Taxonomic notes on the genus Afghanicenus Heyrovsk, 1941 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), with the first record of Afghanicenus nuristanicus (Heyrovsk, 1936) from Pakistan.

Afghanicenus nuristanicus (Heyrovsk, 1936) is hereby newly recorded from Pakistan based on a specimen collected at the beginning of the 20th century and preserved in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London. High quality colour images of the type material (a male syntype of Purpuricenus nuristanicus and a female syntype of P. nuristanicus f.

Nontoxic In Vivo Clearable Nanoparticle Clusters for Theranostic Applications.

Disintegrable inorganic nanoclusters (GIONs) with gold seed (GS) coating of an iron oxide core with a primary nanoparticle size less than 6 nm were prepared for theranostic applications. The GIONs possessed a broad near-infrared (NIR) absorbance at ∼750 nm because of plasmon coupling between closely positioned GSs on the iron oxide nanoclusters (ION) surface, in addition to the ∼513 nm peak corresponding to the isolated GS. The NIR laser-triggered photothermal response of GIONs was found to be concentration-dependent with a temperature rise of ∼8.

Role of Microglia and Astrocytes in Spinal Cord Injury Induced Neuropathic Pain.

Background: Spinal cord injuries incite varying degrees of symptoms in patients, ranging from weakness and incoordination to paralysis. Common amongst spinal cord injury (SCI) patients, neuropathic pain (NP) is a debilitating medical condition. Unfortunately, there remain many clinical impediments in treating NP because there is a lack of understanding regarding the mechanisms behind SCI-induced NP (SCINP).

Biodegradable Protein-Stabilized Inorganic Nanoassemblies for Photothermal Radiotherapy of Hepatoma Cells.

Inorganic nanomaterials require optimal engineering to retain their functionality yet can also biodegrade within physiological conditions to avoid chronic accumulation in their native form. In this work, we have developed gelatin-stabilized iron oxide nanoclusters having a primary crystallite size of ∼10 nm and surface-functionalized with indocyanine green (ICG)-bound albumin-stabilized gold nanoclusters (Prot-IONs). The Prot-IONs are designed to undergo disintegration in an acidic microenvironment of tumor in the presence of proteolytic enzymes within 72 h.

Solid lipid nanoparticles for ocular delivery of isoniazid: evaluation, proof of concept and in vivo safety & kinetics.

Aim: Evaluation of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) for ocular delivery of isoniazid (INH).

Materials & Methods: INH-SLNs were characterized for morphological, thermal, crystalline and nuclear magnetic resonance properties. In vitro release and ex vivo corneal permeability of INH-SLNs was also evaluated.

Scale-dependent diffusion anisotropy in nanoporous silicon.

Nanoporous silicon produced by electrochemical etching of highly B-doped p-type silicon wafers can be prepared with tubular pores imbedded in a silicon matrix. Such materials have found many technological applications and provide a useful model system for studying phase transitions under confinement. This paper reports a joint experimental and simulation study of diffusion in such materials, covering displacements from molecular dimensions up to tens of micrometers with carefully selected probe molecules.

Uncoupling of an ammonia channel as a mechanism of allosteric inhibition in anthranilate synthase of Serratia marcescens: dynamic and graph theoretical analysis.

Anthranilate synthase (AS) is the first branch node enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of chorismate to anthranilate in the high energy-consuming tryptophan biosynthetic pathway in Serratia marcescens. AS, with an allosterically-bound inhibitor (tryptophan), shows complete inhibition in its catalytic function, but the inhibitor-bound structure is very similar to that of the substrate-bound AS. Even though the reaction mechanisms of several chorismate-utilizing enzymes are known, the unusual structure-function relationship in catalysis and allosteric inhibition of AS by tryptophan, with an insignificant change in structure, remains elusive.

Metabolomic profiling of the phytomedicinal constituents of Carica papaya L. leaves and seeds by 1H NMR spectroscopy and multivariate statistical analysis.

Extracts from the Carica papaya L. plant are widely reported to contain metabolites with antibacterial, antioxidant and anticancer activity. This study aims to analyze the metabolic profiles of papaya leaves and seeds in order to gain insights into their phytomedicinal constituents.

The molecular response of vanadium complexes of nicotinoyl hydrazone in cervical cancers--a possible interference with HPV oncogenic markers.

Aims: Hydrazones belonging to the class of NNO donor Schiff bases are reported to have extensive anti-viral activity and anti-neoplastic activity against certain cancers such as colon cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and testicular cancer. Here we aim to study the possible effects of two novel nicotinoyl hydrazones on Human papillomavirus (HPV) infected cervical cancers.

Main Methods: The effect of vanadium complexes on the proliferation of SiHa and HeLa cells was analyzed using MTT assay.

Glutathione utilization by Candida albicans requires a functional glutathione degradation (DUG) pathway and OPT7, an unusual member of the oligopeptide transporter family.

Candida albicans lacks the ability to survive within its mammalian host in the absence of endogenous glutathione biosynthesis. To examine the ability of this yeast to utilize exogenous glutathione, we exploited the organic sulfur auxotrophy of C. albicans met15Δ strains.