Ultrasonicated Condensation of Indene and 2-Nitrofluorene with Aromatic Aldehydes Catalyzed by bis-(pMethoxyphenyl)telluroxide (BMPTO)

The condensation of indene or 2-nitrofluorene with aromatic aldehydes catalyzed by bis-(p-methoxyphenyl)telluroxide (BMPTO) under ultrasonic wave irradiation gave corresponding fulvenes in fair to good yield.     

Study on the “Tin-Ene” reaction of α-bromoacetophenone and metallic tin with aldehydes

β-hydroxy ketones were obtained in good yields by the “tin-ene” reactions of α-bromoacetophenone and metallic tin with aldehydes.     

Cascade reaction for 3-pyrrolines and pyrroles from nitroallylic acetates and N-mesyl 2-aminoethanones

Cascade reactions of nitroallylic acetates with methanesulfonyl 2-aminoethanones affords either the 3-pyrrolines or the pyrroles in one pot depending on reaction solvents and temperature. A possible mechanism for the entire sequence is proposed.     

Direct Blue 71 staining as a destaining‐free alternative loading control method for Western blotting

In Western blotting, a suitable loading control is indispensable for correcting errors in the total amount of loaded protein. Immunodetection of housekeeping proteins and total protein staining have traditionally been used as loading control methods. Direct Blue 71 (DB71) staining—a novel, sensitive, dye‐binding staining method compatible with immunodetection—may offer advantages over these traditional loading control methods. Three common neuroscientific samples (human plasma, human oligodendrocytes, and rat brain) were employed to assess DB71 staining as a loading control method for Western blotting. DB71, CBB, one traditional housekeeping protein, and one protein of interest were comparatively assessed for reliability and repeatability and linear dynamic range over 2.5–40 μg of protein loaded. DB71's effect on the reliability and repeatability and linear dynamic range of immunoreaction were also assessed. Across all three sample types, DB71 was either equivalent or superior to CBB and housekeeping protein‐based methods in terms of reliability and repeatability and linear dynamic range. Across all three sample types, DB71 staining did not impair the reliability and repeatability or linear dynamic range of immunoreaction. Our results demonstrate that the DB71 staining can be used as a destaining‐free alternative loading control method for Western blotting.     

Development of Phosphatidylethanolamine Liposomes That Efficiently Retain Encapsulated Vinorelbine Bitartrate

A hydrophilic and temperature-induced degradation drug, vinorelbine bitartrate (VB)-loaded phosphatidylethanolamin sterically stabilized liposomes (PSLs) were prepared by the thin film hydration method. Liposomes were made of phosphatidylethanolamine: cholesteryl: oleic acid (PE: CHOL: OA, 6:4:3 mass/mass). The mean particle size of the PSLs ranged from 600 to 650 nm. The transmission electron microscope (TEM) images displayed that the shape of the PSLs was multilamellar vesicles with smooth surface. The highest entrapment efficiency (EE) and drug loading capacity (DL) could reach up to 81.2 and 16.6%, respectively. The studies of drug release showed that the drug release could last for much more than 48 hours. The PSLs was evaluated by comparing the rate of release of encapsulated VB in different phosphate buffer solution (PBS).     

Dynamics of viscous fingers in Hele-Shaw cells of liquid crystals Theory and experiment

The theoretical and experimental developments in the interfacial dynamics and the formation of viscous fingering patterns in Hele-Shaw cells of liquid crystal-air systems are summarized and discussed. These include radial and linear cells with or without grooves engraved on the cell plates. Instabilities of fingers, the role of intrinsic and extrinsic anisotropies, etc., are emphasized. In a linear cell, when the injected air is kept at constant pressure, a whole sequence of successive instabilities of fingers (hump, tip-splitting, sidewrinkling, sidebranching and DLA-like structure) is observed in a single run of the experiment. In our theory, the equations of motion of nematic flows in Hele-Shaw cells are derived from the Ericksen-Leslie equations. In the linear approximation, the equations resemble those of isotropic liquids with the presence of effective viscosities and anisotropic surface tension. Experimental observations are interpreted with the introduction of an effective control parameter which may be time dependent. Special features of viscous fingers in liquid crystals in contrast to those in isotropic liquids, such as asymmetric dendritics, displacement of the finger from the central axis of the linear cell, and reentrant sequence of patterns, are pointed out. Plausible explanations of these phenomena are given. In this newly developed field, a large number of interesting problems remain to be solved.     

Generalized Fourth-Order Decompositions of Imaginary Time Path Integral: Implications of the Harmonic Oscillator

The imaginary time path integral formalism offers a powerful numerical tool for simulating thermodynamic properties of realistic systems. We show that, when second-order and fourth-order decompositions are employed, they share a remarkable unified analytic form for the partition function of the harmonic oscillator. We are then able to obtain the expression of the thermodynamic property and the leading error terms as well. In order to obtain reasonably optimal values of the free parameters in the generalized symmetric fourth-order decomposition scheme, we eliminate the leading error terms to achieve the accuracy of desired order for the thermodynamic property of the harmonic system. Such a strategy leads to an efficient fourth-order decomposition that produces third-order accurate thermodynamic properties for general systems.     

1H NMR Reassignment for Z/E-Benzomalvins B and Absolute Configuration of Benzomalvin C

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - Benzomalvins B, C, and E (1, 2, and 3) were simultaneously obtained from the marine fungus Aspergillus sp. isolated from the soft coral Sinularia sp., collected...