Syrphidae is one of the most speciose families of true flies, with more than 6,100 described species and a worldwide distribution. They are important to humans because they act as crucial pollinators, biological control agents, decomposers and bioindicators. This study was conducted to determine the biology and behavior of Eupeodes corollae, which is an important pollinator and enemy of aphid, including prey consumption, mating behavior, oviposition, and predation of larvae, to provide a basis for breeding and in-depth study. Results indicated that adult life expectancies were 17.2 ± 1.2 days (n = 16) for males and 19.6 ± 1.3 days (n = 16) for females, average number of eggs laid by females was 799.2±49.9 (n=16) and the hatch rate was over 90%. Larval development required 7.9 ± 0.8 days (n = 40), and 997.9 ± 47.8 Aphis craccivora (n = 10) were consumed by each larva. Pupa lasted 7.2 ± 0.4 days (n = 40) in the root of the host plant, on the edge of the seedling basin, or 0.1-1.0 cm below the soil.

Monosaccharide esters have great importance in the field of carbohydrate chemistry because of its effectiveness in the synthesis of biologically active products. As a consequence, the chemistry and biochemistry of carbohydrate derivatives are an essential part of biochemical and medicinal research. Modification of the hydroxyl (-OH) group of monosaccharides by acylation increases their biological activity. In this study, we have optimized a monosaccharide molecule, methyl β-D-galactopyranoside (MGP, 1), and some of its acylated esters employing density functional theory (DFT). All designed esters are optimized at the B3LYP/3-21G level of theory. Electronic energies, enthalpies, Gibbs free energies, heat capacity, entropy, molar refractivity, polarizability dipole moments, HOMO-LUMO gaps, density of states (DOS) and molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) of these modified compounds are also investigated in the subsequent analysis. Then compound (8), which showed a positive test on EAC cell, was subjected to molecular docking analysis with human poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase1 protein 4ZZZ to investigate the molecular interactions widely. Finally, ADMET analysis hints that modified derivatives of MGP (1) are less toxic and have improved pharmacokinetic properties than those of the parent drug.

SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of the COVID-19 disease. Pathophysiologically, high levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the serum of SARS-CoV-2 patients are reported, which is so-called the cytokine storm. In this study, molecular docking calculations of six bioactive compounds from Passiflora edulis with anti-inflammatory activity in interaction with the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 were performed, and their pharmacokinetic properties were predicted. The results of their molecular simulations and the ADME-T profiles of each ligand (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicity) suggest their use as potential treatment for SARS-CoV-2. Among the six investigated compounds in which four flavonoids and two alkaloids, the best docked ligands are quercetin (-8.2 kcal/mol), chrysin (-8.0 kcal/mol), kaempferol (-7.9 kcal/mol) and luteolin (-7.7 kcal/mol), both flavonoids compounds. Their pharmacokinetic studies using SwissADME, preADMET and pkCSM Web servers establish the good ADMET profile for each ligand.

Moringa oleifera meal proteins were extracted by using salt, water and alkaline precipitation to obtain globulins (GLO), albumins (ALB), and iso-electric precipitated (ISO) isolates. All the samples were tested for antioxidant properties using 2, 2diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl radical scavenging activity (HRSA), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and inhibition of metal ion chelation assays. The amino acid compositions of the samples, though fairly comparable, the albumin fraction in particular showed considerable inhibitory potentials against the DPPH (53.02%) and hydroxyl radical (44.21%). None of the samples however had any significant metal chelating ability since the only sample (globulin) with activity had less than 5% metal chelation activity. With the results obtained in the study, it was concluded that the albumin and the flour possess some level of inhibitory potentials against free radicals which could present them as useful antioxidant agents.

The objective of this study was to characterize the gut and skin microbiomes of three common freshwater fishes including two important sport fishes, Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides and Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus as well as the distantly-related Spotted Gar Lepisosteus oculatus. Skin and gut samples were collected in August and November 2014, and May 2015. All samples were sequenced as paired-end reads of the 16S rRNA gene via the Illumina MiSeq platform. More than 5M reads were analyzed representing 4,130 and 2,744 OTUs from gut and skin samples, respectively. Approximately 51.84% of the total OTUs were shared between the skin and gut bacterial communities. Good's coverage was higher than 98% in all samples. Spotted Gar exhibited the most diverse skin microbiome, while Largemouth Bass was the least diverse species in terms of both the skin and gut microbiome compositions. The highest diversity in the gut microbiome was observed in Bluegill; however, the bacterial communities of Spotted Gar were the most variable across seasons. Seasonal changes in bacterial community structures were also observed. For both the skin and the gut microbiomes, sampling date was found to exert a stronger influence on microbial composition than the species itself; however, season had a lesser impact on the gut microbiome than in the skin indicating the gut microbiomes are more stable. This study provides baseline data on the bacterial symbiont communities of three iconic freshwater fish species in North America. Our data could be used in future studies to identify environmental stressors that result unbalanced microbiomes and loss of homeostasis.