Comparative bioinformatics analysis and abiotic stress responses of expansin proteins in Cucurbitaceae members: watermelon and melon

Protoplasma - Watermelon and melon are members of the Cucurbitaceae family including economically significant crops in the world. The expansin protein family, which is one of the members of the...     

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 .     

Microfluidic‐Assisted Blade Coating of Compositional Libraries for Combinatorial Applications: The Case of Organic Photovoltaics

Microfluidic technologies are highly adept at generating controllable compositional gradients in fluids, a feature that has accelerated the understanding of the importance of chemical gradients in biological processes. That said, the development of versatile methods to generate controllable compositional gradients in the solid‐state has been far more elusive. The ability to produce such gradients would provide access to extensive compositional libraries, thus enabling the high‐throughput exploration of the parametric landscape of functional solids and devices in a resource‐, time‐, and cost‐efficient manner. Herein, the synergic integration of microfluidic technologies is reported with blade coating to enable the controlled formation of compositional lateral gradients in solution. Subsequently, the transformation of liquid‐based compositional gradients into solid‐state thin films using this method is demonstrated. To demonstrate efficacy of the approach, microfluidic‐assisted blade coating is used to optimize blending ratios in organic solar cells. Importantly, this novel technology can be easily extended to other solution processable systems that require the formation of solid‐state compositional lateral gradients.     

Potential Application of Turnip Oil (Raphanus sativus L.) for Biodiesel Production: Physical–Chemical Properties of Neat Oil, Biofuels and their Blends with Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD)

Turnip oil (TO; Raphanus sativus L.) produces seeds that contain around 26 wt% of inedible base stock that are suitable as a potential feedstock for biodiesel production. A turnip oil methyl ester (TME) was prepared from acid-catalyzed pretreated TO in an effort to evaluate important fuel properties of turnip oil-based biodiesel, such as kinematic viscosity, cloud point, pour point (PP), cold filter plugging point, acid value, oxidative stability and lubricity. A comparison was made with soybean oil methyl esters (SME) as per biodiesel fuel standards such as ASTM D6751 and EN 14214. TME was characterized using FTIR, HPLC and ¹H NMR. Except PP property, SME displays superior fuel properties compared to TME. Blends (B5 and B20) of TME in ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel (ULSD) were also assessed for the aforesaid fuel properties and compared to an analogous set of blends of soybean oil methyl ester in ULSD as per petro diesel fuel standards such as ASTM D975 and D7467. TME B5 blends in ULSD displayed improved PP property in comparison to neat ULSD and blends of SME in ULSD. It was demonstrated that the B5 and B20 blends of TME in ULSD had acceptable fuel properties as per ASTM D975 (for B5 blend) and ASTM D7467 (for B20 blend). In summary, turnip oil has potential as an alternative, non-food feedstock for biodiesel production.     

Calcium hypochlorite on mouse embryonic fibroblast cells (NIH3T3) in vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity: MTT and comet assay

Molecular Biology Reports - Antimicrobial irrigation solutions are widely used under clinical settings. Their effect on dental tissue is a subject of recent research, which aims for a safer...     

Agonist Leukadherin-1 Increases CD11b/CD18-Dependent Adhesion Via Membrane Tethers

Integrin CD11b/CD18 is a key adhesion receptor that mediates leukocyte migration and immune functions. Leukadherin-1 (LA1) is a small molecule agonist that enhances CD11b/CD18-dependent cell adhesion to its ligand ICAM-1. Here, we used single-molecule force spectroscopy to investigate the biophysical mechanism by which LA1-activated CD11b/CD18 mediates leukocyte adhesion. Between the two distinct populations of CD11b/CD18:ICAM-1 complex that participate in cell adhesion, the cytoskeleton(CSK)-anchored elastic elements and the membrane tethers, we found that LA1 enhanced binding of CD11b/CD18 on K562 cells to ICAM-1 via the formation of long membrane tethers, whereas Mn²⁺ additionally increased ICAM-1 binding via CSK-anchored bonds. LA1 activated wild-type and LFA1^−/− neutrophils also showed longer detachment distances and time from ICAM-1-coated atomic force microscopy tips, but significantly lower detachment force, as compared to the Mn²⁺-activated cells, confirming that LA1 primarily increased membrane-tether bonds to enhance CD11b/CD18:ICAM-1 binding, whereas Mn²⁺ induced additional CSK-anchored bond formation. The results suggest that the two types of agonists differentially activate integrins and couple them to the cellular machinery, providing what we feel are new insights into signal mechanotransduction by such agents.     

Nebulosides A–B,novel triterpene saponins from under-ground parts of Gypsophila arrostii Guss. var. nebulosa

A bioassay-guided phytochemical analysis of the triterpene saponins from under ground parts of Gypsophila arrostii var. nebulosa allowed the isolation of two triterpene saponins; nebuloside A, B based on gypsogenin and quillaic acid aglycone. Two new oleanane type triterpenoid saponins (nebuloside A, B) and three known saponins (1–3) were isolated from the root bark of Gypsophila arrostii var. nebulosa. The structures of the two new compounds were elucidated as 3-O-β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→2)-[β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)]-β-d-glucuronopyranosyl quillaic acid 28-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→3)-[β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)-β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1→4)]-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-fucopyranosyl ester (nebuloside A) and 3-O-β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)-[β-d-galactopyranosyl(1→3)-β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→2)]-β-d-glucuronopyranosyl gypsogenin 28-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→3)-[β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1→3)-β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1→4)]-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-fucopyranosyl ester (nebuloside B), on the basis of extensive spectral analysis and chemical evidence. Nebuloside A and B showed toxicity enhancing properties on saporin a type-I RIP without causing toxicity by themselves at 15 μg/mL.