Adriamycin inhibits embryonic development in zebrafish through downregulation of Kruppel‐like factor4

Adriamycin is an effective anticancer drug used in a wide range of cancers. Anticancer drugs modulate oncogenes and nodal regulatory molecules that affect cell differentiation and organismal development. In this study, we explore the effect of adriamycin on Kruppel‐like factor4 (Klf4), an essential pluripotent factor by choosing zebrafish embryos as a model system. Klf4 is involved in the regulation of cellular growth, proliferation, and differentiation. In zebrafish embryogenesis, Klf4 is a major regulator of differentiation of polster in the anterior mesendoderm region of cells into hatching gland cells. The importance of this study is to check the effect of adriamycin on embryonic development. We found, adriamycin dose dependently altered the gene expression level of Klf4 that occurs in parallel to its detrimental effect on hatching. Supportively, cathepsin L and cyclase‐associated protein1 are the other two markers of hatching that are altered along with Klf4.     

Right atrial appendage tachycardia: A rare cause of tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy in a 4-year-old child

We present a rare case of tachycardiomyopathy in a 4-year-old girl. The child had incessant atrial tachycardia (AT) and refractory heart failure. Right atrial appendage (RAA) was localised as the source of the ectopic tachycardia. The child underwent successful radiofrequency ablation (RFA) using 3-D electroanatomical mapping. Fluoroscopy was used sparingly only to rule out underlying anomalies. The left ventricular functions returned to normal by one month after the procedure. RAA AT is rare in very young children and usually necessitates surgical appendectomies. RFA is a challenge in such age groups and there are very few published literature on RAA AT in very young children.     

Screening and Development of β-Carotene Enriched Phaffia rhodozyma Cell by Culture Media Engineering

Microbiology - β-Carotene, a well-known carotenoid, plays an important role in several biological functions, including eye health. Presently 80–90% of carotenoids are obtained either by...     

Design,Synthesis, and Structure–Activity Relationships of Novel 1-(Substituted)-2-Methyl-3-(4-Oxo-2-Methylquinazolin-3(4H)-yl) Isothioureas for Their Anti-HIV and Antibacterial Activities

Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry - In this study, a novel quinazolinone analogue was designed and synthesized by substituting the thiourea group and phenyl ring at N-3 and C-2 positions of...     

Amelioration of plant responses to drought under elevated CO2 by rejuvenating photosynthesis and nitrogen use efficiency: implications for future climate-resilient crops

Photosynthesis Research - The contemporary global agriculture is beset with serious threats from diverse eco-environmental conditions causing decreases in crop yields by?~?15%. These...     

ZnCl2 catalyzed new coumarinyl-chalcones as cytotoxic agents

A new series of coumarin-yl-chalcone derivatives (3a-m) had been designed and synthesized through different reactions such as aromatic addition, cyclization and Claisen-Schmidt reactions in good yields (54–78%). 5-acetyl-4-(2-hydroxyphenyl) -6-methyl-3, 4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H) -one (1) has been synthesized by multi-component one pot reaction of salicylaldehyde, methyl acetoacetate and urea, which was further reacted with malonic acid employing ZnCl₂ catalyst to yield 5-acetyl-4-(4-hydroxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-8-yl) -6-methyl-3, 4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H) -one (2). The title compounds (3a-m) were synthesised by reacting 5-acetyl-4-(4-hydroxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-8-yl) -6-methyl-3, 4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one (2) with different aromatic aldehydes in the presence of potassium hydroxide. In silico studies, a preliminary screening method for predicting the anti-cancer activity was performed for the synthesized compounds (3a-m) against Src, Alb tyrosine kinase and homology model protein (PDB ID: 4csv). The derivatives 3h and 3m showed moderate binding energies. The in vitro cytotoxic activity was evaluated for the compounds 3h and 3m by using human cancer cell-line morphology and MTT assay against three human cell-lines A549 (Lung), Jurkat (Leukemia) and MCF-7 (Breast). The results indicate that the derivatives 3h and 3m display significant anti-cancer activity, however it was found to be less cytotoxic when compared to the standard used i.e. Imatinib.     

Design of a protective shield for a radiological emergency intervention using Monte Carlo simulation and an anthropomorphic phantom

Due to the increasing use of radioactive sources, new challenges appear for the protection of humans and the environment against ionizing radiation. Thus, organizations handling these sources must be endowed with plans how to react in case of any radiological emergency situations. Monte Carlo simulations are among the most widely employed methods used for the management and reconstruction of radiological incidents and accidents. In this work, results of a Monte Carlo simulation study with the Geant4 simulation toolkit using a digital anthropomorphic phantom are reported. The investigated scenario included an emergency intervention carried out inside the ionization cell of the National Institute of Agronomic Research (NIAR) of Tangier/Morocco, which houses a ⁶⁰Co gamma irradiator. In this scenario, a radiological incident was assumed where the source cage of the gamma irradiator is stuck in the guide tube and not completely inserted into its storage container. The objective of this work was to design a radiation shield to protect an operator during the emergency intervention and make sure that any radiation exposure is below the recommended dose limits, taking into account the date of occurrence (which determines the activity of the source at the time of the emergency situation) of the accident and economic aspects of shielding design. In this work, the maximum time available for the operator to accomplish the operation intervention while remaining protected is calculated. The results obtained show that the shielding prototype developed gives the operator a time between 3 and 300 s, depending on shielding design. It is concluded that shielding of the type investigated in the present study will allow any facility to manage the assumed emergency scenario, should it occur.

     

Establishment and cryopreservation of a cell line derived from caudal fin of endangered catfish Clarias dussumieri Valenciennes, 1840

We describe a new cell line, Clarias dussumieri fin (ClDuF), from the caudal fin of C. dussumieri using the explant technique followed by cryopreservation. The cryopreserved CiDuF cells were validated for quality and other characteristics. They showed typical epithelial morphology in vitro and epithelial cells outgrew their fibroblast cells after the fifth passage. ClDuF cells had a characteristic sigmoid curve with population doubling in 24 h. Immunotyping of the ClDuF cells against cytokeratin suggested the epithelial lineage. Chromosome analysis showed normal diploid (2n = 50) numbers and the cells did not contain any contamination, including Mycoplasma and other microbes. Partial sequencing of fragments of mitochondrial 16s rRNA and COI genes of ClDuF confirmed that the cell line was initiated from C. dussumieri. Cells at the 10th and 25th passages had more than 80% and 70% viability in the culture, respectively, after 6 months of storage at LN₂. These ClDuF cells were morphologically identical to the cells before freezing and the genetic resource of C. dussumieri was preserved. The species-specific cells can serve as a valuable source for virus isolation, conservation and cloning of somatic cells.     

Molecularly imprinted cryogel cartridges for the selective recognition of tyrosine

Molecularly imprinted polymers are used for creating a specific cavity and selective recognition sites for the structure of a target molecule in a polymeric structure. In this study, specific molecularly imprinted cryogel cartridges were synthesized using two distinct functional monomers to compare imprinting efficiency for the selective recognition of Tyrosine (Tyr). Tyr-imprinted cryogel cartridge (MIP1) was prepared using metal-chelate coordination for the imprinting process by free-radical bulk polymerization under frozen conditions, and Tyr-imprinted cryogel cartridge (MIP2) was prepared in the same way using hydrophobic effects for imprinting. After the characterization of the cryogel cartridges was carried out, the optimum adsorption conditions of both were determined according to the different parameters such as flow rate (0.5–2.5 ml/min), pH of the medium (4.0–8.0), initial Tyr concentration (0.1–3.0 mg/ml), and temperature (4–45°C). Selectivity experiments of Tyr-imprinted and non-imprinted cryogel cartridges were carried out by using phenylalanine, tryptophan, and cysteine. Besides, the eluted Tyr from MIP1 and MIP2 cryogel cartridge were applied to FPLC system. Also, the reusability experiments of Tyr-imprinted cryogel cartridges was observed no significant decrease in the adsorption capacity.