Approaches to the fully functionalized DEF ring system of ristocetin A via highly selective ruthenium-promoted S(N)Ar reaction

Ruthenium-promoted intramolecular S(N)Ar reaction has allowed the construction of the fully functionalized 16-membered DEF macrocycle 4 of ristocetin A that incorporates the required arylglycine and arylserine residues as the F and E ring, respectively.     

Shape‐Induced,Hexagonal, Open Frameworks: Rubidium Ion Complexed Cucurbituril

A honeycomb structure is shown by the one‐dimensional coordination polymer comprising D_6h‐symmetric cucurbituril molecules and rubidium ions (see picture). The cucurbituril molecules stack atop one another and show coordination of their carbonyl groups to the rubidium ions in between. The shape and symmetry of the building blocks encourage the coordination polymer chains to be arranged in such a way as to produce an open‐framework structure with large, linear, hexagonal channels.     

Study on the reentering rates of individual cooling towers installed on a building roof

In this paper, the averaged reentering rates of the densely built cooling towers, which form banks on the building roof in Seoul, Korea have been predicted by a numerical method according to various summer wind conditions and roof wall types. The averaged reentering rates of all the cooling towers are compared according to two wall types to study the effect of the intake outdoor air louver on the reentering rates. Consequently, two findings are drawn as follows. (1) With a curtain wall, the averaged reentering rates of the total cooling towers against the west and the south wind at ν = 5 m/s are 13.3 and 24.4%, respectively. Therefore, it is strongly needed to find a method to reduce the reentering of the discharged air from the cooling towers. (2) In the case of a louver wall, the averaged reentering rates of the cooling towers with the west and south wind at ν = 5 m/s are 2.5 and 9.74%, respectively, which have been estimated to be lower than those of the curtain wall. Therefore, the louver wall can be suitably adopted to reduce the reentering of the discharged air from the cooling towers in the present study.     

Detection of CO using bulk ZnO Schottky rectifiers

Bulk Pt/ZnO Schottky rectifiers show gas sensitivities for CO of 4% and 8%, respectively, at 150 °C for 1 and 10% CO in N₂. The current or voltage changes are time dependent, with an activation energy of 40.7 kJmol^-1. Over a limited range of partial pressures of CO (P_CO) in the ambient gas, the on-state resistance R of the sensor at fixed bias voltage decreased according to R=(R_O+A(P_CO)^0.5)^-1, where A is a constant and R_O is the resistance in N₂. Since these devices are also sensitive to H₂ and C₂H₄, the ZnO rectifiers appear promising for a range of gas-sensing applications. PACS 81.05.Dz; 73.61.Ga; 72.80.Ey     

A photochromic phenoxyquinone based cyanide ion sensor

We have developed a new chemosensor system for cyanide ion that is based on a photochromic material. We observed that addition of cyanide anion to a UV irradiated solution of a phenoxynaphthacenequinone derivative brought about a significant change in the absorption spectra that enabled detection of cyanide ion in a selective and sensitive manner. A carbanion intermediate was shown to be responsible for the long wavelength absorption band (630-940 nm) that is generated by cyanide addition.     

Catalytic Vapor Cracking for Improvement of Bio-Oil Quality

Bio-oil has attracted considerable interest as a promising renewable energy resource because it can be utilized as a feedstock in integrated bio-refineries for the production of highly valuable chemicals and next-generation hydrocarbon fuels. However, it is necessary to improve the bio-oil quality before it can be fed to bio-refineries. Currently, catalytic vapor cracking seems a more attractive process than catalytic upgrading technologies, such as hydrotreating and esterification, in order to improve the bio-oil quality. This review presents a summary of recent research and the state of art technology for the catalytic vapor cracking of bio-oil, focusing on the catalysts applied, upgrading methods and reaction mechanisms.     

Use of Raman and Raman optical activity for the structural characterization of a therapeutic monoclonal antibody formulation subjected to heat stress

Structural complexity of biological drug products presents an analytical challenge in terms of early detection of aggregation and/or degradation. In the present study, Raman and Raman optical activity (ROA) were evaluated for their sensitivity to detect heat‐induced molecular instability in an Immunoglobulin G4 subclass therapeutic monoclonal antibody present in its formulation matrix. The therapeutic antibody was subjected to heat stress at 50 °C and was analyzed at various time points up to 1 month. The current results suggest that Raman and ROA are sensitive to early‐stage detection of heat‐induced instability of the antibody, in which significant changes could be observed at 1 week of stress. ROA could provide early detection of the subtle differences at the tertiary structure level in a heat‐stressed monoclonal antibody and Raman/ROA spectra could provide early detection in secondary structural changes as well. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Room temperature ultralow threshold GaN nanowire polariton laser

We report ultralow threshold polariton lasing from a single GaN nanowire strongly coupled to a large-area dielectric microcavity. The threshold carrier density is 3 orders of magnitude lower than that of photon lasing observed in the same device, and 2 orders of magnitude lower than any existing room-temperature polariton devices. Spectral, polarization, and coherence properties of the emission were measured to confirm polariton lasing.     

Scutellarein Inhibits LPS-Induced Inflammation through NF-κB/MAPKs Signaling Pathway in RAW264.7 Cells

Inflammation is a severe topic in the immune system and play a role as pro-inflammatory mediators. In response to such inflammatory substances, immune cells release cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is known as an endotoxin in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, and it catalyzes inflammation by stimulating the secretion of inflammatory-mediated cytokines such as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) by stimulated immune cells. Among the pathways involved in inflammation, nuclear factor kappa (NF-кB) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are important. NF-kB is a diploid composed of p65 and IkBα and stimulates the pro- gene. MAPKs is a family consisting of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38, JNK and p38 play a role as proinflammatory mediators. Thus, we aim to determine the scutellarein (SCU) effect on LPS stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, since scutellarein has been shown to inhibit the SARS coronavirus helicase and has been used in Chinese medicine to treat inflammatory disorders like COVID-19, it would be required to examine scutellarein’s anti-inflammatory mechanism. We identified inflammation-inducing substances using western blot with RAW264.7 cells and SCU. And we discovered that was reduced by treatment with SCU in p-p65 and p-IκBα. Also, we found that p-JNK and p-ERK were also decreased but there was no effect in p-p38. In addition, we have confirmed that the iNOS was also decreased after treatment but there is no change in the expression of COX-2. Therefore, this study shows that SCU can be used as a compound to treat inflammation.