Facile and eco-friendly method of starch nanocrystals esterified with oleic acid using natural clay as a catalyst: Synthesis, Box-Behnken optimization, characterization and analysis of thermal and antioxidant properties.

This study investigates the synthesis of corn starch nanocrystals (SNCs) via sulfuric acid hydrolysis. Esterification of oleic acid (OA) with SNCs was carried out using Maghnite-H as a catalyst, a non-polluting, eco-friendly proton-exchanged montmorillonite-based green catalyst suitable for various chemical processes. Optimization of synthesis parameters, including reaction temperature, duration, and catalyst quantity, was conducted using response surface methodology (RSM) with a central composite design incorporating three factors and three levels.

Analysis of Bioactive Aroma Compounds in Essential Oils from Algerian Plants: Implications for Potential Antioxidant Applications.

In samples of (AC), (AHA) and (SJ) essential oils, up to 200 distinct volatile compounds were identified. Using headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-O-MS), different panelists detected 52 of these compounds. This study offers the most detailed analysis of bioactive compound profiles conducted so far.

Syntheses and Characterizations of CuInZnSe Chalcopyrite Nanoparticles.

CuInZnSe powders with various atomic percentages (x = 0, 0.05, 0.11, 0.

Structure, Dynamics, and Photophysical Properties of a Series of [Pt(NHR)]-[PtX] Complexes.

Theoretical investigations of the structural, dynamics, and photophysical properties of Magnus' green salt complex and its derivatives obtained with different substituent were carried out at different levels of theory with a particular focus on the structure and the dynamics of the complex in the ground state and the excited state. The present work illustrates the results of both the quantum mechanics formulation of the time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) (LR-TDDFT-QM) and TDDFT based Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (LR-TDDFT-BOMD) within the linear response theory. The appropriate choice of the functional within the LR-TDDFT-QM approach appears to be of major importance to get relatively satisfactory results for the photophysical properties and the absorption spectra of such type of complexes.

Anthropo-niche characterization of Mediterranean cephalopods with trace elements and isotopic niches.

Human pressure leaves a mark on coastal ecosystems that can be used to study the ecology of marine species. This study compared the trace elements (TEs) composition and isotopic niche metrics of the squid Loligo vulgaris, the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis and the octopus Octopus vulgaris in the western Mediterranean Sea. The results revealed that anthropogenic pressure clearly affected coastal waters and the habitat use of these three cephalopods.

Genetic association study between T-786C NOS3 polymorphism and essential hypertension in an Algerian population of the Oran city.

Background: Essential hypertension is an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. Important candidate genes such as NOS3 gene have been widely studied and reported to be associated with essential hypertension (HTN) in human populations.

Aim: We aim in this study to analyze the relationship between NOS3 -786T/C, a common genetic variant and HTN in a sample of the Algerian population of the Oran city.

Influence of medicinal and aromatic plants into risk assessment of a new bioactive packaging based on polylactic acid (PLA).

A new biodegradable antioxidant active packaging for food applications based on antioxidants from medicinal and aromatic plants incorporated into a polylactic acid matrix was designed and developed. Melt blending processing technique was applied to prepare polylactic acid films loaded by sage and lemon balm leaves. Antioxidant properties of developed active films were investigated using the following methods: 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid), 2,2-diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)hydrazyl and a home-made generator of hydroxyl radicals.

Temperature effect on the structure and conformational fluctuations in two zinc knuckles from the mouse mammary tumor virus.

Zinc fingers are small protein domains in which zinc plays a structural role, contributing to the stability of the zinc-peptide complex. Zinc fingers are structurally diverse and are present in proteins that perform a broad range of functions in various cellular processes, such as replication and repair, transcription and translation, metabolism and signaling, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. Zinc fingers typically function as interaction modules and bind to a wide variety of compounds, such as nucleic acids, proteins, and small molecules.

Phytochemical profiles, antioxidant and anti-acetylcholinesterasic activities of the leaf extracts of subsp. (L.) Jahand. & Maire in different solvents.

In this work, the extracts obtained with different solvents from the leaves of subsp. (L.) Jahand.

Effect of mutation on the stabilization energy of HIV-1 zinc fingers: a hybrid local self-consistent field/molecular mechanics investigation.

Metal-ligand interactions give rise to a wide variety of metal complexes with various physical properties and chemical behaviours and numerous practical applications. The ability of the zinc ion to enhance the structural stability of many proteins by electrostatic interactions or by co-ordination with surrounding amino acids makes it the most important metal ion found in biological systems. In this paper, we highlight the importance of non-covalent interaction established between a metal ion and its environment in stabilizing biomolecules.

The relationship between MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism and essential hypertension in a sample of an Algerian population of Oran city.

Background: Many studies have investigated the role of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T gene polymorphism in essential hypertension (EH), but with conflicting results.

Aim: To determine the eventual association between 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T gene polymorphism and hypertension in a sample of Algerian population from the Oran city.

Methods: A case-control study has been performed in 154 subjects including 82 hypertensives defined as subjects with elevated systolic blood pressure SBD≥140mmHg and or sustained diastolic blood pressure DBP≥90mmHg, and 72 normotensive subjects.

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Echium confusum Coincy.

Four pyrrolizidine alkaloids, namely 7-O-angeloyllycopsamine N-oxide 1, echimidine N-oxide 2, echimidine 3 and 7-O-angeloylretronecine 4, were isolated for the first time from the whole plant ethanolic extract of Echium confusum Coincy, through bioassay-guided approach. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic means. All the isolates compounds showed moderate activities in inhibiting AChE, with IC50 0.

Artificial neural network models for prediction of daily fine particulate matter concentrations in Algiers.

Neural network (NN) models were evaluated for the prediction of suspended particulates with aerodynamic diameter less than 10-μm (PM10) concentrations. The model evaluation work considered the sequential hourly concentration time series of PM10, which were measured at El Hamma station in Algiers. Artificial neural network models were developed using a combination of meteorological and time-scale as input variables.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids from Solenanthus lanatus DC. with acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity.

The whole plant ethanolic extract of Solenanthus lanatus was used for the isolation of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. A new pyrrolizidine alkaloid, 7-O-angeloylechinatine N-oxide, 1, was isolated together with three known compounds of the same class (3'-O-acetylheliosupine N-oxide, 2, heliosupine N-oxide, 3, and heliosupine, 4), by bioassay-guided approach. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods.

Association study between some renin-angiotensin system gene variants and essential hypertension in a sample of Algerian population: case control study.

Essential hypertension is an important risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. We aim in this study to analyse the relationship between AGT M235T gene variant and ACE I/D gene variant with essential hypertension in a sample of the Algerian population of the Oran city. A case-control study has been performed in 145 subjects including; 75 hypertensives and 70 controls from Algerian population of Oran city.

Forecasting PM10 in Algiers: efficacy of multilayer perceptron networks.

Air quality forecasting system has acquired high importance in atmospheric pollution due to its negative impacts on the environment and human health. The artificial neural network is one of the most common soft computing methods that can be pragmatic for carving such complex problem. In this paper, we used a multilayer perceptron neural network to forecast the daily averaged concentration of the respirable suspended particulates with aerodynamic diameter of not more than 10 μm (PM10) in Algiers, Algeria.

Impact of urban and industrial effluents on the coastal marine environment in Oran, Algeria.

In Algeria most of the urban waste water is dumped without treatment into the Sea. It is tremendously important to assess the consequences of organic matter rich sewage on marine ecosystem. In this study we investigated the effects of industrial and urban sewage on the dissolved oxygen (O2), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demands (BOD5), pH, salinity, electrical conductivity (EC), Metal element (Hg, Pb, Cu, Ni, Cr, Cd), petroleum hydrocarbons (HC), oil and grease (OG) in Bay of Oran, Algeria.