An unexpected trinuclear Cu(II)–thiazolidine complex has been synthesized by mixing CuCl2·2H2O with the Schiff base ligand, 1-(((4,5-dihydrothiazol-2-yl)ethylidene)hydrazono)methyl)phenol L, in ...ethanol. Unexpectedly, the reaction proceeded via the hydrolysis of the Schiff base L, followed by cyclization to afford 3-methyl-5,6-dihydrothiazolo3,2-c1,2,3triazole (La), then complexation with the Cu(II) salt, forming the trinuclear Cu3(La)4(Cl)6 complex. The complex was characterized by means of FTIR spectra, elemental analysis, and X-ray crystallography. In the trinuclear Cu3(La)4(Cl)6 complex, there are two crystallographically independent hexa- and penta-coordinated Cu(II) sites, where the thiazolidine ligand La units act as a monodentate ligand and a linker between the Cu(II) centers. The crystal packing of the Cu3(La)4(Cl)6 complex is primarily affected by the weak non-covalent C-H∙∙∙Cl interactions. In accordance with Hirshfeld surface analysis, the Cl∙∙∙H, H∙∙∙H, S∙∙∙H, and N∙∙∙H percentages are 31.9%, 27.2%, 13.5%, and 9.9%, respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the oxidation state of copper as Cu(II), as well as the presence of two different coordination environments around copper centers. The complex showed interesting antibacterial activity against the Gram-positive bacteria S. subtilis, with MIC = 9.7 µg/mL compared to MIC = 4.8 µg/mL for the control, gentamycin. Moreover, the Cu(II) complex showed an equal MIC (312.5 µg/mL) against C. albicans compared to ketoconazole. It also exhibits a very promising inhibitory activity against colon carcinoma (IC50 = 3.75 ± 0.43 µg/mL).
Multicolor fluorescence microscopy is a powerful technique to fully visualize many biological phenomena by acquiring images from different spectrum channels. This study expands the scope of ...multicolor fluorescence microscopy by serial imaging of polystyrene micro-beads as surrogates for drug carriers, cancer spheroids formed using HeLa cells, and microfluidic channels. Three fluorophores with different spectral characteristics are utilized to perform multicolor microscopy. According to the spectrum analysis of the fluorophores, a multicolor widefield fluorescence microscope is developed. Spectral crosstalk is corrected by exciting the fluorophores in a round-robin manner and synchronous emitted light collection. To report the performance of the multicolor microscopy, a simplified 3D tumor model is created by placing beads and spheroids inside a channel filled with the cell culture medium is imaged at varying exposure times. As a representative case and a method for bio-hybrid drug carrier fabrication, a spheroid surface is coated with beads in a channel utilizing electrostatic forces under the guidance of multicolor microscopy. Our experiments show that multicolor fluorescence microscopy enables crosstalk-free and spectrally-different individual image acquisition of beads, spheroids, and channels with the minimum exposure time of 5.5 ms. The imaging technique has the potential to monitor drug carrier transportation to cancer cells in real-time.
Germinal centers (GCs) generate memory B and plasma cells, which are essential for long-lived humoral immunity. GC B cells with high-affinity B cell receptors (BCRs) are selectively expanded. To ...enable this selection, BCRs of such cells are thought to signal differently from those with lower affinity. We show that surprisingly, most proliferating GC B cells did not demonstrate active BCR signaling. Rather, spontaneous and induced signaling was limited by increased phosphatase activity. Accordingly, both SH2 domain-containing phosphatase-1 (SHP-1) and SH2 domain-containing inositol 5 phosphatase were hyperphosphorylated in GC cells and remained colocalized with BCRs after ligation. Furthermore, SHP-1 was required for GC maintenance. Intriguingly, GC B cells in the cell-cycle G₂ period regained responsiveness to BCR stimulation. These data have implications for how higher-affinity B cells are selected in the GC.
•Solid desiccant dehumidifier was integrated with cross flow Maisotsenko cooler.•Performance of MC-DAC was experimentally investigated over a wide range of operating conditions.•MC-DAC can provide ...comfort conditions at low regeneration temperatures of 70°C in subtropical climatic conditions than DAC.•MC-DAC system is 60–65% more efficient than conventional DAC in terms of COP.
This paper presents the performance investigation of a solid desiccant dehumidifier integrated with Maisotsenko cycle (M-Cycle) based cross flow heat and mass exchanger (MC-DAC). The experimental test rig consisting of a silica gel based desiccant wheel and a heat recovery wheel is coupled with M-Cycle indirect evaporative cooler. The effect of wide range of inlet air parameters such as ambient temperature, humidity ratio, and regeneration temperature on the performance of integrated system was analyzed and compared with the conventional desiccant air conditioning (DAC) system. Set of experiments were carried out for both systems at constant process as well as return air mass flow rates under different operating conditions. MC-DAC system was observed to be around 60–65% more efficient than the other system in terms of COPth providing same supply air conditions at low regeneration temperatures.
Chromium is commonly found in huge quantities in tannery wastewaters. For this reason, the removal and recovery of the chromium content of tannery wastewaters is crucial for environmental protection ...and economic reasons. Removal and recovery of chromium were carried out by using low-cost potential adsorbents. For this purpose three types of activated carbon; C1, the waste generated from sugar industry as waste products and the others (C2, C3) are commercial granular activated carbon, were used. The adsorption process and extent of adsorption are dependent on the physical and chemical characteristics of the adsorbent, adsorbate and experimental condition. The effect of pH, particle size and different adsorbent on the adsorption isotherm of Cr(III) was studied in batch system. The sorption data fitted well with Langmuir adsorption model. The efficiencies of activated carbon for the removal of Cr(III) were found to be 98.86, 98.6 and 93 % for C1, C2 and C3, respectively. The order of selectivity is C1
>
C2
>
C3 for removal of Cr(III) from tannery wastewater. Carbon “C1” of the highest surface area (520.66
m
2/g) and calcium content (333.3
mg/l) has the highest adsorptive capacity for removal of Cr(III). The results revealed that the trivalent chromium is significantly adsorbed on activated carbon collected from sugar industry as waste products and the method could be used economically as an efficient technique for removal of Cr(III) and purification of tannery wastewaters.
The main goal of this review paper is to provide a systematic review of Multiple Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) techniques in regard to transportation systems problems. This study reviewed a total ...of 89 papers, published from 1993 to 2015, from 39 high-ranking journals; most of which were related to transportation science and were extracted from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Papers were classified into 10 main application areas and nine transport infrastructure. Furthermore, papers were categorized based on the author(s) and year, name of the journal in which they were published, technique and approach, author(s) nationality, application area and scope, study purpose, gap and research problem and results and outcome. The results of this study indicated that more papers on MCDM in 2013 than in any other year. AHP and Fuzzy-AHP methods in the individual methods and hybrid MCDM and fuzzy MCDM in the integrated methods were ranked as the first and second methods in use, respectively. The Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice was the most significant journal in this study, with 13 publications on the topic. Finally, service quality was ranked as the first application area and airline industry was ranked as the first transport infrastructure that applied MCDM techniques.
Aim
This study aimed to test biofilm inhibition activities of each of essential oils (EOs), main compounds of EOs and enzymes against pathogenic Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Methods and Results
The effect ...of seven EOs and three enzymes was tested on formation and eradication of K. pneumoniae biofilm. Peppermint oil showed a robust biofilm inhibitory effect, causing inhibition that ranged from 69·2 to 98·2% at 5 μl ml−1. Thyme oil was found to have the best biofilm eradication ability, causing eradication that ranged from 80·1 to 98·0% at 10 μl ml−1. The most effective EOs were analysed by GC/MS, to determine the major chemical constitutes of each oil. Pure menthol was found to cause 75·3–97·5% biofilm inhibition at 2·5 μg ml−1, whereas thymol caused 85·1–97·8% biofilm eradication at 5 μg ml−1. However, moderate inhibition activity was detected for α‐amylase and bromelain, while poor activity was detected for β‐amylase. Ciprofloxacin combination with thyme oil and thymol was found to enhance antibiotic activity, and affect biofilm cell viability. The observed inhibitory/eradication activity on K. pneumoniae biofilms was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy.
Conclusions
Thyme and peppermint EOs, and their active components are promising antibiofilm agents alone and/or in combination with ciprofloxacin to inhibit/eradicate biofilms of K. pneumoniae.
Significance and Impact of the Study
The presented results suggest the potential application of EOs against infections, caused by biofilm‐producing K. pneumoniae, to prevent biofilm formation or decrease their resistance threshold. Moreover, the combination of EOs with ciprofloxacin minimizes the antibiotic concentration used and accordingly the potential accompanying toxic side effects.
The present work focuses on the attributes of flow, heat, and mass transfer together with double diffusive Cattaneo–Christov mechanism with regards to their applications. The aim of this study is to ...investigate the non-Newtonian Powell–Eyring fluid flow, taking into account the twofold impact of the heat generation mechanism and the viscous dissipation due to an extensible sheet. The chemical reaction between the fluid particles and the fluid variable properties is assumed in this study. The motive behind this study is the continuous and great interest in the utilization of non-Newtonian liquids in organic and technical disciplines. This model is administered and governed by the momentum equation, energy equation, and concentration, all of which are in the form of partial differential equations. With the help of the shooting technique, the numerical solution is obtained. Graphs show the characteristics of flow, heat, and mass transfer mechanisms for various governing parameters. Additionally, significant physical non-dimensional quantities have been presented in a tabular form. The outcomes detect that increasing the Deborah number, which is connected with the mass transfer field and the chemical reaction parameter, decreases the concentration distribution.
A novel green approach was utilized to fabricate sulfur nanoparticles (SNPs) with the aid of Ocimum basilicum leaves extract. The effective formation of the synthesized SNPs was examined and approved ...using UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The average particle size was 23 nm with spherical shape and crystalline in nature. In the pot experiment, the synthesized SNPs were applied with different concentrations (12.5, 25, 50, 100 and 200 μM) as pre-soaking to Helianthus annuus seeds and irrigated with 100 mM MnSO4. As a result of manganese (Mn) exposure, the harvested 14-day sunflower seedlings showed a significant decline in the growth parameters (shoot length, leaf area and the relative water content of both shoot and root), photosynthetic pigments, mineral content (N, P, K, Ca, and Mg), and protein content compared to the control. The root length, electrolyte leakage, Na and Mn levels, metabolites content (amino acids, protein, glycine betaine, proline, and cysteine) were greatly raised as affected by Mn stress. Mn toxicity reduction using SNPs was demonstrated, as the medium doses enhanced seedlings growth, photosynthetic pigments, and mineral nutrients. Application of SNPs decreased Mn uptake and enhanced S metabolism through increasing cysteine level. Likewise, SNPs elevated seedlings water content and eliminated physiological drought via increasing osmolytes such as amino acids and proline. It can be concluded that green-synthesized SNPs had the potential to limit the deleterious effects of Mn stress.
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•Usage of basil leaves extract is a novel eco-friendly method for S-nanoparticles biosynthesis.•The plant polyphenols and proteins are validated to be capping and reducing agents for S-nanoparticles biosynthesis.•The green-fabricated S-nanoparticles potently mitigated Mn-stress in sunflower seedlings.•The greenly synthesized SNPs enhanced S metabolism and osmoprotection, and limited Mn uptake.
Decapping represents a critical control point in regulating expression of protein coding genes. Here, we demonstrate that decapping also modulates expression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). ...Specifically, levels of >100 lncRNAs in yeast are controlled by decapping and are degraded by a pathway that occurs independent of decapping regulators. We find many lncRNAs degraded by DCP2 are expressed proximal to inducible genes. Of these, we show several genes required for galactose utilization are associated with lncRNAs that have expression patterns inversely correlated with their mRNA counterpart. Moreover, decapping of these lncRNAs is critical for rapid and robust induction of GAL gene expression. Failure to destabilize a lncRNA known to exert repressive histone modifications results in perpetuation of a repressive chromatin state that contributes to reduced plasticity of gene activation. We propose that decapping and lncRNA degradation serve a vital role in transcriptional regulation specifically at inducible genes.
► lncRNAs are degraded by a DCP2-dependent decapping pathway ► Many lncRNAs targeted to decapping are associated with inducible gene loci ► Decapping of lncRNAs is required for robust activation of GAL gene expression ► lncRNA degradation contributes plasticity to gene regulatory mechanisms
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