This study further explores a prior screening program carried out using MTT assay that identified a series of novel benzimidazole derivatives, among which Methyl 2-(5-fluoro-2-hydroxyphenyl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole-5-carboxylate (MBIC) showed highest anticancer efficacy compared to that of chemotherapeutic agent, cisplatin. In this article, the authors find that MBIC inhibited cell viability in different hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines without exerting significant cytotoxic effects on normal liver cells. The results of this study demonstrate that MBIC may inhibit cell proliferation via ROS-mediated activation of the JNK signaling cascade in HCC cells.

Article investigating if the exposure to diesel exhaust particles (DEP) can alter commensal lung microbiota, thereby promoting alterations in the lung’s immune and inflammatory responses. This article also explores if diet contributes to the alteration of the commensal lung microbiome.

Article assessing membrane lipids in M. truncatula tissues using electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry. The results suggest that specific PC species may be differentially important in diverse nodule zones and cell types, and that membrane lipid remodeling during P stress is not uniform across the nodule.

This article describes the use of a gold nanoantenna array to enhance both the nonlinear refractive index and two-photon absorption (2PA) of the organic dye 4,4'-bis(diphenylamino)stilbene (BDPAS), which is known as a dye with relatively large 2PA.

Article examining the the metabolic cost of self-righting in the terrestrial Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise using respirometry and kinematic video analysis and comparing this to the metabolic cost of locomotion at a moderate, easily sustainable speed. The results found that self-righting is, relatively, metabolically expensive and costs around two times the mass-specific power required to walk.

Article states that gene editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 are often thought of as a means to prevent gene expression; however, a more subtle and yet powerful approach is the enhancement of gene expression by precise deletion of repressor sites within a gene of interest. Authors argue that gene editing of miRNA target sites is preferable over deletion of the miRNA genes themselves, given that it avoids the pitfalls of unspecific derepression of miRNA target(s) beyond the gene of interest.

Article highlights the importance of pectin in cell wall integrity and the value of lignin modification as a tool to interrogate the informational content of plant cell walls.

This article provides the summary of the reports of the geographical distribution in the Maritime Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions of Parochlus steinenii (Gercke, 1889) (Diptera, Chironomidae), the only flying insect occurring naturally in the Antarctic continent. This database was developed as one of the main objectives of two Chilean-funded research projects addressing understanding the effects of climate change on sub-Antarctic and Antarctic insects.

Data management plan for the grant, "NSFDEB-NERC: Collaborative Research: Wildlife corridors: do they work and who benefits?" Research on the impact of wildlife corridors using genetics as the measure of effectiveness. The study will use 20 independent landscapes to quantify how corridor traits affect gene flow, and will use non-flying mammals as focal species because they are strongly affected by fragmentation. The research team hypothesizes (1) a strong non-linear decline in success (gene flow) with corridor length, reflecting the skewed distribution of dispersal distances within species; (2) success will drop steeply as corridor width falls below a threshold, with the threshold determined by species traits; and (3) species that are bigger, are habitat specialists, or have greater dispersal abilities (relative to brain size or reproductive rate) will benefit more from corridors. Testing these hypotheses will allow generalization to a wide range of mammal species not included in this project. It will use highly flexible Random Forest models to answer the overarching question: What landscape traits (e.g., corridor width, degree of human disturbance) and species traits (mobility, affinity to particular land cover types) are associated with effective corridors?

This article is a review discussing the origin, development, and application of the renormalization group (RG) method in a variety of fields from the physical, social and life sciences, in singular perturbation theory, and reveal the need to connect the RG and the fractional calculus (FC). The authors also present recommendations for future research based on this new way of thinking.

Article describes study analyzing the effects of a new purine derivative drug, PDD005, in attenuating mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, using both in vivo and in vitro models.

Article describes how metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are porous crystalline materials, and their large pores make them particularly interesting for membranes, gas separation, and gas storage. The authors discuss how gas-MOF interactions alter the MOFs' spectral fingerprints.

This article presents a study that was done over a period of 3 years to explicate the instructional processes involved in teaching an undergraduate course-based research experience (CRE). The study presented here delineated a set of specific instructional practices used by active CRE instructors and modeled the relations between the use of these practices and specified outcomes. The resultant educational models should provide clarification of the ways in which the aims of CRE can be effectively achieved by instructors.

Article presents a COF (covalent organic framework)-based adsorption-photocatalysis strategy for selective removal of uranyl from seawater in the absence of sacrificial reagents. This work shows that multivariate COF adsorption-photocatalysts can be rationally engineered to work efficiently and stably without sacrificial electron donors, thus opening the pathway for the economic and efficient extraction of uranium from the earth’s oceans.

The article is from conference proceedings that discuss an artificially structured boundary (ABS) considered to consist of a spatially periodic arrangement of electrostatically plugged magnetic cusps. As envisioned, a non-neutral positron plasma could be confined by an ASB along its edge, and the space charge of the positron plasma would serve to confine an antiproton plasma. If the conditions of the two-species plasma are suitable, production of antihydrogen via three-body recombination for antimatter gravity studies may be possible.

The article evaluates the impacts of physical, chemical and genetic interventions to improve biomass processing singly and in combination. Based on their results and literature studies, some form of non-biological augmentation will likely be necessary for the foreseeable future to achieve high total carbohydrate solubilization (TCS) for most cellulosic feedstocks. The results show that this need not necessarily involve thermochemical processing, and need not necessarily occur prior to biological conversion.

This article reports eight newly isolated Streptomyces bacteriophages recovered using either direct plating or enrichment on three Streptomyces hosts.

Article is a study highlighting the mechanistic understanding of the dissolution process of SE415 by biocompatible PEG 400 in the (PEG 400 + water) cosolvent mixture using HSPs, Kirkwood–Buff integrals, and thermodynamic functional parameters for solubility.

This article presents evidence that the binary cosolvent system can be a promising approach for enhanced oral absorption in controlling diabetes mellitus (DM) and associated complications in humans.

Article describes the development of a physics-based molecular force field (PMFF) by integrating a set of potential energy functions in which each term in an intermolecular potential energy function is derived based on experimental values, such as the dipole moments, lattice energy, proton transfer energy, and X-ray crystal structures.

Article discussing grand canonical simulations based on density-functional theory to study the thermodynamic properties of electrochemical interfaces of metallic electrodes in aqueous environments.

This article creates a microkinetic assay for human and zebrafish plasmas using 1 μl plasma under conditions similar to prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTTs). The established microkinetic assay could measure blood coagulation activity in models like zebrafish and human blood samples obtained from a finger prick in adults or heel prick in infants.

This article reviews the literature to argue the importance of the occurrence of crucial events in the dynamics of physiological processes. Crucial events are interpreted as short time intervals of turbulence, and the time distance between two consecutive crucial events is a waiting time distribution density with an inverse power law (IPL) index µ, with µ < 3 generating non-stationary behavior.

Article on parasite presence in the critically endangered Darwin's fox (Pseudalopex fulvipes) in Chile. Parasites found include species and genera reported for the first time in Darwin's fox.