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In the field of molecular self‐assembly, the core of an assembly is always made up of hydrophobic moiety like a long alkyl chain, whereas the outer part has always been a hydrophilic moiety such as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), or charged species. Hence, reversing the trend to manifest self‐assembled structures with a PEG core and a surface consisting of alkyl chains in aqueous system is incredibly challenging. Herein, we architected a unique class of cationic bolaamphiphiles containing low molecular weight PEG and alkyl chains of different lengths. The bolaamphiphiles spontaneously form vesicles without external stimuli. These vesicles are unprecedented because PEG makes up the vesicle core, while the alkyl chains appear on the vesicles′ exterior. Hence, this particular design reverses the usual trend of self‐assembly formation. The vesicle size increases with the increase in alkyl chain‐length. To our great surprise, we obtained large micelles for longest alkyl‐chain amphiphile, which in turn act as a gemini amphiphile. The shift from a particular bolaamphiphile to gemini amphiphile with the variation of alkyl chain is also unexplored. Therefore, this specific class of self‐assembled structure would compound a new paradigm in molecular self‐assembly and supramolecular chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper highlights the source, resources, and information services for rural farmers' communities to fulfill their information needs regarding chemical pesticides use. The main objective of this study is to determine the awareness and knowledge of farmers regarding pesticide use and its effect on their social life, society, and environment. The study also identifies their knowledge level about the source of information regarding pesticide use, storage, and disposal of pesticide containers. It highlights the farmers' behaviors', attitudes, and protective measures taken toward the negative effect of chemical pesticides on the environment. In this study, 110 farmer families have been randomly selected, 10 families each from 11 villages' total of 110 families and also studied 7 public libraries and their resources and services to the farmers to help the collection of information regarding pesticide use from Narayangarh block of Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal for sample study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The common Giant Pigweed or Black Pigweed Trianthema portulacastrum L.is a well-known hepatoprotactant against chemical-induced toxicity. In this study, we evaluated the radioprotective activity of T. portulacastrum stem extract in Swiss albino mice through survival assay and confirmed by histopathology of the liver and jejunum. We observed that at higher concentrations (200 mg/kg body wt.) of extract, the survival of mice was 20% higher. The mechanism of protection was evaluated by endogenous colony-forming assay, bone marrow cell count, membrane integrity, and antioxidant enzymes of the liver. Histopathology of the liver and jejunum revealed that irradiated animals to have suffered loss of normal architecture of the liver in the form of hepatic sinusoid dilation and neutrophil infiltration, and distorted structure of villi in the jejunum of mice was observed. Pre-treatment of mice with extracts of Trianthema portulacastrum (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body wt.) attenuated the effects of radiation in a dose-dependent manner. Further, the increased spleen colony numbers and augmented number of bone marrow cells in extract pre-treated mice, in comparison with untreated irradiated mice suggest the protective activity of T. portulacastrum. The treated group of mice also showed increased activities of antioxidant enzymes measured in tissue homogenates of the liver as compared to the untreated irradiated controls. Our present study demonstrated dose-dependent radioprotective property of T. portulacastrum against membrane damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The long-term environmental impact of municipal solid waste (MSW) landfilling is still under investigation due to the lack of detailed characterization studies. A MSW landfill site, popularly known as [...]

The evaluation of the role of suckling, prolactin, and gonadal steroids in regulating hypothalamic oxytocin (OT) mRNA content over a two week lactation period shows among other things, that the suckling is a major determinant of OT mRNA content due to the direct activation of neuronal afferents to the OT neurons and prolactin release stimulation. It is also found that ovariectomy does not compromise the ability of the nonsuckled rats to maintain OT mRNA content during the second week of lactation.

Acridine and its derivatives are well known for their DNA binding properties. In this report, we present our findings on evaluating different binding parameters of the interaction of 9-phenylacridine (ACPH) with DNA. Absorption spectroscopic studies including standard and reverse titration, the effects of ionic strength and temperature on titration, and Job plot analysis were done to calculate the binding constant and determine the different thermodynamic parameters and stoichiometry of the binding. Spectrofluorimetry and circular dichroism (CD) spectral titration were also utilized to confirm these findings. The results indicated that ACPH binds to DNA reversibly through non-electrostatic interactions by hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions. The binding constant and the number of binding sites were of the order 103 M–1 and ≈2, respectively with a binding stoichiometry of 1:4. The binding of ACPH with DNA was spontaneous, exothermic and enthalpy-driven. The extent of uptake of ACPH in B16 melanoma cells was estimated. As this compound absorbs in the UVA region, the effect of treatment with ACPH prior to UVA exposure was assessed to evaluate its phototoxicity in these cells. Our results indicated that the binding to DNA enhanced damage to sensitize cells to killing through apoptosis. Our findings indicated its potential to act as a photosensitizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissipative systems, that constantly consume energy for sustenance, are ubiquitous and essential to life. In synthetic systems, the phenomenon promises emergent properties and different structure from the ones existing at thermodynamic equilibrium. It can create reconfigurable and temporally programmable life‐like smart materials. In this study, we attempt to create reconfigurable, temporally programmable self‐assembly using the redox chemistry of a core‐substituted naphthalene diimide derivative. As a result, transient reconfiguration of supramolecular assembly from vesicle to sheet along with transient fluorescence switching with fuel‐dependent lifetime is attained. We believe that such a design strategy can advance the synthesis of active, adaptive and autonomous materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]