Thermal behavior of holo- and hemicellulose obtained from rice straw and bagasse

Thermal gravimetric analysis, and differential thermal behavior of holo- and hemicelluloses obtained from rice straw and bagasse were investigated. Degradation was found to be of first order reaction. The activation energy values and the rate constants were calculated from the kinetic of weight loss. Hemicellulose was found to be less stable than holocellulose, and the stability of the samples was arranged in the order, rice straw holo- > bagasse holo- > rice straw hemi- > bagasse hemicellulose. Degradation of rice straw (holo- as well as hemicellulose) was performed via two exothermic processes, whereas bagasse hemicellulose combustion was completed through three exothermic processes. The magnitude and the shape of the exotherms depend, mainly, on the chemical composition of the sample.     

Diastereotopic effect in some N-substituted-3-methyl-4,1-benzoxazepine-2,5-diones

1H NMR assignment of seven differently N-substituted-3-methyl-4,1-benzoxazepine-2,5-diones (I) revealed that with the exception of allyl, N-methylene protons of the substituents exhibit diastereotopy due to presence of a chiral centre in the heterocyclic ring at C-3. The significant finding is that the methylenes at C-2' in the substituents n-propyl and n-butyl (Id, Ie) also show diastereotopy. However, the one closer to the chiral centre (at C-1') exhibits greater non-equivalence of its protons. The diastereotopic methylene groups reported in this study correspond to the simplest system AB on one hand and as complex as ABMM'X2 or ABMM'X3 on the other. Calculated spectra obtained from assigned set of data for most of the coupled protons were in good agreement with the observed ones.     

Kinetics and mechanism of reaction between mercuric bromide and silver iodide in solid state

Kinetics and mechanism of the reaction between mercuric bromide and silver iodide were studied in the solid state. It has been established that HgBr₂ reacts via the gaseous state and that the reaction proceeds through counter diffusion of Ag⁺ and Hg²⁺. Thermal and conductivity measurements indicate that the reaction is multistep. X-ray and chemical analyses show that HgBr₂ and AgI mixed in different molar ratios give rise to different products. The data for the lateral diffusion fitted the equation X_iⁿ = kt, where X_i is the thickness of the product layer at time t, and n and k are constants. Evidence for the formation of solid solutions between reactant and product phases is reported.     

Proposed Mechanism for the Antitrypanosomal Activity of Quercetin and Myricetin Isolated from Hypericum afrum Lam.: Phytochemistry,In Vitro Testing and Modeling Studies

The in vitro activity of L. donovani (promastigotes, axenic amastigotes and intracellular amastigotes in THP1 cells) and T. brucei, from the fractions obtained from the hydroalcoholic extract of the aerial part of Hypericum afrum and the isolated compounds, has been evaluated. The chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts showed significant antitrypanosomal activity towards T. brucei, with IC₅₀ values of 12.35, 13.53 and 12.93 µg/mL and with IC₉₀ values of 14.94, 19.31 and 18.67 µg/mL, respectively. The phytochemical investigation of the fractions led to the isolation and identification of quercetin (1), myricitrin (2), biapigenin (3), myricetin (4), hyperoside (5), myricetin-3-O-β-d-galactopyranoside (6) and myricetin-3’-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (7). Myricetin-3’-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (7) has been isolated for the first time from this genus. The chemical structures were elucidated by using comprehensive one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (1D and 2D NMR) spectroscopic data, as well as high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI–MS). These compounds have also been evaluated for their antiprotozoal activity. Quercetin (1) and myricetin (4) showed noteworthy activity against T. brucei, with IC₅₀ and IC₉₀ values of 7.52 and 5.71 µM, and 9.76 and 7.97 µM, respectively. The T. brucei hexokinase (TbHK1) enzyme was further explored as a potential target of quercetin and myricetin, using molecular modeling studies. This proposed mechanism assists in the exploration of new candidates for novel antitrypanosomal drugs.     

Development,In-Vitro Characterization and Preclinical Evaluation of Esomeprazole-Encapsulated Proniosomal Formulation for the Enhancement of Anti-Ulcer Activity

Objective: The present study aimed to develop and optimize esomeprazole loaded proniosomes (EZL-PNs) to improve bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. Method: EZL-PNs formulation was developed by slurry method and optimized by 33 box-Bhekhen statistical design software. Span 60 (surfactant), cholesterol, EZL concentration were taken as independent variables and their effects were evaluated on vesicle size (nm), entrapment efficiency (%, EE) and drug release (%, DR). Furthermore, optimized EZL-PNs (EZL-PNs-opt) formulation was evaluated for ex vivo permeation, pharmacokinetic and ulcer protection activity. Result: The EZL-PNs-opt formulation showed 616 ± 13.21 nm of vesicle size, and 81.21 ± 2.35% of EE. EZL-PNs-opt exhibited negative zeta potential and spherical confirmed scanning electron microscopy. EZL-PNs-opt showed sustained release of EZL (95.07 ± 2.10% in 12 h) than pure EZL dispersion. The ex-vivo gut permeation result exhibited a significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced flux than pure EZL. The in vivo results revealed 4.02-fold enhancement in bioavailability and 61.65% protection in ulcer than pure EZL dispersion (43.82%). Conclusion: Our findings revealed that EZL-PNs formulation could be an alternative delivery system of EZL to enhance oral bioavailability and antiulcer activity.     

Study of flame-retardant finishing of cellulose fibres: Organic–inorganic hybrid versus conventional organophosphonate

The aim of this study was to introduce a non-formaldehyde inorganic–organic hybrid sol–gel flame-retardant precursor (SiOP) containing phosphorous, nitrogen, and silicon and to compare its functional properties with those of the conventional formaldehyde-containing organic flame-retardant agent, organophosphonate (OP). SiOP was used at concentrations of 2%, 4%, and 8%, and OP was used at a concentration of 200 g/dm³. Both agents were applied to 100% cotton (CO) woven fabric by the pad-dry-cure method under the appropriate conditions. The presence of the SiOP and OP coatings on the CO fabric was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The results of the vertical tests of flammability and the thermogravimetric analyses showed that the presence of the SiOP coating changed the thermal degradation pathway of the CO fabric and resulted in an increase in the thermo-oxidative stability of the cellulose fibres. The thermo-oxidative stability was enhanced by the addition of higher amount of dry solids. At comparable dry solids contents, OP preserved significantly greater flame retardancy and thermo-oxidative stability than did SiOP. These results indicated that the SiOP precursor could not act as an effective alternative to the OP agent in the flame-retardant protection of CO fabric.     

Nonlocal beam theory for nonlinear vibrations of embedded multiwalled carbon nanotubes in thermal environment

A nonlocal elastic beam model is developed to investigate the small scale effects on the large-amplitude vibration analysis of embedded multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) at an elevated temperature. The nested slender nanotubes are coupled with each other through the van der Waals (vdW) interlayer interaction. The curvature-dependent vdW force employed incorporates not only pairwise nearest-neighbor but also nonneighbor interactions between nested nanotubes. The incremental harmonic balance method is adopted to analytically solve the nonlinear equations that are governed by the vibrations of nested nanotubes. The influences of small scale parameter, geometrical parameters, temperature rise, and the elastic medium are fully examined.     

Investigation of the equality constraint effect on the reduction of the rotational ambiguity in three-component system using a novel grid search method

The obtained results by soft modeling multivariate curve resolution methods often are not unique and are questionable because of rotational ambiguity. It means a range of feasible solutions equally fit experimental data and fulfill the constraints. Regarding to chemometric literature, a survey of useful constraints for the reduction of the rotational ambiguity is a big challenge for chemometrician. It is worth to study the effects of applying constraints on the reduction of rotational ambiguity, since it can help us to choose the useful constraints in order to impose in multivariate curve resolution methods for analyzing data sets. In this work, we have investigated the effect of equality constraint on decreasing of the rotational ambiguity. For calculation of all feasible solutions corresponding with known spectrum, a novel systematic grid search method based on Species-based Particle Swarm Optimization is proposed in a three-component system.     

Preparation and Characterization of New Optically Active Poly(amide-imide)s from N,N′-(bicyclo[2,2,2]oct-7-ene-2,3,5,6-tetra carboxylic)-bis-L-isoleucine and Aromatic Diamines

Five new optically active aromatic poly(amide-imide)s (PAIs) 5a–e were prepared from a direct polycondensation reaction of a new diacid of N,N′-(bicyclo[2,2,2]oct-7-ene-2,3,5,6-tetra carboxylic)-bis-L-isoleucine 3 with various aromatic diamines 4a–e in a medium consisting of triphenyl phosphite (TPP), calcium chloride (CaCl₂), pyridine (Py) and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). The polycondensation reaction produced a series of novel poly(amid-imide)s 5a–e in quantitative yields with inherent viscosities of 0.39–0.51 dL/g. The resulting polymers were fully characterized by means of ¹H-NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy, elemental analyses, inherent viscosity, solubility test, specific rotation and thermal properties of them were investigated using TGA/DTG and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The diacid 4 was synthesized by the condensation reaction of bicyclo[2,2,2]oct-7-ene-2,3,5,6- tetracarboxylic dianhydride 1 with L-isoleucine 2 in acetic acid solution.