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Shiv Nadar University

(SoNS) School of Natural Sciences

A family of pharmacophore acetylenic indole-3-carboxaldehyde (3) and acetylenic indole schiff bases (5 a-5 i) bearing indole framework were synthesized to afford structurally diverse moieties. Acetylenic indole-3-carboxaldehyde was coupled with various amines to furnish the novel scaffolds 5 a-5 i. These acetylenic indole Schiff bases (AISB) were synthesized in shorter times under microwave irradiation in comparison to classical reaction conditions. AISB were experimentally characterized by using IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, X ray crystallographic and mass spectrometric methods. The synthesized compounds showed promising anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties when tested in vitro against six bacterial and seven fungal strains. Among these, hybrids 5 a, 5 c, 5 e and 5 g were found to be even more potent than the standard drugs and were more influential against the bacterial than the fungal strains. These more potent compounds were then evaluated for their cytotoxicity by MTT assay on Hek293 and HeLa cells. The synergistic effect of bis-acetylenic compound 5 g with kanamycin and amphotericin B has also been scrutinized. Further, the structural and electronic properties of the molecules were investigated theoretically by performing density functional theory (DFT). © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

World University root node

Chemistry

ChemistrySelect

Acetylenic Indole-Encapsulated Schiff Bases: Synthesis, In Silico Studies as Potent Antimicrobial Agents, Cytotoxic Evaluation and Synergistic Effects

Slow inactivation in voltage-gated sodium channels (NaVs) directly regulates the excitability of neurons, cardiac myocytes and skeletal muscles. Although NaV slow inactivation appears to be conserved across phylogenies-from bacteria to humans-the structural basis for this mechanism remains unclear. Here, using site-directed labeling and EPR spectroscopic measurements of membrane-reconstituted prokaryotic NaV homologues, we characterize the conformational dynamics of the selectivity filter region in the conductive and slow-inactivated states to determine the molecular events underlying NaV gating. Our findings reveal profound conformational flexibility of the pore in the slow-inactivated state. We find that the P1 and P2 pore helices undergo opposing movements with respect to the pore axis. These movements result in changes in volume of both the central and intersubunit cavities, which form pathways for lipophilic drugs that modulate slow inactivation. Our findings therefore provide novel insight into the molecular basis for state-dependent effects of lipophilic drugs on channel function.

Life Sciences

Fulltext

Journal of General Physiology

The voltage-gated sodium channel pore exhibits conformational flexibility during slow inactivation

Angewandte Chemie

Kovalente organische Netzwerke und K{\"{a}}figverbindungen: Design und Anwendungen von polymeren und diskreten organischen Ger{\"{u}}sten

We study an extension of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) with additional right-handed singlet neutrino superfields. While such an extension incorporates a mechanism for the neutrino mass, it also opens up the possibility of having the right-sneutrinos ($\nu$˜ ) as the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). In this work, we focus on the viability of rather small (≲500 GeV) higgsino mass parameter ($\mu$), an important ingredient for “naturalness”, in the presence of such a LSP. For simplicity, we assume that the bino and wino mass parameters are much heavier; thus we only consider (almost) pure and compressed higgsino-like states, with small O(10−2) gaugino admixture which nevertheless still affect the decay of the low-lying higgsino-like states, thus significantly affecting the proposed signatures at colliders. Considering only prompt decays of the higgino-like states, especially the lightest chargino, we discuss the importance of leptonic channels consisting of up to two leptons with large missing transverse energy to probe this scenario at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). In addition we also comment on the dark matter predictions for the studied scenario.

Physics

Journal of High Energy Physics

Natural SUSY at LHC with right-sneutrino LSP

Temperature-pressure phase diagram of the Kitaev hyperhoneycomb iridate $\beta$-Li2IrO3 is explored using magnetization, thermal expansion, magnetostriction and muon spin rotation measurements, as well as single-crystal x-ray diffraction under pressure and ab initio calculations. The N{\'{e}}el temperature of $\beta$-Li2IrO3 increases with the slope of 0.9 K/GPa upon initial compression, but the reduction in the polarization field Hc reflects a growing instability of the incommensurate order. At 1.4 GPa, the ordered state breaks down upon a first-order transition, giving way to a new ground state marked by the coexistence of dynamically correlated and frozen spins. This partial freezing in the absence of any conspicuous structural defects may indicate the classical nature of the resulting pressure-induced spin liquid, an observation paralleled to the increase in the nearest-neighbor off-diagonal exchange $\Gamma$ under pressure.

Physical Review Letters

Breakdown of Magnetic Order in the Pressurized Kitaev Iridate $\beta$-Li2IrO3

Mathematics

Indian Statistical Institute Series

Preface

Understanding the factors that control the variability of oxygen isotopic ratios (δ18O) of Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) rainfall (δ18Op) is of vital importance for the interpretation of δ18Op derived from climate proxies (e.g., speleothem and tree ring cellulose) of this region. Here we demonstrate the importance of moisture transport pathways on spatiotemporal variations of ISM δ18Op using a new set of daily observations from central and northern India and previously reported data aided by simulations from an isotope-enabled General Circulation Model. 18O-depleted rain events are characterized by a higher number of air parcel back trajectories through the Bay of Bengal branch of moisture transport, while those through the Arabian Sea branch are associated with 18O enriched rain events. This effect is observed on intraseasonal to interannual timescales in the long-term observations at New Delhi as well. Thus, the shift in moisture transport regimes must be considered when interpreting δ 18Op from climate proxies of the ISM region. ©2018. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

The Effect of Monsoon Circulation on the Stable Isotopic Composition of Rainfall

Brain metastasis is one of the leading causes of death among cancer patients. Cancer cells migrate to various sites and harbor different niche in the body which help cancer cells in their survival. The brain is one of the safest place where cancer cells are protected from immune cells. Breast, lung, and melanoma cancer cells have high propensity to migrate towards the brain. To enter the brain, cancer cells have to cross the blood brain barrier. Survival and finding new niche in the brain are directed by several mechanisms in which different cellular players take part such as astrocytes, microglia, Schwann cells, satellite cells, oligodendrocytes, and ependymal cells. Usually, cancer cells highjack the machinery of brain cellular players to survive in the brain environment. It has been shown that co-culture of M2 macrophage with cancer cells leads to increased proliferation and survival of cancer cells. One of the challenges of understanding brain metastasis is appropriate model system to understand dynamic interaction of cancer cells and brain cellular players. To meet this challenge, microfluidic-based devices are employed which can mimic the dynamic conditions as well as can be used for culturing human cells for personalized therapy. In this review, we have systematically reviewed the current status of the role of cellular players in brain metastasis along with explaining how translational approach of microfluidics can be employed for finding new drug target as well as biomarker for brain metastasis. Finally, we have also commented on the mechanism of action of drugs against brain metastasis. © 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Cancer and Metastasis Reviews

Perspectives on the role of brain cellular players in cancer-associated brain metastasis: translational approach to understand molecular mechanism of tumor progression

The increasing need of on-demand power for enabling portable low-power devices and sensors has necessitated work in novel energy harvesting materials and devices. In a recent work, we demonstrated the production and suitability of three-dimensional (3-D) spacer all fibre piezoelectric textiles for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy for wearable and technical applications. The current work investigates the textile performance properties of these 3-D piezoelectric fabrics including porosity, air permeability, water vapour transmission and bursting strength. Furthermore, as these textiles are intended for wearable applications, we have assessed their wear abrasion and consequently provide surface resistance measurements which can affect the lifetime and efficiency of charge collection in the piezoelectric textile structures. The results show that the novel smart fabric with a measured porosity of 68\% had good air (1855 l/m2/s) and water vapour permeability (1.34 g/m2/day) values, good wear abrasion resistance over 60,000 rotations applied by a load of 12 kPa and bursting strength higher than 2400 kPa. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of 3-D piezoelectric fabrics revealed that owing to the use of Ag/PA66 yarns, the textiles exhibit excellent antibacterial activity against not only Gram-negative bacteria E. coli but they are also capable of killing antibiotic methicillin-resistant bacteria S. aureus. © 2018, © 2018 The Textile Institute.

Journal of the Textile Institute

Evaluating the fabric performance and antibacterial properties of 3-D piezoelectric spacer fabric

Bacterial cell division is a complex process brought about by the coordinated action of multiple proteins. Separation of daughter cells during the final stages of division involves cleavage of new cell wall laid down at the division septum. In E. coli, this process is governed by the action of N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanine amidases AmiA/B/C, which are regulated by their LytM activators EnvC and NlpD. While much is known about the regulation of septum cleavage in E. coli, the mechanism of daughter cell separation is not clear in Caulobacter crescentus, a dimorphic crescent-shaped bacterium. In this work, we characterized the role of AmiC, the only annotated amidase in C. crescentus. AmiC from C. crescentus is functional in E. coli and restores cell separation defects seen in E. coli amidase mutants, suggesting that AmiC has septum splitting activity. The medial localization of AmiC was independent of DipM, an LytM domain-containing endopeptidase. Our results indicate that enzymatic activity is essential for medial recruitment of AmiC. Overexpression of AmiC causes cell separation defects and formation of chains. Finally, overexpression of AmiC in cells inhibited for cell division leads to lysis. Collectively, our findings reveal that regulation of daughter cell separation in C. crescentus differs from that of E. coli and can serve as a model system to study bacterial cytokinesis. © 2017, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.