Evaluation of the benefits of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and mycorrhizal fungi on biochemical and morphophysiological traits of Aloe barbadensis Mill under water deficit stress.

Aloe barbadensis is a drought-tolerant perennial medicinal plant with both nutritional and cosmetic uses. Drought is one of the main abiotic stresses limiting plant growth and development. However, the use of drought-resistant plants combined with beneficial soil micro-organisms could improve the effectiveness of biological methods to mitigate drought damage.

Biological activity of essential oils from Ferulago angulata and Ferula assa-foetida against food-related microorganisms (antimicrobial) and Ephestia kuehniella as a storage pest (insecticidal); an in vitro and in silico study.

Misuse of synthetic pesticides and antimicrobials in agriculture and the food industry has resulted in food contamination, promoting resistant pests and pathogen strains and hazards for humanity and the environment. Therefore, ever-increasing concern about synthetic chemicals has stimulated interest in eco-friendly compounds. Ferulago angulata (Schltdl.

Improvement of biochemical and antioxidant responses of borage ( L.) under drought stress conditions with the use of vermicompost and zinc sulfate.

Drought poses a significant threat to crop production systems. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of vermicompost and foliar application of zinc sulfate under conditions of reduced irrigation on the physiological properties of Borage. A two-year experiment was conducted following a split factorial design within a randomized complete block design with three replications at Yasouj University Research Station in 2017 and 2018.

The comparative perspective of phytochemistry and biological properties of the Apiaceae family plants.

Despite the availability of numerous reports on the discovery of medicinal plant compounds and their properties, one may encounter contradictory results released by these reports at the level of plant families and even within species. To establish an accurate perspective of the Apiaceae family, this study examined the fruit essential oil and methanolic extract of wild and common species of this family. According to the measurement of the antioxidant property in the methanolic extract of the fruits using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, Ferula gummosa, Pimpinella anisum and Cuminum cyminum have high power in inhibiting free radicals.

Efficacy of biological agents and fillers seed coating in improving drought stress in anise.

Many plants, including anise, have tiny, non-uniform seeds with low and light nutrient reserves. The seeds also show a weak establishment, especially under stressful conditions where their accurate planting in the soil and optimal yield are tough. This study sought to improve anise seeds' physical and physiological characteristics under drought stress.

Promoting keratocyte stem like cell proliferation and differentiation by aligned polycaprolactone-silk fibroin fibers containing Aloe vera.

There is a long history behind applying biological macromolecules like Aloe vera (AV) in regenerative medicine; endowed with anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities besides improving immune activity, AV has always been of particular interest to regenerate/reconstruct injuries and burns. In the present study, aligned electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL)-silk fibroin (SF) fibers containing different percentages of AV (0, 2.5, 5, and 7.

Cellulose-based composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering and localized drug delivery.

Natural bone constitutes a complex and organized structure of organic and inorganic components with limited ability to regenerate and restore injured tissues, especially in large bone defects. To improve the reconstruction of the damaged bones, tissue engineering has been introduced as a promising alternative approach to the conventional therapeutic methods including surgical interventions using allograft and autograft implants. Bioengineered composite scaffolds consisting of multifunctional biomaterials in combination with the cells and bioactive therapeutic agents have great promise for bone repair and regeneration.

PEG-mesoporous material modified by superparamagnetic nanoparticles as a delivery system of cefotaxime.

The fight against infectious bacterial diseases has been taking major steps forward by designing new nanodrugs and nanoscale biological carriers with unique physicochemical properties. Here, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-silica mesoporous material/superparamagnetic CuFeO nanoparticle nanocomposite was synthesized using a facile chemical approach, and proposed as a carrier for the delivery of cefotaxime (CTX) drug. The resulting nanocomposite material and nanocomposite CTX drug carrier were characterized by different techniques.

Biochemical response and nutrient uptake of two arbuscular mycorrhiza-inoculated chamomile varieties under different osmotic stresses.

Background: Water-deficit stress is known as one of the most severe environmental stresses affecting the growth of plants through marked reduction of water uptake, which leads to osmotic stress by lowering water potential. Adopting appropriate varieties using soil microorganisms, such as arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) fungi, can significantly reduce the adverse effects of water deficiency. This study aimed to evaluate the role of Funneliformis mosseae on nutrient uptake and certain physiological traits of two chamomile varieties, namely Bodgold (Bod) and Soroksári (Sor) under osmotic stress.

Zn-substituted MgSiO nanoparticles-incorporated PCL-silk fibroin composite scaffold: A multifunctional platform towards bone tissue regeneration.

Electrospun porous bone scaffolds are known to imitate the extracellular matrix very well and provide an environment through which the tissue formation is enhanced. Although polymeric scaffolds have a great potential in bone tissue regeneration, their weak bioactivity (bone bonding ability) and mechanical properties have left room for improvement. Therefore, the present study focused on the developing a ternary multifunctional platform composed of polycaprolactone (PCL)/silk fibroin (SF)/Zn-substituted MgSiO nanoparticles for bone tissue regeneration.

Realization of high-efficiency fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes with low driving voltage.

It is commonly accepted that a full bandgap voltage is required to achieving efficient electroluminescence (EL) in organic light-emitting diodes. In this work, we demonstrated organic molecules with a large singlet-triplet splitting can achieve efficient EL at voltages below the bandgap voltage. The EL originates from delayed fluorescence due to triplet fusion.

Physiological and yield responses of purple coneflower ( (L.) Moench) to nitrogen sources at different levels of irrigation.

(L.) is one of the most important medicinal plants in the world showing different biochemical reactions as affected by drought stress and nitrogen fertilizer. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of nitrogen on soluble protein, enzyme activities, carotenoids metabolism, greenness and biological yield of the under different levels of irrigation.

Growth and nutrient content of Echinacea purpurea as affected by the combination of phosphorus with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus and Pseudomonas florescent bacterium under different irrigation regimes.

The excessive use of chemical fertilizers has caused many environmental problems and threatens the health of the human communities at the global level. However, the use of some beneficial soil microorganisms in addition to supplying nutrients to plants helps protect the environment. In order to achieve this goal, the effects of different irrigation regimes and application of phosphorus (P) fertilizer, with mycorrhizal arbuscular fungus (AMF) or Pseudomonas fluorescens bacterium (PFB), were studied on the growth and nutrients of Echinacea purpurea.

Corrigendum: Efficient decellularization of whole porcine kidneys improves reseeded cell behavior (2016 11 025003).

The manuscript 'Efficient decellularization of whole porcine kidneys improves reseeded cell behavior' (Poornejad et al 2016 Biomedical Materials 11: 025003) describes our efforts to improve the process for recellularization of porcine kidneys. We obtained what we believed to be an immortalized cell line of human renal cortical tubular epithelium (RCTE) cells from the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University to conduct our reseeding experiments. The RCTE cells that were provided to us were later discovered to actually be Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells.

Increased Exciton Delocalization of Polymer upon Blending with Fullerene.

Interfaces between donor and acceptor in a polymer solar cell play a crucial role in exciton dissociation and charge photogeneration. While the importance of charge transfer (CT) excitons for free carrier generation is intensively studied, the effect of blending on the nature of the polymer excitons in relation to the blend nanomorphology remains largely unexplored. In this work, electroabsorption (EA) spectroscopy is used to study the excited-state polarizability of polymer excitons in several polymer:fullerene blend systems, and it is found that excited-state polarizability of polymer excitons in the blends is a strong function of blend nanomorphology.

Biosensing estrogenic endocrine disruptors in human blood and urine: A RAPID cell-free protein synthesis approach.

Many diseases and disorders are linked to exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that mimic the function of natural estrogen hormones. Here we present a Rapid Adaptable Portable In-vitro Detection biosensor platform (RAPID) for detecting chemicals that interact with the human estrogen receptor β (hERβ). This biosensor consists of an allosteric fusion protein, which is expressed using cell-free protein synthesis technology and is directly assayed by a colorimetric response.

Manipulating Refractive Index in Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

In a conventional organic light-emitting diode (OLED), only a fraction of light can escape to the glass substrate and air. Most radiation is lost to two major channels: waveguide modes and surface plasmon polaritons. It is known that reducing the refractive indices of the constituent layers in an OLED can enhance light extraction.

Probing the Emission Zone Length in Organic Light Emitting Diodes via Photoluminescence and Electroluminescence Degradation Analysis.

The understanding and control of the emission zone in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) is crucial to the device operational stability. Using the photoluminescence and electroluminescence degradation data, we have developed a modeling methodology to quantitatively determine the length of the emission zone and correlate that with the degradation mechanism. We first validate the modeling results by studying the emitter concentration effect on operational stability of devices using the well-studied thermal activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) emitter (4s,6s)-2,4,5,6-tetra(9H-carbazol-9-yl)isophthalonitrile (4CzIPN), and our results are consistent with previous published data.

In Search of Deeper Blues: Trans-N-Heterocyclic Carbene Platinum Phenylacetylide as a Dopant for Phosphorescent OLEDs.

A trans-N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) platinum(II) acetylide complex bearing phenyl acetylene ligands (NPtPE1) has been synthesized via the Hagihara reaction in 64% yield. The complex features spectrally narrow deep blue emission with a phosphorescence quantum yield (0.30) and lifetime (∼10 μs) in the solid state.

MOF-5(Zn)-FeO nanocomposite based magnetic solid-phase microextraction followed by HPLC-UV for efficient enrichment of colchicine in root of colchicium extracts and plasma samples.

In present work, facile method is developed for determination of colchicine in human plasma sample, autumn and spring root of colchicium extracts by ultrasound assisted dispersive magnetic solid phase microextraction followed by HPLC-UV method (UAD-MSPME-HPLC-UV). Magnetic (FeO-nanoparticles) metal organic framework-5, (MOF-5(Zn)-FeONPs) was synthesized by dispersing MOF-5 and Fe(NO).9HO in ethylene glycol (as capping agent) and NaOH (pH adjustment agent) by hydrothermal method.

Efficient tRNA degradation and quantification in Escherichia coli cell extract using RNase-coated magnetic beads: A key step toward codon emancipation.

Emancipating sense codons toward a minimized genetic code is of significant interest to science and engineering. A key approach toward sense codon emancipation is the targeted in vitro removal of native tRNA. However, challenges remain such as the insufficient depletion of tRNA in lysate-based in vitro systems and the high cost of the purified components system (PURE).

Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Approach to Biosensing hTRβ-Specific Endocrine Disruptors.

Here we introduce a Rapid Adaptable Portable In vitro Detection biosensor platform (RAPID) for detecting ligands that interact with nuclear hormone receptors (NHRs). The RAPID platform can be adapted for field use, allowing rapid evaluation of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) presence or absence in environmental samples, and can also be applied for drug screening. The biosensor is based on an engineered, allosterically activated fusion protein, which contains the ligand binding domain from a target NHR (human thyroid receptor β in this work).

Escherichia coli-based cell-free extract development for protein-based cancer therapeutic production.

Cell-free protein synthesis has been around for decades but it has never been close to becoming a robust tool for the production of biotherapeutic agents. In this review, we focus on how Escherichia coli-based cell-free protein synthesis can be modified in various ways to produce challenging, complex anticancer biotherapeutics. Here we report progress in extract preparation and its relation to cell-free cancer research.

Efficient decellularization of whole porcine kidneys improves reseeded cell behavior.

Combining patient-specific cells with the appropriate scaffold to create functional kidneys is a promising technology to provide immunocompatible kidneys for the 100,000+ patients on the organ waiting list. For proper recellularization to occur, the scaffold must possess the critical microstructure and an intact vascular network. Detergent perfusion through the vasculature of a kidney is the preferred method of decellularization; however, harsh detergents could be damaging to the microstructure of the renal tissue and may undesirably solubilize the endogenous growth and signaling factors.