Calorimetric and relaxation properties of xylitol-water mixtures

We present the first broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) and differential scanning calorimetry study of supercooled xylitol-water mixtures in the whole concentration range and in wide frequency (10(-2)-10(6) Hz) and temperature (120-365 K) ranges. The calorimetric glass transition, T(g), decreases from 247 K for pure xylitol to about 181 K at a water concentration of approximately 37 wt. %. At water concentrations in the range 29-35 wt. % a plentiful calorimetric behaviour is observed. In addition to the glass transition, almost simultaneous crystallization and melting events occurring around 230-240 K. At higher water concentrations ice is formed during cooling and the glass transition temperature increases to a steady value of about 200 K for all higher water concentrations. This T(g) corresponds to an unfrozen xylitol-water solution containing 20 wt. % water. In addition to the true glass transition we also observed a glass transition-like feature at 220 K for all the ice containing samples. However, this feature is more likely due to ice dissolution [A. Inaba and O. Andersson, Thermochim. Acta, 461, 44 (2007)]. In the case of the BDS measurements the presence of water clearly has an effect on both the cooperative α-relaxation and the secondary β-relaxation. The α-relaxation shows a non-Arrhenius temperature dependence and becomes faster with increasing concentration of water. The fragility of the solutions, determined by the temperature dependence of the α-relaxation close to the dynamic glass transition, decreases with increasing water content up to about 26 wt. % water, where ice starts to form. This decrease in fragility with increasing water content is most likely caused by the increasing density of hydrogen bonds, forming a network-like structure in the deeply supercooled regime. The intensity of the secondary β-relaxation of xylitol decreases noticeably already at a water content of 2 wt. %, and at a water content above 5 wt. % it has been replaced by a considerably stronger water (w) relaxation at about the same frequency. However, the similarities in time scale and activation energy between the w-relaxation and the β-relaxation of xylitol at water contents below 13 wt. % suggest that the w-relaxation is governed, in some way, by the β-relaxation of xylitol, since clusters of water molecules are rare at these water concentrations. At higher water concentrations the intensity and relaxation rate of the w-relaxation increase rapidly with increasing water content (up to the concentration where ice starts to form), most likely due to a rapid increase of small water clusters where an increasing number of water molecules interacting with other water molecules.     

On the Measurement of two Independent Viscoelastic Functions with Instrumented Indentation Tests

In the present paper, a methodology for complete characterization of linear isotropic viscoelastic material with spherical instrumented indentation test is proposed. The developed method allows for measuring two independent viscoelastic functions, shear relaxation modulus and time-dependent Poisson’s ratio, from the indentation test data obtained at non-decreasing loading, but otherwise arbitrary. Finite element modelling (FEM) is relied upon for validating the proposed methodology and for quantifying the influence of experimental variables on the measurements accuracy. Spherical indentation experiments are performed on several viscoelastic materials: polyoxymethylene, bitumen and bitumen-filler mastics. The viscoelastic material functions obtained with the indentation tests are compared with the corresponding results from the standard mechanical tests. Numerical and experimental results presented indicate that the methodology proposed allows mitigating the machine compliance and loading rate effects on the accuracy of the viscoelastic indentation tests.     

Space-Time ARIMA Modeling for Regional Precipitation Forecasting

An aggregate regional forecasting model class belonging to the general family of space-time auto regressive moving average (STARMA) process is investigated. These models are characterised by autoregressive and moving average terms lagged in both time and space. The paper demonstrates an iterative procedure for buling a starima model of precipitation time series. Eleven raingage sites located in a watershed in southern Ontario, Canada, sampled at 15-day intervals for the period of 1966 to 1980 are used in the numerical analysis. The identified model is STMA($l_2)$. The model parameters are estimated by the polytope technique, a nonlinear optimization algorithm. The developed model performed well in regional forecasting and in describing the spatio-temporal characteristics of the precipitation time series.     

Trifluoromethylated Flavonoid-Based Isoxazoles as Antidiabetic and Anti-Obesity Agents: Synthesis,In Vitro α-Amylase Inhibitory Activity,Molecular Docking and Structure–Activity Relationship Analysis

Diabetes mellitus is a major health problem globally. The management of carbohydrate digestion provides an alternative treatment. Flavonoids constitute the largest group of polyphenolic compounds, produced by plants widely consumed as food and/or used for therapeutic purposes. As such, isoxazoles have attracted the attention of medicinal chemists by dint of their considerable bioactivity. Thus, the main goal of this work was to discover new hybrid molecules with properties of both flavonoids and isoxazoles in order to control carbohydrate digestion. Moreover, the trifluoromethyl group is a key entity in drug development, due to its strong lipophilicity and metabolic stability. Therefore, the present work describes the condensation of a previously synthesized trifluoromethylated flavonol with different aryl nitrile oxides, affording 13 hybrid molecules indicated as trifluoromethylated flavonoid-based isoxazoles. The structures of the obtained compounds were deduced from by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and HRMS analysis. The 15 newly synthesized compounds inhibited the activity of α-amylase with an efficacy ranging from 64.5 ± 0.7% to 94.7 ± 1.2% at a concentration of 50 μM, and with IC₅₀ values of 12.6 ± 0.2 μM–27.6 ± 1.1 μM. The most effective compounds in terms of efficacy and potency were 3b, 3h, 3j, and 3m. Among the new trifluoromethylated flavonoid-based isoxazoles, the compound 3b was the most effective inhibitor of α-amylase activity (PI = 94.7 ± 1.2% at 50 μM), with a potency (IC₅₀ = 12.6 ± 0.2 μM) similar to that of the positive control acarbose (IC₅₀ = 12.4 ± 0.1 μM). The study of the structure–activity relationship based on the molecular docking analysis showed a low binding energy, a correct mode of interaction in the active pocket of the target enzyme, and an ability to interact with the key residues of glycosidic cleavage (GLU-230 and ASP-206), explaining the inhibitory effects of α-amylase established by several derivatives.     

In Vitro Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Cotula anthemoides Essential Oil and In Silico Molecular Docking of Its Bioactives

The genus Cotula (Asteraceae) comprises about 80 species, amongst them Cotula anthemoides L. It is a wild plant growing in Egypt that possesses many traditional uses as a headache, colic, and chest cold remedy. In our study, the chemical composition of C. anthemoides essential oils was analyzed using GC-MS spectroscopy. Sixteen components of leave and stem oils and thirteen components of flower oils were characterized. The main components in both essential oil parts were camphor (88.79% and 86.45%) and trans-thujone (5.14% and 10.40%) in the leaves and stems and the flowers, respectively. The anti-inflammatory activity of the oils in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells was evaluated. The flower oil showed its predominant effect in the amelioration of proinflammatory cytokines and tumor necrosis factor-α, as well as cyclooxygenase-2. The bornyl acetate showed the highest affinity for the cyclooxygenase-2 receptor, while compound cis-p-menth-2-ene-1-ol had the best affinity for the tumor necrosis factor receptor, according to the results of molecular docking. In addition, the molecule cis-β-farnesene showed promising dual affinity for both studied receptors. Our findings show that essential oils from C. anthemoides have anti-inflammatory properties through their control over the generation of inflammatory mediators. These findings suggest that C. anthemoides essential oils could lead to the discovery of novel sources of anti-inflammatory treatments.     

Microwave‐Assisted Synthesis of Arylated Pyrrolo[2,1‐a]Isoquinoline Derivatives via Sequential [3 + 2] Cycloadditions and Suzuki‐Miyaura Cross‐Couplings in Aqueous Medium

Treatment of 5‐bromo‐2‐(bromoacetyl)thiophene ( 1 ) with isoquinoline gave the isoquinolinium bromide 2 . Reaction of 2 with acrylic acid derivatives, in the presence of MnO₂, afforded the 3‐[(5‐bromothiophen‐2‐ylcarbonyl]pyrrolo[2,1‐a]‐isoquinolines 3a , 3b . Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐coupling reactions of the bromides 3a , 3b in aqueous solvent with several activated and deactivated aryl(hetaryl)boronic acids 4a , 4b , 4c , 4d , 4e , 4f using a Pd(II)‐complex under thermal heating as well as microwave‐irradiating conditions afforded the corresponding new arylated pyrrolo[2,1‐a]isoquinoline derivatives 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 in high to excellent isolated yields.     

Synthesis and characterization of magnesium doped lead titanate

Magnesium (Mg) doped lead titanate powders (PT: Mg) ceramics, with various Mg contents (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, and 30 mole %), are prepared by the sol‐gel method and characterized by X‐Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy. XRD results show that the magnesium diminishes the lattice tetragonality of PT:Mg. The average particle size and morphology were studied by SEM. The investigations done by Raman spectroscopy allow the analyzis of the substitution mechanism behavior related to the Mg incorporation into PT structure. A concentration threshold appears around 10% of Mg corresponding in a change of the compensation process with Mg²⁺ ions replacing Pb²⁺ ions below and both Pb²⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ above. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)