Soil quality indicator-based land productivity modelling for agricultural sustainability.

Rapid population expansion has made food security a global concern for humanity, necessitating a sustainable assessment of natural resources. Well evaluated and managed soil is one of the most significant resources that can assist close the gap between supply and demand for food to attain food security. A precise assessment of land productivity (LP) is essential for sustainable land use management.

Nanoparticles of ZnO/Berberine complex contract COVID-19 and respiratory co-bacterial infection in addition to elimination of hydroxychloroquine toxicity.

Purpose: A novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that has not been previously identified in humans and has no specific treatment has recently spread. Treatment trials using antiviral and immune-modulating drugs such as hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) were used to control this viral outbreak however several side effects have emerged. Berberine (BER) is an alkaloid that has been reported to reveal some pharmacological properties including antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.

New polyhydroxylated sterols from Palythoa tuberculosa and their apoptotic activity in cancer cells.

The chemical study on the total extract of the zoanthid Palythoa tuberculosa, collected from the Red Sea, resulted in the isolation of seven polyhydroxylated sterols (1-7), six of which, palysterols A-F (2-7), are new. Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive analysis of their 1-, 2D NMR and MS spectroscopic data. This is the first chemical investigation on the species collected from Red Sea.

Bioactive terpenoids from the Red Sea soft coral Sinularia polydactyla.

Chemical investigation of an ethyl acetate soluble fraction of Sinularia polydactyla (Ehrenberg) led to the isolation of three known terpenoides, two of them sterols, 24-methylcholestane-3β,5α,6β,25-tetrol 25-monoacetate (1), 24-methylcholestane-5-en-3β,25-diol (2), in addition to a cembranoid diterpene, durumolide C (3), for the first time. The cytotoxicity and antimicrobial activities of the ethyl acetate extract and the isolated compounds 1-3 were evaluated in vitro. Durumolide C (3) showed selective cytotoxicity against HepG2 (IC50 1.