Design of phosphated cross-linked microspheres of bael fruit gum as a biodegradable carrier

Nawaz Mahammed,Shailesh Thirumaleshwar,D. V. Gowda,Rohan D. Deshpande 대한약학회 2015 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.38 No.1

Present work was aimed at designing of phosphatedcross-linked microspheres of bael fruit gum (BFG)by emulsification method using sodium-tri-meta phosphateas a cross-linking agent for treatment of colon cancer using5-fluorouracil as model drug. Stirring speed was found tobe 1,000 rpm for about 5 h to be optimal to obtain reproduciblemicrospheres. It was found that there is an increasein particle size as polymer concentration is increasedwhereas a reduction in particle size was observed as thereis increase in stirring speed. Cross-linked BFG microsphereswere successfully prepared by emulsificationmethod. Optimum surfactant concentration was found to be2 % w/w. Scanning electron microscopy studies showedthat the drug-loaded microspheres were non-aggregatedand in spherical shape. Differential scanning calorimetryand Fourier transform infrared-spectroscopy studiesshowed that drug and excipients are compatible. Releasestudies showed that drug release was more profound incecal medium induced with enzymes causing degradationof the cross linked BFG than that of the release showed insimulated intestinal fluid. Stability studies showed thatthere were no significant changes in the drug content andphysical appearance of microspheres.

Evaluating the impacts of climate and land use/land cover (LU/ LC) dynamics on the Hydrological Responses of the Upper Blue Nile in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

Moges Kidane,Terefe Tolessa,Alemu Bezie,Nega Kessete,Mahammed Endrias 대한공간정보학회 2019 Spatial Information Research Vol.27 No.2

This study integrates GIS and SWAT model to evaluate impacts of climate and LU/LC change on watershed hydrological dynamics. To evaluate the impact of a combined and individual climate and LU/LC dynamics on stream flow, series of simulation were computed by changing climate and LU/LC variables. The model was calibrated and validated against observed data. Statistical measures like coefficient of determination and Nash–Sutcliffe were used to evaluate the model and it results in 0.82 and 0.82 for calibration and 0.81 and 0.80 for validation respectively. During the study period, forest and shrub land decreased by 38% and 48% while, settlement and cultivated land increased by 572% and 7% respectively. Mann– Kendall trend test analysis showed a significant trend in maximum and minimum temperature at 5% significant level, whereas there were three no trend cases for rainfall out of four tested cases and one non-significant decreasing trend. The simulated flow showed a very good agreement with the observed flow data with 0.82 and 0.82 for calibration and 0.81 and 0.80 for validation respectively. Simulation result indicted that LU/LC change increased the wet season flow by 14.5% while decreasing by 9.65% in dry season. In wet season the flow increased by 4.5% while decreased by 3.3% in dry season because of change in climate and seasonal variability. The study showed the increase in stream flows can be directly attributed to the expansion of cultivated lands at a cost of the forested vegetation.

Maximizing Property Tuning of Phosphorus Corrole Photocatalysts through a Trifluoromethylation Approach

Zhan, Xuan,Teplitzky, Peter,Diskin-Posner, Yael,Sundararajan, Mahesh,Ullah, Zakir,Chen, Qiu-Cheng,Shimon, Linda J. W.,Saltsman, Irena,Mahammed, Atif,Kosa, Monica,Baik, Mu-Hyun,Churchill, David G.,Gros ACS AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 2019 Inorganic Chemistry Vol.58 No.9

<P>An eight-member series of CF<SUB>3</SUB>-substituted difluorophosphorus corroles was prepared for establishing a structure-activity profile of these high-potential photosensitizers. It consisted of preparing all four possible isomers of the monosubstituted corrole and complexes with 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-CF<SUB>3</SUB> groups on the macrocycle’s periphery. The synthetic pathway to these CF<SUB>3</SUB>-substituted derivatives, beginning with (<B>tpfc</B>)<B>PF</B><SUB><B>2</B></SUB>, involves two different initial routes: (i) direct electrophilic CF<SUB>3</SUB> incorporation using FSO<SUB>2</SUB>CF<SUB>2</SUB>CO<SUB>2</SUB>Me and copper iodide, or (ii) bromination to achieve the 2,3,8,17,18-pentabrominated compound using excess bromine in methanol. Crystallographic investigations revealed that distortion of the original planar macrocycle is evident even in the monosubstituted case and that it becomes truly severe for the penta-CF<SUB>3</SUB>-substituted derivative <B>5</B>. There is a shift in redox potentials of about 193 mV per -CF<SUB>3</SUB> group, which decreases to only 120 mV for the fifth one in <B>5</B>. Differences in the electronic spectra suggest that the Gouterman four orbital model decreases in relevance upon gradual -CF<SUB>3</SUB> substitution, a conclusion that was corroborated by DFT calculations. The very significant energy lowering of the frontier orbitals suggested that photoexcitation should lead to a highly oxidizing photocatalyst. This hypothesis was proven true by finding that the most synthetically accessible CF<SUB>3</SUB>-substituted derivative is an excellent catalyst for the photoinduced conversion of bromide to bromine (phenol, toluene, and benzene assay).</P><P>CF<SUB>3</SUB>-substituted difluorophosphorus corroles were synthesized and studied by CV, NMR spectroscopy, crystallography, and DFT. All four possible isomers of the monosubstituted corrole and complexes with 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-CF<SUB>3</SUB> groups on the macrocycle’s periphery were prepared. The sterical and electronic role of the -CF<SUB>3</SUB> unit became evident through the study of the 5-CF<SUB>3</SUB> species which was found to be an excellent bromide photocatalyst (photoxidation with phenol, toluene, and benzene assays).</P> [FIG OMISSION]</BR>

Modal Data Processing for High Resolution Deflectometry

Maham Aftab,James H. Burge,Greg A. Smith,Logan Graves,Chang-jin Oh,Dae Wook Kim 한국정밀공학회 2019 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.6 No.2

In this paper, we present a modal data processing methodology, for reconstructing high resolution surfaces from measured slope data, over rectangular apertures. One of the primary goals is the ability to effectively reconstruct deflectometry measurement data for high resolution and freeform surfaces, such as telescope mirrors. We start by developing a gradient polynomial basis set which can quickly generate a very high number of polynomial terms. This vector basis set, called the G polynomials set, is based on gradients of the Chebyshev polynomials of the first kind. The proposed polynomials represent vector fields that are defined as the gradients of scalar functions. This method yields reconstructions that fit the measured data more closely than those obtained using conventional methods, especially in the presence of defects in the mirror surface and physical blockers/markers such as fiducials used during deflectometry measurements. We demonstrate the strengths of our method using simulations and real metrology data from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) primary mirror.

Watermelon nutrition profile, antioxidant activity, and processing

Muhammad Nadeem,Maham Navida,Kashif Ameer,Farzana Siddique,Aqsa Iqbal,Faiqa Malik,Muhamad Modassar Ali Nawaz Ranjha,Zarina Yasmin,Rabia Kanwal,Sadaf Javaria 한국식품저장유통학회 2022 한국식품저장유통학회지 Vol.29 No.4

The first primitive watermelon domestication has been reported more than 5,000 years ago in Northeast Africa. Watermelon is recognized all over the world as a delicious fruit that quenches the thirst that many people consume in the summer heat. There are about 1,200 varieties of watermelon. Watermelons are loaded with plentiful nutrients, such as vitamin C, pantothenic acid, copper, biotin, vitamin A, and vitamins B6 & B1. Watermelon is processed to manufacture various value-added foods, such as cookies, cakes, juice, jam, cadies, and biscuits. In this review, we discuss pre- and postharvest factors affecting watermelon nutritional concentration and antioxidant profile. Prominent factors comprise genetic and environmental constraints, processing and postharvest storage conditions, chemical treatments, temperature and humidity, packaging, and food processing conditions. This review summarizes the available literature on watermelon processing into different valuable products, pre- and postharvest factors affecting nutritional concentration, and antioxidant activity.

A comprehensive review on the watermelon phytochemical profile and their bioactive and therapeutic effects

Muhammad Nadeem,Maham Navida,Kashif Ameer,Aqsa Iqbal,Faiqa Malik,Muhammad Ather Nadeem,Hira Fatima,Aftab Ahmed,Ahmad Din 한국식품저장유통학회 2022 한국식품저장유통학회지 Vol.29 No.4

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is commonly consumed by humans and widely available around the world. It has impressive nutritional properties, a rich phytochemical profile, and various claimed medicinal and health benefits. The major carotenoids in watermelon include lycopene, β-carotene, phytofluene, phytoene, lutein, and neurosporene. Lycopene (approximately 6,888 μg/152 g) is the major bioactive component in the fruit and it reportedly promotes several therapeutic effects, such as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities etc. in humans and animals. Watermelon is also a good source of the amino acid citrulline, which is involved in production of arginine. Pre- and postharvest factors, including fruit sampling area, application of fertilizer, climatic factors, and genetic variability, are known to affect its bioactive compounds and nutrient concentrations. This review summarizes our current understanding of the watermelon phytochemical profile and the factors affecting its bioactivities and therapeutic effects.

Development and metabolic profiling of a postbiotic complex exhibiting antibacterial activity against skin microorganisms and anti-inflammatory effect on human keratinocytes

정혁진,이환휘,김명선,이지원,Maham Saeed,이하예라,정승희,심재정,이정렬,허건,최형균 한국식품과학회 2022 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.31 No.10

Beyond probiotics, the interest in the application of postbiotics to various fields has been growing. We aimed to develop a novel postbiotic complex (PC) with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Through antibacterial activity testing against Staphylococcus aureus or Cutibacterium acnes, a PC [a mixture of cell-free supernatants (postbiotics) from probiotic Lactobacillus helveticus (HY7801) and Lactococcus lactis (HY449)] was developed. Anti-inflammatory activity of the PC was investigated using HaCaT keratinocytes treated with S. aureus or C. acnes. PC significantly decreased IL-8 levels and increased hyaluronic acid levels in HaCaT cells cultured with S. aureus or C. acnes. GC–MS based metabolic profiling suggested 2-hydroxyisocaproic acid, hypoxanthine, succinic acid, ornithine, and γ-aminobutyric acid as potential contributing metabolites for the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects of PC. The PC developed in this study could be utilized in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products as an alternative or complementary resources of probiotics.

Duckweeds: their utilization, metabolites and cultivation

Baek GahYoung,Saeed Maham,Choi Hyung-Kyoon 한국응용생명화학회 2021 Applied Biological Chemistry (Appl Biol Chem) Vol.64 No.5

Duckweeds are floating plants of the family Lemnaceae, comprising 5 genera and 36 species. They typically live in ponds or lakes and are found worldwide, except the polar regions. There are two duckweed subfamilies—namely Lemnoidea and Wolffioideae, with 15 and 21 species, respectively. Additionally, they have characteristic reproduction methods. Several metabolites have also been reported in various duckweeds. Duckweeds have a wide range of adaptive capabilities and are particularly suitable for experiments requiring high productivity because of their speedy growth and reproduction rates. Duckweeds have been studied for their use as food/feed resources and pharmaceuticals, as well as for phytoremediation and industrial applications. Because there are numerous duckweed species, culture conditions should be optimized for industrial applications. Here, we review and summarize studies on duckweed species and their utilization, metabolites, and cultivation methods to support the extended application of duckweeds in future.

Application of the Coral Health Chart to Determine Bleaching Status of Acropora downingi in a Subtropical Coral Reef

Mahshid Oladi,Mohammad Reza Shokri,Hassan Rajabi-Maham 한국해양과학기술원 2017 Ocean science journal Vol.52 No.2

The ‘Coral Health Chart’ has become a popular tool for monitoring coral bleaching worldwide. The scleractinian coral Acropora downingi (Wallace 1999) is highly vulnerable to temperature anomalies in the Persian Gulf. Our study tested the reliability of Coral Health Chart scores for the assessment of bleaching-related changes in the mitotic index (MI) and density of zooxanthellae cells in A. downingi in Qeshm Island, the Persian Gulf. The results revealed that, at least under severe conditions, it can be used as an effective proxy for detecting changes in the density of normal, transparent, or degraded zooxanthellae and MI. However, its ability to discern changes in pigment concentration and total zooxanthellae density should be viewed with some caution in the Gulf region, probably because the high levels of environmental variability in this region result in inherent variations in the characteristics of zooxanthellae among “healthy” looking corals.

Caching Meets Millimeter Wave Communications for Enhanced Mobility Management in 5G Networks

Semiari, Omid,Saad, Walid,Bennis, Mehdi,Maham, Behrouz IEEE 2018 IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications Vol. No.

<P>One of the most promising approaches to overcoming the uncertainty of millimeter wave (mm-wave) communications is to deploy dual-mode small base stations (SBSs) that integrate both mm-wave and microwave ( <TEX>$\mu \text{W}$</TEX>) frequencies. In this paper, a novel approach to analyzing and managing mobility in joint mmwave– <TEX>$\mu \text{W}$</TEX> networks is proposed. The proposed approach leverages device-level caching along with the capabilities of dual-mode SBSs to minimize handover failures and reduce inter-frequency measurement energy consumption. First, fundamental results on the caching capabilities are derived for the proposed dual-mode network scenario. Second, the impact of caching on the number of handovers (HOs), energy consumption, and the average handover failure (HOF) is analyzed. Then, the proposed cache-enabled mobility management problem is formulated as a <I>dynamic matching game</I> between mobile user equipments (MUEs) and SBSs. The goal of this game is to find a distributed HO mechanism that, under network constraints on HOFs and limited cache sizes, allows each MUE to choose between: 1) executing an HO to a target SBS; 2) being connected to the macrocell base station; or 3) perform a transparent HO by using the cached content. To solve this dynamic matching problem, a novel algorithm is proposed and its convergence to a two-sided dynamically stable HO policy for MUEs and target SBSs is proved. Numerical results corroborate the analytical derivations and show that the proposed solution will significantly reduce both the HOF and energy consumption of MUEs, resulting in an enhanced mobility management for heterogeneous wireless networks with mm-wave capabilities.</P>