In this research study, the rheological and tribological properties of mahua oil (MO) and flaxseed oil (FO) were investigated by incorporating the TiO
2
, ZrO
2
, graphite, and MoS
2
nanoparticles ...(NPs) as lubricant additives. The nanolubricants were synthesized by dispersing these NPs in MO and FO with varying concentrations from 0.25 to 1.25 wt.% through ultrasonicator and magnetic stirrer. The rheological tests were performed on a cone and plate rheometer, and the tribological test was performed on four-ball tester. The rheological test results depict that the nanolubricants exhibit Newtonian behavior at 40 °C and 100 °C. The tribological test results confirm that the average wear scar diameter (AWSD) of MO is much lower than FO and the maximum reduction in AWSD was 34.4%. TiO
2
and graphite NPs exhibit excellent anti-wear properties in MO, and the maximum reduction in AWSD was 6.5% and 10.14% at an optimum concentration of NPs 0.75wt.%. ZrO
2
and MoS
2
NPs showed negative effects in MO, and maximum AWSD was observed at 0.75 wt.% and 0.5 wt.%, respectively. TiO
2
, ZrO
2
, and MoS
2
NPs perform superior anti-wear properties in FO, and the maximum reduction in AWSD was 30.2%, 11.7%, and 15%, respectively. The optimum concentration of TiO
2
, ZrO
2
, and MoS
2
NPs in FO was 0.25 wt.%, 0.75 wt.%, and 1 wt.%, respectively. The graphite NPs exhibit a lower reduction in wear in FO, and maximum reduction in AWSD was observed 4.5% at a concentration of 0.5wt.%. Among these NPs, graphite NPs could be considered the best suitable anti-wear nano additives for MO and TiO
2
NPs for FO.
Over the years, extensive use of commercially available synthetic pesticides against phytophagous insects has led to their bioaccumulation in the environment causing increased resistance and ...reduction in soil biodiversity. Further, 90% of the applied pesticides enter the various environmental resources as a result of run-off, exposing the farmers as well as consumers of the agricultural produce to severe health issues. Therefore, growing attention has been given toward the development of alternate environmentally friendly pesticides/insecticides that would aid an efficient pest management system and also prevent chronic exposures leading to diseases. One such strategy is, the use of neem plant's (Binomial name:
) active ingredients which exhibit agro-medicinal properties conferring insecticidal as well as immunomodulatory and anti-cancer properties. The most prominent constituent of neem is azadirachtin, which has been established as a pivotal insecticidal ingredient. It acts as an antifeedant, repellent, and repugnant agent and induces sterility in insects by preventing oviposition and interrupting sperm production in males. This review discusses, key neem pesticidal components, their active functional ingredients along with recent strategies on employing nanocarriers, to provide controlled release of the active ingredients and to improve their stability and sustainability.
This review attempts to compile the physics and chemistry of defects in zinc oxide (ZnO), at both, the fundamental and application levels. The defects, either inherent ones or introduced externally, ...have broadened the ZnO material field in various directions. The ZnO material exhibits many defect-attributed properties leading to broad technological applications: electronic and optoelectronic devices, sensors, optical components, ceramic industry, biomedical, catalysis, lightening,
. Considering the huge defect-dependent technological scopes, the ZnO material is constantly engineered for various defects, and corresponding functionalities are tailored with respect to particular applications. The functional properties of ZnO are strongly influenced by the defects, and as a result, the defect engineering of the ZnO materials has remained an important motivation in materials science and engineering in terms of localized defects, extended defects, impurities, and surface defects,
. A detailed characterization of these defects seems to be an essential part of any research area. The correlations of the microstructural characteristics with electrical and optical properties of ZnO are then a natural step for further facilitating an efficient way toward advanced ZnO-based materials and devices. The present review is an effort to shed light on the defects of ZnO, properties, theoretical aspects, and corresponding applications.
Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease transmitted by an obligate intra-macrophage protozoan of the genus Leishmania through the infective bite of a vector sandfly. This study investigated the ...therapeutic efficacy of farnesol, a sesquiterpene compound, for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) using in vivo BALB/c mouse model. In this study, farnesol's efficacy was compared with the standard drug, paromomycin. It was observed that farnesol significantly reduced lesion sizes and footpad thickness compared to the control group (paromomycin). Lymph node size was also significantly reduced in farnesol-treated mice, indicating its ability to control infection spread. Combination therapy with farnesol and Paromomycin did not demonstrate synergistic effects. These results highlight the potential of farnesol as an alternative therapeutic agent for CL. Further investigations are required to elucidate its mechanism of action and assess potential off-target effects. Optimization of oral delivery methods should be explored to enhance bioavailability. Overall, our findings support farnesol's efficacy in CL treatment, offering promising prospects for improved disease management.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is found to be associated with various comorbidities which include cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and diabetes. The impaired regulation of ...renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) has been seen in COVID-19 patients, but whether RAAS inhibitors, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers (ARBs), are responsible for worsening of clinical conditions remains unknown. Herein, we review the role of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) expression in disease progression, its association with comorbidities and COVID-19, and summarize the clinical evidence for several potential directions for future research work on ACEIs/ARBs in COVID-19 patients.
Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne parasitic infection caused by the infective bite of female Phlebotomine sandflies. Treatment of leishmaniasis by conventional synthetic compounds is met by challenges ...pertaining to adverse effects which call for the discovery of newer anti-leishmanial molecules. This study was performed to evaluate the effect and modes of action of a sesquiterpene alcoholic molecule Farnesol on Leishmania major, the causative agent of Zoonotic CL. The cytotoxic effect of Farnesol against L.major promastigotes, amastigotes and macrophages was assessed by MTT test and counting. The IC.sub.50 on promastigotes by Farnesol on L.major was also evaluated by flow cytometry. In the findings, promastigotes were reduced at 167muM. The mean numbers of L.major amastigotes in macrophages were significantly decreased on exposure to Farnesol at 172muM. In addition, Farnesol induced significant apoptosis dose-dependent on L.major promastigotes. In silico protein-ligand_binding analyses indicated the effect of Farnesol in perturbation of the ergosterol synthesis pathway of Leishmania with attributes suggesting inhibition of Lanosterol-alpha-demethylase, the terminal enzyme of ergosterol synthesis machinery. Findings from flow cytometry reveal the role of Farnesol in apoptosis-induced killing in promastigotes. Farnesol was effective at very lower concentrations when compared to Paromomycin. Further studies are crucial to evaluate the therapeutic potential of Farnesol alone or in combination with other conventional drugs in animal models.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Malaria extensively leads to mortality and morbidity in endemic regions, and the emergence of drug resistant parasites is alarming. Plant derived synthetic pharmaceutical compounds are found to be a ...foremost research to obtain diverse range of potent leads. Amongst them, the chalcone scaffold is a functional template for drug discovery. The present study involves synthesis of ten chalcones with various substitution pattern in rings A and B and assessment of their anti-malarial efficacy against chloroquine sensitive and chloroquine resistant strains as well as of their cytotoxicity and effect on haemozoin production.
The chalcones were synthesized by Claisen-Schmidt condensation between equimolar quantities of substituted acetophenones and aryl benzaldehydes (or indole-3-carboxaldehyde) and were screened for anti-malarial activity by WHO Mark III schizont maturation inhibition assay. The cytotoxicity profile of a HeLa cell line was evaluated through MTT viability assay and the selectivity index (SI) was calculated. Haemozoin inhibition assay was performed to illustrate mode of action on a Plasmodium falciparum strain.
The IC
values of all compounds were in the range 0.10-0.40 μg/mL for MRC-2 (a chloroquine sensitive strain) and 0.14-0.55 μg/mL for RKL-9 (a chloroquine resistant strain) of P. falciparum. All the chalcones showed low cellular toxicity with minimal haemolysis. The statistically significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the haemozoin production suggests a similar mechanism than that of chloroquine.
Out of ten chalcones, number 7 was found to be a lead compound with the highest potency (IC
= 0.11 µg/mL), as compared to licochalcone (IC
= 1.43 µg/mL) and with high selectivity index of 85.05.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Mosquitoes are a dominant fraction of dipteran fauna, occupying a variety of niches. The most common method deployed for their control is the use of insecticides. Throughout their life cycle they are ...exposed to a wide range of predators in different habitats, thus biological control of mosquitoes by using aquatic predators has been suggested. Therefore, the present study was carried out to explore the type of natural predators coexisting with the mosquito larvae in still water bodies and to determine their efficacy as predators for mosquito larvae. A coexistence of different predators with mosquito larvae was observed in 27 standing water bodies of Chandigarh, India. The predation efficiency of tadpoles of frog was comparable to Gambusia fish, as 97% of the mosquito larvae of all instars of the medically important mosquito genera Anopheles, Aedes, Culex and Armigeres were preyed. The toad tadpoles were found to be least effective and their predation rate was found to be negligible. Further studies on larval source management by frog tadpoles in combination with insecticides or stand-alone would be worthwhile.
Over the past six decades, the drug resistance of Plasmodium falciparum has become an issue of utmost concern. Despite the remarkable progress that has been made in recent years in reducing the ...mortality rate to about 30% with the scaling-up of vector control, introduction of artemisinin-based combination therapies and other malaria control strategies, the confirmation of artemisinin resistance on the Cambodia–Thailand border threatened all the previous success. This review addresses the global scenario of antimalarial resistance and factors associated with it, with the main emphasis on futuristic approaches like nanotechnology and stem cell therapy that may impede resistant malaria, along with novel medications which are preparing to enter the global antimalarial market. These novel studies are likely to escalate over the coming years and will hopefully help to reduce the burden of malaria.
Au cours des six dernières décennies, la résistance aux médicaments de Plasmodium falciparum est devenue une question extrêmement préoccupante. Malgré des progrès remarquables accomplis ces dernières années pour réduire le taux de mortalité à environ 30 %, avec l’intensification de la lutte antivectorielle, l’introduction des thérapies combinées basées sur l’artémisinine et d’autres stratégies de lutte contre le paludisme, la confirmation de la résistance à l’artémisinine sur la frontière Cambodge-Thaïlande a menacé tous les succès précédents. Cette synthèse porte sur le scénario global de diverses résistances antipaludiques et les facteurs qui y sont associés, en soulignant les approches futuristes comme la nanotechnologie et la thérapie par les cellules souches, qui peuvent entraver le paludisme résistant, et les nouveaux médicaments qui vont bientôt entrer sur le marché antipaludéen mondial. Ces nouvelles études vont s’intensifier au cours des prochaines années et, nous l’espérons, contribuer à réduire la charge du paludisme.
Lactoferrin (Lf), an iron-binding protein from the transferrin family has been reported to have numerous functions. Even though Lf was first isolated from milk, it is also found in most exocrine ...secretions and in the secondary granules of neutrophils. Antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity reports on lactoferrin identified its significance in host defense against infection and extreme inflammation. Anticarcinogenic reports on lactoferrin make this protein even more valuable. This review is focused on the structural configuration of iron-containing and iron-free forms of lactoferrin obtained from different sources such as goat, camel and bovine. Apart for emphasizing on the specific beneficial properties of lactoferrin from each of these sources, the general antimicrobial, immunomodulatory and anticancer activities of lactoferrin are discussed here. Implementation of nanomedicinial strategies that enhance the bioactive function of lactoferrin are also discussed, along with information on lactoferrin in clinical trials.
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