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This study aimed to explore the ethnopharmacological use of Rosaspp. on the Vlasina plateau, a rural region in southeastern Serbia with limited healthcare coverage, and to conduct phytochemical and pharmacological analyses of these species. The ethnopharmacological survey was conducted using semi-structured interviews. After identifying the three species utilized (R. dumalisBechst., R. caninaL., and R. corymbiferaBorkh.), a phytochemical analysis was performed to assess their vitamin content and phenolic composition using spectrophotometric and UHPLC-MS/MS techniques. Pharmacological activities of rose hips were evaluated through in vitroantimicrobial testing against enteric pathogens, antioxidant activity using DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging assays, protein denaturation inhibitory activity, and cytotoxic activity against human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells. The most frequently cited ethnopharmacological application was for treating chills, followed by dietary use and managing conditions such as diarrhea, dry cough, abdominal pain, and urinary issues. In terms of phenolic phytochemicals, rosmarinic acid predominated among phenolic acids in all three species, whereas catechin was the dominant flavonoid in R. dumalisand isoquercitrin in R. caninaand R. corymbiferahips. The highest ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol contents were found in the rose hips of R. dumalis(235.79 and 1.80 mg/100 g FW, respectively). R. dumalisexhibited the highest radical scavenging, protein denaturation inhibitory, and cytotoxic activities, while all three species showed mild antimicrobial activity. The study provides valuable insights into the potential health benefits of Rosaspecies but is limited by its reliance on traditional knowledge and laboratory tests. Therefore, future research should focus on clinical trials to confirm their efficacy and safety. Overall, the results could pave the way for developing innovative pharmaceutical and nutritional products inspired by traditional knowledge.

As a prospective influenza vaccination platform, a microneedle patch offers advantages such as self-administration and reduction of needle-phobia-associated vaccination avoidance. In an effort to design a broadly protective influenza vaccine we have previously developed a vaccine formulation containing the highly conserved ectodomain sequence of the M2 influenza protein (M2e) attached to the surface of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with CpG as a soluble adjuvant (AuNP-M2e + sCpG). Our previous studies have used the intranasal route for vaccination and demonstrated broad protection from this vaccine. Here we asked the question whether the same formulation can be effective when administered to mice using microneedles. We demonstrate that the microneedles can be coated with AuNP-M2e + sCpG formulation, and the AuNPs from the coating can be readily resuspended without aggregation. The AuNPs were delivered with high efficiency into murine skin, and the AuNPs cleared the skin within 12 h of microneedle treatment. After vaccination, strong M2e-specific humoral and cellular responses were stimulated, and the vaccinated mice were 100% protected following a lethal challenge with influenza A/PR/8/34 (H1N1).

Toskić, LD, Dopsaj, MJ, Marković, MR, Toskić, DR, Ignjatović, AM. Mechanical and contractile properties of knee joint muscles measured by the method of tensiomyography in differently trained men and women. J Strength Cond Res36(6): 1532–1539, 2022—The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in mechanical and contractile properties of knee joint flexor and extensor muscles between differently trained men and women, using tensiomyography (TMG). The sample consisted of 159 subjects (84 men and 75 women), who were assigned to one of 5 groups according to the following levels and types of their physical activity: physically inactive, physically active nonathletes, strength and power athletes, endurance athletes, and team sports athletes. Measurements were performed on the following knee flexor and extensor muscles of the dominant leg: rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, biceps femoris, and semitendinosus. The results showed significant differences in contraction time—Tc (F= 1.911, p= 0.010) and delay time—Td (F= 1.989, p= 0.007) parameters between differently trained men and women, whereas in other TMG parameters, there were no differences between groups. It is indicated that physical activities characteristic of strength and power sports (combat sports and sprint disciplines) could lead to an increased speed of twitch force generation and fast twitch muscle fibers, and that almost any regular, systematic, and planned physical activity leads to increased muscle responsiveness. Obtained results also indicated that TMG parameters do not have enough specific discriminatory power for detecting differences between differently trained young adults.

This article examines the long-run and the short-run elastic relationships between price, income and gold demand. Four major gold consuming countries in the world, such as India, the USA, Europe and Japan, are included in the analysis. The study period is from January 2000 to December 2017. Using the Cointegration and Error Correction model, we found a long-run relationship between gold demand, price and income of the consumers. Price elasticity is negative and income elasticity is positive in the long run. The speed of error correction is slightly higher for India. Indian gold market takes a shorter time to get back to its equilibrium than the other major gold consuming countries. India’s overall gold consumption is relatively lesser reactive to the fluctuations in the world gold price than the other countries. Consumers in India react expeditiously in the short run and their response to the price changes is stable in the long run. More than 70 per cent of India’s gold consumption is unaffected by the price fluctuations. This behaviour eventually increases the wealth in the country. Hence the study suggests that instead of curbing the demand, new financial products may be developed to monetise the gold lying idle in the households. Various gold monetisation schemes already launched by the government should reach especially the rural section, as most of them may not be aware of these schemes. This may tend to bring a considerable amount of gold into the system.JEL:G14, Q02, Q21

In this study, the chemical composition, antioxidant, and hypoglycemic activity of Rosa arvensisHuds. leaves and fruits collected from Zlatibor, Željin, Veliki Krš mountains and Petnica village (Serbia) were analysed. Phenolic and vitamin profiles, as well as in vitroantioxidant potential and enzyme inhibitory activity on α-amylase and α-glucosidase, were studied. Phytochemical analysis showed higher phenolic content in leaf extracts than in those obtained from fruits. Gallic, chlorogenic and syringic acids were the most abundant phenolic acids, while catechin was the major flavonoid compound. Furthermore, the highest level of α-tocopherol (1.94 mg/100 g fw) in achenes and ascorbic acid (9.60 mg/100 g fw) in hypanthium were quantified in the fruits sampled on the Veliki Krš Mt. High antioxidant capacity was observed for the leaf extracts. It was highly correlated with their chemical composition and primarily referred to the catechin content (r > 0.95, p < 0.01), while the quinic acid had the opposite effect (r > −0.97, p < 0.01). Leaf extracts also showed good α-glucosidase and moderate α-amylase inhibitory potential in contrast to hypanthium and achenes extracts with lower antidiabetic activity. The high phenolic content and noted antioxidative potential were strongly correlated with the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (r > 0.80, p < 0.01), while the α-amylase inhibition was only moderately correlated with those compounds (r > 0.49, p < 0.01). Among the tested R. arvensissamples, those from Zlatibor Mt. contained the highest amount of target compounds and expressed the highest biological activity. The obtained results suggest that R. arvensisextracts present a new source of bioactive compounds that could be implemented as novel food ingredients.

A maiden attempt is made in this paper by the authors to see the interrelationship between capital market with special reference to stock market and poverty alleviation in India. There is literature to highlight the point that poverty alleviation is possible only through various measures from social indicators like better education, best health facilities and so on. But not very many references on the role of capital market on poverty alleviation is available. Twenty-one year data set from 1981 to 2001 is considered in the study. These data were analysed through stepwise regression with other simple statistical tools like descriptive statistics and linear bivariate correlation. Six dimensional analyses are made with different assumptions. It is found that, size of the stock market represented by market capitalization ratio and concentration alone have influence on poverty and by concentrating on these two variables it is possible to achieve the goal of alleviating the poverty in India. Significantly in many of our assumptions stock market does not have impact on the poverty either negatively or positively. There was some evidence to say that stock market doesn't have role in poverty alleviation in an economy like India but that is not highlighted due to the fact that in some cases size and concentration of stock market have influenced. This is to be taken as a partial correlation between stock market and poverty with a caution that, there are many economic variables, which are to be simultaneously taken note of for reducing poverty.

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AbstractThe synthesis of new chiral seco-estrone derivatives is presented, as well as their influence on the phase transition of binary mixtures of cholesteryc liquid crystals. The new chiral derivatives do not posses any liquid crystalline phases and were synthesized in several synthetic steps, starting from estrone. We have studied the mixtures of cholesteryl non-anoate (40%) with cholesteryl myristate (40%) and addition of new chiral derivatives 34, or 5(20%). It was concluded that the addition of chiral derivative 3to the binary mixture stabilizes smectic A and cholesteric phase and shifts the phase transition temperature with respect to pure binary mixture for about 5°C towards lower temperatures. The extension of the temperature range of the cholesteric phase from 5°C to 15°C was established in the case when the derivatives 3and 4are added to the binary mixture of cholesteryl nonanoate with cholesteryl myristate. The phase diagrams of investigated compounds are formed on the basis of data obtained by the optical microscopy. Using X-ray diffraction on the crystalline powder of unoriented samples we have determined the molecular parameters: the thickness of smectic and cholesteric layers and average distance between the long axes of neighboring molecules.

In this paper the procedure for catalytical bromination of C60 with elementary bromine with FeBr3 as a catalyst is described. In this procedures only one reaction product - C60 Br24 is obtained. The twenty four bromine atoms are symmetrically distributed over the C60 sphere, which was confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis. The yield of bromine derivative in this reaction is 98%.

Insulin stimulates the activity of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) via its upstream activator, MAPK kinase (MEK), a dual specificity kinase that phosphorylates MAPK on threonine and tyrosine. The potential role of MAPK activation in insulin action was investigated with the specific MEK inhibitor PD98059. Insulin stimulation of MAPK activity in 3T3-L1 adipocytes (2.7-fold) and L6 myotubes (1.4-fold) was completely abolished by pretreatment of cells with the MEK inhibitor, as was the phosphorylation of MAPK and pp90Rsk, and the transcriptional activation of c-fos. Insulin receptor autophosphorylation on tyrosine residues and activation of phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase were unaffected. Pretreatment of cells with PD98059 had no effect on basal and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, lipogenesis, and glycogen synthesis. Glycogen synthase activity in extracts from 3T3-L1 adipocytes and L6 myotubes was increased 3-fold and 1.7-fold, respectively, by insulin. Pretreatment with 10 microM PD98059 was without effect. Similarly, the 2-fold activation of protein phosphatase 1 by insulin was insensitive to PD98059. These results indicate that stimulation of the MAPK pathway by insulin is not required for many of the metabolic activities of the hormone in cultured fat and muscle cells.

Previous reports on a series of benzoylthiophenes, including PD 81,723 {2-amino-4,5-dimethyl-3-(3-trifluoromethyl-benzoyl)thiophene}, have shown specific enhancement of agonist binding at the adenosine A1 receptor. We have studied the effects of two substituted benzoylthiophenes, PD 78,416 {thieno[2,3-c]pyridine-6(5H)-carboxylic acid, 2-amino-3-benzoyl-4,7-dihydro-ethyl ester} and RS-74513-000 {2-amino-4-ethyl-5-methyl-3-(3-trifluoro-methyl-benzoyl) thiophene} on response elicited by adenosine A1 receptors in isolated guinea pig left atrium and ileum.

The title compound 2H-10,4a-(epoxy-methano)-phenantren-12-one-l,3,4,9,10,10a-hexahydro-6-hydroxy-5-methoxy-9-keto-1,1-dimethyl-7-(1-methylethyl) isolated fromSalvia officinalis L. have been investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and X-ray analysis. Investigation of1H and13C NMR, homonuclear (COSY) (1H-1H) and heteronuclear (1H-13C) spectra, permitted the unambiguous assignment of the1H and13C spectra, what gave the possibility to resolve the signals of similar natural products. Crystal data are: C21H26O5,Mr=358.43, orthorhombic,P21,21,21, (No. 19),a=10.671(2),b=11.976(3),c=14.601(5)Å,V=1865.9(9)Å3,Z=4,Dx=1.276 mg-3, ?(MoKa)=0.7107 Å,µ=0.84 cm-1, F(000)=768,T=293(1) K. The structure was solved by direct methods and refined toR=0.041 for 1832 observed reflections collected on CAD-4 diffractometer.

Although the insulin-dependent hydrolysis of glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) may play an important role in insulin action, an absolute requirement for this glycolipid has not been demonstrated. Human K562 cells were mutated to produce a cell line (IA) incapable of the earliest step in PI glycosylation, the formation of PI-GlcNAc. Another cell line (IVD) was deficient in the deacetylation of PI-GlcNAc to form PI-GlcN and subsequent mannosylated species. Each line was transfected with wild-type human insulin receptors. Similar insulin-stimulated receptor autophosphorylation was observed in all three lines, along with a nearly identical increase in the association of phosphorylated insulin receptor substrate 1 with endogenous PI 3-kinase. Both normal and GPI-defective lines also displayed a similar 2- to 3-fold increase in phosphorylation of the Shc protein and its association with growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 in response to insulin. In contrast to these results, striking differences were noted in insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis. In normal cells, glycogen synthesis was significantly increased by insulin, whereas no insulin stimulation was observed in GPI-deficient IA cells, and only a trace of stimulation was detected in IVD cells. These results indicate that tyrosine phosphorylation produced by insulin is not dependent on GPI synthesis, and this effect is not sufficient to elicit at least some of the metabolic effects of the hormone. In contrast, GPI synthesis is required for the stimulation of glycogen synthesis by insulin in these cells. These findings support the existence of divergent pathways in the action of insulin.

The Eph/Eck subfamily of receptor protein tyrosine kinases is currently the largest subfamily of receptor protein tyrosine kinases with a dozen members (Van der Geer, P., Hunter, T., and Lindberg, R. A. (1994) Annu. Rev. Cell Biol. 10, 251-337). Using the cytoplasmic domain of Eck as bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen of mouse embryonic and T-cell cDNA libraries, it was discovered that the p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase bound Eck. Further, using glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins, it was found that the C-terminal src homology 2 domain of the p85 subunit specifically interacted with Eck. Additionally, Eck coimmunoprecipitated with p85 in ligand activated cells confirming their interaction in vivo. In keeping with the above observations, activation of Eck by its ligand, B61, increased phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity. This is the first description of a signal transduction pathway initiated by any member of the Eph/Eck family.

Activation of the tyrosine kinase activity of the insulin receptor by autophosphorylation leads to phosphorylation of cellular substrates on tyrosine. Thus far, the best characterized is the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) 1, which has been proposed to serve as a docking protein for other molecules involved in signal transduction. A number of other proteins that become phosphorylated in response to insulin have been identified, some of which are reported to be tissue-specific. A 60 kDa phosphoprotein has been detected in adipocytes after insulin stimulation [Lavan and Lienhard (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 5921-5928]. We have identified a protein of similar molecular mass in rat hepatoma cells transfected with the human insulin receptor. The 60 kDa protein in hepatoma cells is tyrosine-phosphorylated in response to insulin in a dose-dependent manner, with maximal phosphorylation occurring at 50 nM insulin. Although the dose-response of p60 phosphorylation mirrors that of IRS-1, the time course is slightly slower, with maximal phosphorylation observed 5 min after addition of insulin. Like the adipocyte protein, the 60 kDa protein detected in liver cells binds to the SH2 domain of the p85 regulatory subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, but not to other SH2 domains. Binding of p60 to p85 is similar to the interaction between p85 and IRS-1 in that a tyrosine-phosphorylated peptide containing the YVXM motif can inhibit the association. The presence of this 60 kDa tyrosine-phosphorylated protein in adipocytes and hepatoma cells suggests that it represents another important intermediate in the insulin-receptor signal-transduction pathway.

The precise mechanism by which insulin regulates glucose metabolism is not fully understood. However, it is known that insulin activates two enzymes, phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI 3'-K) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), which may be involved in stimulating the metabolic effects of insulin. The role of these enzymes in glucose metabolism was examined by comparing the effects of insulin, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Treatment of the cells with PDGF or EGF for 5 min increased the MAPK activity 3-5-fold, while insulin treatment produced a 2.5-fold increase. The MAPK activity remained elevated for 1 h after either PDGF or insulin treatment. PDGF and insulin, but not EGF, caused a transient increase in the amount PI 3'-K activity coprecipitated with tyrosine phosphorylated proteins. Although PDGF and insulin caused a similar increase in the activities of these two enzymes, only insulin caused substantial increases in glucose utilization. Insulin increased the transport of glucose and the synthesis of lipid 4- and 17-fold, respectively, while PDGF did not affect these processes significantly. Glycogen synthesis was increased 15-fold in response to insulin and only 3-fold in response to PDGF. Thus, the activation of MAPK and PI 3'-K are not sufficient for the complete stimulation of glucose transport, lipid synthesis, or glycogen synthesis by hormones in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, suggesting a requirement for other signaling mechanisms that may be uniquely responsive to insulin.

In this work, the crystallization process of lithium disilicate glass-ceramic was investigated with SiO2 from rice husk silica replacing the high-purity SiO2 starting powder form commercial source. Glasses were developed at the stoichiometric composition of 66%.molSiO2:33%.molLiO2 using commercial SiO2 and the one obtained by thermochemical treatment of rice husk. To compare the SiO2 sources, the influence of the one from rice husk on crystallization process was measured using different granulometry, analyzing microstructure and the kinetic behavior. Investigations were carried out by means of differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Amorphous glasses were obtained after melting at 1550degC. The position of lithium disilicate glass-ceramic crystallization peaks (Tp) are between 550 to 660degC to different granulometry (<63mm, 63mm < x < 250mm and 1mm < x < 2mm) and DTA heat rates (5; 10; 15; and 20degC/min) in both glasses, and the relevant formed crystalline phase after DTA analysis (verified for XRD) was Li2Si2O5. SEM images showed the increase of glass substitution for crystalline phase to both glass-ceramics from different silica sources.

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