Efficient catalytic cyclizations of three and two imine assemblies: direct access to tetrahydroimidazo[1,5-c]imidazol-7-ones and imidazoles

A cascade cyclization involving union of three imines by an organocatalyst proline is established to afford new fused-tetrahydroimidazo[1,5-c]imidazol-7-ones with excellent regio- and stereoselectivity. Another dehydrogenative cyclization by union of two imines is developed using the Cu(OTf)(2)-Ag(2)O combo catalyst to furnish functionalized imidazoles.     

One-pot,three-component synthesis of polyfunctionalized benzo[h]pyrazolo[3,4-b][1,6]naphthyridine and benzo[g]pyrazolo[3,4-b]quinoline derivatives in the presence of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)

An efficient and straightforward protocol for one-pot, three-component reaction of aryl glyoxal monohydrates 1a-h , 5-amino-1-aryl-3-methylpyrazoles 2a , b and 4-hydroxyquinoline-2(1H)-one ( 3 ) or 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone ( 4 ) using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as a high performance nanocatalyst in H₂O/EtOH at 60°C afforded the corresponding polyfunctionalized benzo[h]pyrazolo[3,4-b][1,6]naphthyridines 5a-h and benzo[g]pyrazolo[3,4-b]quinolines 6a-i , respectively. Excellent catalytic activity, high yields, employing green media and green nanocatalyst, cost-effective and simple procedure are some notable advantages of using AgNPs as a noble metal nanocatalyst in this synthetic strategy. The structures of fused heterocycles were confirmed by their Fourier transform infrared, proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR), and ¹³C-NMR spectral data and microanalysis.     

An efficient and facile regioselective synthesis of new substituted (E)-1-(3-aryl-7,8-dihydrocinnoline-5(6H)-ylidene)hydrazines and (1E,2E)-1,2-bis(3-aryl-7,8-dihydrocinnoline-5(6H)-ylidene)hydrazines

A study concerning the new substituted cinnoline synthesis is described. The use of a one-pot three-component method allows a simple regioselective and efficient synthesis of cinnoline derivatives via reaction of arylglyoxals with 1,3-cyclohexanedione and dimedone in the presence of hydrazine hydrate.     

Visual and surface plasmon resonance sensor for zirconium based on zirconium-induced aggregation of adenosine triphosphate-stabilized gold nanoparticles

Owing to its high affinity with phosphate, Zr(IV) can induce the aggregation of adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP)-stabilized AuNPs, leading to the change of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption spectra and color of ATP-stabilized AuNP solutions. Based on these phenomena, visual and SPR sensors for Zr(IV) have been developed for the first time. The A_660 nm/A_518 nm values of ATP-stabilized AuNPs in SPR absorption spectra increase linearly with the concentrations of Zr(IV) from 0.5 μM to 100 μM (r = 0.9971) with a detection limit of 95 nM. A visual Zr(IV) detection is achieved with a detection limit of 30 μM. The sensor shows excellent selectivity against other metal ions, such as Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Cd²⁺, and Pb²⁺. The recoveries for the detection of 5 μM, 10 μM, 25 μM and 75 μM Zr(IV) in lake water samples are 96.0%, 97.0%, 95.6% and 102.4%, respectively. The recoveries of the proposed SPR method are comparable with those of ICP-OES method.     

Computational and biological studies of novel thiazolyl coumarin derivatives synthesized through Suzuki coupling

The current investigation presents the synthesis, computational molecular-docking and biological activity studies of arylated thiazole coumarins. Aryl substituted thiazolyl coumarin derivatives were synthesized via Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. A detailed reaction condition optimization revealed that the Pd-PEPPSI-IPent precatalyst in only 2 mol% loading resulted in the desired product with high yield. The aim of this study was to examine the antimicrobial behavior of thiazole coumarin derivatives through in vitro and in silico studies. All the compounds showed activity against both antibacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, except 5d . Similarly, the compounds 5a , 5b , and 5d were found to be active against Trichoderma harzianum. The compound 5d of this series was found to have a higher activity with MIC 125 mg/ml against Trichoderma harzianum. Molecular studies showed the high activities of these compounds are due to the presence of strong H-bonding and π-π interaction with their respective targets. A good correlation was observed between computational and in vitro studies.     

Application of prompt activation analysis in the determination of fluorine in tea,in international geochemical standards,bones and teeth of experimental animals

By making use of the ¹⁹F(p,αγ)¹⁶O reaction the F-concentrations of different varieties of tea leaves, of some international geochemical reference materials, and of the bones and teeth of some experimental animals have been determined. The tea leaves from Ceylon (ordinary), Orange Pekoe (special Ceylon), China (ordinary black), Lapsang Souchong (special smoked Chinese) and Darjeeling (India) were found to contain 170 ppm, 170 ppm, 120 ppm, 160 ppm and 100 ppm of fluorine, respectively, The F-concentrations of established geochemical reference materials, NIM-D, NIM-N, NIM-P and NIM-S, from the National Institute of Metallurgy, South Africa were determined to be 60 ppm, 120 ppm, 130 ppm and 190 ppm, respectively. The bones of rabbits, who were given fluoridated water, were found to contain much higher amount of fluorine than the bones of the control rabbit. Furthermore, the rabbits who were kept on fluoridated water for 45 days, had almost double the amount of F in their bones than the rabbits who were given fluoridated water for only 15 days. Similarly, the teeth of grown-up monkeys who were given fluoridated water since birth had double the amount of fluorine than those of the control monkey.     

Metal ion affinity-based biomolecular recognition and conjugation inside synthetic polymer nanopores modified with iron-terpyridine complexes

Here we demonstrate a novel biosensing platform for the detection of lactoferrin (LFN) via metal-organic frameworks, in which the metal ions have accessible free coordination sites for binding, inside the single conical nanopores fabricated in polymeric membrane. First, monolayer of amine-terminated terpyridine (metal-chelating ligand) is covalently immobilized on the inner walls of the nanopore via carbodiimide coupling chemistry. Second, iron-terpyridine (iron-terPy) complexes are obtained by treating the terpyridine modified-nanopores with ferrous sulfate solution. The immobilized iron-terPy complexes can be used as recognition elements to fabricate biosensing nanodevice. The working principle of the proposed biosensor is based on specific noncovalent interactions between LFN and chelated metal ions in the immobilized terpyridine monolayer, leading to the selective detection of analyte protein. In addition, control experiments proved that the designed biosensor exhibits excellent biospecificity and nonfouling properties. Furthermore, complementary experiments are conducted with multipore membranes containing an array of cylindrical nanopores. We demonstrate that in the presence of LFN in the feed solution, permeation of methyl viologen (MV(2+)) and 1,5-naphthalenedisulphate (NDS(2-)) is drastically suppressed across the iron-terPy modified membranes. On the basis of these findings, we envision that apart from conventional ligand-receptor interactions, the designing and immobilization of alternative functional ligands inside the synthetic nanopores would extend this method for the construction of new metal ion affinity-based biomimetic systems for the specific binding and recognition of other biomolecules.     

Exact solutions for the flow of second grade fluid in annulus between torsionally oscillating cylinders

The velocity field and the associated shear stress corresponding to the torsional oscillatory flow of a second grade fluid, between two infinite coaxial circular cylinders, are determined by means of the Laplace and Hankel transforms. At time t = 0, the fluid and both the cylinders are at rest and at t = 0 + , cylinders suddenly begin to oscillate around their common axis in a simple harmonic way having angular frequencies ω 1 and ω 2 . The obtained solutions satisfy the governing differential equation and all imposed initial and boundary conditions. The solutions for the motion between the cylinders, when one of them is at rest, can be obtained from our general solutions. Furthermore, the corresponding solutions for Newtonian fluid are also obtained as limiting cases of our general solutions.     

Measurement of naturally occurring/fallout radioactive elements and assessment of annual effective dose in soil samples collected from four districts of the Punjab Province,Pakistan

Soil samples were collected from different localities of districts Jhelum, Chakwal, Rawalpindi and Attock, Punjab Province, Pakistan with an aim to measure naturally occurring radionuclides, namely ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K and fallout ¹³⁷Cs radionuclide using a P-type coaxial high purity germanium (HPGe) γ-ray spectrometer. Measured specific activities of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in these soil samples ranged from 26.02 ± 7.11 to 93.54 ± 8.13 Bq kg⁻¹, 29.34 ± 2.58 to 114.41 ± 2.80 Bq kg⁻¹ and 348.15 ± 3.20 to 752.98 ± 4.20 Bq kg⁻¹, respectively. Activity due to ¹³⁷Cs was observed in some locations which ranged from 0.4 ± 0.2 to 7.8 ± 0.3 Bq kg⁻¹. From the measured activity concentrations, radium equivalent activity concentrations were determined followed by calculations of mean absorbed dose rate and mean annual effective dose for the inhabitants of the studied area. The mean radium equivalent activity, internal and external hazard indices values came out to be 179.26 ± 11.93 Bq kg⁻¹, 0.64 ± 0.05 and 0.48 ± 0.03, respectively. Indoors and outdoor average annual effective dose values were found to be 0.42 ± 0.03 and 0.10 ± 0.01 mSv, respectively. Present data have been compared with the published data for other parts of the world and found to be safe for public and environment.     

Singular Value Decomposition Using Jacobi Algorithm in pMRI and CS

Parallel magnetic resonance imaging (pMRI) and compressed sensing (CS) have been recently used to accelerate data acquisition process in MRI. Matrix inversion (for rectangular matrices) is required to reconstruct images from the acquired under-sampled data in various pMRI algorithms (e.g., SENSE, GRAPPA) and CS. Singular value decomposition (SVD) provides a mechanism to accurately estimate pseudo-inverse of a rectangular matrix. This work proposes the use of Jacobi SVD algorithm to reconstruct MR images from the acquired under-sampled data both in pMRI and in CS. The use of Jacobi SVD algorithm is proposed in advance MRI reconstruction algorithms, including SENSE, GRAPPA, and low-rank matrix estimation in L + S model for matrix inversion and estimation of singular values. Experiments are performed on 1.5T human head MRI data and 3T cardiac perfusion MRI data for different acceleration factors. The reconstructed images are analyzed using artifact power and central line profiles. The results show that the Jacobi SVD algorithm successfully reconstructs the images in SENSE, GRAPPA, and L + S algorithms. The benefit of using Jacobi SVD algorithm for MRI image reconstruction is its suitability for parallel computation on GPUs, which may be a great help in reducing the image reconstruction time.