The design of new dual-function inhibitors simultaneously preventing hydrate formation and corrosion is a relevant issue for the oil and gas industry. The structure-property relationship for a promising class of hybrid inhibitors based on waterborne polyurethanes (WPU) was studied in this work. Variation of diethanolamines differing in the size and branching of N-substituents (methyl, n-butyl, and tert-butyl), as well as the amount of these groups, allowed the structure of polymer molecules to be preset during their synthesis. To assess the hydrate and corrosion inhibition efficiency of developed reagents pressurized rocking cells, electrochemistry and weight-loss techniques were used. A distinct effect of these variables altering the hydrophobicity of obtained compounds on their target properties was revealed. Polymers with increased content of diethanolamine fragments with n- or tert-butyl as N-substituent (WPU-6 and WPU-7, respectively) worked as dual-function inhibitors, showing nearly the same efficiency as commercial ones at low concentration (0.25 wt%), with the branched one (tert-butyl; WPU-7) turning out to be more effective as a corrosion inhibitor. Commercial kinetic hydrate inhibitor Luvicap 55 W and corrosion inhibitor Armohib CI-28 were taken as reference samples. Preliminary study reveals that WPU-6 and WPU-7 polyurethanes as well as Luvicap 55 W are all poorly biodegradable compounds; BOD_t/COD_cr (ratio of Biochemical oxygen demand and Chemical oxygen demand) value is 0.234 and 0.294 for WPU-6 and WPU-7, respectively, compared to 0.251 for commercial kinetic hydrate inhibitor Luvicap 55 W. Since the obtained polyurethanes have a bifunctional effect and operate at low enough concentrations, their employment is expected to reduce both operating costs and environmental impact.

Aim and Objective: Some ferrocenyl derivatives are active in vitro and in vivo against cancer. Generally, ferrocenyl derivatives for cancer research have three key components: a ferrocene moiety, a conjugated linker that lowers the oxidation potential and some derivative (peptide, nucleobase and others) that can interact with biomolecules. Since the pyrimidine fragment can easily pass through the membrane into the cells and can become involved in the metabolism, it appears to be promising. Furthermore, this fragment is an electron-acceptor group, so a spacer can be excluded. Therefore, the synthesis of 6-ferrocenylpyrimidin-4(3H)-one derivatives and the study of their anticancer activity have scientific and practical interest. Methods: The syntheses of 6-ferrocenylpyrimidin-4(3H)-one derivatives were performed by the condensation of ethyl 3-ferrocenyl-3-oxopropionate with thiourea or acetamidine or guanidine. The cytotoxicity of four 6-ferrocenylpyrimidin-4(3H)-one derivatives was evaluated by using the MTT assay in vitro against Human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 and normal human skin fibroblast HSF cells. The tested derivatives induced concentration-dependent cytotoxic response in cell lines. Results: A study of the cytotoxic activity of 6-ferrocenylpyrimidin-4(3H)-one derivatives by the MTT test has found that all compounds have a dose-dependent toxic effect on the lines of breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and normal human fibroblast cells (HSF). The most pronounced cytotoxic effect is exhibited by 2-methyl-6-ferrocenyl-pyrimidin-4(3H)-one (MCF-7, IC50 17 ± 1 μM). Conclusion: The experimental results confirm importance of investigation and design of ferrocenylpyrimidin-4(3H)-one derivatives as anticancer agents. Compounds where the pyrimidine derivatives are directly linked to the ferrocene unit rather than via a spacer group also may be of interest for antiproliferative drug design.

As objects for reforestation, the least studied are carbonate substrates, which have a number of specific features in terms of mineral composition, the exchange of nutrients, and biological activity. The use of biological preparations of a consortium of bacteria of the genus Bacillus and mycorrhizal fungi of the genus Glomus in growing seedlings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) on carbonate substrates provides the metabolic products; soluble and microelement salts function as catalysts for chemical reactions of exudates and soil products; and a greater amount of plant heavy metals (HM) Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb accumulate in the soil. Among HMs, the random factors most strongly determined an accumulation of Cd (the influence rate of random factors h²_x = 34.6%) and Pb (the influence rate of random factors h²_x = 21.7%) in the plants. A trend of all studied HMs higher uptake by the Cretaceous pine (Pinus sylvestris var. cretacea (Kalen.) Kom.) in comparison with the P. sylvestris ecotype is revealed. Against the biological preparation background of Biogor KM and MycoCrop^®, a greater value of the HM’s biological absorption in comparison with the option without biological preparations is noted. This process occurs against a background of a significant increase in the nitrification capacity in the chalk fine-grained substrate (soil aggregates < 1 mm in size), which is an indirect indicator of an increased intensity of microbiological processes. Spearman’s correlation was noted between the coefficient of accumulation of Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb in the dry matter of Scots pine (P. sylvestris) seedlings and the nitrification capacity of substrate (r_s = 0.610–0.744, p < 0.05), as well as the relationship between the nitrification capacity index of substrate and the coefficient of biological absorption of copper, zinc, and cadmium (r_s = 0.543–0.765, p < 0.05). No relationship was found between the coefficient of biological absorption of lead and other soil chemical property indicators. HM absorption by plants was random. No correlations have been established between an accumulation of HMs and a content of total nitrogen, an absolute value of nitrate nitrogen, a humus content, or a pH. The significance of the work is the possibility of providing reliable reforestation with Scots pine (P. sylvestris) and Cretaceous pine (P. sylvestris var. cretacea) on the chalk outcrops using the biological preparations Biogor KM, MycoCrop^®, and BGT* methodology and ensuring soil phytoremediation from HMs.

The paper presents the results of research on the selection of biological agents with antagonism to microorganisms affecting raw materials of plant origin. The antagonists selected at the first stage showed significant changes in the antagonistic activity of various isolates when the temperature of the medium increased to 45⁰C. There was no decrease in activity in isolate 20, so it is resistant to high temperature. Isolate No.21 had a significant increase in antagonistic activity, it is likely to be more resistant to high temperatures and some biochemical enzymatic processes are stimulated, leading to increased antagonistic properties. And in isolates 9, 16 and 23, on the contrary, it was lowered, possibly due to the fact that the increased temperature causes structural and biochemical changes in the cell of the microorganism. Similarly, isolated isolates No.9, 16, 23, 21, and 15 had high antagonistic activity against micromycetes that contaminate plant-based feed.

Fusariotoxins (deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, T-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol, zearalenone, moniliformin, fumonisins) are secondary metabolites of Fusarium species of fungi that parasitize various plants or are present on them as facultative pathogens. The aim of this work was to evaluate the ability of bacteria that have antimicrobial activity against toxin-producing Fusarium species to detoxify toxic fungal metabolites in order to create additives that improve the quality and safety of feed and other agricultural products. A total of 207 bacterial isolates belonging to various genera and species have been studied. The isolate, designated as RF-45, was characterized by a broad spectrum and a high level of antagonistic activity against most species of Fusarium fungi. Based on morphological-physiological and biochemical studies, analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence, the RF-45 isolate was identified as Bacillus subtilis. The bacillary isolate was distinguished by its ability to produce various hydrolytic enzymes (CMCase, avicelasa, β-glucosidase, FPase and xylanase) and antimicrobial metabolites (siderophores, bacteriocins and exopolysaccharides), as well as to detoxify toxic fungal metabolites. It was concluded that B. subtilis RF-45 can be used as an object for creating additives capable of decontaminating feed and other agricultural products.