Analysis of the Interaction of Dp44mT with Human Serum Albumin and Calf Thymus DNA Using Molecular Docking and Spectroscopic Techniques [Editorial]

This Editorial refers to

Total antioxidant capacity in beta-thalassemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies

otal Antioxidant Capacity (TAC), a biomarker measuring the antioxidant potential of body fluids, including redox synergistic interactions, is influenced by the presence of products of catabolism such as bilirubin (BR) and uric acid (UA). Hyperuricaemia and increased BR levels were observed in thalassemia. In order to evaluate the differences in TAC values between thalassemic patients and healthy subjects, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies. After the exclusion of data deemed unsuitable for meta-analysis inclusion and a study imputed of bias by Trim-and-fill analysis, mean difference (MD) and confidence intervals 95% (CI 95%) were calculated by the random effect model for beta-thalassemia major (BTM) (1351 subjects: 770 thalassemic and 581 controls, from 15 studies) and Trait (BTT) or Hemoglobin E (BTE) (475 subjects: 165 thalassemic and 310 controls, from 5 studies). Despite the differences in clinical symptoms and severity, similar decreased levels of TAC were found in BTM [MD -0.22 (-0.35 -0.09) p < 0.001] and BTT or BTE [MD -0.22 (-0.44 -0.01) p < 0.05]. In conclusion, UA and BR interference on TAC suggests that corrected TAC and in particular the UA-independent TAC, considering the prominent influence of UA, might be the better approach to evaluate body antioxidant status. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Language on stage. Particles in ancient Greek drama

Ancient Greek particles are uninflected function words, such as γε, δέ, and οὖν. They mainly signal relations between parts of a text and/or the speaker’s attitude towards a text’s content, rather than or in addition to expressing semantic or syntactic meanings. That is, particles indicate to a hearer or reader how to process the surrounding words. This general description in fact encompasses a wide range of very different functions. Particles populate every page of Greek literature, including tragedy and comedy, with high frequency and great variety. Understanding their uses is therefore helpful for the interpretation of these texts. However, the elusive nature and the multifunctionality of particles make their functions hard to grasp. Despite a long-standing tradition of Greek particle studies, readers of Greek literature often do not fully appreciate these words’ contributions to texts, or even ignore them altogether in interpretation. The solution lies in adopting a specific approach to particle use: one that takes into account more co-text than only the sentence in which a particle occurs, and more context than merely the co-occurring words. By applying such approach here, I provide new readings of ancient Greek particles, and new tools for analyzing and interpreting them. The resulting understanding of particles is valuable for our reading and interpretation of the dramatic texts in general

Aqueous starch as a stabilizer in zinc oxide nanoparticle synthesis via laser ablation.

Zinc oxide is a semiconductor with exceptional thermal, luminescent and electrical properties, even compared with other semiconducting nanoparticles. Its potential for advanced applications in lasers and light emitting diodes, as bio-imaging agent, in biosensors and as drug delivery vehicles, in ointments, coatings and pigments has pulled zinc oxide into the focus of various scientific and engineering research fields. Recently we started investigating if nanoparticle synthesis via laser ablation in the presence of natural stabilizers allows control over size and shape and constitutes a useful, uncomplicated alternative over conventional synthesis methods. In the current paper, we determined the ability of natural starch to act as a size controller and stabilizer in the preparation of zinc oxide nanoparticles via ablation of a ZnO plate in a starch solution with a nanosecond Q-Switched Nd:YAG pulsed laser at its original wavelength (λ = 1064 nm). Our results show that the particle diameter decreases with increasing laser irradiation time to a mean nanoparticle size of approximately 15 nm with a narrow size distribution. Furthermore, the obtained particle size in starch solution is considerably smaller compared with analogous ZnO nanoparticle synthesis in distilled water. The synthesized and capped nanoparticles retained their photoluminescent properties, but showed blue emission rather than the often reported green luminescence. Evaluation of old preparations compared with freshly made samples showed no agglomeration or flocculation, which was reflected in no significant change in the ZnO nanoparticle size and size distribution. Overall, our experimental results demonstrate that starch can indeed be effectively used to both control particle size and stabilize ZnO nanoparticles in solution

Validation of a container ship model for parametric rolling

The objective of this work is to formulate a nonlinear, coupled model of a container ship during parametric roll resonance, and to validate the model using experimental data

Управління трудовим потенціалом при створенні інноваційної продукції

Super-resolution microscopy (SRM) bypasses the diffraction limit, a physical barrier that restricts the optical resolution to roughly 250 nm and was previously thought to be impenetrable. SRM techniques allow the visualization of subcellular organization with unprecedented detail, but also confront biologists with the challenge of selecting the best-suited approach for their particular research question. Here, we provide guidance on how to use SRM techniques advantageously for investigating cellular structures and dynamics to promote new discoveries