Decomposition processes of an organic monolayer formed on Si(111) via a silicon-carbon bond induced by exposure to UV irradiation or ozone

The decomposition processes of an organic monolayer, which was formed on Si(111) via a Si-C covalent bond, induced by exposure to UV light irradiation or ozone, were investigated using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Exposure to both ozone and UV light resulted in a reduction of the intensities of the IR peaks corresponding to CH stretching vibration and bending scissors and the appearance of peaks corresponding to CO stretching and COH in-plane bending. The latter peaks initially increased, reached a maximum, and then decreased, indicating that the monolayer was decomposed through the formation of intermediates such as aldehyde and carboxylic acid. The monolayer was also decomposed by exposure only to UV light or ozone but more slowly as the time dependencies of the CH peaks showed. While the peaks corresponding to the CO stretching and the COH in-plane bending behaved similarly under the condition of exposure to ozone, they were not observed during decomposition induced by UV irradiation. These results show that, while the monolayer was decomposed through the formation of oxidized intermediates such as aldehyde and carboxylic acid under the condition of exposure to ozone, the decomposition of the monolayer under the condition of UV irradiation proceeded via cleavage of Si-C bonds by photogenerated electrons or holes without such oxidized intermediates. An increase of gauche defects as the decomposition proceeded was demonstrated by sum frequency generation spectroscopy.     

Synthesis,Antimicrobial, Anticancer,PASS, Molecular Docking,Molecular Dynamic Simulations & Pharmacokinetic Predictions of Some Methyl β-D-Galactopyranoside Analogs

A series of methyl β-D-galactopyranoside (MGP, 1) analogs were selectively acylated with cinnamoyl chloride in anhydrous N,N-dimethylformamide/triethylamine to yield 6-O-substitution products, which was subsequently converted into 2,3,4-tri-O-acyl analogs with different acyl halides. Analysis of the physicochemical, elemental, and spectroscopic data of these analogs revealed their chemical structures. In vitro antimicrobial testing against five bacteria and two fungi and the prediction of activity spectra for substances (PASS) showed promising antifungal functionality comparing to their antibacterial activities. Minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) tests were conducted for four compounds (4, 5, 6, and 9) based on their activity. MTT assay showed low antiproliferative activity of compound 9 against Ehrlich’s ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells with an IC₅₀ value of 2961.06 µg/mL. Density functional theory (DFT) was used to calculate the thermodynamic and physicochemical properties whereas molecular docking identified potential inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (6Y84). A 150-ns molecular dynamics simulation study revealed the stable conformation and binding patterns in a stimulating environment. In-silico ADMET study suggested all the designed molecules to be non-carcinogenic, with low aquatic and non-aquatic toxicity. In summary, all these antimicrobial, anticancer and in silico studies revealed that newly synthesized MGP analogs possess promising antiviral activity, to serve as a therapeutic target for COVID-19.     

Can the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Confer Natural Immunity against COVID-19?

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is still ongoing, with no signs of abatement in sight. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is the causative agent of this pandemic and has claimed over 5 million lives, is still mutating, resulting in numerous variants. One of the newest variants is Omicron, which shows an increase in its transmissibility, but also reportedly reduces hospitalization rates and shows milder symptoms, such as in those who have been vaccinated. As a result, many believe that Omicron provides a natural vaccination, which is the first step toward ending the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on published research and scientific evidence, we review and discuss how the end of this pandemic is predicted to occur as a result of Omicron variants being surpassed in the community. In light of the findings of our research, we believe that it is most likely true that the Omicron variant is a natural way of vaccinating the masses and slowing the spread of this deadly pandemic. While the mutation that causes the Omicron variant is encouraging, subsequent mutations do not guarantee that the disease it causes will be less severe. As the virus continues to evolve, humans must constantly adapt by increasing their immunity through vaccination.     

Effects of concentration and temperature on the corrosion properties of the Fe–Ni–Mn alloy in HCl solutions

Research on Chemical Intermediates - The electrochemical behaviour and corrosion resistance of glassy Fe68.6Ni28.2Mn3.2 (at%) specimens were studied in different concentrations of HCl solutions....     

Plant-Based Indole Alkaloids: A Comprehensive Overview from a Pharmacological Perspective

Plant-based indole alkaloids are very rich in pharmacological activities, and the indole nucleus is considered to contribute greatly to these activities. This review’s fundamental objective is to summarize the pharmacological potential of indole alkaloids that have been derived from plants and provide a detailed evaluation of their established pharmacological activities, which may contribute to identifying new lead compounds. The study was performed by searching various scientific databases, including Springer, Elsevier, ACS Publications, Taylor and Francis, Thieme, Wiley Online Library, ProQuest, MDPI, and online scientific books. A total of 100 indole compounds were identified and reviewed. The most active compounds possessed a variety of pharmacological activities, including anticancer, antibacterial, antiviral, antimalarial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antidepressant, analgesic, hypotensive, anticholinesterase, antiplatelet, antidiarrheal, spasmolytic, antileishmanial, lipid-lowering, antimycobacterial, and antidiabetic activities. Although some compounds have potent activity, some only have mild-to-moderate activity. The pharmacokinetic profiles of some of the identified compounds, such as brucine, mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, vindoline, and harmane, were also reviewed. Most of these compounds showed promising pharmacological activity. An in-depth pharmacological evaluation of these compounds should be performed to determine whether any of these indoles may serve as new leads.     

The spectral method for solving systems of Volterra integral equations

This paper presents a high accurate and stable Legendre-collocation method for solving systems of Volterra integral equations (SVIEs) of the second kind. The method transforms the linear SVIEs into the associated matrix equation. In the nonlinear case, after applying our method we solve a system of nonlinear algebraic equations. Also, sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the Linear SVIEs, in which the coefficient of the main term is a singular (or nonsingular) matrix, have been formulated. Several examples are included to illustrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed technique and also the results are compared with the different methods. All of the numerical computations have been performed on a PC using several programs written in MAPLE 13.     

Platinum-catalyzed synthesis of water-soluble gold-platinum nanoparticles

The ability to control composition and size in the synthesis of bimetallic nanoparticles is important for the exploitation of the bimetallic catalytic properties. This paper reports findings of an investigation of a new approach to the synthesis of gold-platinum (AuPt) bimetallic nanoparticles in aqueous solution via one-phase reduction of AuCl(4-) and PtCl(4)(2-) using a combination of reducing and capping agents. Hydrogen served as a reducing agent for the reduction of Pt(II), whereas acrylate was used as a reducing agent for the reduction of Au(III). The latter reaction was found to be catalyzed by the formation of Pt as a result of the reduction of Pt(II). Acrylate also functioned as capping agent on the resulting nanocrystals. By controlling the feed ratios of AuCl(4-) and PtCl(4)(2-) and the relative concentrations of acrylate, an effective route for the preparation of AuPt nanoparticles with bimetallic compositions ranging from approximately 4 to 90% Au and particle sizes ranging from 2 to 8 nm has been demonstrated. The composition, size, and shell properties were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, direct current plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Implications of the results to the exploration of bifunctional catalysts are also briefly discussed.     

A New Matrix Approach For Solving Second-Order Linear Matrix Partial Differential Equations

The basic aim of this article is to present a novel efficient matrix approach for solving the second-order linear matrix partial differential equations (MPDEs) under given initial conditions. For imposing the given initial conditions to the main MPDEs, the associated matrix integro-differential equations (MIDEs) with partial derivatives are obtained from direct integration with regard to the spatial variable x and time variable t. Hence, operational matrices of differentiation and integration together with the completeness of Bernoulli polynomials are used to reduce the obtained MIDEs to the corresponding algebraic Sylvester equations. Using two well-known subspace Krylov iterative methods (i.e., GMRES(10) and Bi-CGSTAB) we provide two algorithms for solving the mentioned Sylvester equations. A numerical example is provided to show the efficiency and accuracy of the presented approach.

     

Identification of potential inhibitory analogs of metastasis tumor antigens (MTAs) using bioactive compounds: revealing therapeutic option to prevent malignancy

The deeper understanding of metastasis phenomenon and detection of drug targets could be a potential approach to minimize cancer mortality. In this study, attempts were taken to unmask novel therapeutics to prevent metastasis and cancer progression. Initially, we explored the physiochemical, structural and functional insights of three metastasis tumor antigens (MTAs) and evaluated some plant-based bioactive compounds as potent MTA inhibitors. From 50 plant metabolites screened, isoflavone, gingerol, citronellal and asiatic acid showed maximum binding affinity with all three MTA proteins. The ADME analysis detected no undesirable toxicity that could reduce the drug likeness properties of top plant metabolites. Moreover, molecular dynamics studies revealed that the complexes were stable and showed minimum fluctuation at molecular level. We further performed ligand-based virtual screening to identify similar drug molecules using a large collection of 376,342 compounds from DrugBank. The results suggested that several structural analogs (e.g., tramadol, nabumetone, DGLA and hydrocortisone) may act as agonist to block the MTA proteins and inhibit cancer progression at early stage. The study could be useful to develop effective medications against cancer metastasis in future. Due to encouraging results, we highly recommend further in vitro and in vivo trials for the experimental validation of the findings.

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