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Rhodiola rosea Rhizome Extract-Mediated Green Functionality involving Silver Nanoparticles and also Look at Their Potential Antioxidant along with Catalytic Reduction Actions.
Secondary growth tropical rainforests have the potential to sequester large amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide and as such are an important carbon sink. To evaluate a local forest, a Carbon Neutrality Program was initiated at the Council on International Educational Exchange, San Luis Campus, Monteverde, Costa Rica. The study was conducted on 50 hectares of forest classified as Premontane Wet Forest. The forest, part of the Arenal-Monteverde Protected Zone, is estimated to be aproximately 50 years old and is in the upper regions of the San Luis valley at 1100 m elevation. Assessment of the carbon stock in trees was carried out in two permanent, 1 hectare plots, 100 m by 100 m, Camino Real and Zapote. The plots were divided into 25 subplots, 20 m by 20 m totaling 400 m2 per subplot. Ten subplots in each area were studied which represented 1.6% the total surface area of the forest. All of the trees were measured within the subplots that had a diameter at breast height ≥ 10 cm and the height of 10% of the trees measured. The estimated total CO2 sequestered by the campus forest was 18,210 ton (in 2019).In this paper we describe the properties of the crystal of guanylurea hydrogen phosphate (NH[Formula see text])[Formula see text]CNHCO(NH[Formula see text])H[Formula see text]PO[Formula see text] (GUHP) and propose its application in terahertz photonics and optoelectronics. GUHP crystal has a wide window of transparency and a high optical threshold in the visible and NIR spectral regions and narrow absorption bands in the terahertz frequency range. The spectral characteristics of absorption and refraction in the THz range were found to be strongly dependent on crystal temperature and orientation. Computer simulations made it possible to link the nature of the resonant response of the medium at THz frequencies with the molecular structure of the crystal, in particular, with intermolecular hydrogen bonds and the layered structure of the lattice. The possibility of application of the crystal under study for the conversion of femtosecond laser radiation from visible an NIR to terahertz range was demonstrated. It was shown that dispersion properties of the crystal allow the generation of narrow band terahertz radiation, whose spectral properties are determined by conditions close to phase matching. The properties of the generated terahertz radiation under various temperatures suggest the possibility of phonon mechanism of enhancement for nonlinear susceptibility of the second order.Ligamentum flavum hypertrophy (HLF) is the most important component of lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS). Analysis of hypertrophied ligamentum flavum (HLF) samples from patients with LSCS can be an important que. The current study analyzed the surgical samples of HLF samples in patients with LCSC using quantitative and qualitative high performance-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. We collected ligamentum flavum (LF) tissue from twelve patients with LSCS and from four patients with lumbar disk herniation (LDH). We defined LF from LSCS patients as HLF and that from LDH patients as non-hypertrophied ligamentum flavum (NHLF). Total lipids were extracted from the LF samples and evaluated for quantity and quality using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The total lipid amount of the HLF group was 3.6 times higher than that of the NHLF group. Phosphatidylcholines (PCs), ceramides (Cers), O-acyl-ω-hydroxy fatty acids (OAHFAs), and triglycerides (TGs) in the HLF group were more than 32 times higher than those of the NHLF group. PC(260)+H+, PC(250)+H+, and PC(230)+H+ increased in all patients in the HLF group compared to the NHLF group. The thickness of the LF correlated significantly with PC(260)+H+ in HLF. We identified the enriched specific PCs, Cers, OAHFAs, and TGs in HLF.Intrinsically-photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) are non-rod/non-cone retinal photoreceptors expressing the visual pigment, melanopsin, to detect ambient irradiance for various non-image-forming visual functions. The M1-subtype, amongst the best studied, mediates primarily circadian photoentrainment and pupillary light reflex. Their intrinsic light responses are more prolonged than those of rods and cones even at the single-photon level, in accordance with the typically slower time course of non-image-forming vision. The short (OPN4S) and long (OPN4L) alternatively-spliced forms of melanopsin proteins are both present in M1-ipRGCs, but their functional difference is unclear. We have examined this point by genetically removing the Opn4 gene (Opn4-/-) in mouse and re-expressing either OPN4S or OPN4L singly in Opn4-/- mice by using adeno-associated virus, but found no obvious difference in their intrinsic dim-flash responses. Previous studies have indicated that two dominant slow steps in M1-ipRGC phototransduction dictate these cells' intrinsic dim-flash-response kinetics, with time constants (τ1 and τ2) at room temperature of ~ 2 s and ~ 20 s, respectively. Here we found that melanopsin inactivation by phosphorylation or by β-arrestins may not be one of these two steps, because their genetic disruptions did not prolong the two time constants or affect the response waveform. Disruption of GAP (GTPase-Activating-Protein) activity on the effector enzyme, PLCβ4, in M1-ipRGC phototransduction to slow down G-protein deactivation also did not prolong the response decay, but caused its rising phase to become slightly sigmoidal by giving rise to a third time constant, τ3, of ~ 2 s (room temperature). This last observation suggests that GAP-mediated G-protein deactivation does partake in the flash-response termination, although normally with a time constant too short to be visible in the response waveform.Mycotoxins represent a major concern for human and animal health because of their harmful effects and high occurrence in food and feed. BI-4020 in vivo Rapid immunoanalytical methods greatly contribute to strengthening the safety of our food supply by efficiently monitoring chemical contaminants, so high-affinity and specific antibodies have been generated for almost all internationally regulated mycotoxins. The only exception is patulin, a mycotoxin mainly produced by Penicillium expansum for which such a target has not yet been achieved. Accordingly, no point-of-need tests commonly used in food immunodiagnostics are commercially available for patulin. In the present study, three functionalized derivatives conforming to generally accepted rules in hapten design were firstly tested to generate suitable antibodies for the sensitive immunodetection of patulin. However, these conventional bioconjugates were unable to elicit the desired immune response, so an alternative strategy that takes advantage of the high electrophilic reactivity of patulin was explored. Patulin was reacted with 4-bromothiophenol, and the obtained adduct was used to produce antibodies with nanomolar affinity values. These results demonstrated for the first time that targeting the adduct resulting from the reaction of patulin with a thiol-containing compound is a promising approach for developing user-friendly immunoanalytical techniques for this elusive mycotoxin.A new mechanism for controlling the microstructure of products in manufacturing processes based on selective laser melting is proposed. The mechanism relies on generation of high-intensity ultrasonic waves in the melt pool by complex intensity-modulated laser irradiation. The experimental study and numerical modeling suggest that this control mechanism is technically feasible and can be effectively integrated into the design of modern selective laser melting machines.Surface pre-reacted glass-ionomer (S-PRG) filler is a bioactive functional glass that releases six different ions. Although several dental materials containing S-PRG filler have been developed, few self-care products containing S-PRG filler have been reported. We investigated the inhibitory effects of PRG gel paste containing S-PRG filler on Streptococcus mutans, a major pathogen of dental caries. PRG gel paste inhibited bacterial growth of S. mutans in a concentration-dependent manner, and all S. mutans were killed in the presence of ≥ 1% PRG gel paste. Additionally, it was difficult for S. mutans to synthesize insoluble glucan from sucrose in the presence of 0.1% PRG gel paste. A biofilm formation model was prepared in which slices of bovine enamel were infected with S. mutans after treatment with or without PRG gel paste. Biofilm formation was inhibited significantly more on the enamel treated with PRG gel paste than on enamel without PRG gel paste (P  less then  0.001). The inhibitory effects on bacterial growth and biofilm formation were more prominent with PRG gel paste than with S-PRG-free gel paste, suggesting that PRG gel paste may be effective as a self-care product to prevent dental caries induced by S. mutans.Fungal infection is an important health problem in Latin America, and in Brazil in particular. Paracoccidioides (mainly P. brasiliensis and P. lutzii) is responsible for paracoccidioidomycosis, a disease that affects mainly the lungs. The glycoprotein gp43 is involved in fungi adhesion to epithelial cells, which makes this protein an interesting target of study. A specific stretch of 15 amino acids that spans the region 181-195 (named P10) of gp43 is an important epitope of gp43 that is being envisioned as a vaccine candidate. Here we show that synthetic P10 forms typical amyloid aggregates in solution in very short times, a property that could hamper vaccine development. Seeds obtained by fragmentation of P10 fibrils were able to induce the aggregation of P4, but not P23, two other peptides derived from gp43. In silico analysis revealed several regions within the P10 sequence that can form amyloid with steric zipper architecture. Besides, in-silico proteolysis studies with gp43 revealed that aggregation-prone, P10-like peptides could be generated by several proteases, which suggests that P10 could be formed under physiological conditions. Considering our data in the context of a potential vaccine development, we redesigned the sequence of P10, maintaining the antigenic region (HTLAIR), but drastically reducing its aggregation propensity.Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common sleep disorder. Severe OSAS defined as apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 30/h is a risk factor for developing cerebro-cardiovascular diseases. The mechanisms of how repetitive sleep apneas/hypopneas damage cerebral hemodynamics are still not well understood. In this study, changes in blood volume (BV) and oxygen saturation (StO2) in the left forehead of 29 newly diagnosed severe OSAS patients were measured by frequency-domain near-infrared spectroscopy during an incremental continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration protocol together with polysomnography. The coefficients of variation of BV (CV-BV) and the decreases of StO2 (de-StO2) of more than 2000 respiratory events were predicted using linear mixed-effect models, respectively. We found that longer events and apneas rather than hypopneas induce larger changes in CV-BV and stronger cerebral desaturation. Respiratory events occurring during higher baseline StO2 before their onsets, during rapid-eye-movement sleep and those associated with higher heart rate induce smaller changes in CV-BV and de-StO2.
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