High Yielding Synthesis of Carboranes Under Mild Reaction Conditions Using a Homogeneous Silver(I) Catalyst: Direct Evidence of a Bimetallic Intermediate

Methods used to prepare functionalized carboranes generally require heating to high temperatures, and thus limits the range of derivatives which can be prepared directly from alkynes. We show here that by using a homogeneous silver(I) catalyst it is now possible to prepare carboranes in good to excellent yield at temperatures below 40 °C, including at room temperature. The process is general and provides an important new synthetic strategy for the preparation of functionalized boron clusters.     

Surface modification of Makrofol-DE induced by α-particles

In the present work, Makrofol DE samples were irradiated with different doses of alpha particles. The optical and mechanical modifications in the alpha-irradiated Makrofol samples as a function of alpha irradiation time have been investigated. Different characterization techniques, UV–vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy and Vickers micro hardness tester have been used. UV–vis spectra of bombarded samples reveal that the optical absorption increases with increasing the irradiation time. The direct and indirect optical band gap was found to decrease from 3.4 and 2.81?eV for pristine sample to 3.1 and 2.35?eV for that bombarded with alpha particles at the highest irradiation time (15?h), respectively. The number of carbon atoms per conjugated length (N) and the number of carbon atoms per cluster (M) have been estimated. An increase in both N and M with increasing the irradiation time was noticed. A remarkable decrease in PL intensity with increasing the alpha irradiation time was observed. This decrease is attributed to ion beam-induced change in molecular structure and/or defects in the modified layer. The surface hardness for unmodified and modified polymeric material has been studied.     

In Vitro Assessment on Designing Novel Antibiofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Using a Computational Approach

An anti-biofilm that can inhibit the matrix of biofilm formation is necessary to prevent recurrent and chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. This study aimed to design compounds with a new mechanism through competitive inhibitory activity against phosphomannomutase/phosphoglucomutase (PMM/PGM), using in vitro assessment and a computational (in silico) approach. The active site of PMM/PGM was assessed through molecular redocking using L-tartaric acid as the native ligand and other small molecules, such as glucaric acid, D-sorbitol, and ascorbic acid. The docking program set the small molecules to the active site, showing a stable complex formation. Analysis of structural similarity, bioavailability, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity properties proved the potential application of ligands as an anti-biofilm. In vitro assessment with crystal violet showed that the ligands could reach up to 95.87% inhibition at different concentrations. The nitrocellulose membrane and scanning electron microscopic visualization showed that the untreated P. aeruginosa biofilm was denser than the ligand-treated biofilm.     

A comparative study of spliced optical fibers

A fusion-spliced optical fiber is examined with a laser sheet of light. A CCD camera is used to record the transverse interference pattern from the fiber. The buckling on the fiber material in one direction of the spliced point is distinct inside the transverse interference pattern. The refractive index profile inside the fiber core, obtained at different illumination directions, is calculated using a new method showing the change in the refractive index due to fusion splicing of the fiber. A simple theoretical model is introduced to simulate the anomalous behavior in the transverse interference fringes due to a slight change of the optical parameters.     

Phenylpropanoid and phenylethanoid derivatives from Kigelia pinnata DC. fruits

Further phytochemical investigation of the fruits of Kigelia pinnata DC. has yielded a new phenylpropanoid derivative identified as 6-p-coumaroyl-sucrose (1) together with ten known phenylpropanoid and phenylethanoid derivatives (2-11) and a flavonoid glycoside (12). The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated using various techniques of NMR and MS spectral analysis.     

Simultaneous denoising and enhancement of signals by a fractal conservation law

In this paper, a new filtering method is presented for simultaneous noise reduction and enhancement of signals using a fractal scalar conservation law which is simply the forward heat equation modified by a fractional anti-diffusive term of lower order. This kind of equation has been first introduced by physicists to describe morphodynamics of sand dunes. To evaluate the performance of this new filter, we perform a number of numerical tests on various signals. Numerical simulations are based on finite difference schemes or fast Fourier transform. We used two well-known measuring metrics in signal processing for the comparison. The results indicate that the proposed method outperforms the well-known Savitzky-Golay filter in signal denoising.     

Spectrophotometric Studies on the Aggregation of Some Acid Dyes

The electronic absorption spectra of different acid dyes, mainly C. I. Acid Red 13, 18, 27, 88 and 141, have been investigated in aqueous and non-aqueous solutions. As the concentration of the dye increases the absorption spectrum shifts to shorter wavelengths; this behaviour has been attributed to the formation of higher aggregates. The longer wavelength band, most marked in dilute solutions, is typical of the monomeric dye. The aggregation of these dyes were studied quantitatively using the Maximum Slope Method. The monosulfonic acid dyes Red 141 and 88 and the disulfonic acid dye 13 are aggregated at room temperature with an average aggregation number of 2.0, 2.2 and 1.5, respectively. The trisulfonic acid dyes Red 18 and 27 show very little aggregation at this temperature.     

Enaminones in heterocyclic synthesis: A new regioselective synthesis of 2,3,6‐trisubstituted pyridines, 6‐substituted‐3‐aroylpyridines and 1,3,5‐triaroylbenzenes

1‐Substituted‐3‐dimethylaminopropenones 1a‐d reacted with acetylacetone and with ethyl acetoacetate to yield regioselectively 2,3,6‐trisubstituted pyridines. Refluxing 1a‐d in acetic acid/ammonium acetate resulted in the formation of 6‐substituted‐3‐aroylpyridines, whereas refluxing in acetic acid alone afforded 1,3,5‐triaroylbenzene.