BF3.SiO2: An efficient heterogeneous alternative for regio-chemo and stereoselective claisen-schmidt condensation

Under solvent free conditions between 40-50 °C, BF₃.SiO₂, a mild solid acid catalyst, is applied to regio-chemo and stereoselective Claisen-Schmidt condensation. The procedure is very simple and the products are isolated with an easy workup in good to excellent yields.     

High stable sandwich-type polyoxometallates based on . Synthesis, chemical properties and characterization of [(A-β-SiW9O34)2(MOH2)3CO3] (M = Y and Yb)

Highly hydrolytic and thermally stable sandwich-type polyoxometallates of [(A-β-SiW₉O₃₄)₂(MOH₂)₃CO₃]¹³⁻ (M = Y³⁺ and Yb³⁺) have been synthesized at room temperature by stoichiometric reactions of the trilacunary ligand with M³⁺ in 0.1 M carbonate solution. The new complexes were isolated as sodium and mixed sodium/potassium salts and were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, ¹³C and ²⁹Si NMR, UV–Vis spectroscopy, TGA, DSC and single crystal structure analysis. The crystal structure of the complexes consist of two lacunary Keggin moieties which are linked by a (H₂OMO)₃C belt into an assembly of virtual C₂ symmetry. Each M³⁺ ion adopts a mono-capped trigonal-prismatic coordination. The C₂ axis of the complexes and the local 3-fold axis of the MO₆ group lies in the (H₂OMO)₃C belt plane. The trigonal prismatic geometry is achieved by the two terminal oxygen atoms of an edge shared pair of WO₆ octahedra from each moiety and two oxygen from the belt, and the cap by one external water ligand. The hydrolytic and thermal stabilities of the complexes and the reasons that prove the retention of the isomeric form of the trilacunary ligand upon complexation are discussed.     

Detection of acetone in the human breath as diabetes biomarker based on PPy/WO3 nanocomposite sensor by FFT continuous cyclic voltammetry method

This research represents a novel detection method of acetone level in the exhaled breath samples (RH=88 %) based on polypyrrole/tungsten oxide (PPy/WO₃) nanocomposite sensor. The PPy/WO₃ sensor was fabricated by the deposition of nanocomposite on/between interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) through electrospray coating and was then characterized by FE-SEM imaging. In this detection method, the coulometric signal of the sensor was calculated using Fast Fourier Continuous Cyclic Voltammetry (FFTCCV), where cyclic voltammetry (CV) was applied to the sensor in the defined potential rang and then charge changes of the sensor was obtained by integration of the current in all scanned potential ranges. FFTCCV method enhances the sensitivity of the sensor when exposed to the gas mixtures containing acetone. In addition to its fast coulometric response time (≤5 s) in the two linear ranges of 0.7–2.8 ppm and 2.8–28.2 ppm (R²=0.99), FFTCCV method provides the low detection limit of 70 ppb, and high sensitivity toward acetone at the optimum values of the parameters. The fabricated sensor showed great selectivity toward acetone when exposed to humid air and some exhaled gas like carbon dioxide, ammonia, methanol, ethanol and alkyl amines. The results were very satisfying as the sensor was capable to detect different acetone levels in human exhaled breath as non-invasive diagnosis of diabetes with a good correlation (R²≃0.9) to the routine blood sugar test taken by different commercial glucometers results.     

Effects of gamma irradiation on chemical composition and ruminal protein degradation of canola meal

Gamma irradiation of canola meal (at doses of 25, 50 and 75 kGy) could alter its ruminal protein degradation characteristics by cross-linking of the polypeptide chains. This processing resulted in decrease (linear effect, P<0.001) of ruminal protein degradation and increase (linear effect, P<0.001) of intestinal protein digestibility. The results showed that gamma irradiation at doses higher than 25 kGy can be used as a cross-linking agent to improve protein properties of supplements in ruminant nutrition.     

Structure–Activity Studies of Cysteine‐Rich α‐Conotoxins that Inhibit High‐Voltage‐Activated Calcium Channels via GABAB Receptor Activation Reveal a Minimal Functional Motif

α‐Conotoxins are disulfide‐rich peptides that target nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Recently we identified several α‐conotoxins that also modulate voltage‐gated calcium channels by acting as G protein‐coupled GABA_B receptor (GABA_BR) agonists. These α‐conotoxins are promising drug leads for the treatment of chronic pain. To elucidate the diversity of α‐conotoxins that act through this mechanism, we synthesized and characterized a set of peptides with homology to α‐conotoxins known to inhibit high voltage‐activated calcium channels via GABA_BR activation. Remarkably, all disulfide isomers of the active α‐conotoxins Pu1.2 and Pn1.2, and the previously studied Vc1.1 showed similar levels of biological activity. Structure determination by NMR spectroscopy helped us identify a simplified biologically active eight residue peptide motif containing a single disulfide bond that is an excellent lead molecule for developing a new generation of analgesic peptide drugs.     

von Neumann–Schatten Dual Frames and their Perturbations

In this paper, we discuss the dual of a von Neumann–Schatten p-frames in separable Banach spaces and obtain some of their characterizations. Moreover, we present a classical perturbation result to von Neumann–Schatten p-frames.     

Facile Synthesis of Some Novel Tetrasubstituted 2,4‐Diaminopyrimidine Derivatives in Aqueous Glucose Solution as a Fully Green Medium and Promoter

A novel environmentally benign method toward the synthesis of some novel tetrasubstituted 2,4‐diaminopyrimidine derivatives using an aqueous glucose‐mediated one‐pot three‐component reaction of malononitrile with various benzaldehyde and amidine derivatives is reported. Some pyrimidine derivatives possessing α‐amino acid moiety were synthesized by the present protocol for the first time. This protocol offers advantages including facile reaction conditions, using naturally occurring glucose as promoter and water as solvent, simple work‐up, relatively short reaction times, and high yields of the products.     

Nano-cellulose-OSO<Subscript>3</Subscript>H as a new,green, and effective nano-catalyst for one-pot synthesis of pyrano [4,3-<Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis>] pyrans

A facile, green, and efficient method has been developed for the synthesis of biologically important pyrano [4,3-b] pyrans in the presence of nano-cellulose-OSO₃H as a new solid acid catalyst. The reaction involves the use of 4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2H-pyran-2-one, malononitrile, and aldehydes. A wide range of aldehydes is compatible in this reaction, producing excellent yields in short time. The morphology of nano-catalyst (nano-cellulose-OSO₃H) was observed using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The cellulose-OSO₃H surface was studied by the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) method to find out the chemical composition. The decomposition steps and thermal stability of the catalyst were investigated by thermal analysis techniques (TGA/DTG). In addition, the vibrational spectrum analysis (FT-IR) and X-ray diffractogram (XRD) of the catalyst have been performed.     

The simple chaotic model of passive dynamic walking

Recent findings on the dynamical analysis of human locomotion characteristics such as stride length signal have shown that this process is intrinsically a chaotic behavior. The passive walking has been defined as walking down a shallow slope without using any muscular contraction as an active controller. Based on this definition, some knee-less models have been proposed to present the simplest possible models of human gait. To maintain stability, these simple passive models are compelled to show a wide range of different dynamics from order to chaos. Unfortunately, based on simplifications, for many years the cyclic period-one behavior of these models has been considered as the only stable response. This assumption is not in line with the findings about the nature of walking. Thus, this paper proposes a novel model to demonstrate that the knee-less passive dynamic models also have the ability to model the chaotic behavior of human locomotion with some modifications. The presented novel model can show chaotic behavior as a stable and acceptable answer using a chaotic function in heel-strike condition. The represented chaotic model is also able to simulate different types of motor deficits such as Parkinson’s disease only by manipulating the value of chaotic parameter. Our model has extensively examined in complexity and chaotic behavior using different analytical methods such as fractal dimension, bifurcation and largest Lyapunov exponent, and it was compared with conventional passive models and the stride signal of healthy subjects and Parkinson patients.