Preparation, Crystal Structure and Properties of a Pentametallic 3-Ferrocenyl-2-crotonic acid-Bridged Copper（Ⅱ） Complex

The synthesis and characterization of the copper (II) complex [Cu₂(OOCCH = C(CH₃)Fc)₃(phen)₂]CIO₄ · 2H₂O (1) are reported. The structure of the complex was determined by single‐crystal X‐ray analysis. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group Pc, with Z =2, a = 1.2799(4) nm, b =0.9969 (4) nm, c = 2.5228 nm, and β = 91.576 (1) °. The cationic part of 1 indicates a penametallic core in which three 3‐ferrocenyl‐2‐crotonic acid salt (FCA) groups act as (O, O') bridging ligands between two copper (II) ions with a square‐pyramidal environment. Cyclic voltammetric experiments in acetonitrile have been performed mainly to examine the Fe(II) → Fe(III) one‐electron oxidation in FCA and its complex. The variable‐temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed very weak intramolecular anti‐ferromagnetic coupling. Fitting parameters are 2J = ‐0.2 cm^?1, g = 2.114, and θ = 0K.     

Preparation,Characterization, and Pharmacological Investigation of Withaferin-A Loaded Nanosponges for Cancer Therapy; In Vitro,In Vivo and Molecular Docking Studies

The rapidly growing global burden of cancer poses a major challenge to public health and demands a robust approach to access promising anticancer therapeutics. In parallel, nanotechnology approaches with various pharmacological properties offer efficacious clinical outcomes. The use of new artificial variants of nanosponges (NS) as a transporter of chemotherapeutic drugs to target cells has emerged as a very promising tool. Therefore, in this research, ethylcellulose (EC) NS were prepared using the ultrasonication assisted-emulsion solvent evaporation technique. Withaferin-A (WFA), an active ingredient in Withania somnifera, has been implanted into the nanospongic framework with enhanced anticancer properties. Inside the polymeric structure, WFA was efficiently entrapped (85 ± 11%). The drug (WFA) was found to be stable within polymeric nanosponges, as demonstrated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies. The WFA-NS had a diameter of 117 ± 4 nm and zeta potential of −39.02 ± 5.71 mV with a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.419 ± 0.073. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the porous surface texture of WFA-NS. In vitro anticancer activity (SRB assay) results showed that WFA–NS exhibited almost twice the anticancer efficacy against MCF-7 cells (IC₅₀ = 1.57 ± 0.091 µM), as quantified by flow cytometry and comet tests. Moreover, fluorescence microscopy with DAPI staining and analysis of DNA fragmentation revealed apoptosis as a mechanism of cancer cell death. The anticancer activity of WFA-NS was further determined in vivo and results were compared to cisplatin. The anticancer activity of WFA-NS was further investigated in vivo, and the data were consistent to those obtained with cisplatin. At Day 10, WFA-NS (10 mg/kg) significantly reduced tumour volume to 72 ± 6%, which was comparable to cisplatin (10 mg/kg), which reduced tumour volume to 78 ± 8%. Finally, the outcomes of molecular modeling (in silico) also suggested that WFA established a stable connection with nanosponges, generating persistent hydrophobic contacts (polar and nonpolar) and helping with the attractive delayed-release features of the formulation. Collectively, all the findings support the use of WFA in nanosponges as a prototype for cancer treatment, and opened up new avenues for increasing the efficacy of natural product-derived medications.     

Ultra-Low-Power,High-Accuracy 434 MHz Indoor Positioning System for Smart Homes Leveraging Machine Learning Models

Global navigation satellite systems have been used for reliable location-based services in outdoor environments. However, satellite-based systems are not suitable for indoor positioning due to low signal power inside buildings and low accuracy of 5 m. Future smart homes demand low-cost, high-accuracy and low-power indoor positioning systems that can provide accuracy of less than 5 m and enable battery operation for mobility and long-term use. We propose and implement an intelligent, highly accurate and low-power indoor positioning system for smart homes leveraging Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) model using information-theoretic gain based on reduction in differential entropy. The system is based on Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) and uses ultra-low-power radio transceivers working at 434 MHz. The system has been deployed and tested using indoor measurements for two-dimensional (2D) positioning. In addition, the proposed system provides dual functionality with the same wireless links used for receiving telemetry data, with configurable data rates of up to 600 Kbauds. The implemented system integrates the time difference pulses obtained from the differential circuitry to determine the radio frequency (RF) transmitter node positions. The implemented system provides a high positioning accuracy of 0.68 m and 1.08 m for outdoor and indoor localization, respectively, when using GPR machine learning models, and provides telemetry data reception of 250 Kbauds. The system enables low-power battery operation with consumption of <200 mW power with ultra-low-power CC1101 radio transceivers and additional circuits with a differential amplifier. The proposed system provides low-cost, low-power and high-accuracy indoor localization and is an essential element of public well-being in future smart homes.     

Modulation instability analysis,optical and other solutions to the modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation

This paper studies the new families of exact traveling wave solutions with the modified nonlinear Schrödinger equation, which models the propagation of rogue waves in ocean engineering. The extended Fan sub-equation method with five parameters is used to find exact traveling wave solutions. It has been observed that the equation exhibits a collection of traveling wave solutions for limiting values of parameters. This method is beneficial for solving nonlinear partial differential equations, because it is not only useful for finding the new exact traveling wave solutions, but also gives us the solutions obtained previously by the usage of other techniques (Riccati equation, or first-kind elliptic equation, or the generalized Riccati equation as mapping equation, or auxiliary ordinary differential equation method) in a combined approach. Moreover, by means of the concept of linear stability, we prove that the governing model is stable. 3D figures are plotted for showing the physical behavior of the obtained solutions for the different values of unknown parameters with constraint conditions.     

Recent trends in ring opening of epoxides by amines as nucleophiles

β-Amino alcohols are versatile intermediates in the synthesis of various biologically potent compounds, which can also be achieved by ring opening of epoxides by amines. In the present review, focus has been placed on the ring opening of epoxides with amines under a variety of reaction parameters reported during 2011–2015. All the factors that resulted in excellent yields and high regioselectivity, are environmentally benign, and use mild conditions have been discussed in detail. In addition, the applications of these methods in the synthesis of biologically active compounds such as β-blockers have also been described.     

The crystal structure and thermal stability of [bis-picrate(pentaethylene glycol)] praseodymium(III)picrate complex

[Bis-picrate(pentaethylene glycol)]praseodymium(III) picrate, [Pr(pic)₂⋅(EO5]⁺[pic]⁻, was successfully obtained from the reaction of praseodymium nitrate hexahydrate, picric acid and pentaethylene glycol in acetonitrile–methanol as solvent. The crystal system is monoclinic with space group P2₁/c, a = 18.91419(11) Å, b = 9.0470(6) Å, c = 24.1209(14) Å and α = γ = 90^∘, β = 109.07(1)^∘, V = 3880.3(4) ų and Z = 4. The Pr atom is coordinated to the flexible and open EO5 ring via all the six oxygen atoms and two picrate ligands, one via phenoxo oxygen atom and the other one with both phenoxo and nitro oxygen atoms in a bidentate manner resulting a 9-coordinate tricapped trigonal prismatic geometry. The two picrate ligands coordinated to the Pr atom are at the opposite sides of the hexadentate EO5 ring with phenyl fragments almost perpendicular with dihedral angle of 89.7(3)^∘. Thermal analysis results show that the complex is stable up to 100^∘C when it began to slowly decompose and followed by an explosive decomposition at 290^∘C.     

Chemical synthesis of oligoribonucleotides containing 2-aminopurine: substrates for the investigation of ribozyme function

The chemical synthesis of a fully protected ribonucleoside phosphoramidite, containing 2-aminopurine as the base component, and its incorporation into short oligoribonucleotides as substrates for an engineered ribozyme from Tetrahymena is described.     

Synthesis,swelling properties,and network structure of new stimuli‐responsive poly(N‐acryloyl‐N′‐ethyl piperazine‐co‐N‐isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels

Poly(N‐acryloyl‐N′‐ethyl piperazine‐co‐N‐isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels were prepared by thermal free‐radical copolymerization of N‐acryloyl‐N′‐ethyl piperazine (AcrNEP) and N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) in solution using N, N′‐methylene bisacrylamide as the crosslinking agent. The gels were responsive to changes in external stimuli such as pH and temperature. The pH and temperature responsive character of the gels was greatly dependent on the monomer content, namely AcrNEP and NIPAM, respectively. The gels swelled in acidic (pH 2) and de‐swelled in basic (pH 10) solutions with a response time of 60 min. With increase in temperature from 23 to 80 °C the swelling of the gels decreased continuously and this effect was different in acidic and basic solutions. The temperature dependence of equilibrium water content of the gels was evaluated by the Gibbs–Helmholtz equation. Detailed analysis of the swelling properties of these new gels in relation to molecular heterogeneity in acidic (pH 2) and basic (pH 10) solutions were performed. Water transport property of the gels was studied gravimetrically. In acidic solution, the diffusion process was non‐Fickian (anomalous) while in basic solution, the diffusion was quasi‐Fickian. The effect was more evident in solution of pH 2 than in pH 10. Various structural parameters of the gels such as number‐average molar mass between crosslink (M_c), the crosslink density (ρ_c), and the mesh size (ξ) were evaluated. The mesh sizes of the hydrogels were between 64 and 783 Å in the swollen state in acidic solution and 20 and 195 Å in the collapsed state in basic solution. The mesh size increased between three to four times during the pH‐dependent swelling process. The amount of unbound water (free water) and bound water of the gels was also evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Determination of rain attenuation parameters for free space optical link in tropical rain

Free space optics (FSO) is a promising communication technique for various types of services in the optical access network. Single beam FSO system in tropical rainy weather is vulnerable to atmospheric rain attenuation, so it is necessary to have precise power law parameters of rain attenuation in tropical regions. In this study, the power law parameters k, and α are estimated as 2.03 and 0.74, respectively for the FSO applications in tropical South-East Asian weather. These parameters were evaluated by using least square mean equation (LSME) method with Levenberg–Marquardt optimization based on the one year collected heavy rain data. The obtained parameter values for tropical weather are contributed to improve link performance for high-speed networks.