Antioxidant Activities of Plumbagin and Its Cu (II) Complex

Plumbagin and its Cu (II) complex [Cu (plumbagin)2]·H2O have been synthesized, and their antioxidant activities towards the inhibitory effect on DPPH free radical, reducing power, total antioxidant capacity, and inhibition on lipid peroxidation were investigated. Plumbagin and its Cu (II) complex were found to exhibit scavenging activities on DPPH radical with the inhibitory rate of 41% and 24%, respectively. The reducing power of plumbagin was outstanding at the concentrations of 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mg/mL, compared to Cu (II) complex and synthetic antioxidant 2,6-di-ter-butyl-4-methylphenol (BHT); the highest level reached 1.333 for plumbagin and 0.581 for Cu (II) complex. Also, the inhibition on lipid peroxidation of plumbagin was higher than that of Cu (II) complex and BHT, 46.4% for plumbagin and 24.5% for Cu (II) complex. The results give a strong impact for designing anticancer drugs, combined with their potential cytotoxic and antioxidant activities, which can be targeted selectively against cancer cells and increase their therapeutic index and additional advantages over other anticancer drugs

Genome-wide analysis reveals rapid and dynamic changes in miRNA and siRNA sequence and expression during ovule and fiber development in allotetraploid cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Rapid and dynamic changes in the expression of small RNAs are seen during ovule and fiber development in allotetraploid cotton

Synthesis, Cytotoxic Activity, and DNA Binding Properties of Copper (II) Complexes with Hesperetin, Naringenin, and Apigenin

Complexes of copper (II) with hesperetin, naringenin, and apigenin of general composition [CuL(2)(H(2)O)(2)] ⋅ nH(2)O (1–3) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, UV-Vis, FT-IR, ESI-MS, and TG-DTG thermal analysis. The free ligands and the metal complexes have been tested in vitro against human cancer cell lines hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG-2), gastric carcinomas (SGC-7901), and cervical carcinoma (HeLa). Complexes 1 and 3 were found to exhibit growth inhibition of SGC-7901 and HepG2 cell lines with respect to the free ligands; the inhibitory rate of complex 1 is 43.2% and 43.8%, while complex 3 is 46% and 36%, respectively. The interactions of complex 1 and its ligand Hsp with calf thymus DNA were investigated by UV-Vis, fluorescence, and CD spectra. Both complex 1 and Hsp were found to bind DNA in intercalation modes, and the binding affinity of complex 1 was stronger than that of free ligand

Frontal and superior temporal auditory processing abnormalities in schizophrenia

AbstractBackgroundAlthough magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies show superior temporal gyrus (STG) auditory processing abnormalities in schizophrenia at 50 and 100ms, EEG and corticography studies suggest involvement of additional brain areas (e.g., frontal areas) during this interval. Study goals were to identify 30 to 130ms auditory encoding processes in schizophrenia (SZ) and healthy controls (HC) and group differences throughout the cortex.MethodsThe standard paired-click task was administered to 19 SZ and 21 HC subjects during MEG recording. Vector-based Spatial–temporal Analysis using L1-minimum-norm (VESTAL) provided 4D maps of activity from 30 to 130ms. Within-group t-tests compared post-stimulus 50ms and 100ms activity to baseline. Between-group t-tests examined 50 and 100ms group differences.ResultsBilateral 50 and 100ms STG activity was observed in both groups. HC had stronger bilateral 50 and 100ms STG activity than SZ. In addition to the STG group difference, non-STG activity was also observed in both groups. For example, whereas HC had stronger left and right inferior frontal gyrus activity than SZ, SZ had stronger right superior frontal gyrus and left supramarginal gyrus activity than HC.ConclusionsLess STG activity was observed in SZ than HC, indicating encoding problems in SZ. Yet auditory encoding abnormalities are not specific to STG, as group differences were observed in frontal and SMG areas. Thus, present findings indicate that individuals with SZ show abnormalities in multiple nodes of a concurrently activated auditory network

Congenital insensitivity to pain associated with PRDM12 mutation: Two case reports and a literature review

Background:PRDM12 is a newly discovered gene responsible for congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP). Its clinical manifestations are various and not widely known.Methods: The clinical data of two infants diagnosed with CIP associated with PRDM12 mutation were collected. A literature review was performed, and the clinical characteristics of 20 cases diagnosed with a mutation of PRDM12 were summarized and analyzed.Results: Two patients had pain insensitivity, tongue and lip defects, and corneal ulcers. The genomic analysis results showed that variants of PRDM12 were detected in the two families. The case 1 patient carried heterozygous variations of c.682+1G > A and c.502C > T (p.R168C), which were inherited from her father and mother, respectively. We enrolled 22 patients diagnosed with CIP through a literature review together with our cases. There were 16 male (72.7%) and 6 female (27.3%) patients. The age of onset ranged from 6 months to 57 years. The prevalence of clinic manifestation was 14 cases with insensitivity to pain (63.6%), 19 cases with self-mutilation behaviors (86.4%), 11 cases with tongue and lip defects (50%), 5 cases with mid-facial lesions (22.7%), 6 cases with distal phalanx injury (27.3%), 11 cases of recurrent infection (50%), 3 cases (13.6%) with anhidrosis, and 5 cases (22.7%) with global developmental delay. The prevalence of ocular symptoms was 11 cases (50%) with reduced tear secretion, 6 cases (27.3%) with decreased corneal sensitivity, 7 cases (31.8%) with disappeared corneal reflexes, 5.5 cases (25%, 0.5 indicated a single eye) with corneal opacity, 5 cases (22.7%) with corneal ulceration, and 1 case (4.5%) with a corneal scar.Conclusion: The syndrome caused by PRDM12 mutation is a clinically distinct and diagnosable disease that requires joint multidisciplinary management to control the development of the disease and minimize the occurrence of complications

Divergent Cortical Generators of MEG and EEG during Human Sleep Spindles Suggested by Distributed Source Modeling

Background: Sleep spindles are,1-second bursts of 10–15 Hz activity, occurring during normal stage 2 sleep. In animals, sleep spindles can be synchronous across multiple cortical and thalamic locations, suggesting a distributed stable phaselocked generating system. The high synchrony of spindles across scalp EEG sites suggests that this may also be true in humans. However, prior MEG studies suggest multiple and varying generators. Methodology/Principal Findings: We recorded 306 channels of MEG simultaneously with 60 channels of EEG during naturally occurring spindles of stage 2 sleep in 7 healthy subjects. High-resolution structural MRI was obtained in each subject, to define the shells for a boundary element forward solution and to reconstruct the cortex providing the solution space for a noise-normalized minimum norm source estimation procedure. Integrated across the entire duration of all spindles, sources estimated from EEG and MEG are similar, diffuse and widespread, including all lobes from both hemispheres. However, the locations, phase and amplitude of sources simultaneously estimated from MEG versus EEG are highly distinct during the same spindles. Specifically, the sources estimated from EEG are highly synchronous across the cortex, whereas those from MEG rapidly shift in phase, hemisphere, and the location within the hemisphere. Conclusions/Significance: The heterogeneity of MEG sources implies that multiple generators are active during huma

Monitoring of the Pesticide Droplet Deposition with a Novel Capacitance Sensor

Rapid detection of spraying deposit can contribute to the precision application of plant protection products. In this study, a novel capacitor sensor system was implemented for measuring the spray deposit immediately after herbicide application. Herbicides with different formulations and nozzles in different mode types were included to test the impact on the capacitance of this system. The results showed that there was a linear relationship between the deposit mass and the digital voltage signals of the capacitance on the sensor surface with spray droplets. The linear models were similar for water and the spray mixtures with non-ionized herbicides usually in formulations of emulsifiable concentrates and suspension concentrates. However, the ionized herbicides in formulation of aqueous solutions presented a unique linear model. With this novel sensor, it is possible to monitor the deposit mass in real-time shortly after the pesticide application. This will contribute to the precision application of plant protection chemicals in the fields

Erratum: Wang, P., et al. Monitoring of the Pesticide Droplet Deposition with a Novel Capacitance Sensor. <i>Sensors</i> 2019, <i>19</i>, 537

The authors wish to make the following correction to this paper [...