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A C0 finite element formulation using a higher-order shear deformation theory is developed and used to analyze static and dynamic behavior of laminated shells. The element consists of nine degrees-of-freedom per node with higher-order terms in the Taylor's series expansion which represents the higher-order transverse cross sectional deformation modes. The formulation includes Sanders' approximation for doubly curved shells considering the effects of rotary inertia and transverse shear. A realistic parabolic distribution of transverse shear strains through the shell thickness is assumed and the use of a shear correction factor is avoided. The shell forms include hyperbolic paraboloid, hypar and conoid shells. The accuracy of the formulation is validated by carrying out a convergence study and comparing the results with those available in the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlinear free vibration of laminated composite cylindrical shell panels in the presence of cutouts is investigated. The finite element model using an eight-noded C0 continuity, isoparametric quadrilateral element is used to study the dynamic behavior. The nonlinear eigenvalue problem is solved by using the direct iteration method. Parametric study is carried out varying the aspect ratios, lamination schemes and material properties of cylindrical shell with simply supported boundary condition in the presence of cutouts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A finite element analysis for free vibration behaviour of doubly curved stiffened shallow shells is presented. The stiffened shell element is obtained by the appropriate combinations of the eight-/nine-node doubly curved isoparametric thin shallow shell element with the three-node curved isoparametric beam element. The shell types examined are the elliptic and hyperbolic paraboloids, the hypar and the conoidal shells. The accuracy of the formulation is established by comparing some of the authors'' results of specific problems with those available in the literature. Numerical results of additional stiffened shells are also presented to study the effects of various parameters of shells and stiffeners such as orientation (i.e., along x -/y -/both x and y directions), type (concentric, eccentric at top and eccentric at bottom) and number of stiffeners, stiffener depth to shell thickness ratio, and aspect ratio, shallowness and boundary conditions of shells on free vibration characteristics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Granular cell tumors originate from neural elements. These distinctly rare tumors usually appear as solitary nodular growths and run a benign course. Although internal organs are rarely involved, skin and oral cavity are the commonest sites of affection. Their peak occurrence is in middle age. We present a case of a large solitary granular cell tumor occurring on the upper arm of a young girl at the site of a vaccination scar. Histopathology showed sheets of polyhedral cells with indistinct cell boundaries containing abundant eosinophilic fine granules. Excision of the lesion appeared to have cured the condition.

Background: Recent studies indicated that the liver is susceptible to Cu-induced stress as it stores and distributes the metal to other cellular organelles. To counteract the hepatocytic damage, a known polyphenol, quercetin, was employed for its remarkable antioxidant properties. Thus, the study aimed to assess quercetin's potency against Cu-induced toxicity in HEPG2 cells., Methods: The cellular viability of HEPG2 cells was carried out by MTT assay. All the cellular experiments were divided into control, Cu 100 µM, Cu 100 µM (with Q μM), Cu 300 µM, Cu 300 µM (with Q 50 nM), and only quercetin (50 nM). Following this, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were evaluated in co-exposure studies. Moreover, rhodamine-123, Hoechst stain, monodansylcadaverine (MDC), and acridine orange (AO) stain were used to visualize the morphological changes under bright field and fluorescent microscopy. Subsequently, western blotting was adopted to determine the expression level of apoptotic and autophagic marker proteins., Results: Copper increased intracellular ROS, resulted in morphological abnormalities, nuclear condensation, and disrupted MMP. Moreover, Cu caused apoptotic cell deaths characterized by overexpressed pro-apoptotic proteins such as poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), cysteine-dependent aspartate-specific proteases 3 (Caspase 3), and Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) and downregulated anti-apoptotic proteins such as B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), respectively. However, quercetin restored overexpressed pro-apoptotic proteins and induced autophagosome-bound microtubule-associated protein light chain-3 (LC3II) conversion from LC3I. Furthermore, Cu-modulated autophagy marker proteins, including sequestosome-1 (p62), heat shock cognate proteins (Hsc 70, Hsc 90), lysosome-associated membrane protein (LAMP-2A), and AMP-associated protein kinase (AMPK)., Conclusion: This study promotes the nutraceutical ability of quercetin to combat Cu-induced hepatotoxicity by understanding the intricate biological signaling pathways within cells., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no competing financial interests or any personal relationships casuing any influence on the work done in this research paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Aim: This study is primarily designed to investigate the potential neuroprotective effects of polyphenol against 6-OHDAcaused neurotoxicity on SH-SY5Y cells., Materials and Methods: Cytotoxic effect of 6-OHDA and valuable role of quercetin, myricetin and kaempferol on SH-SY5Y cells were analyzed by MTT assay. Generation of 6-OHDA-stimulated reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured using DCFDA fluorescence dye. Alteration of 6-OHDA-caused mitochondrial membrane potential and nuclear condensation was investigated with the help of rhodamine-123 and hoechest stain. Immunoblotting was performed to detect the expression level of 6-OHDA-caused alpha-synuclein (á-syn), Bcl-2 associated protein X (BAX), caspase 3, cleaved Poly ADP - ribose polymerase (PARP) and Bcell lymphoma 2 proteins (Bcl-2)., Result: Through MTT assay, quercetin was selected over myricetin and kaempferol to counter 6-OHDA-caused cell death. The research delves into unraveling the intricate mechanisms underlying 6-OHDA-induced neurotoxicity, encompassing alterations in cellular morphology, escalation of oxidative stress, perturbation in mitochondrial membrane potential, and nuclear condensation. Exposure to 6-OHDA is implicated in the upregulation of á-syn protein, contributing to the aggravation of neurotoxicity. Concurrently, 6-OHDA orchestrates the apoptotic pathway by upregulating the expression of proapoptotic proteins such as BAX, caspase 3, and PARP, while down regulating the expression of the Bcl-2, affirming its role in apoptosis induction. Quercetin demonstrated ability to attenuate the expression of á-syn in the presence of 6-OHDA-caused injury in SH-SY5Y cells., Conclusion: Taken together, these findings collectively underscore the therapeutic potential of quercetin as a promising agent against neurotoxicity caused by 6-OHDA., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Cooling spaces have an optimistic influence on surface urban heat islands (SUHI). Blue spaces benefit from balancing the changing climate and heat variations. Because of the rapid deforestation and SUHI increase, the climate is gradually changing in Paschim Bardhhaman, West Bengal state, India. Paschim Bardhhaman has two sectors: specifically, Durgapur is the main industrial centre and Asansol has coal mines. This investigation aims to categorize spatiotemporal variations and seasonal differences in cooling spaces and their influence on SUHI, land use and land cover (LULC), and thermal differences using Landsat datasets for the years 1992, 2004, 2012, and 2022 in summer and winter. The coal mining and industrial range decreased from 10,391.92 (1992) to 3591.1 ha (2022), respectively. Open pit mining distresses fresh water by heavy water uses in ore processing, and mining water was applied to excerpt minerals. Among the two sub-divisions, the blue space amount was higher in Asansol because mining actions were higher in Asansol than in Durgapur. The open vegetation volume has reduced from 46,441.03 (1992) to 25,827.55 ha (2022) and dense vegetation has erased from 7368.02 (1992) to 15,608.56 ha (2022). Dense vegetation improved because of heavy precipitation in those regions. Mostly, Raghunathpur, Saraswatiganja, Bhagabanpur, Bistupur, Paschim Gangaram, Garkilla Kherobari, and Gourbazar have dense vegetation. The outcomes similarly demonstrate that the total built-up part has increased by 8412.82 ha in between 30 years. The built-up zone changes near the southeast and western Paschim Bardhhaman district. Those region needs appropriate attention and planning to survive soon., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), an aggressive brain tumor (grade-IV astrocytoma), poses treatment challenges. Poor prognosis results from the rapid growth, highlighting the role of EIF4A3 in regulating non-coding RNAs. EIF4A3 promotes the expression of several non-coding RNAs, viz, Circ matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9), a prominent oncogene, by interacting with the upstream region of the circMMP9 mRNA transcript and acts on cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of GBM. However, research shows that EIF4A3 knockdown inhibits glioblastoma progression and increases apoptosis. In this study, we explored the efficiency of the phytochemicals from plants like Withania somnifera and Castanea sativa with potential anti-glioblastoma effects as obtained from the Indian Medicinal Plants, Phytochemistry and Therapeutics (IMPPAT) database. Consequently, we have performed a virtual screening of the compounds against the protein EIF4A3. We further investigated the efficiency of the shortlisted compounds based on docking scores evaluated using GOLD, AutoDock4.2, LeDock, and binding free energy analyses using Molecular Mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann Surface Area (MMPBSA). Among the phytochemicals studied so far, several Withania -specific compounds from Withania somnifera and a single dietary compound, viz., Thiamine from Castanea sativa , have exhibited comparatively good blood-brain barrier permeability, significant binding affinity towards the EIF4A3, and good ADMET properties. Furthermore, we have verified the interaction stability of the lead molecules with EIF4A3 using MD simulations. Thus, the present study offers an opportunity to develop drug candidates targeting glioblastoma caused by EIF4A3 over-expression, integrating phytotherapy into precision oncology to create tailored and precise natural treatment strategies for cancer.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

One of the major crucial issues that need worldwide attention is open stubble burning, which imposes a variety of adverse impacts on nature and human society, destroying the world's biodiversity. Many earth observation satellites render information to monitor and assess agricultural burning activities. In this study, different remotely sensed data (Sentinel-2A, VIIRS) has been employed to estimate the quantitative measurements of agricultural burned areas of the Purba Bardhaman district from October-December 2018. The multi-temporal image differencing techniques and indices (NDVI, NBR, and dNBR) and VIIRS active fires data (VNP14IMGT) have been utilized to spot agricultural burned areas. In the case of the NDVI technique, a prominent area, 184.82 km 2 of agricultural burned area (7.85% of the total agriculture), was observed. The highest (23.04 km 2 ) burned area was observed in the Bhatar block, located in the middle part of the district, and the lowest (0.11 km 2 ) burned area was observed in the Purbasthali-II block, which is located in the eastern part of the district. On the other hand, the dNBR technique revealed that the agricultural burned areas enwrap 8.18% of the total agricultural area, which is 192.45 km 2 . As per the earlier NDVI technique, the highest agricultural burned areas (24.82 km 2 ) were observed in the Bhatar block, and the lowest (0.13 km 2 ) burn area occurred in the Purbashthali-II block. In both cases, it is observed that agricultural residue burning is high in the western part of the Satgachia block and the adjacent areas of the Bhatar block, which is in the middle part of Purba Bardhaman. The agricultural burned area was extracted using different spectral separability analyses, and the performance of dNBR was the most effective in spectral discrimination of burned and unburned surfaces. This study manifested that agricultural residue burning started in the central part of Purba Bardhaman. Later it spread all over the district due to the trend of early harvesting rice crops in this region. The performance of different indices for mapping the burned areas was evaluated and compared, revealing a strong correlation (R2) = 0.98. To estimate the campaign's effectiveness against the dangerous practice and plan the control of the menace, regular monitoring of crop stubble burning using satellite data is required., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Glioblastoma multiforme, commonly known as GBM or glioblastoma is a grade IV astrocytoma. Brain tumors are difficult to treat and lead to poor prognosis and survival in patients. Gliomas are categorized into four different grades among which GBM is the worst grade primary brain tumor with a survival of less than a year. The genomic heterogeneity of the brain tumor results in different profiles for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma. Precision medicine focuses on this specific tumor type and suggests specialized treatment for better prognosis and overall survival (OS)., Purpose: With the recent advancements in Genome-Wide Studies (GWS) and various characterizations of brain tumors based on genetic, transcriptomic, proteomic, epigenetic, and metabolomics, this review discusses the advancements and opportunities of precision medicine therapeutics, drugs, and diagnosis methods based on the different profiles of glioblastoma., Methods: This review has exhaustively surveyed several pieces of works from various literature databases., Conclusion: It is evident that most primary brain tumors including glioblastoma require specific and precision therapeutics for better prognosis and OS. In present and future, molecular understanding and discovering specific therapies are essential for treatment in the field of neurooncology., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© the Author(s).)

Aim: COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is now a worldwide pandemic. This disease has become a reason for disturbance and concern. India, as a densely populated country, took initiative after the pandemic was declared. The objective of this study was to determine the mortality and recovery rates at 30 days from the first unlock phase after five phases of lockdown. The the number of infected people has continually increased, and currently, this pandemic continues to present challenges to public health., Subject and Methods: Statistical analysis was used to calculate the mortality rate, ratio between active and death cases, active cases and recovered cases, recovered and death cases in India during the first 30 days of the unlock phase., Results: The relationship between the new cases, deaths and recovered cases, shows that the new and recovered cases increased progressively. From the scatter plot of daily deaths and new cases, the R 2 value is 0.0047. That means the death ratio is low against the new cases. Also, if we look at another scatter plot, the ratio between new cases and recovery rate shows the R 2 value is 0.8015. That means the recovery rate was very high during the study period in India. The R 2 value of daily recovery and death is 0.0072. India faced a huge number of new coronavirus cases and increased death rate every day during the first unlock phase., Conclusion: There was not the same condition as in the preliminary stage. The affected graphs progressively increased, and the government is fighting to control this deadly infection. Central and state governments are working together to combat this pandemic., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021.)

An increase in anthropogenic activities results in metal contamination in the ecosystem which has proven to be a major health risk in humans, as they make entry into cellular organelles via agricultural products. Copper (Cu) is one such metal that acts as an essential cofactor for the activity of several enzymes, one being the cytochrome c oxidase. The increasing number of evidence suggests a substantial correlation of Cu overload with neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD). We aim to explore quercetin, a well-known polyphenol, as an alternative for combating Cu-induced toxicity in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y secondary cell lines. We observed that Cu increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, triggered morphological deformities and condensation of nuclei, caused an imbalance in the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and finally induced apoptotic cell deaths. We further investigated the effects of Cu in modulating the pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins, such as Bax, Bcl-2, etc. However, quercetin reversed these changes owing to its antioxidant and anti-apoptotic properties, resulting in autophagy induction as an outcome of upregulation of autophagosome-bound microtubules-associated protein light chain-3 (LC3II). Besides, we investigated the role of Cu in stimulating ER stress proteins, viz. PERK, CHOP, and the concomitant responses of quercetin in restoring the ER homeostasis in cellular organelles like mitochondria and ER, against Cu-induced toxic insults by modulating autophagic pathways. Overall, this research work proposes a remedial approach for Cu-mediated neurotoxicity through understanding the diverse molecular signaling inside a cell with an aim to develop effective therapeutics., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Land transformation monitoring is essential for controlling the anthropogenic activities that could cause the degradation of natural environment. This study investigated the urban heat island (UHI) effect at the Asansol and Kulti blocks of Paschim Bardhaman district, India. The increasing land surface temperature (LST) can cause the UHI effect and affect the environmental conditions in the urban area. The vulnerability of the UHI effect was measured quantitatively and qualitatively by using the urban thermal field variation index (UTFVI). The land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics are identified by utilizing the remote sensing and maximum likelihood supervised classification techniques for the years 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020, respectively. The results indicated a decrease around 19.05 km 2 , 15.47 km 2 , and 9.86 km 2 for vegetation, agricultural land, and grassland, respectively. Meanwhile, there is an increase of 35.69 km 2 of the built-up area from the year 1990 to 2020. The highest LST has increased by 11.55 °C, while the lowest LST increased by 8.35 °C from 1990 to 2020. The correlation analyses showed negative relationship between LST and vegetation index, while positive correlation was observed for built-up index. Hotspot maps have identified the spatio-temporal thermal variations in Mohanpur, Lohat, Ramnagar, Madhabpur, and Hansdiha where these cities are mostly affected by the urban expansion and industrialization developments. This study will be helpful to urban planners, stakeholders, and administrators for monitoring the anthropological activities and thus ensuring a sustainable urban development., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Coastal vulnerability assessment is the key to coastal management and sustainable development. Sea level rise (SLR) and anthropogenic activities have triggered more extreme climatic events and made the coastal region vulnerable in recent decades. Many parts of the world also noticed increased sediment deposition, tidal effects, and changes in the shoreline. Farasan Island, located in the south-eastern part of Saudi Arabia, experienced changes in sediment deposition from the Red Sea in recent years. This study used Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) to delineate the shoreline changes of Farasan Island during 1975-2020. Multi-temporal Landsat data and DSAS were used for shoreline calculation based on endpoint rate (EPR) and linear regression. Results revealed an increase in vegetation area on the island by 17.18 km 2 during 1975-1989 and then a decrease by 69.85 km 2 during 1990-2020. The built-up land increased by 5.69 km 2 over the study period to accommodate the population growth. The annual temperature showed an increase at a rate of 0.196 °C/year. The sea-level rise caused a shift in the island's shoreline and caused a reduction of land by 80.86 km 2 during 1975-2020. The highly influenced areas by the environmental changes were the north, central, northwest, southwest, and northeast parts of the island. Urban expansion and sea-level rise gradually influence the island ecosystem, which needs proper attention, management, policies, and awareness planning to protect the environment of Farasan Island. Also, the study's findings could help develop new strategies and plan climate change adaptation., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

In this paper, ultra-low level selective detection of bovine serum albumin (BSA) has been demonstrated, based on chemically derived graphene i.e., reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets. The working principle of the sensor is based upon change in conductance of the RGO nanosheets with different concentration of BSA. The change in conductance is based on the charge transfer between BSA and functional groups of RGO. The morphological and structural characterizations of RGO nanosheets were carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Raman spectroscopy is performed to further validate the interaction between RGO sensing layer and BSA molecules. Electrical impedance spectroscopy is performed to observe the impedance variation when BSA interacts with RGO. The sensor device exhibits sensitivity of 10 nA/pM. The lower limit of detection (LOD) of the sensor is found to be 1 pM and response time around 35 s, confirming very high sensitivity for BSA. All electrical (current-voltage) measurements were carried out at 2 V bias for low power operation. The sensor exhibits highest sensitivity at 30 °C and for RGO thickness ~4 nm. The RGO based sensor device is selective towards BSA when compared to proteins like L-Histidine, HSA, BHB and Biotin. Our results suggest that RGO based devices are promising for low-cost, portable and real time detection of BSA at room temperature.

The coronavirus is an infection caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2. It was first determined in Wuhan, China in December 2019. WHO named this virus as COVID-19. Virologist says that COVID-19 is similar to SARS and MARS virus. This deadly disease affected worldwide economically, hammering people lifestyle and also the environmental condition. After a few months, there is no vaccine to build the barricade between this virus and life. Many countries have tried to improve the methodology to control the disease and also the actual vaccine for coronavirus but not yet successful. Rapid testing, quarantine and social distancing slow down the social and economic movement. Although India, as one of the largest populated country, takes some respectable initiative after the pandemic of the novel coronavirus. According to WHO 24th May 2020 report, total 131,868 confirmed cases and killed over 3867 people by this COVID-19 pandemic. Indian government takes the initiative like janta curfew, lockdown all over the country. The main focus or aim of this study is to find the mortality rate and the recovered people at the fourth phase of lockdown, but the infected graph is daily increased in India. In the relation between active cases and the death cases, the R 2 value is 0.8754. The relation between active cases and the recoveries, the R 2 value is 0.9246. In between 116 days, the mortality rate is less in before lockdown (0.129%) and third phase lockdown is facing a huge mortality rate (43.496%)., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestOn behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG part of Springer Nature 2021.)

Recently, polymer science and engineering research has shifted toward the development of environmentally benign polymers to reduce the impact of plastic leakage on the ecosystems. Stringent regulations and concerns regarding conventional polymers are the main driving forces for the development of renewable, biodegradable, sustainable, and environmentally benign materials. Although biopolymers can alleviate plastic-related pollution, several factors dictate the utilization of biopolymers. Herein, an overview of the potential and limitations of synthetic biopolymers and their composites in the context of environmentally benign materials for a sustainable future are presented. The synthetic biopolymer market, technical advancements for different applications, lifecycle analysis, and biodegradability are covered. The current trends, challenges, and opportunities for bioplastic recycling are also discussed. In summary, this review is expected to provide guidelines for future development related to synthetic biopolymer-based sustainable polymeric materials suitable for various applications., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

This work investigates the effects of modification of polylactide (PLA) using dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as a crosslinker and Joncryl as a chain extender on boehmite distribution. The PLA/boehmite (PLA/BA) composites at various concentrations were prepared via a twin-screw extruder. Transmission electron microscopy showed more agglomerations of BA particles when Joncryl and DCP were added individually to the PLA matrix, with lesser agglomeration upon simultaneous addition of DCP and Joncryl, which led to an enhancement of 10.7% of the heat distortion temperature and 8.8% of the modulus. The existence of fine dispersed BA particles in the BA3 sample improved the cold crystallization by 4 °C. Moreover, the maximum reinforcing effect in increasing the storage modulus of the prepared system was observed upon concurrent addition of DCP and Joncryl, with minimum reinforcing effect upon individual addition of DCP and Joncryl. In general, a bio-based PLA composite base BA with enhanced properties was successfully prepared for various applications.

The polygenic nature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cross-talk between several signaling cascades make it harder to decode the disease pathogenesis. β-secretase (BACE1) works upstream in the amyloidogenic processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) to generate Aβ that rapidly aggregates to form fibrils, the most abundant component of plaques observed in AD brains. Here, we report dual inhibition of BACE1 and Aβ aggregation by neohesperidin, a flavonoid glycoconjugate, using multi-spectroscopic approaches, force microscopy, molecular modeling, and validated the potency in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell lines. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence reveal that neohesperidin binds close to the catalytic aspartate dyad. This binding conformationally restricts the protein in closed form which possibly precludes APP recognition and thereby inhibits BACE1 activity. Neohesperidin also dose-dependently inhibits the amyloid fibril formation, as evident from ANS, ThT assay, and AFM. Neohesperidin ameliorates aggregated Aβ 25 - 35 induced ROS generation and mitochondrial dysfunction in the SH-SY5Y cell line. As a result, the amyloid induced apoptosis is significantly prohibited and normal neuronal morphology is rescued. These findings suggest neohesperidin as an inhibitor of the pathogenic conversion of Aβ to fibrillar amyloid assembly. Neohesperidin thus emerges as a non-toxic multi-potent scaffold for the development of AD therapeutics., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The detrimental impact on the food chain due to the overuse of rotenone is partly responsible for alpha-synuclein (α-syn) mediated neurotoxicity. It is hypothesized that rotenone overdose leads to cytosolic proteopathy resulting in modulation of apoptosis and autophagic pathways. The aim of our study is to explore the neuroprotective role of quercetin, a beneficial polyphenol against rotenone-induced neurotoxicity in dopaminergic human SH-SY5Y cell lines. In our study we demonstrated the correlation of rotenone-induced neurotoxicity through elevation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and imbalance in the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Moreover, the morphological distortion of cell, condensation of nuclei, externalization of the inner phosphatidylserine, cleavage of caspase 3, and Poly ADP Ribose Polymerase (PARP) confirmed apoptosis. However, all these lethal effects were ameliorated by treatment of quercetin to the cells. On the other hand rotenone has a strong effect on autophagy which is a regulated degrading and recycling cellular process to remove dysfunctional proteins. Indeed, rotenone-mediated autophagy resulted in the enhancement of autophagosome-bound microtubule-associated protein light chain-3 (LC3-II) expression. Furthermore, excess accumulation of acidic vesicles was detected in presence of rotenone. Lysosome associated membrane protein (LAMP-2A) is yet another crucial protein that recruits overexpressed or misfolded proteins into the lumen of lysosome to trigger autophagy. In all cases the impact of rotenone on the cells acquired significant protection through quercetin treatment. In the present work we therefore opine the prospects of quercetin as a therapeutic candidate against neurotoxicity.

To obtain polyamide 6 (PA6) composites with improved flame retardancy and thermomechanical properties, highly cross-linked supramolecular poly(cyclotriphosphazene)-functionalized α-zirconium phosphate (f-ZrP) nanoplatelets were synthesized and melt-blended with PA6 in a twin-screw extruder. The performance enhancements of composites were investigated through measuring the dynamic mechanical property and observing cone calorimeter data, toxic gas evolution, and UL-94 rating. The thermomechanical performance of PA6 was increased by 37.2% after composite formation with f-ZrP. As for the fire retardancy performance, compared to neat PA6, the composite containing 10 wt % f-ZrP showed 41.7 and 30.4% decrease in the peak heat and total heat release rates, respectively, and the UL-94 rating of the composite was V-0. Moreover, the thermogravimetric analysis combined with infrared spectroscopy revealed that the addition of f-ZrP to the PA6 led to decrease in the evolution of the volatile compounds and toxic gases, with the formation of highly cross-linked P-N-containing dense char with microspheres, providing a strong barrier to the inhibition of the heat and flammable volatile components transferring between the flame zone area and substrate during the combustion test. Finally, based on the obtained results, the possible mechanisms for improved mechanical and fire retardancy properties of the composites were proposed., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.)