Size tuning and oxygen plasma induced pore formation on silica nanoparticles

Silica nanoparticles have been prepared from tetraethylorthosilicate dissolved in ethanol followed by base-catalyzed condensation.Earlier works reported that at least four parameters,namely concentrati...     

Interaction of Co, Mn, Mg and Al with d(GCCCATGGC) and d(CCGGGCCCGG): a spectroscopic study

Spectroscopic study of the interactions of metal ions, Co, Mn, Mg and Al with d(GCCCATGGGC) and d(CCGGGCCCGG) revealed the following. Metal ions Mn, Al and Mg at the lowest concentrations enhanced the t _m of oligomers, whereas Mn and Mg at higher concentrations decreased the t _m . Co enhanced the t _m of oligomers at higher concentrations. The studies have also indicated that Mn at lower concentrations displaced EtBr fluorescence, Mg and Co at moderate concentrations and Al only at higher concentrations. Addition of Co, Mn, Mg and Al altered the bands of the circulars dichroism (CD) spectra of the oligomers in a concentration-dependent manner. The CD spectra of d(GCCCATGGGC) and d(CCGGGCCCGG) indicated B and Z forms of DNA, respectively, in contrast to the A form observed in the crystal structures. Mg and Co at different ionic strength induced Z–B transition in d(CCGGGCCCGG), while Al at higher concentrations induced a Z–A transition. Mn did not induce any transition. This is the first report to show that Al causes structural transitions in sequence-specific oligomers and has strong binding ability with GC-rich euchromatin oligomers. Received 22 December 1997; received after revision 16 March 1998; accepted 16 March 1998     

Changes in photoelectron transport of chloroplasts isolated from dark stressed leaves of maize seedlings.

Transfer of light-grown maize seedlings to dark causes a loss in the the contents of chlorophyll, protein and RNA of leaves, and a decline in DCPIP photoreduction by isolated chloroplasts. The loss in DCPIP-Hill reaction is attributed to the dark stress-induced damage of O2 evolving system of thylakoid membranes.     

Artificial spawning effected in the fresh water teleost,Cyprinus carpio by clomiphene citrate

Summary Triweekly i.m. injections of clomiphene citrate (group 1, 25 g/0.5 ml and group II, 50 g/1.0 ml) were administered for a period of 3 months during the preparatory period to female fresh water teleosts exhibiting ovarian recrudescence, while a control group received 0.5 ml of physiological saline throughout the period of experimentation i.e., from February through April. 50 g clomiphene citrate treatment brought about a steady increase in ovarian size, and oocytes began to enlarge and mature and finally ovulation took place in April. This is 4 months ahead of their normal occurrence.The authors wish to express their gratitude to Richardson Merrel Co. for supplying the sample of clomiphene citrate, and Dr K.N. Udupa, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi for facilities.     

Effect of administration of synthetic ecdysone on the moulting ofPalamnaeus bengalensis

Summary Synthetic analogue of ecdysone, 3, 14-dihydroxy-5-cholest-7-en-6-one did not bring the scorpionPalamnaeus bengalensis to moult. It also failed completely in stimulating the scorption to produce any change related to moulting.Acknowledgment. Author is grateful to Dr Suresh C. Shrivastava for providing research facilities, Dr S.P. Tewarson for encouragement and S.C.S.T. (U.P.) for funds. Present address: Department of Zoology, Lucknow Christian College, Lucknow-226001.     

Synthetic and biological studies on a cyclopolypeptide of plant origin

Objective： A natural cyclic peptide previously isolated from Citrus medica was synthesized by coupling of tetrapeptide units Boc-Leu-Pro-Trp-Leu-OMe and Boc-Ile-Ala-Ala-Gly-OMe after proper deprotection at carboxyl and amino terminals followed by cyclization of linear octapeptide segment. Methods： Solution phase technique was adopted for the synthesis of cyclooctapeptide-sarcodactylamide. Required tetrapeptide units were prepared by coupling of Boc-protected dipeptides viz. Boc-Leu-Pro-OH and Boc-Ile-Ala-OH with respective dipeptide methyl esters Trp-Leu-OMe and Ala-Gly-OMe. Cyclization of linear octapeptide unit was done by p-nitrophenyl ester method. The structure of synthesized cyclopolypeptide was elucidated by FTIR, ^1H NMR, ^13C NMR, FABMS spectral data and elemental analysis. The newly synthesized peptide was evaluated for dif- ferent pharmacological activities including antimicrobial, anthelmintic and cytotoxic activities. Results： Synthesis of sarcodactylamide was accomplished with 〉78% yield utilizing dicyclohexylcarbodiimide （DCC） as coupling agent. Newly synthesized peptide possessed potent cytotoxic activity against Dalton＇s lymphoma ascites （DLA） and Ehrlich＇s ascites carcinoma （EAC） cell lines, in addition to moderate anthelmintic activity against earthworms Megascoplex konkanensis, Pontoscotex corethruses and Eudrilus sp. Moreover, cyclopolypeptide displayed good antimicrobial activity against pathogenic fungi Candida albicans and Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, in comparison to standard drugs griseofulvin and ciprofloxacin. Conclusion： Solution phase technique employing DCC and triethylamine （TEA） as base proved to be effective for the synthesis of natural cyclooctapeptide. N-methyl morpholine （NMM） was found to be a better base for the cyclization of linear octapeptide unit in comparison to TEA and pyridine.     

Effects of gadolinium addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-9Al alloy

This research aims to study the significance of Gd addition (0wt%-2wt%) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-9Al alloy. The effect of Gd addition on the microstructure was investigated via X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The Mg-9Al alloy contained two phases, α-Mg and β-Mg17Al12. Alloying with Gd led to the emergence of a new rectangular-shaped phase, Al₂Gd. The grain size also decreased marginally upon Gd addition. The ultimate tensile strength and microhardness of Mg-9Al alloy increased by 23% and 19%, respectively, upon 1.5wt% Gd addition. We observed that, although Mg-9Al-2.0Gd alloy exhibited the smallest grain size (181 μm) and the highest dislocation density (5.1×1010 m-2) among the investigated compositions, the Mg-9Al-1.5Gd alloy displayed the best mechanical properties. This anomalous behavior was observed because the Al₂Gd phase was uniformly distributed and present in abundance in Mg-9Al-1.5Gd alloy, whereas it was coarsened and asymmetrically conglomerated in Mg-9Al-2.0Gd.