A hexacyclic ent-trachylobane diterpenoid possessing an oxetane ring from Mitrephora glabra

[chemical reaction: see text]. Three new ent-trachylobane diterpenoids (1-3) were isolated and structures elucidated from Mitrephora glabra Scheff. (Annonaceae). Mitrephorone A (1) possesses a hexacyclic ring system with adjacent ketone moieties and an oxetane ring, both of which are unprecedented among trachylobanes. All compounds were evaluated for cytotoxicity against a panel of cancer cells, where 1 displayed the most potent and broadest activity, and against a battery of antimicrobial assays, where all compounds were approximately equipotent.     

Cytotoxic and NF-κB inhibitory sesquiterpene lactones from Piptocoma rufescens

Six new (1-6) and eight known germacranolide-type sesquiterpene lactones, along with several known phenylpropanol coumarates and methylated flavonoids, were isolated from the leaves of Piptocoma rufescens, collected in the Dominican Republic. The new compounds were identified by analysis of their spectroscopic data, with the molecular structure of 3 being established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The absolute configurations of the sesquiterpene lactones isolated were determined from their CD and NOESY NMR spectra, together with the analysis of Mosher ester reactions. Bioassay screening results showed the majority of the sesquiterpene lactones isolated (1-13) to be highly cytotoxic toward the HT-29 human colon cancer cell line, with the most potent compound being 15-deoxygoyazensolide (10, IC(50), 0.26 μM). In addition, several of the sesquiterpene lactones exhibited NF-κB (p65) inhibitory activity.     

One-Pot Oxidation and Nitrosation of β-Alkanolamines with KMnNO4-NaNO2. A Convenient Preparation of β-Ketonitrosamines

The oxidation and nitrosation of β-alkanolamines to the corresponding β-ketonitrosamines is reported. The oxidation is carried out with potassium permanganate in acidic medium, followed by nitrosation of the protonated aminoketone, with sodium nitrite, to the corresponding β-ketonitrosamine.     

A cytotoxic dimeric furanoheliangolide from Piptocoma rufescens

A new sesquiterpene lactone, rufescenolide C (1), the first furanoheliangolide dimer, was isolated from the leaves of Piptocoma rufescens, collected in the Dominican Republic. Its structure was determined by interpretation of its spectroscopic data, with the absolute configuration being established by analysis of the CD spectrum. A plausible biogenesis of this dimer is proposed. This compound showed potent cytotoxicity with an IC₅₀ value of 150 nM, when tested against HT-29 human colon cancer cells.     

Portable capillary liquid chromatography for pharmaceutical and illicit drug analysis

A newly developed portable capillary liquid chromatograph was investigated for the separation of various pharmaceutical and illicit drug compounds. The system consists of two high‐pressure syringe pumps capable of delivering capillary‐scale flow rates at pressures up to 10 000 psi. Capillary liquid chromatography columns packed with sub‐2 μm particles are housed in cartridges that can be inserted into the system and easily connected through high‐pressure fluidic contact points by simply applying a specific, predetermined torque rather than using standard fittings and less precise sealing protocols. Several over‐the‐counter analgesic drug separations are demonstrated, along with a simple online measurement of tablet dissolution. Twenty illicit drug compounds were also separated across six targeted drug panels. The results described in this study demonstrate the capability of this compact liquid chromatography instrument to address several important drug‐related applications while simplifying system operation, and greatly reducing solvent usage and waste generation essential for onsite analysis.     

An efficient evolutionary multi-objective framework for MEMS design optimisation: validation, comparison and analysis

The application of multi objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEA) in the design optimisation of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is of particular interest in this research. MOEA is a class of soft computing techniques of biologically inspired stochastic algorithms, which have proved to outperform their conventional counterparts in many design optimisation tasks. MEMS designers can utilise a variety of multi-disciplinary design tools that explore a complex design search space, however, still follow the traditional trial and error approaches. The paper proposes a novel framework, which couples both modelling and analysis tools to the most referenced MOEAs (NSGA-II and MOGA-II). The framework is validated and evaluated through a number of case studies of increasing complexity. The research presented in this paper unprecedentedly attempts to compare the performances of the mentioned algorithms in the application domain. The comparative study shows significant insights into the behaviour of both of the algorithms in the design optimisation of MEMS. The paper provides extended discussions and analysis of the results showing, overall, that MOGA-II outperforms NSGA-II, for the selected case studies.     

Energy transport in the inductively coupled plasma

Time- and space-resolved electron density measurements, made both above the load coil and in the load coil region of a pulsed inductively coupled plasma, are presented. These data, coupled with argon and calcium emission data, give values for the rates of both radial and vertical transport in the plasma. The data indicate that analyte emission behavior is governed primarily by the rate at which the central channel can be heated through radial transport processes. The electron densities measured in the load coil region agree well with electron densities calculated by models assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium, but agree poorly with non-equilibrium models. Some of the timedependent emission behavior observed in previous work with modulated plasmas is explained by non-uniform heating of argon in the load coil region.Presented in part at the 1989 European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry, Reutte, Austria     

A study of the (00) LEED beam intensity at normal incidence from CdS(0001), Cu(001), Cu(111), and Ni(111)

A Faraday cage apparatus is used for the measurement of the (00) LEED beam intensity, I₍₀₀₎, and the total secondary emission coefficient, δ(E_k), for angles of incidence from 0° ± 2° to 8° ± 2°, with an energy resolution of ± 0.037 of the incident beam energy, in the energy range 1 to 200 eV. The data are normalized and expressed as a fraction of the incident beam intensity. The basic principle of operation is the separation of the incident and specularly diffracted beams in a uniform magnetic field. Monolayer, or in-plane, resonances associated with the emergence of nonspecular beams, as well as beam threshold minima, are observed in I₍₀₀₎ at normal incidence from clean CdS(0001), Cu(111), and Ni(111). Some major differences are observed in the I₍₀₀₎ profiles for the clean (111) surfaces of nickel and copper. All secondary Bragg peaks, except the 2$\text{2}\text{3}$ order, have greater intensities for Ni(111) in the energy range 50–150 eV, thus indicating that the atomic scattering cross-section for electrons in this energy range is larger for nickel than for copper. For the (111) surface of nickel, the (11) resonance is missing, but the (10) resonance and all $\text{1}\text{3}$ order secondary Bragg peaks between the second and fifth orders are observed. For Cu(111) both the (10) and (11) resonances are observed, but the $\text{1}\text{3}$, $\text{2}\text{3}$, 1$\text{2}\text{3}$, and 3$\text{1}\text{3}$ order secondary Bragg peaks are missing in this energy range. These data indicate that multiple scattering with evanescent intermediate waves, or “shadowing”, is predominate on the (111) surfaces on nickel and copper for energies above 30 eV, and that below 30 eV multiple scattering with propagating intermediate waves is predominate on Cu(111). Correlation of the (00) beam intensity profiles from clean Ni(111) at 0°, 2°, and 6° with the intensity profiles of the (10). (1̄0), and (11) non-specular beams is nearly one-to-one from 30 eV to 100 eV, thus supporting the dynamical theories of LEED in which peaks in the (00) beam are expected to occur at nearly the same energies as peaks in the non-specular beams.