Synthesis of some novel spiro substituted pyrido[2,3-c]coumarins by exploring ‘tertiary amino effect’ reaction strategy

Some novel spiro substituted pyrido[2,3-c]coumarin derivatives were synthesized from 4-hydroxycoumarin by exploring ‘tertiary amino effect’ reaction strategy.     

Ti-exchanged ZSM-5 as heterogeneous catalyst for allylation of aldehydes with allyltributylstannane

Titanium exchanged ZSM-5 catalyst has been prepared by treating an aqueous solution of titanium (IV) chloride with ZSM-5. The supported catalyst has been explored as effective and reusable catalyst for allylation reaction of aldehydes with allyltributylstannane. The new catalytic system promotes efficiently the allylation reaction in toluene condition to produce homoallylic alcohols in high yield.     

Optically definable reaction-diffusion-driven pattern generation of Ag-Au nanoparticles on templated surfaces

We introduce a new lithographic method for the generation of 2D patterns of composite nanoparticles (NPs) of Ag and Au by taking recourse to combine top-down and bottom-up approaches. Micrometer-scale and submicrometer-scale patterned Ag foils of commercially available compact disks (CDs) and digital versatile disks (DVDs), respectively, were used as templates. The galvanic replacement reaction of Ag by HAuCl(4) in the presence of the dye coatings on the foils led to the formation of patterned NP composites of Ag and Au, in addition to the formation of AgCl. The resultant structures appeared in the form of cross patterns of particles with micrometer and submicrometer dimensions. The AgCl crystals thus formed could be removed by using either a saturated NaCl solution or aqueous ammonia. In addition, AgCl could be converted to Ag by electrochemical reduction, thus generating Ag-coated Au NPs. Interestingly, the digital writing on CDs led to the formation of tertiary imprints on the patterns, based on the original writing patterns. This provided an additional handle in generating hierarchical patterns using light in combination with a chemical reaction diffusion process and the nearly parallel line patterns originally present in commercial CDs. The reactions could be carried out in aqueous solution, and the method does not require any additional curing. Also, the density of patterned particles is scalable on the basis of the choice of the original line patterns as present in CDs and DVDs.     

Influence of anions on the adsorption kinetics of salicylate onto alpha-alumina in aqueous medium

The adsorption kinetics of salicylate on alpha-alumina surfaces were studied at 25 degrees C and pH 6 in the presence of 0.05 mM concentration of different anions (Cl(-), Br(-), I(-), SCN(-), HCOO(-), CH(3)COO(-), S(2)O(2-)(3), CO(2-)(3), and SO(2-)(4)) as a function of time. The experimental data were significantly better fitted to a pseudo-second-order kinetics equation of nonlinear form in the entire time duration and are in excellent agreement with corresponding estimated values. Considering adsorption data for salicylate in the presence of Cl(-) as the face value, all the monovalent anions (Br(-), I(-), SCN(-), HCOO(-), CH(3)COO(-)) promote the adsorption of salicylate onto alpha-alumina surfaces while the divalent anions (S(2)O(2-)(3), CO(2-)(3), and SO(2-)(4)) have the reverse effect under similar conditions. DRIFT spectra of alpha-alumina treated with salicylate reveal that the symmetric peak nu(s)(COO(-)) is shifted by approximately 40 cm(-1) to a lower wavelength region, which implies that salicylate forms an inner-sphere complex with alpha-alumina surface in the presence of both mono- and divalent anions.     

Essential oil of Cephalotaxus griffithii needle inhibits proliferation and migration of human cervical cancer cells: involvement of mitochondria-initiated and death receptor-mediated apoptosis pathways

This study was conducted to determine the effect of Cephalotaxus griffithii needle essential oil (CGNO) on proliferation and migration of human cervical cancer (HCC) cells. CGNO treatment decreased the viability of all the tested HCC (HeLa, ME-180 and SiHa) cells. Morphological and DNA fragmentation analysis of CGNO-treated HeLa cells indicated the involvement of apoptosis in inducing HCC cell death. CGNO increased mitochondrial membrane depolarisation and upregulated the expression of caspase-9, caspase-8, caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP. The activity of caspase-8 and caspase-9 was also significantly increased. Wound healing and transwell migration assay demonstrated that CGNO significantly inhibited the migration of HeLa cells to close a scratched wound and also inhibited their migration through filter towards a chemotactic stimulus. Taken together, these results indicated that CGNO inhibited the proliferation and migration of HCC cells. Of note, CGNO induced HeLa cell death through mitochondria-initiated and death receptor-mediated apoptosis pathway.     

Integral resource capacity planning for inpatient care services based on bed census predictions by hour

The design and operations of inpatient care facilities are typically largely historically shaped. A better match with the changing environment is often possible, and even inevitable due to the pressure on hospital budgets. Effectively organizing inpatient care requires simultaneous consideration of several interrelated planning issues. Also, coordination with upstream departments like the operating theatre and the emergency department is much-needed. We present a generic analytical approach to predict bed census on nursing wards by hour, as a function of the Master Surgical Schedule and arrival patterns of emergency patients. Along these predictions, insight is gained on the impact of strategic (ie, case mix, care unit size, care unit partitioning), tactical (ie, allocation of operating room time, misplacement rules), and operational decisions (ie, time of admission/discharge). The method is used in the Academic Medical Center Amsterdam as a decision-support tool in a complete redesign of the inpatient care operations.     

Imidazole-Catalyzed Henry Reactions in Aqueous Medium

2-Nitroalkanols can be efficiently synthesized using imidazole as a mild Lewis basic catalyst in aqueous medium as well as in organic solvents. The products have been found in good yields without purification (> 95% purity by ¹H NMR) for aromatic aldehydes. Additionally, the very mild reaction conditions prevent the particular side reactions such as aldol condensation, Cannizzaro reaction, or dehydration of the 2-nitro alcohols into nitro alkenes even if aromatic aldehydes are used. This report satisfies the criteria for green synthesis in terms of reaction medium and recycling of the catalyst (imidazole).