847 research outputs found
The Schrodinger equation with Hulthen potential plus ring-shaped potential
We present the solutions of the Schrdinger equation with the
Hulthn potential plus ring-shape potential for states
within the framework of an exponential approximation of the centrifugal
potential.Solutions to the corresponding angular and radial equations are
obtained in terms of special functions using the conventional Nikiforov-Uvarov
method. The normalization constant for the Hulthn potential is also
computed.Comment: Typed with LateX,12 Pages, Typos correcte
Scaling of NonOhmic Conduction in Strongly Correlated Systems
A new scaling formalism is used to analyze nonlinear I-V data in the vicinity
of metal-insulator transitions (MIT) in five manganite systems. An exponent,
called the nonlinearity exponent, and an onset field for nonlinearity, both
characteristic of the system under study, are obtained from the analysis. The
onset field is found to have an anomalously low value corroborating the
theoretically predicted electronically soft phases. The scaling functions above
and below the MIT of a polycrystalline sample are found to be the same but with
different exponents which are attributed to the distribution of the MIT
temperatures. The applicability of the scaling in manganites underlines the
universal response of the disordered systems to electric field
Antioxidant property, traditional uses and chemical composition of seed oil plants of North-east India: A mini- review
Apart from being used as food, seed oils have also been used traditionally as medicinal products by several communities. However, the full medicinal potential of many seed oil plants is yet to be properly
reviewed, particularly for their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. North-East India has rich resources of seed oil plants. The availability of detailed information on these plants is quite limited. This review aims to explore and evaluate these seed oil plants of the North-East India with particular emphasis on their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities as well as chemical compositions. A comprehensive literature search on seed oil plants of this region has been performed. Seed oil yielding plants of this region can be categorized into two categories: plants that are used traditionally as sources of edible or medicinal oils and plants that are used for purposes other than as sources of oils. Many seed oil plants of this region have been reported to possess antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, and to produce various types of compounds. This review also highlights the importance of these plants in contributing to the local as well as the national economy of India
Naturally Occurring Calanolides: Occurrence, Biosynthesis, and Pharmacological Properties Including Therapeutic Potential
Calanolides are tetracyclic 4-substituted dipyranocoumarins. Calanolide A, isolated from the leaves and twigs of Calophyllum lanigerum var. austrocoriaceum (Whitmore) P. F. Stevens, is the first member of this group of compounds with anti-HIV-1 activity mediated by reverse transcriptase inhibition. Calanolides are classified pharmacologically as non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI). There are at least 15 naturally occurring calanolides distributed mainly within the genus Calophyllum, but some of them are also present in the genus Clausena. Besides significant anti-HIV properties, which have been exploited towards potential development of new NNRTIs for anti-HIV therapy, calanolides have also been found to possess anticancer, antimicrobial and antiparasitic potential. This review article provides a comprehensive update on all aspects of naturally occurring calanolides, including their chemistry, natural occurrence, biosynthesis, pharmacological and toxicological aspects including mechanism of action and structure activity relationships, pharmacokinetics, therapeutic potentials and available patents
Solution of the relativistic Dirac-Hulthen problem
The one-particle three-dimensional Dirac equation with spherical symmetry is
solved for the Hulthen potential. The s-wave relativistic energy spectrum and
two-component spinor wavefunctions are obtained analytically. Conforming to the
standard feature of the relativistic problem, the solution space splits into
two distinct subspaces depending on the sign of a fundamental parameter in the
problem. Unique and interesting properties of the energy spectrum are pointed
out and illustrated graphically for several values of the physical parameters.
The square integrable two-component wavefunctions are written in terms of the
Jacobi polynomials. The nonrelativistic limit reproduces the well-known
nonrelativistic energy spectrum and results in Schrodinger equation with a
"generalized" three-parameter Hulthen potential, which is the sum of the
original Hulthen potential and its square.Comment: 13 pages, 3 color figure
Prediction of anti-Alzheimer’s activity of flavonoids targeting acetylcholinesterase in silico
Introduction – Prenylated and pyrano-flavonoids of the genus Artocarpus J. R. Forster & G. Forster are well known for their acetylcholinesterase (AchE) inhibitory, anticholinergic, antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiproliferative and tyrosinase inhibitory activities. Some of these compounds have also been shown to be effective against Alzheimer’s disease. Objective – The aim of the in silico study was to establish protocols to predict the most effective flavonoid from prenylated and pyrano-flavonoid classes for AchE inhibition linking to the potential treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Methodology – Three flavonoids isolated from Artocarpus anisophyllus Miq. were selected for the study. With these compounds, Lipinski filter, ADME/Tox screening, molecular docking and QSAR were performed in silico. In vitro activity was evaluated by bioactivity staining based on the Ellman’s method. Results – In the Lipinski filter and ADME/Tox screening, all test compounds produced positive results, but in the target fishing, only one flavonoid could successfully target AchE. Molecular docking was performed on this flavonoid, and this compound gained the score as -13.5762. From the QSAR analysis the IC50 was found to be 1659.59 nM. Again, 100 derivatives were generated from the parent compound and docking was performed. The derivative number 20 was the best scorer i.e., -31.6392 and IC50 was predicted as 6.025 nM. Conclusion – Results indicated that flavonoids could be efficient inhibitors of AchE and thus, could be useful in the management of Alzheimer’s disease
Trapped ions in optical lattices for probing oscillator chain models
We show that a chain of trapped ions embedded in microtraps generated by an
optical lattice can be used to study oscillator models related to dry friction
and energy transport. Numerical calculations with realistic experimental
parameters demonstrate that both static and dynamic properties of the ion chain
change significantly as the optical lattice power is varied. Finally, we lay
out an experimental scheme to use the spin degree of freedom to probe the phase
space structure and quantum critical behavior of the ion chain
Molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and patterns of host association over time and space in a tropical forest
We have used molecular techniques to investigate the diversity and distribution of the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi colonizing tree seedling roots in the tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Republic of Panama. In the first year, we sampled newly emergent seedlings of the understory treelet Faramea occidentalis and the canopy emergent Tetragastris panamensis, from mixed seedling carpets at each of two sites. The following year we sampled surviving seedlings from these cohorts. The roots of 48 plants were analysed using AM fungal-specific primers to amplify and clone partial small subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA gene sequences. Over 1300 clones were screened for random fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) variation and 7% of these were sequenced. Compared with AM fungal communities sampled from temperate habitats using the same method, the overall diversity was high, with a total of 30 AM fungal types identified. Seventeen of these types have not been recorded previously, with the remainder being similar to types reported from temperate habitats. The tropical mycorrhizal population showed significant spatial heterogeneity and nonrandom associations with the different hosts. Moreover there was a strong shift in the mycorrhizal communities over time. AM fungal types that were dominant in the newly germinated seedlings were almost entirely replaced by previously rare types in the surviving seedlings the following year. The high diversity and huge variation detected across time points, sites and hosts, implies that the AM fungal types are ecologically distinct and thus may have the potential to influence recruitment and host composition in tropical forests
Osteopontin Is Required for the Early Onset of High Fat Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance in Mice
Insulin resistance is manifested in muscle, adipose tissue, and liver and is associated with adipose tissue inflammation. The cellular components and mechanisms that regulate the onset of diet-induced insulin resistance are not clearly defined.We initially observed osteopontin (OPN) mRNA over-expression in adipose tissue of obese, insulin resistant humans and rats which was normalized by thiazolidinedione (TZD) treatment in both species. OPN regulates inflammation and is implicated in pathogenic maladies resulting from chronic obesity. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that OPN is involved in the early development of insulin resistance using a 2-4 week high fat diet (HFD) model. OPN KO mice fed HFD for 2 weeks were completely protected from the severe skeletal muscle, liver and adipose tissue insulin resistance that developed in wild type (WT) controls, as determined by hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp and acute insulin-stimulation studies. Although two-week HFD did not alter body weight or plasma free fatty acids and cytokines in either strain, HFD-induced hyperleptinemia, increased adipose tissue inflammation (macrophages and cytokines), and adipocyte hypertrophy were significant in WT mice and blunted or absent in OPN KO mice. Adipose tissue OPN protein isoform expression was significantly altered in 2- and 4-week HFD-fed WT mice but total OPN protein was unchanged. OPN KO bone marrow stromal cells were more osteogenic and less adipogenic than WT cells in vitro. Interestingly, the two differentiation pathways were inversely affected by HFD in WT cells in vitro.The OPN KO phenotypes we report reflect protection from insulin resistance that is associated with changes in adipocyte biology and adipose tissue inflammatory status. OPN is a key component in the development of HFD-induced insulin resistance
Dimensional versus cut-off renormalization and the nucleon-nucleon interaction
The role of dimensional regularization is discussed and compared with that of
cut-off regularization in some quantum mechanical problems with ultraviolet
divergence in two and three dimensions with special emphasis on the
nucleon-nucleon interaction. Both types of renormalizations are performed for
attractive divergent one- and two-term separable potentials, a divergent tensor
potential, and the sum of a delta function and its derivatives. We allow
energy-dependent couplings, and determine the form that these couplings should
take if equivalence between the two regularization schemes is to be enforced.
We also perform renormalization of an attractive separable potential superposed
on an analytic divergent potential.Comment: 19 pages + one postscript figur
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