Substituted six-membered ring carbenes: the effects of amino and cyclopropyl groups through DFT calculations

DFT calculations are employed to compare and contrast six-membered ring carbenes including 1,3-dimethyltetrahydropyrimidin-2-ylidene (1a), 1-methyl-3-cyclopropyltetrahydropyridine-2-ylidene (2a), and 1,3-dicyclopropylcyclohexane-2-ylidene (3a) as well as their unsaturated analogues 1b, 2b, 3b, and 2c. The amino groups exert singlet-triplet energy separation (?E_s−t) of 60.9 kcal/mol to 1a while cyclopropyls induce a ?E_s−t of 14.8 kcal/mol to 3a. The simultaneous presence of amino and cyclopropyl in 2a leads to a ?E_s−t of 43.3 kcal/mol. Unsaturation slightly increases the ?E_s−t of 1a and 3a but not that of 2a. Our thermodynamic, kinetic, and reactivity results are compared with those of synthetic five-membered ring N-heterocyclic carbenes.     

An efficient one-pot synthesis of pyrimido[2,1-b][1,3]thiazine derivatives by reaction of activated acetylenes, thiouracils, and isocyanides

The reactive 1:1 zwitterionic intermediate, formed by the addition of isocyanides to dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates, was trapped by thiouracils to yield a ketenimine intermediate, which cyclized and then rearranged to afford pyrimido[2,1-b][1,3]thiazines in good yields.     

Fully integrated PDMS/SU-8/quartz microfluidic chip with a novel macroporous poly dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane for isoelectric focusing of proteins using whole-channel imaging detection

A fully integrated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/modified PDMS membrane/SU-8/quartz hybrid chip was developed for protein separation using isoelectric focusing (IEF) mechanism coupled with whole-channel imaging detection (WCID) method. This microfluidic chip integrates three components into one single chip: (i) modified PDMS membranes for separating electrolytes in the reservoirs from the sample in the microchannel and thus reducing pressure disturbance, (ii) SU-8 optical slit to block UV light (below 300?nm) outside the channel aiming to increase detection sensitivity, and (iii) injection and discharge capillaries for continuous operation. Integration of all these components on a single chip is challenging because it requires fabrication techniques for perfect bonding between different materials and is prone to leakage and blockage. This study has addressed all the challenges and presented a fully integrated chip, which is more robust with higher sensitivity than the previously developed IEF chips. This chip was tested by performing protein and pI marker separation. The separation results obtained in this chip were compared with that obtained in commercial cartridges. Side-by-side comparison validated the developed chip and fabrication techniques.     

Novel method for in-situ surfactant-based solid-phase extraction: application to the determination of Co(II) and Ni(II) in aqueous samples

We report on a completely new kind of solid phase extraction which we term in-situ surfactant-based solid-phase extraction (ISS-SPE). It represents a simple and rapid method for extraction from aqueous samples and preconcentration of compounds containing hydrophobic (alkyl) groups. A cationic surfactant containing alkyl chain is dissolved in the aqueous sample. Following the addition of hexafluorophosphate (HFP; an ion-pairing anion), solutions turn cloudy due to the interaction between the surfactant and the HFP ion. This is due to the formation of fine solid particles composed of the HFP salt of the cationic surfactant. The alkyl groups of the surfactant in the solid particles strongly interact with hydrophobic groups of analytes and become bound. The solid particles are centrifuged, and the sedimented particles can be either dissolved in an appropriate organic solvent, or leached with a solvent to recover the absorbed analyte(s). The method presented here has distinct advantages in that the extraction times are short and recoveries are high, probably a result of the formation of very fine particles of large specific surface, and of their good dispersion in the sample solution. The performance of ISS-SPE was demonstrated by extracting chelates of Co(II) and Ni(II) from water samples. Under the optimized conditions, the preconcentration factors are 51 and 45, respectively, and the detection limits are 0.9 and 0.6???g?L^?1. The method was validated by the analysis of a certified reference material and by comparing results with those obtained by electrothermal AAS.

Magnetic properties of isostructural M(H2O)4[Au(CN)4]2-based coordination polymers (M = Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) by SQUID and μSR studies

A series of isomorphous M(H(2)O)(4)[Au(CN)(4)](2)·4H(2)O (M = Mn, Co, Ni, Zn; Cu is similar) coordination polymers was synthesized from the reaction of M(II) with KAu(CN)(4); they consist of octahedrally coordinated metal centres with four equatorial water molecules and trans-axial N-cyano ligands from [Au(CN)(4)](-) moieties, generating a linear 1-D chain of M(H(2)O)(4)[Au(CN)(4)]-units. An additional interstitial [Au(CN)(4)](-) unit forms AuN and hydrogen bonds with adjacent chains. The Cu(II) system readily loses water to yield Cu[Au(CN)(4)](2)(H(2)O)(4), which was not structurally characterized. The magnetic properties of these polymers were investigated by a combination of SQUID magnetometry and zero-field muon spin relaxation (ZF-μSR). Only weak antiferromagnetic interactions along the chains are mediated by the [Au(CN)(4)]-units, but the ZF-μSR data indicates that interchain interactions yield a phase transition to a magnetically ordered state for Cu[Au(CN)(4)](2)(H(2)O)(4) below 0.6 K, while for M(H(2)O)(4)[Au(CN)(4)](2)·4H(2)O (M = Co), depopulation of zero-field split Kramer's doublets to an effective "S = 1/2" ground state yields a transition to a spin-frozen magnetic state below 0.26 K. On the other hand, only a simple slowing-down of spins above 0.02 K is observed for the more weakly zero-field split M(H(2)O)(4)[Au(CN)(4)](2)·4H(2)O (M = Mn, Ni) complexes.     

Solvent‐free synthesis of new 2,4,6‐triarylpyridines catalyzed by a Brønsted acidic ionic liquid as a green and reusable catalyst

Some new 4‐(aryl)‐2,6‐di‐2‐naphthylpyridines and 4‐(aryl)‐2,6‐di‐2‐thienylpyridines have been prepared through three‐component condensation of 2‐acetylnaphthalene or 2‐acetylthiophene, aromatic aldehydes, and ammonium acetate in presence of 1‐(4‐sulfonylbutyl) pyridinium hydrogensulfate [(CH₂)₄SO₃HPy][HSO₄], a Brønsted acidic ionic liquid as a green and reusable catalyst in solvent‐free conditions. Also some new 4,4'‐(1,4‐phenylene)‐bis‐(2,6‐di‐aryl pyridine) was prepared. J. Heterocyclic Chem., (2011).     

CD47 in the Brain and Neurodegeneration: An Update on the Role in Neuroinflammatory Pathways

CD47 is a receptor belonging to the immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily and broadly expressed on cell membranes. Through interactions with ligands such as SIRPα, TSP-1, integrins, and SH2-domain bearing protein tyrosine phosphatase substrate-1 (SHPS-1), CD47 regulates numerous functions like cell adhesion, proliferation, apoptosis, migration, homeostasis, and the immune system. In this aspect, previous research has shown that CD47 modulates phagocytosis via macrophages, the transmigration of neutrophils, and the activation of T-cells, dendritic cells, and B-cells. Moreover, several studies have reported the increased expression of the CD47 receptor in a variety of diseases, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), chronic myeloid leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), multiple myeloma (MM), bladder cancer, acute myeloid leukemia (AML), Gaucher disease, Multiple Sclerosis and stroke among others. The ubiquitous expression of the CD47 cell receptor on most resident cells of the CNS has previously been established through different methodologies. However, there is little information concerning its precise functions in the development of different neurodegenerative pathologies in the CNS. Consequently, further research pertaining to the specific functions and roles of CD47 and SIRP is required prior to its exploitation as a druggable approach for the targeting of various neurodegenerative diseases that affect the human population. The present review attempts to summarize the role of both CD47 and SIRP and their therapeutic potential in neurodegenerative disorders.     

Optimal Production and Marketing Planning

This paper presents an integrated production, marketing and inventory model which determines the production lot size, marketing expenditure and products selling price. Our model is highly nonlinear and non-convex and cannot be solved directly. Therefore, Geometric Programming (GP) is used to locate the optimal solution of the proposed model. In our GP implementation, we use a transformed dual problem in order to reduce the model to an optimization of an unconstrained problem in a single variable and the resulting problem is solved using a simple line search. We analyze the solution in different cases in order to study the behaviour of the model and for each case, a numerical example is used to demonstrate the implementation of our analysis.     

A generalization of Eagon–Reiner’s theorem and a characterization of bi-CMt bipartite and chordal graphs

We give a generalization of Eagon-Reiner’s theorem relating Betti numbers of the Stanley-Reisner ideal of a simplicial complex and the CM_t property of its Alexander dual. Then we characterize bi-CM_t bipartite graphs and bi-CM_t chordal graphs. These are generalizations of recent results due to Herzog and Rahimi.