The tomato EAR-motif repressor, SlERF36, accelerates growth transitions and reduces plant life cycle by regulating GA levels and responses.

Faster vegetative growth and early maturity/harvest reduce plant life cycle time and are important agricultural traits facilitating early crop rotation. GA is a key hormone governing developmental transitions that determine growth speed in plants. An EAR-motif repressor, SlERF36 that regulates various growth transitions, partly through regulation of the GA pathway and GA levels, was identified in tomato.

Bridging the gap: harnessing liquid nanomachine know-how for tackling harmful airborne particulates.

The emergence of "nanomotors", "nanomachines", and "nanorobotics" has transformed dynamic nanoparticle research, driving a transition from passive to active and intelligent nanoscale systems. This review examines two critical fields: the investigation of airborne particles, significant contributors to air pollution, and the rapidly emerging domain of catalytic and field-controlled nano- and micromotors. We examine the basic concepts of nano- and micromachines in motion and envision their possible use in a gaseous medium to trap and neutralize hazardous particulates.

In vitro screening of natural product-based compounds for leishmanicidal activity.

Leishmaniasis is one of the major parasitic diseases, caused by obligate intracellular protozoa having high mortality as well as morbidity rate. As there is no human licensed vaccine available against leishmaniasis, chemotherapy remains the major way of combating this disease. Many disadvantages are known to be associated with the current drug regime including severe side effects and toxicity, long duration and expensive treatment, and the emergence of resistance.

Rapid method of arsenic estimation in geological samples by WD-XRF using a novel concept of As-Pb concentration equivalence.

The presence of arsenic in ground waters of many countries has been a subject of global concern due to its toxicity. Primary sources of arsenic are geogenic, i.e.

Photoinduced Decarboxylative C3-H Alkylation of Quinoxalin-2(1)-ones.

An efficient, catalyst- and additive-free, visible-light-driven radical C3-H alkylation of quinoxalin-2(1)-one derivatives has been developed. This reaction utilizes alkyl-NHP-esters as an alkyl radical donor and quinoxalin-2(1)-one derivatives as an alkyl radical acceptor. The operationally simple protocol works under mild reaction conditions and tolerates a variety of functional groups.

Total Synthesis and Determination of Absolute Configuration of Cryptorigidifoliol G.

The first asymmetric total synthesis of (1,5,7)-cryptorigidifoliol G and (1,5,7)-cryptorigidifoliol G of the proposed natural product was achieved. The key steps in the synthesis involved Keck-Maruoka allylation, our own developed protocol for the construction of the -2,6-disubstituted dihydropyran, iodolactonization, cross-metathesis, Prins cyclization, and -Wittig olefination reaction. A comparison of the NMR as well as analytical data and thorough analysis of the 2D NMR suggested that the absolute stereochemistry of the proposed natural product is (1,5,7)-cryptorigidifoliol G.

Frailty in individuals with depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders: longitudinal analyses of all-cause mortality.

Background: Frailty is a medical syndrome that is strongly associated with mortality risk and an emerging global health burden. Mental disorders are associated with reduced life expectancy and elevated levels of frailty. In this study, we examined the mortality risk associated with frailty in individuals with a lifetime history of mental disorders compared to individuals without a history of mental disorders.

Predicting Aggressive Behavior in Nonfunctional Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors With Emphasis on Tumor Size Significance and Survival Trends: A Population-Based Analysis of 1787 Patients.

Background: Nonfunctional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-PNETs) are rare tumors with continued controversies in management. This study aims to identify demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics associated with aggressive behavior and survival.

Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was used to identify patients with NF-PNETs from 1988 to 2012.

Interface-mediated spontaneous symmetry breaking and mutual communication between drops containing chemically active particles.

Symmetry breaking and the emergence of self-organized patterns is the hallmark of complexity. Here, we demonstrate that a sessile drop, containing titania powder particles with negligible self-propulsion, exhibits a transition to collective motion leading to self-organized flow patterns. This phenomenology emerges through a novel mechanism involving the interplay between the chemical activity of the photocatalytic particles, which induces Marangoni stresses at the liquid-liquid interface, and the geometrical confinement provided by the drop.

Total Synthesis of (-)-Citreoisocoumarin, (-)-Citreoisocoumarinol, (-)-12--Citreoisocoumarinol, and (-)-Mucorisocoumarins A and B Using a Gold(I)-Catalyzed Cyclization Strategy.

A unified and concise first asymmetric total synthesis of (-)-citreoisocoumarin (), (-)-citreoisocoumarinol (), 12--citreoisocoumarinol (), and (-)-mucorisocoumarins A () and B () have been accomplished from the common intermediate (-)-6--methyl-citreoisocoumarin (). Central to the synthetic approach is a regioselective gold(I)-catalyzed 6-- cyclization strategy for the construction of the isocoumarin skeleton. The other key steps in this approach included Sonogashira coupling, Tsuji-Wacker oxidation, Evans-Saksena's 1,3--reduction, and Narasaka-Prasad's 1,3--reduction.

The Mukaiyama type aldol reaction for the synthesis of trans-2,6-disubstituted tetrahydropyrans: synthesis of diospongin A and B.

An efficient synthesis protocol for the preparation of trans-2,6-disubstituted tetrahydropyrans by the reaction of 1-phenyl-1-triemthylsiloxyethylene with six membered cyclic hemiacetals in the presence of iodine is developed. This reaction proceeds smoothly under mild conditions employing a catalytic amount of molecular iodine. The feature of this novel conversion includes milder reaction conditions, broader substrate scope, functional group tolerance and good diastereoselectivity.

Chemical Nanomotors at the Gram Scale Form a Dense Active Optorheological Medium.

The rheological properties of a colloidal suspension are a function of the concentration of the colloids and their interactions. While suspensions of passive colloids are well studied and have been shown to form crystals, gels, and glasses, examples of energy-consuming "active" colloidal suspensions are still largely unexplored. Active suspensions of biological matter, such as motile bacteria or dense mixtures of active actin-motor-protein mixtures have, respectively, reveals superfluid-like and gel-like states.

Non-Equilibrium Assembly of Light-Activated Colloidal Mixtures.

The collective phenomena exhibited by artificial active matter systems present novel routes to fabricating out-of-equilibrium microscale assemblies. Here, the crystallization of passive silica colloids into well-controlled 2D assemblies is shown, which is directed by a small number of self-propelled active colloids. The active colloids are titania-silica Janus particles that are propelled when illuminated by UV light.

Nanodiamonds That Swim.

Nanodiamonds are emerging as nanoscale quantum probes for bio-sensing and imaging. This necessitates the development of new methods to accurately manipulate their position and orientation in aqueous solutions. The realization of an "active" nanodiamond (ND) swimmer in fluids, composed of a ND crystal containing nitrogen vacancy centers and a light-driven self-thermophoretic micromotor, is reported.

Surface roughness-induced speed increase for active Janus micromotors.

We demonstrate a simple physical fabrication method to control surface roughness of Janus micromotors and fabricate self-propelled active Janus microparticles with rough catalytic platinum surfaces that show a four-fold increase in their propulsion speed compared to conventional Janus particles coated with a smooth Pt layer.

Analysis of complete nutritional profile and identification of bioactive components present in Alocasia indica tuber cultivated in Howrah District of West Bengal, India.

Objective: To assess the complete nutritional profile and identification of bioactive components present in the hydro-ethanolic extract of Alocasia indica tuber.

Methods: The proximate composition and vitamins were assessed from fresh tissue while mineral content was detected from the ash using inductively coupled plasma atomic spectrophotometer. For gas chromatography analysis, the tubers were shade dried and extracted with ethanol using Soxhlet apparatus for 72 h.

Development of an amperometric hypoxanthine biosensor for determination of hypoxanthine in fish and meat tissue.

A hypoxanthine (Hx) biosensor based on immobilized xanthine oxidase (XO) as the bio-component was developed and studied for the rapid analysis of fish (sweet water and marine) and goat meat samples. The biosensor was standardized for the determination of Hx in the range of 0.05 to 2 mM.

Two high throughput technologies to detect segmental aneuploidies identify new Williams-Beuren syndrome patients with atypical deletions.

Objective: To develop and compare two new technologies for diagnosing a contiguous gene syndrome, the Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS).

Methods: The first proposed method, named paralogous sequence quantification (PSQ), is based on the use of paralogous sequences located on different chromosomes and quantification of specific mismatches present at these loci using pyrosequencing technology. The second exploits quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) to assess the relative quantity of an analysed locus.

Growth-regulated recruitment of the essential yeast ribosomal protein gene activator Ifh1.

Regulation of ribosome biogenesis is central to the control of cell growth. In rapidly growing yeast cells, ribosomal protein (RP) genes account for approximately one-half of all polymerase II transcription-initiation events, yet these genes are markedly and coordinately downregulated in response to a number of environmental stress conditions, or during the transition from fermentation to respiration. Although several conserved signalling pathways (TOR, RAS/protein kinase A and protein kinase C) impinge upon RP gene transcription, little is known about how initiation at these genes is controlled.

Detection of aneuploidies by paralogous sequence quantification.

Background: Chromosomal aneuploidies are a common cause of congenital disorders associated with cognitive impairment and multiple dysmorphic features. Pre-natal diagnosis of aneuploidies is most commonly performed by the karyotyping of fetal cells obtained by amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, but this method is labour intensive and requires about 14 days to complete.

Methods: We have developed a PCR based method for the detection of targeted chromosome number abnormalities termed paralogous sequence quantification (PSQ), based on the use of paralogous genes.

Polymorphisms in the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5) gene are associated with variation in vertebral bone mass, vertebral bone size, and stature in whites.

Stature, bone size, and bone mass are interrelated traits with high heritability, but the major genes that govern these phenotypes remain unknown. Independent genomewide quantitative-trait locus studies have suggested a locus for bone-mineral density and stature at chromosome 11q12-13, a region harboring the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5) gene. Mutations in the LRP5 gene were recently implicated in osteoporosis-pseudoglioma and "high-bone-mass" syndromes.

Hydatid disease: an unusual breast lump.

Hydatid disease of the breast is rare, but it should be included under differential diagnosis of a breast lump especially in endemic areas of this disease. Fine needle aspiration cytology can provide a safe pre-operative diagnosis, although mammogram, ultrasonography of breast, magnetic resonance imaging and serological tests like Casoni's test can also be done. Complete excision of the cyst without spillage can be a curative procedure for primary hydatid cyst of the breast.