Great Potential For Further Studies Research Articles

COMPLEX RESEARCH EXPEDITION “CRILLON 2023”: FIRST FINDINGS AND PRELIMINARY RESULTS

In August 2023, a comprehensive expedition “Crillon 2023” was performed, covering both terrestrial and marine biotopes in the southeastern part of the Crillon Peninsula (Sakhalin Island, Russia). A group of specialists carried out field work in ichthyology, invertebrate zoology, entomology, botany, lichenology, bryology, mycology, parasitology, microbiology and marine biology. In the scarcely studied territory of the southeastern part of the peninsula, a notable amount of data on species diversity was collected, including more than 200 species of plants, 101 species of lichens, 74 species of mosses, 117 species of basidial macromycetes were recorded. Marine coastal communities of the littoral and sublittoral zones were studied, and diving methods were exploited. As many as 119 species of invertebrates and 20 species of seaweed have been recorded. Information was collected on 20 species of fish, including data on helminth infestation. Parasitological studies included the search for microsporidia in all available animal hosts, as well as the search for root crayfish - parasites of arthropods. Among the animals and plants found, there are rare and endangered species included in the regional and federal Red Books, as well as those previously not recorded for Sakhalin. The preliminary results obtained indicate great potential for further study of the eastern part of the peninsula from the standpoint of biological sciences, as well as the prospects for establishment a biological station in this area for long-term research and development.

Dichloroacetic acid derivatives as potential anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory agents

The aim. This review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of dichloroacetic acid derivatives. We aim to cover all aspects of these compounds, including their chemical properties, various synthesis methods, and their wide range of applications in medicinal chemistry. By exploring their diverse roles in drug development, we aim to highlight their importance and potential in shaping future pharmaceutical innovation.
 Materials and methods. Bibliosemantic and analytical methods are used in the research.
 Results. Our studies confirm the potential effectiveness of dichloroacetic acid and its derivatives in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. These compounds can induce the apoptosis process, which is the programmed cell death, and inhibit the cancer cells' growth. This is particularly effective when dichloroacetic acid and its derivatives are used in combination with other therapeutic methods, as indicated in the patents cited in our study. Dichloroacetic acid and its derivatives have also shown the ability to lower blood glucose and cholesterol levels. This indicates the possibility of their use for diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and lactic acidosis treatment. Diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and lactic acidosis are serious conditions that can lead to significant health problems. Therefore, the possibility of using dichloroacetic acid and its derivatives for the treatment of these conditions opens new perspectives in medical science.
 Conclusions. Our findings point to the prospects of further research in the field of new therapy methods development and the use of dichloroacetic acid derivatives as potential drugs to improve the effectiveness of cancer and other diseases treatment. We believe that these compounds have great potential for further study and may play an important role in future medical innovation

Religiniai medalikėliai Lietuvos archeologinėje medžiagoje: chronologija, paplitimas, tipologija

The subject of this research paper is religious medals in Lithuanian archeological material that had been found during archeological excavations in Lithuania during the period of 2009–2019. The abundance and variety of religious medals found during archeological excavations as of yet has not been studied. In general, the extent and diversity of these finds in museum collections has not yet been systematically assessed. The main methodological problem that derived this research to be done is the lack of papers written about this subject not only in the field of archeology but in other fields of research as well. There is only a small number of articles analyzing religious medals. This archeological material is a little-known source of history of Lithuanian culture, and systematized data on these findings would be useful for archeologists to date and describe other findings found during the archeological excavations.
 The main goals of this research paper are to introduce the historical evolution of religious medals; determine main finding sites of religious medals in Lithuania; determine main types of religious medals, found during archeological excavations in Lithuania; analyze and interpret religious medals found in Lithuania; determine their prevalence and development.
 The main findings of this research. A total of 241 religious medals have been analyzed in this study, that are kept in several different museums in Lithuania. Due to the rapidly increasing amount of this kind of archeological material available for research, it can be concluded that there is a great potential for further study into religious medals. The first religious medals were made for the miraculous paintings of the Virgin Mary. Religious medals began to be produced in Rome, Italy, and spread successfully around the world and prevailed in the Christian Europe. During archeological excavations, religious medals are found in cemeteries in churches and near them (11 sites), in burials of old cemeteries – 12 sites, in church and monastery complexes (where religious medals had been found in burials in the territory of monasteries) – 3 sites, and residential type sites (where medals had been found outside of burials) – 51 sites. A total of 77 sites were analyzed in this research. In the typology, religious medals have been grouped into 7 main types: medals of Jesus Christ; medals of the St. Virgin Mary; medals of Holy Orders; medals of Saints; medals of Sobriety fraternities; medals of monograms and “non-specific” medals. These types, if needed, were then broken down into smaller subtypes. The majority of religious medals in this research are of 19th century – 52, of 17th century – 24, 18th century – 24, 18th–19th century – 5, 19th–20th century – 32, 20th century – 9. The earliest ones, found in Lithuania, are from the year of 1625. Religious medals were made using two types of technology – they were minted or cast. Mostly made of copper alloy. There are known medals made in Lithuania of Lithuanian goldsmiths and there are known imported medals from Russia (17th–18th/19th centuries), Italy (17th–18th centuries), Spain (17th–18th centuries), Austria (18th– 19th centuries) and Poland (19th–20th centuries). The highest number of medals were found in burials near churches, least – in city’s cultural layers.

Local Hydrogen Measurements in Multi-Phase Steel C60E by Means of Electrochemical Microcapillary Cell Technique

By utilizing hydrogen as an eco-friendly energy source, many metals are exposed to gaseous (pressurized) hydrogen. High-strength steels with an ultimate tensile strength of 800 MPa and above are especially susceptible to hydrogen-induced fracturing, also referred to as hydrogen embrittlement (HE). Both the microstructure and phase fractions within the steel, as well as lattice distortion, carbide precipitation, residual stress, etc., significantly affect the susceptibility to HE. Among others, one important cause for this observation is found in the locally varying hydrogen solubility within different microstructural phases such as martensite, bainite, pearlite, and ferrite. Both a thorough understanding of the HE mechanisms and taking countermeasures in the form of alloying design require an accurate analysis of local diffusive hydrogen concentrations within the material. Thermal analysis methods such as Thermal Desorption Mass Spectrometry only display an integral hydrogen concentration throughout the whole sample volume. To analyze the local diffusive hydrogen concentration, novel measuring techniques with a high special resolution must therefore be utilized. The current research presents first-of-its-kind hydrogen analyses by means of the electrochemical microcapillary cell. Using a 10 µm tip opening diameter allows for conducting local diffusive hydrogen measurements within individual grains of multi-phase carbon steel C60E (1.1221). The results confirm that hydrogen is distributed heterogeneously within multi-phase steels. Considering the individual phase fractions and the respective local diffusive hydrogen concentrations, a total diffusive hydrogen concentration can be calculated. The obtained value is in good agreement with reference thermal hydrogen analyses. Our results suggest that electrochemical microcapillary cell measurements offer great potential for further studies, which will provide a better understanding of HE and local hydrogen accumulation.

Novel resources of chitinolytic bacteria isolated from Yok Don National Park, Vietnam.

This study focused on the isolation and characterization of chitinolytic bacteria from Yok Don National Park, Vietnam for future studies regarding biofertilizers and biocontrol agents. Chitinolytic bacteria were isolated from soils and chitin flakes soaked in river water at the National Park. On the basis of the halo zones caused by colloidal chitin degradation and colony morphologies, 12 chitinolytic strains were chosen from 15 700 isolates for various examinations. Findings from 16S rDNA analysis indicated that among these strains, 10 could be identified as different species, and the remaining 2 showed less identity to known species and genera. The 12 bacteria possess numerous properties concerning plant growth promotion and/or phytopathogenic biocontrol. Paenibacillus chitinolyticus YSY-3.1, which exhibited the highest chitinase activity and remarkable properties for plant growth, was chosen for sequencing and draft genome analysis. The results showed that the genome is 6571 781bp in length with 6194 coding sequences, 52.2% G+C, and 96.53% ANI value. It harbors the chitinolytic system comprising 22 enzymes. Among these enzymes, PcChiQ has a loop structure different from that of known family 19 chitinases, PcChiA contains two GH18 catalytic domains rarely found in microorganisms, and PcChiF contains three GH18 catalytic domains that have never been reported. The 12 identified chitinolytic bacteria exhibit great potential for further studies on plant growth-promoting and/or biocontrol properties. Among these bacteria, two strains might be good candidates for next examinations concerning novel species and/or genera, and strain YSY-3.1 could possess a novel chitinolytic system.

Correlation between total phenolic and flavonoid contents and biological activities of 12 ethanolic extracts of Iranian propolis.

Propolis is a resinous substance produced by honey bees that is very popular as a natural remedy in traditional medicine. The current research is the first study on the biological properties of ethanolic extracts of propolis (EEP) from several different regions (12) of Iran. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents (TPC and TFC) of Iranian EEPs were variable between 26.59-221.38 mg GAE/g EEP and 4.8-100.03 mg QE/g EEP. The DPPH scavenging assay showed all the studied EEP samples, except for the sample with the lowest TPC and TFC (P6), have suitable antioxidant activity. All the EEPs inhibited both cholinesterase enzymes (acetylcholinesterase: AChE, butyrylcholinesterase: BuChE) but most of them exhibited a distinct selectivity over BuChE. Evaluation of the antibacterial activity of the EEP samples using four pathogenic bacteria (B. cereus, S. aureus, A. baumannii, and P. aeruginosa) demonstrated that the antibacterial properties of propolis are more effective on the gram-positive bacterium. Spearman correlation analysis showed a strong positive correlation between TPC and TFC of the Iranian EEPs and their antioxidant, anticholinesterase, and antibacterial activities. Considering that there is ample evidence of anticholinesterase activity of flavonoids and a significant correlation between the anticholinesterase activity of the studied Iranian EEPs and their total flavonoid content was observed, the interaction of 17 well-known propolis flavonoids with AChE and BuChE was explored using molecular docking. The results indicated that all the flavonoids interact with the active site gorge of both enzymes with high affinity. Summing up, the obtained results suggest that Iranian propolis possesses great potential for further studies.

Solubility Enhancement for Dietheyldithiocarbamate-Zinc for Lung Cancer Treatment

Diethyldithiocarbamate zinc (Zn(DDC)2), has shown promising antineoplastic effects against a wide variety of cancers. However, this application was hindered by its poor water solubility. Therefore, complexation with cyclodextrin was used to enhance the solubility. Five different concentrations of 2-hydroxyl beta-cyclodextrin (HP) and ether beta-cyclodextrin (SBE) were used. CD-Zn(DDC)2 solutions were freez-dried for further characterisation using DSC, TGA and FT-IR. The phase solubility study showed a significant water-solubility enchantment of  Zn(DDC)2, and the characterisation studies confirmed the formation of inclusion complexes CD-Zn(DDC)2. Overall, CDs have improved Zn(DDC)2 solubility significantly and showed a promising anticancer activity against lung cancer cells. Hence, CD-Zn(DDC)2 complexes have a great potential for further studies against cancer.    

Synthesis of Nitrogen‐Doped Hierarchical Carbon Derived from Water Hyacinth with High Catalytic Activity for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

AbstractNitrogen‐doped carbon materials as durable high‐performance oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts showed great potential to replace Pt‐based catalysts. In this paper, a N‐self‐doped carbon catalyst is fabricated from natural biomass (water hyacinth) via a facile pyrolysis process. The as‐prepared catalysts with high specific surface area (828.50 m2 g−1) possess hierarchical porous structures and excellent ORR efficiency. The catalysts exhibit a high onset potential (Eonset=0.948 V), half‐wave potential (E1/2=0.827 V) and limiting current density (JL=4.95 mA cm−2), which is comparable to commercial Pt/C. Moreover, the long‐term stability and tolerance to methanol of the as‐prepared catalysts are also superior to those of Pt/C. The outstanding electrochemical performance is ascribed to the hierarchical porous structure with accessible active sites, which originated from the natural properties of water hyacinth. This work opens a new door for the synthesis of NC catalysts using biomass as a precursor. The as‐prepared catalysts have great potential for further study and applications in energy.

Application of vibrational spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance methods for drugs pharmacokinetics research.

The development of new methods for determining the concentration of drugs is an actual topic today. The article contains a detailed review on vibrational spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance methods using for pharmacokinetic research. This study is devoted to the possibility of using vibrational spectroscopy and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine the concentration of drugs and the use of these groups of techniques for therapeutic drug monitoring. The study was conducted by using scientific libraries (Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, Medline, GoogleScholar, eLIBRARY, PubMed) and reference literature. A search was conducted for the period from 2011 to 2021 in Russian and English, by combinations of words: 1Hnuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), vibrational spectroscopy, Surface-Enhanced Raman spectroscopy, drug concentration, therapeutic drug monitoring. These methods have a number of advantages andare devoid of some of the disadvantages of classical therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) methods- high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. This review considers the possibility of using the methods of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and 1H NMR-spectroscopy to assess the concentration of drugs invarious biological media (blood, urine), as well as to study intracellular metabolism and the metabolism of ophthalmic drugs. 1Н NMR-spectroscopy can be chosen as a TDM method, since it allows analyzing the structure and identifying metabolites of various drugs. 1Н NMR-based metabolomics can provide information on the side effects of drugs, predict response to treatment, and provide key information on the mechanisms of action of known and new drug compounds. SERS and 1Н NMR-spectroscopy have great potential for further study and the possibility of introducing them into clinical practice, including for evaluating the efficacy and safety of drugs.

The effects of ultrasonic wave on heterogeneous coagulation and flotation separation of pentlandite-serpentine

It is well known that in the flotation of copper-nickel sulfide ore, pentlandite and serpentine are easy to form hetero-aggregation, which makes it difficult to separate them. Therefore, dispersion operation is indispensable, including chemical and physical dispersion. Chemical dispersion is usually achieved by adding dispersing reagents, which is widely used in mineral flotation, while the study of ultrasonic dispersion in copper-nickel sulfide ores in physical dispersion is less reported. Thus ultrasonic dispersion technology was introduced to weaken the hetero-aggregation and to improve the floatability of pentlandite. Through the implementation of a series of conditional tests of influence factors including ultrasonic site, ultrasonic probe type, ultrasonic time, and ultrasonic power, the optimum ultrasonic dispersion system was demined, and the results showed that the ultrasonic power was the key factor affecting the dispersion of pentlandite-serpentine. Then the dispersion mechanism of ultrasonic was revealed by means of supernatant turbidity measurements, particle-size distribution (PSD) analyses, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscope (AFM) in succession. Coupled with supernatant turbidity measurements, PSD analyses and SEM images of flotation concentrates all confirmed that the ultra-fine serpentine particles coating on the coarse pentlandite particles were effectively dispersed. AFM analyses depicted the morphological changes of surface roughness treated by different ultrasonic power, and confirmed that the ultrasonic power of 200 W could increase the surface roughness and floatability of pentlandite but decrease that of serpentine. Thus, the difference in floatability between the two minerals were enlarged so as to achieve efficient separation of the two minerals. The results of this research are helpful to understand clearly the mechanism of ultrasonic dispersion of pentlandite-serpentine, which provides an alternative dispersion technology and exhibits great potential for further study and application.

Study of the Antimicrobial Activity of the Chinese Dong Ethnic Minority Medicine, Madeng'ai.

The overuse of antibiotics has contributed to the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, which poses a challenging task for clinical therapy. Thus, new agents with antibiotic efficacy against multidrug-resistant infections are needed. The traditional Dong ethnic minority medicines have emerged as a new source for prodrug selection. Among them, Madeng'ai (PotentillafreynianaBornm) is widely used by the folk for anti-infection and wound healing, although the mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, the antimicrobial activities of Dong medicine Madeng'ai were evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. S. aureus, E. coli, E. faecalis, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, and A. baumannii were cultured in LB media, different concentrations of Madeng'ai powder solution were added to the LB agar plates to evaluate minimal inhibitory concentration. An animal study was performed on a mouse excisional wound model combined with bacterial solution injection in the wound area. After Madeng'ai or PBS treatment, hematoxylin and eosin analysis were used for pathological analysis of skin tissues from the infected area. Madeng'ai powder solution over 2 mg/mL concentration completely inhibited E. coli growth. At 4.0 mg/mL, Madeng'ai significantly inhibited the growth of E. faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAE), Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter baumannii. The mouse model revealed that Madeng'ai could suppress the growth of MRSA and PAE and accelerate healing of cutaneous wounds. Madeng'ai, a newly discovered Dong ethnic minority medicine possesses considerable antimicrobial activity against both human normal pathogenic bacteria and multiresistance bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, S. aureus, and Acinetobacter baumannii. Therefore, Madeng'ai has great potential for further study and clinical application.

Atomic Fe−N−C Sites on Porous Carbon Nanostructures for Oxygen Reduction Reaction

AbstractIron‐nitrogen‐carbon (Fe−N−C) materials are considered as promising oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts due to their high efficiency, low cost, and high tolerance of CO and methanol, with the potential to replace platinum (Pt) based catalysts. However, the complex synthesis procedure and toxic raw materials inhibit the large‐scale production of Fe−N−C catalysts. Herein, an atomic Fe−N−C catalyst, derived from biomass (pig blood) using a facile annealing process is reported. The prepared catalysts possess hierarchical porous structure and exhibit superior ORR efficiency with a high onset potential (Eonset=0.999 V) and a half‐wave potential (E1/2=0.875 V), comparable with commercial Pt/C. The synthesized catalysts show excellent long‐term stability and tolerance to methanol. Moreover, Fe−N−C‐900 catalyst as cathode of Zn‐air battery exhibits high discharge voltage, high power density and cycling stability. Our work proposed the synthesis of Fe−N−C catalysts, using biomass as precursor. These prepared catalysts have great potential for further study and applications in energy.

Human amniotic fluid derived-exosomes alleviate hypoxic encephalopathy by enhancing angiogenesis in neonatal mice after hypoxia

Neonatal hypoxic encephalopathy is a type of central nervous system dysfunction manifested by high mortality and morbidity. Exosomes play a crucial role in neuroprotection by enhancing angiogenesis. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of human amniotic fluid-derived exosomes (hAFEXOs) on functional recovery in neonatal hypoxic encephalopathy. The transwell assay, scratch wound healing assay, and tube formation assay were used to evaluate the effect of hAFEXOs on the angiogenesis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) after oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD). The angiogenesis of microvascular endothelial cells (MECs) in the cortex was tested in neonatal mice treated with hAFEXOs or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) after hypoxia. Expressions of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the cerebral cortex were also tested by western blot. The Morris Water Maze Test (MWM) was carried out to detect the performance of spatial memory after processing with hAFEXOs or PBS. The results indicated that hAFEXOs favored tubing formation and migration of HUVECs after in vitro OGD. The hAFEXOs also favored the expression of CD31 in neonatal mice following hypoxia. The expressions of both HIF-1α and VEGF were significantly augmented in the cerebral cortex of neonatal mice which were treated with hAFEXOs. Moreover, the MWM test results showed that the performance of the spatial memory was better in the hAFEXO-treated group than in the PBS-treated group. Our study indicates that hAFEXOs alleviated hypoxic encephalopathy and enhanced angiogenesis in neonatal mice after hypoxia. In addition, hAFEXOs promoted migration and tube formation of HUVECs after OGD in vitro. These findings confirm that hAFEXOs show great potential for further studies aimed at developing therapeutic agents for hypoxic encephalopathy.

By Way of Old Petersburg: Desmond O’Grady and Russian Poetry

The article takes on a direction which has great potential for further studies of contemporary Irish poetry: studying the work of Irish poets through their relation to Russian literature. It focuses on the reception and reimagining of Russian poetry in the work of Desmond O’Grady, one of the leading figures in Irish poetry, who started writing in mid-1950s. The article studies three poems by O’Grady which are addressed to his Russian counterparts: “Missing Andrei Voznesensky,” “Joseph Brodsky Visits Kinsale,” and “My City,” a translation from Anna Akhmatova’s “Poem without a Hero.” None of these poems has yet been subject of thorough critical analysis. Each of the poems has become a signpost on O’Grady’s poetic map and an important element of his own “private mythology.” When analysed in the wider context of Irish poetry, they help form a clearer picture of the influence Russian literature has had on contemporary Irish poets.

Natural Phytochemicals Derived from Gymnosperms in the Prevention and Treatment of Cancers.

The incidence of various types of cancer is increasing globally. To reduce the critical side effects of cancer chemotherapy, naturally derived compounds have been considered for cancer treatment. Gymnosperms are a group of plants found worldwide that have traditionally been used for therapeutic applications. Paclitaxel is a commercially available anticancer drug derived from gymnosperms. Other natural compounds with anticancer activities, such as pinostrobin and pinocembrin, are extracted from pine heartwood, and pycnogenol and enzogenol from pine bark. Gymnosperms have great potential for further study for the discovery of new anticancer compounds. This review aims to provide a rational understanding and the latest developments in potential anticancer compounds derived from gymnosperms.

Key determinants of quality in the pharmaceutical supply chain

PurposeEmpirical studies on the supply chain quality management (SCQM) of the pharmaceutical sector are scarce and scattered. This paper investigates a set of key quality determinants in the pharmaceutical sector to offer a holistic quality control framework for its supply chain (SC).Design/methodology/approachA mixed-method design was used. A focused group discussion with seven pharmaceutical SC managers summarized the narratives of the SCQM in this sector and helped to develop a questionnaire. The survey data were collected from the managers of 299 pharmaceutical firms.FindingsThe statistical results show the key determinants are leadership (LS), customer focus (CF), process integration and management (PIM), supplier relations (SR), quality practice (QP), human resource practices (HRP) and safety (SF). Unlike many other sectors, in the pharmaceutical SC, logistics and inventory costs have been proved to be not as important as other measures in the eyes of the SC managers and as part of SCQM performance measures, which can be a result of the priority systems influenced by the World Health Organization standards.Originality/valueThe study is distinctive in its scope as is carried out in a developing country with focus on concept of SCQM with reference to pharmaceutical SC. It shows great potential for further studies and improvements in logistics and warehousing in this sector, for the interest of the pharmaceutical SC managers and regulators who aim to ensure safety and quality in the health-care sector.

Experimental Analysis of Friend-And-Native Based Location Awareness for Accurate Collaborative Filtering

Location-based recommender systems have gained a lot of attention in both commercial domains and research communities where there are various approaches that have shown great potential for further studies. However, there has been little attention in previous research on location-based recommender systems for generating recommendations considering the locations of target users. Such recommender systems sometimes recommend places that are far from the target user’s current location. In this paper, we explore the issues of generating location recommendations for users who are traveling overseas by taking into account the user’s social influence and also the native or local expert’s knowledge. Accordingly, we have proposed a collaborative filtering recommendation framework called the Friend-And-Native-Aware Approach for Collaborative Filtering (FANA-CF), to generate reasonable location recommendations for users. We have validated our approach by systematic and extensive experiments using real-world datasets collected from Foursquare TM. By comparing algorithms such as the collaborative filtering approach (item-based collaborative filtering and user-based collaborative filtering) and the personalized mean approach, we have shown that our proposed approach has slightly outperformed the conventional collaborative filtering approach and personalized mean approach.

Individual differences in theta-band oscillations in a spatial memory network revealed by electroencephalography predict rapid place learning.

Spatial memory has been closely related to the medial temporal lobe and theta oscillations are thought to play a key role. However, it remains difficult to investigate medial temporal lobe activation related to spatial memory with non-invasive electrophysiological methods in humans. Here, we combined the virtual delayed-matching-to-place task, reverse-translated from the watermaze delayed-matching-to-place task in rats, with high-density electroencephalography recordings. Healthy young volunteers performed this computerised task in a virtual circular arena, which contained a hidden target whose location moved to a new place every four trials, allowing the assessment of rapid memory formation. Using behavioural measures as predictor variables for source reconstructed frequency-specific electroencephalography power, we found that inter-individual differences in ‘search preference’ during ‘probe trials’, a measure of one-trial place learning known from rodent studies to be particularly hippocampus-dependent, correlated predominantly with distinct theta-band oscillations (approximately 7 Hz), particularly in the right temporal lobe, the right striatum and inferior occipital cortex or cerebellum. This pattern was found during both encoding and retrieval/expression, but not in control analyses and could not be explained by motor confounds. Alpha-activity in sensorimotor and parietal cortex contralateral to the hand used for navigation also correlated (inversely) with search preference. This latter finding likely reflects movement-related factors associated with task performance, as well as a frequency difference in (ongoing) alpha-rhythm for high-performers versus low-performers that may contribute to these results indirectly. Relating inter-individual differences in ongoing brain activity to behaviour in a continuous rapid place-learning task that is suitable for a variety of populations, we could demonstrate that memory-related theta-band activity in temporal lobe can be measured with electroencephalography recordings. This approach holds great potential for further studies investigating the interactions within this network during encoding and retrieval, as well as neuromodulatory impacts and age-related changes.

Discovery of heterocycle-containing α-naphthoflavone derivatives as water-soluble, highly potent and selective CYP1B1 inhibitors

Cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1) has been well validated as an attractive target for cancer prevention and drug resistance reversal. In continuation of our interest in this area, herein, a set of forty-six 6,7,10-trimethoxy-α-naphthoflavone derivatives varying in B ring was synthesized and screened against CYP1 enzymes, leading to the identification of fluorine-containing compound 15i as the most potent and selective CYP1B1 inhibitor (IC50 value of 0.07nM), being 84-fold more potent than that of the template molecule ANF. Alternatively, the amino-substituted derivative 13h not only possessed a potent inhibitory effect on CYP1B1 (IC50 value of 0.98nM), but also had a substantially increased water solubility as compared with the lead ANF (311μg/mL for 13h and <5μg/mL for ANF). The current study expanded the structural diversity of CYP1B1 inhibitors, and compound 13h could be considered as a promising starting point with great potential for further studies.

Securities Lending and Short Selling

Purpose – The aim of this study is to offer the current view on the subject, placing emphasis on studies that use Brazilian data and that could motivate new research. Design/methodology/approach –A bibliographic review of related studies and a secondary database. Findings – The contribution is to introduce this topic for the academic community in Brazil. We also present the main descriptive information for this market and its economic and policy implications. Originality/value – We contribute to the literature by summarizing the main works in the field, focusing on the Brazilian market, which has very detailed data and great potential for further studies.