De novo genome assembly and analysis unveil biosynthetic and metabolic potentials of Pseudomonas fragi A13BB.

Objectives: The role of rhizosphere microbiome in supporting plant growth under biotic stress is well documented. Rhizobacteria ward off phytopathogens through various mechanisms including antibiosis. We sought to recover novel antibiotic-producing bacterial strains from soil samples collected from the rhizosphere.

Air pollution as a determinant of food delivery and related plastic waste.

Plastic waste is a growing environmental concern. The food delivery industry is criticized for its environmental impact, especially its current use of plastic packaging. At the same time, the environment impacts the industry.

Electrical appliances moderate households' water demand response to heat.

Analysis of potentially interconnected residential water and energy demand is sparse. In a 1-in-10 random sample of Singapore households living in apartments, water use per capita declines over the socioeconomic distribution, whereas electricity use rises. Here I show that in this leading Asian city and tropical climate, water and electricity demand respond differentially to heat across different socioeconomic groups.

Reduced ultrafine particle levels in São Paulo's atmosphere during shifts from gasoline to ethanol use.

Despite ethanol's penetration into urban transportation, observational evidence quantifying the consequence for the atmospheric particulate burden during actual, not hypothetical, fuel-fleet shifts, has been lacking. Here we analyze aerosol, meteorological, traffic, and consumer behavior data and find, empirically, that ambient number concentrations of 7-100-nm diameter particles rise by one-third during the morning commute when higher ethanol prices induce 2 million drivers in the real-world megacity of São Paulo to substitute to gasoline use (95% confidence intervals: +4,154 to +13,272 cm). Similarly, concentrations fall when consumers return to ethanol.

Synthesis, cytotoxicity and DNA binding of oxoazabenzo[de]anthracenes derivatives in colon cancer Caco-2 cells.

New oxoazabenzo[de]anthracenes derivatives were synthesised and characterised. Their interactions with calf thymus DNA were studied by UV spectrophotometric analysis and a competitive ethidium bromide displacement assay. Cytotoxicity was determined by MTT assay, against colon adenocarcinoma (Caco-2 cells).

PEGylated derivatives of cystamine as enhanced treatments for nephropathic cystinosis.

The genetic disease, nephropathic cystinosis is characterized by lysosomal accumulation of the amino acid cystine. Crystallization of cystine in affected organs, if untreated, results in mortality of the affected individuals by their middle to late teens. The only approved treatment for cystinosis is administration of cysteamine.

Synthesis of 2'-cyclohexenylnucleosides and corresponding CeNA building blocks.

A cyclohexene ring has similar structural properties and conformational behavior to a saturated five-membered furanose ring. In particular, it has good hydrolytic stability. Cyclohexenylnucleosides have been utilized in antiviral drug design, and some nucleosides and oligonucleotides based on the cyclohexene system have been developed.

Oxoazabenzo[de]anthracenes conjugated to amino acids: synthesis and evaluation as DNA-binding antitumor agents.

We report the synthesis of an original series of oxoazabenzo[de]anthracenes conjugated to an amino acid: Ala, Phe, Pro, Lys, or Gly (4a-e, respectively). The compounds, derived from 1,8-dihydroxyanthracene-9,10-dione, were studied for DNA binding and cytotoxicity. Melting temperature, fluorescence quenching, and surface plasmon resonance methods all indicated that the lysine derivative 4d binds to DNA much more strongly that the Pro, Ala, and Gly conjugates whereas the Phe analogue showed the lowest DNA binding capacity.