BioChem Technology (United States)

Malachite green–contaminated wastewater discharged without proper treatment poses serious risks to human health and the environment. Therefore, this study evaluated the adsorptive removal of malachite green from aqueous solution using activated carbon derived from anchote peel. The adsorbent was prepared via chemical activation with phosphoric acid followed by thermal activation in the absence of oxidizing agents. Adsorption optimization was performed using the Box–Behnken design of response surface methodology with four variables: pH (3, 6, 9), initial dye concentration (50, 100, 150 mg/L), adsorbent dosage (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 g/100 mL), and contact time (30, 60, 90 min), resulting in 30 experimental runs. The maximum dye removal efficiency of 99.07% was achieved at pH 9, 50 mg/L initial concentration, 1.5 g/100 mL dosage, and 90 min contact time. ANOVA confirmed strong agreement between adjusted and predicted values (R² = 0.9935 and 0.9917) based on the quadratic regression model. These findings demonstrate that anchote peel–based activated carbon is an efficient adsorbent for malachite green removal, and its optimization using the Box–Behnken design provides a promising approach for large-scale treatment of dye-laden industrial wastewater

Power management in advanced power distribution systems integrated with Photovoltaic (PV) sources, batteries, and Super Capacitors (SCs) plays a vital role in ensuring stable and efficient energy flow. However, these systems often face drawbacks such as increased energy consumption due to inefficient control strategies, higher emissions from backup conventional sources during low PV output, and elevated operational costs from frequent battery cycling and system maintenance, despite efforts to improve efficiency and enhance renewable energy utilization. To overcome these drawbacks, this manuscript proposes an approach for optimal power management in a power distribution system with RES. The suggested method is the combination of both the Greater Cane Rat Algorithm (GrCRA) and Pre-Activated Convolution Residual and Triple Attention Mechanism Network (PCRTAM-Net), termed as the GrCRA-PCRTAM-Net approach. The primary aim of the suggested method is to reduce energy consumption, emissions, and operational cost while maximizing efficiency and renewable energy utilization in an advanced power distribution system. GrCRA optimizes the allocation and scheduling of power resources in advanced power distribution systems. PCRTAM-Net predicts future power demand and renewable energy generation patterns to support optimal power management. Flow Direction Algorithm-Convolutional Neural Network (FDA-CNN), Hippopotamus Optimization Algorithm (HOA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Spider Wasp Optimizer, and Multi-scale Hypergraph-based Feature Alignment Network (SWO-MHFAN), Golden Jackal Optimization-Progressive Conditional Generative Adversarial Network (GJO-PCGAN) are some of the existing techniques that are compared with the suggested method once it is implemented in MATLAB. An 18.7% overall energy reduction compared to the current methods has been achieved by GrCRA-PCRTAM-Net, which also attained an operational cost of 1505 cents, an emission level of 60.3 ppm, an efficiency of 99.1%, and a reduction in overall energy consumption. This further validates that the hybrid method effectively performed power flow optimization and stability enhancement in power distribution networks with renewable integration.

Abstract Heterochromatin has been widely recognized to exert pivotal functions of silencing specific genes and maintenance of genome stability. However, the mechanisms underlying heterochromatin formation and maintenance remain to be fully elucidated. Here, we discovered that the critical mitotic regulator NuMA, as a nucleoskeleton protein, is required for constitutive heterochromatin organization at the level of nucleosomes in the interphase. Depletion of NuMA results in shortened nucleosome repeat length (NRL), dispersed nucleosome clutches and increased chromatin accessibility in heterochromatin regions. Afterwards, epigenetic maintenance and transcription repression in constitutive heterochromatin are disrupted upon NuMA-depletion, particularly the up-regulated transcription level of the non-coding long terminal repeat (LTR) elements, indicating the crucial roles of NuMA in cell differentiation and senescence. We revealed that such functions of NuMA rely on its interaction with linker histone H1, which stabilizes H1’s binding to chromatin and facilitates nucleosome stacking. We provided direct structural evidence of NuMA’s stabilization effect at the highest spatial resolution of nucleosomes through in situ cryo-ET. Notably, we found that NuMA oligomerizes into quasi-meshwork in nucleoplasm and highly co-localizes with H1 on the chromatin, providing the organization basis for NuMA as a nucleoskeleton protein in chromatin architecture regulation. Collectively, our findings illuminate the concerted effect of nucleoskeleton protein and linker histone on chromatin compaction at the level of nucleosomes, which unveil a new layer of mechanisms by which nucleoskeleton regulates heterochromatin formation and maintenance.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is currently the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. This is due to its complex microenvironment and high resistance to treatment. One of the key factors contributing to this resistance is the altered function of mitochondria in tumor cells, including high levels of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), a predominance of mitochondrial fusion processes, and increased autophagy, all of which are closely linked to cancer cell metabolism. The literature suggests three main therapeutic approaches: OXPHOS inhibition, modulation of mitochondrial dynamics, and autophagy suppression. Studies indicate that both reducing OXPHOS activity and inhibiting autophagy sensitize tumors to chemotherapy. Moreover, modulating mitochondrial dynamics effectively suppresses further tumor growth. Despite promising research on targeting mitochondria as a therapeutic strategy for PDAC, further studies are needed to determine the efficacy and safety of these approaches in humans.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) are blood biomarkers that able to aid in the assessment of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) patients and reduce computed tomography (CT) overuse. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive performance of individual biomarkers and their combination (i.e. mTBI assay) in detecting clinically significant intracranial injuries in mTBI. Furthermore, the influence of older age on the predictive performance of individual biomarkers and their combination was investigated. This prospective multicenter study was conducted in 12 European healthcare centers. Adults with suspected mTBI presenting to the emergency department (ED) of each participating healthcare center within 12 h of head trauma were enrolled. GFAP and UCH-L1 were determined in blood samples collected from each participant. Head CT was considered as reference standard for the presence of intracranial injury. The mTBI assay yielded the highest sensitivity [95.5%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 89.9-98.5] and the highest negative predictive value (NPV) value (97.3%, 95% CI: 93.9-98.9) for the exclusion of intracranial lesions in mTBI. The sensitivities and NPVs of individual biomarkers were lower compared with the mTBI assay. In adults over 65 years, the individual biomarkers and the mTBI assay displayed the weakest diagnostic performances. After optimizing cutoff values for the mTBI assay for older adults, the following diagnostic accuracy measures were obtained: sensitivity 87.7%, 95% CI: 77.2-94.5 and NPV: 94.4%, 95% CI: 89.6-97.0 ( P < 0.001). The mTBI assay yielded high sensitivity and NPV for the exclusion of significant intracranial injuries in mTBI patients presenting to the ED within 12 h from injury, performing better than individual biomarkers. A significant age-dependent influence on the predictive performances of the individual biomarkers and the mTBI assay was demonstrated.

This study presents the synthesis and characterization of four organic ligands: malon-di-anilide oxime (HINMAO), malon-di-(p-toluidide) oxime (HINM-p-TO), malon-di-(o-anisidide) oxime (HINM-o-ANISO), and malon-di-(p-anisidide) oxime (HINM-p-ANISO). Their molecular formulas were confirmed through elemental analysis, infrared (IR), and electronic spectral studies. These ligands were used to prepare solid-state metal complexes with Cu (II) acetate, Cu (II) nitrate, UO₂(II) nitrate, Mn (II) chloride, and Pb (II) acetate, which were further characterized for their structural and magnetic properties. The Cu (II) complexes exhibited subnormal magnetic moments following the Bleaney-Bowers equation, with ESR spectra (g = 2.015 – 2.150) confirming square planar geometry and oxygen-bridged dimeric structures. The UO₂(II) complexes displayed low magnetic moments due to ligand field effects and adopted pentagonal bipyramidal geometry, as confirmed by electronic and infrared spectral analysis. The Mn (II) complexes exhibited magnetic moments of 5.8–5.9 BM, indicative of tetrahedral coordination. The Pb (II) complexes were found to be diamagnetic, showing a single electronic absorption band at ~400 nm, suggesting a tetrahedral structure. All synthesized metal complexes were insoluble in water and most organic solvents, suggesting their polymeric nature. These findings provide valuable insights into the coordination chemistry of these novel ligands and their potential applications in materials science and catalysis.

Nghiên cứu tập trung phát triển tổ hợp phụ gia nhằm cải thiện tính đàn hồi, độ bền kéo, chống lan truyền vết nứt cho vành đá xi măng trong trám giếng khoan dầu khí. Vật liệu chính được sử dụng là hạt cao su nitrile và sợi thủy tinh bền kiềm, được lựa chọn dựa trên đặc tính phân bố cỡ hạt, kích thước sợi phù hợp để ít ảnh hưởng đến tính lưu biến của vữa xi măng.Kết quả nghiên cứu đã xác định được tổ hợp phụ gia tối ưu gồm sợi thủy tinh bền kiềm 0,75% và hạt cao su nitrile 6 - 6,5% có khả năng nâng cao tính đàn hồi, độ bền kéo, chống lan truyền vết nứt cho vành xuyến đá xi măng trám giếng khoan dầu khí. Tổ hợp phụ gia sau khi biến tính bề mặt bằng chất phân tán cho thấy khả năng tăng tỷ lệ giữa độ bền kéo và module đàn hồi, giúp đá xi măng chịu được ứng suất lâu dài trong môi trường giếng khoan dầu khí. Đặc biệt, độ bền va đập của vành đá xi măng chứa tổ hợp phụ gia vượt trội hơn so với mẫu không sử dụng phụ gia.

Introduction: stroke is a clinical syndrome consisting of rapidly developing clinical signs of focal or global disturbance of cerebral function. Antioxidants are the exogenous or endogenous compounds acting by scavenging reactive oxygen species or their precursors, inhibiting reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and binding metal ions needed for catalysis of ROS generation. Our objective was to compare the lipid profile, fasting and post prandial blood sugar and the markers of lipid peroxidation( malonaldehyde and Paraoxonase1) in non-diabetic stroke patients with healthy controls and to evaluate the correlation between the lipid parameters with markers of lipid peroxidation in those patients Materials and methods: 100 diagnosed stroke patients from Neurology OPD and IPD, were compared with 100 age matched healthy controls. Estimation of lipid profile parameters and fasting and post prandial blood sugar were done by Autoanalyzer using standardized kits. Estimation of serum malonaldehyde was done by based on the principle of utilization of Thiobarbituric acid. Serum Paraoxonase1 activity was estimated using paranitrophenylacetate substrate Result: among the lipid profile parameters, HDL was significantly lower (p&lt;0.001) and LDL was significantly higher among stroke patients. Serum Malonaldehyde level was significantly increased and PON1 activity were significantly decreased in stroke patients in comparison to healthy individuals. Significant positive correlation between HDL and PON1 and negative correlation between LDL and PON1 were found Conclusion: low level of PON1 activity and increased level of malonaldehyde was found in stroke patients indicating imbalance between free radical generation and its scavenging action

Abstract Electrospray deposition (ESD) is a promising technique for depositing micro- and nano-scale droplets and particles with high quality and uniformity. It is a particularly attractive solution for surface coating of costly and delicate biomaterials and bioactive compounds. While high efficiency of ESD has only been successfully demonstrated for spraying surfaces larger than the spray plume, this work extends its utility to smaller surfaces. It is shown that by architecting the local “charge landscape”, ESD coatings of surfaces smaller than plume size can be achieved. Efficiency approaching 100% is demonstrated with multiple model materials, including biocompatible polymers, proteins, and bioactive small molecules, on both flat and microneedle array targets. UV-visible spectroscopy and HPLC measurements validate the high efficiency and quality of the sprayed material. This protocol for ESD can be considered an efficient and more competitive alternative to other conformal coating mechanisms, such as dip coating or inkjet printing, for micro-engineered applications.

BackgroundSerum osmolality can be measured (Omeas) or calculated (Ocal). Many formulas for Ocal have been already published, but data regarding the most accurate equation in small babies is not available. Thus, we aim to compare Omeas and Ocal obtained by different formulas in newborns and small children.MethodsThe study included 280 serum samples taken from children, from the first day of life to 2 years (mean age 8.2 ± 7.6 months) treated in the University Children's Hospital in Krakow. The serum osmolality was measured by osmometer and calculated by 8 common formulas.ResultsThe mean value of Omeas (2 8 5 .8 ± 5 .1 mOsm/kgH2O) was significantly different as compared to the mean values of Ocal (p< 0.01) for all formulas, except Ocal obtained by the formula: 1.86*(N a + K) +1.15*Glu + Urea + 14. According to Bland-Altman analysis, this formula showed the best performance for estimating osmolality. In children under 3 months of life Passing-Bablok regression indicated both systematic and proportional error for results obtained by each formula compared to the measured values.ConclusionsTo calculate osmolarity in children aged between 3 months and 2 years old the following equation: 1 .86*(N a + K) + 1.1 5*G lu+ U rea+ 14 might be used, whereas serum osmolality in children up to 3 month of life should be measured.