Five Schiff bases derived from melamine have been used as efficient additives to reduce the process of photodegradation of poly(vinyl chloride) films. The performance of Schiff bases has been ...investigated using various techniques. Poly(vinyl chloride) films containing Schiff bases were irradiated with ultraviolet light and any changes in their infrared spectra, weight, and the viscosity of their average molecular weight were investigated. In addition, the surface morphology of the films was inspected using a light microscope, atomic force microscopy, and a scanning electron micrograph. The additives enhanced the films resistance against irradiation and the polymeric surface was much smoother in the presence of the Schiff bases compared with the blank film. Schiff bases containing an ortho-hydroxyl group on the aryl rings showed the greatest photostabilization effect, which may possibly have been due to the direct absorption of ultraviolet light. This phenomenon seems to involve the transfer of a proton as well as several intersystem crossing processes.
This study aims to evaluate the effect of hydroponic barley (HB) by substituting control diet with 25% HB with or without enzymes on rabbit performance, nutrient digestibility, and economic ...efficiency. A total number of 60 growing male HyPlus rabbits (average body weight 669 ± 12 g, 30 days of age) were utilized in the present study. The rabbits were randomly assigned to three groups (n = 20 rabbits per group). The first group served as a control (C). The other two groups were fed the control diet substituted with 25% hydroponic barley HB (group CHB), and the control diet substituted with 25% HB added with 0.5 g/kg enzymes (CHBE). The experiment lasted for 56 days. The results revealed that daily body weight gain improved (P < 0.05) by 18.64% and 23.94%, and feed conversion ratio improved by 3.74% and 17.91% than control, respectively, during 30-86 days of age in CHB and CHBE groups. The economic efficiency was improved (P < 0.05) by 32.17% and 39.60% in CHB and CHBE diets, respectively, compared to control; and nutrient digestibility, and mineral retention of growing rabbits were also improved (P < 0.05) by substituting HB with or without enzymes compared to control diet. Overall, the best rabbit performances were observed in both CHB and CHBE groups. In conclusion, these results suggest that substituting 25% of concentrated control diet by hydroponic barley with or without enzymes have positive effects in a sustainable way on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and economic efficiency of growing rabbits.
A series of
-pyrazole Schiff bases (
-
and
-
) and mono-pyrazole Schiff bases (
-
and
-
) were designed and synthesized through the reaction of 5-aminopyrazoles
-
with aldehydes
-
using mild reaction ...condition with a good yield percentage. The chemical structure of newly formed Schiff bases tethered pyrazole core was confirmed based on spectral and experimental data. All the newly formed pyrazole Schiff bases were evaluated against eight pathogens (Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and fungi). The result exhibited that, most of them have good and broad activities. Among those, only six Schiff bases (
,
,
,
,
, and
) displayed MIC values (0.97-62.5 µg/mL) compared to Tetracycline (15.62-62.5 µg/mL) and Amphotericin B (15.62-31.25 µg/mL), MBC values (1.94-87.5 µg/mL) and selectivity to tumor cell than normal cells. Immunomodulatory activities showed that the promising Schiff bases increase the immunomodulator effect of defense cell and the Schiff base
is the highest one by (Intra. killing activity = 136.5 ± 0.3%) having a pyrazole moiety as well as amide function (O=C-NH
) and piperidinyl core. Furthermore, the most potent one exhibited broad activity depending on both MIC and MBC values. Moreover, to study the mechanism of these pyrazole Schiff bases, two active Schiff bases
and
from six derivatives were introduced to study the enzyme assay as dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) on
organism and DNA gyrase with two different organisms,
and
, to determine the inhibitory activities with lower values in the case of DNA gyrase (
and
) or nearly as DHFR compound
, while pyrazole
showed excellent inhibitory against all enzyme assay. The molecular docking study against dihydrofolate reductase and DNA gyrase were performed to study the binding between active site in the pocket with the two Schiff bases (
and
) that exhibited good binding affinity with different bond types as H-bonding, aren-aren, and arene-cation interaction as well as study the physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties of the two active Schiff bases
and
.
A series of Schiff bases
-
were designed and synthesized for evaluation of their antibacterial properties against multi-drug resistant bacteria (MDRB). The antibacterial activities of Schiff bases
-
...showed that most of the synthesized compounds displayed a significant antibacterial activity. Assessment of in silico ADMET properties (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity) of Schiff bases illustrates that all derivatives showed agreement to the Lipinski's rule of five. Further enzymatic assay aided by molecular docking study demonstrated that compound
is a potent inhibitor of
DNA gyrase and dihydrofolate reductase kinases. This study could be valuable in the discovery of new potent antimicrobial agents.
Hepatocyte death and a systemic inflammatory response are the outcome of a complex chain of events mediated by numerous inflammatory cells and chemical mediators. The point of this study was to find ...out if tadalafil and/or Lepidium sativum (L. sativum) could help people who have been exposed to carbon tetrachloride (CCL
) and are experiencing acute moderate liver failure. This was especially true when the two were used together.
To cause mild liver failure 24 h before sacrifice, a single oral dosage of CCL
(2.5 mL/kg b.w.) (50% in olive oil) was utilized. Furthermore, immunohistochemical expression of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) as well as histological abnormalities were performed on liver tissue.
The results showed that tadalafil and/or L. sativum, especially in combination, performed well to cure acute mild liver failure caused by CCL
. This was demonstrated by a decrease in NF-κB expression in the liver tissue and an improvement in organ damage markers observed in the blood and liver tissues. Furthermore, such therapy reduced interleukin1 beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels in the liver tissue. It's worth noting that the tested combination resulted in greater liver improvement.
According to the findings, tadalafil and L. sativum, particularly in combination, have the ability to protect the liver from the negative effects of CCL
exposure. Because of its capacity to improve liver function, restore redox equilibrium, and decrease inflammatory mediators, it is a prospective option for mitigating the negative effects of common environmental pollutants such as CCL
.
Magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO-NPs) were synthesized using the fungal strain Aspergillus terreus S1 to overcome the disadvantages of chemical and physical methods. The factors affecting the ...biosynthesis process were optimized as follows: concentration of Mg(NO3)2·6H2O precursor (3 mM), contact time (36 min), pH (8), and incubation temperature (35 °C). The characterization of biosynthesized MgO-NPs was accomplished using UV-vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy—energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Data confirmed the successful formation of crystallographic, spherical, well-dispersed MgO-NPs with a size range of 8.0–38.0 nm at a maximum surface plasmon resonance of 280 nm. The biological activities of biosynthesized MgO-NPs including antimicrobial activity, biotreatment of tanning effluent, and chromium ion removal were investigated. The highest growth inhibition of pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans was achieved at 200 μg mL–1 of MgO-NPs. The biosynthesized MgO-NPs exhibited high efficacy to decolorize the tanning effluent (96.8 ± 1.7% after 150 min at 1.0 µg mL–1) and greatly decrease chemical parameters including total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and conductivity with percentages of 98.04, 98.3, 89.1, 97.2, and 97.7%, respectively. Further, the biosynthesized MgO-NPs showed a strong potential to remove chromium ions from the tanning effluent, from 835.3 mg L–1 to 21.0 mg L–1, with a removal percentage of 97.5%.
Abstract
High-grade calcium aluminate cement (CAC) has been successfully synthesized from municipal alumina waste and limestone under mild reaction conditions. Mineralogical composition and ...microstructure of the sintered mixes were investigated using X-ray diffraction and FESEM; valuable cementing phases such as CA, CA
2
, and C
12
A
7
were observed in addition to the C
3
A phase that was detected in the mixes with high CaCO
3
content. Mix CA60 containing 60 wt% alumina waste has achieved the best sinterability (less than 1 vol% porosity) and the highest densification (~ 2.65 g/cm
3
bulk density) at 1450 °C. Densification, cold-crushing strength (CCS), and microstructure of the hydrated cement samples (From Mix CA60) were investigated. The cast cement specimens revealed better density and CCS characteristics (63.1 and 74 MPa at 7 and 28 days, respectively) in comparison with the commercial cement. Conventional castables (5 × 5 × 5 cm
3
) were prepared from mixtures composed of 15 wt% cement and 85 wt% aggregates (40% Al
2
O
3
), where CA60 and commercial cement were used to compare the effect of the manufactured CA60 cement with the commercial one. The castables prepared with CA60 cement have shown a higher strength at 110 °C with 4.5 MPa when compared to the commercial CAC at the same temperature (1.8 MPa). Accordingly, this study contributes not only to preserving the environment from the accumulation of industrial wastes but also to valorizing and adding value to these wastes.
Although inactivation of the PTEN gene has been implicated in the development of resistance to the HER2 targeting antibody trastuzumab, the mechanisms mediating this resistance remain elusive. We ...generated trastuzumab resistant cells by knocking down PTEN expression in HER2 overexpressing breast cancer cell lines and demonstrate that development of trastuzumab resistance in these cells is mediated by activation of an IL6 inflammatory feedback loop leading to expansion of the cancer stem cell (CSC) population. Long term trastuzumab treatment generates highly enriched CSCs which display an EMT phenotype secreting over 100-fold more IL6 than parental cells. An IL6 receptor antibody interrupted this inflammatory feedback loop reducing the cancer stem cell population resulting in decreased tumor growth and metastasis in mouse xenographs. These studies demonstrate that trastuzumab resistance may be mediated by an IL6 inflammatory loop and suggest that blocking this loop may provide alternative strategy to overcome trastuzumab resistance.
► PTEN deletion in HER2+ breast tumors activates IL6 feedback loop ► IL6/NF-κB signaling induces breast cancer stem cell population with EMT phenotype ► IL6 induced breast cancer stem cells are resistant to anti-HER2 therapy ► Anti-IL6R antibody overcomes trastuzumab resistance in mouse xenograft models
Global warming and climate change, accompanied and assisted by rapid economic and population growth, are causing a sharp rise in cooling demands and stressing the already-limited supply of freshwater ...for many countries worldwide, especially those developing under hot-climate conditions. Thus, it is imperative to find solutions to meet cooling and freshwater needs without negatively affecting the environment and exacerbating the global warming problem. Solar-driven hybrid desalination/cooling technologies are a promising solution that can help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing overall efficiency and energy savings. The present study summarizes research efforts in meeting cooling and freshwater demands using the available solar resources. Various solar desalination technologies, such as multi-effect distillation (MED), single and multi-stage flash (MSF), reverse osmosis (RO), adsorption, absorption desalination, and membrane distillation (MD), and their integration with different cooling technologies, are reported. The study reported system performance indicators, such as water production rate, cooling capacity, Coefficient of Performance, and freshwater cost.
Eight methanolic extracts were tested for their cytotoxic activity against HepG2, PC3, and MCF-7 cell lines using MTT assay. The rhizomes of Cyperus rotundus extract showed the highest activity, ...divided into five fractions (petroleum ether, methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, butanol, and aqueous) and re-evaluated for cytotoxicity. The petroleum ether fraction was the most active against the tested cell lines followed by the methylene chloride. The chromatographic investigation of petroleum ether and methylene chloride fractions resulted in identified of nine compounds; one new compound (1), along with eight known compounds; behenic acid (2), β-sitosterol (3), mandassidione (4), behenic acid monoglyceride (5), sitosteryl (6`-hentriacontanoyl)-β-D-galactopyranoside (6), β-sitosterol 3-O-β-D-glucoside (7), luteolin (8) and pinellic acid (9). Compound 1 was elucidated as a ceramide, 2`-2-hydroxypentacosanoylamino-1`, 3`, 4`-nonadecanetriol. The structure of 1 was confirmed by extensive analysis of both NMR (1D and 2D) data and HR-FAB-MS. The isolated compounds showed a very promising anticancer activity. Compounds 2–4 showed potent cytotoxic activity against the three tested cancer cell lines. Compounds 9 and 1 displayed inhibitory activity against HepG2 with IC50 values 6.81 to 8.075 µM, and PC3 with IC50 of 11.92 to 14.48 µM. While compounds 5 and 8 showed remarkable cytotoxic activity against the HepG2 with IC50 values of 7.641 to 10.02 µM. By analyzing the results of the MTT assay together with the obtained docking results we designed a proposed structure-activity relationship (SAR) to be a guide for further identification of new anticancer agents in the future.
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•The bio-assay guided fractionation of C. rotundus resulted in the isolation of one new ceramide along with eight known compounds (2 - 9).•The isolated compounds showed a very promising anticancer activity. Compounds 2 - 4 showed potent cytotoxic activity against the three tested cancer cell lines with IC50 values ranged from 7.159 ± 0.353 to 12.28 ± 0.398 µM.•A proposed structure-activity relationship (SAR) was concluded by analyzing the results of the MTT assay along with the docking study.
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