The chemistry of group-VIb metal carbonyls

The special interest attached to the chemistry of metal carbonyls arises from several causes. While quite distinct from the metal carbonyls in the organometallic compounds, they differ in physical properties (e.g., their volatility) from all other compounds of the transition metals. Chemically, they constitute a group of compounds in which the formal valency of the metal atoms is zero, and in this respect (apart, perhaps, from the ammoniates of the alkali metals) they are comparable only with the recently discovered compounds. As a class, the carbonyls are reactive compounds, and a number of new types of inorganic compounds have been discovered. In the concepts for new products, performance, product safety, and product economy criteria are equally important. They are taken into account already when the raw material base for a new industrial product development is defined. Since the discovery of nickel carbonyl by Mond and Langer in 1888, the carbonyls of the iron group and of chromium, molybdenum and tungsten have found important technical applications, e.g., in the Mond nickel process, and for the preparation of the metals in a state of subdivision and of purity suitable for powder metallurgy, for catalysts, etc. The reaction mechanism of the processes developed for producing the carbonyls technically has only recently received its interpretations. Within the space of review it is necessary to limit discussion to a few topics. Particular stress has accordingly laid upon (a) the chemical bonding in metal carbonyls, (b) importance of IR and NMR spectroscopy in characterization of metal carbonyls, (c) substitution reactions of G-VIb metal carbonyls, (d) kinetics and mechanism of substitution reactions in metal carbonyls, (e) substituted complexes of G-VIb metal carbonyl, (f) chelate complexes of G-VIb metal carbonyls, (g) uses of G-VIb metal carbonyl complexes and (h) studies done on G-VIb metal carbonyls

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

<span style="font-size:15.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-GB">Iron induced modifications in physiological attributes and SDS-PAGE of whole cell proteins pattern of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Anabaena</i> PCC 7120 and its derivative <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">ntc</i>A mutant </span>

87-93The influence of the various levels of iron (0-500 µM) on Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 and its derivative CSE2 mutant impaired in ntcA gene have been investigated to determine the requirement of specific concentration of iron for the regulation of photosynthetic pigments, cellular constituents, heterocyst spacing pattern, enzyme activities and SDS-PAGE of whole cell protein profiling. Iron at lower concentrations (≤50 µM) causes increase in chlorophyll a, carotenoid, phycocyanin, carbohydrate, protein, nitrogenase, nitrate reductase and glutamine synthetase activities in wild type as well as in<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> mutant strain (except nitrogenase and nitrate reductase activities), while higher concentrations (>50 µM) were toxic and cause significant reductions in these physiological attributes. Nitrogenase and nitrate reductase activity were found absent in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">ntcA mutant. Further, 50 µM iron concentration also supported the maximum heterocyst frequency with changed heterocyst spacing pattern in wild type, whereas no visible sign of heterocyst development was observed in mutant strain. SDS-PAGE of whole cell protein revealed the occurrence of maximum number of bands at 50 µM iron concentration in both wild type and mutant strain. Results suggested that 50 µM of iron concentration was the specific concentration (critical concentration) that supported optimal physiological and biochemical activities in Anabaena 7120 and its mutant strain CSE2 (ntcA). </span

Retraction notice to “The chemistry of group-VIb metal carbonyls” [Eur. J. Chem. 2012, 3(3), 367-394, doi: 10.5155/eurjchem.3.3.367-394.604]

Retraction notice to “The chemistry of group-VIb metal carbonyls” [Eur. J. Chem. 2012, 3(3), 367-394, doi: 10.5155/eurjchem.3.3.367-394.604

A systematic review of plant-based mosquito repellents and their activity

347-359Deadly pathogens and parasites can be transmitted through many vectors, and the mosquito is considered one of the most threatening vectors in public health, transmitting various diseases to humans such as zika fever, west nile fever, chikungunya, dengue fever, hemorrhagic dengue, malaria and many more all over the world causing millions of deaths every year. Mosquito-borne diseases can be prevented with the use of ‘mosquito repellents'; thus, it plays a crucial role in minimising the possibility of getting infections and its adverse effects. To prevent mosquito-borne diseases, synthetic mosquito repellent became a handy and preferred measurement. However, over time, it became incompetent because mosquitoes acquired immunity to them, and since synthetic repellent are chemicals, causes more harm to the ecosystem by contamination. So, there is a sore need for natural alternatives to synthetic repellents. Our ancient texts have mentioned that some important plant genera, such as Azadirachta, Calotropis, Cinnamomum, Citrus, Eucalyptus, Geranium, Mentha, Lantana, Ocimum, Piper, Zingiber, have anti-larval and insecticidal properties and their essential oils and extracts have been used in traditional practice form generations against host-seeking mosquitoes as a personal protection measure. Keeping these aspects in view, the main focus of this review is to demonstrate and analyse the mosquito-repellent activities of essential oils and extracts derived from different plant families and to understand their mode of action better

Algal rhodopsins encoding diverse signal sequence holds potential for expansion of organelle optogenetics

Rhodopsins have been extensively employed for optogenetic regulation of bioelectrical activity of excitable cells and other cellular processes across biological systems. Various strategies have been adopted to attune the cellular processes at the desired subcellular compartment (plasma membrane, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi, mitochondria, lysosome) within the cell. These strategies include-adding signal sequences, tethering peptides, specific interaction sites, or mRNA elements at different sites in the optogenetic proteins for plasma membrane integration and subcellular targeting. However, a single approach for organelle optogenetics was not suitable for the relevant optogenetic proteins and often led to the poor expression, mislocalization, or altered physical and functional properties. Therefore, the current study is focused on the native subcellular targeting machinery of algal rhodopsins. The N- and C-terminus signal prediction led to the identification of rhodopsins with diverse organelle targeting signal sequences for the nucleus, mitochondria, lysosome, endosome, vacuole, and cilia. Several identified channelrhodopsins and ion-pumping rhodopsins possess effector domains associated with DNA metabolism (repair, replication, and recombination) and gene regulation. The identified algal rhodopsins with diverse effector domains and encoded native subcellular targeting sequences hold immense potential to establish expanded organelle optogenetic regulation and associated cellular signaling

Investigating NAC Transcription Factor Role in Redox Homeostasis in Solanum lycopersicum L.: Bioinformatics, Physiological and Expression Analysis under Drought Stress

NAC transcription factors regulate stress-defence pathways and developmental processes in crop plants. However, their detailed functional characterization in tomatoes needs to be investigated comprehensively. In the present study, tomato hybrids subjected to 60 and 80 days of drought stress conditions showed a significant increase in membrane damage and reduced relative water, chlorophyll and proline content. However, hybrids viz., VRTH-16-3 and VRTH-17-68 showed superior growth under drought stress, as they were marked with low electrolytic leakage, enhanced relative water content, proline content and an enhanced activity of enzymatic antioxidants, along with the upregulation of NAC and other stress-defence pathway genes. Candidate gene(s) exhibiting maximum expression in all the hybrids under drought stress were subjected to detailed in silico characterization to provide significant insight into its structural and functional classification. The homology modelling and superimposition analysis of predicted tomato NAC protein showed that similar amino acid residues were involved in forming the conserved WKAT domain. DNA docking discovered that the SlNAC1 protein becomes activated and exerts a stress-defence response after the possible interaction of conserved DNA elements using Pro72, Asn73, Trp81, Lys82, Ala83, Thr84, Gly85, Thr86 and Asp87 residues. A protein&ndash;protein interaction analysis identified ten functional partners involved in the induction of stress-defence tolerance

Novel Modular Rhodopsins from Green Algae Hold Great Potential for Cellular Optogenetic Modulation Across the Biological Model Systems

Light-gated ion channel and ion pump rhodopsins are widely used as optogenetic tools and these can control the electrically excitable cells as (1) they are a single-component system i.e., their light sensing and ion-conducting functions are encoded by the 7-transmembrane domains and, (2) they show fast kinetics with small dark-thermal recovery time. In cellular signaling, a signal receptor, modulator, and the effector components are involved in attaining synchronous regulation of signaling. Optical modulation of the multicomponent network requires either receptor to effector encoded in a single ORF or direct modulation of the effector domain through bypassing all upstream players. Recently discovered modular rhodopsins like rhodopsin guanylate cyclase (RhoGC) and rhodopsin phosphodiesterase (RhoPDE) paves the way to establish a proof of concept for utilization of complex rhodopsin (modular rhodopsin) for optogenetic applications. Light sensor coupled modular system could be expressed in any cell type and hence holds great potential in the advancement of optogenetics 2.0 which would enable manipulating the entire relevant cell signaling system. Here, we had identified 50 novel modular rhodopsins with variant domains and their diverse cognate signaling cascades encoded in a single ORF, which are associated with specialized functions in the cells. These novel modular algal rhodopsins have been characterized based on their sequence and structural homology with previously reported rhodopsins. The presented novel modular rhodopsins with various effector domains leverage the potential to expand the optogenetic tool kit to regulate various cellular signaling pathways across the diverse biological model systems