A Methodology Proposal for Selecting the Optimal Location for Small Hydropower Plants

The hydropower potential in the Republic of Serbia, as the most important renewable energy source, has been estimated at around 17000 GW·h per year, where approximately 2000 GW·h could be obtained from small hydropower plants (SHP). Small hydropower plants in Serbia currently produce 150 GW·h. Accordingly, the share of the electricity production from small hydropower plants in the total electricity production in Serbia is too small. The paper presents a model for the selection of optimal locations for small hydropower plants, which includes an ecological criterion, along with technical and economic criteria. The ecological criterion is eliminatory, i.e. those parts of the watercourse that border on or pass through protected natural assets are not taken into account when considering potential optimal locations for SHPs. All technical and economic criteria are included in the calculation of the weighted arithmetic mean with the aim of determining the optimal position for the construction of small hydropower plants. The model is implemented in the SHPOP software and its application is demonstrated on five watercourses in Southeastern Serbia

Investigation of physicochemical properties and potential biological activity of 2-pyridine-(thio)carbohydrazone derivatives

Carbohydrazones and their thio analogs represent compounds obtained by condensation of carbohydrazide and thiocarbohydrazide with carbonyl compounds. Due to their structure, relatively simple synthesis, and high reactivity, mentioned derivatives have a wide range of applications in all fields. In this study, ionization constants of four newly synthesized mono(thio)carbohydrazones were determined by applying the potentiometric method. Also, the influence of specific and nonspecific intermolecular interactions on maxima shifting in UV-Vis absorption spectra was investigated and quantified using the linear solvation energy relationships method and Catalan’s model. Finally, by applying the DPPH assay, the antioxidant potential of the newly synthesized compounds was determined, and thiocarbohydrazone derivatives proved to be significantly more active when compared to carbohydrazones.XIV international scientific conference contemporary materials 2021 / XIV Међународни научни скуп савремени материјали 2021, Banja Luka, 9-10.9.202

Испитивање физичко-хемијских својстава и потенцијалне биолошке активности деривата 2-пиридин-(тио) карбохидразона

Карбохидразони и њихови тио-аналози представљају једињења добијена кондензацијом карбохидразида, односно тиокарбохи- дразида са карбонилним једињењима. Захваљујући њиховој структури, релативно једноставној синтези и великој реактивности, поменути дери- вати имају широк спектар примене у свим сферама. У оквиру овог рада, за четири новосинтетисана моно(тио)карбохидразона, одређене су кисе- линске константе применом потенциметријске методе. Такође, методом линеарне корелације енергија солватације и применом Catalan-овог моде- ла испитан је утицај специфичних и неспецифичних међумолекулских интеракција на померања у UV-Vis апсорпционим спектрима. У циљу испитивавања потенцијалне биолошке активности 2 - пиридин-(тио) кар- бохидразона, применом DPPH теста, одређен је њихов антиоксидативни потенцијал и закључено је да су деривати тиокарбохидразона значајно активнији у односу на карбохидразоне.Carbohydrazones and their thio analogs represent compounds obtained by condensation of carbohydrazide and thiocarbohydrazide with carbonyl compounds. Due to their structure, relatively simple synthesis, and high reactivity, mentioned derivatives have a wide range of applications in all fields. In this study, ionization constants of four newly synthesized mono(thio)carbohydrazones were determined by applying the potentiometric method. Also, the influence of specific and nonspecific intermolecular interactions on maxima shifting in UV-Vis absorption spectra was investigated and quantified using the linear solvation energy relationships method and Catalan’s model. Finally, by applying the DPPH assay, the antioxidant potential of the newly synthesized compounds was determined, and thiocarbohydrazone derivatives proved to be significantly more active when compared to carbo-hydrazones

Unveiling Fungi Armor: Preliminary Study on Fortifying Pisum sativum L. Seeds against Drought with Schizophyllum commune Fries 1815 Polysaccharide Fractions

Amidst worsening climate change, drought stress imperils global agriculture, jeopardizing crop yields and food security, thereby necessitating the urgent exploration of sustainable methods like biopriming for the harnessing of beneficial microorganisms to bolster plant resilience. Recent research has revealed diverse biological compounds with versatile applications produced by Schizophyllum commune, rendering this fungus as a promising contender for biopriming applications. For the first time, this study aimed to investigate the potential of S. commune exo- (EPSH) and intra-polysaccharides (IPSH) isolated from two strains—Italian (ITA) and Serbian (SRB)—under submerged cultivation to enhance the resilience of Pisum sativum L. seeds through the biopriming technique. Testing of the seed quality for the bioprimed, hydroprimed, and unprimed seeds was conducted using a germination test, under optimal and drought conditions, while characterization of the PSHs included FTIR analysis, microanalysis, and determination of total protein content (TPC). The FTIR spectra of EPSH and IPSH were very similar but revealed the impurities, while microanalysis and TPC confirmed a different presence of proteins in the isolated PSHs. In optimal conditions, the IPSH SRB increased germination energy by 5.50% compared to the control; however, the highest percentage of germination (94.70%) was shown after biopriming with the PSH isolated from the ITA strain. Additionally, all assessed treatments resulted in a boost in seedling growth and biomass accumulation, where the ITA strain demonstrated greater effectiveness in optimal conditions, while the SRB strain showed superiority in drought conditions. The drought tolerance indices increased significantly in response to all examined treatments during the drought, with EPSH ITA (23.00%) and EPSH SRB (24.00%) demonstrating the greatest effects. Results of this preliminary study demonstrate the positive effect of isolated PSH, indicating their potential as biopriming agents and offering insights into novel strategies for agricultural resilience

Comparison of two schizophyllum commune strains in production of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and antioxidants from submerged cultivation

In recent years, fungi have been recognized as producers of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors, agents important for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study aimed to examine the AChE inhibitory, the antioxidative and antibacterial activity of two different Schizophyllum commune strains that originated from Serbia (SRB) and Italy (IT). Submerged cultivation of grown mycelia (M) and fermentation broth (F) of ethanol (EtOH) and polysaccharide (PSH) extracts lasted for 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. For AChE activity Ellman method was performed, while for antioxidative activity, sevendifferent assays were conducted: DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, SOA, OH, NO together with total phenolic content. Antimicrobial screen, LC–MS/MS technique and FTIR measurements were performed. Different isolates exhibited different AChE activity, with PSH being the strongest (SRB, M, 28 days IC90 79.73 ± 26.34 µg/mL), while in EtOH extracts, IT stood out (F, 14 days, IC50 0.8 ± 0.6 µg/mL). PSH extracts (7 days) exhibit significant antioxidative activity (AO), opposite to EtOH extracts where 14 and 21days periods stood out. Only tw extracts showed antibacterial activity. Following LC–MS/MS analysis p-hydroxybenzoic and gallic acids were the most abundant phenolics. PSH extracts demonstrated remarkable results, making this study debut and introducing S. commune as a valuable resource of AChE inhibitors

Exploring biodiversity and ethnobotanical significance of Solanum species in Uzbekistan: unveiling the cultural wealth and ethnopharmacological uses

Despite its millennial existence and empirical documentation, the ethnological knowledge of herbs is a more recent phenomenon. The knowledge of their historical uses as food, medicine, source of income and small-scale businesses, and the sociological impacts are threatened due to the slow ethnobotanical research drive. Species of the genus Solanum have long been extensively used in folk medicine to treat various illnesses of humans since the dawn of civilization. All data were systematically obtained from papers, monographs, and books written in Uzbek, Russian, and English through various scientific online databases, including Google, Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Semantic Scholar, Science Direct, and Web of Science using specific keywords focused on eight Solanum species. Eight native and non-native Solanum species as S. dulcamara L., S. lycopersicum L., S. melongena L., S. nigrum L., S. rostratum Dunal., S. sisymbriifolium Lam., S. tuberosum L., and S. villosum Mill. have been recorded in Uzbekistan of Central Asia. In this article we presented recently obtained data on the diversity, morphological characteristics, global distribution, habitat, population status, phenology, reproduction, pharmacology and phytochemistry of these Solanum species in Uzbekistan. Furthermore, relying on a combination of literature reviews and analyses from various scientific papers, we focus on food consumption coupled with global ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological uses in human diseases of the Solanum species growing in Uzbekistan. Since the dawn of civilization, these eight cultivated and non-cultivated species of Solanum have provided sustainable resources of medicinal plants in Uzbekistan to prevent and treat various human diseases. Based on the collected data, it was shown that Solanum species have not been studied ethnobotanically and ethnomedicinally in Uzbekistan and it is necessary to conduct phytochemical and biotechnological research on them in the future. Traditional uses and scientific evaluation of Solanum indicate that S. nigrum, S. sisymbriifolium and S. tuberosum are one of the most widely used species in some parts of the world. Although considerable progress has been made to comprehend the chemical and biological properties of S. nigrum and S. tuberosum species, more research on the pharmacology and toxicology of these species is needed to ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of their biologically active extracts and isolated bioactive compounds. Additionally, conducting additional research on the structure-activity relationship of certain isolated phytochemicals has the potential to enhance their biological efficacy and advance the scientific utilization of traditional applications of Solanum taxa

A contribution to the study of hydrophobicity (lipophilicity) of bile acids with an emphasis on oxo derivatives of 5β-cholanoic acid

Due to their promotory action on the transport of some drugs through various membranes (lipophilic barriers), oxo derivatives of bile acids have recently been increasingly used in biopharmacy. These compounds exhibit also a lower membranolytic (toxic) activity than their hydroxy analogues. Because of that it is of special importance to find out the descriptors that would adequately describe the structure of bile acids and their biological activity and be used to model the quantitative structure-activity relationship. In view of this, the present work is concerned with the application of the chromatographic parameter RM0 obtained by normal-phase thin-layer chromatography in the solvent system toluene-butanol and silica gel as stationary phase to describe the lipophilicity of bile acids. Also, the work introduces a new molecular descriptor (ND) that reflects both 2D and 3D topological characteristics of the molecule. Between the retention constant, RM0 and the descriptor ND there is a good correlation, and both RM0, and ND describe sufficiently well the structural (conformational) changes that arise in the process of oxidation of the OH group of the steroid skeleton to an oxo group. On the other hand, the in silico descriptors of lipophilicity, logP (atomic-based prediction) and ClogP (fragment-based prediction) predict the hydrophobicity of bile acid oxo derivatives with a certain error

Bioactivity Profiling of <i>Daedaleopsis confragosa</i> (Bolton) J. Schröt. 1888: Implications for Its Possible Application in Enhancing Women’s Reproductive Health

This study investigates the bioactivity profile of wood-rotting fungal species Daedaleopsis confragosa (Bolton) J. Schröt. 1888, focusing on its antioxidant, cytotoxic, and genotoxic activities and enzyme modulation properties with respect to its possible application in terms of enhancing women’s reproductive health. Two types of extracts, including those based on EtOH extraction (DC) and hydrodistillation (DCHD), were investigated. The results indicate that the radical scavenging capacity against the DPPH radical and reduction potential were stronger in the DC extracts owing to the higher total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) (25.30 ± 1.05 mg GAE/g d.w. and 2.84 ± 0.85 mg QE/g d.w., respectively). The same trend was observed in the protein phosphatase-1 (PP1) activity and in the genotoxic activity against the δ virus since only the DC extract exhibited DNA disintegration regarding a dilution of 1:100. Conversely, the DCHD extract exhibited increased hemolytic and cytotoxic effects (339.39% and IC50 = 27.76 ± 0.89 μg/mL—72 h incubation, respectively), along with greater inhibition of the AChE enzyme (IC50 = 3.11 ± 0.45 mg/mL) and hemolytic activity. These results suggest that terpenoids and steroids may be responsible for the observed activity in DCHD as these compounds could potentially be extracted following the HD procedure. This comprehensive bioactivity profiling offers valuable insights into the potential therapeutic applications of D. confragosa from Serbia and underscores the importance of further investigations for harnessing its pharmacological potential

The effect of biopriming of pea seeds (Pisum sativum L.) with extracts of Schizophyllum commune Fr. 1815 on the antioxidant activity of the plant under stress conditions (drought)

Biopriming (BP) of seeds ensures increased resistance of seeds and young plants to stress, by integrating beneficial microorganisms and their products. In addition, research on filamentous fungi revealed their enormous potential in biotechnological processes and demonstrated their ability to increase plant resistance to stressful conditions. Aim: The aim was to examine the influence of BPof pea seeds with polysaccharides (PSH) isolated from submerged cultures of Schizophyllum commune originating from Serbia (SRB) and Italy (IT), on the antioxidant activity of the plant under drought

The effect of biopriming of pea seeds (Pisum sativum L.) with extracts of Schizophyllum commune Fr. 1815 on the enzymatic antioxidant activity of seedling

Biopriming (BP) represents a new seed treatment technique that integrates biological and physiological aspects, ensuring increased resistance of the seed andyoung plant. Today, in BP, many species of fungi are used intensively , including Trichoderma, but the effect of filamentous fungi has not been described yet. The aim of this study was to examine the role of seed BP with polysaccharides (PSH) isolated from submerged cultures of two different strains of fungal species Schizophyllum commune, originating from Serbia (SRB) and Italy (IT), in the fight against oxidative stress in seedlings under optimal conditions