Microwave-assisted Synthesis and antifungal activity of coumarin[8,7-<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">e</Emphasis>][1,3]oxazine derivatives

The synthesis of novel coumarin[8,7-e][1,3]oxazine derivatives through a microwave-assisted three-component one-pot Mannich reaction is described in this study. All the target compounds were evaluated in vitro for their antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum capsici, Alternaria solani, Gibberella zeae, Rhizoctonia solani, and Alternaria mali. The preliminary bioassays showed that 5e, 5m, and 5s exhibited good antifungal activity and the most active compound was 5m with an \(\hbox {EC}_{50}\) value as low as 2.1 nM against Botrytis cinerea.     

Analysis of the spectrum of the Zn-like Kr VII ion: Highly excited 4<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>4<Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis> and 4<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>5<Emphasis Type="Italic">s</Emphasis> configurations

The spectrum of the Zn-like Kr VII ion, excited in a capillary discharge and recorded with a high resolution in the wavelength range of 300–1000 Å, was studied. Previously performed identification of the transitions from the levels of the 4s4f, 4s5s, 4s5p, and 4s5d configurations is confirmed and extended, and the energies of these levels are specified. The (4p ²+4s4d)?4p4d and (4p ²+4s5s)?4p5s transitions are identified for the first time, and the energies of all the levels of the 4p4d and 4p5s configurations are determined. The results of the analysis performed are confirmed by semiempirical calculations in terms of the Hartree-Fock method. These results are also shown to conform to the experimental data obtained for lighter ions of the Zn I isoelectronic sequence.     

New 7-piperazinylquinolones containing (benzo[<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">d</Emphasis>]imidazol-2-yl)methyl moiety as potent antibacterial agents

A series of 7-piperazinylquinolones containing a (benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)methyl moiety were designed and synthesized as new antibacterial agents. The antibacterial activity of title compounds was evaluated against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Bacillus subtilis) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumonia) microorganisms. Among the tested compounds, the N1-cyclopropyl derivative 4a showed the highest activity against S. aureus, S. epidermidis, B. subtilis and E. coli (\(\text {MIC} = 0.097\) \(\upmu \)g/mL), being 2–4 times more potent than reference drug norfloxacin. A structure-activity relationship study demonstrated that the effect of the nitro group on the benzimidazole ring depends on the pattern of substitutions on the piperazinylquinolone.     

Identification of a novel putative inhibitor of the <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Plasmodium falciparum</Emphasis> purine nucleoside phosphorylase: exploring the purine salvage pathway to design new antimalarial drugs

Malaria, a tropical parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium spp., continues to place a heavy social burden, with almost 200 million cases and more than 580,000 deaths per year. Plasmodium falciparum purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PfPNP) can be targeted for antimalarial drug design since its inhibition kills malaria parasites both in vitro and in vivo. Although the currently known inhibitors of PfPNP, immucillins, are orally available and of low toxicity to animals and humans, to the best of our knowledge, none of these compounds has entered clinical trials for the treatment of malaria. Using a pharmacophore-based virtual screening coupled to a consensual molecular docking approach, we identified 59 potential PfPNP inhibitors that are predicted to be orally absorbed in a Caco-2 cell model. Although most of these compounds are predicted to have high plasma protein binding levels, poor water solubility (except for compound 25) and CYP3A4 metabolic stability (except for 4, 7 and 8), four structures (4, 7, 8 and 25) remain as potential leads because of their plausible interaction with a specific hydrophobic pocket of PfPNP, which would confer them higher selectivity for PfPNP over human PNP. Additionally, both predicted Gibbs free energies for binding and molecular dynamics suggest that compound 4 may form a more stable complex with PfPNP than 5\(^{\prime }\)-methylthio-immucillin-H, a potent and selective inhibitor of PfPNP.     

Ab initio calculations of B<Subscript>2</Subscript> type RHg (R = Ce,Pr, Eu and Gd) intermetallic compounds

Spin polarized ab initio calculations have been carried out to study the structural, electronic, elastic and thermal properties of RHg (R = Ce, Pr, Eu and Gd) intermetallic compounds in B₂ structure. The calculations have been performed by using both generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and local spin density approximation (LSDA). The calculated value of lattice constant (a ₀) for these compounds with GGA is in better agreement with the experimental data than those with LSDA. Bulk modulus (B), first-order pressure derivative of bulk modulus and magnetic moment (μ _B ) are also presented. The energy band structure and electron density of states show the occupancy of 4f states for light as well as heavy rare earth atom. The elastic constants are predicted from which all the related mechanical properties like Poisson’s ratio (σ), Young’s modulus (E), shear modulus (G _H ) and anisotropy factor (A) are calculated. The ductility or brittleness of these compounds is predicted from Pugh’s rule (B/G _H ) and Cauchy pressure (C ₁₂ ? C ₄₄). The Debye temperature (θ _D ) is estimated from the average sound velocity, which have not been calculated and measured yet.     

Spin-dimerization in rare-earth substituted La<Subscript>2</Subscript>RuO<Subscript>5</Subscript>

The Ru-Ru spin-singlet formation in La_2 ? x L n _x RuO₅ (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy) was investigated by measurements of the specific heat and magnetic susceptibility. After subtraction of the lattice contribution from the specific heat (C _p ), similar excess entropy values were obtained for all compounds. These entropies can be explained by the formation of antiferromagnetic Ru-spin dimers at low temperatures and provide a lower estimate for the intradimer exchange strength. Pronounced changes in the transition temperatures and a broadening of the corresponding peak in C _p were observed. These changes depend on the rare-earth element and are due to local structural changes and heterogeneities caused by the substitution. The magnetic susceptibilities can be described by the sum of a rare-earth paramagnetic moment and the susceptibility of the unsubstituted La₂RuO₅. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed for various compounds to investigate the origin of the magnetic transition and the relationship between structural changes and the spin-dimerization temperature. The combination of the present results with previous structural investigations supports the model of a spin-pairing of the Ru moments which occurs as a reason of the structural phase transition in La_2 ? x L n _x RuO₅.     

Neutron-diffraction study of the crystal structure of BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> ferroelectric doped with iron

The crystal structure of iron-doped barium titanate BaTi_1–x Fe _x O₃ is studied by neutron diffraction in the range of 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.12. At low concentrations of iron, x < 0.01, and at room temperature, these compounds have a polar structure with tetragonal symmetry with space group P4mm. The temperature of the transition of the tetragonal ferroelectric phase into the cubic paraelectric phase with space group Pm \(\bar 3\) m for an iron concentration of x = 0.01 is 390 K (for pure BaTiO₃, it is 410 K). At an iron concentration of x = 0.07, the crystal structure of the studied compounds varies, and it is described by the centrosymmetric hexagonal space group P6₃/mmc. The structural parameters of various phases of compound BaTi_1–x Fe _x O₃ are determined from the experimental data.     

Electronic structure of the Np<Emphasis Type="Italic">MT</Emphasis> <Subscript>5</Subscript> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis> = Fe,Co, Ni; <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis> = Ga,In) series of neptunium compounds

Evolution of the electronic structure of the NpMGa₅ (M = Fe, Co, Ni) series of neptunium compounds, whose crystal structure is similar to that of the known family of Pu115 superconductors, was studied by the LDA + U + SO method. The calculations took into account both the strong electron correlations and the spin?orbit coupling in the 5f shell of neptunium. For the first time, the electronic structure was calculated for a hypothetical series of compounds in which gallium is replaced with indium. Parameters of the crystal structure of the given series were obtained using the relationship between the parameters of the crystal structure of the earlier-studied compounds PuCoGa₅ and PuCoIn₅. The analysis of the electronic structure and characteristics of neptunium ions calculated in the framework of the LDA + U + SO method showed that the neptunium ions in NpMIn₅ with M = Fe, Co, and Ni should have an electron configuration closer to f⁴, but a spin and magnetic characteristics close to those in NpMGa₅.     

Supramolecular Interaction of Two Tryptophans with <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-sulfonated calix[<Emphasis Type="Italic">4,6,8</Emphasis>]arene

The complex characteristics of p-sulfonated calix[n]arene (SCnA) and two tryptophans N-[(tert-butoxy) carbonyl]-tryptophan (trp-A) and N-carbobenzoxy-tryptophane (trp-B) were examined through various techniques. Spectrofluorimetry was performed at different temperatures to determine the stability constants and evaluate the thermodynamic parameters of the two complexes. The effect of pH on complex formation was estimated. According to the fluorescence data, the assumption about the steric hindrance of the tert-butyl group of trp-A and the phenyl group of trp-B was put forward. ¹H NMR was also performed to determine the binding interaction mechanism. Results showed that the indole benzene rings of the two tryptophans partly penetrated into the cavity of p-sulfonated calix[n]arene. The shift in Ha, Hb and Hc, Hd positions became more significant as the number of phenolic units of the calixarene ring increased. Molecular modeling of the complexes elucidated the assumption about the steric hindrance of the tert-butyl group of trp-A and the phenyl group of trp-B. These observations of molecular modeling computation are consistent with previous fluorescence data and ¹H NMR results.     

Optical investigations of structural phase transformations in PbMg<Subscript>1/3</Subscript>Nb<Subscript>2/3</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>PbTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> single crystals located at the morphotropic phase boundary

A study has been made of the effect of a dc electric field (0 < E < 4 kV/cm) on the optical transmittance of single-crystal compounds PbMg_1/3Nb_2/3O₃-xPbTiO₃ (PMN-xPT) located at the boundaries of the morphotropic region (x = 32.0 and 36.5%) and directly at the center of the morphotropic region (x = 35%). It is shown that, at temperatures close to the morphotropic phase transition point, the electric field induces two phase transitions in PMN-32PT and PMN-35PT crystals and only one phase transition in PMN-36.5PT. The tetragonal (T) phase induced in all three compounds remains stable after the electric field is removed only in crystals with x = 35.0 and 36.5%, whereas the T phase is metastable and transforms into the monoclinic M _c phase after the field is switched off in the PMN-32PT crystals lying at the boundary of the morphotropic region on the rhombohedral side. It is found that the electric-field-induced intermediate phase M _c in PMN-35PT is inhomogeneous and that M _c transforms into the tetragonal phase in a continuous transition. It is suggested that only the presence of a third orthorhombic phase can account for the continuous character of the transition between the M _c and T phases in PMN-35PT crystals. The results obtained are interpreted in terms of the Devonshire theory for strongly anharmonic crystals. The E-T phase diagrams are constructed for all the crystals.     

Angular-anisotropy coefficients for fragment originating from the resonance-neutron-induced fission of <Superscript>235</Superscript>U oriented nuclei

Statistical distributions of the coefficients measured for the angular distribution of fragments originating from the fission of ²³⁵U oriented nuclei that was induced by resonance neutrons obtained by using booster targets at the electron accelerator in Harwell and at a pulsed reactor in Dubna were approximated by a curve that was calculated under the assumption of a normal distribution of partial-wave fission amplitudes. A cutoff from below at a level of one-half of the average partial-wave width was introduced in this distribution. The calculation was performed with allowance for the K = 0, 1 and 2 channels for J = 3 and the K = 1 and 2 channels for J =4. The contributions of the K channels to the total probability were in the ratio 0.15 : 0.53 : 0.32 for J = 3 and in the ratio 0.625 : 0.375 for J = 4. A strong suppression of the K = 0 channel in the J = 3 spin subsystem in contrast to the situation observed in photofission can be interpreted as an indication of the possible partial conservation of K in resonance states formed from the entrance channel, which features only maximum values of K equal to J and J ? 1.     

Substituent Dependent Optical Properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-phenyl Substituted ethenyl-<Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis>-thiophenes

Various electron donor and acceptor substituted (NO₂, CN, Cl, H, OCH₃, NH₂) p-phenyl ethenyl-E- thiophenes (1–6) were synthesized and substituent dependent optical properties (dipole moment, transition dipole moment, oscillator strength, optical band gap, hyperpolarizability) were studied using Solvatochromism and Density functional theory. It is shown that thiophene acts as a weak electron donor in presence of an electron withdrawing p-phenyl substituent (NO₂, CN, Cl), whereas thiophene acts as a weak electron acceptor in presence of an electron donating p-phenyl substituent (OCH₃, NH₂). In comparison to ethenyl thiophene 4, the HOMO-LUMO energy band gap is decreased upon increasing the electron donating or electron withdrawing capacity of p-phenyl substituent. From the excited state dipole moment calculation, it is shown that the excited state is highly dipolar for nitro and amino compounds 1 and 6, whereas compounds 2–5 show a non-polar excited state. As compared to the ethenyl thiophene 4, the first hyperpolarizability (β) increases upon substitution either with a strong electron withdrawing or strong electron donating p-phenyl substituent. A large β value is found for p-nitro phenyl ethenyl-E-thiophene and p-amino phenyl ethenyl-E- thiophene. Overall, these studies provide useful information in understanding the optical properties of phenyl and heterocyclic based ethenyl systems.     

Synthesis,structural, and spectroscopic (FT-IR,NMR, and UV) Characterization of 1-(Cyclohexylmethyl)-2-(pyridin-2-yl)-1<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>-benzo[<Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis>]imidazole by experimental techniques and quantum chemical calculations

The title compound (II), 1-(cyclohexylmethyl)-2-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole (C₁₉H₂₁N₃), was synthesized via N-alkylation of 2-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole (I). Both compounds I and II were characterized by IR, NMR and UV-vis spectroscopy. Solid-state structure of compound II was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction technique. Furthermore, quantum chemical calculations employing density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP) method with the 6–311++G(d, p) basis set were performed for the theoretical characterization of the molecular and spectroscopic features of the compounds. Using the TD-DFT method, electronic absorption spectra of the compounds have been predicted at same level. When the obtained results were compared with the experimental findings, it is seen that theoretical results support the experimental data and a good agreement exists between them.     

Efficient Nonlocal <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis>-Control and <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-Target Controlled Unitary Gate Using Non-symmetric GHZ States

Efficient local implementation of a nonlocal M-control and N-target controlled unitary gate is considered. We first show that with the assistance of two non-symmetric qubit⁽¹⁾-qutrit^(N) Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states, a nonlocal 2-control and N-target controlled unitary gate can be constructed from 2 local two-qubit CNOT gates, 2N local two-qutrit conditional SWAP gates, N local qutrit-qubit controlled unitary gates, and 2N single-qutrit gates. At each target node, the two third levels of the two GHZ target qutrits are used to expose one and only one initial computational state to the local qutrit-qubit controlled unitary gate, instead of being used to hide certain states from the conditional dynamics. This scheme can be generalized straightforwardly to implement a higher-order nonlocal M-control and N-target controlled unitary gate by using M non-symmetric qubit⁽¹⁾-qutrit^(N) GHZ states as quantum channels. Neither the number of the additional levels of each GHZ target particle nor that of single-qutrit gates needs to increase with M. For certain realistic physical systems, the total gate time may be reduced compared with that required in previous schemes.     

Optical properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>Ni<Subscript>5</Subscript> intermetallic compounds (<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis> = Y,La, Ce)

The paper reports on an ellipsometric study of the optical properties of RNi₅ (R = Y, La, Ce) paramagnetic intermetallic compounds. The dispersion measurements of the refractive index n and of the absorption coefficient k were conducted within a spectral interval 0.083–5.64 eV at room temperature. The behavior of optical interband conductivity with energy is analyzed. The results obtained are discussed in the frame of available information on the electronic band structure of these compounds. The plasma and relaxation frequencies of conduction electrons have been determined.     

Genesis of the anomalous Hall effect in CeAl<Subscript>2</Subscript>

The Hall coefficient R _H , resistivity ρ, and Seebeck coefficient S of the CeAl₂ compound with fast electron density fluctuations were studied in a wide temperature range (from 1.8 to 300 K). Detailed measurements of the angular dependences R _H (? T, H≤70 kOe) were performed to determine contributions to the anomalous Hall effect and study the behavior of the anomalous magnetic R _H ^am and main R _H ^a components of the Hall signal of this compound with strong electron correlation. The special features of the behavior of the anomalous magnetic component R _H ^am were used to analyze the complex magnetic phase diagram H-T determined by magnetic ordering in the presence of strong spin fluctuations. An analysis of changes in the main contribution R _H ^a (H, T) to the Hall effect made it possible to determine the complex activation behavior of this anomalous component in the CeAl₂ intermetallic compound. The results led us to conclude that taking into account spin-polaron effects was necessary and that the Kondo lattice and skew-scattering models were of very limited applicability as methods for describing the low-temperature transport of charge carriers in cerium-based intermetallic compounds. The effective masses and localization radii of manybody states in the CeAl₂ matrix were estimated to be (55–90)m₀ and 6–10 Å, respectively. The behaviors of the parameters R _H , S, and ρ were jointly analyzed. The results allowed us to consistently describe the transport coefficients of CeAl₂.     

Line shape of <Superscript>57</Superscript>Co sources exhibiting self absorption

The effect of selfabsorption in Mössbauer sources is studied in detail. Spectra were measured using an old ⁵⁷ C o/R h source of 74M B q activity with an original activity of ca. 3.7G B q and a 0.15G B q ⁵⁷ C o/α ? F e source magnetized by an in-plane magnetic field of 0.2 T. The ⁵⁷ C o/α ? F e source of a thickness of 25 μ was used both from the active and the inactive side giving cause to very different selfabsorption effects. The absorber was a single crystal of ferrous ammonium sulphate hexahydrate (FAS). Its absorption properties were taken over from a detailed study (Bull et al., Hyperfine Interact. 94(1–3), 1; Spiering et al. 2). FAS (space group P21/c) crystallizes as flat plates containing the (\(\overline {2}\)01) plane. The γ-direction was orthogonal to the crystal plate. The ⁵⁷ C o atoms of the ⁵⁷ C o/R h source were assumed to be homogeneously distributed over a 6μ thick Rh foil and to follow a one dimensional diffusion profile in the 25 μ Fe-foil. The diffusion length was fitted to 10 μ. The theory follows the Blume-Kistner equations for forward scattering (Blume and Kistner, Phys. Rev. 171, 417, 3) by integrating over the source sampled up to 128 layers.     

Superposition of M<Subscript>5</Subscript>X<Subscript>5</Subscript> superstructures and X-ray diffraction in TiO<Subscript>1.0</Subscript> titanium monoxide

The interpretation of diffraction spectra of ordered high-temperature phases of solid solutions and strongly nonstoichiometric compounds is discussed. It has been shown that variations of the intensities of superstructure reflections, which cannot be explained within simple ordering models, can be due to the superposition of superstructures with different symmetries in the matrix of the basis crystal structure. Using an example of atom–vacancy ordering in TiO_1.0 titanium monoxide, a model of the order–order transition state formed by the superposition of low-temperature monoclinic (space group A2/m (C2/m)) and high-temperature cubic (space group Pm3?m) M₅X₅ superstructures has been proposed. It has been shown that the transition state is thermodynamically equilibrium and should be implemented instead of the M₅X₅ cubic superstructure. The transition state model can be considered as an M_(5–i)X_(5–i) superstructure (i = 1, 14/18, 11/18) with the monoclinic symmetry (space group P1m1).     

Synthesis of new quinazolin-2,4-diones as anti-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leishmania mexicana</Emphasis> agents

The quinazolin-2,4-dione moiety is found in many compounds with important biological activities making it a target for its synthesis. In this work, a one-pot three-step synthesis of new quinazolin-2,4-diones from phthalic anhydrides and their activity against Leishmania mexicana are described. The new quinazolin-2,4-diones were isolated with yields in the range of 32–70 %. All compounds displayed lower cytotoxicity in RAW 264.7 macrophage over miltefosine. Compound 6,7-dichloro-3-phenylquinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (6e) displayed an attractive profile which includes anti-Leishmania mexicana activity (\(\hbox {IC}_{50} = 6.05\) \(\upmu \)M), much lower cytotoxic activity (\(\hbox {CC}_{50} = 111\) \(\upmu \)M) and a high selective index (\(\text {SI} = 18.35\)) proving to be superior to miltefosine.     

X-ray study of [N(CH<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>4</Subscript>]<Subscript>2</Subscript>ZnCl<Subscript>4</Subscript> at low temperatures

The unit cell parameters a, b, and c of [N(CH₃)₄]₂ZnCl₄ have been measured by x-ray diffraction in the temperature range 80–293 K. Temperature dependences of the thermal expansion coefficients α_a, α_b, and α_c along the principal crystallographic axes and of the unit cell thermal expansion coefficient α_V were determined. It is shown that the a=f(T), b=f(T), and c=f(T) curves exhibit anomalies in the form of jumps at phase transition temperatures T₁=161 K and T₂=181 K and that the phase transition occurring at T₃=276 K manifests itself in the a=f(T) and b=f(T) curves as a break. A slight anisotropy in the coefficient of thermal expansion of the crystal was revealed. The phase transitions occurring at T₁=161 K and T₂=181 K in [N(CH₃)₄]₂ZnCl₄ were established to be first-order.