Ni(II), Co(II), and Cu(II) complexes incorporating 2-pyrazinecarboxylic acid：Synthesis,characterization, electrochemical evaluation,and catalytic activity for the synthesis of 2H-indazolo[2,1-b]phthalazine-triones

Three complexes containing 2-pyrazinecarboxylate (pzca–), including [Ni(pzca)2(H2O)2], [Co(pzca)2(H2O)2], and [Cu(pzca)2(H2O)2], have been synthesized and characterized using physico-chemical and spectroscopic methods. Furthermore, the structure of each complex was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. All three complexes have an octahedral geometry, where the metal ion chelated by two carboxylate oxygens, two nitrogen atoms belonging to pyrazinic acid molecules, and two oxygen atoms of two water molecules. The catalytic activities of these complex-es were also investigated in the green synthesis of 2H-indazolo[2,1-b]phthalazine-triones by the reaction of hydrazine hydrate with an arylaldehyde, phthalic anhydride, and dimedone in acetic acid.     

Exploring the hydroxylation-dehydrogenation connection: novel catalytic activity of castor stearoyl-ACP Delta(9) desaturase

The novel product profile obtained by incubating chiral fluorinated substrate analogues with castor stearoyl-ACP Delta(9) desaturase has been rationalized through a series of labeling studies. It was found that the introduction of the Z-double bond between C-9 and C-10 of the parent substrate occurs with pro-R enantioselectivity--a result that accounts for the observed stereochemistry of oxidation products derived from (9R)- and (9S)-9-fluorostearoyl-ACP. Oxidation of (9R)-9-fluorostearoyl-ACP occurs via at least two rapidly interchanging substrate conformations in the active site as detected by reaction pathway branching induced by deuteration at C-10 and C-11. Hydroxylation and desaturation of this substrate share the same site of initial oxidative attack.     

聚多巴胺功能化硅胶沉积单分散Pd纳米粒子的简易原位合成及用作醇需氧氧化反应的多相可循环使用的纳米催化剂（英文）

本文报道了一种不使用任何稳定剂或还原剂,原位合成硅胶/聚多巴胺复合物(SiO_2/PDA)负载的Pd纳米颗粒(Pd NPs)的简易方法.该方法先将PDA涂覆的SiO_2颗粒浸在Pd镀液中,然后利用PDA中含N基团的还原能力将Pd物种原位还原为纳米簇合物.并采用高分辨透射电镜、前场扫描电镜、能量散射谱、X射线衍射、X射线光电子能谱、诱导耦合等离子体和红外光谱等手段对所得纳米复合物的结构、形貌和物化性质进行了表征.被PDA基团锚合的Pd NPs具有显著的小颗粒(30–40 nm)特性.作为一个可循环使用的纳米催化剂,SiO_2/PDA/Pd NPs在醇的需氧氧化反应中表现出高活性.另外,催化剂经回收和多次重复使用时未出现明显的失活.     

Active optical compensation of low-quality optical system aberrations

We describe a method for the correction of slowly varying wavefront aberrations of low-quality telescope mirrors by using a DM in an active optical compensation system. Our goal is to reduce the surface wavefront error of low-cost multimeter-diameter mirrors from approximately 10 waves peak-to-valley (P-V), at a 1 microm wavelength, to approximately 1 wave or less. In a proof-of-concept demonstration using a 0.3m telescope at a wavelength of 633 nm, the rms wavefront error improved to 0.05 waves (0.26 waves P-V) from the original value of 1.4 waves rms (6.5 waves P-V). The Strehl ratio improved to 89% from the original value of 0.08%. The types of aberrations corrected include astigmatism, coma, defocus, trefoil, and higher-order aberrations.     

Application of microcrystalline cellulose as an efficient and cheap sorbent for the extraction of metoprolol from plasma and wastewater before HPLC–MS/MS determination

A dispersive solid-phase extraction method based on a new sorbent has been performed on plasma and wastewater samples to determine metoprolol by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. In this study, the analyte was adsorbed from the samples onto microcrystalline cellulose as a green and efficient sorbent and then eluted for use in the determination step. In the mass spectrometer, the analyte was detected in the positive mode and selectivity of the analysis was increased by sequential mass analysis through multiple reaction monitoring. All of the effective parameters in the extraction of metoprolol from plasma and wastewater were optimized. Under optimal conditions the method was linear in the ranges of 1–1,000 and 0.1–1,000 ng/ml in plasma and wastewater samples, respectively. The detection limits of the method were 0.30 and 0.03 ng/ml in plasma and wastewater samples, respectively. The data showed that the method provides low detection limit, wide linear range, good precision and high extraction recovery. Finally several plasma and wastewater samples were successfully analyzed using the method. The use of a small amount of a green and inexpensive sorbent and a low volume of plasma without the need for further pretreatment steps are the main advantages of the method.     

Novel Four-Step Synthesis of Thioxo-quinazolino[3,4-a]quinazolinone Derivatives

A novel synthesis of thioxo-quinazolino[3,4-a]quinazolinone framework was developed through a four-step reaction starting from isatoic anhydride. The resulting 2-aminobenzamides from the reaction of isatoic anhydride and different amines underwent coupling–cyclization reaction with 2-nitrobenzaldehydes, reduction of nitro group, and then cyclization reaction with carbon disulfide (CS₂). All steps were carried out under easy and user-friendly conditions in a short time without using expensive catalysts or reagents.

[Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications® for the following free supplemental resource(s): Full experimental and spectral details.]     

Effect of gravity on subject-specific human lung deformation

A biomechanical model of human lung is developed and used to investigate the effect of gravity on lung deformation. The lung is assumed to behave as a poro-elastic medium with spatially dependent elastic property. Finite element analysis is performed on a three-dimensional (3D) lung geometry reconstructed from a four-dimensional Computed Tomography (4DCT) scan dataset of human patient. The spatially dependent Young’s modulus (YM) values are estimated using inverse analysis from a linear elastic deformation model. The predicted deformation of selected landmarks is monitored with and without gravity, and compared with data obtained from 4DCT registration. The results show that gravity indeed significantly affects the magnitude and distribution of lung deformation with the maximum displacement enhanced by 54% in the direction of gravity, for the conditions investigated. In summary, the accuracy of predicted deformation is improved through incorporation of gravity in the biomechanical model of lung.     

High Pressure High Temperature Dynamic Rheometry of Sulfonated Polyacrylamide Solutions in Electrolyte Media as Used for Oil Recovery Applications

Sulfonated polyacrylamide (SPAA) solutions were prepared and the effects of pressure, polymer concentration, and water temperature, pH and salinity on their rheological behavior were investigated using a concentric cylinder dynamic rheometer equipped with a high pressure cell. According to the rheological flow curves the shear stress of SPAA solutions increased less than in proportion to their shear rates; that is, a shear thinning effect occurred. For polymer solutions containing 15,000 ppm of SPAA, shear viscosity, and stress were nearly insensitive to pressure. However, the shear viscosity and stress of SPAA solutions were affected by temperature and this effect was more evident at lower pressure. The flow curves indicated the shear viscosity and stress of the samples increased with increasing SPAA concentration and pH of the water, but were decreased with increasing water salinity and temperature.     

An Upper Bound for the Total Restrained Domination Number of Graphs

Let G be a graph with vertex set V. A set ${D \subseteq V}$ is a total restrained dominating set of G if every vertex in V has a neighbor in D and every vertex in ${V \setminus D}$ has a neighbor in ${V \setminus D}$ . The minimum cardinality of a total restrained dominating set of G is called the total restrained domination number of G, and is denoted by γ _tr (G). In this paper, we prove that if G is a connected graph of order n ≥ 4 and minimum degree at least two, then ${\gamma_{tr}(G) \leq n-\sqrt[3]{n \over 4}}$ .     

Liquid-vapor transition driven by bond disorder

We report grand-canonical Monte Carlo simulations of an equimolar mixture of hard colloids coated with long polymers that have a complementary functionalization. Such systems have the potential to function as self-healing materials. Under conditions where the complementary polymer ends are strongly associated, we observe a first-order vapor-liquid transition from a dilute gas of colloidal dimers to a dense, liquid-like phase. This transition is driven exclusively by the increase in entropy associated with bond disorder-an effect that was predicted theoretically by Zilman et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 015901 (2003)10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.015901]. Our simulations rationalize experimental observations by Schmatko et al. [Soft Matter 03 (2007) 703.].