Synthesis, structures and spectroelectrochemistry of methyl-substituted bis(η-indenyl)iron(II) complexes

Several new methyl-substituted indenyl ferrocenes were prepared by metathesis reactions of the indenide (generated from the appropriate indene with BuLi) with ferrous chloride. The indenides used to prepare new ferrocenes were: 2-methyl-, 1,2-dimethyl-, 4,7-dimethyl-, 1,4,7-trimethyl-, and 1,3,4,7-tetramethyl-indenide. These indenyl ferrocenes, along with those prepared from indenide, 1-methylindenide, and 1,3-dimethylindenide, were then characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR, UV/visible spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and mass spectrometry. The cyclic voltammetry showed an additive relationship between oxidation potential and the number of methyl groups which is also position-dependent, whereas the UV/visible spectra showed two absorptions essentially unaffected by methyl substitution. Additionally, bis(2-methylindenyl)iron(II) and bis(4,7-dimethylindenyl)iron(II) were characterized by X-ray crystallography.     

Tributyl phosphate degradation by immobilized cells of aCitrobacter sp.

Tributyl phosphate (TBP), a plasticizer and solvent, is used in nuclear fuel reprocessing, generating TBP wastes laden with residual uranium. ACitrobacter sp. accumulated heavy metals via a phosphohydrolase(s) that precipitated metals with inorganic phosphate liberated from an organic phosphate “donor” molecule (TBP). Mutant analysis suggested that TBP hydrolysis was not attributable to a previously documented acid phosphatase (monoesterase). Purified monoesterase had little activity against phospho di- and triesters, had no requirement for Mg²⁺ or Mn²⁺, and was EDTA-resistant. Conversely, TBP cleavage by immobilized cells was enhanced by Mg²⁺, and ininhibited by Mn²⁺ and EDTA. A separate phosphotri/diesterase was implicated.     

Synthesis of Oligonucleotides Containing Trans Mitomycin C DNA Adducts at N6 of Adenine and N2 of Guanine

Mitomycin C, (MC), an antitumor drug, is a DNA alkylating agent currently used in the clinics. Inert in its native form, MC is reduced to reactive mitosenes, which undergo nucleophilic attack by guanine or adenine bases in DNA to form monoadducts as well as interstrand crosslinks (ICLs). Although ICLs are considered the most cytotoxic lesions, the role of each individual adduct in the drug's cytotoxicity is still not fully understood. Synthetic routes have been developed to access modified oligonucleotides containing dG MC-monoadducts and dG-MC-dG ICL at a single position of their base sequences to investigate the biological effects of these adducts. However, until now, oligonucleotides containing monoadducts formed by MC at the adenine base had not been available, thus preventing the examination of the role played by these lesions in the toxicity of MC. Here, we present a route to access these substrates. Structural proof of the adducted oligonucleotides were provided by enzymatic digestion to nucleosides and high-resolution mass spectral analysis. Additionally, parent oligonucleotides containing a dG monoadduct and a dG-MC-dG ICL were also produced. The stability and physical properties of all substrates were compared via CD spectroscopy and UV melting temperature studies. Finally, virtual models were created to explore the conformational space and structural features of these MC-DNA complexes.     

Confinement-Driven Photophysics in Hydrazone-Based Hierarchical Materials

Confinement-imposed photophysics was probed for novel stimuli-responsive hydrazone-based compounds demonstrating a conceptual difference in their behavior within 2D versus 3D porous matrices for the first time. The challenges associated with photoswitch isomerization arising from host interactions with photochromic compounds in 2D scaffolds could be overcome in 3D materials. Solution-like photoisomerization rate constants were realized for sterically demanding hydrazone derivatives in the solid state through their coordinative immobilization in 3D scaffolds. According to steady-state and time-resolved photophysical measurements and theoretical modeling, this approach provides access to hydrazone-based materials with fast photoisomerization kinetics in the solid state. Fast isomerization of integrated hydrazone derivatives allows for probing and tailoring resonance energy transfer (ET) processes as a function of excitation wavelength, providing a novel pathway for ET modulation.     

Single-Molecule Two-Color Coincidence Detection of Unlabeled alpha-Synuclein Aggregates

Protein misfolding and aggregation into oligomeric and fibrillar structures is a common feature of many neurogenerative disorders. Single-molecule techniques have enabled characterization of these lowly abundant, highly heterogeneous protein aggregates, previously inaccessible using ensemble averaging techniques. However, they usually rely on the use of recombinantly-expressed labeled protein, or on the addition of amyloid stains that are not protein-specific. To circumvent these challenges, we have made use of a high affinity antibody labeled with orthogonal fluorophores combined with fast-flow microfluidics and single-molecule confocal microscopy to specifically detect α-synuclein, the protein associated with Parkinson's disease. We used this approach to determine the number and size of α-synuclein aggregates down to picomolar concentrations in biologically relevant samples.     

Active slip-band separation and the energetics of slip in single crystals

This research supports recent efforts to provide an energetic approach to the prediction of stress–strain relations for single crystals undergoing single slip and to give precise formulations of experimentally observed connections between hardening of single crystals and separation of active slip-bands. Non–classical, structured deformations in the form of two-level shears permit the formulation of new measures of the active slip-band separation and of the number of lattice cells traversed during slip. A formula is obtained for the Helmholtz free energy per unit volume as a function of the shear without slip, the shear due to slip, and the relative separation of active slip-bands in a single crystal. This formula is the basis for a model, under preparation by the authors, of hardening of single crystals in single slip that is consistent with the Portevin-Le Chatelier effect and the existence of a critical resolved shear stress.     

Solution of goal programming models using a basic taboo search algorithm

Goal programming is a very powerful technique for solving multiple objective optimisation problems. It has been successfully applied to numerous diverse real life problems. In this paper a Taboo search based method is developed to solve preemptive goal programming problems. The method can easily be applied to any kind of preemptive goal programming problems.     

A priori bounds and multiplicity for fully nonlinear equations with quadratic growth in the gradient

We consider fully nonlinear uniformly elliptic equations with quadratic growth in the gradient, such as

$?F(x,u,Du,D^{2}u)=\lambda c(x)u+〈M(x)Du,Du〉+h(x)$

in a bounded domain with a Dirichlet boundary condition; here $\lambda \in \mathbb{R}$, $c,h\in L^p(\mathrm{\Omega })$, $p>n\ge 1$, $c?0$ and the matrix M satisfies $0<{\mu }_{1}I\le M\le {\mu }_{2}I$. Recently this problem was studied in the “coercive” case $\lambda c\le 0$, where uniqueness of solutions can be expected; and it was conjectured that the solution set is more complex for noncoercive equations. This conjecture was verified in 2015 by Arcoya, de Coster, Jeanjean and Tanaka for equations in divergence form, by exploiting the integral formulation of the problem. Here we show that similar phenomena occur for general, even fully nonlinear, equations in nondivergence form. We use different techniques based on the maximum principle.We develop a new method to obtain the crucial uniform a priori bounds, which permit to us to use degree theory. This method is based on basic regularity estimates such as half-Harnack inequalities, and on a Vázquez type strong maximum principle for our kind of equations.     

Degenerations to unobstructed Fano Stanley–Reisner schemes

We construct degenerations of Mukai varieties and linear sections thereof to special unobstructed Fano Stanley–Reisner schemes corresponding to convex deltahedra. This can be used to find toric degenerations of rank one index one Fano threefolds. Furthermore, we show that the Stanley–Reisner ring of the boundary complex of the dual polytope of the associahedron has trivial \(T^2\) . This can be used to find new toric degenerations of linear sections of \(G(2,n)\) .