Detection of pulse trains in the electrically stimulated cochlea: effects of cochlear health

Perception of electrical stimuli varies widely across users of cochlear implants and across stimulation sites in individual users. It is commonly assumed that the ability of subjects to detect and discriminate electrical signals is dependent, in part, on conditions in the implanted cochlea, but evidence supporting that hypothesis is sparse. The objective of this study was to define specific relationships between the survival of tissues near the implanted electrodes and the functional responses to electrical stimulation of those electrodes. Psychophysical and neurophysiological procedures were used to assess stimulus detection as a function of pulse rate under the various degrees of cochlear pathology. Cochlear morphology, assessed post-mortem, ranged from near-normal numbers of hair cells, peripheral processes and spiral ganglion cells, to complete absence of hair cells and peripheral processes and small numbers of surviving spiral ganglion cells. The psychophysical and neurophysiological studies indicated that slopes and levels of the threshold versus pulse rate functions reflected multipulse integration throughout the 200 ms pulse train with an additional contribution of interactions between adjacent pulses at high pulse rates. The amount of multipulse integration was correlated with the health of the implanted cochlea with implications for perception of more complex prosthetic stimuli.     

Catalytic sulfoxidation and epoxidation with a Mn(III) triazacorrole: evidence for a "third oxidant" in high-valent porphyrinoid oxidations

The reaction between (TBP)8(Cz)Mn(III) (1) and the oxygen atom donors iodosylbenzene (PhIO) or p-cyanodimethylaniline-N-oxide (CDMANO) leads to the manganese(V)-oxo complex (TBP)8(Cz)Mn(V)O (2), which has been isolated and characterized previously. Under catalytic conditions with 1 as added catalyst and PhIO as oxidant, both sulfoxidation of PhSMe and epoxidation of cis-stilbene is observed, whereas with CDMANO no sulfoxidation takes place, suggesting that 2 is not the active oxidant. Examination of the independent reactivity of isolated 2 toward PhSMe and cis-stilbene supports this conclusion. A mechanism which relies on a novel type of oxidant involving Lewis acid activation of PhIO by the Mn(V)-oxo complex 2 accounts for these observations and is confirmed by 18O-labeling experiments.     

Admissible estimator of the eigenvalues of the variance-covariance matrix for multivariate normal distributions

An admissible estimator of the eigenvalues of the variance-covariance matrix is given for multivariate normal distributions with respect to the scale-invariant squared error loss.     

Biological perspective of a triazine derivative with isatin/chalcone/acridone: DFT and docking investigations

Structural Chemistry - The article highlights insights into biological activity using computational methods in products of 1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine with 1H-indole-2,3-dione...     

Synthesis and crystal structure of 2-benzoyl-4-methyl phenyl benzoate

The crystal structure of the title compound, C₂₁H₁₆O₃, has been determined. The compound crystallizes in triclinic space group PĪ with cell parameters a = 9.2240(9) Å, b = 9.8050(8) Å, c = 10.1610(11) Å, α = 94.749(6)^∘, β = 112.544(4)^∘, γ = 102.145(6)^∘ and Z = 2. The structure exhibits both intra and intermolecular interactions of the type C–H ⋅s O. The intermolecular interaction between the molecules form centrosymmetric dimers.     

ZnO: An Ecofriendly,Green Nano‐catalyst for the Synthesis of Pyrazole Derivatives under Aqueous Media

An efficient nano ZnO catalyzed green protocol for the synthesis of pyrazol derivatives by condensation of different substituted phenyl hydrazines/semicarbazide/thiosemicarbazide with 1,3‐diketone/ketoester at ambient temperature has been achieved. ZnO nanocatalyst was prepared by low temperature solution combustion method. From the Scherrer method the crystallite size of ZnO was estimated and found to be in the range of 30–50 nm. The main advantage of this protocol is an excellent yield, short reaction time and easy work up procedure. The catalyst was found to be reusable up to five catalytic cycles without any appreciable loss in activity of the catalyst.     

Iodine‐Mediated Synthesis of 2‐Arylbenzoxazoles, 2‐Arylbenzimidazoles,and 1,3,5‐Trisubstituted Pyrazoles

2‐Arylbenzoxazoles and 2‐arylbenzimidazoles were synthesized by the reaction of aldehydes with 2‐aminophenol and O‐phenylenediamines in the presence of iodine. 1,3,5‐Trisubstituted pyrazoles were synthesized from chalcones and hydrazines in the presence of iodine.     

Spectroscopic investigations and computational study of 2‐[acetyl(4‐bromophenyl)carbamoyl]‐4‐chlorophenyl acetate

The Fourier transform Raman (FT‐Raman) and Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectra of 2‐[acetyl(4‐bromophenyl)carbamoyl]‐4‐chlorophenyl acetate were studied. The vibrational wavenumbers were examined theoretically using the Gaussian03 set of quantum chemistry codes, and the normal modes were assigned by potential energy distribution (PED) calculations. The simultaneous Raman and infrared (IR) activations of the CO stretching mode in the carbamoyl moiety show a charge transfer interaction through a π‐conjugated path. From the optimized structure, it is clear that the hydrogen bonding decreases the double bond character of the CO bond and increases the double bond character of the C N bonds. The first hyperpolarizability and predicted IR intensities are reported. The calculated first hyperpolarizability is comparable with the reported values of similar structures, which makes this compound an attractive object for future studies of nonlinear optics. Optimized geometrical parameters of the compound are in agreement with similar reported structures. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vibrational spectroscopic studies and computational study of methyl(2‐methyl‐4,6–dinitrophenylsulfanyl)ethanoate

FT‐IR and FT‐Raman spectra of methyl(2‐methyl‐4,6–dinitrophenylsulfanyl)ethanoate (MDIE) were recorded and analyzed. Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra were recorded in silver colloid and silver electrode. The vibrational wavenumbers were computed using HF/6‐31G* and B3LYP/6‐31G* basis. The data obtained from vibrational wavenumber calculations are used to assign vibrational bands obtained in infrared and Raman spectroscopies as well as in SERS of the studied molecule. The first hyperpolarizability and infrared intensities are reported. The geometrical parameters of the title compound are in agreement with the reported similar derivatives. The presence of new bands at 1045 and 948 cm⁻¹ in the SERS spectrum in silver electrode is related to the change in orientation of the molecule with respect to the metal surface. In silver colloid SERS spectrum, the methyl group attached to the methoxy carbonyl group is close to the metal surface, whereas on silver electrode the methyl group attached to the phenyl ring is close to the metal surface. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.