On a nonlocal problem for the Laplace equation in the unit ball with fractional boundary conditions

In this paper, we investigate the correct solvability for the Laplace equation with a nonlocal boundary condition in the unit ball. The considered boundary operator is of fractional order. This problem is a generalization of the well‐known Bitsadze–Samarskii problem. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Precolumn fluorescence labeling method for simultaneous determination of hydroxyzine and cetirizine in human serum

A highly selective and sensitive method was developed for simultaneous determination of the antihistaminic drug hydroxyzine (HZ) and its pharmacologically active metabolite cetirizine (CZ) in human serum using haloperidol as internal standard. The method was based on fluorescence labeling of both drugs with a fluorescent arylboronic acid 4-(4,5-diphenyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)phenyl boronic acid followed by separation on silica column using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water (90:10, v/v%) containing triethylamine and acetic acid. The labeling reaction conditions were optimized and the liquid-liquid extraction method was successfully applied to extract the both drugs from serum. The linearity range was 0.025-2.00 microg/mL for HZ and CZ. The limit of detection (S/N = 3) was 10 and 5 ng/mL for HZ and CZ, respectively.     

Structural determination of the novel fragmentation routes of zwitteronic morphine opiate antagonists naloxonazine and naloxone hydrochlorides using electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight (ESI-QqToF) mass spectra of the zwitteronic salts naloxonazine dihydrochloride 1 and naloxone hydrochloride 2, a common series of morphine opiate receptor antagonists, were recorded using different declustering potentials. The singly charged ion [M+H-2HCl](+) at m/z 651.3170 and the doubly charged ion [M+2H-2HCl](2+) at m/z 326.1700 were noted for naloxonazine dihydrochloride 1; and the singly charged ion [M+H-HCl](+) at m/z 328.1541 was observed for naloxone hydrochloride 2. Low-energy collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry (CID-MS/MS) experiments established the fragmentation routes of these compounds. In addition to the characteristic diagnostic product ions obtained, we noticed the formation of a series of radical product ions for the zwitteronic compounds 1 and 2, and also the formation of a distonic ion product formed from the singly charged ion [M+H-HCl](+) of naloxone hydrochloride 2. Confirmation of the various established fragmentation routes was effected by conducting a series of ESI-CID-QqTof-MS/MS product ion scans, which were initiated by CID in the atmospheric pressure/vacuum interface using a higher declustering potential. Deuterium labeling was also performed on the zwitteronic salts 1 and 2, in which the hydrogen atoms of the OH and NH groups were exchanged with deuterium atoms. Low-energy CID-QqTof-MS/MS product ion scans of the singly charged and doubly charged deuteriated molecules confirmed the initial fragmentation patterns proposed for the protonated molecules. Precursor ion scan analyses were also performed with a conventional quadrupole-hexapole-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer and allowed the confirmation of the genesis of some diagnostic ions.     

Phytochemical Characterization and Bioactivity of Asparagus acutifolius: A Focus on Antioxidant,Cytotoxic, Lipase Inhibitory and Antimicrobial Activities

The phytochemical composition of leaves, stems, pericarps and rhizomes ethanolic extracts of Asparagus acutifolius were characterized by HPLC-DAD-MS. A. acutifolius samples contain at least eleven simple phenolics, one flavonon, two flavonols and six steroidal saponins. The stem extracts showed the highest total phenolic acid and flavonoid contents, where cafeic acid and rutin were the main compounds. No flavonoids were detected in the leaf, pericarp or rhizome while caffeic acid and ferulic acid were the predominant. Steroidal saponins were detected in the different plant parts of A. acutifolius, and the highest contents were found in the rhizome extracts. The stem extracts exhibited the highest antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and the highest 2,2-azino-bis (3 ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) scavenging activity was found in the pericarp extracts. The rhizome and leaf extracts showed a potent cytotoxic activity against HCT-116 and HepG2 cell lines. Moreover, the pericarp and rhizome extracts revealed a moderate lipase inhibitory activity. The leaf and rhizome extracts were screened for their antimicrobial activity against human pathogenic isolates. The leaf extract exhibited a powerful inhibitory activity against all the bacteria and fungi tested.     

The Physicochemical Characteristics of Gelam Honey and Its Outcome on the Female Reproductive Tissue of Sprague–Dawley Rats: A Preliminary Study

Gelam honey (GH) is a prized natural product synthesized from the nectar of flowers from Gelam trees (Melaleuca sp.). Gelam is an evergreen tree species that grows in tropical regions such as Malaysia. GH is a multifloral honey with proven antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the beneficial effect of GH on female reproductive tissue has yet to be substantiated. Herein, we investigated the effects of GH administration on the uterine and vaginal epithelial thickness of sexually mature Sprague–Dawley rats. Epithelia thickness could be an indicator of an atrophy manifesting as a symptom of a cardio syndrome. Rats were given oral doses of GH in four groups for 14 days; the lowest dose was 0.2 g GH/kg body weight (bw) rat/day and the highest dose was 8 g GH/kg bw rat/day. The physicochemical characteristics of GH were assessed through hydroxymethylfurfural and moisture content determination and sugar identification. GH attenuated the atrophy of the uterine and vaginal epithelia and increased the thickness of the endometrial stroma and endometrial surface endothelial layer. However, the dissonance observed in the effect of GH administration on the vaginal epithelium requires further investigation. Nevertheless, GH may have a strong potential in attenuating uterine and vaginal atrophies.     

Nonexistence results for higher order pseudo‐parabolic equations in the Heisenberg group

Sufficient conditions are obtained for the nonexistence of solutions to the nonlinear higher order pseudo‐parabolic equation where is the Kohn‐Laplace operator on the (2N + 1)‐dimensional Heisenberg group , m≥1,p > 1. Then, this result is extended to the case of a 2 × 2‐system of the same type. Our technique of proof is based on judicious choices of the test functions in the weak formulation of the sought solutions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Single‐Walled TiO2 Nanotubes: Enhanced Carrier‐Transport Properties by TiCl4 Treatment

In the present work we report significant enhancement of the photoelectrochemical properties of self‐ organized TiO₂ nanotubes by a combined “de‐coring” of classic nanotubes followed by an appropiate TiCl4 treatment. We show that, except for the expected particle decoration, a key effect of the TiCl4 treatment is that the electron transport characteristics in TiO₂ nanotubes can be drastically improved, for example, we observe an enhancement of up to 70 % in electron‐transport times.     

Phenolic content,antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Tunisian Diplotaxis simplex (Brassicaceae)

This study investigates the polyphenol content of Diplotaxis simplex extract and the biological activities of the main organ. The analysed extracts showed that polyphenol contents varied considerably as a function of organs. Furthermore, novel biological activities of this species were assessed. Flower extracts exhibit a potent in vitro antioxidant capacity using oxygen radical absorbance capacity and displayed a strong anti-inflammatory activity, inhibiting nitric oxide release, by 79.3% at 160 μg/mL. Our findings suggested that the Diplotaxis flower is a valuable source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.     

Fabrication and characterization of bimetallic Pt-Au nanowires supported on FSM-16 and their catalytic activities toward water-gas shift reaction

A facile, previously unexplored, method to synthesize bimetallic Pt-Au nanowires (20nm diameter×120-170nm long) on mesoporous FSM-16 (2.7nm) was fabricated by co-impregnation of H(2)PtCl(6) with HAuCl(4) followed by evacuation at 300K and finally exposure to the CO/H(2)O gas mixture (60:5Torr) at 323K for 1.0h. On the other hand, spherical monometallic nanoparticles of pure Pt (7.0nm diameter) and Au (7-26nm diameter) were synthesized as well, by impregnation, at the same reaction conditions. The catalysts were characterized by in situ FTIR spectroscopy, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, TEM, TPR and TPCOR. The catalytic activities toward the water-gas shift reaction (WGSR) were also examined under atmospheric pressure and at the margin of 323-373K. The optical absorption spectra showed a remarkable shift and broadening of Pt-Au surface Plasmon resonance band at 515nm apart from those of individual analogue emphasizing bimetallic formation. Results from in situ FTIR spectroscopy indicated that incorporation of Au assisted and stabilized the formation of carbonyl clusters of Pt-Au-CO (2084cm(-1)) and Pt-CO (1888cm(-1)) inside the host FSM-16. The Pt-Au carbonyl clusters built up at the moment of vanishing the linear carbonyl band of the charged Au (Au(+)-CO, 2186cm(-1)) along with a concomitant increase in the reduced gold (Au(0)-CO, 2124cm(-1)) species. TPR profiles showed that the H(2) consumed was higher for Pt/FSM-16 than for Pt-Au/FSM-16 verifying the facile reduction of Pt moieties after addition of Au. The CO adsorption peak maximum, in TPCOR, for Pt/FSM-16 occurred at higher temperature than that of Pt-Au/FSM-16, which exhibited higher amounts of CO(2) produced. The relative decrease in CO bindings on bimetallic surface was responsible for increasing the CO oxidation activity mainly through an association mechanism. Accordingly, the activity of Pt-Au/FSM-16 towards WGS showed a marked increase (8-23 times) compared with those of monometallics emphasizing the dependence of this reaction on the electronic defects of the nanowires. A straightforward reduction mechanism was deduced for Pt-Au alloy formation in view of the results obtained.