Theoretical and molecular mechanistic investigations of novel (3-(furan-2-yl)pyrazol-4-yl) chalcones against lung carcinoma cell line (A549).

A new chalcone series has been developed that may be useful in the treatment of lung cancer. The new series was confirmed by the different spectral tools. MTT assay was used to detect the cytotoxic effect of the novel chalcones against lung cancer cell line (A549).

Curcumin, thymoquinone, and 3, 3'-diindolylmethane combinations attenuate lung and liver cancers progression.

Cancer can develop due to abnormal cell proliferation in any body's cells, so there are over a hundred different types of cancer, each with its distinct behavior and response to treatment. Therefore, many studies have been conducted to slow cancer progression and find effective and safe therapies. Nutraceuticals have great attention for their anticancer potential.

Curcumin and Thymoquinone Combination Attenuates Breast Cancer Cell Lines' Progression.

Breast cancer is the most harmful malignancy in women worldwide. Therefore, in the current study, we investigated the combinatory effect of natural bioactive compounds, including curcumin (Cur) and thymoquinone (TQ), on MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines' progression. We investigated the Fa values and combination index of Cur and TQ in this context.

Thymoquinone and Costunolide Induce Apoptosis of Both Proliferative and Doxorubicin-Induced-Senescent Colon and Breast Cancer Cells.

Doxorubicin (Dox) induces senescence in numerous cancer cell types, but these senescent cancer cells relapse again if they are not eliminated. On this principle, we investigated the apoptotic effect of thymoquinone (TQ), the active ingredient of seeds and costunolide (COS), the active ingredient of , on the senescent colon (Sen-HCT116) and senescent breast (Sen-MCF7) cancer cell lines in reference to their corresponding proliferative cells to rapidly eliminate the senescent cancer cells. The senescence markers of Sen-HCT116 and Sen-MCF7 were determined by a significant decrease in bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and significant increases in SA-β-gal, p53, and p21 levels.

Antibacterial potency, cell viability and morphological implications of copper oxide nanoparticles encapsulated into cellulose acetate nanofibrous scaffolds.

It is generally believed that the most challenging impediment for the utilization of cellulose acetate (CA) in the medical field is its hydrophobicity and disability to poison the harmful microbes. Therefore, in this contribution, we aimed to prepare an environmentally scaffold-based CA loaded with copper nanoparticles (CuONPs), which are expected to not only improve the hydrophilicity of the prepared nanofibers, but also have an effective ability to kill such harmful and infectious microbes that are abundant in wounds. The obtained results attested that the generated nanofibers became thicker with increasing the content of CuONPs in CA nanofibers.

A Bioactive Fraction from sp. Enhances Maize Tolerance against Drought Stress.

Drought stress is threatening the growth and productivity of many economical crops. Therefore, it is necessary to establish innovative and efficient approaches for improving crop growth and productivity. Here we investigated the potentials of the cell-free extract of Actinobacteria (Ac) isolated from a semi-arid habitat (Al-Jouf region, Saudi Arabia) to recover the reduction in maize growth and improve the physiological stress tolerance induced by drought.

Panax ginseng improves glucose metabolism in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats through 5' adenosine monophosphate kinase up-regulation.

5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), insulin receptors and transporters are distorted in diabetes mellitus. In this study, the effect of was assessed on glucose manipulating enzymes activities and gene expression of AMPK, IRA and GLUT2 in streptozotocin-induced diabetic male rats. Forty male albino rats were randomly divided to four groups 10 rats of each, group I, normal control group (received saline orally); group II, normal rats received 200 mg/kg of orally; group III, Streptozotocin (STZ) -induced diabetic rats and group IV, STZ-induced diabetic rats received 200 mg/kg of orally.

Synthesis and characterization of new Cr(III), Fe(III) and Cu(II) complexes incorporating multi-substituted aryl imidazole ligand: Structural, DFT, DNA binding, and biological implications.

Designing new metal-based molecular antibiotics is an efficient approach to overcome the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance. In this paper, novel Cr(III), Fe(III) and Cu(II) complexes comprising substituted aryl imidazole ligand (MSEB), namely (2-(1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazole-2-yl)(4-bromophenol)) have been synthesized and characterized using infra-red (IR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and H, C NMR spectroscopic techniques, together with elemental (CHN) and thermogravimetric analyses, molar conductance, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The combined results along with the DFT calculations revealed a 1:1 (M: L) stoichiometric ratio and the complexes adopted distorted-octahedral geometries to afford [Cr(MSEB)Cl(HO)], [Fe(MSEB)(NO)(HO)] and [Cu(MSEB)Cl(HO)] respectively.

Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles for Trace Colorimetric Sensing of Enzyme Disrupter Fungicide Vinclozolin.

We report a novel, simple, efficient, and green protocol for biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in aqueous solution using clove () extract as a reducing and protecting agent. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy was employed to monitor the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) band of clove extract-derived AgNPs prepared under various conditions. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis provided information about the surface interaction of the clove extract with the AgNPs.

Comparative metagenomics approaches to characterize the soil fungal communities of western coastal region, Saudi Arabia.

A total of 145007 reads were obtained from pyrosequencing for all the 4 samples. The total count ranged from 11,301,014 (Mecca old road) to 23,503,512 bp (Thuwal). A total of 460 fungal species belonging to 133 genera, 58 families, 33 orders, 13 classes and 4 phyla was identified across the four sites.

Metagenomic analysis of fungal taxa inhabiting Mecca region, Saudi Arabia.

The data presented contains the sequences of fungal Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) and 18S rRNA gene from a metagenome of the Mecca region, Saudi Arabia. Sequences were amplified using fungal specific primers, which amplified the amplicon aligned between the 18S and 28S rRNA genes. A total of 460 fungal species belonging to 133 genera, 58 families, 33 orders, 13 classes and 4 phyla were identified in four contrasting locations.

Chicken cathelicidins as potent intrinsically disordered biocides with antimicrobial activity against infectious pathogens.

This study was performed to identify the expression patterns of the cathelicidin genes in a local chicken breed and to evaluate the antimicrobial activities of the cathelicidin peptides against pathogenic bacteria. This analysis revealed that the coding regions of CATH-1, -2, and -3 genes contain 447 bp, 465 bp, and 456 bp, respectively, and encode proteins of 148, 154, 151 amino acids, respectively. The complete amino acid sequences of the cathelicidin peptides are similar to those found in Meleagris gallopavo, Phasianus colchicus, and Coturnix coturnix, and show high sequence identity to their Columba livia and Anas platyrhynchos counterparts.

Fatty acid constituents of Peganum harmala plant using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy.

Fatty acid contents of the Peganum harmala plant as a result of hexane extraction were analyzed using GC-MS. The saturated fatty acid composition of the harmal plant was tetradecanoic, pentadecanoic, tridecanoic, hexadecanoic, heptadecanoic and octadecanoic acids, while the saturated fatty acid derivatives were 12-methyl tetradecanoic, 5,9,13-trimethyl tetradecanoic and 2-methyl octadecanoic acids. The most abundant fatty acid was hexadecanoic with concentration 48.

Abundance and functional roles of intrinsic disorder in the antimicrobial peptides of the NK-lysin family.

NK-lysins are antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that participate in the innate immune response and also have several pivotal roles in various biological processes. Such multifunctionality is commonly found among intrinsically disordered proteins. However, NK-lysins have never been systematically analyzed for intrinsic disorder.

Biocidal activity of chicken defensin-9 against microbial pathogens.

In this study we identified the expression patterns of β-defensin-9 in chickens from Saudi Arabia, evaluated the antimicrobial activities of synthetic chicken β-defensin-9 (sAvBD-9) against pathogenic bacteria and fungi, and investigated the mode of action of sAvBD-9 on bacterial cells. The AvBD-9 gene of Saudi chickens encodes a polypeptide of 67 amino acids, which is highly similar to the polypeptide in duck, quail, and goose (97%, 86%, and 87%, respectively) and shares a low sequence similarity with the mammalian defensins. AvBD-9 is expressed in various organs and tissues of Saudi chickens and inhibits the growth of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, as well as showing activity against unicellular and multicellular fungi (Aspergillus flavus, A.

Arthrocladium, an unexpected human opportunist in Trichomeriaceae (Chaetothyriales).

The family Trichomeriaceae (Chaetothyriales) mainly comprises epiphytic and epilithic organisms. In some species elaborate ascomata are formed, but for the great majority the species no asexual conidium formation is known other than simple fragmentation of the thallus. The present paper re-establishes the genus Arthrocladium with three non-sporulating species.

Ameliorative Effect of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Antioxidants and Sperm Characteristics in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rat Testes.

The present study investigated the impact of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) on the oxidative status and sperm characteristics in diabetic rat testicular tissue. Forty male albino rats were used in this study; 10 of them served as a control and 30 rats were injected with a single dose (100 mg/kg) of streptozotocin intraperitoneally. They were subdivided into diabetic, diabetic + ZnONPs (10 mg/kg B.

Molecular and biochemical investigations on the effect of quercetin on oxidative stress induced by cisplatin in rat kidney.

The present study was aimed to investigate the ability of quercetin (QE) to ameliorate adverse effects of cisplatin (Cis.) on the renal tissue antioxidants by investigating the kidney antioxidant gene expression and the antioxidant enzymes activity. Forty rats divided into.

Antiviral activity of Thuja orientalis extracts against watermelon mosaic virus (WMV) on Citrullus lanatus.

Watermelon mosaic potyvirus (WMV) is considered as an important virus infecting watermelon and causing adverse effects on crop productivity. To overcome this problem one of the main objectives of plant breeders is to make these strains less effective in the ability to infect plants by treatment with plant extracts. Due to the advantages of plant tissue culture, in vitro, in the process of the selection of different cultivars under biotic stress, this study was conducted to achieve this aim by evaluating the effect of three concentrations of Thuja extract on the multiplication of WMV in watermelon by measuring callus fresh weight and soluble proteins (mg g(-1) fresh weight) of healthy and infected hypocotyl explants.

Molecular mechanisms of anti-hyperglycemic effects of Costus speciosus extract in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Objectives: To investigate the mechanisms of the anti-hyperglycemic effect of Costus speciosus (C. speciosus) root ethanolic extracts (CSREt) by assessing its action on insulin synthesis and glucose catabolic enzyme gene expression and activities in streptozotocin (STZ) diabetic rats.

Methods: This study was carried out at the Biochemical Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt between July and August 2013.

Biological effects of pyrimethinal on aquatic worms (Tubifex tubifex) under laboratory conditions.

Laboratory studies were conducted to determine the effects of different concentrations of pyrimethinal on protein contents, and some oxidative stress in Tubifex tubifex after an exposure of 2, 4, and 7 days. Residues of the fungicide were followed in water and in the worms. In water, pyrimethinal concentration decreased slowly (maximum -6.

Influence of inoculation with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on tomato plant growth and nematode reproduction under greenhouse conditions.

Numerous species of soil bacteria which flourish in the rhizosphere of plants or around plant tissues stimulate plant growth and reduce nematode population by antagonistic behavior. These bacteria are collectively known as PGPR (plant growth promoting rhizobacteria). The effects of six isolates of PGPR Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Serratia marcescens, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus, were studied on tomato plant growth and root knot nematode reproduction after 45 days from nematode infection.

Characterization and chemical composition of fatty acids content of watermelon and muskmelon cultivars in Saudi Arabia using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy.

Background: The growth in the production of biodiesel, which is principally fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), has been phenomenal in the last ten years because of the general desire to cut down on the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and also as a result of the increasing cost of fossil fuels.

Objective: Establish whether there is any relationship between two different species (watermelon and muskmelon) within the same family (Cucurbitaceae) on fatty acid compositions and enumerate the different fatty acids in the two species.

Materials And Methods: Extraction of fatty acids from the two species and preparation the extract to gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy analysis to determine the fatty acids compositions qualitatively and quantitatively.