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Drug resistance caused by the efflux of chemotherapeutic drugs is one of the most challenging obstacles to successful cancer therapy. Several efflux transporters have been identified since the discovery of the P-gp/ABCB1 transporter in 1976. Over the last four decades, researchers have focused on developing efflux transporter inhibitors to overcome drug resistance. However, even with the third-generation inhibitors available, we are still far from effectively inhibiting the efflux transporters. Additionally, Cancer stem cells (CSCs) pose another significant challenge, contributing to cancer recurrence even after successful treatment. The ability of CSCs to enter dormancy and evade detection makes them almost invulnerable to chemotherapeutic drug treatment. In this review, we discuss how Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), one of the key components of the Tumor Microenvironment (TME), regulate both the CSCs and efflux transporters. We propose a new approach focusing on MSCs, which can be crucial to successfully address CSCs and efflux transporters., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The prevalence of obesity in the United States has continued to increase over the past several decades. Understanding how diet-induced obesity modulates mucosal immunity is of clinical relevance. We previously showed that consumption of a high fat, high sugar "Western" diet (WD) reduces the density and function of small intestinal Paneth cells, a small intestinal epithelial cell type with innate immune function. We hypothesized that obesity could also result in repressed gut adaptive immunity. Using small intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) as a readout, we found that in non-inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) subjects, high body mass index correlated with reduced IEL density. We recapitulated this in wild type (WT) mice fed with WD. A 4-week WD consumption was able to reduce IEL but not splenic, blood, or bone marrow lymphocytes, and the effect was reversible after another 2 weeks of standard diet (SD) washout. Importantly, WD-associated IEL reduction was not dependent on the presence of gut microbiota, as WD-fed germ-free mice also showed IEL reduction. We further found that WD-mediated Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) activation in the gut triggered IEL reduction, and this was partially mediated by intestinal phagocytes. Activated FXR signaling stimulated phagocytes to secrete type I IFN, and inhibition of either FXR or type I IFN signaling within the phagocytes prevented WD-mediated IEL loss. Therefore, WD consumption represses both innate and adaptive immunity in the gut. These findings have significant clinical implications in the understanding of how diet modulates mucosal immunity., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: T. Stappenbeck advises Janssen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Kallyope, Takada, and Roche. T.C. Liu has research contracts with Denali Therapeutics and Interline Therapeutics. All other authors declare no relevant competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Urban estuarine and coastal water receive several micropollutants through industrial and agricultural influxes. The bioaccumulation of these micropollutants in fish and their entry into the coastal population's food chain raises significant food safety concerns. Hence, a comprehensive analytical method was developed for ultra-trace level quantification of 345 micropollutants in fish. The optimized sample preparation method could extract compounds suitable for both GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS analysis simultaneously. The target list of contaminants included 278 agricultural pesticides and also 102 endocrine disruptors covering polyaromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorines, and endocrine-disrupting pesticides. The GC-MS/MS with large volume injection (LVI) technique, and LC-MS/MS operating in MRM mode, achieved an LOQ of <2.00 ng/g for most of the analytes. The extraction strategy involved tri-phase partitioning between water, acidified acetonitrile, and hexane, followed by salting out. Dispersive solid phase cleanup (dSPE) with C18, Z-Sep+, CaCl 2 , and MgSO 4 was able to reduce the matrix influence, and the method achieved satisfactory recovery in the range of 70.0-120.0 % for all the target analytes. The repeatability and reproducibility relative standard deviation values of the measured analytes were <20.0 %, and the Horwitz ratio values were well below 2. The method was used to accurately measure the target micropollutants in fish from the Cochin estuary, the highly urbanized portion of the Vembanad Lake, and an important Ramsar site. At least one or more of the 41 different micropollutants were identified and quantified in about 90.7 % of the 108 samples analyzed. The importance of large-scale screening and trace-level quantification methods in environmental monitoring and risk assessment is underscored by the results. The risk assessment showed a moderate risk of exposure to the nearby coastal population through the food chain., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Niladri Sekhar Chatterjee reports financial support was provided by Science and Engineering Research Board. Niladri Sekhar Chatterjee reports financial support was provided by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: There is a need for reliable diagnostic tests for early identification of sepsis to prevent neonatal mortality and antibiotic misuse. During sepsis, many immature neutrophils came into the bloodstream, altering the mean neutrophil volume (MNV) shown in the previous studies., Objectives: To summarize the diagnostic performance of mean neutrophil volume (MNV) in neonatal sepsis from the published literature., Method: Databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched from January 1990 to April 2023 for studies reporting MNV as a diagnostic test in neonatal sepsis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) of the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve of MNV were estimated with reference blood culture-positive sepsis and clinical sepsis for meta-analysis., Result: The diagnostic performance of MNV was analyzed in 1685 neonates, including 829 septic and 856 non-septic neonates, from six prospective studies. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of MNV were 0.87 and 0.75, respectively, for neonatal sepsis; the DOR was 20.01 (95% CI: 5.90-67.82); and the AUC of the SROC for MNV was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.69-0.88). Higgins I 2 was 92.1% (95% CI: 85.5%-95.7%). The diagnostic performance of MNV was better during sub-group analysis of studies reporting culture-positive sepsis (DOR 85.61)., Conclusion: The diagnostic performance of MNV is moderate for neonatal sepsis. As the evidence originated from a small number of studies with marked heterogeneity, further large-scale diagnostic accuracy studies are recommended to resolve heterogeneity in the future., (Copyright © 2024 Taiwan Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Chronic exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals through foods of aquatic origin, at levels that are commonly found in the environment, can affect metabolic health and lead to metabolic diseases. One such chemical is 2-phenylphenol (2-PP), a suspected endocrine disruptor that is used extensively in agriculture and industry, and has become a widespread pollutant in aquatic environments. This study evaluated the risk of exposure to 2-PP through foods of aquatic origin from Vembanad Lake, using a Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) and an untargeted metabolomics approach. The study found that 2-PP content was higher in samples from areas with intense industrial, tourism, and agricultural activities. The average concentration of 2-PP in fish, crustaceans, and mollusks from the Vembanad estuary ranged from 0.012 to 0.017 mg/kg. The mean concentration of 2-PP was used to assess the THQ of exposure to the coastal population. The results showed that the THQ value was <1, indicating a low to moderate health risk for both adults and children. Furthermore, an untargeted metabolomics approach using HPLC-Q-Orbitrap MS was used to study the metabolome changes associated with chronic exposure to 2-PP (at the environmentally relevant concentration) over 60 days in the Wistar albino rat model. The findings indicated significant alterations in the phospholipid, fatty acid, sterol lipid, and amino acid profiles, suggesting that chronic exposure to 2-PP at environmentally relevant concentrations could affect purine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and cholesterol metabolism., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Natural materials derived/extracted Ceramics is an excellent material for developing ceramic-based orthopedic implants. Recently, we have demonstrated an easily scalable, energy-efficient green method to extract ceramic particles from bio-waste i.e. chicken bone. Though the chicken bone extract (CBE) has good biocompatibility, it lacks good mechanical properties in the 3D printed condition as that of human bones. Here, we have reinforced CBE with different weight proportions of silicon carbide to improve the mechanical characteristics of the composite. The hybrid of CBE (oxide) and carbide (SiC) is sintered at different temperatures to understand the effect of the interface of the two ceramics. It is observed that temperature has minimal effect and composition has a noticeable effect on mechanical strength as well as bio-toxicity. The toughness (∼3.58 MJ/m 3 ) and compressive strength (∼64.64 MPa) of the 90:10 composition sintered at 1250 °C show the maximum optimum values. A mathematical model has also been developed to predict and correlate the toughness with porosity, volumetric loading, and elastic modulus of the 3D-printed ceramic composite., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The prospective contribution of phyto-nanotechnology to the synthesis of silver nanomaterials for biomedical purposes is attracting increasing interest across the world. Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) through plants has been extensively examined recently, and it is now seen to be a green and efficient path for future exploitation and development of practical nano-factories. Fabrication of Ag-NPs is the process involves use of plant extracts/phyto-compounds (e.g.alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, and phenolic compounds) to synthesise nanoparticles in more economical and feasible. Several findings concluded that in the field of medicine, Ag-NPs play a major role in pharmacotherapy (infection and cancer). Indeed, they exhibits novel properties but the reason is unclear (except some theoretical interpretation e.g. size, shape and morphology). But recent technological advancements help to address these questions by predicting the unique properties (composition and origin) by characterizing physical, chemical and biological properties. Due to increased list of publications and their application in the field of agriculture, industries and pharmaceuticals, issues relating to toxicity are unavoidable and question of debate. The present reviews aim to find out the role of plant extracts to synthesise Ag-NPs. It provides an overview of various phytocompounds and their role in the field of biomedicine (antibacterial, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory etc.). In addition, this review also especially focused on various applications such as role in infection, oxidative stress, application in medical engineering, diagnosis and therapy, medical devices, orthopedics, wound healing and dressings. Additionally, the toxic effects of Ag-NPs in cell culture, tissue of different model organism, type of toxic reactions and regulation implemented to reduce associated risk are discussed critically. Addressing all above explanations, this review focus on the detailed properties of plant mediated Ag-NPs, its impact on biology, medicine and their commercial properties as well as toxicity., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The present investigation highlights a quinoline-based small molecule probe (DEQ) for the detection of Cd 2+ among other metal ions in near-aqueous media. The probe DEQ and its Cd 2+ complex (DEQ-Cd) have been synthesized and characterized by all possible spectroscopic methods. The weakly emissive DEQ showed its strong emission in the presence of Cd 2+ , which is attributed to the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) along with the chelation-enhanced fluorescence (CHEF) mechanism. The 1:1 binding mode between ligand and Cd 2+ is confirmed by single crystal XRD analysis, which is further supported by Job's plot and HRMS. The detection limit of the probe to recognize Cd 2+ was found to be as low as 89 nM. Furthermore, DEQ can act as a reversible fluorescence probe with the off-on-off mechanism by the alternative addition of Cd 2+ and EDTA. DFT and TD-DFT studies exposed the proposed mechanism after Cd 2+ insertion and the obtained results for electronic spectra are in line with the experimental results. The response towards pH was quite interesting and allowed us to study its application in live cell imaging. With all the positive results, the proposed ligand DEQ can be used as a potential probe for the detection of Cd 2+ in real-life applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A novel series of pyrimidine derivatives, bearing modified benzimidazoles at N-1 position, has been designed, synthesized and screened as NNRTIs against HIV and as broad-spectrum antiviral agents. The molecules were screened against different HIV targets using molecular docking experiment. The docking results indicated that the molecules interacted well with the residues Lys101, Tyr181, Tyr188, Trp229, Phe227 and Tyr318 present in NNIBP of HIV-RT protein, formed quite stable complexes and, thus, behaved as probable NNRTIs. Among these compounds, 2b and 4b showed anti-HIV activity with IC 50 values as 6.65 µg/mL (SI = 15.50) and 15.82 µg/mL (SI = 14.26), respectively. Similarly, compound 1a showed inhibitory property against coxsackie virus B4 and compound 3b against different viruses. Molecular dynamics simulation results unequivocally demonstrated the higher stability of the complex HIV-RT:2b than the HIV-RT:nevirapine complex. The MM/PBSA-based binding free energy (-) 114.92 kJ/mol of HIV-RT:2b complex in comparison to that of HIV-RT:nevirapine complex (-) 88.33 kJ/mol, further demonstrated the higher binding strength of 2b and thus, established the potential of compound 2b as a lead molecule as an HIV-RT inhibitor., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To study the associations between optic nerve head (ONH) strains under intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation with retinal sensitivity in patients with glaucoma., Design: Clinic-based cross-sectional study., Participants: Two hundred twenty-nine patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (subdivided into 115 patients with high-tension glaucoma [HTG] and 114 patients with normal-tension glaucoma [NTG])., Methods: For 1 eye of each patient, we imaged the ONH using spectral-domain OCT under the following conditions: (1) primary gaze and (2) primary gaze with acute IOP elevation (to approximately 35 mmHg) achieved through ophthalmodynamometry. A 3-dimensional strain-mapping algorithm was applied to quantify IOP-induced ONH tissue strain (i.e., deformation) in each ONH. Strains in the prelaminar tissue (PLT), the retina, the choroid, the sclera, and the lamina cribrosa (LC) were associated (using linear regression) with measures of retinal sensitivity from the 24-2 Humphrey visual field test (Carl Zeiss Meditec). This was performed globally, then locally according to a previously published regionalization scheme., Main Outcome Measures: Associations between ONH strains and values of retinal sensitivity from visual field testing., Results: For patients with HTG, we found (1) significant negative linear associations between ONH strains and retinal sensitivity (P < 0.001; on average, a 1% increase in ONH strains corresponded to a decrease in retinal sensitivity of 1.1 decibels [dB]), (2) that high-strain regions colocalized with anatomically mapped regions of high visual field loss, and (3) that the strongest negative associations were observed in the superior region and in the PLT. In contrast, for patients with NTG, no significant associations between strains and retinal sensitivity were observed except in the superotemporal region of the LC., Conclusions: We found significant negative associations between IOP-induced ONH strains and retinal sensitivity in a relatively large glaucoma cohort. Specifically, patients with HTG who experienced higher ONH strains were more likely to exhibit lower retinal sensitivities. Interestingly, this trend in general was less pronounced in patients with NTG, which could suggest a distinct pathophysiologic relationship between the two glaucoma subtypes., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

The coronaviridae family has generated highly virulent viruses, including the ones responsible for three major pandemics in last two decades with SARS in 2002, MERS outbreak in 2012 and the current nCOVID19 crisis that has turned the world breadthless. Future outbreaks are also a plausible threat to mankind. As computational biologists, we are committed to address the need for a universal vaccine that can deter all these pathogenic viruses in a single shot. Notably, the spike proteins present in all these viruses function as credible PAMPs that are majorly sensed by human TLR4 receptors. Our study aims to recognize the amino acid sequence(s) of the viral spike proteins that are precisely responsible for interaction with human TLR4 and to screen the immunogenic epitopes present in them to develop a multi-epitope multi-target chimeric vaccine against the coronaviruses. Molecular design of the constructed vaccine peptide is qualified in silico; additionally, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies collectively reveal strong and stable interactions of the vaccine construct with TLRs and MHC receptors. In silico cloning is performed for proficient expression in bacterial systems. In silico immune simulation of the vaccine indicates highly immunogenic nature of the vaccine construct without any allergic response. The present biocomputational study hereby innovates a vaccine candidate - AbhiSCoVac hypothesized as a potent remedy to combat all the virulent forms of coronaviruses., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

With numerous infections and fatalities, COVID-19 has wreaked havoc around the globe. The main protease (Mpro), which cleaves the polyprotein to form non-structural proteins, thereby helping in the replication of SARS-CoV-2, appears as an attractive target for antiviral therapeutics. As FDA-approved drugs have shown effectiveness in targeting Mpro in previous SARS-CoV(s), molecular docking and virtual screening of existing antiviral, antimalarial, and protease inhibitor drugs were carried out against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro. Among 53 shortlisted drugs with binding energies lower than that of the crystal-bound inhibitor α-ketoamide 13 b (-6.7 kcal/mol), velpatasvir, glecaprevir, grazoprevir, baloxavir marboxil, danoprevir, nelfinavir, and indinavir (-9.1 to -7.5 kcal/mol) were the most significant on the list (hereafter referred to as the 53-list). Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations confirmed the stability of their Mpro complexes, with the MMPBSA binding free energy (ΔG bind ) ranging between -124 kJ/mol (glecaprevir) and -28.2 kJ/mol (velpatasvir). Despite having the lowest initial binding energy, velpatasvir exhibited the highest ΔG bind value for escaping the catalytic site during the MD simulations, indicating its reduced efficacy, as observed experimentally. Available inhibition assay data adequately substantiated the computational forecast. Glecaprevir and nelfinavir (ΔG bind  = -95.4 kJ/mol) appear to be the most effective antiviral drugs against Mpro. Furthermore, the remaining FDA drugs on the 53-list can be worth considering, since some have already demonstrated antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2. Hence, theoretical pK i (K i  = inhibitor constant) values for all 53 drugs were provided. Notably, ΔG bind directly correlates with the average distance of the drugs from the His41-Cys145 catalytic dyad of Mpro, providing a roadmap for rapid screening and improving the inhibitor design against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Knowledge of aromatic compounds in petroleum samples is of paramount interest from processing and environmental viewpoints. Considering the complexity of such samples, a selective analytical strategy viz. aromatic specific size exclusion chromatographic methodology using amino-bonded silica phase, was adopted to obtain the average molecular weights of distilled cuts, residue and the corresponding crude oil. The method was found to be suitable from middle distillates up to the residue. It was found that the increase in boiling temperature of distilled cuts was reflected in an increase in high molecular weight aromatic species. The increase in the molecular weight of aromatic species is linked to the increase in alkylation as verified by studying the elution pattern of alkylated aromatic compounds. The accuracy of the molecular weights obtained from the size exclusion chromatographic method depends on the elution profile of aromatic species in petroleum samples. It was found that the size and shape of the parent aromatic compounds negatively influence the size exclusion elution profile. However, such influence can be assumed to be negligible as all the aromatic species of each distilled cut, residue, and crude oil eluted in the permeation zone of the chromatogram. This method has the potential to be used in the second dimension of a 2D-LC method where the aromatic compounds are separated based on the size (or alkylation). The first dimension will separate compounds based on the number of aromatic rings, thereby eliminating the interference of parent aromatic compounds of different sizes in the total elution profile., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Shrimp aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food-producing avenues, where antibiotics usage has become an issue of great concern due to the development of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria. A total of 2304 bacterial isolates from 192 samples (sediment, water, shrimp, and source water) from Andhra Pradesh, India were screened. Antibiotic resistance of bacterial isolates was highest for oxytetracycline (23.4%) followed by erythromycin (12.7%), co-trimoxazole (10%) ciprofloxacin (9.6%), and chloramphenicol (6%), of which 11.9% isolates were multi-drug resistant. Bacterial isolates from shrimp (26.7%), water (23.9%), and sediment (19.6%) samples exhibited more resistance (p ≤ 0.05) towards oxytetracycline. Higher antibacterial resistance was observed from samples of southern Andhra Pradesh (locations L6 and L7). Gram negative bacteria were more prevalent (64%) and showed significantly (p ≤ 0.01) higher resistance. This study indicated the wider distribution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in shrimp aquaculture ponds with potential risk to humans and the environment., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Current evidence on vertical transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and neonatal outcome among exposed newborns is emerging and posing a challenge for preventive interventions. Perinatal transmission to the neonates especially during breastfeeding and rooming in is also relatively unknown., Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted in Kalinga Institute of Medical Science (KIMS), Odisha state from 1st May to 20th October 2020. A total of 165 neonates born to SARS-CoV-2 infected mothers were enrolled. Real time polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) testing was done in first 32 neonates in initial 24 h of life., Results: The clinical characteristics of 162 mothers & 165 neonates were analyzed. Mode of delivery was by caesarian section in most (n = 103, 60%) cases. Three (3/32, 9.4%) inborn and 6 outborn neonates were SARS-CoV-2 positive. Thirty-eight (23%) babies needed neonatal intensive care. Clinical characteristics of neonates were meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF [23.63%]), prematurity (16.9%), respiratory distress (10.5%), moderate to severe hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (3.6%), sepsis (7%) and hyperbilirubinemia (8.7%). Out of 138 stable babies kept on mother side and initiated breast feeding, none of them developed any signs and symptoms attributable to SARS-CoV-2. Five (3%) neonates died in COVID hospital of which one baby was SARS-CoV-2 positive., Conclusion: There was an increased rate of incidences of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, meconium stained liquor and cesarean section delivery in COVID hospital. We found a possible vertical transmission in 9.4% cases. None of the neonates developed sign and symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection during rooming in and breast feeding., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

This study was carried out to compare the efficacy of immunization, by a low-dose of live sporulated oocysts of different Eimeria species separately, with the efficacy of amprolium plus sulphaquinoxaline in the management of challenged coccidiosis in Japanese quail. Dropping samples were collected and sent to the laboratory for isolation and identification of Eimeria species. Three Eimeria species were isolated and identified as E. bateri, E. uzura, and E. tsunodai. Single oocyst isolation and propagation were done successfully for each species. For the experimental trial, Japanese quails were divided into 11 groups of thirty birds each and given different treatments. The assessment of each treatment relied on clinical signs, mortality, lesion score, oocyst output, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and hematological parameters. The results revealed that immunization, with any isolated species, gave the best results regarding all tested parameters. Thus, we concluded that immunization by a low-dose of live sporulated oocysts was better compared to amprolium plus sulphaquinoxaline in the management of coccidiosis in Japanese quail., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 strains from the coronavirus (CoV) family is causing one of the most disruptive pandemics of the past century. Developing antiviral drugs is a challenge for the scientific community and pharmaceutical industry. Given the health emergency, repurposing of existing antiviral, antiinflammatory or antimalarial drugs is an attractive option for controlling SARS-CoV-2 with drugs. However, phytochemicals selected based on ethnomedicinal information as well as in vitro antiviral studies could be promising as well. Here, we summarise the phytochemicals with reported anti-CoV activity, and further analyzed them computationally to accelerate validation for drug development against SARS-CoV-2. This systematic review started from the most potent phytocompounds (IC 50 in μM) against SARS-CoV, followed by a cluster analysis to locate the most suitable lead(s). The advanced molecular docking used the crystallography structure of SARS-CoV-2-cysteine-like protease (SARS-CoV-2-3CL pro ) as a target. In total, seventy-eight phytochemicals with anti-CoV activity against different strains in cellular assays, were selected for this computational study, and compared with two existing repurposed FDA-approved drugs: lopinavir and ritonavir. This review brings insights in the potential application of phytochemicals and their derivatives, which could guide researchers to develop safe drugs against SARS-CoV-2., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Chang Gung University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

B-cell secretion of autoantibodies drives autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus and idiopathic inflammatory myositis. Few therapies are presently available for treatment of these patients, often resulting in unsatisfactory effects and helping only some of the patients. We developed a screening assay for evaluation of novel targets suspending B-cell maturation into antibody secreting cells, which could contribute to future drug development. The assay was employed for testing 43 high quality chemical probes and compounds inhibiting under-explored protein targets, using primary cells from patients with autoimmune disease. Probes inhibiting bromodomain family proteins and histone methyl transferases demonstrated abrogation of B-cell functions to a degree comparable to a positive control, the JAK inhibitor tofacitinib. Inhibition of each target rendered a specific functional cell and potential disease modifying effect, indicating specific epigenetic protein targets as potential new intervention points for future drug discovery and development efforts., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study aims to discuss the prevalence of COVID-19 in U.S, Italy, Spain, France and China, where the virus spreads most rapidly and causes tragic outcomes. Thereafter, we present new insights of existence and uniqueness solutions of the 2019-nCoV models via fractional and fractal-fractional operators by using fixed point methods., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2020 The Author(s).)

In this article, for the analysis of Covid-19 progression in India, we present new insights to formulate a data-driven epidemic model and approximation algorithm using the real data on infection, recovery and death cases with respect to weather in the view of mathematical variables., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2020 The Author(s).)

Background: Early and accurate laboratory diagnosis and appropriate management of infection improves the survival rate in sepsis. In this study we evaluated broad range 16S rRNA and 16 S-23 S intergenic spacer region (ISR) PCR assays followed by nucleotide sequencing directly from patients' serum and automated blood culture for laboratory diagnosis in admitted sepsis patients., Methods: A broad range 16S rRNA PCR and 16 S-23 S ISR PCR assay followed by nucleotide sequencing was used directly from patients' serum in hospital admitted patients in 62 sepsis and 16 suspected blood stream infection (sBSI) patients. Automated blood culture was also used in the same patients. Nucleotide sequences were analyzed against NCBI Genbank database and organisms were identified using CLSI MM18A guidelines., Results: Bacterial culture were positive in 10/62 (16.12%) sepsis and 3/16 (18.75%) suspected BSI patients along with 3 detected fungi (2 in sepsis and 1 in suspected BSI group). PCR assay was positive in 36/62 (58.06%) sepsis and 6/16 (37.5%) suspected BSI patients respectively. All but 2 bacteria (both from culture negative patients) detected by PCR assay could be identified from nucleotide sequencing. Survival in sepsis patients was 77%. PCR assay could detect bacteria in 9/14 (64.28%) of sepsis patients with death., Conclusion: Broad range PCR assay was far superior for early diagnosis of infection. The bacteria which could not be detected by culture and were not commonly reported from this centre, were detected by the broad range PCR assays. Detection of these rare bacteria/fungi had significant clinical correlation with patient's underlying clinical conditions, immune status and prognosis. The tests could provide definitive diagnosis of infection in >58% of sepsis patients, which helped in patient management and better survival., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Gastrointestinal (GI) diseases are often associated with hypertrophy of the layers of the GI wall, along with dilatation and a denervation of smooth muscle cells which alters the biomechanical properties of the tissue. 'Balloon distension' is a specialised experimental protocol performed on hollow organs to investigate their biomechanical properties. A balloon is inserted and pressurized during this procedure and the change in external diameter is monitored as a function of the applied pressure. A hyperelastic framework is often used in this context to evaluate the stresses in the wall after inflation. However, this only gives an idea about the final equilibrium state of the tissue, whereas the intermediate states of deformations are overlooked. GI soft tissues are viscoelastic, thus, the stress values during inflation are loading rate dependent and are higher than the equilibrium state values. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the time- and rate-dependent material properties during a balloon distension test. The aim of this work was to develop a viscoelastic framework for interpreting balloon distension experiments under finite deformation. To demonstrate the efficacy of the framework, it was used to recreate experimental results from intestinal and colonic tissue segments. In all cases, the simulation results were well matched (R 2 >0.9) with the experimental data., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Lymphatic filariasis, a chronic disfiguring disease exhibits complex pathology. Based on different clinical manifestations, infected individuals are categorized into asymptomatic-carriers and chronic-patients. The mechanism behind differential clinical outcomes remains unclear. Roles of filaria-specific B cell responses in filariasis have been documented, whereas the contribution of B1 cell response and poly-specific IgG and IgA in the context of clinical filariasis is not deciphered. In this study, we measured the poly-specific IgG and IgA levels in different clinical categories of filariasis. Asymptomatic-carriers exhibited increased IgG4 antibodies against both filarial-antigens as well as auto-antigens compared to other clinical categories, although IgG against these auto-antigens remained lower. IgA levels against both filarial and auto-antigens were decreased in asymptomatic-carriers. A positive correlation between anti-filarial IgG4 and IgG4 against auto-antigens were observed, suggesting the synergistic role of poly-specific natural IgG4 with anti-filarial IgG4 in blocking the pathogenesis in asymptomatic microfilarial cases., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Magnesium (Mg) is an important micronutrient for various physiological processes in plants. In this study, putative Magnesium Transporter (MGT) genes have been identified in Solanum lycopersicum, Solanum tuberosum, Brachypodium distachyon, Fagaria vesca, Brassica juncea and were classified into 5 distinct groups based on their sequence homology. MGT genes are very diverse and possess very low sequence identity within its family. However, the Gly-Met-Asn (GMN) signature motif is present in most of the genes which are believed to be essential for Mg 2+ recognition. In S. lycopersicum, different physiological root growth pattern was observed in both Mg excess and deficient conditions. Quantitative RT-PCR gene expression study shows that most of the SlMGT genes were upregulated in response to Mg deficient condition., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Composite films were developed by embedding nanochitosan (0.5%, 1% and 2%) in a polylactic acid (PLA) matrix using polyethylene glycol as a cross linking agent and polyvinyl alcohol as plasticizer. The mixture was casted into films via solvent casting. The interaction between the polylactic acid/nanochitosan (PLA/NCS) and polyethylene glycol had a significant effect on the tensile strength and the heat sealing properties. Antimicrobial properties of PLA/NCS films have been confirmed against aerobic microorganisms. PLA/NCS solvent casted films were used to pack prawn meat (Fenneropeneaus indicus) which was further stored in chilled condition for 18 days. The study proved that microbial and biochemical quality indices of prawn samples packed in different PLA/NCS film were retained and concluded that PLA/NCS composite films can be used for packing of fresh prawn to increase its shelf life., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The heavy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HPAHs) cause detrimental effects to hydrocracker operations by deactivating the catalysts and depositing in the downstream of the reactor/ exchangers. Therefore, it is essential to continuously monitor the accumulation of HPAHs in a hydrocracker unit. To accurately measure the concentration of HPAHs, the development of a fast and reliable analytical method is inevitable. In this work, an analytical method based on non-aqueous reversed phase chromatography in combination with high resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) was developed. As a first step, five different types of stationary phases were evaluated for the separation of HPAHs in non-aqueous mode and the best suited phase was further used for the fractionation of HPAHs in a fractionator bottom sample obtained from a refinery hydrocracker unit. The eight major fractions or peaks obtained from the separation were further characterized by UV spectroscopy and FT-ICR MS and the compounds in the fractions were tentatively confirmed as benzoperylene, coronene, methylcoronene, naphthenocoronene, benzocoronene, dibenzoperylene, naphthocoronene and ovalene. The developed liquid chromatography method can be easily adapted in a refinery laboratory for the quantitation of HPAHs in hydrocracking products. The method was further tested to check the interference of sulfur aromatics and/or large alkylated aromatic hydrocarbons on the determination of HPAHs in hydrocracking products., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: During colonoscopic screening, only macroscopic lesions will be identified, and these are usually the result of multiple genetic abnormalities. Magnification endoscopic detection of aberrant crypt foci (ACF), long before they acquire complex genetic abnormalities, is promising. However, the features of high-risk ACF-like lesions need to be identified., Materials and Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, grossly visible normal mucosal flaps were shaved from 152 colectomies, including 96 colorectal cancer (CRC) cases and 56 controls (22 control specimens with disease with malignant potential and 34 without malignant potential). Methylene and Alcian blue stains were performed directly on the unfixed mucosal flaps to identify ACF and mucin-depleted foci (MDF). Detailed topographic analyses, with immunohistochemical staining for β-catenin and cancer stem cell (CSC) markers (CD44, CD24, and CD166) were performed., Results: ACF, MDF, and β-catenin-accumulated crypts were detected more in specimens with adjacent CRC. The left colon had ACF with a larger diameter and greater crypt multiplicity, density, and gyriform pit pattern and were considered the high-risk ACF group. MDF, more commonly associated with dysplasia, is also a marker of possible carcinogenesis. The CD44 CSC marker was significantly upregulated in ACF specimens compared with normal controls. Our 3-tier ACF-only pit pattern classification system showed better linearity with mucosal dysplasia than did the 6-tier Kudo classification., Conclusion: High-risk ACF, when detected during chromoendoscopic screening, should be followed up. CSCs might play an important role in pathogenesis. Larger studies and genotypic risk stratification for definite identification of high-risk ACF are needed., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) is a unique cell population that produces large amounts of type I interferon upon recognition of nucleic acids placing them at the crossroad of both innate and adaptive immunity. Their ability to produce interferon makes them central to anti-viral responses. They are also responsive to circulating autoantibodies bound to nuclear antigens and in that scenario the release of interferons initiate self-directed immune responses. There are now a growing number of autoimmune disorders where unabated activation of pDC is suspected to be pathogenic. Here, we discuss the different mechanisms responsible for breaking tolerance to self-nucleic acids by pDC, including the novel role of IgE autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus. We also summarized the recent progress on therapies undergoing clinical testing that target either pDC or type I interferons., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Severity of villous atrophy in celiac disease (CeD) is the cumulative effect of enterocyte loss and cell regeneration. Gluten-free diet has been shown to benefit even in patients having a positive anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTG) antibody titre and mild enteropathy., Aim: We explored the balance between mucosal apoptotic enterocyte loss and cell regeneration in mild and advanced enteropathies., Methods: Duodenal biopsies from patients with mild enteropathy (Marsh grade 0 and 1) (n=26), advanced enteropathy (Marsh grade ≥2) (n=41) and control biopsies (n=12) were subjected to immunohistochemical staining for end-apoptotic markers (M30, H2AX); markers of cell death (perforin, annexin V); and cell proliferation (Ki67). Composite H-scores based on the intensity and distribution of markers were compared., Results: End-apoptotic markers and marker of cell death (perforin) were significantly up-regulated in both mild and advanced enteropathies, in comparison to controls; without any difference between mild and advanced enteropathies. Ki67 labelling index was significantly higher in crypts of mild enteropathy, in comparison to controls, suggesting maintained regenerative activity in the former., Conclusions: Even in patients with mild enteropathy, the rate of apoptosis is similar to those with advanced enteropathy. These findings suggest the necessity of reviewing the existing practice of not treating patients with mild enteropathy., (Copyright © 2016 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Wastes generated from fruits and vegetables are organic in nature and contribute a major share in soil and water pollution. Also, green house gas emission caused by fruit and vegetable wastes (FVWs) is a matter of serious environmental concern. This review addresses the developments over the last one decade on microbial processing technologies for production of enzymes and organic acids from FVWs. The advances in genetic engineering for improvement of microbial strains in order to enhance the production of the value added bio-products as well as the concept of zero-waste economy have been briefly discussed., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

An antimicrobial packaging material was developed by uniformly embedding 1, 3 and 5% chitosan (w/w) in low density polyethylene matrix using maleic anhydride grafted LDPE as a compatible agent. The materials were mixed by compounding and blown into monolayer films via blown film extrusion. The developed films showed good barrier properties against oxygen. Characterization of the composite films with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that chitosan and LDPE interacted well with each other. Overall migration showed better release of chitosan adduct from the LDPE matrix which enhanced the antibacterial properties of the films. The interaction between the LDPE/CS and maleic anhydride grafted LDPE had a decreasing effect on the tensile strength and heat sealing properties. Investigation on antimicrobial properties of LDPE/CS films showed 85-100% inhibition of Escherichia coli. Efficacy of LDPE/CS films was evaluated by using them as packaging material for chilled storage of Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). Analysis of storage quality indices (peroxide value, free fatty acid, total volatile base nitrogen and aerobic plate count) revealed good antibacterial property and extension of shelf life of Tilapia in the chitosan incorporated novel composite films compared to virgin LDPE film., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

High pressure treatment of 250 MPa for 6 min at 25 °C was applied to headless Indian white prawn (Fenneropenaeus indicus) to evaluate changes in microbiological characteristics of the species during chilled storage. Changes in load of mesophilic bacteria, psychrotrophic bacteria, proteolytic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp., H2S producing bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, Brochothrix thermosphacta and yeast & mold were estimated in pressurized and un-pressurized samples during chilled storage. All microbes were reduced significantly after high pressure treatment and there was significant difference in microbial quality of control and high pressure treated samples in the entire duration of chilled storage (p < 0.05). There was delay in the growth of Enterobacteriaceae and H2S producing bacteria up to 6th and 9th day of storage, respectively in high pressure treated samples. In high pressure treated sample, no lag phase (λ) was observed for psychrotrophic bacteria, H2S producing bacteria, B. thermosphacta, Pseudomonas spp. and lactic acid bacteria; however, other bacteria showed a reduced lag phase during chilled storage. Kinetic parameter such as specific growth rate (μmax) in high pressure treated samples was significantly reduced in most of the bacterial groups except for psychrotrophic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae and lactic acid bacteria. Mesophilic bacterial count of control samples crossed the marginal limit of acceptability on 12th day and unacceptable limit on 18th day of storage, whereas high pressure treated samples never breached the acceptability limit during entire duration of chilled storage. The present study indicated that application of high pressure processing can be used to improve microbial quality of Indian white prawn and extend the chilled storage life., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Acute viral hepatitis (AVH) is usually a self-limiting illness. Diabetics are prone to develop liver diseases and liver regeneration is impaired in them. Natural course of AVH in diabetics has not been assessed and may be severe., Design: Observational prospective study to evaluate natural course of AVH in patients with and without diabetes mellitus. Consecutive patients with AVH were included and categorized in to those with or without diabetes. Etiology, complications, mortality and recovery parameters of AVH were identified and compared between two groups., Results: 131 consecutive AVH between March 2007 and March 2009 were evaluated; 12 diabetics and 83 non-diabetics (n = 95) were included for analysis. Hepatitis E was the commonest cause (n = 55, 57.89%) in the whole cohort. However, Hepatitis B virus (HBV) as the etiology was significantly higher among diabetics than in non-diabetics (58.33% vs. 25.3%, P = 0.02). In contrast, hepatitis E was the etiology in 61.44% of non-diabetics. Frequency of severe hepatitis was significantly higher in diabetics than in non-diabetics (5/12; 41.67% vs. 9/83; 10.64%, P < 0.005). 5 of 14 (36%) with severe hepatitis were diabetics. Liver failure and death occurred in 2 (16%) diabetics, while none among the non-diabetics had liver failure. Multiple variable logistic regression analysis revealed that acute hepatitis B (OR 4.7 (95% CI 1.34-16.47)) and diabetes (OR 4.0 (95% CI 0.96-16.47)) were associated with severe hepatitis., Conclusion: Patients with diabetes are at risk to contact HBV infection and severe hepatitis.

Hepatitis E virus is a single, positive-sense, capped and poly A tailed RNA virus classified under the family Hepeviridae. Enteric transmission, acute self-limiting hepatitis, frequent epidemic and sporadic occurrence, high mortality in affected pregnants are hallmarks of hepatitis E infection. Lack of an efficient culture system and resulting reductionist approaches for the study of replication and pathogenesis of HEV made it to be a less understood agent. Early studies on animal models, sub-genomic expression of open reading frames (ORF) and infectious cDNA clones have helped in elucidating the genome organization, important stages in HEV replication and pathogenesis. The genome contains three ORF's and three untranslated regions (UTR). The 5' distal ORF, ORF1 is translated by host ribosomes in a cap dependent manner to form the non-structural polyprotein including the viral replicase. HEV replicates via a negative-sense RNA intermediate which helps in the formation of the positive-sense genomic RNA and a single bi-cistronic sub-genomic RNA. The 3' distal ORF's including the major structural protein pORF2 and the multifunctional host interacting protein pORF3 are translated from the sub-genomic RNA. Pathogenesis in HEV infections is not well articulated, and remains a concern due to the many aspects like host dependent and genotype specific variations. Animal HEV, zoonosis, chronicity in immunosuppressed patients, and rapid decompensation in affected chronic liver diseased patients warrants detailed investigation of the underlying pathogenesis. Recent advances about structure, entry, egress and functional characterization of ORF1 domains has furthered our understanding about HEV. This article is an effort to review our present understanding about molecular biology and pathogenesis of HEV.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of scriptaid, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, on the developmental competence of Handmade cloned (HMC) and parthenogenetically activated (PA) buffalo embryos. Scriptaid treatment was given for 10 h immediately after reconstruction of HMC and PA embryos. Treatment of HMC embryos with 500 or 1000 nmol/L scriptaid significantly increased (P<0.01) the cleavage rate (91.3±2.8 and 91.9±2.0%, respectively) than that of controls (80.7±2.4%). Blastocyst rate was significantly higher (P<0.01) following treatment with 1000 nmol/L (54.1±5.0%) than that with 500 nmol/L scriptaid (42.6±2.9%) which, in turn, was higher (P<0.01) than that of the controls (38.0±2.6%). Also, HMC embryos treated with 500 or 1000 nmol/L scriptaid had higher (P<0.01) cell number (339.9±1.4 and 343.4±2.4, respectively) than the untreated embryos (150.7±2.0). In contrast, in zona-free PA embryos, the cleavage and blastocyst rate was significantly lower (P<0.01) following treatment with 500 (46.3±1.0 and 22.0±1.4%, respectively) or 1000 nmol/L scriptaid (46.2±1.9 and 16.6±1.3%, respectively) than that of untreated embryos (60.4±3.2 and 29.5±2.1%, respectively). Transfer of HMC embryos that had been untreated (N=13) or treated with 1000 nmol/L scriptaid (N=15) to synchronized recipients resulted in one pregnancy each. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that scriptaid treatment improves the developmental potential of HMC buffalo embryos, but compromises that of zona-free PA embryos., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The mechanism by which Zn promotes Cu toxicity in duckweed Spirodela polyrhiza L. was investigated in order to understand the possible interaction between these two metals. Cu uptake was gradually declined by Zn. The induction of oxidative stress is shown by increased levels of lipid peroxidation, total peroxide, superoxide anion and lipoxygenase activity. Zn interaction reduced the oxidative damage. However, only Zn-treated plants did not show alteration in the above observed parameters. The activities of antioxidant enzymes catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and peroxidase showed a very high increase in activity in Cu+Zn treatment as compared to Cu or Zn alone-treated plants. Thus, this study demonstrates that zinc reversed the effect of copper, combating against Cu induced oxidative damage and improvement of duckweed's growth and toxicity under natural condition., ((c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a non-enveloped, single-stranded, positive sense RNA virus, which is a major cause of water-borne hepatitis. RNA interference (RNAi) is a sequence-specific cellular antiviral defence mechanism, induced by double-stranded RNA, which we used to investigate knockdown of several genes and the 3' cis-acting element (CAE) of HEV. In the present report, shRNAs were developed against the putative helicase and replicase domains and the 3'CAE region of HEV. Production of siRNA was confirmed by northern hybridization. The possible innate response induction due to shRNA expressions was verified by transcript analysis for interferon-beta and 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase genes and was found to be absent. Initially, the selected shRNAs were tested for their efficiency against the respective genes/3'CAE using inhibition of fused viral subgenomic target domain-renilla luciferase reporter constructs. The effective shRNAs were studied for their inhibitory effects on HEV replication in HepG2 cells using HEV replicon and reporter replicon. RNAi mediated silencing was demonstrated by reduction of luciferase activity in subgenomic target-reporter constructs and reporter replicon. The real time PCR was used to demonstrate inhibition of native replicon replication in transfected cells. Designed shRNAs were found to be effective in inhibiting virus replication to a variable extent (45-93%).

In the absence of a better alternate, (51)Cr release assay, with its several disadvantages is still the most common method for detection of MHC class I restricted T-cell mediated cytotoxicity. We describe a system in which the T-cell mediated cytotoxicity can be assessed using host-derived cells transfected with a bicistronic vector expressing the specific antigen and a quantifiable reporter as target cells. This overcomes the problems associated with use of radioactivity, pre-loading of target cells with reporter/antigen and the MHC restriction. We used HBV core antigen to prove the concept, as it is an established CTL target. Bicistronic vectors containing HBV core and reporter (EGFP/Fluc) gene were generated and further checked for antigen/reporter expression in human HepG2, mouse fibroblast BALB/c.3T3 and mouse lymphoma A20 cell lines. The effector cells to study the cytolytic activity were generated in vivo using BALB/c mice immunized with antigen expressing DNA clone or protein. The target cells (BALB/c.3T3 and A20) transiently transfected with bicistronic constructs were incubated with effector cells (splenocytes) from immunized mice at a different effector to target ratio. Following incubation the CTL activity was calculated by measuring the reporter luciferase in the remaining viable target cells that inversely correlates with the cytolysis of susceptible cells. The percent specific lysis measured in our assay was compared with conventional (51)Cr release assay to validate this approach. This novel bicistronic vector based cytotoxicity assay demonstrated an easy to perform, antigen-specific and non-radioactive method of determining T-cell mediated cytotoxicity.

The separation of highly alkylated polycyclic aromatic compounds according to the size of their aromatic system is investigated using the polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycles in vacuum gas oil. A large number of reference compounds containing several parent ring systems and different alkylation patterns were first investigated to characterize the retention of polycyclic aromatic compounds likely to occur in high-boiling petroleum samples. A beta-cyclodextrin phase, Merck ChiraDex, was found to be more suitable than chemically bonded aminopropanosilane and tetrachlorophthalimide in normal-phase HPLC with respect to a combination of selectivity towards the number of aromatic double bonds and degree of influence of the alkyl groups of the aromatic compounds. Finally the preseparated polycyclic aromatic sulfur heterocycles from a vacuum gas oil were fractionated according to the number of condensed aromatic rings on the ChiraDex phase and were characterized by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

In this paper, a hybrid control scheme utilizing a PID feedback control with an additional regulated chatter signal is developed to compensate motion impeding influences such as the effects due to friction, force ripples, and hysteresis in linear piezoelectric motor. The regulated chatter signal is a pulse sequence superimposed on the PID control signal. It has a fixed amplitude, and a pulse width regulated via iterative learning control. As such, the scheme is expected to be useful for applications involving iterative motion sequences. An analysis of the closed-loop performance is presented in the paper. Simulation and experimental results are also furnished to demonstrate that the proposed control scheme can reduce tracking errors significantly.

In this paper, we propose a simple repetitive learning variable structure control (RLVSC) scheme to reduce periodic speed ripples in a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). These speed ripples are induced by parasitic torque pulsations that vary periodically with rotor position. The conventional PI speed controller is able to reduce speed ripples to a certain extent but not sufficient enough for many high performance applications. During steady state, the RLVSC generates a reference compensation current that together with the outer loop PI speed controller is used to minimize the speed ripples. Being a plug-in module, the proposed RLVSC controller can be easily integrated to any of the existing PMSM drive systems. Experimental evaluation of the proposed scheme is carried out on a DSP-controlled PMSM drive platform. Test results obtained demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme in reducing speed ripples by a factor of approximately 3 under various operating conditions.