Explore the vast range of titles available.

Teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) plantations have increased recently in India; however, morphological descriptors for teak are still lacking. Thus, the goal of this work was to develop descriptors based on morphological characteristics. Among 30 seed sources collected from different states of India, 24 morphological descriptors, including leaf length, leaf width, presence of petiole, petiole length, leaf shape, shape of leaf apex, shape of leaf base, leaf texture, phyllotaxy, leaf attitude, leaf margin, leaf margin undulation, leaf brightness, leaf venation, leaf main vein, leaf veins, leaf vein color, leaf color, leaf pubescence, young leaf color, number of internodes, internodal length, trunk spots, and trunk color, were developed based on leaf and stem characteristics. These seed sources exhibited a difference in all traits except leaf shape, shape of leaf apex, leaf phyllotaxy, leaf margin, leaf venation, leaf main vein, and presence of trunk spots. The Jaccard similarity index was used to calculate the genetic similarity between the sources, and the Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) method was used to perform a cluster analysis (four groups at a similarity of 0.5 were obtained). According to the observations made, most of the sources exhibited high similarity, which indicates that only a few characteristics can be used to distinguish the sources.

On account of the rigid structure of alginate chains, the oxidation-reductive amination reaction was performed to synthesize the reductive amination of oxidized alginate derivative (RAOA) that was systematically characterized for the development of pharmaceutical formulations. The molecular structure and self-assembly behavior of the resultant RAOA was evaluated by an FT-IR spectrometer, a 1H NMR spectrometer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), a fluorescence spectrophotometer, rheology, a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). In addition, the loading and in vitro release of ibuprofen for the RAOA microcapsules prepared by the high-speed shearing method, and the cytotoxicity of the RAOA microcapsules against the murine macrophage RAW264.7 cell were also studied. The experimental results indicated that the hydrophobic octylamine was successfully grafted onto the alginate backbone through the oxidation-reductive amination reaction, which destroyed the intramolecular hydrogen bond of the raw sodium alginate (SA), thereby enhancing its molecular flexibility to achieve the self-assembly performance of RAOA. Consequently, the synthesized RAOA displayed good amphiphilic properties with a critical aggregation concentration (CAC) of 0.43 g/L in NaCl solution, which was significantly lower than that of SA, and formed regular self-assembled micelles with an average hydrodynamic diameter of 277 nm (PDI = 0.19) and a zeta potential of about −69.8 mV. Meanwhile, the drug-loaded RAOA microcapsules had a relatively high encapsulation efficiency (EE) of 87.6 % and good sustained-release properties in comparison to the drug-loaded SA aggregates, indicating the good affinity of RAOA to hydrophobic ibuprofen. The swelling and degradation of RAOA microcapsules and the diffusion of the loaded drug jointly controlled the release rate of ibuprofen. Moreover, it also displayed low cytotoxicity against the RAW264.7 cell, similar to the SA aggregates. In view of the excellent advantages of RAOA, it is expected to become the ideal candidate for hydrophobic drug delivery in the biomedical field.

Background Histones are the basic packaging units of eukaryotic DNA and are essential for the dynamics of chromatin and the regulation of epigenetics. Canonical histones and their variants exhibit important functional differences in biological processes. However, little is known about the role of histone family members in molluscs, which are known for their ecological and morphological diversity. Results Core histone families of 28 molluscan species (12 bivalves, 8 gastropods, 6 cephalopods, 1 scaphopod and 1 polyplacophora) were systematically identified. The evolutionary conservation and lineage-specific innovations were discovered using phylogenomic and transcriptomic analyses. Cephalopods showed a striking expansion of canonical histone genes with brain-enriched expression patterns. Synteny analyses revealed conserved, collinear histone clusters unique to cephalopods. Histone variants, specially H2A and H3 paralogs, display conserved motifs potentially involved in nucleosome stability and lineage-specific residues involved in functional specialization. Developmental transcriptomics revealed the dynamic expression of histone variants in early embryogenesis and the gonads, suggesting that H2A and H3 variants are involved in chromatin remodeling, pluripotency maintenance and germline regulation. Macro-H2A was highly expressed during larval neurodevelopment and in sensory organs, suggesting important roles in neural plasticity. Conclusion This study represents the first comprehensive inventory and characterization of core histone genes in molluscs, and will facilitate understanding of the evolutionary patterns and functional properties of core histones in relation to neurogenesis of molluscs. These findings advance our understanding of chromatin evolution and its contribution to phenotypic innovation in non-model taxa.

The exploration of new chemical entities from herbal medicines may provide candidates for the in silico screening of drug leads. However, this significant work is hindered by the presence of multiple classes of plant metabolites and many re-discovered structures. This study presents an integrated strategy that uses ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/linear ion-trap quadrupole/Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC/LTQ-Orbitrap-MS) coupled with in-house library data for the systematic characterization and discovery of new potentially bioactive molecules. Exploration of the indole alkaloids from Uncaria rhynchophylla (UR) is presented as a model study. Initially, the primary characterization of alkaloids was achieved using mass defect filtering and neutral loss filtering. Subsequently, phytochemical isolation obtained 14 alkaloid compounds as reference standards, including a new one identified as 16,17-dihydro-O-demethylhirsuteine by NMR analyses. The direct-infusion fragmentation behaviors of these isolated alkaloids were studied to provide diagnostic structural information facilitating the rapid differentiation and characterization of four different alkaloid subtypes. Ultimately, after combining the experimental results with a survey of an in-house library containing 129 alkaloids isolated from the Uncaria genus, a total of 92 alkaloids (60 free alkaloids and 32 alkaloid O-glycosides) were identified or tentatively characterized, 56 of which are potential new alkaloids for the Uncaria genus. Hydroxylation on ring A, broad variations in the C-15 side chain, new N-oxides, and numerous O-glycosides, represent the novel features of the newly discovered indole alkaloid structures. These results greatly expand our knowledge of UR chemistry and are useful for the computational screening of potentially bioactive molecules from indole alkaloids.

In this study, the commercially available cosmetic textile agent containing aloe vera for skin caring benefits was used for the development of cosmetic textiles. The empirical characterization model comprising three major categories, namely (1) material characterization and ingredient identification, (2) fabric performance testing, and (3) biological safety and biological response to human skin, was established to characterize the cosmetic textile agent and the developed cosmetic textiles. This systematic characterization model is expected to provide a guideline for commercial sectors and researchers to identify and evaluate the performance of cosmetic textile agents and cosmetic textiles in a safety and objective manner.

Background Choosing a suitable sample size in qualitative research is an area of conceptual debate and practical uncertainty. That sample size principles, guidelines and tools have been developed to enable researchers to set, and justify the acceptability of, their sample size is an indication that the issue constitutes an important marker of the quality of qualitative research. Nevertheless, research shows that sample size sufficiency reporting is often poor, if not absent, across a range of disciplinary fields. Methods A systematic analysis of single-interview-per-participant designs within three health-related journals from the disciplines of psychology, sociology and medicine, over a 15-year period, was conducted to examine whether and how sample sizes were justified and how sample size was characterised and discussed by authors. Data pertinent to sample size were extracted and analysed using qualitative and quantitative analytic techniques. Results Our findings demonstrate that provision of sample size justifications in qualitative health research is limited; is not contingent on the number of interviews; and relates to the journal of publication. Defence of sample size was most frequently supported across all three journals with reference to the principle of saturation and to pragmatic considerations. Qualitative sample sizes were predominantly – and often without justification – characterised as insufficient (i.e., ‘small’) and discussed in the context of study limitations. Sample size insufficiency was seen to threaten the validity and generalizability of studies’ results, with the latter being frequently conceived in nomothetic terms. Conclusions We recommend, firstly, that qualitative health researchers be more transparent about evaluations of their sample size sufficiency, situating these within broader and more encompassing assessments of data adequacy . Secondly, we invite researchers critically to consider how saturation parameters found in prior methodological studies and sample size community norms might best inform, and apply to, their own project and encourage that data adequacy is best appraised with reference to features that are intrinsic to the study at hand. Finally, those reviewing papers have a vital role in supporting and encouraging transparent study-specific reporting.

There were 3 influenza pandemics in the 20th century, and there has been 1 so far in the 21st century. Local, national, and international health authorities regularly update their plans for mitigating the next influenza pandemic in light of the latest available evidence on the effectiveness of various control measures in reducing transmission. Here, we review the evidence base on the effectiveness of nonpharmaceutical personal protective measures and environmental hygiene measures in nonhealthcare settings and discuss their potential inclusion in pandemic plans. Although mechanistic studies support the potential effect of hand hygiene or face masks, evidence from 14 randomized controlled trials of these measures did not support a substantial effect on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza. We similarly found limited evidence on the effectiveness of improved hygiene and environmental cleaning. We identified several major knowledge gaps requiring further research, most fundamentally an improved characterization of the modes of person-to-person transmission.

Organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) have garnered significant research attention owing to their immense application prospects in leading technologies for full-color flat panel displays and eco-friendly solid-state lighting. They demonstrate exceptional features such as mercury-free construction, wide viewing angle, superior color quality and captivating flexibility. The requirements of light-emitting organic materials pertaining to high stability, lifetime and luminescence quantum yield, combined with the fabrication of devices with high performance efficiency, are highly challenging. Rational molecular design of 1,8-naphthalimide (NI) derivatives can offer quite promising results in achieving standard-light-emitting materials with a wide range of colors for OLED applications. This review is mainly focused on the synthesis and usage of varyingly substituted NI frameworks as luminescent host, dopant, hole-blocking and electron-transporting materials for OLEDs that emit not only red, orange, green and blue colors, but also function as white emitters, which can really have an impact on reducing the energy consumption. The future prospects that could be explored to improve the research in the highly promising field of OLEDs are also discussed.

The ability of superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) to absorb and retain a large amount of aqueous solution enables their applications in agriculture, medicine and water treatment. As a result, there were numerous studies reporting the present status and application prospects of raw materials and the mechanism of cross-linking agents. Conversely, there was a lack of research on the factors affecting SAP performance and the summaries of methods to improve performance. In this paper, a comprehensive and systematic review based on the structure and water absorption mechanism of SAPs was performed. The methods of improving the performance and main factors of the synthesis of SAPs, such as monomer, cross-linking agent, initiator, ion concentration, hydrophilic group, neutralization degree and particle size, were discussed. The improvement methods of salinity tolerance, reusability, water absorption and rate of SAP were explored. In addition, some applications and future research in SAPs are also discussed in this review.

Background This study reports on the performance estimation of Digital Volume Correlation (DVC) for tomographic applications. The performance of DVC can be evaluated in terms of two distinct errors: the random error, directly linked to image quality, and the interpolation error, which is the one of the most significant systematic error generated by DVC algorithms. However, the existing methods provide only a limited estimate of the interpolation error, or allow only the random error to be assessed. Objective A new method is proposed to evaluate the interpolation error coupled with the random error in a simple and fast way to assess the overall performance of DVC for any tomographic application. Methods This new method proposes to apply a rotation to the sample (instead of the usual translation) to evaluate the interpolation error. This rotational movement generates linearly varying displacement fields, and each point of a displacement field describes a distinct non-integer voxel position. As this rotation is a rigid body motion, the random error associated with tomographic noise is also taken into account. Results This new method can generate several thousand interpolation error measurement points in only two acquisitions, allowing a very detailed and local assessment of this error. Additionally, and compared to existing methods in the literature (repeat scan), this method does not underestimate the random error, essential for assessing the overall performance of the DVC. Conclusions The proposed method efficiently evaluates DVC performance by accurately assessing both interpolation and random errors through rotational sample movement, improving the reliability in DVC measurements.