Chemical Behavior and Bioactive Properties of Spinorphin Conjugated to 5,5'-Dimethyl- and 5,5'-Diphenylhydantoin Analogs.

The discovery of new peptides and their derivatives is an outcome of ongoing efforts to identify a peptide with significant biological activity for effective usage as a possible therapeutic agent. Spinorphin peptides have been documented to exhibit numerous applications and features. In this study, biologically active peptide derivatives based on novel peptide analogues of spinorphin conjugated with 5,5'-dimethyl (Dm) and 5,5'-diphenyl (Ph) hydantoin derivatives have been successfully synthesized and characterized. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and spectral methods such as UV-Vis, FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), CD (Circular Dichroism), and fluorimetry were used to characterize the microstructure of the resulting compounds. The results revealed changes in peptide morphology as a result of the restructuring of the aminoacidic sequences and aromatic bonds, which is related to the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between tyrosyl groups and the hydantoin moiety. Electrochemical and fluorescence approaches were used to determine some physicochemical parameters related to the biological behavior of the compounds. The biological properties of the spinorphin derivatives were evaluated in vivo for anticonvulsant activity against the psychomotor seizures at different doses of the studied peptides. Both spinorphin analog peptides with Ph and Dm groups showed activity against all three phases of the seizure in the intravenous Pentylenetetrazole Seizure (ivPTZ) test. This suggests that hydantoin residues do not play a crucial role in the structure of spinorphin compounds and in determining the potency to raise the seizure threshold. On the other hand, analogs with a phenytoin residue are active against the drug-resistant epilepsy test (6-Hz test). In addition, bioactivity analyses revealed that the new peptide analogues have the potential to be used as antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds. These findings suggest promising avenues for further research that may lead to the development of alternative medicines or applications in various fields beyond epilepsy treatment.

Population diversity, admixture, and demographic trend of the Sumba Ongole cattle based on genomic data.

OBJECTIVE: Sumba Ongole (SO) cattle are valuable breed due to their important role in the development of Indonesian cattle. Despite rapid advances in molecular technology, no genomic studies on SO cattle have been conducted to date. The aim of this study is to provide genomic profile related to the population diversity, admixture, and demographic trends of SO cattle. METHODS: Genomic information was gathered from 79 SO cattle using the Illumina Bovine SNP50 v3 Beadchip, and for comparative purposes, additional genotypes from 209 cattle populations worldwide were included. The expected and observed heterozygosity, inbreeding coefficient, pairwise fixation indices between-population, and Nei's genetic distance were examined. Multidimensional scaling, admixture, and treemix analyses were used to investigate the population structure. Based on linkage disequilibrium and effective population size calculations, the demographic trend was observed. RESULTS: The findings indicated that the genetic diversity of SO cattle was similar to that of other indicine breeds. SO cattle were genetically related to indicines but not to taurines or Bali cattle. The study further confirmed the close relationship between SO, Ongole, and Nellore cattle. Additionally, a small portion of the Ongole mixture were identified dominant in the SO population at the moment. The study also discovered that SO and Bali cattle (Bos javanicus) could have been ancestors in the development of Ongole Grade cattle, which corresponds to the documented history of Ongolization. Our finding indicate that SO cattle have maintained stability and possess unique traits separate from their ancestors. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the genetic diversity of the SO cattle has been conserved as a result of the growing significance of the present demographic trend. Consistent endeavors are necessary to uphold the fitness of the breed.

A Simple Synthesis and Microstructure Analysis of Human Peptide LL-37@Gold Nanoparticles (Known as LL-37@AuNPs) Conjugates as Antimicrobials and Substances for Wound Healing.

The basis of the present study is a straightforward method involving fewer chemical species for conjugating gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with the antimicrobial peptide LL-37 designated as LL-37@AuNPs. Investigating the microstructure characteristics of the resulting materials and their potential as antibacterial and wound-healing substances are the main objectives of this study. Zeta (ζ) potential, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field effect scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV-Vis spectrophotometry were used to analyze the physico-chemical properties of LL-37@AuNPs. The magnitude of LL-37's zeta potential and the LL-37@AuNPs show that the specimens are electrically stable and resistant to flocculation and coagulation. The surface plasmon resonance (RPS) of AuNPs, which is positioned at a wavelength of about 531 nm, was found to be unaffected by the presence of the LL-37 antimicrobial peptide. The FTIR data show the functional group characteristics of the LL-37@AuNPs vibration bands, and the XRD diffractogram confirms the formation of the LL-37@AuNPs conjugate nanocomposite. Based on FE-SEM and TEM data, the bulk of AuNPs were found to have a circular shape, with an average size of about 22.88 ± 8.21 nm. It was discovered that the LL-37@AuNPs had a good ability to inhibit S. aureus from growing. The wound-healing percentage reached 85% on day 12 of the trial, significantly greater than the results of the negative controls. LL-37@AuNPs(4) is the sample that had the highest percentage of wound healing between days 3 and 12. Moreover, sample LL-37@AuNPs(4) contains 0.45 µL of LL-37, whereas sample LL-37@AuNPs(2) contains 0.22 µL of LL-37. The faster wound-healing rate in LL-37@AuNPs(4) was believed to be due to a higher concentration of LL-37, which was able to stop S. aureus from developing while suppressing the inflammation surrounding the wound. The study's findings reveal that LL-37@AuNPs might be made using a straightforward process, making them a powerful antibacterial and therapeutic substance. However, before this discovery is applied in the field of medicine, a more thorough investigation is necessary.

Synthesis of mesoporous zeolite Y using Sapindus rarak extract as natural organic surfactant for deoxygenation of Reutealis trisperma oil to biofuel.

Saponin is a plant-derived chemical with an amphiphilic glycoconjugate structure extracted from sapindaceae plants like Sapindus rarak. This study investigated saponin extract of Sapindus rarak as a natural template for formation of mesoporous zeolite Y. Surface area and mesoporosity of zeolite Y were improved with optimization of Sapindus rarak extract (SRE) concentration (Y-Ln; n = 2, 5, 10 or 15 mL), reaching 216.26 m2 mesoporous area and 0.214 cm3 g-1 mesoporous volume for Y-L10 samples. A different loading of Ni was impregnated onto Y-L10 zeolite to improve Lewis/Brønsted acidity as catalysts in the deoxygenation of Reutealis trisperma oil (RTO) into hydrocarbon fuels. Impregnating 15% Ni on NaY zeolite enhanced Lewis acidity to 0.4556 mmol g-1, producing 48.8% liquid oil with 85.43% degree of deoxygenation. A high selectivity towards C15 and C17 hydrocarbon was analyzed from liquid yield, indicating the contributing factor from Lewis acidity and mesoporosity to enhance deoxygenation and prevent the hydrocracking reaction.

Anti-inflammatory activities of flavonoid derivates.

Background and purpose: Flavonoids are a group of phytochemicals found abundantly in various plants. Scientific evidence has revealed that flavonoids display potential biological activities, including their ability to alleviate inflammation. This activity is closely related to their action in blocking the inflammatory cascade and inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory factors. However, as flavonoids typically have poor bioavailability and pharmacokinetic profile, it is quite challenging to establish these compounds as a drug. Nevertheless, progressive advancements in drug delivery systems, particularly in nanotechnology, have shown promising approaches to overcome such challenges. Review approach: This narrative review provides an overview of scientific knowledge about the mechanism of action of flavonoids in the mitigation of inflammatory reaction prior to delivering a comprehensive discussion about the opportunity of the nanotechnology-based delivery system in the preparation of the flavonoid-based drug. Key results: Various studies conducted in silico, in vitro, in vivo, and clinical trials have deciphered that the anti-inflammatory activities of flavonoids are closely linked to their ability to modulate various biochemical mediators, enzymes, and signalling pathways involved in the inflammatory processes. This compound could be encapsulated in nanotechnology platforms to increase the solubility, bioavailability, and pharmacological activity of flavonoids as well as reduce the toxic effects of these compounds. Conclusion: In Summary, we conclude that flavonoids and their derivates have given promising results in their development as new anti-inflammatory drug candidates, especially if they formulate in nanoparticles.

Synthesis and characterization of silica gel from Lapindo volcanic mud with ethanol as a cosolvent for desiccant applications.

Lapindo mud (LM) is a volcanic mud from a natural disaster that occurred 16 years ago in Sidoarjo District, East Java, Indonesia. The high amount of silica in the local materials of LM has been extracted for silica gel synthesis via hydrometallurgy methods, followed by sol-gel methods. The presence of ethanol in the synthesis process generated a unique textural property at different ratios between ethanol and sodium silicate (e/ss). Sol-gel mediated silica gel synthesis exhibited mesoporous properties with an amorphous structure, which is a characteristic of the silica gel. The silica gel exhibits silica nanoparticles over the average diameter of 2.08 nm with a spherical morphology and is connected to form an agglomeration structure. Increasing the e/ss ratio enhanced the amount of the hydroxyl group and the specific surface area ranged from 57 to 103 m2 g-1. The moisture adsorption performance of each silica gel showed that the silica gel with an e/ss ratio of 5 : 5 exhibited the highest adsorption capacity measured by conventional gravimetric methods and thermogravimetric analysis of 10.56% and 11.20% gwater gsilica -1, respectively. These results indicated that the silica gel with an e/ss ratio has a high number of hydroxyl groups and more surface-active sites, which is beneficial for the adsorption process. The adsorption capacity of the synthesized silica gel is also higher than that of the commercial silica gel, indicating an excellent performance for desiccant applications.

Corn (Zea mays L) Boiled Water Provides Good Evidence for Lowering of Lipid Profile (HDL-C, LDL-C, Triglycerides, and Total Cholesterol) in Dyslipidemia

@#Introduction: Dyslipidemia is a significant factor in cardiovascular and other diseases. Corn can be used to treat dyslipidemia. This study is to determine the effect of boiled corn water on levels of HDL-C, LDL-C, triglycerides (TG), and total cholesterol (TC) in people with dyslipidemia in certain areas in Indonesia. Methods: We used a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design. A sample of 40 people for each group was taken using a purposive sampling technique. The group was given the intervention of corn-boiled water @ 200cc twice daily for seven days. Blood lipid profile using fasting and examined by Fluorometric-enzymatic assay method. All procedures are carried out based on operational standards. Within-group comparisons used the Wilcoxon test, while between-group comparisons used the Mann-Whitney U and Independent T-Test. Results: The LDL-C control group experienced an increase of 65.1 mg/dL, and the entire group’s lipid profile variation showed no difference between the pretest and posttest (p>.05). The intervention group showed an increase in HDL-C (0.1 mg/dL), a decrease in LDL-C (30.2 mg/ dL), TG (27.0 mg/dL), and TC (35.6 mg/dL). Within-group comparison of the intervention group showed HDL-C (p.153), LDL-C (p.001), TG (p.023), and TC (p<.001). A between-group comparison showed HDL-C (p.101), LDL-C (p.034), TG (p.003), and TC (p.006). Conclusion: Whole corn boiled water provides good evidence that it is effective in lowering LDL-C, TG, and TC, as well as improving dyslipidemia in HDL-C patients. This intervention can be used as an alternative treatment for dyslipidemia in terms of nutrition.

Microstructure and Antibacterial Properties of Chitosan-Fe3O4-AgNP Nanocomposite.

The goal of this research is to synthesize and characterize Fe3O4@Chitosan-AgNP nanocomposites in order to determine their antibacterial activity. The research methods include the synthesis of Fe3O4@Chitosan-AgNP nanocomposites, as well as the characterization of nanoparticles using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, and subsequent antibacterial activity tests. The study's findings demonstrated the successful synthesis of Fe3O4@Chitosan-AgNP nanocomposites, followed by nanoparticle characterization using SEM, TEM, XRD, and FTIR. Based on the XRD results, the conjugation of Fe3O4@Chitosan-AgNP nanocomposites has been successfully formed, as evidenced by the appearance of characteristic peaks of Fe3O4, chitosan, and AgNPs. According to the FTIR results, the interaction between chitosan-AgNPs and conjugated Fe3O4 occurred via the N atom in the NH2 group and the O atom in the OH group, and C=O. The SEM and TEM images also show that the Fe3O4@Chitosan-AgNP conjugation is a nanoparticle-based composite material. The combination of nanocomposites Fe3O4@Chitosan-AgNPs has antibacterial activity, inhibiting the growth of bacteria such as Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli.

Synthesis, Characterization and Biological Investigation of New N-Modified Spinorphin Analogs.

The emergence of diverse peptide derivatives has been due to constant efforts to find a specific peptide with pronounced biological activity for effective application as a therapeutic. Spinorphin-peptide products have been reported to possess various applications and properties. In the present study, spinorphin peptides with a rhodamine residue and a modification in the amino acid backbone were synthesized by a solid-phase method using Fmoc chemistry. The results obtained from the spectral and electrochemical techniques used: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-vis, fluorescence, infrared spectroscopy (IR), and voltammetry were used to elucidate the structural characteristics and some physicochemical properties to gain insight into their behavior in the solid state and in aqueous solutions with different pHs. Both Rh-S5 and Rh-S6 had compound anticonvulsant effect comparable to Rh-S against psychomotor seizures at the highest dose of 20 µg. Furthermore, Rh-S6 showed a strong ability to inhibit seizure propagation and had a similar threshold to Rh-S against the intravenous pentylenetetrazol induced clonic seizure in mice; one of the three hybrid spinorphin analogs tested when screened for anticonvulsant activity. Biological tests against several bacterial pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus cereus showed similar results to negative control of the new peptide derivatives. The compounds also showed weak activity against Candida albicans fungus. The antioxidant testing results revealed more than 50% activity by reviewing the radical deterrence capabilities of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). The results are indicative of the ongoing search for universal antimicrobial agents with pronounced synergism when used simultaneously as anticonvulsant, antibacterial, and antifungal agents.

Designing multi-epitope based peptide vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2 using immunoinformatics approach.

Introduction: The current incidence of the novel coronavirus disease has shown only small reductions of cases and has become a major public health challenge. Development of effective vaccines against the virus is still being encouraged such as multi-epitope vaccines designed from the components of SARS-CoV-2 including its spike, nucleocapsid and ORF1a proteins. Since the addition of adjuvants including HABA protein and L7/L12 ribosomal are considered helpful to increase the effectiveness of the designed vaccine, we proposed to design multiepitope vaccines by two different adjuvants. Methods: We used the IEDB server to predict BCL and TCL epitopes that were characterized using online tools including VaxiJen, AllPred and IL-10 Prediction. The selected epitopes were further constructed into multiepitope vaccines. We also added two different adjuvants to the vaccine components in order to increase the effectiveness of the vaccines. The 3D-structured vaccines were built using trRosetta. They were further docked with different Toll-like-receptors (TLR 3, 4 and 8) and the entry receptor of SARS-CoV-2, ACE2 using ClusPro, PatchDock and refined by FireDock. All structures were visualized by USCF Chimera and PyMOL. Results: In this study, we succeeded in designing two different candidate vaccines by the addition of HABA protein and L7/L12 ribosomal as adjuvants. The two vaccines were almost equally good in terms of their physicochemical properties and characteristics. Likewise, their strong interactions with TLR3 4, 8 and ACE2 show the lowest energy level of both was estimated at more than -1,000. Interactions of vaccines with ACE2 and TLRs are essential for activation of immune responses and production of antibodies. Conclusion: The two designed and constructed multiepitope vaccine have good characteristics and may have the potential to activate humoral and cellular immune responses against SARS-CoV-2. Further research is worth considering to confirm the findings of this study.

Utilization of red mud waste into mesoporous ZSM-5 for methylene blue adsorption-desorption studies.

Red mud as industrial waste from bauxite was utilized as a precursor for the synthesis of mesoporous ZSM-5. A high concentration of iron oxide in red mud was successfully removed using alkali fusion treatment. Mesoporous ZSM-5 was synthesized using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr) as a template via dual-hydrothermal method, and the effect of crystallization time was investigated towards the formation of mesopores. Characterization using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), N2 adsorption-desorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated the formation of cubic crystallite ZSM-5 with high surface area and mesopore volume within 6 h of crystallization. Increasing the crystallization time revealed the evolution of highly crystalline ZSM-5; however, the surface area and mesoporosity were significantly reduced. The effect of mesoporosity was investigated on the adsorption of methylene blue (MB). Kinetic and thermodynamic analysis of MB adsorption on mesoporous ZSM-5 was carried out at a variation of adsorption parameters such as the concentration of MB solution, the temperatures of solution, and the amount of adsorbent. Finally, methanol, 1-butanol, acetone, hydrochloric acid (HCl), and acetonitrile were used as desorbing agents to investigate the reusability and stability of mesoporous ZSM-5 as an adsorbent for MB removal.

Evidence of Bos javanicus x Bos indicus hybridization and major QTLs for birth weight in Indonesian Peranakan Ongole cattle.

BACKGROUND: Peranakan Ongole (PO) is a major Indonesian Bos indicus breed that derives from animals imported from India in the late 19(th) century. Early imports were followed by hybridization with the Bos javanicus subspecies of cattle. Here, we used genomic data to partition the ancestry components of PO cattle and map loci implicated in birth weight. RESULTS: We found that B. javanicus contributes about 6-7% to the average breed composition of PO cattle. Only two nearly fixed B. javanicus haplotypes were identified, suggesting that most of the B. javanicus variants are segregating under drift or by the action of balancing selection. The zebu component of the PO genome was estimated to derive from at least two distinct ancestral pools. Additionally, well-known loci underlying body size in other beef cattle breeds, such as the PLAG1 region on chromosome 14, were found to also affect birth weight in PO cattle. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first attempt to characterize PO at the genome level, and contributes evidence of successful, stabilized B. indicus x B. javanicus hybridization. Additionally, previously described loci implicated in body size in worldwide beef cattle breeds also affect birth weight in PO cattle.