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Panchayati Raj was widely accepted because it meant government through mutual consultation, consent, and consensus. It fit right in with India's ancient cultural patterns. The passage of the 73rd amendment by Parliament in 1992 had the potential to usher in genuine democracy at the grassroots village level. This experiment is proving to be a huge success, especially in terms of allowing women to come out of their homes and participate in administrative and political fields. It must be considered that including well-qualified women in village Panchayats at the outset of the Panchayati Raj Institution's interlocution in rural areas would be a vital instrumental measure in planning for improving the social status and empowering women.

In order to meet the ever-growing global demands for food, healthcare, and energy, among other sources, the twenty-first century has seen a significant surge in the use of microalgae. They have seen applications in varied industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to energy to even the food industry, where its role as a source of proteins shines the most among other bioactive compounds. The microalgal biomass has the innate ability to grow in varied ecological conditions and has diverse compositions. While not economically competitive with fossil fuels or other renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, microalgal sources are technically viable, and a multitude of resources and time have been poured into the research of microalgal renewable fuels (biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen, etc.). The rich diversity of microalgae, which is still underutilized, provides a variety of physiologically active metabolites of economic importance. These bioactive metabolites have antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. The microalgal biomass is a rich source of various compounds such as fatty acids, carotenoids, polysterols, and phenolics that can be utilized to synthesize pharmaceutical compounds and other nutraceuticals. Considering microalgae as a superfood, space food, functional food, strong agent for detoxification with high content of micro and macronutrients has found potential application in occupational, systematic, and life style disorders subsequently enhancing immunity. The path from algal research to the launching of new food products or dietary supplements is strongly affected by industrial, regulatory, and nutritional considerations. Our purpose is to review and assess what is known about different food components (i.e., proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, potential toxicants) in the context of improving knowledge about the efficacy of algal foods as nutraceuticals. This review will add be an asset for food, pharma, nutra, and cosmetic sector.

This article presents a miniaturized three-dimensional super wideband antenna with filtering capabilities. A conventional rectangular patch antenna has been modified by truncating its corners with semi-circles and a trapezoidal shaped partial ground plane is utilized to achieve super wideband performance. The planar design is later extended to a 3D design with the addition of three dielectric cuboids in the radiator. The cuboids are inserted at low current density regions within the operating range to achieve miniaturization com-pared to the planar antenna. The impedance bandwidth of the 3D antenna is ~17.55 GHz, measured from 2.45 to 20 GHz. The filtering capabilities are achieved by means of an upside-down T-shaped resonator introduced in the center of the patch and two U-shaped slots etched from the patch. In total, three interfering communication bands are rejected, WiMAX (3.2–3.8 GHz),IEEE 802.11/WLAN (5.17–5.33 GHz), and ITU (7.7–8.5 GHz). The proposed antenna is miniaturized as it merely has an overall size of 0.20λl x 0.19λw x 0.011λh mm3 (corresponds to 2.45 GHz) compared to the relevant literature. The design has been analyzed using an equivalent circuit model, fabricated and measured for validation. The simulated and measured results are found well in agreement.

Background. Depression is a psychiatric disorder leading to anhedonia and lack of interest and motivation. Depressive symptoms are triggered by stressful life events, and patients with major depression are at significantly increased risk of attempting suicide. The crucial concern in depression treatment with antidepressant medications is that few weeks are required to show the therapeutic effect along with moderate side effects. The use of herbal medications is a new strategy for the treatment of depression which is often based on medicinal plants.Aegle marmelos (L.) Corr. (family: Rutaceae) is reported to have several actions on the central nervous system producing beneficial effects in anxiety, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and convulsion. Thus, the current investigation designed to assess the antidepressant activity of the standardized hydroethanolic extract of Aegle marmelos (EAM) leaves in male rats exposed to the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) paradigm. Methods. Rats were divided in 5 groups. The control group was not subjected to experimental CUMS paradigm, while 4 other groups were subjected to CUMS paradigm to induce depression-like behaviour from day 1 to day 28. Following the CUMS paradigm, 4 groups were divided as CUMS disease control, CUMS+EAM (150 mg/kg, p.o.), CUMS+EAM (300 mg/kg, p.o.), and CUMS+imipramine (15 mg/kg, p.o.), and treatment was given for seven consecutive days to the respective groups (day 29 to day 35). Behavioural parameters such as open field test, forced swim test, sucrose feeding test, and tail suspension test on day 1, day 28, and day 35 were measured, and biochemical parameters such as plasma corticosterone level, serotonergic system (5-HT, 5-HIAA, and 5-HT/5-HIAA), mitochondrial function, and proinflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) were estimated in hippocampus (HIP) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions of the brain on day 35, after the behavioural observations. On the other hand, phytochemical profile of Aegle marmelos was done. Results. On day 35, EAM (300 mg/kg) significantly reduced the immobility time during the tail suspension test from 208.66 ± 4.72 s to 108.83 ± 4.81 s and forced swim test from 200.16 ± 4.12 s to 148.5 ± 4.58 s . It also enhanced the behavioural parameters in the open field test such as ambulation from 26.5 ± 2.14 to 56.5 ± 1.80 , rearing from 8.33 ± 0.71 to 19 ± 0.57 , time spent in centre from 9.16 ± 0.9 to 17.16 ± 0.79 s , total distance travelled from 2.36 ± 0.12 to 4.68 ± 0.10 m , and anhedonia in the sucrose feeding test from 109.33 ± 1.08 to 135.83 ± 3.91 mL . The stimulation of the HPA axis resulting elevated corticosterone level caused by CUMS was reduced by EAM (300 mg/kg) from 80.12 ± 2.020 to 48.25 ± 2.407 μ g / dL . Furthermore, EAM (300 mg/kg) increase CUMS-induced changes in serotonin (5-HT) level in HIP and PFC from 3.132 ± 0.09586 to 4.518 ± 0.1812 and 4.308 ± 0.1593 to 5.262 ± 0.1014 ng / mg protein, respectively. EAM (300 mg/kg) significantly attenuated the CUMS-induced changes in proinflammatory cytokine production and mitochondrial function in HIP and PFC. One group used to determine the acute toxicity as per OECD-23 standard protocol which resulted that 300 mg/kg EAM has no significant acute toxicity. Total phenolic content and total flavonoid content of standardized hydroalcoholic extract of AM was found 95.024 ± 2.431 and 36.820 ± 3.41 , respectively, and additional identification tests showed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, and terpenoids. Conclusion. On the basis of findings, EAM can be inferred as a potential antidepressant-like effect of this plan in preclinical research.

Infectious diseases caused by apicomplexan parasites remain a global public health threat. The presence of multiple ligand‐binding sites in tubulin makes this protein an attractive target for anti‐parasite drug discovery. However, despite remarkable successes as anti‐cancer agents, the rational development of protozoan parasite‐specific tubulin drugs has been hindered by a lack of structural and biochemical information on protozoan tubulins. Here, we present atomic structures for a protozoan tubulin and microtubule and delineate the architectures of apicomplexan tubulin drug‐binding sites. Based on this information, we rationally designed the parasite‐specific tubulin inhibitor parabulin and show that it inhibits growth of parasites while displaying no effects on human cells. Our work presents for the first time the rational design of a species‐specific tubulin drug providing a framework to exploit structural differences between human and protozoa tubulin variants enabling the development of much‐needed, novel parasite inhibitors., In an effort to discover novel drug‐scaffolds targeting unique parasite proteins and pathways, specific inhibition of parasite tubulin was achieved using structure‐guided rational drug design.

Phthalate, a plasticizer, endocrine disruptor, and potential carcinogen, is degraded by a variety of bacteria. This degradation is initiated by phthalate dioxygenase (PDO), a Rieske oxygenase (RO) that catalyzes the dihydroxylation of phthalate to a dihydrodiol. PDO has long served as a model for understanding ROs despite a lack of structural data. Here we purified PDOKF1 from Comamonas testosteroni KF1 and found that it had an apparent kcat/Km for phthalate of 0.58 ± 0.09 μM−1s−1, over 25-fold greater than for terephthalate. The crystal structure of the enzyme at 2.1 A resolution revealed that it is a hexamer comprising two stacked α3 trimers, a configuration not previously observed in RO crystal structures. We show that within each trimer, the protomers adopt a head-to-tail configuration typical of ROs. The stacking of the trimers is stabilized by two extended helices, which make the catalytic domain of PDOKF1 larger than that of other characterized ROs. Complexes of PDOKF1 with phthalate and terephthalate revealed that Arg207 and Arg244, two residues on one face of the active site, position these substrates for regiospecific hydroxylation. Consistent with their roles as determinants of substrate specificity, substitution of either residue with alanine yielded variants that did not detectably turnover phthalate. Together, these results provide critical insights into a pollutant-degrading enzyme that has served as a paradigm for ROs and facilitate the engineering of this enzyme for bioremediation and biocatalytic applications.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into further crisis the contemporary global university. By focusing on the UK this article examines how this crisis has manifested itself in UK universities, with ...

The new economy has seen tremendous strides since its early appearance at the onset of the industrial revolution in the 18th century. For decades, much of the items, including guns, tools, food, clothes, and homes, have been crafted or used from work by animals. This improved in the late 18th century with the introduction of the industrial methods. Industry 1.0's development was then a quick uphill climb leading up to the next manufacturing age – fourth Era. The summary of this evolution will be discussed here. This article takes a theoretical approach to looking at Business 4.0 as the Fourth generation. The study identifies three key elements of each transformation to deepen understanding of the phenomenon: technological, economic and demographic changes. In Business 4.0, Public Use Technology (PUT), Extreme competition and ageing demographics will allow the expansion quicker and broader. Although advances in Business 4.0 are more evaluative than transformative, their mixture and the context in which they develop forecast significant economic and social impacts that will in turn constitute a revolution.

Background: Microtubules are dynamic protein filaments that are crucial for cell division and constitute key elements of the cytoskeleton. They are assembled from αβ-tubulin heterodimers that form hollow cylindrical structures. There is a large number of naturally occurring compounds that are known to interact with tubulin, including alkaloids, macrolides and peptides, which are collectively called microtubule-targeting agents (MTAs). Based on their activities, MTAs can be classified as microtubule-stabilizing agents (MSAs) that enhance MT assembly, and microtubule-destabilizing agents (MDAs) that suppress MT assembly. The chemical structure of these drugs and their binding mode to microtubules varies greatly amongst each other and confer the ability to act either synergistically or competitively on microtubules. Owing to their effects on microtubule dynamics, MTAs are of great interest and widely used in a variety of medical applications as antiparasitic agents, herbicides and, most importantly, as chemotherapeutic drugs used for the treatment of cancer. In the past years, we and others solved the structures of a large number of different MTAs bound to tubulin to high resolution using X-ray crystallography. Very recently, however, with the advent of the “Resolution Revolution” in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), atomic structures of known MSAs bound to microtubules have also been obtained. These cryo-EM structures confirmed that the sites and modes of binding described in the previous X-ray crystallographic studies are similar in the context of the assembled microtubule but additionally explain the effects of MTAs on lattice parameters in microtubules and the lateral contacts between protofilaments, especially at the microtubule seam. Methods: Cryo-EM and model building. Results: We solved several high-resolution structures of microtubules bound to novel MSAs and identified differential binding modes in comparison to that revealed by X-ray crystallography. Conclusion: Cryo-EM and X-ray crystallography can be used in a complementary manner to investigate the molecular mechanism of action of MSAs in detail.

25 p.-5 fig.-1 tab. + 6 fig. supl.+ 1 tab. supl., αβ-Tubulin is a validated target for anticancer drug discovery, and molecules binding to this protein are used to treat several types of tumors. Here, we report on a combined X-ray crystallography and molecular dynamics approach to study drug binding within the colchicine site of αβ-tubulin, focusing on plinabulin, an agent currently in phase 3 clinical testing for the treatment of cancer and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. We found that plinabulin is more persistently bound to the colchicine site of βII- compared to βIII-tubulin, allowing for a prediction of isotype-expression-dependent drug sensitivity. Additionally, computational residence time and exit paths from the βII-tubulin were compared between plinabulin and two other compounds, colchicine and combretastatin-A4. The former displayed the highest residence time, followed by plinabulin and then distantly by combretastatin-A4. Our combined experimental and computational protocol could help to investigate anti-tubulin drugs, improving our understanding of their mechanism of action, residence time, and tubulin isotype selectivity., This work was financially supported by BeyondSpring Pharmaceuticals Inc. (to M.O.S. and A.C.) and by grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia Innovacion y Universidades (BFU2016-75319-R; to J.F.D.), from the Swiss National Science Foundation (31003A_166608, to M.O.S.) and from the Regione Lombardia (Accordo per la Ricerca e l’Innovazione).

Huanglongbing (HLB, also known as citrus greening) is considered to be the most devastating disease that has significantly damaged the citrus industry globally. HLB is caused by the Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the fastidious phloem-restricted gram-negative bacterium, vectored by the asian citrus psyllid. To date, there is no effective control available against CLas. To alleviate the effects of HLB on the industry and protect citrus farmers, there is an urgent need to identify or develop inhibitor molecules to suppress or eradicate CLas from infected citrus plant. In this paper, we demonstrate for the first time an in planta efficacy of two antimicrobial compounds against CLas viz. 2S albumin (a plant based protein; ~12.5 kDa), Nano-Zinc Oxide (Nano-ZnO; ~ 4.0 nm diameter) and their combinations. Aqueous formulations of these compounds were trunk-injected to HLB affected Mosambi plants (Citrus sinensis) grafted on 3-year old rough lemon (C. jambhiri) rootstock with known CLas titer maintained inside an insect-free screen house. The effective concentration of 2S albumin (330 ppm) coupled with the Nano-ZnO (330 ppm) at 1:1 ratio was used. The dynamics of CLas pathogen load of treated Mosambi plants was assessed using TaqMan-qPCR assay every 30 days after treatment (DAT) and monitored till 120 days. We observed that 2S albumin-Nano-ZnO formulation performed the best among all the treatments decreasing CLas population by 96.2%, 97.6%, 95.6%, and 97% of the initial bacterial load (per 12.5 ng of genomic DNA) at 30, 60, 90, and 120 DAT, respectively. Our studies demonstrated the potency of 2S albumin-Nano-ZnO formulation as an antimicrobial treatment for suppressing CLas in planta and could potentially be developed as a novel anti CLas therapeutics to mitigate the HLB severity affecting the citrus industry worldwide.

The present study was to evaluate effect of herbal feed additives on methane and total gas production during the rumen fermentation for environment and animal health concern. Different parts of the five medicinal plants were selected such as leaf and small stems of Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi), roots of Curcuma longa (Haldi), fruits of Emblica officinalis (Amla), leaves of Azadirachta indica (Neem) and leaves and small stem of Clerodendrum phlomidis (Arni) for our study. Addition of different herbal additive combinations did not influence IVDMD and total gas production however methane production (mg/g of substrate DM) was significantly (P

53 p.-7 fig.+ 7 p.-1 tab.supl.-6 fig.supl. Saez Calvo, Gonzalo et al., Microtubule-targeting agents (MTAs) are some of the clinically most successful anti-cancer drugs. Unfortunately, instances of multidrug resistances to MTA have been reported, which highlights the need for developing MTAs with different mechanistic properties. One less explored class of MTAs are [1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines (TPs). These cytotoxic compounds are microtubule-stabilizing agents that inexplicably bind to vinblastine binding site on tubulin, which is typically targeted by microtubule-destabilizing agents. Here we used cellular, biochemical, and structural biology approaches to address this apparent discrepancy. Our results establish TPs as vinca-site microtubule-stabilizing agents that promote longitudinal tubulin contacts in microtubules, in contrast to classical microtubule-stabilizing agents that primarily promote lateral contacts. Additionally we observe that TPs studied here are not affected by p-glycoprotein overexpression, and suggest that TPs are promising ligands against multidrug-resistant cancer cells., This work was supported in part by grants BFU2016‐75319‐R (AEI/FEDER, UE) (JFD), BFU2014‐51823‐R (to JMA) from Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad and 31003A_166608 from the Swiss National Science Foundation (M.O.S.). The authors acknowledge networking contribution by the COST Action CM1407 “Challenging organic syntheses inspired by nature ‐ from natural products chemistry to drug discovery”. The SAXS experiments were performed at BL11‐NCD beamline at ALBA Synchrotron with the collaboration of ALBA staff. X‐ray data were collected at beamline X06DA of the Swiss Light Source (Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland).

International audience; In the current work, accurate quantification over 10 to 10 8 DNA copies has been successfully achieved for the first time by real-time electrochemical PCR. This has been made possible thanks to the combined use of a fully automated house-built electrochemical qPCR device, optimized for parallel heating and electro-chemical monitoring of up to 48 PCR solutions, and the appropriate selection of a DNA intercalating redox probe retaining a strong affinity binding to ds-DNA at the PCR measurement temperature of 72 °C (corresponding to the PCR elongation step). This has also been achieved through the identification of the key parameters governing the onset electrochemical signal decrease and amplitude signal decrease as a function of the PCR cycle for a given DNA intercalating redox probe, thus allowing us to predict the electrochemical PCR kinetic plots from the values of the DNA affinity binding constant determined as a function of temperature. To the best of our knowledge, the analytical performances of the current electrochemical qPCR outperform all of those previously published, in terms of detection limit, dynamic range, reproducibility and melting curve analysis compared to that achieved on a commercialized bench-top fluorescence-based qPCR instrument.

Malaria parasite UIS3 (up-regulated in infective sporozoites gene 3) is essential for sporozoite development in infected hepatocytes. UIS3 encodes for a membrane protein that is localized to the parasite parasitophorous vacuolar membrane in infected hepatocytes. We describe here 2.5-A resolution crystal structure of Plasmodium falciparum UIS3 soluble domain (PfUIS3(130-229)) in complex with the lipid phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). PfUIS3(130-229) is a novel, compact, and all alpha-helical structure bound to one molecule of PE. The PfUIS3(130-229)-PE complex structure reveals a novel binding site with specific interactions between PfUIS3(130-229) and the PE head group. One acyl chain of PE wraps around part of PfUIS3(130-229) and docks onto a hydrophobic channel. We additionally provide new structural and biochemical evidence of PfUIS3(130-229) interactions with lipids (phosphatidylethanolamine), with phospholipid liposomes, and with the human liver fatty acid-binding protein. The direct interaction of PfUIS3(130-229) with liver fatty acid-binding protein most likely provides the parasite with a conduit for importing essential fatty acids/lipids. Therefore, our analyses have implications for lipid transport into the parasite during the rapid growth phases of sporozoites. Given that PfUIS3 is essential for establishment of liver stage infection by P. falciparum, our data provide a new target for abrogating parasite development within liver cells before typical symptoms of malaria can manifest.

Non-uniformly Distributed-Turns Coil (NDTC) antennas are specifically arranged to widespread the overall reactive field in multipurpose near-field applications e.g., the reading/interrogating and wireless power transfer (charging mats), while permitting their inherent robust H-field using earlier reported NDTC antennas to form the array. The proposed array consists of five NDTC antennas cautiously arranged and will be shown to optimally widespread the effective area of the antenna by 4.3 times. Simulated results are provided and corroborate the widespreading of the reactive field with robust H-field at HF 13.56MHz. A further widening of the reactive field in principle can be obtained using more NDTC antenna elements.

Ultra-wideband (UWB) is a very attractive technology for innovative in-car wireless communications requiring high data rates. A designated antenna, which presents a reflection coefficient (S11) matched band comparable to the band-pass filter (BPF) normally required at the transducers, plays a positive contribution in this in-car application and was validated for the scenario. The inherited BPF-like response of the antenna relaxes the specification of the front-end BPF components of the transceivers. The in-car propagation channel was modelled and used to validate the BPF-like antenna. For the modelling, a comprehensive set of well-defined measurements (using a standard antenna) were used to set-up the in-car channel simulator and simulated results were used to validate the BPF-like antenna. In addition, the performance of the UWB radio system is studied and the probability of errors over the communication channel compared using the standard and the BPF-like antenna by predictions. This work has been part-funded by the European Union.

A near-field highly focused circular phased-array antenna for 5.8-GHz radio frequency identification (RFID) applications is presented. The electric field (E-field) at the focus is enhanced by a constructive vector combination in a three-dimensional (3-D) coordinate system. The array dipoles of the antenna are oriented to enhance the energy confinement at the focus, and the radii of the circular array is optimized for lower sidelobe levels. As a result, the proposed design achieves an enhanced focalization of ≈ 4 dB with reduced sidelobe levels of ≈ 12 dB compared to earlier designs.

International audience; The performances of quantum chemistry methods (i.e., DFT and ab initio) in calculating the structural and vibrational properties of phosphates and phosphorylated compounds have been evaluated. Diethyl-phosphate, phosphonic acid, dihydrogen phosphate anion, phosphoric acid dimer and protonated glycylphosphotyrosine dipeptide were selected for our study. Geometry and harmonic frequency deviations were investigated, pointing out the contribution of dispersion interactions on diethyl-phosphate, [Gly-pTyr+H] + and the phos-phoric acid dimer. The B3LYP-D functional, followed by CC2 and MP2 methods, revealed significant accuracy for frequency calculations of the majority of the phosphorylated compounds in comparison with available experimental data. These investigations provide a guide to the accurate computation of phosphorylated biological compounds.

The present review is to summarise findings on one of the most important recessive hereditary disorder deficiency of uridine monophosphate synthase (DUMPS) in cattle. It is a disease of Holstein cattle characterized by lowered blood activity of enzyme uridine monophosphate synthase (UMPS). DUMPS leads to embryonic death in early stage of pregnancy. So some serious reproductive problems take place in dairy herds. Several investigations were carried out in different countries. No carrier animals were found among Holstein populations in Poland, Iran, India and Turkey, but the mutant allele was detected in the studies carried out in U.S.A. and Argentina. DUMPS of Holstein cattle is a component of the hypothesized multi-component complex. It is transmitted as an autosomal recessive trait. A carrier-normal mating results in one-half carriers, regardless of sex. Embryo homozygous for DUMPS die early in gestation and do not survive to the birth. The embryos often are resorbed during the first two-month of gestation, leading to more services per calving and longer than normal calving intervals (Shanke and Robinson, 1989). The only way to avoid economic losses is an early detection of DUMPS carriers. The use of PCR based molecular technologies promises quick detection of carriers enables their culling therefore, controlling and preventing the spread of DUMPS in the population. [Veterinary World 2010; 3(11.000): 523-525]

Thioredoxins are vital components of Plasmodium proteome and act as both reducing agents and protein disulfide reductases. The malaria parasite P. falciparum thioredoxin-2 (PfTrx-2) is part of the multi-protein complex embedded within the parasite parasitophorous vacuolar membrane (PVM) which purportedly directs protein secretion. We have characterized structural and enzymatic features of PfTrx-2, and we show that PfTrx-2 adopts a canonical thioredoxin fold but with significant structural differences in its N-terminus. Our confocal localization data suggest distinct PVM residency of PfTrx-2. Based on the crystal structure of PfTrx-2, we screened and tested small molecule drug-like libraries for compounds which target unique structural features of PfTrx-2. Disruption of PfTrx-2 interactions using specific inhibitors may result in a dysfunctional parasite translocon that is rendered unable to secrete pathogenic proteins into hosts. This approach therefore offers a new focus for anti-malarial drug development.

The H1N1 virus is the causative agent of the recent outbreak of Swine flu pandemic. Neuraminidase is an enzyme that cleave glycosidic linkage of neuraminic acid on viral cell surface and is known to occur as antigen determinant to evoke immune response in host cell. It plays an important role in life cycle of influenza virus. Inhibitors of neuraminidase are, therefore, believed to have a potential in development of new drugs against swine flu. Using a recently published model structure of neuraminidase, we have carried out virtual screening of 70 compounds obtained from Ligand databases. The ligands library also included 57 natural plant metabolites from medicinal plants. The virtual screening was performed via PatchDock & GemDock softwares. Two of the plant metabolites, Hesperidin & Narirutin showed significantly higher docking score than the currently marketed anti-influenza drug Oseltamivir (Tamiflu).

International audience; Tandem mass spectrometry is a powerful analytical technique for distinguishing phosphorylated from non-phosphorylated peptides, and also to locate the phosphorylated site. It is however desirable to further extend the tandem MS capacities via the development of structure specific activation techniques. This work is part of an ongoing project which aims at characterizing the environment of the phosphate group using tunable IRMPD. The effect of microsolvation of protonated phospho-tyrosine on the phosphate environment has been investigated using a combination of tandem MS experiments and quantum chemical calculations. Infrared spectra have been recorded in the 900-1900 cm(-1) and 2500-3750 cm(-1) regions using a free electron laser and a tabletop laser, respectively. Water is found to form a hydrogen bonded bridge between the otherwise nearly isolated phosphate and ammonium groups. Theoretical and experimental results also provide consistent evidences for two weaker hydrogen bonds between the two other NH bonds with the pi-aromatic ring and the carboxylic CO. The MP2 calculated IR absorption spectrum of the lowest energy structure allows for a clear band assignment. As compared to intramolecular direct interaction between the phosphate and the ammonium, the two hydrogen bonds associated with the water bridge between these groups are found to have a larger impact on their IR structure-specific probes. This is reflected by the red-shift of the P=O stretch, and also the blue shift of the umbrella mode of the ammonium. Special attention is paid to the 2500-3750 cm(-1) spectral range. While the phosphate OH stretching modes are not affected by the addition of water, the red shifts of the three ammonium NH stretches are found to be significant and quite different for their three types of non-covalent interactions. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The influence of silver nitrate (AgNO3) and cobalt chloride (CoCl2) on shoot multiplication and in vitro flowering in Capsicum frutescens Mill. was investigated. Exogenous administration of AgNO3 and CoCl2 at a concentration of 30 µM resulted in the maximum tissue response in terms of shoot length and number of shoots after 45 days culturing on MS medium. Both silver nitrate (40 µM) and cobalt chloride (30 µM) influenced in vitro flowering after 25 and 45 days respectively. This is the first report on in vitro flowering in C. frutescens. The study also demonstrated successful transformation of pollen obtained from the in vitro flowers. Since capsicum is highly recalcitrant to in vitro plant regeneration, the results of the study may be highly useful in transformation of capsicum using germ free in vitro flowers.