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Leukemia affects the body's blood‐forming tissues, especially the bone marrow and lymphatic system. Leukemia incidence varies between communities and between pathological kinds. Many treatment modalities exist for leukemia, such as chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation therapy, bone marrow transplantation, immunotherapy, and the engineering of immune cells to fight leukemia. Leukemia might be treated with a variety of pharmaceuticals, the most popular of which are imatinib (Gleevec), dasatinib (Sprycel), nilotinib (Tasigna), obinutuzumab (Gazyva), venetoclax (Venclexta), and so on. Thiazole is one of the scaffolds that are actively explored in leukemia. Derivatives having the thiazole nucleus have been surfacing as potent candidates in the treatment of leukemia for quite sometime now, but a consolidated report accumulating all these ventures is absent. Numerous naturally occurring substances, including flavones, alkaloids, anabolic steroids, and vitamin B1 (thiamine), include the basic thiazole molecule. Thiazole derivatives have been researched for their possible therapeutic effects in the treatment of leukemia. Thus, this review comprising reports regarding the effect of different thiazole‐based species in leukemia is a timely effort to the best of our knowledge. This review covers the chronological development of antileukemic thiazole‐based molecules, their synthesis, biological activity, and structure–activity relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of a stable and efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts with high methanol tolerance is crucial for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFCs). Herein, triphenylphosphine (PPh3)‐ligated gold nanoclusters and complexes (AuNCs), Au101(PPh3)21Cl5, Au9(PPh3)8(NO3)3, and Au1(PPh3)Cl supported on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) have been explored as methanol tolerant ORR electrocatalysts. Electrocatalytic performance of each AuNCs‐rGO was determined through linear sweep voltammograms (LSV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) and compared with Pt/C. Size‐dependent ORR activity was observed which followed the size trend of Au101NC‐rGO>Au9NC‐rGO>Au1NC‐rGO. Repeated LSV and chronoamperometry measurements revealed that the long‐term stability over 24 hours followed the trend Au101NC‐rGO>Au9NC‐rGO∼Au1NC‐rGO and all were more stable than Pt/C. The methanol tolerance of each AuNCs‐rGO was also evaluated via LSV and CV. Size‐independent methanol tolerance with no noticeable change in ORR performance of AuNCs‐rGO was observed in the presence of methanol. AuNCs‐rGO nanocomposites are promising cathode electrocatalysts for DMFCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High salt (sodium chloride) intake raises blood pressure and increases the risk of developing hypertension, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Little is known about salt intake in Nepal, and no study has estimated salt consumption from 24-hour urinary sodium excretion. Participants (n = 451) were recruited from the Community-Based Management of Non-Communicable Diseases in Nepal (COBIN) cohort in 2018. Salt intake was estimated by analyzing 24-hour urinary sodium excretion. Multivariate linear regression was used to estimate differences in salt intake. The mean (±SD) age and salt intake were 49.6 (±9.8) years and 13.3 (±4.7) g/person/d, respectively. Higher salt intake was significantly associated with male gender (β for female = -2.4; 95% CI: -3.3, -1.4) and younger age (β10 years  = -1.4; 95% CI: -1.4, -0.5) and higher BMI (β = 0.1; 95% CI: 0.0, 0.2). A significant association was also found between increase in systolic blood pressure and higher salt intake (β = 0.3; 95% CI: 0.0, 0.7). While 55% reported that they consumed just the right amount of salt, 98% were consuming more than the WHO recommended salt amount (<5 g/person/d). Daily salt intake in this population was over twice the limit recommended by the WHO, suggesting a substantial need to reduce salt intake in this population. It also supports the need of global initiatives such as WHO's Global Hearts Initiative SHAKE technical package and Resolves to Save Lives for sodium reduction in low- and middle-income countries like Nepal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miscanthus × giganteus (M×g) is the primary species of Miscanthus for bioenergy feedstock production. The current leading biomass cultivar, M×g '1993‐1780', is insufficiently adapted in temperate regions with cold winters such as USDA hardiness zone 5 (average annual minimum temperature of −28.9 to −23.3°C) or lower. Three interconnected Miscanthus F1 populations that shared a common parent were planted in a replicated field trial at Urbana, IL (hardiness zone 5b; average annual minimum temperature of −26.1 to −23.3°C) in spring 2011. The winter of 2013–2014 was especially cold in Urbana, with a minimum soil temperature at 10 cm of −6.2°C and a minimum air temperature of −25.3°C, giving us an opportunity to evaluate hardiness on established year‐3 plants. The parent in common to all three populations, M. sinensis ssp. condensatus 'Cosmopolitan', is native to maritime southern Japan, and in Urbana, it is winter‐damaged most years. In contrast, the three other parents, M. sacchariflorus 'Robustus' (MapA), M. sinensis 'Silberturm' (MapB), and M. sinensis 'November Sunset' (MapC), are typically winter hardy in Urbana. Nearly all MapA progeny plants survived and grew vigorously in spring 2014, whereas in MapB and MapC, many progeny plants did not survive the winter, and most of the survivors were severely damaged, with poor vigor. Negative correlations between overwintering ability and spring regrowth date and autumn dormancy date suggested that the genotypes most likely to survive winters were those that emerged early in spring and/or went dormant early in autumn. Using joint‐population analysis, we identified 53 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for nine adaptation traits, including nine QTLs for overwintering ability and 11 for spring hardiness scores. Many biologically intuitive candidate genes were observed within or near the QTLs detected in this study, suggesting their validity and potential for further study. Substantial variation was observed among and within three interconnected F1Miscanthus populations for overwintering ability and eight other adaptation traits. Large differences among the three populations for overwintering ability indicated that it should be highly advantageous to select cold‐tolerant genotypes as parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Improving biomass yield is a major goal of Miscanthus breeding. We conducted a study on one interspecific Miscanthus sinensis × Miscanthus sacchariflorus F1 population and two intraspecific M. sinensis F1 populations, each of which shared a common parent. A field trial was established at Urbana, IL during spring 2011, and phenotypic data were collected in 2012 and 2013 for fourteen yield traits. Six high‐density parental genetic maps, as well as a consensus genetic map integrating M. sinensis and M. sacchariflorus, were developed via the pseudotestcross strategy for noninbred parents with ≥1214 single‐nucleotide polymorphism markers generated from restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing. We confirmed for the first time a whole‐genome duplication in M. sacchariflorus relative to Sorghum bicolor, similar to that observed previously for M. sinensis. Four quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis methods for detecting marker‐trait associations were compared: (1) individual parental map composite interval mapping analysis, (2) individual parental map stepwise analysis, (3) consensus map single‐population stepwise analysis and (4) consensus map joint‐population stepwise analysis. These four methods detected 288, 264, 133 and 109 total QTLs, which resolved into 157, 136, 106 and 86 meta‐QTLs based on QTL congruency, respectively, including a set of 59 meta‐QTLs common to all four analysis methods. Composite interval mapping and stepwise analysis co‐identified 118 meta‐QTLs across six parental maps, suggesting high reliability of stepwise regression in QTL detection. Joint‐population stepwise analysis yielded the highest resolution of QTLs compared to the other three methods across all meta‐QTLs. Strong, frequently advantageous transgressive segregation in the three populations indicated a promising future for breeding new higher‐yielding cultivars of Miscanthus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO2:Dy3+ powders without any secondary phases have been prepared by solid-state reaction through the optimization of synthesis conditions, doping amount and subsequently through a purification step. The maximum dysprosium solubility was found at 0.43 mol% in the range 800-900°C. The Rietveld refinement was performed to calculate the amount of phases and lattice constants. The effect of synthesis conditions and doping on strain and crystallite size is also discussed. Room temperature photoluminescence of TiO2:Dy3+ shows blue and yellow color emission. It is shown that yellow emission can be enhanced with the reduction of the pyrochlore phase Dy2Ti2O7. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study was to investigate whether chilling tolerance of C4 photosynthesis in Miscanthus can be transferred to sugarcane by hybridization. Net leaf CO2 uptake ( Asat) and the maximum operating efficiency of photosystem II ( Ф PSII) were measured in warm conditions (25 °C/20 °C), and then during and following a chilling treatment of 10 °C/5 °C for 11 day in controlled environment chambers. Two of three hybrids (miscanes), ' US 84-1058' and ' US 87-1019', did not differ significantly from the chilling tolerant M. × giganteus 'Illinois' (Mxg), for Asat, and Φ PSII measured during chilling. For Mxg grown at 10 °C/5 °C for 11 days, Asat was 4.4 μmol m−2 s−1, while for miscane ' US 84-1058' and ' US 87-1019', Asat was 5.7 and 3.5 μmol m−2 s−1, respectively. Miscanes ' US 84-1058' and ' US 87-1019' and Mxg had significantly higher rates of Asat during chilling than three tested sugarcanes. A third miscane showed lower rates than Mxg during chilling, but recovered to higher rates than sugarcane upon return to warm conditions. Chilling tolerance of ' US 84-1058' was further confirmed under autumn field conditions in southern Illinois. The selected chilling tolerant miscanes have particular value for biomass feedstock and biofuel production and at the same time they can be a starting point for extending sugarcane's range to colder climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the design, development and comprehensive analysis of voltage and frequency controllers (VFCs) for standalone wind energy conversion systems (SWECSs). An isolated asynchronous generator, a synchronous generator (SG) and a permanent magnet SG are used with these SWECSs. These VFCs are developed with three‐phase generators driven through a wind turbine to feed three‐phase and single‐phase loads. A battery energy storage system is used invariably with each system configuration to facilitate load leveling under change in wind speeds and consumer loads. The performance of VFCs are demonstrated to validate its operation as a load leveler, load balancer, phase balancer, neutral current compensator and an active filter along with a VFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between dietary sodium and potassium intake with elevated blood pressure ( BP) levels is unclear. The authors examined the association between dietary sodium and potassium intake and BP levels in 6985 adults aged 18 years and older with no prior history of hypertension who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2001-2006). After adjustment for age, sex, race, body mass index, diabetes, and estimated glomerular filtration rate, there was no association between higher quartiles of sodium or potassium intake with the risk of a BP >140/90 mm Hg or >130/80 mm Hg. There was also no relationship between dietary sodium and potassium intake with BP when systolic and diastolic BP were measured as continuous outcomes ( P=.68 and P=.74, respectively). Furthermore, no association was found between combinations of sodium and potassium intake with elevated BP. In the US adult population without hypertension, increased dietary sodium or low potassium intake was not associated with elevated BP levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study deals with the operation and control of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)-based off-grid wind energy conversion system (WECS). Two back-to-back connected voltage source converters with intermediate DC-link supported with a battery energy storage system are used as a voltage and frequency controller (VFC). A field oriented control algorithm is used for VFC to perform as a load leveller, a load balancer, an active filter along with a VFC. Simulation results are verified on a developed prototype of VFC for DFIG-based off-grid WECS. The performance of WECS is demonstrated feeding non-linear and dynamic loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genome sequences of plant fungal pathogens have enabled the identification of effectors that cooperatively modulate the cellular environment for successful fungal growth and suppress host defense. Identification and characterization of novel effector proteins are crucial for understanding pathogen virulence and host-plant defense mechanisms. Previous reports indicate that the Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 type III secretion system ( T3 SS) can be used to study how non-bacterial effectors manipulate dicot plant cell function using the effector detector vector (p EDV) system. Here we report a p EDV-based effector delivery system in which the T3 SS of Burkholderia glumae, an emerging rice pathogen, is used to translocate the AVR- Pik and AVR- Pii effectors of the fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae to rice cytoplasm. The translocated AVR- Pik and AVR- Pii showed avirulence activity when tested in rice cultivars containing the cognate R genes. AVR- Pik reduced and delayed the hypersensitive response triggered by B. glumae in the non-host plant Nicotiana benthamiana, indicative of an immunosuppressive virulence activity. AVR proteins fused with fluorescent protein and nuclear localization signal were delivered by B. glumae T3 SS and observed in the nuclei of infected cells in rice, wheat, barley and N. benthamiana. Our bacterial T3 SS-enabled eukaryotic effector delivery and subcellular localization assays provide a useful method for identifying and studying effector functions in monocot plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benzothiophene derivatives like benzothiophene sulphonamides, biphenyls, or carboxyls have been synthesized and have found wide pharmacological usage. Here we report, bromo-benzothiophene carboxamide derivatives as potent, slow tight binding inhibitors of Plasmodium enoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase (PfENR). 3-Bromo- N-(4-fluorobenzyl)-benzo[b]thiophene-2-carboxamide (compound 6) is the most potent inhibitor with an IC50 of 115 nM for purified PfENR. The inhibition constant ( Ki) of compound 6 was 18 nM with respect to the cofactor and 91 nM with respect to crotonoyl-CoA. These inhibitors showed competitive kinetics with cofactor and uncompetitive kinetics with the substrate. Thus, these compounds hold promise for the development of potent antimalarials. © 2011 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 63(12): 1101-1110, 2011 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Condensing enzymes play an important and decisive role in terms of fatty acid composition of any organism. They can be classified as condensing enzymes involved in initiating the cycle and enzymes involved in elongating the initiated fatty acyl chain. In E. coli, two isoforms for the elongation condensing enzymes (FabB and FabF) exists whereas Plasmodium genome contains only one isoform. By in vitro complementation studies in E. coli CY244 cells, we show that PfFabB/F functions like E. coli FabF as the growth of the mutant cells could be rescued only in the presence of oleic acid. But unlike bacterial enzyme, PfFabB/F does not increase the cis-vaccenic acid content in the mutant cells upon lowering the growth temperature. This study thus highlights the distinct properties of P. falciparum FabF which sets it apart from E. coli and most other enzymes of this family described so far. © 2009 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 61(6): 658–662, 2009 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystals obtained from various batches of crystallization trials of FabZ from Plasmodium falciparum exhibited non-isomorphism. The c axis of the I222 cell showed a large variation of about 16 Å, from c = 81 Å to c = 97 Å. Complete data sets were collected for three crystal forms with varying lengths of the c axis (form 1, c = 97 Å; form 2, c = 92 Å; form 3, c = 81 Å). The crystal structure of form 1 has been reported previously. Here, the crystal structures of the other two crystal forms are reported and a detailed structural comparison is made of the three crystal forms in order to explore the possible reasons for the existence of non-isomorphism. The conformations of three loops vary between the three crystal forms. The disposition of the loops affects the crystal packing and hence the unit-cell parameter. The crystallization condition and crystallization method employed, which change the evaporation rate, determine the crystal form of the enzyme. The present analysis shows that pH-induced intrinsic conformational changes in the protein play a key role in the observed differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The crystal structure of β-hydroxyacyl acyl carrier protein dehydratase of Plasmodium falciparum (PfFabZ) has been determined at a resolution of 2.4Å. PfFabZ has been found to exist as a homodimer (d-PfFabZ) in the crystals of the present study in contrast to the reported hexameric form (h-PfFabZ) which is a trimer of dimers crystallized in a different condition. The catalytic sites of this enzyme are located in deep narrow tunnel-shaped pockets formed at the dimer interface. A histidine residue from one subunit of the dimer and a glutamate residue from the other subunit lining the tunnel form the catalytic dyad in the reported crystal structures. While the position of glutamate remains unaltered in the crystal structure of d-PfFabZ compared to that in h-PfFabZ, the histidine residue takes up an entirely different conformation and moves away from the tunnel leading to a His-Phe cis–trans peptide flip at the histidine residue. In addition, a loop in the vicinity has been observed to undergo a similar flip at a Tyr–Pro peptide bond. These alterations not only prevent the formation of a hexamer but also distort the active site geometry resulting in a dimeric form of FabZ that is incapable of substrate binding. The dimeric state and an altered catalytic site architecture make d-PfFabZ distinctly different from the FabZ structures described so far. Dynamic light scattering and size exclusion chromatographic studies clearly indicate a pH-related switching of the dimers to active hexamers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In bread wheat, 21 anchored simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer pairs detecting SSR length polymorphism and 42 anchored SSR primers detecting microsatellite-anchored fragment length polymorphisms (MFLPs) are reported. Eight bread wheat genotypes were used for detecting polymorphism. The number of alleles in SSR analysis ranged from two to six, with a mean of 2.9 alleles per SSR. The number of polymorphic bands in MFLP ranged from two to 40, with a mean of 12.74 polymorphic bands/primer combination, the SSRs with CT/GA motifs giving the highest level of polymorphism (a mean of 18.37 bands). The average value of polymorphic information content (PIC) was 0.473 for SSRs and 0.061 for MFLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum synthesizes fatty acids by the type II mechanism. In this cycle, the dehydration of the beta-hydroxyacyl acyl carrier protein is catalyzed by FabZ. Purified FabZ has been crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion and microbatch techniques. The crystals are orthorhombic, with space group 1222 or 12&sub1;2&sub1;2&sub1; and unit-cell parameters a = 71.78, b = 81.99, c = 97.49 A. A complete data set to a resolution of 2.5 A has been collected under cryoconditions (100 K) using a MAR imaging-plate detector system mounted on a rotating-anode X-ray generator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum synthesizes fatty acids by the type II mechanism. In this cycle, the dehydration of the beta-hydroxyacyl acyl carrier protein is catalyzed by FabZ. Purified FabZ has been crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion and microbatch techniques. The crystals are orthorhombic, with space group I222 or I2(1)2(1)2(1) and unit-cell parameters a = 71.78, b = 81.99, c = 97.49 A. A complete data set to a resolution of 2.5 A has been collected under cryoconditions (100 K) using a MAR imaging-plate detector system mounted on a rotating-anode X-ray generator.