International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Volume 9, Issue 12

We have synthesized soluble TiOPc derivatives containing alkoxy groups for use as additives in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The DSSC devices containing these TiOPc derivatives exhibited short-circuit current densities of 8.49~10.04 mA/cm² and...

This paper provides a comprehensive explanation of striated muscle mechanics and contraction on the basis of filament rotations. Helical proteins, particularly the coiled-coils of tropomyosin, myosin and α-actinin, shorten their H-bonds cooperatively...

This study reports the effect of Spilanthes acmella Murr. extracts on phenylephrine-induced contraction of rat thoracic aorta as well as their antioxidant activity. Results show that the extracts exert maximal vasorelaxations in a dose-dependent mann...

QDs may offer significant advantages in environmental and bead-based applications where the target cells need to be discriminated above background fluorescence. We have examined the possible applications of QDs for flow cytometric measurements (FCM)...

Additional specific rates of solvolysis have been determined, mainly in fluoroalcohol containing solvents, for benzenesulfonyl chloride (1) and p-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride (2). For trans-β-styrenesulfonyl chloride (3), a study has been carried ou...

A screening survey of the presence of aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) was carried out on 265 samples of cheese made from cow, buffalo, goat, sheep, sheep-goat milk collected in the Apulia region (Southern Italy). Selected samples included unripened, medium and l...

Farm animals are exposed to zearalenone through the feed because of the widespread occurrence of this mycotoxin in cereals and clinical reproductive disorders due to mycotoxin effects are often reported in farm animal species. This review describes t...

T-2 toxin is a mycotoxin that belongs to a group of type A tricothecenes found in agricultural products. The cytotoxicity of T-2 toxin was characterized by analysis of the yeast transcriptome upon challenge with T-2 toxin. Interestingly, T-2 toxin-in...

Osmotin promoter binding protein 1 (OPBP1), an AP2/ERF transcription factor of tobacco, has been demonstrated to function in disease resistance and salt tolerance in tobacco. To increase stress tolerant capability of rice, we generated rice plants wi...

Protein folding, misfolding and aggregation, as well as the way misfolded and aggregated proteins affects cell viability are emerging as key themes in molecular and structural biology and in molecular medicine. Recent advances in the knowledge of the...

Possible health risks associated with occupational inhalation of mycotoxin-containing dust remain largely unknown, partly because methods for mycotoxin detection are not sensitive enough for the small dust masses obtained by personal sampling, which...

This study investigated the effect of board type (unmodified vs. MAPE modified) on the surface quality and thickness swelling-water absorption properties of recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) based wood plastic composites. Additionally, two co...

It has been shown that DON has negative effects on the active transport of some nutrients in the small intestine of chickens. The plausible interactions between food contaminants and natural components could be high. The present study investigated th...

As in a cops and robbers play we discover new mycotoxins and metabolites everyday and we are forced to develop new molecules quickly as chemo- or biosensors or to modify existing molecules able to recognize these new hazardous compounds. This will re...

Fusarium graminearum clade pathogens cause Fusarium head blight (FHB) or scab of wheat and other small cereal grains, producing different kinds of trichothecene mycotoxins that are detrimental to human and domestic animals. Type B trichothecene mycot...

Different plant products have been subjected to detailed investigations due to their increasing importance for improving human health. Plants are sources of many groups of natural products, of which large number of new compounds has already displayed...

The 3x redundancy of the Genetic Code is usually explained as a necessity to increase the mutation-resistance of the genetic information. However recent bioinformatical observations indicate that the redundant Genetic Code contains more biological in...

A series of 3-hydroxypyridine-4-one and 3-hydroxypyran-4-one derivatives were subjected to quantitative structure-antimicrobial activity relationships (QSAR) analysis. A collection of chemometrics methods, including factor analysis-based multiple lin...

Degradation of insulin was studied in this work. Casein and protamine could obviously suppress degradation of insulin by intestinal enzymes, and could protect insulin from degradation by the mechanism of competition and combination with proteolysis e...

This study was designed to investigate the effect of increased levels of HO-1 on hypertension exacerbated by diabetes. Diabetic spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and WKY (control) animals were treated with streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes a...

Deoxynivalenol (DON) is one of the most common contaminants of various foodstuffs. A biotransformation system was used in order to lessen the toxicity of DON. A strain of Aspergillus (NJA-1) was isolated from soil and cultured in an inorganic salt me...

Mechanical factors are related to periprosthetic osseointegration following total hip arthroplasty. However, osteoblast response to strain in implanted femurs is unclear because of the absence of accurate stress-measuring methods. In our study, finit...

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) with dual dopamine/serotonin-like binding sites (DS-MIP) was synthesized for use as a receptor model of study the druginteraction of biological mixed receptors at a molecular level. The polymer material was produ...

Chaetomium globosum is frequently isolated in water-damaged buildings and produces two mycotoxins called chaetoglobosins A and C when cultured on building material. In this study, the influence of ambient pH on the growth of C. globosum was examined...