Film-pore-concentration-dependent surface diffusion model for the adsorption of dye onto palm kernel shell activated carbon

The rate of dye adsorption from aqueous effluents onto palm kernel shell (PKS) activated carbon has been studied experimentally using the batch adsorption method. The adsorption rates of methylene blue on PKS for systems of different initial dye concentrations are modeled using a film-pore-concentration dependent surface diffusion (FPCDSD) model. The FPCDSD model is sufficiently general and can be reduced easily to describe other simplified models. Using the FPCDSD model, only a single set of mass transfer parameters is required to describe the methylene blue/PKS system for different initial concentrations. A different set of mass transfer parameters are needed to obtain the best fitting if the pore diffusion is not included in the model.     

Caveolin-1 upregulation in senescent neurons alters amyloid precursor protein processing

Lipid rafts provide a platform for regulating cellular functions and participate in the pathogenesis of several diseases. However, the role of caveolin-1 in this process has not been elucidated definitely in neuron. Thus, this study was performed to examine whether caveolin-1 can regulate amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing in neuronal cells and to identify the molecular mechanisms involved in this regulation. Caveolin-1 is up-regulated in all parts of old rat brain, namely hippocampus, cerebral cortex and in elderly human cerebral cortex. Moreover, detergent-insoluble glycolipid (DIG) fractions indicated that caveolin-1 was co-localized with APP in caveolae-like structures. In DIG fractions, beta APP secretion was up-regulated by caveolin-1 over- expression, which was modulated via protein kinase C (PKC) in neuroblastoma cells. From these results we conclude that caveolin-1 is selectively expressed in senescent neurons and that it induces the processing of APP by beta-secretase via PKC downregulation.     

Simultaneous separation of nine surfactants of various types by HPLC with evaporative light scattering detection

A simultaneous separation of cationic, amphoteric and nonioinc nine surfactants (DMDS, DMDP, DMDM, DMDL, BZC, CDE, A/O, SUNC, IMD) has been performed by a reverse phase-HPLC method utilizing a single J'sphere ODS (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 4 μm) column and a methanol-water containing 0.2% TFA eluent system within 60 min. The observed precision in determination of concentration was less than 5% R.S.D., which revealed that ELSD was an effective tool to detect the various studied surfactants of low volatility without chromophore. In addition, the detection limits were in the concentration range of 3.5-10 μg/mL, and the calibration curves, i.e. the log-log plots, were linear in the working range of 5-4600 μg/mL with the slopes of 1.321-1.668. The application of the analytical procedure to three household products without pretreatment supported that the presented chromatographic method was simple to be practical for a routine analysis of commercial products.     

Palladium nanoparticles supported onto ionic carbon nanotubes as robust recyclable catalysts in an ionic liquid

Palladium nanoparticles have been deposited onto imidazolium bromide-functionalized ionic MWCNTs through hydrogen reduction of Na2PdCl4 in water without aid of surfactants under extremely mild conditions, and combined with an ionic liquid to create a new recyclable ionic liquid-based catalytic system allowing up to 50 times recycling.     

Self-supported oligomeric Grubbs/Hoveyda-type Ru-carbene complexes for ring-closing metathesis

On the basis of the release-return metathesis mechanism, self-supported oligomeric Grubbs/Hoveyda-type Ru-carbene complexes have been designed and synthesized as a new type of recoverable catalyst for ring-closing metathesis. The catalytic activities of the self-supported oligomeric Ru-carbene complex in ring-closing metathesis are comparable to those of their homogeneous counterpart as they work homogeneously and are recovered heterogeneously.     

Discrimination of Scrophularia spp. according to geographic origin with HPLC-DAD combined with multivariate analysis

Discrimination of Scrophularia spp. according to the geographic origin was tried in the present study using HPLC-DAD combined with multivariate analysis techniques. Five active constituents, angoroside C, harpagoside, 8-O-(E-p-methoxycinnamoyl)harpagide, E-cinnamic acid and E-p-methoxycinnamic acid, in forty four Scrophularia samples were simultaneously determined using HPLC-DAD. A principal component analysis of the content measurements clustered the samples according to their geographic origins, Andong, Uisung and China. A partial least squares-discrimination analysis was subsequently developed for the effective classification of the samples. This model showed comparatively good prediction ability for samples from Andong or China. The proposed method shows an efficient strategy for quality control of Scrophularia spp.     

Oligoethylene glycols as highly efficient mutifunctional promoters for nucleophilic-substitution reactions

Herein, we report the promising use of n-oligoethylene glycols (oligoEGs) as mutifunctional promoters for nucleophilic-substitution reactions employing alkali metal salts. Among the various oligoEGs tested, pentaethylene glycol (pentaEG) had the most efficient catalytic activity. In particular, when compared with other nucleophiles examined, a fluorine nucleophile generated from CsF was significantly activated by the pentaEG promoter. We also performed various facile nucleophilic-displacement reactions, such as the halogenation, acetoxylation, thioacetoxylation, nitrilation, and azidation of various substrates with potassium halides, acetate, thioacetate, cyanide, and sodium azide, respectively, in the presence of the pentaEG promoter. All of these reactions provided their desired products in excellent yields. Furthermore, the combination of pentaEG and a tert-alcohol medium showed tremendous efficiency in the nucleophilic-displacement reactions (fluorination and methoxylation) of base-sensitive substrates with basic nucleophiles (cesium fluoride and potassium methoxide, respectively). The catalytic role of oligoEGs was examined by quantum-chemical methods. The oxygen atoms in oligoEGs were found to act as Lewis bases on the metal cations to produce the "flexible" nucleophile, whereas the two terminal hydroxy (OH) groups acted as "anchors" to orientate the nucleophile and the substrate into an ideal configuration for the reaction.     

Structural Study of N-(1-Benzoyl-3-Pyrrolidinyl) Benzamide

Oxazolidinones show potent activity against vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(VRSA) species, and are currently under active development. We present NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics calculation studies on N-(1-benzoyl-3-pyrrolidinyl) benzamide, an oxazolidinone derivative with substitution at the amine group of 3-pyrrolidinamine. the ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR spectra exhibited two sets of peaks, one major and one minor, giving rise to the existence of isomers at room temperature. In order to deduce the nature of its isomeric distribution, a series of derivatives were synthesized and analyzed using NMR spectroscopy and computer-aided molecular modeling (CAMM) simulations. the results suggest that rotation of the benzoyl group attached to the secondary amine in N-(1-benzoyl-3-pyrrolidinyl) benzamide is responsible for conformational heterogeneity.     

Electrochemical STM observation of new structures of CO adsorbed on a Pt(111) electrode surface

Presented are two newly observed adstructures of adsorbed CO onto Pt(111), (2 x 2)-3CO-beta and (2 x 2)-4CO, observed during the structural evolution from the well-known (2 x 2)-3CO-alpha structure to the (square root 19 x square root 19)-13CO structure.