Essential oil composition of Nepeta satureioides from Iran

The essential oil of Nepeta satureioides Boiss. from Iran was isolated by hydrodistillation in yield of 0.06% (w/w). The chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Forty-five compounds accounting for 97.4% of the total oil were identified. The major components were linalool (23.8%), (Z,E)-farnesol (14.7%), linalyl acetate (11.1%), β-caryophyllene (6.6%), lavandulol acetate (6.6%), caryophyllene oxide (6.4%), and (Z)-β-farnesene (3.4%). Oxygenated terpenoids were the main group of compounds. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 144–145, March–April, 2006.     

Fabrication of ultra‐small ruthenium nanoparticles on porous modified reduced graphene oxide and its application in solvent‐free oxidation of cyclohexene with molecular oxygen

In the present work, ruthenium nanoparticles were synthesized on functionalized reduced graphene oxide (rGO). First, the surface of rGO was modified with two para‐arsanilic acid and dithiooxamide promoters to create the rGO with scattered hydrophilic positions. The ruthenium nanoparticles were synthesized and immobilized simultaneously in small hydrophilic micro‐reactors under mild conditions. Characterization of the synthesized nanocatalyst was confirmed with different techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform‐infrared and scanning electron microscopy. TEM images of the synthesized catalyst show the Ru nanoparticles have diameters less than 6 nm. The designed nanocatalyst was investigated for the selective liquid phase oxidation of cyclohexene with molecular oxygen in an autoclave under solvent‐free conditions, which obtained a maximum of 91% conversion and 90% selectivity under optimized conditions. The catalytic activity over rGO‐AO‐TO/Ru recycled catalyst remained at a satisfactory state after at least five runs.     

High order compact solution of the one‐space‐dimensional linear hyperbolic equation

In this article, we introduce a high‐order accurate method for solving one‐space dimensional linear hyperbolic equation. We apply a compact finite difference approximation of fourth order for discretizing spatial derivative of linear hyperbolic equation and collocation method for the time component. The main property of this method additional to its high‐order accuracy due to the fourth order discretization of spatial derivative, is its unconditionally stability. In this technique the solution is approximated by a polynomial at each grid point that its coefficients are determined by solving a linear system of equations. Numerical results show that the compact finite difference approximation of fourth order and collocation method produce a very efficient method for solving the one‐space‐dimensional linear hyperbolic equation. We compare the numerical results of this paper with numerical results of (Mohanty, 3 .© 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 2008     

1H NMR based metabolic profiling in Crohn's disease by random forest methodology

The present study was designed to search for metabolic biomarkers and their correlation with serum zinc in Crohn's disease patients. Crohn's disease (CD) is a form of inflammatory bowel disease that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract and can be difficult to diagnose using the clinical tests. Thus, introduction of a novel diagnostic method would be a major step towards CD treatment. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR) was employed for metabolic profiling to find out which metabolites in the serum have meaningful significance in the diagnosis of CD. CD and healthy subjects were correctly classified using random forest methodology. The classification model for the external test set showed a 94% correct classification of CD and healthy subjects. The present study suggests Valine and Isoleucine as differentiating metabolites for CD diagnosis. These metabolites can be used for screening of risky samples at the early stages of CD diagnoses. Moreover, a robust random forest regression model with good prediction outcomes was developed for correlating serum zinc level and metabolite concentrations. The regression model showed the correlation (R²) and root mean square error values of 0.83 and 6.44, respectively. This model suggests valuable clues for understanding the mechanism of zinc deficiency in CD patients. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultrasonic assisted headspace single drop micro-extraction and gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detector for determination of organophosphorus pesticides in soil

This work describes optimization of headspace single drop micro-extraction for extraction of five organophosphorus pesticides; thionazin, sulfotep, dimethoate, disulfoton and parathion in soil. Ultrasound has also been used successfully to improve and accelerate the extraction of the analytes from the sample. The optimized extraction performance was obtained when the experimental parameters were set as follows; 3.0 μL of octanol as extraction solvent, high ionic strength (20% sodium chloride), 1:1 (w/v) sample dilution with water, extraction temperature at 60 °C for 30 min; applying ultrasound and without any pH adjustment. The optimized method was linear over the calibration range (5–200 and 10–300 for different analytes) with limits of detection of 0.1–2.0 ng g⁻¹. The enrichment factor for OPPs was 1.4–12.7 and the method was also reproducible with the relative standard deviations (RSD%) of 2.1–6.9%.     

A density functional study of N NQR parameters of imidazole derivatives and extrapolation to PfHRP2–Fe-PPIX complex

In this paper, density functional theory (DFT) was used to calculate ¹⁴N nuclear quadrupole coupling constants (NQCC), χ, and asymmetry parameters, η, for a series of imidazole derivatives: imidazole, 5-methylimidazole and histidine. These calculations were carried out with the PW91P86 method via the Gaussian 98 package. A systematic theoretical investigation of the different environmental effects on (χ, η) values of amino ¹⁴N1 and imino ¹⁴N2 of imidazole ring of these compounds, reveals that the local surrounding of nitrogen atoms play an important role in determining their χ and η values. Our calculations in solution show that adding explicit solvent molecules to the polarizable continuum model (PCM) has a strong effect on (χ, η) values, thereby indicating that for long-range effects, PCM, is not sufficient to describe the whole solvent effects. We also evaluate the influence of [Fe³⁺ (S = 1/2)] on the (χ, η) values of proximal and remote nitrogens of an axial ligand and compare with those of free ligands. The results show that Fe³⁺ has a strong effect on the (χ, η) values of proximal nitrogen unlike remote nitrogen. Finally, our results predict (χ = 1.56 MHz, η = 0.690) for proximal nitrogen and (χ = 2.75 MHz, η = 0.169) for remote nitrogen in PfHRP2–Fe³⁺-PPIX complex.     

Essential Oil Composition and Antibacterial Activity of the Leaves of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stachys schtschegleevii</Emphasis> from Iran

The composition of the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from the leaves of Stachys schtschegleevii Sosn. before the flowering stage was analyzed by GC and GC-MS. Forty-five compounds representing 98.7% of the total oil were identified, of which α-pinene (36.4%), germacrene-D (18.6%), limonene (8.2%), and piperitone (6.2%) were the major constituents. Furthermore, antibacterial activity of the entire oil and its two main monoterpenes was evaluated against six Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The oil exhibited moderate activity against the tested bacteria.__________Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 138–140, March–April, 2005.     

Regio- and stereoselective synthesis of functionalized oxazolidin-2-ones from the reaction of α-epoxyketones with urea

A regio- and stereoselective synthesis of functionalized 4,5-disubstituted oxazolidin-2-ones is reported with moderate to good yields from the reaction of α-epoxyketones with urea in the presence of p-toluenesulfonic acid as the catalyst. Correspondence: Farzad Nikpour, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Kurdistan, P.O. Box 66315-416, Sanandaj, Iran.