Neo-clerodanes from Teucrium divaricatum and their potential antiinflammatory and antimicrobial activities

Corresponding author (NCNPR): Fadime Aydoğan, [email protected]://egrove.olemiss.edu/pharm_annual_posters_2022/1000/thumbnail.jp

Trade-off curves applications to support set-based design of a surface jet pump

Knowledge has become the most important asset of companies, especially in improving their product development processes. The set-based design approach is an efficient way of designing high quality, optimised designs. However, it requires a proven knowledge environment. Trade-off curves (ToCs) have the capability of providing the right knowledge and displaying it in a visual form. Although there are a few applications of ToCs that have recently been published in the literature, none of them demonstrates an integrated implementation of ToCs throughout the SBCE process. This paper presents the integrated use of ToCs, based on both physics-knowledge and proven knowledge, in order to compare and narrow down the design-set and to achieve an optimal design solution. These are key activities of the SBCE process model. Since an accurate, documented and visual knowledge environment is created by the use of ToCs within SBCE, the integrated approach proposed in this paper plays a vital role in eliminating the need for prototyping and testing at the early stages of product development. The integrated approach was implemented in an industrial case study for a surface jet pump. Surface jet pumps are used to increase the production rate of low-pressure oil/gas wells. It has been found that through ToCs, the conflicting relationships between the characteristics of the product can be understood and communicated effectively among the designers. This facilitated the decision-making on an optimal design solution in a remarkably short period of time. Furthermore, the surface jet pump resulting from the case study achieved an increase of the oil/gas production by nearly 60%

Hard Photodisintegration of a Proton Pair

We present a study of high energy photodisintegration of proton-pairs through the γ + 3He → p + p + n channel. Photon energies, Eγ , from 0.8 to 4.7 GeV were used in kinematics corresponding to a proton pair with high relative momentum and a neutron nearly at rest. The s−11 scaling of the cross section, as predicted by the constituent counting rule for two nucleon photodisintegration, was observed for the first time. The onset of the scaling is at a higher energy and the cross section is significantly lower than for deuteron (pn pair) photodisintegration. For Eγ below the scaling region, the scaled cross section was found to present a strong energy-dependent structure not observed in deuteron photodisintegration

Functional assessment for clinical use of serum-free adapted NK-92 cells

Natural killer (NK) cells stand out as promising candidates for cellular immunotherapy due to their capacity to kill malignant cells. However, the therapeutic use of NK cells is often dependent on cell expansion and activation with considerable amounts of serum and exogenous cytokines. We aimed to develop an expansion protocol for NK-92 cells in an effort to generate a cost-efficient, xeno-free, clinical grade manufactured master cell line for therapeutic applications. By making functional assays with NK-92 cells cultured under serum-free conditions (NK-92(SF)) and comparing to serum-supplemented NK-92 cells (NK-92(S)) we did not observe significant alterations in the viability, proliferation, receptor expression levels, or in perforin and granzyme levels. Interestingly, even though NK-92(SF) cells displayed decreased degranulation and cytotoxicity against tumor cells in vitro, the degranulation capacity was recovered after overnight incubation with 20% serum in the medium. Moreover, lentiviral vector-based genetic modification efficiency of NK-92(SF) cells was comparable with NK-92(S) cells. The application of similar strategies can be useful in reducing the costs of manufacturing cells for clinical use and can help us understand and implement strategies towards chemically defined expansion and genetic modification protocols

Driving calmodulin protein towards conformational shift by changing ionization states of select residues

Proteins are complex systems made up of many conformational sub-states which are mainly determined by the folded structure. External factors such as solvent type, temperature, pH and ionic strength play a very important role in the conformations sampled by proteins. Here we study the conformational multiplicity of calmodulin (CaM) which is a protein that plays an important role in calcium signaling pathways in the eukaryotic cells. CaM can bind to a variety of other proteins or small organic compounds, and mediates different physiological processes by activating various enzymes. Binding of calcium ions and proteins or small organic molecules to CaM induces large conformational changes that are distinct to each interacting partner. In particular, we discuss the effect of pH variation on the conformations of CaM. By using the pKa values of the charged residues as a basis to assign protonation states, the conformational changes induced in CaM by reducing the pH are studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Our current view suggests that at high pH, barrier crossing to the compact form is prevented by repulsive electrostatic interactions between the two lobes. At reduced pH, not only is barrier crossing facilitated by protonation of residues, but also conformations which are on average more compact are attained. The latter are in accordance with the fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiment results of other workers. The key events leading to the conformational change from the open to the compact conformation are (i) formation of a salt bridge between the N-lobe and the linker, stabilizing their relative motions, (ii) bending of the C-lobe towards the N-lobe, leading to a lowering of the interaction energy between the two-lobes, (iii) formation of a hydrophobic patch between the two lobes, further stabilizing the bent conformation by reducing the entropic cost of the compact form, (iv) sharing of a Ca+2 ion between the two lobes

Cereal bars functionalised with tempeh: nutritional composition, isoflavone content and consumer acceptance

The aim of this study was to produce cereal bars (CB) added with tempeh flour (TF) and evaluate the nutritional composition, fatty acids profile, isoflavone content and sensory acceptance. Tempeh was produced from organic soya beans cotyledons fermented by Rhizophus oligosporus followed by freeze-drying and milling in order to obtain the TF. The addition of 10%, 15% and 20% TF to CB resulted in both protein and lipid content increase and a higher polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acids ratio. The content of isoflavone aglycones, the forms considered to have higher biological activity, was higher in TF than in soya bean, which was also reflected in the CB chemical composition. An acceptance test showed that CB added with TF (up to 15%) were sensory accepted. Overall results suggest that the addition of TF as an ingredient in cereal bars allows improving the chemical and functional characteristics of this type of ready-to-eat foods.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Set-based concurrent engineering process model and systematic application on an electronic card reader

Set-based concurrent engineering (SBCE), also known as set-based design, is a state-of-the-art approach to the new product development process. SBCE, simply, provides an environment where designers explore a wide range of alternative solutions in the early stages of product development. After gaining knowledge, solutions are narrowed down until the optimal solution is ensured. Such an environment saves considerable amount of cost and time while reaching innovation and high quality in the products. However, industrial practitioners seek a clear and systematic application throughout an SBCE process. This paper demonstrates a well-structured SBCE process model and its step-by-step application on a product called “electronic card reader”. Real data is used in the industrial case study. Results showed the benefits of applying SBCE in both the product, and the process of new product development

Hard Photodisintegration of a Proton Pair

We present a study of high energy photodisintegration of proton-pairs through the gamma + 3He -> p+p+n channel. Photon energies from 0.8 to 4.7 GeV were used in kinematics corresponding to a proton pair with high relative momentum and a neutron nearly at rest. The s-11 scaling of the cross section, as predicted by the constituent counting rule for two nucleon photodisintegration, was observed for the first time. The onset of the scaling is at a higher energy and the cross section is significantly lower than for deuteron (pn pair) photodisintegration. For photon energies below the scaling region, the scaled cross section was found to present a strong energy-dependent structure not observed in deuteron photodisintegration.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, for submission to Phys. Lett.

Lithium intoxication related multiple temporary ecg changes: A case report

Lithium is a widely used mood stabilizer, which may cause cardiac side effects. In this article, we present the case of a 39-year-old woman who had presented with pre-syncope and developed multiple ECG abnormalities that are caused by lithium intoxication and are disappeared after hemodialysis