Inhibition and Adsorption impact of Leave Extracts of Cnidoscolus Aconitifolius on Corrosion of Aluminium Sheet in 1 M Hcl Medium

Corrosion inhibition in the presence of alokaloid and non alkaloid extracts of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius in 1M HCl was studied using the weight loss and hydrogen evolution techniques at 303, 313 and 333 K. The results obtained revealed that the inhibition efficiency decreased with increase in temperature. Inhibition occurred through adsorption of the alokaloid and non alkaloid extracts molecules on the metal surface. The apparent activation energies, enthalpies and entropies of the dissolution process and the free energies and enthalpies for the adsorption process were determined and discussed. The fundamental thermodynamic functions were used to evaluate important inhibitive properties of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius.Keywords: Activation energy; Gibb’s Free Energy; Langmuir adsorption; Cnidoscolus aconitifolius; Aluminium sheet

Sulphuric Acid Corrosion of Mild Steel in Leave Extracts of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius Plant

Alkaloid and nonalkaloids extracts of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius leaves is reported as corrosion inhibitor of mild steel in HCl. Conventional weight loss measurements and Tafel polarization techniques are employed to study the effect on mild steel corrosion in H2SO4 solutions. The weight loss result revealed that both plant extracts are excellent corrosion inhibitors. Electrochemical polarization data revealed that mixed mode of inhibition. The increase in %IE with change in concentration of the extracts suggests the strong adsorption of active molecules leading to the formation of a protective layer on the mild steel surface.  It was found that adsorption of both leaf extracts followed Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. Keywords: Weight loss, Langmuir isotherm, activation energy, corrosion current density, inhibition efficiency, Cnidoscolus aconitifolius

Green Corrosion Inhibitors for Mild Steel in H2SO4 Solution: Flavonoids of Gongronema latifolium

The inhibitive properties of flavonoids extracted from Gongronema latifolium (FEGL) and the crude extracts from Gongronema latifolium (EEGL) on the corrosion of mild steel in H2SO4solutions was studied using hydrogen evolution method at 30, 40, 50, and 60oC. The results revealed that the extracts act as good inhibitors for the corrosion of mild steel in 5.0 M H2SO4 solutions. The inhibition efficiencies were found to increase with increase in the extract concentration and decreased with increase in temperature. The order of efficiency was EEGL > FEGL. The experimental data fitted well into the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Physical adsorption mechanism was proposed for the adsorption of the extracts on the mild steel surface from the data obtained for the activation energies of the inhibited and uninhibited systems. Keywords: Adsorption; Corrosion; Flavonoids; Inhibitor; Mild Stee

Inhibitors of Helicobacter pylori Protease HtrA Found by ‘Virtual Ligand’ Screening Combat Bacterial Invasion of Epithelia

Background: The human pathogen Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a main cause for gastric inflammation and cancer. Increasing bacterial resistance against antibiotics demands for innovative strategies for therapeutic intervention. Methodology/Principal Findings: We present a method for structure-based virtual screening that is based on the comprehensive prediction of ligand binding sites on a protein model and automated construction of a ligand-receptor interaction map. Pharmacophoric features of the map are clustered and transformed in a correlation vector (‘virtual ligand’) for rapid virtual screening of compound databases. This computer-based technique was validated for 18 different targets of pharmaceutical interest in a retrospective screening experiment. Prospective screening for inhibitory agents was performed for the protease HtrA from the human pathogen H. pylori using a homology model of the target protein. Among 22 tested compounds six block E-cadherin cleavage by HtrA in vitro and result in reduced scattering and wound healing of gastric epithelial cells, thereby preventing bacterial infiltration of the epithelium. Conclusions/Significance: This study demonstrates that receptor-based virtual screening with a permissive (‘fuzzy’) pharmacophore model can help identify small bioactive agents for combating bacterial infection

EC-BLAST: a tool to automatically search and compare enzyme reactions.

We present EC-BLAST (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/thornton-srv/software/rbl/), an algorithm and Web tool for quantitative similarity searches between enzyme reactions at three levels: bond change, reaction center and reaction structure similarity. It uses bond changes and reaction patterns for all known biochemical reactions derived from atom-atom mapping across each reaction. EC-BLAST has the potential to improve enzyme classification, identify previously uncharacterized or new biochemical transformations, improve the assignment of enzyme function to sequences, and assist in enzyme engineering

Protein Kinase C-δ Mediates Neuronal Apoptosis in the Retinas of Diabetic Rats via the Akt Signaling Pathway

OBJECTIVE—Protein kinase C (PKC)-δ, an upstream regulator of the Akt survival pathway, contributes to cellular dysfunction in the pathogenesis of diabetes. Herein, we examined the role of PKC-δ in neuronal apoptosis through Akt in the retinas of diabetic rats

A multiscale systems perspective on cancer, immunotherapy, and Interleukin-12

Monoclonal antibodies represent some of the most promising molecular targeted immunotherapies. However, understanding mechanisms by which tumors evade elimination by the immune system of the host presents a significant challenge for developing effective cancer immunotherapies. The interaction of cancer cells with the host is a complex process that is distributed across a variety of time and length scales. The time scales range from the dynamics of protein refolding (i.e., microseconds) to the dynamics of disease progression (i.e., years). The length scales span the farthest reaches of the human body (i.e., meters) down to the range of molecular interactions (i.e., nanometers). Limited ranges of time and length scales are used experimentally to observe and quantify changes in physiology due to cancer. Translating knowledge obtained from the limited scales observed experimentally to predict patient response is an essential prerequisite for the rational design of cancer immunotherapies that improve clinical outcomes. In studying multiscale systems, engineers use systems analysis and design to identify important components in a complex system and to test conceptual understanding of the integrated system behavior using simulation. The objective of this review is to summarize interactions between the tumor and cell-mediated immunity from a multiscale perspective. Interleukin-12 and its role in coordinating antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity is used illustrate the different time and length scale that underpin cancer immunoediting. An underlying theme in this review is the potential role that simulation can play in translating knowledge across scales