Liquid-Phase Cyclohexene Oxidation with O2 over Spray-Flame-Synthesized La1−xSrxCoO3 Perovskite Nanoparticles

La_1−xSr_xCoO₃ (x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) nanoparticles were prepared by spray-flame synthesis and applied in the liquid-phase oxidation of cyclohexene with molecular O₂ as oxidant under mild conditions. The catalysts were systematically characterized by state-of-the-art techniques. With increasing Sr content, the concentration of surface oxygen vacancy defects increases, which is beneficial for cyclohexene oxidation, but the surface concentration of less active Co²⁺ was also increased. However, Co²⁺ cations have a superior activity towards peroxide decomposition, which also plays an important role in cyclohexene oxidation. A Sr doping of 20 at. % was found to be the optimum in terms of activity and product selectivity. The catalyst also showed excellent reusability over three catalytic runs; this can be attributed to its highly stable particle size and morphology. Kinetic investigations revealed first-order reaction kinetics for temperatures between 60 and 100 °C and an apparent activation energy of 68 kJ mol⁻¹ for cyclohexene oxidation. Moreover, the reaction was not affected by the applied O₂ pressure in the range from 10 to 20 bar. In situ attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy was used to monitor the conversion of cyclohexene and the formation of reaction products including the key intermediate cyclohex-2-ene-1-hydroperoxide; spin trap electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy provided strong evidence for a radical reaction pathway by identifying the cyclohexenyl alkoxyl radical.     

Micromachined optical microphone structures with low thermal-mechanical noise levels

Micromachined microphones with diffraction-based optical displacement detection have been introduced previously [Hall et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 118, 3000-3009 (2005)]. The approach has the advantage of providing high displacement detection resolution of the microphone diaphragm independent of device size and capacitance-creating an unconstrained design space for the mechanical structure itself. Micromachined microphone structures with 1.5-mm-diam polysilicon diaphragms and monolithically integrated diffraction grating electrodes are presented in this work with backplate architectures that deviate substantially from traditional perforated plate designs. These structures have been designed for broadband frequency response and low thermal mechanical noise levels. Rigorous experimental characterization indicates a diaphragm displacement detection resolution of 20 fm radicalHz and a thermal mechanical induced diaphragm displacement noise density of 60 fm radicalHz, corresponding to an A-weighted sound pressure level detection limit of 24 dB(A) for these structures. Measured thermal mechanical displacement noise spectra are in excellent agreement with simulations based on system parameters derived from dynamic frequency response characterization measurements, which show a diaphragm resonance limited bandwidth of approximately 20 kHz. These designs are substantial improvements over initial prototypes presented previously. The high performance-to-size ratio achievable with this technology is expected to have an impact on a variety of instrumentation and hearing applications.     

Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Is Not a Major Modulating Factor in the Cytotoxic Response to Natural Products in Cancer Cell Lines

Numerous natural products exhibit antiproliferative activity against cancer cells by modulating various biological pathways. In this study, we investigated the potential use of eight natural compounds (apigenin, curcumin, epigallocatechin gallate, fisetin, forskolin, procyanidin B2, resveratrol, urolithin A) and two repurposed agents (fulvestrant and metformin) as chemotherapy enhancers and mesenchymal-to-epithelial (MET) inducers of cancer cells. Screening of these compounds in various colon, breast, and pancreatic cancer cell lines revealed anti-cancer activity for all compounds, with curcumin being the most effective among these in all cell lines. Although some of the natural products were able to induce MET in some cancer cell lines, the MET induction was not related to increased synergy with either 5-FU, irinotecan, gemcitabine, or gefitinib. When synergy was observed, for example with curcumin and irinotecan, this was unrelated to MET induction, as assessed by changes in E-cadherin and vimentin expression. Our results show that MET induction is compound and cell line specific, and that MET is not necessarily related to enhanced chemosensitivity.     

Scalable total synthesis of (-)-berkelic acid by using a protecting-group-free strategy

Supply chain: the polycyclic core of (-)-berkelic acid (1) was constructed in just one step from very simple starting materials. The total synthesis of 1 involves a seven-step linear sequence. Protection/deprotection steps were avoided and all but the last step were performed on a gram scale. This synthesis could solve the supply problem associated with the exhaustion of the natural source.     

The reaction of N-tosyl imines with heteroaromatic compounds: a new access to triheteroarylmethanes

Useful triheteroarylmethanes were prepared by the double Friedel-Crafts reaction of a wide variety of aromatic N-tosyl imines with furan, thiophene, and pyrrole in the presence of Cu(OTf)₂ and Montmorillonite K-10 clay catalysts.     

Theoretical demonstration of the hybrid focusing points of sonic crystal flat lenses and possible applications

We demonstrate the hybrid focusing points of sonic crystals for a multi-source array applied to flat sonic crystal lenses. The contributions of different point source couples form hybrid focusing points. Ray-trace analyses are conducted for acoustic flat lenses with multi-source configurations. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation of flat lenses with multi-source configurations demonstrates the establishment of pure and hybrid focusing points in a pyramidal constellation. The number of focusing points in the pyramidal constellation depends on the number of point sources. We propose an acoustic device for fine-tuning the location of a far-field hybrid focusing point and discuss its benefits for acoustic energy focusing application.     

On Two Equivalent Dilation Theorems in VH-Spaces

We prove that a generalized version, essentially obtained by R.M. Loynes, of the B. Sz.-Nagy??s Dilation Theorem for ${\mathcal{B}^*(\mathcal{H})}$ -valued (here ${\mathcal{H}}$ is a VH-space in the sense of Loynes) positive semidefinite maps on *-semigroups is equivalent with a generalized version of the W.F. Stinespring??s Dilation Theorem for ${\mathcal{B}^*(\mathcal{H})}$ -valued completely positive linear maps on B ^*-algebras. This equivalence result is a generalization of a theorem of F.H. Szafraniec, originally proved for the case of operator valued maps (that is, when ${\mathcal{H}}$ is a Hilbert space).     

A novel method for the synthesis of dipyrromethanes by metal triflate catalysis

5-Substituted dipyrromethanes were synthesized by the reaction of N-tosyl imines with excess pyrrole in the presence of metal triflates. Tripyrromethane and other oligomeric side products were not observed. High yields of 5-substituted dipyrromethanes were obtained for electron donating and withdrawing substituents by performing the reaction at two different temperatures. The new reaction procedure is simple and anhydrous conditions are not required.     

Low‐Fouling Fluoropolymers for Bioconjugation and In Vivo Tracking

The conjugation of hydrophilic low‐fouling polymers to therapeutic molecules and particles is an effective approach to improving their aqueous stability, solubility, and pharmacokinetics. Recent concerns over the immunogenicity of poly(ethylene glycol) has highlighted the importance of identifying alternative low fouling polymers. Now, a new class of synthetic water‐soluble homo‐fluoropolymers are reported with a sulfoxide side‐chain structure. The incorporation of fluorine enables direct imaging of the homopolymer by ¹⁹F MRI, negating the need for additional synthetic steps to attach an imaging moiety. These self‐reporting fluoropolymers show outstanding imaging sensitivity and remarkable hydrophilicity, and as such are a new class of low‐fouling polymer for bioconjugation and in vivo tracking.     

Polymeric Thioxanthones as Potential Anticancer and Radiotherapy Agents

Thioxanthone (TX) and its derivatives, which are widely used as photoinitiators in UV curing technology, hold promising research interest in biological applications. In particular, the use of TXs as anticancer agent has recently been manifested as an outstanding additional property of this class of molecules. Incorporation of TX molecules into specially designed polymers widens their practical use in such applications. In this study, two water‐soluble, biocompatible, and stable polymers, namely poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(ethylene glycol), possessing TX moieties at the side chains and chain ends, respectively, are prepared and used as anticancer and radiotherapy agents. The findings confirm that both polymers are potential candidates for therapeutic agents as they possess useful features including water‐solubility, radiosensitizer effect, and anticancer activity in a polymeric scaffold.