<p>Shiv Nadar University is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, research-focused, and student-centric University offering a full range of academic programs at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. With state-of-the-art infrastructure, the University comprises of academic wings, sophisticated labs, international standard sports facilities, amphitheaters, auditorium, conference rooms and smart classrooms. The University&rsquo;s goal is to become internationally recognized for the quality of its research and creative endeavors and their applicability to improving quality of life, generating new insights and expanding the boundaries of human knowledge creativity. Committed to excellence in teaching, research and service, the University aims to serve the higher education needs of India and the world beyond.</p>

Shiv Nadar University

(SoNS) School of Natural Sciences

We show in this paper that the basic representations of position and momentum in a quantum mechanical system, that are guided by a generalized uncertainty principle and lead to a corresponding one-parameter eigenvalue problem, can be interpreted in terms of an extended Schrödinger equation embodying momentum-dependent mass. Some simple consequences are pointed out. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

Physics

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Fulltext

Journal of Physics: Conference Series

Generalized Uncertainty Principle and Momentum-Dependent Effective Mass Schrödinger Equation

Working within the framework of parity-time-symmetric quantum mechanics, we look into the possibility of entanglement generation and demonstrate that the feature of non-violation of no-signaling principle may hold for the simplest nontrivial case of bipartite systems. Basically, our arguments are based on the computation of the reduced density matrix of one party to justify that the entropy of the other does not change. © 2020 World Scientific Publishing Company.

Modern Physics Letters A

Remarks on the preservation of no-signaling principle in parity-time-symmetric quantum mechanics

Microwave synthesized strontium bismuth niobate Sr1-xSnxBi1.95La0.05Nb2O9 (SSBLN) materials are investigated for non-Debye conduction and photocatalytic response. Lone electron pair repulsions between doping tin (Sn2+) and layer bismuth (Bi3+) generate optimal lattice strain. Lattice oxygen, that is critical in photocatalytic applications, is observed to fold along a-c plane on introducing tin. SSBLN compositions possess higher porosity with reduced dimensions. Porosity derived capacitive boundaries promote polaronic hopping in SSBLN materials over diffused ionic conduction. The visible spectrum photocatalytic response is better after doping tin in SSBLN compositions. Mesoporous network and electron-hole pair generation play crucial role in augmented photocatalytic behaviour of SSBLN materials. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

Physica B: Condensed Matter

Microwave derived porosity in tin-doped Sr1-xSnxBi1.95La0.05Nb2O9 nano materials for non-Debye conduction and photocatalytic activity

Reactive carbonyl species (RCSs) including one carbon formaldehyde (FA) and dicarbonyl compounds such as methylglyoxal (MGO) and glyoxal (GO) are produced during demethylase reactions and various glucose metabolic pathways respectively. Elevation of the RCSs concentrations in cells is due to abnormal DNA damage, glycation adducts with macromolecules that lead to various neurotoxic diseases. Hence, regular monitoring of these RCSs with an easy tool is of utmost interest. However, conventional methods such as chromatography and mass spectrometry for the detection of these species are not so economically viable. These issues were well addressed by the non-invasive reactivity-based fluorescence techniques. However, tedious synthesis, only specific to either mono aldehyde is limited to detect multiple RCSs in physiologies by synthesized fluorophores. An alternative, simple small molecules are widely applied as commercial biomarkers such as terephthalate and 2,3-diaminonaphthalene (NAP) for hydroxy radical (OH·) and nitric oxide (NO) respectively. Herein, we report an analogue of NAP, 1,8-diamino naphthalene (DAN) is an efficient chemosensor for highly sensitive detection of FA, MGO and GO with minimum detection limits of 0.95–3.97 μM. Surprisingly, DAN shows a “turn on” response towards RCSs but remaining silent towards NO which are exactly opposite to commercial probe NAP. Exogenous RCSs imaging in vitro cancerous cells shows the efficacy of the probe and its potential application for RCSs monitoring in cancer cells, generation of toxic byproducts. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

Chemistry

Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology

Highly selective chemosensor for reactive carbonyl species based on simple 1,8-diaminonaphthalene

<p>There are abundant sources of metal-oxide-based wastes from industries such as electronics and metal production, which generally have a detrimental effect on the environment when not recycled. In this concise review, we aim to provide a brief overview of the state-of-the-art research on how these metal-oxide wastes are being used by the scientific community in the applications of energy storage, catalysis, and sensing. We focus on three important waste streams: E-waste, waste from the production of metals, such as red mud and slag, and waste from metal recovery, for example, rusted wires and discarded capacitors. We review some promising routes for obtaining high-quality metal-oxide nanoparticles and nanowires and critically review potential pitfalls that hinder the wide-scale application of these waste-streams. © 2020 John Wiley &amp; Sons Ltd</p>

International Journal of Energy Research

Metal-oxide nanomaterials recycled from E-waste and metal industries: A concise review of applications in energy storage, catalysis, and sensing

NAC transcription factors (TFs) are known for their role in development and stress. This article attempts to functionally validate the role of rice SS1/ ONAC025 (LOC_Os11g31330) during seed development. The gene is seed-specific and its promoter directs reporter expression in the developing endosperm and embryo in rice transgenic plants. Furthermore, rice transgenic plants ectopically expressing SS1/ ONAC025 have a plantlet lethal phenotype with hampered vegetative growth, but increased tillers and an altered shoot apical meristem structure. The vegetative cells of these plantlets are filled with distinct starch granules. RNAseq analysis of two independent plantlets reveals the differential expression of reproductive and photosynthetic genes. A comparison with seed development transcriptome indicates differential regulation of many seed-related genes by SS1/ ONAC025. Genes involved in starch biosynthesis, especially amylopectin and those encoding seed storage proteins, and regulating seed size are also differentially expressed. In conjunction, SS1/ ONAC025 shows highest expression in japonica rice. As a TF, SS1/ ONAC025 is a transcriptional repressor localized to endoplasmic reticulum and nucleus. The article shows that SS1/ ONAC025 is a seed-specific gene promoting grain filling in rice, and negatively affecting vegetative growth. © 2020 The Authors. Plant Direct published by American Society of Plant Biologists and the Society for Experimental Biology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Life Sciences

Plant Direct

SUPER STARCHY1/ONAC025 participates in rice grain filling

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) has emerged as a global health concern during the last decade. In spite of a high mortality rate in pregnant women with fulminant hepatitis, no antiviral drugs or licensed vaccine is available in India. HEV-protease is a pivotal enzyme responsible for ORF1 polyprotein processing leading to cleavage of the non-structural enzymes involved in virus replication. HEV-protease region encoding 432–592 amino acids of Genotype-1 was amplified, expressed in Sf21 cells and purified in its native form. The recombinant enzyme was biochemically characterized using SDS-PAGE, Western blotting and Immunofluorescence. The enzyme activity and the inhibition studies were conducted using Zymography, FTC-casein based protease assay and ORF1 polyprotein digestion. To conduct ORF1 digestion assay, the polyprotein, natural substrate of HEV-protease, was expressed in E. coli and purified. Cleavage of 186 kDa ORF1 polyprotein by the recombinant HEV-protease lead to appearance of non-structural proteins viz. Methyltransferase, Protease, Helicase and RNA dependent RNA polymerase which were confirmed through immunoblotting using antibodies generated against specific epitopes of the enzymes. FTC-casein substrate was used for kinetic studies to determine Km and Vmax of the enzyme and also the effect of different metal ions and other protease inhibitors. A 95\% inhibition was observed with E-64 which was validated through in silico analysis. The correlation coefficient between inhibition and docking score of Inhibitors was found to have a significant value of r2 = 0.75. The predicted 3D model showed two domain architecture structures similar to Papain like cysteine protease though they differed in arrangements of alpha helices and beta sheets. Hence, we propose that HEV-protease has characteristics of “Papain-like cysteine protease,” as determined through structural homology, active site residues and class-specific inhibition. However, conclusive nature of the enzyme remains to be established. © Copyright © 2020 Saraswat, Chaudhary and Sehgal.

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Hepatitis E Virus Cysteine Protease Has Papain Like Properties Validated by in silico Modeling and Cell-Free Inhibition Assays

Scientific Reports

Publisher Correction: Design and efficient synthesis of pyrazoline and isoxazole bridged indole C-glycoside hybrids as potential anticancer agents (Scientific Reports, (2020), 10, 1, (6660), 10.1038/s41598-020-63377-x)

Inflammation is an immune response to protect against various types of infections. When unchecked, acute inflammation can be life-threatening, as seen with the current coronavirus pandemic. Strong oxidants, such as peroxynitrite produced by immune cells, are major mediators of the inflammation-associated pathogenesis. Cellular thiols play important roles in mitigating inflammation-associated macromolecular damage including DNA. Herein, we have demonstrated a role of glutathione (GSH) and other thiols in neutralizing the effect of peroxynitrite-mediated DNA damage through stable GSH-DNA adduct formation. Our observation supports the use of thiol supplements as a potential therapeutic strategy against severe COVID-19 cases and a Phase II (NCT04374461) open-label clinical trial launched in early May 2020 by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. © 2020 American Chemical Society.

Chemical Research in Toxicology

Protective Role of Glutathione against Peroxynitrite-Mediated DNA Damage during Acute Inflammation

The development of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) has revolutionized the state-of-the art treatment of HCV infections, with sustained virologic response rates above 90\%. However, viral variants harboring substitutions referred to as resistance-associated substitutions (RASs) may be present in baseline levels and confer resistance to DAAs, thereby posing a major challenge for HCV treatment. HCV replicons have been the primary tools for discovering and evaluating the inhibitory activity of DAAs against viral replication. Interest in replicon systems has further grown as they have become indispensable for discovering genotype-specific and cross-genotype RASs. Here, we review functional replicon systems for HCV, how these replicon systems have contributed to the development of DAAs, and the characteristics and distribution of RASs for DAAs. © Copyright © 2020 Khan, Soni and Veerapu.