1.Wound Healing Studies Using Punica granatum Peel: An Animal Experimental Study.
Zekavat O1, Amanat A, Karami M, Paydar S, Gramizadeh B, Zareian-Jahromi M. Adv Skin Wound Care. 2016 May;29(5):217-25. doi: 10.1097/01.ASW.0000481116.16998.55.
OBJECTIVE: The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effects of hydroalcoholic extract-based carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) gel of Punica granatum peel (PCMC) and CMC on healing of full-thickness skin wounds.
2.Histamine H3 receptor antagonists display antischizophrenic activities in rats treated with MK-801.
Mahmood D, Akhtar M, Jahan K, Goswami D. J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol. 2016 Apr 18. pii: /j/jbcpp.ahead-of-print/jbcpp-2015-0045/jbcpp-2015-0045.xml. doi: 10.1515/jbcpp-2015-0045. [Epub ahead of print]
BACKGROUND: Animal models based on N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor blockade have been extensively used for schizophrenia. Ketamine and MK-801 produce behaviors related to schizophrenia and exacerbated symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, which led to the use of PCP (phencyclidine)- and MK-801 (dizocilpine)-treated animals as models for schizophrenia.
3.Mycotoxin production and predictive modelling kinetics on the growth of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus isolates in whole black peppercorns (Piper nigrum L).
Yogendrarajah P1, Vermeulen A2, Jacxsens L3, Mavromichali E4, De Saeger S5, De Meulenaer B4, Devlieghere F2. Int J Food Microbiol. 2016 Mar 19;228:44-57. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2016.03.015. [Epub ahead of print]
The growth and mycotoxin production of three Aspergillus flavus isolates and an Aspergillus parasiticus isolate were studied in whole black peppercorns (Piper nigrum L.) using a full factorial design with seven water activity (aw) (0.826-0.984) levels and three temperatures (22, 30 and 37°C). Growth rates and lag phases were estimated using linear regression. Diverse secondary models were assessed for their ability to describe the radial growth rate as a function of individual and combined effect of aw and temperature. Optimum radial growth rate ranged from 0.75±0.04 to 2.65±0.02mm/day for A. flavus and 1.77±0.10 to 2.50±0.10mm/day for A. parasiticus based on the Rosso cardinal estimations. Despite the growth failure of some isolates at marginal conditions, all the studied models showed good performance to predict the growth rates. Validation of the models was performed on independently derived data. The bias factors (0.73-1.03), accuracy factors (0.
4.Energy- and carbon-efficient synthesis of functionalized small molecules in bacteria using non-decarboxylative Claisen condensation reactions.
Cheong S1, Clomburg JM1, Gonzalez R1,2. Nat Biotechnol. 2016 Apr 18. doi: 10.1038/nbt.3505. [Epub ahead of print]
Anabolic metabolism can produce an array of small molecules, but yields and productivities are low owing to carbon and energy inefficiencies and slow kinetics. Catabolic and fermentative pathways, on the other hand, are carbon and energy efficient but support only a limited product range. We used carbon- and energy-efficient non-decarboxylative Claisen condensation reactions and subsequent β-reduction reactions, which can accept a variety of functionalized primers and functionalized extender units and operate in an iterative manner, to synthesize functionalized small molecules. Using different ω- and ω-1-functionalized primers and α-functionalized extender units in combination with various termination pathways, we demonstrate the synthesis of 18 products from 10 classes, including ω-phenylalkanoic, α,ω-dicarboxylic, ω-hydroxy, ω-1-oxo, ω-1-methyl, 2-methyl, 2-methyl-2-enolic and 2,3-dihydroxy acids, β-hydroxy-ω-lactones, and ω-1-methyl alcohols.
