Spatiotemporal patterns of stable isotopes and hydrochemistry in springs and river flow of the upper Karkheh River Basin,Iran

Karst springs of the Zagros Mountains contribute a significant amount to agricultural and human water demands of western and south-western Iran. For an adequate management of available water resources in semi-arid and arid regions, sufficient hydrological monitoring is needed, and hydro-chemical and isotope hydrological data provide important additional information. About 350 water samples were collected from precipitation, river water, and karst springs of the upper part of the Karkheh River Basin (20,895 km²) located between 33°35^′ and 34°55^′ North and 46°22^′ and 49°10^′ East with elevations ranging from 928 to 3563 m above sea level. Sampling was conducted in monthly time resolution from August 2011 to July 2012. All samples were analysed for hydro-chemical parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, and major ions) and stable isotopes (deuterium, oxygen-18). Isotope values of precipitation indicate a local meteoric water line (Zagros MWL δ²H=6.8 δ¹⁸O+10.1; R²=0.99) situated between the Mediterranean MWL and Global MWL. Spring and river water isotope values vary between?7.1 and?4.1 ‰, and?38 and?25 ‰ for δ¹⁸O and δ²H, respectively, responding to winter snowmelt and evaporation. This work implements stable isotopes and hydro-chemical information of springs and river water to understand hydrological and hydro-geological interrelations in karstic semi-arid areas and helps to improve the current water resources management practices of western Iran.     

Crystal Structure and Hirshfeld Surface Analysis of Bis(3-thienoyl) Disulfide

The spectroscopic characterization (¹H, ¹³C{¹H} NMR, UV–Vis) and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (scXRD) analysis accomplished by inspection of the Hirshfeld surface of bis(3-thienoyl) disulfide (1) is described. The title compound 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/n. The unit cell parameters are a?=?7.9959(3) Å, b?=?6.4348(3) Å, c?=?22.4924(9) Å, β?=?100.108(4)°, V?=?1139.32(8) ų, Z?=?4, R_gt(F)?=?0.0278, wR_ref(F²)?=?0.0667. The packing of 1 is dominated by S?O and S?S interactions, giving a 2D layer structure parallel to (101). The X‐ray crystal structure analysis revealed the packing of 1 is dominated by S?O and S?S interactions, giving a 2D layer structure parallel to (101). The intermolecular interactions in 1 were analyzed using the Hirshfeld surface method including 2D fingerprint plots and enrichment ratios (E), which shows that the most favored intermolecular contacts are the O?H and C?S indicated by E values above 1.30. The interaction energies between molecular pairs revealed the importance of the weak O?H and C?S interactions in stabilizing the molecular structure of 1.

Graphic Abstract

Single crystal X-ray structure analysis, DFT calculations and Hirshfeld surface analysis to identify intermolecular interactions within the solid state structure of bis(3-thienoyl) disulfide (1).

     

Cation behavior at an artificial cell interface: binding distinguished by ion hydration energetics and size

The unique molybdenum oxide-based nucleophilic porous capsule/artificial cell [{(MoVI)MoVI5O21(H2O)6}12{MoV2O4(SO4)30}]72-, according to an X-ray crystallographic study, traps [Al(H2O)6]3+ complexes above the pores while interacting with the latter via hydrogen bonds; this is supported by 27Al NMR studies of the interaction of the capsule with hydrated Al3+ cations in aqueous solution.     

Construction of novel simple phosphate screen-printed and carbon paste ion-selective electrodes

The construction and performance characteristics of different phosphate ion-selective electrodes are described. Three types of electrodes are demonstrated, namely screen-printed, carbon paste and the conventional PVC membrane electrodes. The cited electrodes are based on bisthiourea ionophores and show a considerable selectivity towards hydrogenphosphate with Nernstian slopes depending on the type of the electrode and the ionophore used. Matrix compositions of each electrode are optimised on the basis of effects of type and concentration of the ionophore as well as influence of the selected plasticizers. The screen-printed electrodes work satisfactorily in the concentration range 10⁻⁵ to 10⁻² mol L⁻¹ with anionic Nernstian compliance (32.8 mV/decade activity) and detection limit 4.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹. The screen-printed electrodes show fast response time of about 2.2 s and exhibit adequate shelf-life (4 months). The fabricated electrodes can be also successfully used in the potentiometric titration of HPO₄²⁻ with Ba²⁺.     

Implementations of two-dimensional liquid chromatography

Today scientists must deal with complex samples that either cannot be adequately separated using one-dimensional chromatography or that require an inordinate amount of time for separation. For these cases we need two-dimensional chromatography because it takes far less time to generate a peak capacity n(c) twice in a row than to generate a peak capacity n(c)(2) once. Liquid chromatography has been carried out successfully on thin layers of adsorbents and along tubes filled with various adsorbents. The first type of separation sorts out the sample components in a physical separation space that is the layer of packing material. The analysis time is the same for all the components of the sample while their migration distance increases with decreasing retention. The resolution between two components having a certain separation factor (alpha) increases with increasing migration distance, i.e., from the strongly to the weakly retained compounds. In the second type of separation, the sample components are eluted from the column and separated in the time space, their migration distances are all the same while their retention times increase from the unretained to the strongly retained compounds. Separation efficiency varies little with retention, as long as the components are eluted from the column. We call these two types of separation the chromatographic separations in space (LC(x)) and the chromatographic separations in time (LC(t)), respectively. In principle, there are four ways to combine these two modes and do two-dimensional chromatographic separations, LC(t)xLC(t), LC(x)xLC(t), LC(t)xLC(x), and LC(x)xLC(x). We review, discuss and compare the potential performance of these combinations, their advantages, drawbacks, problems, perspectives and results. Currently, column-based combinations (LC(t)xLC(t)) are the most actively pursued. We suggest that the combination LC(x)xLC(t) shows exceptional promise because it permits the simultaneous second-dimension separations of all the fractions separated in the first-dimension, thus providing remarkable time saving.     

EGB-promoted electrochemical synthesis of 6-thioxo-[1,3,5]-triazinane-2,4 dione derivatives

A simple method for the synthesis of 6-thioxo-[1,3,5]-triazinane-2,4-dione derivatives was reported. The electrogenerated cyanomethyl base obtained from electroreduction of neat acetonitrile assisted the reaction between thiourea derivatives and alkyl or aryl isocyanate. This protocol had the advantage of giving good yields using mild conditions. The obtained products have been identified by spectroscopic data, mass spectrometry, and high-resolution mass spectra or elemental analysis.     

Reactivity of indolizines in organic synthesis

This review reports the reactivity of indolizines. The reactions section covers, in general, electrophilic, oxidation, reduction, addition, cycloaddition, condensation, and Mannich and multicomponent reactions. The synthesis of bis-indolizines and cyclazines are reported. The reaction mechanisms are discussed.     

Developments in 1,2,5-triazepine chemistry: Reactions and synthetic applications

The chemistry of 1,2,5-triazepines and related compounds is reported. The investigated heterocycles are monocyclic and fused 1,2,5-triazepines. The different sections cover the synthesis and reactions of monocyclic and fused heterocycles incorporating 1,2,5-triazepine ring systems. This review also covers modifications of the 1,2,5-triazepines into many useful ring systems using a host of reagents and other multistep transformations. The biological evaluation of the target compounds is described, as well as the synthetic applications. The reaction mechanisms are discussed.     

Cytotoxity of two new coumarin derivatives isolated from Launaea mucronata

The chloroform fraction of methanol (MeOH) extract of the aerial parts of Launaea mucronata was in vitro investigated for cytotoxicity against HCT116, HepG2 and MCF-7 cell lines, and resulted with IC₅₀ = 20.0, 18.6 and 14.30 μg/mL, respectively. The chloroform fraction of the MeOH extract was subjected to further fractionation, which led to the isolation of two new coumarin compounds (6-isobutyl coumarin and 6-isobutyl-7-methyl- coumarin). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by high field 1D and 2D NMR and ESI-MS spectroscopies. Low polar fractions revealed the isolation of other known triterpene compounds which were identified according to its spectral data and comparison with the literature. New coumarin compounds show high cytotoxicity against MCF-7, HCT116 and HepG2 cell lines.     

Biaryl amino acid templates in place of D-Pro-L-Pro in cyclic beta-hairpin cationic antimicrobial peptidomimetics

The turn-forming D-Pro-L-Pro template has been frequently used to promote regular beta-hairpin conformations in cyclic protein epitope mimetics. Here the use of three isomeric biaryl templates has been studied as alternatives to D-Pro-L-Pro in the preparation of beta-hairpin peptidomimetics. The o,o'- o,m'- and m,m'-isomers of carboxymethyl- and aminomethyl-substituted biaryl templates have been incorporated into novel macrocyclic mimics of the naturally occurring cationic antimicrobial peptide protegrin I. The presence of the o-carboxymethyl-o'-aminomethyl-biaryl template within the macrocyclic peptide resulted in the appearance of slowly interconverting atropisomers. Although none of the resulting mimetics adopted stable beta-hairpin structures in aqueous solution, they all nevertheless retained a significant antimicrobial activity against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. These mimetics provide interesting starting points for an optimization program in the search for potent and novel antimicrobial compounds.