Among the well‐known phototriggers, the p‐hydroxyphenacyl (pHP) group has consistently enabled the very fast, efficient, and high‐conversion release of active molecules. Despite this unique behavior, ...the pHP group has been ignored as a delivery agent, particularly in the area of theranostics, because of two major limitations: Its excitation wavelength is below 400 nm, and it is nonfluorescent. We have overcome these limitations by incorporating a 2‐(2′‐hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole (HBT) appendage capable of rapid excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT). The ESIPT effect also provided two unique advantages: It assisted the deprotonation of the pHP group for faster release, and it was accompanied by a distinct fluorescence color change upon photorelease. In vitro studies showed that the p‐hydroxyphenacyl–benzothiazole–chlorambucil conjugate presents excellent properties, such as real‐time monitoring, photoregulated drug delivery, and biocompatibility.
Let it go… The two major limitations for theranostics of the p‐hydroxyphenacyl (pHP) phototrigger were overcome by incorporating a benzothiazole appendage to enable rapid excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT; see picture). The ESIPT effect had two key advantages: It assisted the deprotonation of pHP group for faster release of the anticancer drug chlorambucil and led to a fluorescence color change upon photorelease.
► Optimum conditions for growth of BP10 and NJ2 were standardized. ► BP10 and NJ2 were found effective in crude oil degradation at optimum conditions. ► Activity of C12O and C23O of bacteria was over ...expressed in oil degrading. ► Cell hydrophobicity and biosurfactants had direct bearing oil degradation. ► Biochemical characterization and emulsification index of biosurfactants produced by both strains.
Pseudomonas sp. BP10 and Rhodococcus sp. NJ2, isolated from crude oil contaminated site, were found to be potential degraders of different fractions of crude oil. Pseudomonas sp. BP10 degraded 60.6% of TPH (total petroleum hydrocarbons) while Rhodococcus sp. NJ2 metabolized only 49.5% after 30 days of incubation in MSM (minimal salt media) with 2% of crude oil at their optimum conditions. A difference in oil degradation ability of the bacteria may be linked to several inherent factors like catabolic enzymes, cell hydrophobicity, biosurfactant production, etc. A significant reduction in the surface tension as a result of higher biosurfactant production by Pseudomonas sp. BP10 might be attributed to its higher degradation ability of crude oil than Rhodococcus sp. NJ2. In both the bacteria, activity of catechol 1,2 dioxygenase was invariably higher than catechol 2,3 dioxygenase. Although both catechol dioxygenases participated in degradation of crude oil, but higher activity of catechol 1,2 dioxygenase in Pseudomonas sp. BP10 than in Rhodococcus sp. NJ2 indicates that this enzyme played a significant role in crude oil degradation. Formation of the intermediates in oil degradation process as measured in terms of resorcinol equivalent was also evidently more in Pseudomonas sp. BP10 than Rhodococcus sp. NJ2.
Curcumin, a natural product found in the plant Curcuma longa, has been reported to have diverse range of molecular targets that influence numerous biochemical and molecular cascades including ...anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
The aim of the study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of intranasal curcumin on ovalbumin (OVA)-induced chronic asthma and to elucidate underlying molecular mechanisms.
Mice were sensitized and exposed to 2% OVA aerosol for 2 times in a week for five consecutive weeks to study effect of intranasal curcumin on various MAPK pathway enzymes involved in chronic asthma and its effect on the activation of nuclear factor kB (NF-kB).
Curcumin treatment decreased the ROS level in BALF and nitrite level in blood serum of chronic asthmatic mice. Curcumin treatment had significantly decreased the phosphorylation of JNK, ERK1/2, and p38 and COX-2 expression thereby nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) activation and expression in lung tissues.
These results suggest that intranasal curcumin protects against asthma via action on mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/NF-κB signaling pathways.
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•XRD spectra show amorphous nature of the prepared glass samples.•Composition-structural / optical property correlations are discussed.•The density of glasses increases and corresponding molar volume ...decreases with an increase in samarium concentration.•BO4 groups increase at the expense of BO3 groups with the addition of samarium.•The fluorescence spectra depict an energy transfer from cerium to samarium ions along with simultaneous presence of red, green and blue emissions which can be useful for white light emitting devices.
Cerium and samarium codoped lithium aluminium borate glasses are prepared by using conventional melt quench technique and their structural and spectroscopic analysis has been done. The structural studies have been done using XRD, FTIR and density measurements. The spectroscopic analysis has been done using UV–Vis absorption spectra and fluorescence emission spectra by exciting the glass samples at 380nm and 400nm. XRD confirms the amorphous nature of the prepared samples. The density shows an increasing trend with addition of cerium at the expense of aluminium, other components being constant. This is also confirmed by FTIR study which shows the conversion of trigonal BO3 units into more stable tetrahedral BO4 units. The UV–Vis absorption spectra shows an increase in intensity and a significant shift of the optical absorption edge from UV to partially visible region when cerium is added in the pure samarium containing lithium aluminium borate glass. The fluorescence spectra indicate an energy transfer from Ce3+ to Sm3+ ions. Moreover, some of the glass compositions may be found suitable for white light emitting devices as there is a simultaneous presence of red, green and blue emission.
Aims
To study the biocontrol potential of nematode‐trapping fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora in protecting tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) against Meloidogyne incognita and Rhizoctonia solani ...under greenhouse and field conditions.
Methods and Results
Five isolates of the nematode‐trapping fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora isolated from different parts of India were tested against Meloidogyne incognita and Rhizoctonia solani in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plants grown under greenhouse and field conditions. Arthrobotrys oligospora‐treated plants showed enhanced growth in terms of shoot and root length and biomass, chlorophyll and total phenolic content and high phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity in comparison with M. incognita‐ and R. solani‐inoculated plants. Biochemical profiling when correlated with disease severity and intensity in A. oligospora‐treated and untreated plants indicate that A. oligospora VNS‐1 offered significant disease reduction in terms of number of root galls, seedling mortality, lesion length, disease index, better plant growth and fruit yield as compared to M. incognita‐ and R. solani‐challenged plants.
Conclusion
The result established that A. oligospora VNS‐1 has the potential to provide bioprotection agents against M. incognita and R. solani.
Significance and Impact of the Study
Arthrobotrys oligospora can be a better environment friendly option and can be incorporated in the integrated disease management module of crop protection. Application of A. oligospora not only helps in the control of nematodes but also increases plant growth and enhances nutritional value of tomato fruits. Thus, it proves to be an excellent biocontrol as well as plant growth promoting agent.
Abstract
This communication reports the effect of phosphorus (P) added in micro concentration range in steel on kinetics, mechanism and growth of passive film in contact of chloride contaminated ...concrete. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, direct-current polarization, mass loss and Raman spectroscopic techniques were used to arrive at the findings. The results showed that an intentional addition of P in steel (0.064%) makes it more prone to uniform and localized corrosion (about 1.1 and 1.7 times) than the steel having low phosphorus (< 0.016%, present as tramp element) exposed under wet/dry conditions in simulated pore solution added with chloride and in the absence of this ion. A similar effect is also noted for the rebars embedded in mortars. Identification of corrosion products formed on steel rebars surface by Raman spectroscopy reveals thermodynamically stable maghemite and goethite phases on the surface of low P content steel. Unstable phase of lepidocrocite is recorded on the surface of higher phosphorus steel rebars. The findings are discussed with experimental evidence and taking clues from the published literature to arrive at plausible mechanism for this behaviour.
This study involves the adsorption of lead using magnetic chitosan/graphene oxide (MCGO) composite material in batch mode. The MCGO composite material was synthesized via modified Hummers method. The ...MCGO composite material was characterized by powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Tunnelling electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and UV–vis diffusive reflectance spectra. The adsorption mechanism of MCGO composite material was well described by Langmuir isotherm and pseudo second order kinetic model, with a high regression coefficient (<0.99). The MCGO composite material was applied for the removal of lead metal from aqueous solution. We have also evaluated toxicity of synthesized MCGO composite material by examining on A549 cells. The results have shown that MCGO material showed viable cell percentage of 53.7% at 50 μg and 44.8% at 100 μg.
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•The use of magnetic chitosan/graphene oxide composite (MCGO) composite for the adsorption of Pb(II) was studied.•Langmuir isotherm and pseudo second order rate kinetics describe batch sorption•High adsorption capacity (112.35 mg/g) in batch study•Toxicity of GO, Fe3O4 and MCGO composite material was examined on A549 cells.
The pentatelluridesZrTe5andHfTe5are layered compounds with one-dimensional transition-metal chains that show a not-yet-understood temperature-dependent transition in transport properties as well as ...recently discovered properties suggesting topological semimetallic behavior. Here, we report magnetotransport properties for two kinds ofZrTe5single crystals grown with the chemical vapor transport (CVT) and the flux method (Flux), respectively. They show distinct transport properties at zero field: The CVT crystal displays a metallic behavior with a pronounced resistance peak and a sudden sign reversal in thermopower at approximately 130 K, consistent with previous observations of the electronic transition; in striking contrast, the Flux crystal exhibits a semiconducting-like behavior at low temperatures and a positive thermopower over the whole temperature range. For both samples, strong effects on the transport properties are observed when the magnetic field is applied along the orthorhombicbandcaxes, i.e., perpendicular to the chain direction. Refinements on the single-crystal x-ray diffraction and the measurements of energy dispersive spectroscopy reveal the presence of noticeable Te vacancies in the CVT samples, while the Flux samples are close to the stoichiometry. Analyses on the magnetotransport properties confirm that the carrier densities of the CVT sample are about two orders higher than those of the Flux sample. Our results thus indicate that the widely observed anomalous transport behaviors in pentatellurides actually take place in the Te-deficient samples. For the stoichiometric pentatellurides, our electronic structure calculations show narrow-gap semiconducting behavior, with different transport anisotropies for holes and electrons. For the degenerately dopedn-type samples, our transport calculations can result in a resistivity peak and crossover in thermopower from negative to positive at temperatures close to those observed experimentally due to a combination of bipolar effects and different anisotropies of electrons and holes. Our present work resolves the long-standing puzzle regarding the anomalous transport behaviors of pentatellurides, as well as the electronic structure in favor of a semiconducting state.
This paper presents a multiobjective performance index-based size and location determination of distributed generation in distribution systems with different load models. Normally, a constant power ...(real and reactive) load model is assumed in most of the studies made in the literature. It is shown that load models can significantly affect the optimal location and sizing of distributed generation (DG) resources in distribution systems. The simulation technique based on genetic algorithms is studied. The studies have been carried out on 16-bus and 37-bus distribution systems.
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