Structural characterization of a series of cyclohexaphosphates: M0.5((C6H5CH2)2NH2)5P6O18·H2O (M = Co, Cu, Cd)

Three new cyclohexaphosphates with general formula M_0.5((C₆H₅CH₂)₂NH₂)₅P₆O₁₈·H₂O (M=Co, Cu, Cd) are reported. They crystallize with monoclinic unit-cells and are isotropic. We have determined their structure from the salt M=Co. This later exhibits the following unit-cell parameters: a = 22.739(5), b = 17.682(3), c = 18.342(3) Å, = 91.22(1)°, Z = 4,P2₁/n, V = 7373 ų, and Dx = 1.373 g cm^–3. The atomic arrangement can be described as layers containing P₆O₁₈ ring anions and CoO₆ octahedra spreading in the (101) planes and intercalated by the dibenzylammonium groups and the water molecules. Synthesis and characterization by X-ray diffraction, IR absorption, and TA are described.     

A New Cycloartane Glycoside from the Aerial Part of Astragalus grahamianus

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - A new 9,19-cyclolanostane type arabinoside, 16,23;22,25-diepoxy-3β,22,23,24-tetrahydroxy-9,19-cyclolanostane-3-O-α-L-arabinopyranoside (1), together with...     

Triflic acid controlled successive annelation of aromatic sulfonamides: an efficient one-pot synthesis of N-sulfonyl pyrroles, indoles and carbazoles

A novel one-pot synthesis of N-substituted heterocycles via successive cyclization/annelation starting from primary sulfonamides is described. This process directly leads to N-sulfonyl pyrroles, indoles and carbazoles. The selection of an appropriate reactant/triflic acid ratio successfully controls the formation of the desired product.     

Secretory Phospholipase A2 in Dromedary Tears: a Host Defense Against Staphylococci and Other Gram-Positive Bacteria

The best known physiologic function of secreted phospholipase A₂ (sPLA₂) group IIA (sPLA₂-IIA) is defense against bacterial infection through hydrolytic degradation of bacterial membrane phospholipids. In fact, sPLA₂-IIA effectively kills Gram-positive bacteria and to a lesser extent Gram-negative bacteria and is considered a major component of the eye’s innate immune defense system. The antibacterial properties of sPLA₂ have been demonstrated in rabbit and human tears. In this report, we have analyzed the bactericidal activity of dromedary tears and the subsequently purified sPLA₂ on several Gram-positive bacteria. Our results showed that the sPLA₂ displays a potent bactericidal activity against all the tested bacteria particularly against the Staphylococcus strains when tested in the ionic environment of tears. There is a synergic action of the sPLA₂ with lysozyme when added to the bacteria culture prior to sPLA₂. Interestingly, lysozyme purified from dromedary tears showed a significant bactericidal activity against Listeria monocytogene and Staphylococcus epidermidis, whereas the one purified from human tears displayed no activity against these two strains. We have also demonstrated that Ca²⁺ is crucial for the activity of dromedary tear sPLA₂ and to a less extent Mg²⁺ ions. Given the presence of sPLA₂ in tears and intestinal secretions, this enzyme may play a substantial role in innate mucosal and systemic bactericidal defenses against Gram-positive bacteria.     

Phenolic,flavonoid contents,anticholinesterase and antioxidant evaluation of Iris germanica var; florentina

This study was designed to investigate antioxidant and anticholinesterase potential of Iris germanica var; florentina. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory potential of plant samples were investigated by Ellman’s assay. Antioxidant activity was performed using DPPH, H₂O₂ and ABTS free radical scavenging assays. Total phenolics and flavonoids contents were expressed in mg GAE/g dry weight and mg RTE/g, respectively. In AChE inhibition assay, Ig.Fl, Ig.Sp and Ig.Cf fractions exhibited highest activity with IC₅₀ values of < 0.1, 5.64 and 19 μg/mL, respectively. In BChE inhibitory assay, Ig.Fl, Ig.Sp, Ig.Cf and Ig.Cr were most active with IC₅₀ of < 0.1, < 0.1, 31 and 78 μg/mL, respectively. In DPPH assay, Ig.Fl and Ig.Cf exhibited highest inhibition of free radicals, 80.52% (IC₅₀ = 9 μg/mL) and 78.30% (IC₅₀ = 8 μg/mL), respectively. In ABTS assay Ig.Cr, Ig.Cf, Ig.Fl and Ig.Sp exhibited IC₅₀ values of < 0.1, 2, 2 and 3 μg/mL, respectively.     

One-step Synthesis of PCL-Urethane Networks using a Crosslinking/de-crosslinking Agent

Thermally reversible cross-linked polycaprolactone-urethane (PCL-U) was prepared in one-step procedure. The PCL-U networks were synthesized from a di-isocyanate (4,4′-methylene bis(cyclohexylisocyanate) (HMDI) and hydroxyl bearing macromers and monomers: hydroxy-terminated PCL, glycerol and a di-alcohol Diels-Alder (DA) adduct. This adduct was used to introduce both diene and dienophile functions in the structure and also to protect the maleimide functions from polymerization. The thermoresponsive behavior of the material was characterized by commonly used methods such as solubility tests at different temperatures and differential scanning calorimetry analyses to highlight rDA reactions and also by rheological analysis. The effects of the cooling rate, the molar mass of polycaprolactone as well as the molar ratio [di-Isocyanate]/[PCL-diol] on the cross-linking/de-cross-linking temperatures were also analyzed. The reversible networks obtained have a self-healing behavior.     

Synthesis of Primary Amines by One-Pot Reductive Amination of Aldehydes

We report here a novel, one-pot, two-step reductive amination of aldehydes for the atom-economical synthesis of primary amines. The amination step has been carried out with hydroxylammonium chloride and does not require the use of a base. In the subsequent reduction step, a metal zinc/hydrochloride acid system has been used. This method is applicable to both aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes. The operational simplicity, the short reaction times, and the mild reaction conditions add to the value of this method as a practical alternative to the reductive amination of aldehydes.

Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications® to view the free supplemental file.     

A detailed analysis of cross-phase modulation effects on OOK and dpsk optical WDM transmission systems in the presence of GVD,SPM, and ASE noise

A performance analysis is carried out to evaluate the effect of cross-phase modulation (XPM) on a dispersion-managed 20 Gb/s optical wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) transmission system using either the on-off keying (OOK) or the different-phase-shifting keying (DPSK) modulation, in the presence of the group-velocity dispersion (GVD), self-phase modulation (SPM), and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). It is found that to achieve a bit error rate (BER) of 10⁻⁹ at a distance of 160 km, a 1.0 dB XPM power penalty is incurred for input channel power of 3 dBm in the OOK transmission and 7 dBm in the DPSK transmission. The power penalty increases with input channel powers and is inversely proportional and exhibits oscillations with respect to the channel separation. The oscillation is evenly spaced for the DPSK but not for the OOK and suggests the presence of optimum separation values. The XPM penalty decreases when a high dispersion fiber is used and increases linearly with increasing dispersion slope. Small residual dispersion can reduce the penalty of nonlinear effects.     

First-principles calculations to investigate optical properties of ByAlxIn1−x−yN alloys for optoelectronic devices

First-principles density-functional theory of Full-Potential Linear Augmented Plane Wave (FP-LAPW) within local density approximation (LDA) of the optical properties of B_yAl_xIn_1−x−yN systems (with x = 0.187 and y = 0.062, 0.125 and 0.187) has been performed. Substitutional atoms of Boron induced in small amounts into the (Al_xIn_1−x)-cationic sublattice of AlInN affects the energy gap of BAlInN. The higher band gap of Al_0.375In_0.625N alloy can form a useful quantum well (QW) laser structure. A best choice of B-content, B_yAl_xIn_1−x−yN could be an alternative to Al_xIn_1−xN. The results of accurate calculations of the band structures and optical properties show the better performance characteristics belong to the structure containing B-content (y) of 12.5%. The NaCl metallic B_yAl_0.1875In_0.8125−yN has a direct character for y = 12.5%. The imaginary part of dielectric function, reflectivity, refractive index, absorption coefficient and optical conductivity are investigated well and provide reasonable results for optoelectronic devices applications.