column (5cm x 60 cm) packed with a strong ion-exchange resin. The filtered broth containing glutamic acid and other inorganic ions was fed to the fully charged column. The broth was continuously recycled at a flow rate of 50 mL/min (retention time of 55 min) until glutamic acid was fully adsorbed on the column leaving other ions in the effluent. Recovery was done by eluting with urea and sodium hydroxide for total displacement of glutamic acid from the resin. The eluent containing 88 g/L of glutamic acid was concentrated by evaporation to obtain solid crystals of the product. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Insulin receptor binding from mid-term and full-term placentas of patients with gestational diabetes mellitus and normal pregnant women

Insulin receptor binding was examined in the microvillous membranes of mid-term (20–22 weeks of gestation, MT) and full-term (FT) placentas from patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and in normal pregnant control (N). Mid-term placentas were obtained from patients who have had spontaneous abortion. The maximum per cent specific binding (%SB) in MT placenta for GDM was significantly lower (4.8%) compared with the FT placenta (22%, p<0.001), while in the N group the maximum per cent specific binding for MT placenta was 14.1% compared with 26% for the FT placneta (p<0.001). Binding data from FT placenta of well-controlled GDM patients were similar with the FT placenta from N group (22%SB for GDM VS 26% SB for N). Even as there were similarities in the binding characteristics of FT placentas from both groups the placental membrane protein content in the GDM group was lower by 50% compared with the N control (2.5±0.11 VS 4.8±0.15 mg protein/g placenta respectively, p<0.001) suggesting that in the GDM group achieving a tight glycemic control could improve receptor affinities. Data from the competitive binding assay of GDM patients showed that the insulin necessary to achieve 50% inhibition (ID₅₀) was significantly lower in MT compared with the FT placenta (0.9×10^–9 M VS 3.8×10^–9 M, p<0.001) but in the N placenta there was no alteration in the ID₅₀ of MT and FT placentas (3.1×10^–9 M VS 4×10^–9 M, p<0.01, respectively). The present study demonstrated that in GDM the placental insulin receptor binding was significantly lower in spontaneously aborted placenta compared with placentas collected at full-term. Furthermore, these data suggest that the objective to achieve a tight glycemic control in GDM patients could optimize insulin receptor function similar to that of a normal pregnancy. Thus a full term placenta from GDM patients under a well managed glycemic control throughout the entire duration of pregnancy would result in an optimum insulin receptor function.     

Biosorption of uranium by Myxococcus xanthus

This paper deals with uranium biosorption by Myxococcus xanthus biomass in which dry biomass, accumulating up to 2.4 mM of uranium g⁻¹, is demonstrated to be a more efficient biosorbent than wet biomass. For uranium concentrations of 0.1–0.3 mM, between 95.79% and 95.99% of the uranium was taken up from the solution. Dry biomass biosorption was found to be relatively rapid, reaching equilibrium after 5–10 min. In addition, the pH influenced biosorption, pH 4.5 promoting maximum uptake. It was also established that the biosorbed uranium is located on the cellular wall and within the extracellular mucopolysaccharide of this microorganism. Furthermore, using sodium carbonate as a desorbent agent, 80.82% of the biosorbed uranium could be recovered. The results obtained indicate the possible utilization of M. xanthus biomass to solve some problems of the water contaminated by uranium.     

P-Element Insertion Alleles of Essential Genes on the Third Chromosome of Drosophila Melanogaster: Correlation of Physical and Cytogenetic Maps in Chromosomal Region 86e-87f

We have established a collection of 2460 lethal or semi-lethal mutant lines using a procedure thought to insert single P elements into vital genes on the third chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. More than 1200 randomly selected lines were examined by in situ hybridization and 90% found to contain single insertions at sites that mark 89% of all lettered subdivisions of the Bridges' map. A set of chromosomal deficiencies that collectively uncover ~25% of the euchromatin of chromosome 3 reveal lethal mutations in 468 lines corresponding to 145 complementation groups. We undertook a detailed analysis of the cytogenetic interval 86E-87F and identified 87 P-element-induced mutations falling into 38 complementation groups, 16 of which correspond to previously known genes. Twenty-one of these 38 complementation groups have at least one allele that has a P-element insertion at a position consistent with the cytogenetics of the locus. We have rescued P elements and flanking chromosomal sequences from the 86E-87F region in 35 lines with either lethal or genetically silent P insertions, and used these as probes to identify cosmids and P1 clones from the Drosophila genome projects. This has tied together the physical and genetic maps and has linked 44 previously identified cosmid contigs into seven ``supercontigs' that span the interval. STS data for sequences flanking one side of the P-element insertions in 49 lines has identified insertions in the αγ element at 87C, two known transposable elements, and the open reading frames of seven putative single copy genes. These correspond to five known genes in this interval, and two genes identified by the homology of their predicted products to known proteins from other organisms.