One-pot synthesis of dihydropyrimidones using silica-supported heteropoly acid as an efficient and reusable catalyst: Improved protocol conditions for the Biginelli reaction

An efficient synthesis of 3,4-dihydropyrimidinones or thiones (DHPMs) is described, using silica-supported heteropoly acid H₃PW₁₂O₄₀/SiO₂ (PW/SiO₂) for the first time as the catalyst from an aldehyde, β-keto ester and urea or thiourea in acetonitrile. Compared to the classical Biginelli reaction conditions, this method consistently has the advantage of excellent yields, mild reaction conditions, ease of workup, survival of different functional groups, and short reaction times.     

Spatial distribution and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in green mussels (Perna viridis) from coastal areas of Peninsular Malaysia: implications for source identification of perylene

Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was determined in green mussels (Perna viridis) from various sites in coastal waters of Peninsular Malaysia between August 2004 and January 2007, in order to assess contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons. The range of ∑PAHs detected in mussels was from 766 to 110500 (ng/g lipid wt.). High concentrations of PAHs were found in mussel tissues collected near Penang Bridge. The ratios of methyl phenanthrenes to phenanthrene (∑MP/P ratio) for Penang, Kg. Pasir Puteh and Tebing Runtuh (Johore Straits) were greater than 2, indicating extensive input of petrogenic PAHs. The results indicated that male individuals elevated more considerable concentrations of PAHs in their soft tissues in comparison to female individuals. The results of independent sample T-test showed that there were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between male and female mussels analysed in the Pasir Panjang station. Negative significant correlations (r = ?0.890, p < 0.01) and (r = ?0.0655, p < 0.05), were found between weight and total of PAHs in female and male species, respectively. This indicated that body weight of each individual was not affected by the PAHs concentrations. The present study proposes the use of soft tissue of Perna viridis as a biomonitor of perylene bioavailability and contamination in coastal waters of Peninsular Malaysia.     

Preparation and characterization of Fe3O4@SiO2/APTPOSS core–shell composite nanomagnetics as a novel family of reusable catalysts and their application in the one‐pot synthesis of 1,3‐thiazolidin‐4‐one derivatives

Octakis[3‐(3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane)propyl]octasilsesquioxane (APTPOSS) as a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane derivative was prepared and used as a pioneer reagent to obtain a novel core–shell composite using magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as the core and the inorganic–organic hybrid polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane as the shell. Fe₃O₄@SiO₂/APTPOSS were confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, thermogravimetric analysis, X‐ray diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometry. The inorganic–organic hybrid polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane magnetic nanoparticles were used as an efficient new heterogeneous catalyst for the one‐pot three‐component synthesis of 1,3‐thiazolidin‐4‐ones under solvent‐free conditions. Moreover, these nanoparticles could be easily separated using an external magnet and then reused several times without significant loss of catalytic activity. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation and modeling of synthesis Cu nanoparticles in sodium alginate media by means of expert systems

This research was to apply the combination of the particle swarm optimization method and artificial neural network training with the aim of building a quantitative model to forecast the size of copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) prepared in sodium alginate. Sodium alginate, sodium hydroxide, copper sulfate, hydrazinium hydroxide, and ascorbic acid were used as stabilizer, pH moderator, copper precursor, reducing agent, and antioxidant, respectively. The results showed that the different sizes of Cu-NPs were obtained by changing these functions. Meaning that by increasing the amount of sodium alginate and or increase the volume of hydrazine hydrate, particle sizes of Cu-NPs were reduced. Other variables had the opposite effects due to the increase of the size of the Cu-NPs. The prediction results were remarkably in agreement with the experimental data with a correlation coefficient of 0.99 and a mean square error of 0.0058.     

Some results on the local cohomology of minimax modules

Let R be a commutative Noetherian ring with identity and I an ideal of R. It is shown that, if M is a non-zero minimax R-module such that dim Supp H _I ⁱ (M) ? 1 for all i, then the R-module H _I ⁱ (M) is I-cominimax for all i. In fact, H _I ⁱ (M) is I-cofinite for all i ? 1. Also, we prove that for a weakly Laskerian R-module M, if R is local and t is a non-negative integer such that dim Supp H _I ⁱ (M) ? 2 for all i < t, then Ext _R ^j (R/I,H _I ⁱ (M)) and Hom _R (R/I,H _I ^t (M)) are weakly Laskerian for all i < t and all j ? 0. As a consequence, the set of associated primes of H _I ⁱ (M) is finite for all i ? 0, whenever dim R/I ? 2 and M is weakly Laskerian.     

Methylenedioxy Piperamide-Derived Compound D5 Regulates Inflammatory Cytokine Secretion in a Culture of Human Glial Cells

Neuroinflammation is the cornerstone of most neuronal disorders, particularly neurodegenerative diseases. During the inflammatory process, various pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and enzymes—such as interleukin 1-β (IL1-β), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), inducible nitric oxide synthases (iNOS), inhibitory kappa kinase (IKK), and inducible nitric oxide (NO)—are over-expressed in response to every stimulus. Methods: In the present study, we focused on the anti-neuroinflammatory efficacy of (2E,4E)-N,5-bis(benzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl)penta-2,4-dienamide, encoded D5. We investigated the efficacy of D5 on the upstream and downstream products of inflammatory pathways in CHME3 and SVG cell lines corresponding to human microglia and astrocytes, respectively, using various in silico, in vitro, and in situ techniques. Results: The results showed that D5 significantly reduced the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines by up-regulating PPAR-γ expression and suppressing IKK-β, iNOS, NO production, and NF-κB activation in inflamed astrocytes (SVG) and microglia (CHME3) after 24 h of incubation. The data demonstrated remarkably higher efficacy of D5 compared to ASA (Aspirin) in reducing NF-κB-dependent neuroinflammation. Conclusions: We observed that the functional-group alteration had an extreme influence on the levels of druggability and the immunomodulatory properties of two analogs of piperamide, D5, and D4 ((2E,4E)-5-(benzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl)-N-(4-(hydroxymethyl)phenyl)penta-2,4-dienamide)). The present study suggested D5 as a potential anti-neuroinflammatory agent for further in vitro, in vivo, and clinical investigations.     

Ce-Loaded HZSM-5 Composite for Catalytic Deoxygenation of Algal Hydrolyzed Oil into Hydrocarbons and Oxygenated Compounds

Despite the extensive research into the catalytic uses of zeolite-based catalysts, these catalysts have a limited useful lifetime because of the deactivating effect of coke production. This study looks at the use of Cerium (Ce) loaded HZSM-5 zeolite catalysts in the hydrocarbon and oxygenated chemical conversion from Chlorella Vulgaris microalgae crude oil. Characterization of structure, morphology, and crystallinity was performed after the catalysts were manufactured using the impregnation technique. Soxhlet extraction was carried out to extract the crude oil of microalgae. Transesterification reaction was used to produce algal hydrolyzed oil (HO), and the resulting HO was put to use in a batch reactor at 300 °C, 1000 rpm, 7 bars of nitrogen pressure, a catalyst to the algal HO ratio of 15% (wt. %), and a retention time of 6 h. To determine which Ce-loaded HZSM-5 catalysts would be most effective in converting algal HO into non-oxygenated molecules (hydrocarbons), we conducted a series of tests. Liquid product characteristics were analyzed for elemental composition, higher heating value (HHV), atomic ratios of O/C and H/C, and degree of deoxygenation (DOD%). Results were categorized into three groups: product yield, chemical composition, and carbon number distribution. When Cerium was added to HZSM-5 zeolite at varying loading percentages, the zeolite’s acid sites became more effective in facilitating the algal HO conversion. The results showed that 10%Ce/HZSM-5 had the greatest conversion of the algal HO, the yield of hydrocarbons, HHV, and DOD% (98.2%, 30%, 34.05 MJ/Kg, and 51.44%, respectively) among all the synthesized catalysts in this research. In conclusion, the physical changes seen in the textural characteristics may be attributed to Cerium-loading on the parent HZSM-5; nevertheless, there is no direct association between the physical features and the hydrocarbons yield (%). The primary impact of Cerium alteration of the parent HZSM-5 zeolite was to change the acidic sites required to boost the conversion (%) of the algal HO in the catalytic deoxygenation process, which in turn increased the hydrocarbons yield (%), which in turn increased the HHV and DOD%.     

Succinic Acid Production from Cheese Whey using Actinobacillus succinogenes 130 Z

Actinobacillus succinogenes 130 Z was used to produce succinic acid from cheese whey in this study. At the presence of external CO₂ supply, the effects of initial cheese whey concentration, pH, and inoculum size on the succinic acid production were studied. The by-product formation during the fermentation process was also analyzed. The highest succinic acid yield of 0.57 was obtained at initial cheese whey concentration of 50 g/L, while the highest succinic acid productivity of 0.58 g h⁻¹ L⁻¹ was obtained at initial cheese whey concentration of 100 g/L. Increase in pH and inoculum size caused higher succinic acid yield and productivity. At the preferred fermentation condition of pH 6.8, inoculum size of 5% and initial cheese whey concentration of 50 g/L, succinic acid yield of 0.57, and productivity of 0.44 g h⁻¹ L⁻¹ were obtained. Acetic acid and formic acid were the main by-products throughout the fermentation run of 48 h. It is feasible to produce succinic acid using lactose from cheese whey as carbon resource by A. succinogenes 130 Z.     

Synthesis,crystallographic and spectroscopic studies,evaluation as antimicrobial and cytotoxic agents of a novel mixed-ligand nickel(II) complex

A new mononuclear mixed-ligand complex of Ni(II) has been synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction as [Ni(4-Cl-pydc)(apym)(H₂O)₂], where 4-Cl-pydc and apym are 4-chloropyridine-26-dicarboxylate and 2-aminopyrimidine, respectively. Spectroscopic studies such as FT-IR, UV-vis, ¹H-NMR, and thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) were carried out. The fluorescence properties were studied in solvents with different dipole moments. Antimicrobial activities of 4-chloropyridine-26-dicarboxylic acid (1), 2-aminopyrimidine (2), complex (3), and nickel(II) nitrate hexahydrate (4) were investigated by disk diffusion and broth microdilution methods against three Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis and three Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, S. marcescens; also antifungal effect was evaluated on Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in vitro. The highest antibacterial activity of complex was observed nearly equal to gentamicin as a standard drug toward S. epidermids with IZD of 18 mm. The in vitro antiproliferative activity of 1–4 on H1299 (a human non-small cell lung carcinoma), HepG2 (a human liver hepatocellular carcinoma), and β-TC3 (a mouse beta pancreatic) cell lines was evaluated by MTT (3-(45-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-25-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide) assay and, effect of complex on depolarization of mitochondrial membrane (MMP) of all three cell lines was measured by rhodamine 123. The highest cytotoxic effect of complex was exhibited toward H1299 cell line with IC₅₀ value equal to 10 μM.     

On the number of spanning trees in graphs with multiple edges

In this paper, we consider a class of nonlinear matrix equation of the type \(X+\sum _{i=1}^mA_i^{*}X^{-q}A_i-\sum _{j=1}^nB_{j}^{*}X^{-r}B_j=Q\), where \(0<q,\,r\le 1\) and Q is positive definite. Based on the Schauder fixed point theorem and Bhaskar–Lakshmikantham coupled fixed point theorem, we derive some sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the positive definite solution to such equations. An iterative method is provided to compute the unique positive definite solution. A perturbation estimation and the explicit expression of Rice condition number of the unique positive definite solution are also established. The theoretical results are illustrated by numerical examples.