Studies on the Stimulation of Poultry Growth by Soybeans Molded with Species of Aspergillus

Many workers have reported that cultures of molds grown on feedstuffs produce poisonous metabolites, mycotoxins , which depress growth of farm animals and may cause high mortality

Synthesis, characterisation and biological activities of Ru(III), Mo(V), Cd(II), Zn(II) and Cu(II) complexes containing a novel nitrogen-sulphur macrocyclic Schiff base derived from glyoxal

A novel nitrogen-sulphur macrocyclic Schiff base, 4,11,20,27-tetrathioxo-3,12,19,28-tetrathia-5,6,9,10,21,22,25,26-octaazatricyclo[28.2.2.214,17]hexatriaconta 1(33),6,8,14(36),15,17(35),22,24,30(34),31-decaene-2,13,18,29-tetraone (TGSB) derived from terephthaloyl-bis-dithiocarbazate (TDTC) and glyoxal (ethane-1,2-dione) is synthesised via condensation. Metal complexes are formed by reacting the Schiff base with various metal salts such as Ru(III), Mo(V), Cd(II), Zn(II) and Cu(II). The complexes are expected to have a general formula of M2L or M3L with a square planar or square pyramidal geometry. These compounds were characterised by various physico-chemical and spectroscopic techniques. From the data, it is concluded that the azomethine nitrogen atom and the thiolate sulphur atom from the ligand are bonded to the metal ion. In the IR spectra of the complexes, the presence of the C=N band in the region of 1600 cm-1 indicates the successful formation of the Schiff base. The structures of the Schiff base and metal complexes are confirmed via FT-IR, GC-MS and NMR spectroscopic analysis. The magnetic susceptibility measurements, electronic spectral data and molar conductivity analysis support the desired geometry of the complexes. The Schiff base and its metal complexes are evaluated for their biological activities against the invasive human bladder carcinoma cell line (EJ-28) and the minimum-invasive human bladder carcinoma cell line (RT-112). The RuTGSB and CdTGSB complexes showed selective activity against RT-112

Plasmon oscillations in ellipsoid nanoparticles: beyond dipole approximation

The plasmon oscillations of a metallic triaxial ellipsoid nanoparticle have been studied within the framework of the quasistatic approximation. A general method has been proposed for finding the analytical expressions describing the potential and frequencies of the plasmon oscillations of an arbitrary multipolarity order. The analytical expressions have been derived for an electric potential and plasmon oscillation frequencies of the first 24 modes. Other higher orders plasmon modes are investigated numerically.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figure

Enhancing Nanoparticle-Based Visible Detection by Controlling the Extent of Aggregation

Visible indication based on the aggregation of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) is highly advantageous for rapid on-site detection of biological entities, which even untrained persons can perform without specialized instrumentation. However, since the extent of aggregation should exceed a certain minimum threshold to produce visible change, further applications of this conventional method have been hampered by insufficient sensitivity or certain limiting characteristics of the target. Here we report a signal amplification strategy to enhance visible detection by introducing switchable linkers (SLs), which are designed to lose their function to bridge NPs in the presence of target and control the extent of aggregation. By precisely designing the system, considering the quantitative relationship between the functionalized NPs and SLs, highly sensitive and quantitative visible detection is possible. We confirmed the ultrahigh sensitivity of this method by detecting the presence of 20 fM of streptavidin and fewer than 100 CFU/mL of Escherichia coli

Ontological addiction: classification, etiology, and treatment

Despite the fact that there is increasing integration of Buddhist principles and practices into Western mental health and applied psychological disciplines, there appears to be limited understanding in Western psychology of the assumptions that underlie a Buddhist model of mental illness. The concept of ontological addiction was introduced and formulated in order to narrow some of the disconnect between Buddhist and Western models of mental illness, and to foster effective assimilation of Buddhist practices and principles into mental health research and practice. Ontological addiction refers to the maladaptive condition whereby an individual is addicted to the belief that they inherently exist. The purposes of the present paper are to: (i) classify ontological addiction in terms of its definition, symptoms, prevalence, and functional consequences, (ii) examine the etiology of the condition, and (iii) appraise both the traditional Buddhist and contemporary empirical literature in order to outline effective treatment strategies. An assessment of the extent to which ontological addiction meets the clinical criteria for addiction suggests that ontological addiction is a chronic and valid – albeit functionally distinct (i.e., when compared to chemical and behavioral addictions) – form of addiction. However, despite the protracted and pervasive nature of the condition, recent empirical findings add support to ancient Buddhist teachings and suggest that addiction to selfhood can be overcome by a treatment process involving phases of: (i) becoming aware of the imputed self, (ii) deconstructing the imputed self, and (iii) reconstructing a dynamic and non-dual self

Toll-Like Receptor 8 Agonist and Bacteria Trigger Potent Activation of Innate Immune Cells in Human Liver

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.The study was supported by a Grant core funding from the Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR, Singapore) and a Singapore Translational Research Investigator Award (NRMC/StaR/013/2012) to AB as well as NIHR Biomedical Centre, Oxford, WT 091663MA, NIAID1U19AI082630-01, Oxford Martin School funding and an NIHR Senior Investigator award to PK