Cationic organoiron polyelectrolyte three‐arm stars

With nucleophilic aromatic substitution and ester condensation reactions, several new first‐generation dendrimers and star‐shaped molecules containing cationic cyclopentadienyl iron moieties were prepared. Although the solubility of the organoiron star‐shaped molecules with ether bridges in polar solvents was found to decrease with an increase in the size of the molecule, the addition of ester linkages resulted in a sharp decrease in the solubility, regardless of the size. The thermal behavior of these molecules was examined with differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The glass‐transition temperatures (T_g's) of these star‐shaped molecules ranged from 123 to 170 °C. However, the addition of the ester functionality allowed for an increase in the T_g's to 151–194 °C. The star‐shaped molecules were thermally stable up to 200 °C, above which a loss of the cationic cyclopentadienyl iron moieties occurred. Degradation of the ester chains started at 321 °C, and degradation of the ether chains started at 408 °C. Electrochemical studies of the ether star‐shaped molecules showed a reduction of the 18‐electron iron centers to 19‐electron centers. This redox system was reversible at low temperatures, whereas it was irreversible at room temperature. Moreover, an increase in the number of metal moieties caused an overlap and broadening of the redox wave. Viscosity studies showed a polyelectrolyte effect for the organoiron star‐shaped molecules. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1382–1396, 2005     

Scattering by random rough surfaces: Study of direct and inverse problem

In order to study the problems of scattering by rough metallic surfaces, we have used Maxwell’s equations in covariant form within the framework of a non-orthogonal coordinates system adapted to the geometry of the problem. Electromagnetic fields are written in Fourier’s integral form. The solution is found by using a perturbation method applied to the smooth surface problem; this is fully justified when the defects are of small magnitude.For the direct problem, the mean value of diffraction intensity is obtained for random rough surfaces of finite conductivity by computer simulation.In the case of the inverse problem, the reconstruction of the profile of the metal surface from values of the diffraction intensity, obtained by simulation, is found using an iterative algorithm.     

Four-Day Workweek Scheduling with Two or Three Consecutive Days Off

A four-day workweek days-off scheduling problem is considered. Out of the three days off per week for each employee, either two or three days must be consecutive. An optimization algorithm is presented which starts by utilizing the problem's special structure to determine the minimum workforce size. Subsequently, workers are assigned to different days-off work patterns in order to minimize either the total number or the total cost of the workforce. Different procedures must be followed in assigning days-off patterns, depending on the characteristics of labor demands. In some cases, optimum days-off assignments are determined without requiring mathematical programming. In other cases, a workforce size constraint is added to the integer programming model, greatly improving computational performance.     

Synthesis of Highly Potent Anti-Inflammatory Compounds (ROS Inhibitors) from Isonicotinic Acid

In search of anti-inflammatory compounds, novel scaffolds containing isonicotinoyl motif were synthesized via an efficient strategy. The compounds were screened for their in vitro anti-inflammatory activity. Remarkably high activities were observed for isonicotinates 5–6 and 8a–8b. The compound 5 exhibits an exceptional IC₅₀ value (1.42 ± 0.1 µg/mL) with 95.9% inhibition at 25 µg/mL, which is eight folds better than the standard drug ibuprofen (11.2 ± 1.9 µg/mL). To gain an insight into the mode of action of anti-inflammatory compounds, molecular docking studies were also performed. Decisively, further development and fine tuning of these isonicotinates based scaffolds for the treatment of various aberrations is still a wide-open field of research.     

Production of Plant Beneficial and Antioxidants Metabolites by Klebsiella variicola under Salinity Stress

Bacteria that surround plant roots and exert beneficial effects on plant growth are known as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). In addition to the plant growth-promotion, PGPR also imparts resistance against salinity and oxidative stress and needs to be studied. Such PGPR can function as dynamic bioinoculants under salinity conditions. The present study reports the isolation of phytase positive multifarious Klebsiella variicola SURYA6 isolated from wheat rhizosphere in Kolhapur, India. The isolate produced various plant growth-promoting (PGP), salinity ameliorating, and antioxidant traits. It produced organic acid, yielded a higher phosphorous solubilization index (9.3), maximum phytase activity (376.67 ± 2.77 U/mL), and copious amounts of siderophore (79.0%). The isolate also produced salt ameliorating traits such as indole acetic acid (78.45 ± 1.9 µg/mL), 1 aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase (0.991 M/mg/h), and exopolysaccharides (32.2 ± 1.2 g/L). In addition to these, the isolate also produced higher activities of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (13.86 IU/mg protein), catalase (0.053 IU/mg protein), and glutathione oxidase (22.12 µg/mg protein) at various salt levels. The isolate exhibited optimum growth and maximum secretion of these metabolites during the log-phase growth. It exhibited sensitivity to a wide range of antibiotics and did not produce hemolysis on blood agar, indicative of its non-pathogenic nature. The potential of K. variicola to produce copious amounts of various PGP, salt ameliorating, and antioxidant metabolites make it a potential bioinoculant for salinity stress management.     

The role of Lawesson's reagent in the total synthesis of macrocyclic natural products

This review, including 111 references, describes the applications of Lawesson's reagent (LR) [2,4-bis(p-methoxyphenyl)-1,3,2,4-dithiadiphosphetane-2,4-dithione] for the total synthesis of macrocyclic natural products. LR is a versatile reagent and shows excellent regioselectivity, chemoselectivity, and offers the products in high yield. The thionation of carbonyl moieties present in macrocyclic natural products, and cyclization to construct key heterocyclic fragments is described. Moreover, this review highlights the medicinal significance of the natural products.     

The genus Machaerium (Fabaceae): taxonomy,phytochemistry, traditional uses and biological activities

Machaerium, in the family Fabaceae, predominantly is a genus of a Neotropical distribution of trees, shrubs, and lianas occurring from southern Mexico to Brazil and northern Argentina and as far as South America. Several Machaerium species are widely used in traditional medicine and are considered to have multiple medicinal properties. This review aims to provide up-to-date and comprehensive information on the taxonomy, phytochemistry, traditional uses and biological activities of plants in the genus Machaerium.     

Covariance structural analysis with polytomous variables in several populations

In this paper, covariance structures with polytomous variables in several populations are analyzed. A computationally efficient multistage procedure is proposed to estimate the thresholds and the covariance structure parameters. Statistical properties of the estimators are derived, and a computer program is implemented to obtain the solution. An artificial example is presented to illustrate the method.This research is supported in part by a research grant DA01070 from the U.S. Public Health Service.     

Constituents of Hypericum laricifolium and their cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme activities

Investigation of the aerial parts of the medicinal plant Hypericum laricifolium led to the isolation of two new natural products, hentriacontanyl caffeate (1a), nonacosanyl caffeate (1b). In addition, stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol, 3-epi-betulinic acid (2), caffeic acid (3), ferulic acid, docosanol, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, 3,4-dimethoxy benzoic acid, quercetin (4), quercetin-3-O-galactoside (5), quercetin-3-O-rutinoside (6), quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside (7), quercetin-3-O-glucuronide (8) and shikimic acid were also isolated. The structures were determined by 1D- and 2D-NMR, mass spectrometry, and chemical transformations. The anti-inflammatory effects of the isolated compounds were discussed briefly.