Short communication: Morphological and genetic characterisation of selected Contracaecum (Nematoda: Anisakidae) larvae in Iran

In their life cycle, Contracaecum spp infect marine mammals and piscivorous birds as definitive hosts and crustaceans and a wide range of fish species as their intermediate hosts. Humans can accidentally be infected with larval stages of these nematodes, leading to a severe disease generally known as anisakidosis. The disease now is considered as an emergence zoonotic disease and therefore, these parasites attracted attention of scientists in different parts of the world and various aspects of their biology and lifecycle is being investigated. In Iran, there is a paucity of information on these socioeconomically important parasites. The present study is a preliminary study toward genetic characterisation and description of anisakid nematodes in Iran, using a combined molecular and morphological approach

Antimicrobial Effect of Mentha spicata and Mentha pulegium Essential Oils in Two Storage Temperatures on the Survival of Debaryomyces hansenii in Iranian Doogh

Background and Objectives: Doogh is an Iranian preferred dairy drink, especially in warm seasons. Blowing by yeasts is a common occurring spoilage when this product is kept outside the refrigerator in warm temperature. Natural additives such as herbal essential oils, which also induce the desired flavor and color, may solve this problem and retard yeast growth. Spearmint, pennyroyal and some other herbs and their extracts were traditionally used in this product. In the current study, the antimicrobial effect of Mentha spicata and Mentha pulegium essential oils on the survival of Debaryomyces hansenii was evaluated in two different storage temperatures. Materials and Methods: Iranian Doogh was prepared according to the national standard method with different concentrations of the mentioned essential oils. Then all the samples were inoculated with yeast inocula to achieve a yeast count of >3×106 CFUml-1. Viability of Debaryomyces hansenii was investigated during the storage time (0-28 days) of Doogh samples at 4°C and 25°C at different intervals. Statistical analysis was performed using the one-way Analysis of Variance and Tukey’s post hoc methods. Also α level was considered equal to 0.05. Results and Conclusion: Different concentrations of Mentha spicata and Mentha pulegium essential oils had significant effect on the growth of the yeast. Increasing the concentration of these essential oils decreased the logarithm of number of microorganisms. The essential oils of Mentha spicata and Mentha pulegium in low concentrations have antimicrobial effect on spoilage yeast and can improve the sensory properties of Doogh. Therefore, they can be the best alternative preservatives for hazardous chemical compounds

Synthesis of indium nanoparticles at ambient temperature; simultaneous phase transfer and ripening

The synthesis of size-monodispersed indium nanoparticles via an innovative simultaneous phase transfer and ripening method is reported. The formation of nanoparticles occurs in a one-step process instead of well-known two-step phase transfer approaches. The synthesis involves the reduction of InCl3 with LiBH4 at ambient temperature and although the reduction occurs at room temperature, fine indium nanoparticles, with a mean diameter of 6.4 ± 0.4 nm, were obtained directly in non-polar n-dodecane. The direct synthesis of indium nanoparticles in n-dodecane facilitates their fast formation and enhances their size-monodispersity. In addition, the nanoparticles were highly stable for more than 2 months. The nanoparticles were characterised by dynamic light scattering (DLS), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to determine their morphology, structure and phase purity

Survey on fungal, parasites and epibionts infestation on the Astacus leptodactylus (Eschscholtz, 1823), in Aras Reservoir West Azarbaijan, Iran

A total of 394 (255 males, 139 females) live freshwater crayfish Astacus leptodactylus from four stations of Aras reservoir in West Azarbaijan Province (North-Western Iran) were studied during the winter until early autumn of 2009 for the presence of parasites, epibionts and fungal agents. Parasitological surveys were carried out on gills, exoskeleton and internal organs, mycological examinations on the exoskeleton (the legs, abdominal cuticle and the eggs). 9 epibionts and parasites peritrich protozoans including: Cothurnia sieboldii (68.5%), Zoothamnium spp. (56.6%), Vorticella similis (45.6%), Chilodonella spp. (0.5%), Podophrya fixa (7.8%), Epistylis chrysemidis (53.2%), Pyxicola annulata (66%), Opercularia articulata (19.8%), Tetrahymena pyriformis (0.5%) were recorded. From Metazoan parasites group, Branchiobdella kozarovi (71%) as the first observation was the only parasite recorded from exoskeleton with prevalence (100%) during spring and summer of the study year. Infected gills were heavily damaged with Aeolosoma hemprichi (Annelid) in winter with 90% prevalence. Other epibiont fouling organisms such as Rotatoria, free living Nematods were observed in this survey. Furthermore, on the mycotic agents identified Penicillium expansum, Aspergillus flavus, Alternaria sp., Fusarium sp. and Saprolegnia sp. were isolated in IM media and identified with slides cultured from cuticular melanized lesions and eggs of infected specimens. This is the first investigation on epibionts, parasites and fungal organisms of the endemic crayfish in Aras reservoir, Iran

Aryl Germanes as Ligands for transition Polymetallic Complexes: Synthesis, Structure, and Properties

A series of new carbonyl dichromium complexes bearing aryl germanes as ligands were prepared using improved approaches. The thermal reaction of Cr(CO)6 (1) with Me3GeGePh3 (3) led to the formation of Me3GeGePh[(η6‐C6H5)Cr(CO)3]2 (3a). The lithiation of [(η6‐C6H6)Cr(CO)3] (2) with nBuLi followed by the addition of Me2GeCl2 (4) or ClGeMe2GeMe2Cl (5) gave Me2Ge[(η6‐C6H5)Cr(CO)3]2 (4a) and [(OC)3Cr(η6‐C6H5)]GeMe2GeMe2[(η6‐C6H5)Cr(CO)3] (5a), respectively. The molecular structures of 3a and 4a, in their crystal forms, were studied by X‐ray diffraction analysis. The crystals of oligogermane 3a have shown to undergo a fully reversible phase transition at 160 K without any sign of decomposition. The complexes synthesized were also studied by multinuclear NMR, IR and UV/Vis spectroscopy, DFT calculations and electrochemistry. The presence of a Cr(CO)3 group in a range of oligogermanes has shown to impact on the physical and chemical properties of the compounds

Oligosilanylsilatranes

Oligosilanes with attached silatranyl units were obtained by reactions of potassium oligosilanides with a silatranyl triflate. Interaction between Si and N atoms was observed in the ²⁹Si NMR spectra (upfield-shifted SiO₃ resonances) and in the solid-state structures (Si–N distances between 2.29 and 2.16 Å). The Si–N interaction can be “switched off” either by protonation of the nitrogen lone pair or by potassium silanide formation caused by trimethylsilyl group cleavage in the presence of potassium <i>tert</i>-butoxide

σ-Bond Electron Delocalization in Oligosilanes as Function of Substitution Pattern, Chain Length, and Spatial Orientation

Polysilanes are known to exhibit the interesting property of σ-bond electron delocalization. By employing optical spectroscopy (UV-vis), it is possible to judge the degree of delocalization and also differentiate parts of the molecules which are conjugated or not. The current study compares oligosilanes of similar chain length but different substitution pattern. The size of the substituents determines the spatial orientation of the main chain and also controls the conformational flexibility. The chemical nature of the substituents affects the orbital energies of the molecules and thus the positions of the absorption bands

Oligosilanylated Silocanes

International audienceA number of mono- and dioligosilanylated silocanes were prepared. Compounds included silocanes with 1-methyl-1-tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl, 1,1-bis[tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl], and 1,1-bis[tris(trimethylsilyl)germyl] substitution pattern as well as two examples where the silocane silicon atom is part of a cyclosilane or oxacyclosilane ring. The mono-tris(trimethylsilyl)silylated compound could be converted to the respective silocanylbis(trimethylsilyl)silanides by reaction with (KOBu)-Bu-t and in similar reactions the cyclosilanes were transformed to oligosilane-1,3-diides. However, the reaction of the 1,1-bis[tris(trimethylsilyl)silylated] silocane with two equivalents of (KOBu)-Bu-t leads to the replacement of one tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl unit with a tert-butoxy substituent followed by silanide formation via (KOBu)-Bu-t attack at one of the SiMe3 units of remaining tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl group. For none of the silylated silocanes, signs of hypercoordinative interaction between the nitrogen and silicon silocane atoms were detected either in the solid state. by single crystal XRD analysis, nor in solution by Si-29-NMR spectroscopy. This was further confirmed by cyclic voltammetry and a DFT study, which demonstrated that the N-Si distance in silocanes is not only dependent on the energy of a potential N-Si interaction, but also on steric factors and through-space interactions of the neighboring groups at Si and N, imposing the orientation of the p(z)(N) orbital relative to the N-Si-X axis