Influence of phosphorylation on the foamability and stability of bovine serum albumin and citrus peel pectin mixed foams

We study the influence of phosphorylation on the foamability and stability of bovine serum albumin (BSA), phosphorylated BSA (pBSA), and citrus peel pectin (CPP) mixed foams as a function of BSA–CPP, pBSA–CPP mixing ratios, at a fixed solution pH of 4.5. Our results show that pBSA solutions result in more stable foams as compared with their BSA counterparts. We further show that the addition of CPP leads to BSA–CPP and pBSA–CPP complexation which increases the foamability and stability of foams as compared with protein-only foams. Also, foam stability is highest for pBSA–CPP mixed foams with mixing ratio pBSA:CPP?=?1:1 due to the combined effect of pBSA–pBSA and pBSA–CPP interactions.     

Ufasomes as Plausible Carriers for Horizontal Gene Transfer

In this article, we propose ufasomes as carriers for the horizontal transfer of genes from plants. “Ufasome” is an abbreviation for unsaturated fatty acid liposomes, which are generated at specific pH. The formation of ufasomes is believed to occur due to associative interaction in mixtures of fully ionized and unionized fatty acids at pH > 7.0. In past, ufasomes have been widely considered as pre-biotic models for cellular compartments. Using same principles, in the present work, we provide a theoretical treatise presenting ufasomes as carriers for horizontal transfer of engineered genes from plants to either soil-microbes or to environment.     

Enantioselective Synthesis of ((1R,2R)-Cyclohexane-1,2-diyl)bis(methylene)dimethanesulfonate,a Lurasidone Hydrochloride Intermediate

A concise, economical, and highly enantioselective synthesis of bismesylate intermediate of lurasidone HCl, an antipsychotic, has been developed. The key steps involved in the synthesis are thionyl chloride–catalyzed esterification of tetrahydrophthalic anhydride in MeOH, epimerization of cis to trans isomer, hydrolysis of the diester, resolution of the diacid, reduction with Red-Al, and finally bismesylation of the corresponding diol, which provided the desired intermediate ((1 R,2 R)-cyclohexane-1,2-diyl)bis(methylene) dimethanesulfonate in overall good yield.     

The synthesis of 1,1-disubstituted tetrahydro-β-carbolines induced by iodine

A mild access to 1,1-disubstituted tetrahydro-β-carbolines is described. Tryptamine is subjected to Pictet-Spengler cyclization with various ketones using iodine.     

Rapid synthesis of water-glass based aerogels by in situ surface modification of the hydrogels

The objective of the present research was to reduce the processing time of water-glass based aerogels synthesized via an ambient pressure drying. For this purpose we employed a co-precursor method for the surface modification in hydrogels using trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) and hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS). The surface modification resulted in the displacement of pore water from the hydrogels and thereby absolutely avoiding the time-consuming solvent exchange step. The attachment of trymethylsilyl (Si(CH₃)₃) groups to the silica surface was confirmed by the presence of SiCH₃ peaks at 2900, 1400, 1255 and 845 cm⁻¹ in the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra. The differential thermal analysis (DTA) revealed that the aerogels maintain their hydrophobic behavior up to a maximum temperature of 500 °C above which they become hydrophilic. The physical and textural properties of the silica aerogels have been reported and the results have been discussed by taking into account the surface modification and the amounts of the pore water displaced out from the hydrogels.     

A successful algorithm for solving directed Hamiltonian path problems

In this paper we present a graph-theoretic polynomial algorithm which has positive probability of finding a Hamiltonian path in a given graph, if there is one; if the algorithm fails, it can be rerun with a randomly chosen starting solution, and there is again a positive probability it will find an answer. If there is no Hamiltonian path, the algorithm will always terminate with failure. We call this a Successful Algorithm because it has high (close to 1) empirical probability of success and it works in polynomial time. Some basic theoretical results concerning spanning arborescences of a graph are given. The concept of a ramification index is defined and it is shown that ramification index of a Hamiltonian path is zero. The algorithm starts with finding any spanning arborescence and by suitable pivots it endeavors to reduce the ramification index to zero. Probabilistic properties of the algorithm are discussed. Computational experience with graphs up to 30 000 nodes is included.     

Quasi-affine symmetric designs

A symmetric design with parameters v = q ²(q + 2), k = q(q + 1), λ = q, q ≥ 2, is called a quasi-affine design if its point set can be partitioned into q + 2 subsets P ₀, P ₁,..., P _q , P _q+1 such that the induced structure in every point neighborhood is an affine plane of order q (repeated q times). A quasi-affine design with q ≥ 3 determines its point neighborhoods uniquely and dual of such a design is also a quasi-affine design. These structural properties pave way for definition of a strongly quasi-affine design and it is also shown that associated with every quasi-affine design is a unique strongly quasi-affine design from which the given quasi-affine design is obtained by certain unique cutting and pasting operation. This investigation also enables us to associate a unique 2-regular graph with q + 2 vertices and in turn, a unique colored partition of the integer q + 2. These combinatorial consequences are finally used to obtain an exponential lower bound on the number of non-isomorphic solutions of such symmetric designs improving the earlier lower bound of 2. Work of Sanjeevani Gharge is supported by Faculty Improvement Programme of U.G.C., India.     

Room temperature synthesis of water repellent silica coatings by the dip coat technique

The present paper describes the room temperature synthesis of dip coated water repellent silica coatings onto stainless steel substrates using 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane as a surface modifying agent. The hydrophobic property of the silica coating was enhanced by increasing its surface roughness, which was achieved by a proper control over the MeOH/TMOS molar ratio (S) during the synthesis. The contact angle of a water droplet (10 μl) increased from 72° to 145° with an increase in the S value from 9.1 to 36.4. The silica coating showed a minimum sliding angle of 15° for a water droplet of 10 μl. The water repellent silica coatings are thermally stable up to a temperature of 340 °C. The results have been discussed by taking into consideration the contact angle measurements, surface morphology and sol-gel parameters.     

Brønsted-acidic ionic liquid: green protocol for synthesis of novel tetrasubstituted imidazole derivatives under microwave irradiation via multicomponent strategy

Research on Chemical Intermediates - We present a facile and environmentally benign protocol for synthesis of variously substituted imidazole derivatives via multicomponent condensation of benzil,...