Response of seeds and pollen of Onobrychis viciifolia and Onobrychis oxyodonta var. armena to NaCl stress

Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) is an important forage legume crop with 52 species adapted to dry and poor soils in Turkey, but little is known about the effects of salinity on germination and seedling growth in arid and semiarid regions suffering from salinity problem. The seeds and pollen of two species of sainfoin O. viciifolia and O. oxyodonta var. armena (Syn: O. armena) were exposed to 0, 5, 10, 20 and 30 dS m-1 of NaCl under in vivo and in vitro conditions and evaluated for germination under salt stress by comparing germination percentage, mean germination time, root and shoot length, fresh and dry seedling weight and dry matter. Increased salinity levels generally resulted in decrease in all traits except time to germination, dry seedling weight and dry matter, which increased at high salinity levels. O. viciifolia seeds germinated and grew more rapidly compared to O. armena seeds under NaCl stress. No decrease in germination and seedling growth up to 10 dS m-1 was recorded. On the other hand, there was a clear difference for germination and seedling growth between in vivo and in vitro conditions. Lower values were obtained from in vitro experiments; suggesting that mineral salts, sucrose and agar may have resulted in higher osmotic potential inhibiting germination and seedling growth of species compared in vivo conditions. Decrease in pollen germination with increasing salinities was very sharp, indicating that pollen germination had higher sensitive to salinity. But, pollen grains of O. armena germinated rapidly compared to O. viciifolia. The results emphasize that in vivo experiments could be used for screening of NaCl tolerance in sainfoin cultivars without expensive chemicals and sophisticated equipments, but pollen germination is more appropriate for its wild relatives

Isolation and characterization of exopolysaccharide derived from Lacticaseibacillus paracasei AS20(1) with probiotic potential and evaluation of its antibacterial activity

Abstract This study was done to find exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) against foodborne pathogens. Isolated LAB were screened to find the ones with the ability to produce antibacterial EPS against foodborne pathogens. Among tested EPSs, EPS of AS20(1) isolate showed inhibitory effects on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes (MIC = 0·935 mg ml−1, MBC = 0·935 mg ml−1), Yersinia enterocolitica (MIC = 12·5 mg ml−1, MBC = 50 mg ml−1) and Bacillus cereus (MIC = 6·25 mg ml−1, MBC = 12·5 mg ml−1). According to 16S rRNA sequencing, AS20(1) showed the closest similarity to Lacticaseibacillus paracasei (100%). This antibacterial EPS showed negligible toxicity (4·4%–5·2%) against red blood cells. Lacticaseibacillus paracasei AS20(1) showed probiotic properties, including high acid resistance, hydrophobicity (47·5%), autoaggregation and coaggregation with foodborne pathogens. Also, L. paracasei AS20(1) showed no haemolysis activity and antibiotic resistance. Characterization of antibacterial EPS revealed that it is a heteropolysaccharide with various functional groups, amorphous structure, and smooth surface, sheet and compact structure, which can be suitable for food packaging. L. paracasei AS20(1) and its antimicrobial EPS can be used to make functional food.</jats:p

Enzyme Inhibition, Kinetic, and Molecular Docking Studies of α-glucosidase

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an important global health problem especially in developed countries and insufficient lifestyle induces this phenomenon. Finding efficient treatment for DM is an interesting goal for researchers. Objective: Herein we tried to design and synthesize a series of quinazoline derivatives and investigate their bioactivity as possible α-Glucosidase inhibitor agents. Method: Compounds 1-14 were synthesized using a multicomponent reaction. 1HNMR, 13C NMR, MS, and IR spectroscopy were used for the characterization of synthesized compounds. α- Glucosidase inhibitory activity of compounds 1-14 was evaluated using p-nitrophenyl‐α‐Dglucopyranoside (pNPG) as a substrate of the α-glucosidase enzyme (EC3.2.1.20, Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The mechanism of inhibition of the α-glucosidase enzyme was investigated using kinetic studies. Molecular docking was also done using autodock software to find the possible mode of interaction of compound 8 and the enzyme active site. Results: Most of the tested compounds showed higher activity in inhibition of the enzyme in comparison to the standard, acarbose. Compound 8 exerted the best activity with the IC50 value of 291.5 μM. A kinetic study indicated a competitive inhibition of the α-glucosidase enzyme by compound 8. Finally, docking studies showed the interactions between compound 8 and enzyme active site residues. Conclusion: 2,4-Diarylquinazoline scaffold has good antidiabetic activity, so it is interesting to synthesize more 2,4-diarylquinazoline derivatives and evaluate their antidiabetic activities. </jats:sec

The Effect of Cognitive Behavior Therapy on Anxiety Reduction of First Normal Vaginal Delivery

Introduction: Anxiety has an impressive effect on normal vaginal delivery. Since no study has been conducted in this regard, this research is designed to determine the effect of cognitive behavior therapy on the reduction of anxiety at first normal vaginal delivery. Methods: A semi-experimental study was carried out on 40 nulliparous women with six months age of pregnancy and without abortion and infertility background. After the completion of testimonial, the rate of anxiety was evaluated by Beck anxiety inventory. Then the participants were randomly divided into two groups (20 persons in each group). The experimental group received ten sessions of individual cognitive behavior therapy. The test was carried out again a week before delivery and twenty days after it. The data analysis was accomplished by SPSS16 and Co-variance analysis test. Results: At first the average of anxiety score in the experimental group was 34.16, in post test. 8.68 and in follow up test 7.79 and, thus the difference was meaningful(p<0.01), whereas in the control group, this score, at first, was 34.05, in post test 34.53 and in follow up test 26.89, which did not show any meaningful difference. Conclusions: Consequently the cognitive behavior therapy causes to decrease the anxiety with enduring effect at first normal vaginal delivery. Therefore, this treatment is proposed to reduce the anxiety of first delivery women

An organic solvent-tolerant lipase of Streptomyces pratensis MV1 with the potential application for enzymatic improvement of n6/n3 ratio in polyunsaturated fatty acids from fenugreek seed oil

Lipase-catalyzed esterification is an efficient technique in the production of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) concentrates which are applied for nutrition and health purposes. In this project, a solvent-tolerant lipase from Streptomyces pratensis MV1 was immobilized and purified by a hydrophobic support. The purified lipase revealed enhanced activity and stability towards chemicals, organic solvents, and a broad range of pH values. The production of lipase was enhanced to 7.0 U/mL after optimization by a central composite design. Acylglycerols (AGs) rich in α-linolenic acid (45, w/w) were produced and a favorable n-6/n-3 free fatty acid (FFA) ratio of 1.1 was achieved in fenugreek seed oil using the immobilized lipase. The ability of S. pratensis lipase in ester synthesis and the improvement of n6/n3 FFA ratio make it a suitable candidate in food production industries. © 2020, Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India)

Immobilization of lipase on the modified magnetic diatomite earth for effective methyl esterification of isoamyl alcohol to synthesize banana flavor

The present study was designed to propose a simple, cost-effective, and efficient method for the preparation of a biocompatible composite made from magnetic diatomaceous earth (mDE) coated by aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and its application for immobilization of porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL). The produced mDE-APTES was instrumentally characterized and the obtained results of FTIR analysis and scanning electron microscopy equipped by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM�EDS) showed successful coating of APTES on mDE surface. PPL was then immobilized onto mDE to obtain the biocatalyst of PPL@mDE (immobilization yield and efficiency of 78.0 ± 0.3 and 80.1 ± 0.6, respectively) and the presence of enzyme was confirmed by EDS method. The attained results of the reusability of PPL@mDE revealed that 57 of the initial activity was retained after 11 cycles of biocatalyst application. PPL@mDE demonstrated higher storage stability than the free enzyme at 4 °C, 25 °C, and 37 °C. The apparent Km (2.35 ± 0.12 mM) and Vmax (13.01 ± 0.64 µmol/min) values for the immobilized enzyme were considerably altered compared to those of the free enzyme (p &gt; 0.05). PPL@mDE was subsequently employed for the synthesis of banana flavor (isoamyl acetate) in n-hexane, which yields an esterification percentage of 100 at 37 °C after 3 h. However, it merits further investigations to find out about large-scale application of the as-synthesized biocatalyst for esterification. © 2020, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology

Total antioxidant capacity and total oxidant status and disease severity in a cohort study of COVID-19 patients

Previous reports have suggested the role of oxidative stress in progression of COVID-19 infection, but there is limited information regarding the effect of antioxidant capacity and total oxidant status of patients with COVID-19 on disease severity. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant status (TOS), TAC/TOS levels, and disease severity in hospitalized pa- tients with COVID-19. Methods: This cohort study was carried out at Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran, Iran, from September 2020 to October 2020. Clinical data of 331 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the hospital were analyzed and divided into mild, moderate, and severe groups (needed oxygen, intubation, and mechanical ventilation). The patients’ TAC, TOS, and TAC/TOS levels were assessed using the serum samples by colorimetric assay kit. Results: We found no significant difference in serum levels of TAC, TOS, and TAC/TOS in terms of the disease se- verity. Conclusions: These results indicated that total antioxidant capacity and total oxidant status may not be the deter- mining factor on the disease severity

Triglyceride-glucose index association with severity of coronary artery disease

BackgroundDespite previous studies, the relationship between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and coronary artery disease (CAD) is still undetermined. So we aimed to investigate the association between the TyG index and CAD.MethodA total of 2346 subjects were enrolled in the study and were categorised into 5: those with no CAD, angiogram negative (Ang−) patients, those with single-vessel disease (SVD), or two-vessel disease (2VD) or three-vessel disease (3VD). Demographic characteristics, disease history and biochemical investigations were recorded. TyG index was calculated as Ln [fasting TG (mg/dL) × fasting glucose (mg/dL)/2].ResultsAdjusted regression models demonstrated that the odds of 3VD (OR, 5.847; 95% CI, 4.391–7.784), 2VD (OR, 4.943; 95% CI, 3.597–6.791), SVD (OR, 4.722; 95% CI 3.448–6.647) and a negative coronary angiogram (OR, 3.137; 95% CI, 2.431–4.049), increased significantly per each unit elevation of the TyG index, compared to the healthy participants. Also, the odds for being 3VD (1.864, 95%CI 1.402–2.477, p-value ConclusionOur study demonstrates a significant association between elevated TyG index and the presence and severity of CAD. Higher TyG index values were consistently linked to an increased likelihood of multivessel CAD, especially in diabetic patients. These findings suggest that the TyG index could serve as a valuable marker for assessing CAD risk and stratification.</p