A Microbial Sensor Based on Direct Electron Transfer at Shewanella Sp. Drop‐Coated Screen‐Printed Carbon Electrodes

Aerobically grown Shewanella sp. bacterial suspension drop‐coated on a disposable screen‐printed carbon electrode was found to possess electroactivity without the aid of redox mediator. Cyclic voltammetric studies revealed the characteristics of a mixed diffusion adsorption‐controlled electrochemical process for direct electron transfer at the bacteria‐modified electrode. Both FE‐SEM and ATR FT‐IR experiments were carried out to investigate the surface characteristics. The electroanalytical applicability was further demonstrated for electrocatalytic reduction of arsenite, hydrogen peroxide and nitrite. Low cost and very simple manufacturing procedure allow for the proposed bacterial sensor to be applied as disposable devices.     

Palladium-catalyzed selective C–C bond cleavage and stereoselective alkenylation between cyclopropanol and 1,3-diyne: one-step synthesis of diverse conjugated enynes

The stereoselective synthesis of 1,3-enynes from 1,3-diynes is demonstrated by palladium-catalyzed selective C–C bond cleavage of cyclopropanol. Exclusive formation of mono-alkenylated adducts was achieved by eliminating the possibility of di-functionalization with high stereoselectivity. Indeed, this protocol worked very well with electronically and sterically diverse substrates. Several studies, including deuterium labeling experiments and intermolecular competitive experiments, were carried out to understand the mechanistic details. The atomic-level mechanism followed in the catalytic process was also validated using DFT calculations, and the rate-controlling states in the catalytic cycle were identified. Furthermore, preliminary mechanistic investigations with radical scavengers revealed the non-involvement of the radical pathway in this transformation.

Palladium-catalyzed tandem activation and functionalization of readily accessible cyclopropanols have been demonstrated to access valuable conjugated enynes from 1,3-diynes with high stereo-selectivity.     

A Comprehensive Review on Therapeutic Perspectives of Phytosterols in Insulin Resistance: A Mechanistic Approach

Natural products in the form of functional foods have become increasingly popular due to their protective effects against life-threatening diseases, low risk of adverse effects, affordability, and accessibility. Plant components such as phytosterol, in particular, have drawn a lot of press recently due to a link between their consumption and a modest incidence of global problems, such as Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cancer, and cardiovascular disease. In the management of diet-related metabolic diseases, such as T2DM and cardiovascular disorders, these plant-based functional foods and nutritional supplements have unquestionably led the market in terms of cost-effectiveness, therapeutic efficacy, and safety. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder categoriszed by high blood sugar and insulin resistance, which influence major metabolic organs, such as the liver, adipose tissue, and skeletal muscle. These chronic hyperglycemia fallouts result in decreased glucose consumption by body cells, increased fat mobilisation from fat storage cells, and protein depletion in human tissues, keeping the tissues in a state of crisis. In addition, functional foods such as phytosterols improve the body’s healing process from these crises by promoting a proper physiological metabolism and cellular activities. They are plant-derived steroid molecules having structure and function similar to cholesterol, which is found in vegetables, grains, nuts, olive oil, wood pulp, legumes, cereals, and leaves, and are abundant in nature, along with phytosterol derivatives. The most copious phytosterols seen in the human diet are sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol, which can be found in free form, as fatty acid/cinnamic acid esters or as glycosides processed by pancreatic enzymes. Accumulating evidence reveals that phytosterols and diets enriched with them can control glucose and lipid metabolism, as well as insulin resistance. Despite this, few studies on the advantages of sterol control in diabetes care have been published. As a basis, the primary objective of this review is to convey extensive updated information on the possibility of managing diabetes and associated complications with sterol-rich foods in molecular aspects.     

Short and Stereoselective Syntheses of Pheromone Components of Aproaerema Modicella

Efficient syntheses of pheromone components of Aproaerema modicella starting from a common intermediate 7-octyn-1-ol is described.     

Tuning the electronic and optical properties of silicon-germanium nanosheet through doping with boron and phosphorus: a first principle study

Structural Chemistry - Under density functional theory (DFT), a first principle analysis is conducted to pure, boron (B)- and phosphorus (P)-doped silicon-germanium nanosheets. It has been revealed...     

Stereoselective and facile total synthesis of (+)-goniodiol,a styryllactone from carbohydrates

The stereoselective synthesis of (+)-goniodiol, a cytotoxic styryllactone, has been accomplished in 10 steps starting from inexpensive and readily available d-manitol and δ-gluconolactone involving the direct and straightforward reaction conditions of Grignard addition, chain elongation, and hydroboration, thus making the synthesis simple and convenient.     

Stabilization of ferromagnetism in Mn doped ZnO with C co-doping

We present a method for stabilizing ferromagnetism in Mn doped ZnO. We find that Mn doped ZnO show anti-ferromagnetic order in the absence of additional carriers. When Mn doped ZnO is co-doped with C atom at O sites ferromagnetic state gets stabilized. The C doping creates holes which leads to stabilization of ferromagnetic state via hole mediated double exchange mechanism.     

Characterization and Control of Residual Stress and Curvature in Anodically Bonded Devices and Substrates with Etched Features

While anodic bonding is commonly used in a variety of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) applications, devices and substrates that incorporate this processing technique are often subjected to significant residual stress and curvature that create post-processing and reliability issues. Here, using an anisothermal anodic bonding procedure, residual stresses and the resulting wafer curvature in these structures are controlled by varying the initial bond temperatures of the silicon and Pyrex wafers independently. Residual stresses are quantified by measuring bulk wafer curvature and, locally, stress concentrations are measured using infrared photoelasticity accompanied by 3-D thermomechanical finite element analysis. Based on the good agreement between numerical predictions and experimental results, this process can be used to determine the bulk post-bond wafer curvature and to reduce the likelihood of structural failure at these sites, by changing the residual stresses from tensile in nature, which may drive initiation and growth of cracks, to compressive, which can suppress such failures.     

The euclidean distance degree of orthogonally invariant matrix varieties

The Euclidean distance degree of a real variety is an important invariant arising in distance minimization problems. We show that the Euclidean distance degree of an orthogonally invariant matrix variety equals the Euclidean distance degree of its restriction to diagonal matrices. We illustrate how this result can greatly simplify calculations in concrete circumstances.