Schistosomiasis Chemotherapy

After malaria, schistosomiasis (or bilharzia) is the second most prevalent disease in Africa, and is occurring in over 70 countries in tropical and subtropical regions. It is estimated that 600 million people are at risk of infection, 200 million people are infected, and at least 200 000 deaths per year are associated with the disease. All schistosome species are transmitted through contact with fresh water that is infested with free‐swimming forms of the parasite, which is known as cercariae and produced by snails. When located in the blood vessels of the host, larval and adult schistosomes digest red cells to acquire amino acids for growth and development. Vaccine candidates have been unsuccessful up to now. Against such devastating parasitic disease, the antischistosomal arsenal is currently limited to a single drug, praziquantel, which has been used for more than 35 years. Because the question of the reduction of the activity of praziquantel was raised recently, it is thus urgent to create new and safe antischistosomal drugs that should be combined with praziquantel to develop efficient bitherapies.     

A Convenient,Large-Scale Preparation of 2,4-Dichlorophenyl-4-bromomethyl-phenoxyacetate Suitable for Resin Anchorage of the First Fmoc Amino Acid

2,4-dichlorophenyl-4-bromomethyl-phenoxyacetate 3 was prepared by NBS treatement of 2,4-dichlorophenyl-4-methylphenoxyacetate 2. This ester is a key intermediate in the preparation of 2,4-dichlorophenyl-N^α-Fmoc-aminoacyl-4-oxymethylphenoxy-acetates suitable for anchorage of the first amino acid on amine-functionalized polymers.     

X-ray study of the reentrant modulated phase of Bis-Propylammonium Tetrachlorocuprate(II) at high temperature

The modulated phase of (C₃H₇NH₃)CuCl₄ stable between 386 and 412 K has been analyzed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structure was solved in the frame of the superspace group approach. The modulation is characterized by a wavelike displacement of the CuCl₄ layer.     

A New Practical Preparation of bis(Trimethylsilyl) Peroxide

Bis(trimethylsilyl) peroxide can be readily obtained by reaction of trimethylchlorosilane with the hexamethylenetetramine-hydrogene peroxide complex.     

Early transition metal dopants in cuprous oxide: To spin or not to spin

We present a trend study of a large variety of dopants at the cation site in Cu₂O (i.e. substituting Cu), focussing largely on the early 3d-, 4d-, and 5d-transition metals (TMs) in which many of them are known to be non-magnetic. We also include s-, sp- and d¹⁰-metals for comparison. We find that doping with sp-elements results in zero spin moment while dopants with a partially filled d-band show a stronger tendency to magnetize and 3d-TM dopants exhibit a larger magnetic moment than most of the 4d- and 5d-TM dopants. From this trend study, we also find a correlation between their substitution enthalpy and associated interatomic relaxations. In particular, Ti-doped Cu₂O appears to be an interesting system, given its “peculiar” ability to exhibit a spin moment when doped with a non-magnetic substituent like Ti. We also find that the interaction between two doped Ti atoms in Ti₂:Cu₂O is predominantly antiferromagnetic, and interestingly (and unexpectedly), this interaction rapidly declines as a function of inter-dopant distance, as in the case for the magnetic late-TM dopants like Co₂:Cu₂O.     

Role of reactive species in processing materials at laboratory temperature by spray plasma devices

Processing the aerosol of metal salts in non-equilibrium plasma represents a promising technique that combines the advantages of spray pyrolysis with the high reactivity of plasmas at nearlaboratory temperature in order to produce mixed-oxides and perovskite materials. The aim of this paper is to describe the principles of this new technique and to present the various applications and latest developments. This technique’s capacity to deposit various mixed metal oxides with precise stoichiometry is demonstrated. It is shown that oxidant plasma species play a key role in the chemical transformation of starting materials into oxides at laboratory temperature, while the configuration of the reactor determines the morphology and texture of the deposited layers. Two different reactor configurations are presented. The porous layers of La _x Sr_1−x MnO₃ as the cathode for fuel cells were synthesised in a wave shock reactor configuration, while nanostructured ZnO-Al layers to form a transparent conductive cathode for photovoltaic cells were deposited in the spray plasma reactor of the latest generation for this technique. The experimental results emphasise the role of plasma species in the rate of chemical reactions and in the chemical composition of the deposited layers.     

Solvent Incorporation in Bromination of Alkynes With Tetrabutylammonium Tribromide in Methanol

ABSTRACT: The reaction of tetrabutylammonium tribromide (TBABr₃) with mono and disubstituted alkynes in methanol at 20°C leads to the formation of mainly the corresponding α,α-dibromo, β,β-dimethoxyalkane and the E-(α,β)-dibromoalkene. The additions are faster using sonication.     

Bounds on the Dimension of Trivariate Spline Spaces: A Homological Approach

We consider the vector space of globally differentiable piecewise polynomial functions defined on a three-dimensional polyhedral domain partitioned into tetrahedra. We prove new lower and upper bounds on the dimension of this space by applying homological techniques. We give an insight of different ways of approaching this problem by exploring its connections with the Hilbert series of ideals generated by powers of linear forms, fat points, the so-called Fröberg–Iarrobino conjecture, and the weak Lefschetz property.