A Novel Visible Range FRET Probe for Monitoring Acid Sphingomyelinase Activity in Living Cells

Activity of acid sphingomyelinase has been implicated in a number of diseases like acute lung injury, sepsis or metastasis of melanoma cells. Here, we present a sphingomyelinase FRET probe based on FAM/BODIPY dyes for real-time monitoring of acid sphingomyelinase. The probe gives rise to a tremendous increase in fluorescence of the fluorescein FRET donor upon cleavage and we show that this is, to a significant part, due to cleavage-associated phase transition, suggesting a more systematic consideration of such effects for future probe development. The probe allows for the first time to monitor relative sphingomyelinase activities of intact living cells by flow cytometry.     

Controlled elitist multi-objective genetic algorithm joined with neural network to study the effects of nano-clay percentage on cell size and polymer foams density of PVC/clay nanocomposites

The parameters of foaming and nano-clay percentage on the density of polymer foam and cell size with the PVC field is studied. Cell size and density have a significant impact on the strength of foam and its insulation (including sounds and thermal insulation). By optimizing cell size and density, foam can be produced with the best mechanical properties. In foaming process of the nanocomposite samples by mass method, the design variables (input parameters) are foaming time and temperature and MMT content. The controlled elitist multi-objective GA is applied to minimize both the foam density and the cell size. To that end, the population size and the Pareto fraction are selected as 100 and 0.5, respectively. The noninferior solution obtained by the controlled elitist multi-objective GA is illustrated. When both the MMT and the temperature are high, the resulting foam does not have ideal characteristics.

     

Cu Nano particles immobilized on silk‐fibroin as a green and biodegradable catalyst for copper catalyzed azide‐terminal,internal alkynes cycloaddition

Copper immobilized on silk fibroin was successfully prepared and fully characterized using powder X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy–energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform‐infrared, CHN elemental analysis, and inductively coupled plasma‐atomic emission spectroscopy. Catalytic activity of this catalyst was examined in the azide‐alkyne cycloaddition reaction with internal and terminal alkynes at room temperature under mild conditions. The reusability of the heterogeneous supported Cu catalyst was examined four times without significant loss of catalytic activity.     

Synthesis of pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines (microreview)

Chemistry of Heterocyclic Compounds - Microreview summarizes recent methods for the synthesis of pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines, published since 2015. The methods are classified as Cu-catalyzed...     

Uniformly dispersed copper nanoparticles onto the modified magnetically recoverable nanocatalyst for aqueous synthesis of primary amides

Magnetically recoverable and environmentally friendly Cu‐based heterogeneous catalyst has been synthesized for the one‐pot conversion of aldehydes to their corresponding primary amides. The Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ nanocomposites were prepared by synthesis of Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) which was then coated with a silica shell via Stöber method. Bi‐functional cysteine amino acid was covalently bonded onto the siliceous shell of nanocatalyst. The Cu^II ions were then loaded onto the modified surface of nanocatalyst. Finally, uniformly dispersed copper nanoparticles were achieved by reduction of Cu^II ions with NaBH₄. Amidation reaction of aryl halides with electron‐withdrawing or electron‐donating groups and hydroxylamine hydrochloride catalyzed with Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@Cysteine‐copper (FSC‐Cu) MNPs in aqueous condition gave an excellent yield of products. The FSC‐Cu MNPs could be easily isolated from the reaction mixture with an external magnet and reused at least 8 times without significant loss in activity.     

CuCl2 heterogenized on metformine‐modified polystyrene resin as an antibacterial agent and recyclable nanocatalyst for Ullmann‐type C‐N coupling reactions

Merrifield Resin was functionalized with metformine and applied as a solid support to immobilize the CuCl₂. The Ps‐Met/CuCl₂ was characterized by several techniques including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX), wavelength‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (WDX) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP). The Ps‐Met/CuCl₂ was used as an efficient recyclable solid nanocatalyst for N‐arylation of indole and aniline through coupling reactions of Ullmann‐type C‐N. The advantages of this method are easy workup, improved yields, and simple recovery via filtration. Ultimately, the Ps‐Met/CuCl₂ antibacterial property was examined against two bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus (Staph. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli)) and indicated its antibacterial performance against gram negative (E. coli) bacteria and gram positive (Staph. aureus).     

An implicit 2D hydrodynamic numerical model for free surface–subsurface coupled flow problems

A 2‐dimensional hydrodynamic finite volume model has been proposed for simultaneous simulation of free surface and saturated porous media. The governing equations of the former are 2‐dimensional averaged in a unit width of Navier‐Stokes, whereas that of the latter are Darcy law. An efficient, simple, and stable algorithm has been proposed to track the surface elevation in Cartesian coordinate system by which the water elevation in each computational column has been computed along with the other pressure unknowns simultaneously. The surface position has not been considered to remain in a specific layer so the number of cells in each column have been variably adjusted in accordance with the water surface elevation. Performance of the coupled model has been validated against a range of hydrodynamic problems including propagation of linear short wave, seepage test, tidal oscillation in a lagoon system, gravity current, and saltwater intrusion. Comparison between numerical results, analytical solutions, and experimental data demonstrates that the model represents well the interacting surface water and ground water flow and solute transport processes.     

Development of a novel hybrid SOFC/GT system and transcritical CO2 cycle for CCHP purpose in the district scale

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The main target of this work is to optimize a novel hybrid system which includes solid oxide fuel cell, gas turbine, and transcritical CO2 power cycle....