Correction to: Using the minimum maximum flow degree to approximate the flow coloring problem

Annals of Operations Research -     

Quantization on curved surfaces

After a short review of the existing methods for quantization of curved manifolds, the free particle motions or the so‐called geodesic flows on axisymmetrical prolate and oblate ellipsoids are quantized using the isomorphism established by Neumann of these systems and the harmonic oscillator restricted to the unit sphere. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2002     

Protein extraction for proteome analysis from cacao leaves and meristems, organs infected by Moniliophthora perniciosa, the causal agent of the witches' broom disease

Preparation of high-quality proteins from cacao vegetative organs is difficult due to very high endogenous levels of polysaccharides and polyphenols. In order to establish a routine procedure for the application of proteomic and biochemical analysis to cacao tissues, three new protocols were developed; one for apoplastic washing fluid (AWF) extraction, and two for protein extraction--under denaturing and nondenaturing conditions. The first described method allows a quick and easy collection of AWF--using infiltration-centrifugation procedure--that is representative of its composition in intact leaves according to the smaller symplastic contamination detected by the use of the hexose phosphate isomerase marker. Protein extraction under denaturing conditions for 2-DE was remarkably improved by the combination of chemically and physically modified processes including phenol, SDS dense buffer and sonication steps. With this protocol, high-quality proteins from cacao leaves and meristems were isolated, and for the first time well-resolved 1-DE and 2-DE protein patterns of cacao vegetative organs are shown. It also appears that sonication associated with polysaccharide precipitation using tert-butanol was a crucial step for the nondenaturing protein extraction and subsequent enzymatic activity detection. It is expected that the protocols described here could help to develop high-level proteomic and biochemical studies in cacao also being applicable to other recalcitrant plant tissues.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of 2-styrylquinoline-4-carboxylic acid derivatives to improve the toxic effect against Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis

The identification of new compounds is urgent to develop safe and efficacious candidates for leishmaniasis treatment, especially from natural products as a potential source of active molecules against neglected tropical parasite diseases. Inspired by the efficacious quinoline alkaloid microbial effects, we have previously reported the synthesis and biological activity of 2-phenylquinoline-4-carboxylic acids and poly-substituted quinolines against parasites. In this work, a series of eighteen 2-styryl-4-quinolinecarboxylic acids were synthesized under microwave irradiation settings obtaining from good to excellent yields (60%-90%), shorter reaction times (2 minutes), and eco-friendly experimental conditions. All these products were evaluated against infective forms of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis, such as promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes, based on cytotoxicity assays, including host macrophage infection assays. Compounds 4 and 5 possessing a 2-chloro or 4-chlorostyryl moiety, respectively, were considered the most promising antileishmanial agents due to the parasite killing effect in intracellular forms inside infected macrophages. Thus, our results revealed that the 2-styryl-4-quinolinecarboxylic acid backbone structure was essential for the activity against intracellular pathogens like L. (L.) amazonensis.     

Equilibrium Configurations of Lipid Bilayer Membranes and Carbon Nanostructures

The present article concerns the continuum modelling of the mechanical behaviour and equilibrium shapes of two types of nano-scale objects: fluid lipid bilayer membranes and carbon nanostructures. A unified continuum model is used to handle four different case studies. Two of them consist in representing in analytic form cylindrical and axisymmetric equilibrium configurations of single-wall carbon nanotubes and fluid lipid bilayer membranes subjected to uniform hydrostatic pressure. The third one is concerned with determination of possible shapes of junctions between a single-wall carbon nanotube and a flat graphene sheet or another single-wall carbon nanotube. The last one deals with the mechanical behaviour of closed fluid lipid bilayer membranes (vesicles) adhering onto a flat homogeneous rigid substrate subjected to micro-injection and uniform hydrostatic pressure.     

Synthesis of 1,3,4‐oxa(or thia)diazaheterocycles starting from 2‐(pyrrol‐1'‐y1)phthalimide

1‐(1,3‐Dioxo‐1,3‐dihydro‐2H‐isoindol‐2‐yl)‐1H‐pyrrol‐2 carbaldehyde 4 was synthesized by Vilsmeier‐Haack reaction from 2‐(pyrrol‐1‐yl) phthalimide. Reduction of 4 by sodium borohydride, or action of Grignard reagents on 4 led to the corresponding alcohols 5 which were cyclized to pyrroloxadiazino isoin‐doles 1 by heating in the presence of silica gel. Transformation of the hydroxylactam 6 with acetic acid derivatives led to the esters 7 which gave, after saponification, pyrroloxa(or thia)diazepinoisoindolones 2 by intramolecular cyclization.     

[(C C)Au(N N)]+ Complexes as a New Family of Anticancer Candidates: Synthesis,Characterization and Exploration of the Antiproliferative Properties

A library of eleven cationic gold(III) complexes of the general formula [(C C)Au(N N)]⁺ when C C is either biphenyl or 4,4’-ditertbutyldiphenyl and N N is a bipyridine, phenanthroline or dipyridylamine derivative have been synthesized and characterized. Contrasting effects on the viability of the triple negative breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 was observed from a preliminary screening. The antiproliferative activity of the seven most active complexes were further assayed on a larger panel of human cancer cells as well as on non-cancerous cells for comparison. Two complexes stood out for being either highly active or highly selective. Eventually, reactivity studies with biologically meaningful amino acids, glutathione, higher order DNA structures and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) revealed a markedly different behavior from that of the well-known coordinatively isomeric [(C N C)Au(NHC)]⁺ structure. This makes the [(C C)Au(N N)]⁺ complexes a new class of organogold compounds with an original mode of action.     

Acyliminium ion-olefin cyclization leading to isoindolo[2,1-a]quinoline derivatives

Isoindolo[2,1-a]quinolines 10 , 11 , 12 were synthesized from hydroxylactams 8 or 9 via an N-acyliminium ion-π-olefin nucleophile cyclization reaction.