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Background: Before every sporting event, almost all athletes engage in a routine practice of warming up to prepare the body for peak performance. There has been a surge in popularity within the athletic world around the use of percussive massage therapy (PMT). Objectives: The objectives of this study were to see if using percussive massage therapy, foam rolling (FR), and hamstring stretching (HStr) as part of a warm-up routine had any acute effects on flexibility, jumping performance, and range of motion in junior athletes, and if so, whether there was a significant difference in the acute effects of these treatment methods. Methods: Thirty-nine junior athletes with at least 3 years of experience, male gender, age range above 17, seated flexion test < 40 cm, and a willingness to participate were all considered for admittance. Participants were randomly divided into three groups. Before and after the treatment, the seated flexion test, vertical jump test, active SLR, and active knee extension were measured. Results: The study found significant improvement in all three groups when comparing them within the groups in the sit and reach test (PMT p < 0.001, FR p = 0.002, and HStr p = 0.001), active SLR (PMT p < 0.001, FR p < 0.001, and HStr p = 0.001), active knee extension (PMT p < 0.001, FR p = 0.002, and HStr p = 0.004), and vertical jump test (PMT p < 0.001, FR p = 0.011, and HStr (p < 0.001). Comparisons between groups showed significant differences among PMT vs. FR (p = 0.041) in vertical jump height and PMT vs. HStr (p = 0.034) in active SLR. Conclusion: We detected a notable disparity in hamstring flexibility between the PMT and FR groups, as well as in vertical jump height between the PMT and HStr groups. However, there was no apparent alteration in active knee extension in all three groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-porous rubbery polyurethane membranes (PUMs) have been successfully prepared from different molecular weights of polycaprolactone (PCL), 4,4,-dicyclohexylmethane (H12MDI diisocyanates) and 1,4-Butane diol (BDO), which are used in synthesis of soft and rigid segment, in gas separation. All structure of membranes were confirmed by FTIR technique that exhibits high molecular weight content of PCL conveniences the strong peak at 1710 cm−1 corresponds to hydrogen bonding in urethane groups that controls the packing, morphology and crystallization in polyurethane membranes. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) measurement provided a lower Tg at 50 °C and Tmax at 550 °C in the heating scanning curve of PCL 750–2000, which indicated that lower energy is required to overcome the chain–chain interaction. The polyester groups in PCL structure created hydrogen bonding which increased hydrophilicity, chain mobility, flexibility and transport of gases. Atomic force microscopy confirmed the non-porous, wettability and increase roughness on membrane surface as high molecular weight of polyol increases the gas solubility and diffusivity. Excellent values of tensile strength (13.25 Mpa), elongation at break hardness (361%) and hardness (86A) were observed for higher molecular weight (2000) PUM by universal testing machine. The lower molecular PUM-1 (750 Mw) content has 46% lower CO2, CH4, N2 and O2 permeability of pure gases as compared to high PUM-4 and PUM-5 having 1600, 2000 of PCL content in polyurethane. Permeability property of gases is associated with free volume and flexibility of polymer backbone segments within the membrane, which is dominated by the chain mobility of polymeric substance. The high permeation flux and selectivity were achieved by increasing feed temperature, pressure and transient gaps. The CO2/N2 selectivity increased as compared to CO2/CH4 due to chain packing density, lower free volume and saturation of carrier efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood is a major pest of eggplant in Pakistan. The second-stage juveniles (J2s) feed on the roots of eggplant. Damaged roots swell and the plant exhibits stunted growth. Mostly farmers rely on the use of broad-spectrum nematicides. However, due to hazardous effects on the environment and non-target species, its application is greatly criticized. Fungal biocontrol agents have been long used for curtailing root-knot nematode infections. The present study was conducted to determine the virulence of four fungal biocontrol agents against M. incognita under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Results: The in vitro results revealed that Trichoderma harzianum significantly caused 77.60% egg inhibition, followed by Pochonia chlamydosporium (53.0%) at 1:1 concentration after 72 h. The maximum J2s mortality was achieved by T. harzianum (82.0%), followed by P. chlamydosporium (70.20%) at 1:1 concentration after 72 h. The in-planta examination carried out at a greenhouse demonstrated that the soil drench treatment of fungal biocontrol agents significantly suppressed M. incognita parameters and upraised the eggplant growth. The mean least number of galls (22.25) was in T. harzianum treated plants, while the control had (206.8) galls. Likewise, T. harzianum curtailed the least egg masses to 35.75 and swollen females to 21.12 than control negative (224.13 egg masses and 182.75 swollen females). Conclusion: T. harzianum was the best agent to control M. incognita (J2s) effectively, followed by P. chlamydosporum. T. harzianum may be a contribution to the biological control of M. incognita in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Centella asiatica L. (Apiaceae), a green leafy vegetable, has been used as a popular folk medicine in Bangladesh in the treatment of various ailments. The plant is reported to contain phenolics and flavonoids, but their bioactive potentials are not yet completely known. The present study was designed to investigate the role of the phenolic and flavonoids in the antioxidant, cytotoxicity, antibacterial and thrombolytic activities. Methods: Four solvent fractions viz. methanol (MSF), ethyl acetate (ESF), chloroform (CSF) and petroleum ether (PSF) were prepared from the dried powder of the whole plant by the modified Kupchan method. Total phenolic content and flavonoid content were determined by Folin Ciocalteu method and aluminum chloride colorimetric method, respectively. The antioxidant activity was assessed by the DPPH radical scavenging and total antioxidant capacity assays. The antibacterial activity was determined by the disc diffusion method and cytotoxicity was evaluated by the brine shrimp lethality bioassay. Thrombolytic activity was assayed using streptokinase as standard. Results: Qualitative analysis of phytochemical revealed the presence of phenolics and flavonoids along with other bioactive constituents. Among the extractives, CSF contained the highest content of phenolics (155.46 ± 0.52 mg GAE/g) and flavonoids (345.17 ± 1.12 mg QE/g) and exhibited the most potent antioxidant activity in terms of total antioxidant capacity (179.01 ± 0.89 mg AAE/g) and DPPH scavenging ability (IC50; 15.31 ± 0.32 µg/mL). Similarly, CSF showed the highest cytotoxicity with LC50 values of 13.80 ± 0.23 µg/mL, and thrombolytic activity with 43.94 ± 0.62% clot lysis. The fraction also exhibited broad spectrum antibacterial activity. A significant correlation was observed between the flavonoid content and total antioxidant activity (r2 = 0.894, p < 0.05), while high correlation was seen between phenolic and flavonoid content and DPPH radical scavenging, total antioxidant capacity and cytotoxicity (r2 = 0.612–0.928). Similarly, a positive correlation was found between phenolic and flavonoid content with thrombolytic and antibacterial activities. Conclusion: These results revealed that C. asiatica is a rich source of phenolics and flavonoids and correlated with antioxidant, cytotoxicity, antibacterial and thrombolytic activities. Hence isolation of phenolics and flavonoids from this plant may offer potential candidates which may be effective in the prevention of many chronic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Organization categorized SARS-CoV-2 as a variant of concern, having numerous mutations in spike protein, which have been found to evade the effect of antibodies stimulated by the COVID-19 vaccine. The susceptibility to omicron variant by immunization-induced antibodies are direly required for risk evaluation. To avoid the risk of arising viral illness, the construction of a specific vaccine that triggers the production of targeted antibodies to combat infection remains highly imperative. The aim of the present study is to develop a particular vaccine exploiting bioinformatics approaches which can target B- and T-cells epitopes. Through this approach, novel epitopes of the S protein-SARS-CoV-2 were predicted for the development of a multiple epitope vaccine. Multiple epitopes were selected on the basis of toxicity, immunogenicity and antigenicity, and vaccine subunit was constructed having potential immunogenic properties. The epitopes were linked with 3 types of linker EAAAK, AAY and GPGPG for vaccine construction. Subsequently, vaccine structure was docked with the receptor and cloned in a pET-28a (+) vector. The constructed vaccine was ligated in pET-28a (+) vector in E. coli using the SnapGene tool for the expression study and a good immune response was observed. Several computational tools were used to predict and analyze the vaccine constructed by using spike protein sequence of omicrons. The current study identified a Multi-Epitope Vaccine (MEV) as a significant vaccine candidate that could potentially help the global world to combat SARS-CoV-2 infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current research is based on biology-oriented synthesis of sulphadiazine derivatives and determination of their urease inhibitory activity. In this regard, a series of (E)-4-(benzylideneamino)-N-(pyrimidin-2-yl)benzenesulfonamide was synthesized from sulphadiazine and substituted aromatic aldehydes. The structures of synthesized compounds were ascertained by spectroscopic techniques, such as, FTIR, NMR and HRMS analysis, and in-vitro and in-silico investigation were carried out for the inhibition of urease. Ureases are harmful for humans by producing by-products of urea (ammonia and carbon dioxide). The most active compound (3l) against urease exhibited IC50 value of 2.21 ± 0.45 µM which is 10 times more potent than the standard thiourea (20.03 ± 2.06 µM). It is noteworthy that most of our synthesized compounds showed significant to excellent activities against urease enzyme and most of them substituted by halogen or hydroxy groups at ortho and para positions in their structures. Inhibition of enzyme by the synthesized analogues was in descending order as 3l > 3a > 3b > 3q > 3e > 3o > 3s > 3t > 3g > 3k > 3r > 3f > 3m > 3p > 3n > 3j > 3i > 3h. Moreover, molecular docking studies were performed to rationalize the binding interactions of the synthesized motifs with the active pocket of the urease enzyme. The synthesized sulphadiazine derivatives (3a–u) were found to be non-toxic, and presented passive gastrointestinal absorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we are analyzing the comparative study of green-synthesized biogenic Caralluma tuberculata gold nanoparticles (Ca-AuNPs) and poly (ethylene glycol) methacrylate coated Ca-AuNPs nanocomposites (PEGMA-AuNPs), formed by hybridization of Ca-AuNPs with PEGMA. Both the virgin and polymer-capped materials (polymer hybrid) were physico-chemically characterized, using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) that revealed physical interactions during coating without new peak, as PEGMA did not disturb the crystal structure of the AuNPs. However, a red shift of AuNPs from 450 to 520 nm was observed and the overall particle size of AuNPs was increased after PEGMA coating (50 to 100 nm). Furthermore, an efficient protocol of biomass enhancement of in vitro micropropagated Musa acuminate was achieved upon supplementation with Ca-AuNPs and PEGMA-Ca-AuNPs, in the Murashige and Skoog (MS) media in a dose-dependent manner. The maximum fresh, dry weight, and shoot length were achieved upon 80 ppm PEGMA-Ca-AuNPs supplementation. In the physiological analysis, higher chlorophyll content, abundant soluble sugar, and elevated moisture content also appeared upon 80 ppm PEGMA-AuNPs addition. Phytohormone analysis showed over-accumulation of IAA content, while on contrary, decreased MDA and H2O2 content, higher production of phenolics, flavonoids, phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity, and antioxidant activity was noticeable upon 80 ppm PEGMA-AuNPs supplementation. Moreover, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities including CAT, SOD, POD, and APx were detected at 80 ppm PEGMA-Ca-AuNPs supplementation in MS media. It can be concluded that the PEGMA-AuNPs elicitation can be effectively used in plant tissue culture and agricultural industry, for sustainable promotion of biomass and secondary metabolic through modulating the physiological, biochemical, and bioactive antioxidants status and modifying cell wall properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]