Effect of Lincocin Treatment on the Greening Process in Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) Leaves

The effect of lincocin (a plastid protein synthesis inhibitor) treatment on the greening process of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) leaves have been studied. In comparison with control leaves treated ones had a decreased rate of chloroplast development. They had a marked chlorophyll deficiency and a decreased chlorophyll a/b ratio. Some long and short wavelength forms of chlorophyll a were lacking as evidenced from the absorption spectra at 25°C and the fluorescence spectra at 77°K. The –¹⁴CO₂ fixation was inhibited by 80–90% in treated leaves. The fluorescence induced by the measuring light was greater in the treated leaves than in the control ones, and the kinetics of the decline of the relative fluorescence intensity were also different. Electron microscopic studies showed macrogranum-like structures and incomplete membrane vesicles in the treated plastids. After longer treatment a destruction of membranes was observed. The results indicate some structural and functional membrane deficiencies and instability of the membranes.     

Evaluation of the Possible Epileptogenic Activity of Ciprofloxacin: The Role of Nigella sativa on Amino Acids Neurotransmitters

The neuroprotective effect of Nigella sativa (NS) on amino acid neurotransmitters alteration in pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) and ciprofloxacin (CFX) treated rats in different brain regions was examined. The oral administration of NS induced an elevation in aspartate and glutamate contents, whereas the levels of GABA and glycine were decreased. Furthermore, the treated groups with PTZ and CFX caused a decrease in aspartate, glutamate and total antioxidant capacity levels, while the concentrations of GABA and glycine were increased after 14 days. Moreover, the pre- and post-treatment with NS in PTZ and CFX treated rats return the levels of these parameters near control values. So, it could be concluded that the treatment with CFX induced imbalance between the excitatory and the inhibitory amino acids which may lead to the initiation of epileptic seizures and the treatment with NS was found to ameliorate these neurological defects which reflect its potent antiepileptic activity.     

Steroidal saponins from the aerial parts of Tribulus pentandrus Forssk

Seven new steroidal glycosides named pentandrosides A(1)-G(7) were isolated from the EtOH extract of the aerial parts of Tribulus pentandrus. Pentandrosides A(1)-E(5) possess cholestane aglycones, pentandroside F(6) a furostan-type aglycone and pentandroside G(7) an unusual acyloxypregnane aglycone probably derived from the degradation of a furostan skeleton. Structure elucidation of 1-7 was accomplished through the extensive use of 1D- and 2D NMR experiments including 1H-1H (DQF-COSY, 1D-TOCSY) and 1H-13C (HSQC, HMBC) spectroscopy along with ESIMS and HRESIMS.     

Oleanane glycosides from the roots of Alhagi maurorum

Three new oleanane-type triterpene glycosides (1–3), along with four known compounds (4–7) glycosides, were isolated from the roots of Alhagi maurorum. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D-NMR experiments as well as ESI-MS analysis. The antiproliferative activity of the isolated compounds was evaluated against a small panel of cancer cell lines including human breast cancer (MCF-7), human lung adenocarcinoma (A549), human prostate cancer (PC-3) and human leukemia (U937) cell lines. None of the tested compounds, in a range of concentrations between 1 and 50 μM, caused a significant reduction of the cell number.     

Fractional modeling dynamics of HIV and CD4<Superscript>+</Superscript> T-cells during primary infection

In this paper, we introduce fractional-order into a model of HIV-1 infection of CD4⁺ T cells. We study the effect of the changing the average number of viral particles N with different sets of initial conditions on the dynamics of the presented model. Generalized Euler method (GEM) will be used to find a numerical solution of the HIV-1 infection fractional order model.     

Factorial design optimization of micelle enhanced synchronous spectrofluorimetric assay of Omarigliptin: Applied to content uniformity testing and in vitro drug release

A micelle enhanced spectrofluorimetric method was developed for determination of Omarigliptin (OMG) based on its native fluorescence behavior. The interaction of OMG with surfactants and macromolecules was studied. In aqueous solution, the relative fluorescence intensity (RFI) of OMG was enhanced by 24% in the presence of Tween 80 at pH 3.5. The optimal conditions for the micelle enhanced fluorescence were attained by Minitab® program using Plackett–Burman factorial design. Pareto chart, contour plots and surface plots were used to exclude the insignificant variables and optimize the significant factors. The spectrofluorimeter was operated under synchronous mode using ?λ = 30 nm and recording the RFI of the intense narrow band at 267 nm for OMG in 0.5% w/v Tween 80 + 0.2 M acetate buffer (pH 3.5) system using water as diluent. Using synchronous scan mode offered many advantages including considerable reduction of spectral overlap and enhanced linearity of the calibrators. Validation parameters were satisfied over the concentration range 0.1–2 μg/ml. The developed method was the first analytical procedure for OMG assay in Marizev® tablets. Moreover, content uniformity testing and in vitro drug release of tablets were performed.     

Evolution of sexual size dimorphism in grouse and allies (Aves: Phasianidae) in relation to mating competition,fecundity demands and resource division

Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is often assumed to be driven by three major selective processes: (1) sexual selection influencing male size and thus mating success, (2) fecundity selection acting on females and (3) inter‐sexual resource division favouring different size in males and females to reduce competition for resources. Sexual selection should be particularly strong in species that exhibit lek polygyny, since male mating success is highly skewed in such species. We investigated whether these three selective processes are related to SSD evolution in grouse and allies (Phasianidae). Male‐biased SSD increased with body size (Rensch’s rule) and lekking species exhibited more male‐biased SSD than nonlekking ones. Directional phylogenetic analyses indicated that lekking evolved before SSD, but conclusions were highly dependent on the body size traits and chosen model values. There was no relationship between SSD and male display agility, nor did resource division influence SSD. Although clutch mass increased with female body size it was not related to the degree of SSD. Taken together, the results are most consistent with the hypothesis that lekking behaviour led to the evolution of male‐biased SSD in Phasianidae.