No abstract available

[en] Information has been obtained concerning the dependence of the antiradiation effect on chemical structure, particularly on the substitute in the β position of the alkyl chain of tryptamine. The example of the indole analog of adrenalin was used to confirm the previously observed fact that introducing a hydroxyl group in this position enhances the radioprotective effect of a compound

[en] Molecular mechanisms of radioprotective action of some substituted indolylalkylamines are discussed in terms of the statistical correlation analysis. It was established that electron and steric properties of the substitutents are the factors influencing the radioprotective efficiency of these compounds. It was shown that the correlation obtained, relating the structure of the compounds to the radioprotective effect, may be applied in studies of the mechanism of action of the preparations and for the purposeful synthesis of new compounds

[en] The possible relationship between exposure to extremely low electric and magnetic fields (EMF) and biological effects has become a public concern and a very active research topic. Many in vitro and in vivo studies have been carried out to explore the possible mechanism by which those fields can influence the functioning of living cells and whole animals. One of the ways in which electric or magnetic fields may effect animals and men is via melatonin. (author)

[en] A mixture of brominated melatonin derivatives has been synthesized for use as starting material for preparation of ring tritium labelled melatonin by catalytic hydrogenolysis. The high specific activity obtained makes this product useful in radioimmunoassay studies. (author)

[en] A series of synthetic 2-aryl-4(3H)-quinazolinones (1-25) was evaluated for in vitro antileishmanial activities against promastigotes of Leishmania major. Compound 1, with nitro group installed at C-4', was found to be the most active analog having the IC50 value of 35.8 ± 0.1 μM against the standard, pentamidine (IC50 = 5.09 ± 0.09 μM). Fourteen other derivatives i.e. 2, 5-8, 10-12, 14, 16, 19, 22, 24, ad 25, showed a moderate to weak antilieshmanial activity with IC50 values between 62.8 - 90.45 μM. The results indicate the potential of these compounds as leads for further studies towards the development of antileishmanial drugs. (author)

[en] This study aimed to evaluate if melatonin implantation at the end of April and June was able to increase cashmere production in female Inner Mongolian cashmere goats and to search for contributing factors accounting for the melatonin increasing in cashmere production. One hundred and fifty female Inner Mongolian cashmere goats (initial body weight 37.2 ± 3.3 kg) were randomly assigned to either a control (n=75) or a treatment (n=75) group. Goats in the treatment group were implanted with melatonin (2 mg/kg of body weight) on April 30 and June 30, 2014 while goats in the control received no treatment. Melatonin implantation increased cashmere yield by 23.4% while increasing the length and density of the cashmere fiber by 19.8% and 11.4%, whereas it decreased cashmere fiber diameter by 4.4%. Melatonin treatment had no effect on doe growth, litter size or birth and weaning weights of kid. Melatonin implantation promoted cashmere yield by increasing fiber length and density without impacting the performance of goats and their offspring. Therefore, melatonin implantation during the cashmere non-growing period (late April and June) is an effective way to increase cashmere yield and improve cashmere characteristics of goats.

[en] The influence of solid packing on the chemical process involved in the solid-liquid-gas three-phase discharge plasma reactor, initiated by a bipolar pulsed power source was studied with indigo carmine (indigo-5,5'-disulfonic acid, IDS) as the probe. Dynamic scanning of the UV-Vis absorption spectrum was used as the analysis method. Experimental results show that addition of solid packing into the water-air two-phase discharge plasma reactor enhances the chemical processes in the reactor. The dielectric properties of the packing materials determine the degree of enhancement. Water treatment performance of the reactor with dielectric spheres is much better than that with conducting materials for the same experimental conditions. In addition, dielectric glass beads have a stronger influence on the chemical enhancement process than ceramic spheres. Decolourization of IDS in the plasma reactor with dielectric packing is a pseudo-first-order reaction. The total organic carbon in the solution decreases during the treatment process

[en] The Xenopus tropicalis genome shows a single gene in each of the four cytochrome P450 1 (CYP1) subfamilies that occur in vertebrates, designated as CYP1A, CYP1B1, CYP1C1, and CYP1D1. We cloned the cDNAs of these genes and examined their expression in untreated tadpoles and in tadpoles exposed to waterborne aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists, 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB126), β-naphthoflavone (βNF), or indigo. We also examined the effects of PCB126 on expression of genes involved in stress response, cell proliferation, thyroid homeostasis, and prostaglandin synthesis. PCB126 induced CYP1A, CYP1B1, and CYP1C1 but had little effect on CYP1D1 (77-, 1.7-, 4.6- and 1.4-fold induction versus the control, respectively). βNF induced CYP1A and CYP1C1 (26- and 2.5-fold), while, under conditions used, indigo tended to induce only CYP1A (1.9-fold). The extent of CYP1 induction by PCB126 and βNF was positively correlated to the number of putative dioxin response elements 0-20 kb upstream of the start codons. No morphological effect was observed in tadpoles exposed to 1 nM-10 μM PCB126 at two days post-fertilization (dpf) and screened 20 days later. However, in 14-dpf tadpoles a slight up-regulation of the genes for PCNA, transthyretin, HSC70, Cu-Zn SOD, and Cox-2 was observed two days after exposure to 1 μM PCB126. This study of the full suite of CYP1 genes in an amphibian species reveals gene- and AHR agonist-specific differences in response, as well as a much lower sensitivity to CYP1 induction and short-term toxicity by PCB126 compared with in fish larvae. The single genes in each CYP1 subfamily may make X. tropicalis a useful model for mechanistic studies of CYP1 functions.

[en] We have developed a new strategy for the generation of patterned fluorescence images in polymer film. A fluorescent acetyl protected indole 6 was transformed to a nonfluorescent indigo dye 7 by UV irradiation. In addition, a t-Boc protected fluorescent indigo molecule 8 was also converted to a nonfluorescent indigo derivative 7 under a chemical amplification condition. Photomasked UV irradiation of the precursor molecules allowed efficient generation of patterned fluorescence images in polymer film. The strategy described in current investigation is believed to be an important addition to the fluorescent patterning technology