Oxidative Deprotection of Acetals and Trimethylsilylethers by γ‐PCC‐SiO2

Acetals, ketals and trimethylsilyl ethers mildly and selectively underwent oxidative deprotection to carbonyl compounds by silica gel supported γ‐picolinium chlorochromate under non‐aqueous conditions in good to excellent yields.     

Preparation and Characterization of Water-borne Polyurethane Based on Benzotriazole as Pendant Group with Different N-Alkylated Chain Extenders and Its Application in Anticorrosion

A series of novel anti-corrosive coatings were synthesized successfully. Water-borne polyurethane (WPU) was synthesized using polyethylene glycol and modified by grafting benzotriazole (BTA) as a pendant group (WPU-g-BTA) and N-alkylated amines (ethylene diamine (A), diethylene triamine (B), triethylene tetramine (C)) as side-chain extenders. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and dynamic mechanical analyses were used to characterize the structural and thermomechanical properties of the samples. A gas permeability analyzer (GPA) was used to evaluate molecular barrier properties. The corrosion inhibition performance of WPU-g-BTA-A, WPU-g-BTA-B, and WPU-g-BTA-C coatings in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution was determined by electrochemical measurements. WPU-g-BTA-C coating synthesized with a high cross-linking density showed superior anticorrosive performance. The as-prepared coatings exhibited a very low icorr value of 0.02 µA.cm⁻², a high Ecorr value of −0.02 V, as well as excellent inhibition efficiency (99.972%) and impedance (6.33 Ω) after 30 min of exposure.     

Sun exposure and Protection Behavior of Danish Farm Children: Parental Influence on Their Children

Healthy sun habits acquired in childhood could reduce skin cancer incidence. We examined the sun exposure and protection behavior of an expected high‐exposure group of children, and the association to their parents. Open, prospective cohort study. One hundred and thirty nine participants (40 families) kept daily sun behavior diaries (sun exposure, sunscreen use, sunburns) over a 4‐month summer period (15 985 diary days). The Pigment Protection Factor (PPF), an objective measure of sun exposure, was measured at two body sites, before and after summer. All participants presented data from the same 115 days. Risk behavior (sun exposure of upper body) took place on 9.5 days (boys) and 15.6 days (girls). Sunburn and sunscreen use were infrequent. Boys’ sun exposure resulted in an increased photo protection over the study period of 1.7 SED (upper arm) and 0.8 SED (shoulder) to elicit erythema. Corresponding values for girls were as follows: 0.9 SED (upper arm) and 0.5 SED (shoulder). Boys’ sunscreen use correlated to their mothers’ (r = 0.523, P = 0.02). Girls’ number of risk days (r = 0.552, P = 0.005) and sun exposure (upper arm: r = 0.621, P < 0.001) correlated to their mothers’. The children's sun exposure was substantial. Only mothers influenced children's sun behavior and exposure. This may be of relevance in future sun protection campaigns.     

Influence of CdS-filler on the thermal properties of polystyrene

Influence of CdS-filler particles in the micrometer size range on the properties of the polystyrene (PS) matrix was studied using structural and thermal techniques. Improvement of the thermal stability of the PS matrix for about 50 K was found in the presence of the CdS-filler. Infrared measurements revealed that interaction between the surface of CdS-filler particles and the PS chain is weak. Non-significant changes in the glass transition temperature of the PS matrix upon the incorporation of CdS-filler particles also suggest weak interaction between filler and polymer.     

Determination of the structure factor for the rare gas fluids based on the ORPA theory and LIR equation of state

Linear isotherm regularity is applied to generate an expression for the direct correlation function (DCF), based on the optimized random-phase approximation theory. We use the Lennard-Jones potential in the modelling of real fluids, in which its molecular parameters are state-dependent. Based on the perturbation theory, we assume that the core contribution of the DCF is related to the geometric effect via a linear form, which arises from the excluded volume, and the tail contribution is related to the long-range intermolecular interactions of the system via a non-linear form. We use this model to predict the behaviour of the structure factor, S(k), in a wide range of k values for the xenon and krypton liquids. Finally, we compare our results with the experimental and theoretical data available in literature. The model is also successful in the presentation of the Ornstein–Zernike behaviour of S(k) at the low-k region.     

Adaptive Global Algorithm for Solving Box-Constrained Non-convex Quadratic Minimization Problems

Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications - In this paper, we propose a new adaptive method for solving the non-convex quadratic minimization problem subject to box constraints, where the...     

Parallel mean curvature biconservative surfaces in complex space forms

In this paper, we consider PMC surfaces in complex space forms, and study the interaction between the notions of PMC, totally real and biconservative. We first consider PMC surfaces in a non-flat complex space form and prove that they are biconservative if and only if totally real. Then, we find a Simons-type formula for a well-chosen vector field constructed from the mean curvature vector field and use it to prove a rigidity result for CMC biconservative surfaces in two-dimensional complex space forms. We prove then a reduction codimension result for PMC biconservative surfaces in non-flat complex space forms. We conclude by constructing examples of CMC non-PMC biconservative submanifolds from the Segre embedding and discuss when they are proper-biharmonic.     

Assessing the role of graphene content in the electromagnetic response of graphene polymer nanocomposites

We report experimental results from frequency-domain spectroscopy on graphene (GE) filled polyvinylidene difluoride trifluoroethylene P(VDF-TrFE). The dielectric properties of these polymer nanocomposites (GPN) were investigated over a broad range of frequency (from 10² Hz to a few GHz) and a broad range of temperature (from 150 K to 370 K) by using two measurement techniques: impedance spectroscopy and asymmetrical stripline. Care is needed in relating the GE content to the dielectric properties of GPN since the addition of GE to P(VDF-TrFE) can result in a nonmonotonic permittivity change. At low frequency (<1 MHz) the relaxation spectra is not Debye like but is characterized with a broad relaxation time distribution especially at low temperatures. This effect originates from the freezing process of dipoles and Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars (MWS) interfacial polarization. Additionally, a fit of the effective permittivity versus GE content suggests that our data are in accord with the two-exponent phenomenological percolation equation (TEPPE). These experimental results draw attention to the importance of the large surface area of the GE nanoparticles in controlling the interface between the GE flakes and the polymer phase.     

Identification of α-Glucosidase Inhibitors from Scutellaria edelbergii: ESI-LC-MS and Computational Approach

The recent study investigated the in vitro anti-diabetic impact of the crude extract (MeOH) and subfractions ethyl acetate (EtOAc); chloroform; n-butanol; n-hexane; and aqueous fraction of S. edelbergii and processed the active EtOAc fraction for the identification of chemical constituents for the first time via ESI-LC-MS analysis through positive ionization mode (PIM) and negative ionization mode (NIM); the identified compounds were further validated through computational analysis via standard approaches. The crude extract and subfractions presented appreciable activity against the α-glucosidase inhibitory assay. However, the EtOAc fraction with IC₅₀ = 0.14 ± 0.06 µg/mL revealed the maximum potential among the fractions used, followed by the MeOH and n-hexane extract with IC₅₀ = 1.47 ± 0.14 and 2.18 ± 0.30 µg/mL, respectively. Moreover, the acarbose showed an IC₅₀ = 377.26 ± 1.20 µg/ mL whereas the least inhibition was observed for the chloroform fraction, with an IC₅₀ = 23.97 ± 0.14 µg/mL. Due to the significance of the EtOAc fraction, when profiled for its chemical constituents, it presented 16 compounds among which the flavonoid class was dominant, and offered eight compounds, of which six were identified in NIM, and two compounds in PIM. Moreover, five terpenoids were identified—three and two in NIM and PIM, respectively—as well as two alkaloids, both of which were detected in PIM. The EtOAc fraction also contained one phenol that was noticed in PIM. The detected flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, and phenols are well-known for their diverse biomedical applications. The potent EtOAc fraction was submitted to computational analysis for further validation of α-glucosidase significance to profile the responsible compounds. The pharmacokinetic estimations and protein-ligand molecular docking results with the support of molecular dynamic simulation trajectories at 100 ns suggested that two bioactive compounds—dihydrocatalpol and leucosceptoside A—from the EtOAc fraction presented excellent drug-like properties and stable conformations; hence, these bioactive compounds could be potential inhibitors of alpha-glucosidase enzyme based on intermolecular interactions with significant residues, docking score, and binding free energy estimation. The stated findings reflect that S. edelbergii is a rich source of bioactive compounds offering potential cures for diabetes mellitus; in particular, dihydrocatalpol and leucosceptoside A could be excellent therapeutic options for the progress of novel drugs to overcome diabetes mellitus.