21-Hy­droxy­pregna-1,4-diene-3,20-dione

The title compound, C21H28O3, is a fungal transformed metabolite of decoxycorticosterone acetate, consisting of four fused rings A, B, C and D. Ring A is nearly planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.010 (3) Å from the least-squares plane, while the trans-fused rings B and C adopt chair conformations. The five-membered ring D is in an envelope conformation. The orientation of the side chain is stabilized by an intramolecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond. In the crystal, adjecent mol­ecules are linked by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into extended zigzag chains along the a axis

Chemical constituents of Eremomastax speciosa (Hochst.) Cufod leaves and its cytotoxic potential on NIH-3T3 cells

This study aimed at assessing the cytotoxicity of Eremomastax speciosa crude extract on NIH-3T3 fibroblast cell lines and reporting the chemical constituents in the extract. The MTT assay on NIH-3T3 cells showed a significantly lower (p < 0.05) inhibition from E. speciosa (IC50 > 30 µg/mL) compared to cyclohexamide (IC50 > 0.8 µg/mL). This result validates the non-toxicity observed with the use of E. speciosa on normal cells at low to moderate doses. Four compounds were isolated and identified from their EIMS as well as 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data namely hydroxyandrographolide (1), stigmasterol glucoside (2), (Z)-4-coumaric acid 4-O-β-D-apiofuranosyl-(1’’→2’)-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3) and 5-methoxy-4,4′-di-O-methyl- secolariciresinol-9′-monoacetate (4). These compounds are isolated from this species for the first time. Thirteen volatile constituents were detected in the extract using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Besides 6,10,14-trimethy-2-pentadecanone (12.63%), mostly fatty acid esters were detected in high amounts notably ethyl hexadecanoate (16.00%), ethyl-9,12,15-octadecatrienoate (11.51%) and 9,12-octadecadienoic acid ethyl ester (8.05%). This study revealed many unsaturated fatty acid esters in E. speciosa and is noteworthy that ω-3 and ω-6 fatty acid esters were predominant, hence an added nutritional value to this plant.                     KEY WORDS: Eremomastax speciosa, Secondary metabolites, NIH-3T3 cytotoxicity, NMR, GC-MS   Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2020, 34(3), 633-640. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v34i3.1

1,2,4-Trimeth­oxy­dibenzo[b,d]furan-3-ol

The title compound, C15H14O5, is a natural product, isolated from Sorbus lanata Syn. Pyrus lanata (D. Don) found in Pakistan. The compound is composed of three spiro-fused rings. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the benzene rings is 4.81 (13)°. The meth­oxy groups are oriented at dihedral angles of 74.44 (14), 83.0 (2) and 66.3 (2)° with respect to the planes of the benzene rings to which they are attached. The mol­ecule is consolidated by three intra­molecular O—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming infinite chains along the b axis

5,5-Dimethyl-2,2-bis­(pyridin-2-yl)-1,3-diazinane

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C16H20N4, the 1,3-diazinane ring adopts a chair conformation and the dihedral angle formed by the pyridine rings is 78.64 (8)°. The mol­ecular conformation is stabilized by an intra­molecular C—H⋯N hydrogen bond, forming an S(6) ring motif. In the crystal, centrosymmetrically related mol­ecules are linked into dimers by pairs of N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, generating rings of R 2 2(10) graph-set motif

Characterization of proteome-size scaling by integrative omics reveals mechanisms of proliferation control in cancer.

Almost all living cells maintain size uniformity through successive divisions. Proteins that over and underscale with size can act as rheostats, which regulate cell cycle progression. Using a multiomic strategy, we leveraged the heterogeneity of melanoma cell lines to identify peptides, transcripts, and phosphorylation events that differentially scale with cell size. Subscaling proteins are enriched in regulators of the DNA damage response and cell cycle progression, whereas super-scaling proteins included regulators of the cytoskeleton, extracellular matrix, and inflammatory response. Mathematical modeling suggested that decoupling growth and proliferative signaling may facilitate cell cycle entry over senescence in large cells when mitogenic signaling is decreased. Regression analysis reveals that up-regulation of TP53 or CDKN1A/p21CIP1 is characteristic of proliferative cancer cells with senescent-like sizes/proteomes. This study provides one of the first demonstrations of size-scaling phenomena in cancer and how morphology influences the chemistry of the cell

Phytochemicals of minthostachys diffusa epling and their health-promoting bioactivities

The genus Minthostachys belonging to the Lamiaceae family, and is an important South American mint genus used commonly in folk medicine as an aroma in cooking. The phytochemical-rich samples of the aerial parts of Minthostachys diffusa Epling. were tested for pharmacological and health-promoting bioactivities using in vitro chemical and enzymatic assays. A range of radical scavenging activities of the samples against biological radicals such as nitric oxide and superoxide anion and against synthetic 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radicals, the ferric reducing antioxidant power and the lipid peroxidation inhibition were determined and ranked using the 'relative antioxidant capacity index' (RACI). The ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest RACI of +1.12. Analysis of the various fractions' inhibitory ability against enzymes involved in diabetes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase), and against enzymes associated with Parkinson's or Alzheimer's diseases (acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase) also suggested that the ethyl acetate fraction was the most active. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of the ethyl acetate fraction showed more than 30 polyphenolic compounds, including triterpenes. The inhibitory cholinesterase effects of the triterpenes identified from M. diffusa were further analysed by in silico docking of these compounds into 3D-structures of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. This is the first study on pharmacological activities and phytochemical profiling of the aerial parts of M. diffusa, showing that this plant, normally used as food in South America, is also rich in health-promoting phytochemicals

Phase-field-crystal models for condensed matter dynamics on atomic length and diffusive time scales: an overview

Here, we review the basic concepts and applications of the phase-field-crystal (PFC) method, which is one of the latest simulation methodologies in materials science for problems, where atomic- and microscales are tightly coupled. The PFC method operates on atomic length and diffusive time scales, and thus constitutes a computationally efficient alternative to molecular simulation methods. Its intense development in materials science started fairly recently following the work by Elder et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88 (2002), p. 245701]. Since these initial studies, dynamical density functional theory and thermodynamic concepts have been linked to the PFC approach to serve as further theoretical fundaments for the latter. In this review, we summarize these methodological development steps as well as the most important applications of the PFC method with a special focus on the interaction of development steps taken in hard and soft matter physics, respectively. Doing so, we hope to present today's state of the art in PFC modelling as well as the potential, which might still arise from this method in physics and materials science in the nearby future.Comment: 95 pages, 48 figure