In this study, the authors design a series of new biaryl small molecules to target and block the binding pocket of the enzyme dihydropteroate synthase, which is important for prokaryotic biosynthesis of folic acid and could serve as better antimicrobial compounds.
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Optimizing 3D printing parameters: Evaluating infill type and layer height effects on tensile fracture force
In this study, the authors test different infill patterns to determine which would be the strongest and most durable for 3D printing applications, which have become an integral part of many facets of life.
Read More...Optimal pH for indirect electrochemical oxidation of isopropyl alcohol with Ru-Ti anode and NaCl electrolyte
In this study, the authors determine optimal pH levels for maximizing isopropanol degradation in water. This has important applications for cleaning up polluted wastewater in the environment.
Read More...High-throughput virtual screening of novel dihydropyrimidine monastrol analogs reveals robust structure-activity relationship to kinesin Eg5 binding thermodynamics
As cancer continues to take millions of lives worldwide, the need to create effective therapeutics for the disease persists. The kinesin Eg5 assembly motor protein is a promising target for cancer therapeutics as inhibition of this protein leads to cell cycle arrest. Monastrol, a small dihydropyrimidine-based molecule capable of inhibiting the kinesin Eg5 function, has attracted the attention of medicinal chemists with its potency, affinity, and specificity to the highly targeted loop5/α2/α3 allosteric binding pocket. In this work, we employed high-throughput virtual screening (HTVS) to identify potential small molecule Eg5 inhibitors from a designed set of novel dihydropyrimidine analogs structurally similar to monastrol.
Read More...Comparison of Perception of 2020 Election Security Threats Between Young and Old Voters
In this study, results from an extensive survey report college students' and senior citizens' voting concerns during the 2020 presidential election.
Read More...Statistically Analyzing the Effect of Various Factors on the Absorbency of Paper Towels
In this study, the authors investigate just how effectively paper towels can absorb different types of liquid and whether changing the properties of the towel (such as folding it) affects absorbance. Using variables of either different liquid types or the folded state of the paper towels, they used thorough approaches to make some important and very useful conclusions about optimal ways to use paper towels. This has important implications as we as a society continue to use more and more paper towels.
Read More...Correlates of Sugar Consumption Among High School Students and Faculty
The availability, portion sizes, and consumption of highly palatable food has been linked adverse health outcomes. McBurnett and O’Donnell sought to assess the relationship between reward-based eating drive, consumption, cravings, and knowledge of the effects of sugary foods. In this study population, reward-based eating drive was related to both consumption and cravings. Further, for females, the knowledge of sugar’s effects was significantly and inversely associated with its consumption.
Read More...Reducing Crop Damage Caused by Folsomia candida by Providing an Alternate Food Source
Tamura and Moché found that Folsomia candida, a common crop pest, prefers to consume yeast instead of lettuce seedlings. The authors confirmed that even with the availability of both lettuce seedlings and yeast in the same dish, Folsomia candida preferred to eat the yeast, thereby reducing the number of feeding injuries on the lettuce seedlings. The authors propose that using this preference for yeast may be a way to mitigate crop damage by this pest.
Read More...Monitoring Local Soil Toxicity by Daphnia magna Viability
In this study a student uses Daphnia magna, or water fleas, to assay the purity of local soil samples. Daphnia magna are a helpful organism to detect potentially harmful levels of toxins in water.
Read More...Isolation of Microbes From Common Household Surfaces
Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi live everywhere in the world around us. The authors here demonstrate that these predominantly harmless microbes can be isolated from many household locations that appear "clean." Further, they test the cleaning power of 70% ethanol and suggest that many "clean" surfaces are not in fact "sterile."
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