Corrosion behaviour of aluminium in the presence of neutrons and gamma radiations

The corrosion of aluminium has been studied employing the irradiation in situ by neutrons from²⁵²Cf and gamma radiations from⁶⁰Co. The effects of irradiation indicated the absence of pitting, suppression of the corrosion rate, i. e., quantitative reduction in corrosion when measured as weight loss as compared with unirradiated specimens. A protective grayish layer had emerged on the specimen surface which was akin to that formed in simulated experimental conditions carried out in presence of hydrogen peroxide. The possible mechanisms of the elimination of pitting and formation of grayish layer on the surface are discussed.     

Self-assembly of ionic liquid (BMI-PF6)-stabilized gold nanoparticles on a silicon surface: chemical and structural aspects

Ultrafine monodisperse gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized by an elegant sputtering of gold onto 1- n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMI-PF(6)) ionic liquid. It was found that the BMI-PF(6) supramolecular aggregates were loosely coordinated to the gold nanoparticles and were replaceable with thiol molecules. The self-assembly of BMI-PF(6)-stabilized AuNPs onto a (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPS)-functionalized silicon surface in 2D arrays, followed by dodecanethiol (DDT) treatment, have been demonstrated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and contact angle measurements. DDT treatment of tethered AuNPs revealed two types of interactions between AuNPs and the MPS-functionalized surface: (a) AuNPs anchor through Au-S chemisorption linkage resulting in strong immobilization and (b) some of the AuNPs are supported by physisorption, driven by BMI-PF(6). The attachment of these particles remains unchanged with sonication. The replacement of BMI-PF(6) aggregates from physisorbed AuNPs with DDT molecules advances the dilution of their interaction with the MPS-functionalized surface, and they subsequently detach from the silicon surface. The present finding is promising for the immobilization of ionic liquid-stabilized nanoparticles, which is very desirable for electronic and catalytic device fabrication. Additionally, these environmentally friendly AuNPs are expected to replace conventional citrate-stabilized AuNPs.     

Synthesis,Type II Diabetes Inhibitory Activity,and Antimicrobial Tests of Benzothiazole Derivatives Bridged with Indenedione by Methylenehydrazone

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - Benzothiazolyl hydrazones are synthesized and tested as hypoglycemic and antimicrobial agents. Condensation of 2-acyl-(1H)-indene-1,3(2H)-diones with...     

Some optimization problems with applications to canonical correlations and sphericity tests

Optimization problems are connected with maximization of three functions, namely, geometric mean, arithmetic mean and harmonic mean of the eigenvalues of (X′ΣX)^?1ΣY(Y′ΣY)^?1Y′ΣX, where Σ is positive definite, X and Y are p × r and p × s matrices of ranks r and s (≥r), respectively, and X′Y = 0. Some interpretations of these functions are given. It is shown that the maximum values of these functions are obtained at the same point given by X = (h₁ + ?₁h_p, …, h_r + ?_rh_p?r+1) and $\text{Y = (h}{}_1\text{? ?}{}_1\text{h}{}_{\mathrm{p}}\text{, …, h}{}_{\mathrm{r}}\text{? ?}{}_{\mathrm{r}}\text{h}{}_{\mathrm{p?r+1}}\text{,}\text{Y}{}_{\mathrm{r+1}}\text{, …,}\text{Y}{}_{\mathrm{s}}\text{)}$, where h₁, …, h_p are the eigenvectors of Σ corresponding to the eigenvalues λ₁ ≥ λ₂ ≥ … ≥ λ_p > 0, ?_j = +1 or ?1 for j = 1,2,…, r and $\text{Y}{}_{\mathrm{r+1}}\text{, …,}\text{Y}{}_{\mathrm{s}}$, are linear functions of h_r+1,…, h_p?r. These results are extended to intermediate stationary values. They are utilized in obtaining the inequalities for canonical correlations θ₁,…,θ_r and they are given by expressions (3.8)–(3.10). Further, some new union-intersection test procedures for testing the sphericity hypothesis are given through test statistics (3.11)–(3.13).     

The CYPome of Sorangium cellulosum So ce56 and identification of CYP109D1 as a new fatty acid hydroxylase

The first systematic study of the complete cytochrome P450 complement (CYPome) of Sorangium cellulosum So ce56, which is a producer of important secondary metabolites and has the largest bacterial?genome sequenced to date, is presented. We describe the bioinformatic analysis of the So ce56 cytochrome P450 complement consisting of 21 putative P450 genes. Because fatty acids play a pivotal role during the complex life cycle of myxobacteria, we focused our studies on the characterization of fatty acid hydroxylases. Three novel potential fatty acid hydroxylases (CYP109D1, CYP264A1, and CYP266A1) were used for detailed characterization. One of them, CYP109D1 was able to perform subterminal hydroxylation of saturated fatty acids with the support of two autologous and one heterologous electron transfer system(s). The kinetic parameters for the product hydroxylation were derived.     

Synthesis,Biological Evaluation,and Molecular Docking Studies of Some N‐thiazolyl Hydrazones and Indenopyrazolones

Two new series of N‐thiazolyl hydrazones ( 3a – h ) and indenopyrazolones ( 4a – h ) were synthesized by the reaction of various 2‐acyl‐(1H)‐indene‐1,3(2H)‐diones, thiosemicarbazide, and phenacyl bromide/substituted phenacyl bromides. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of these synthesized compounds was assayed against four bacteria, namely, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and two fungi, namely, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger, by employing serial dilution method. Ciprofloxacin and fluconazole were used as antibacterial and antifungal reference drugs, respectively. Results of antimicrobial assay showed that the tested compounds have broad range of activity. The compounds 3h and 4a against C. albicans displayed more potency than fluconazole whereas 3b and 3c against B. subtilis showed activity comparable with ciprofloxacin. The synthesized indenopyrazolones ( 4a – h ) were evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant activity by 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay using ascorbic acid as reference. Compound 4b exhibited the highest 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging with IC₅₀ value 33.14 μg/mL. The observed results of antimicrobial activity were supported by molecular docking study performed to understand the binding interaction of hydrazones ( 3a – h ) and indenopyrazolones ( 4a – h ) with lanosterol 14α‐demethylase.     

Characterizations of multivariate normality. I. Through independence of some statistics

It is established that a vector variable (X₁, …, X_k) has a multivariate normal distribution if for each X_i the regression on the rest is linear and the conditional distribution about the regression does not depend on the rest of the variables, provided the regression coefficients satisfy some mild conditions. The result is extended to the case where X_i themselves are vector variables.     

A Rationally Designed Bimetallic Platinum (II)-Ferrocene Antitumor Agent Induces Non-Apoptotic Cell Death and Exerts in Vivo Efficacy

Despite phenomenal clinical success, the efficacy of platinum anticancer drugs is often compromised due to inherent and acquired drug resistant phenotypes in cancers. To circumvent this issue, we designed two heterobimetallic platinum (II)-ferrocene hybrids that display multi-pronged anticancer action. In cancer cells, our best compound, 2 , platinates DNA, produces reactive oxygen species, and has nucleus, mitochondria, and endoplasmic reticulum as potential targets. The multi-modal mechanism of action of these hybrid agents lead to non-apoptotic cell death induction which enables circumventing apoptosis resistance and significant improvement in platinum cross resistance profile. Finally, in addition to describing detail mechanistic insights, we also assessed its stability in plasma and demonstrate anticancer efficacy in an in vivo A2780 xenograft model. Strikingly, compared to oxaliplatin, our compound displays better tolerability, safety profile and efficacy in vivo.