Bioelectricity production from soil using microbial fuel cells.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a device using microorganisms as biocatalysts for transforming chemical energy into bioelectricity. As soil is an environment with the highest number of microorganisms and diversity, we hypothesized that it should have the potential for energy generation. The soil used for the study was Mollic Gleysol collected from the surface layer (0-20 cm).

Towards β-selectivity in functional estrogen receptor antagonists.

Based on the benzo[b]naphtho[1,2-d]furan and benzo[b]naphtho[1,2-d]thiophene frameworks, a series of ligands with different basic side chains (BSCs) has been synthesized and pharmacologically evaluated. Also, their binding modes have been modelled using docking techniques. It was found that the introduction of a BSC in these systems brings about a decrease of affinity for both estrogen receptors α and β in an in vitro competitive binding assay.