Anacyclus pyrethrum (L): Chemical Composition,Analgesic, Anti-Inflammatory,and Wound Healing Properties

Background: Anacyclus pyrethrum (A. pyrethrum) is a wild species belonging to the family Asteraceae, which is used in traditional medicines. Aim of the study: This work was undertaken to study the chemical composition, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing properties of hydroalcoholic extracts of different parts (roots, seeds, leaves, and capitula) of A. pyrethrum. Material and Methods: The phytochemical analysis of the studied extracts was conducted by GC-MS. The analgesic activity was evaluated in mice using acetic acid and formaldehyde methods. The anti-inflammatory activity was tested using the inhibitory method of edema induced in rats. The healing activity of the hydroethanolic extracts was explored by excision and incision wound healing models in rats. Results: The phytochemical analysis of the studied plant extracts affirmed the presence of interesting compounds, including some newly detected elements, such as sarcosine, N-(trifluoroacetyl)-butyl ester, levulinic acid, malonic acid, palmitic acid, morphinan-6-One, 4,5.alpha.-epoxy-3-hydroxy-17-methyl, 2,4-undecadiene-8,10-diyne-N-tyramide, and isovaleric acid. The extracts of different parts (roots, seeds, leaves, and capitula) exhibited promising anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and wound healing effects, with percentages of inhibition up to 98%, 94%, and 100%, respectively. Conclusion: This study might contribute towards the well-being of society as it provides evidence on the potential analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing properties of A. pyrethrum.     

Characterization of extraframework Zn<Superscript>2+</Superscript> cationic sites in silicalite-2: a computational study

Siting and coordination of Zn²⁺ ions at six plausible positions in all-silicate ZSM-11 material known as silicalite-2 have been investigated via hybrid density functional theory method at the B3LYP level employing molecular cluster models to represent the active site. The symmetrical trapping of Zn²⁺ ions in six-membered ring (6MR) sites of the main channels with a fivefold coordination to the framework oxygens was associated with the most stable binding among the investigated sites. On the contrary, the cation was found to be most weakly bound in sites at the intersections where it was twofold coordinated with slightly shorter Zn–O distances. A basket-like position for Zn doping was also recognized that exhibited no clear trends in the electronic and structural properties investigated.     

CuO-nanoparticles modified carbon paste electrode for square wave voltammetric determination of lidocaine: Comparing classical and Box–Behnken optimization methodologies

In this research, copper oxide nanoparticles modified carbon paste electrode was developed for the voltammetric determination of lidocaine. The square wave voltammogram of lidocaine solution showed a well-defined peak between +0.5 and +1.5 V. Instrumental and chemical parameters influencing voltammetric response were optimized by both one at a time and Box–Behnken model of response surface methodology. The results revealed that there was no significant difference between two methods of optimization. The linear range was 1–2500 μmol L~(-1)(Ip= 0.11 C_(LH)+ 17.38, R~2= 0.999). The LOD and LOQ based on three and ten times of the signal to noise(S/N) were 0.39 and 1.3 μmol L~(-1)(n = 10),respectively. The precision of the method was assessed for 10 replicate square wave voltammetry(SWV)determinations each of 0.05, 0.5 and 1 μmol L~(-1) of lidocaine showing relative standard deviations 4.1%,3.7% and 2.1%, respectively. The reliability of the proposed method was established by application of the method for the determination of lidocaine in two pharmaceutical preparations, namely injection and gel.     

Hydrogen and deuterium adsorption on uranium decorated graphene nanosheets: A combined molecular dynamics and density functional theory study

In this study, the combined density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation methods were carried out to investigate the potential capability of uranium-decorated graphene (U–G) for the separation of deuterium from hydrogen gases. Graphene with hexagonal honeycomb lattice arrangement is suitable for adsorption of individual uranium atoms, with a high binding energy (?1.173 eV) and U-U distance longer than 7 Å. This U-G system has ability to hold up to six H₂ (5.16% wt) or seven D₂ (11.75% wt) molecules per U atoms. To gain further insights into these interactions, partial electronic density of states (PDOS) and the electron density distribution of the elements were analyzed. The MD results are in reasonable agreement with the results obtained by DFT method. Our calculated results indicate that at room temperature, D₂ molecule has higher affinity for U-G system than the H₂ molecule. In order to increase the D₂ separation factor from H₂, the effect of temperature was studied. The results indicated that adsorption ratio of D₂ to H₂ increases by decreasing the temperature.     

Application of [Fe3O4@SiO2@(CH2)3Py]HSO4− as heterogeneous and recyclable nanocatalyst for synthesis of polyhydroquinoline derivatives

Four‐component condensation reaction of aromatic aldehydes, dimedone, ethyl acetoacetate and ammonium acetate in the presence of a catalytic amount of ionic liquid on silica‐coated Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles as a heterogeneous, recyclable and very efficient catalyst provided the corresponding polyhydroquinoline derivatives in good to excellent yields in ethanol under reflux condition. The [Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@(CH₂)₃Py]HSO₄^? catalyst was characterized using various techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, powder X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, vibrating sample magnetometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, the recovery and reuse of the catalyst were demonstrated seven times without detectable loss in activity.     

Synthesis,characterization and immobilization of a novel mononuclear vanadium (V) complex on modified magnetic nanoparticles as catalyst for epoxidation of allyl alcohols

The 2,4,6‐tris(2‐pyridyl)‐1,3,5‐triazine (tptz) undergoes hydrolysis in the presence of VO(SO₄) in an alkaline solution, affording mainly the bis(2‐pyridyl carbonyl)amid ) VO₂ complex, designated as [VO₂(bpca)]. Single‐crystal X‐ray crystallography revealed that the coordination of V in complex is a distorted square‐pyramid coordinated with three nitrogen of bis(2‐pyridyl carbonyl)amid ) ligand and two binding oxygen atoms. The prepared complex which successfully supported on modified Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles using tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and (3‐aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane(APTMS)was designated as Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@APTMS@[VO₂(bpca)] complex (nanocatalyst). The complex and nanocatalyst were characterized by means of FT‐IR, XRD, VSM, SEM and TEM. The catalytic activity of [VO₂(bpca)] complex and Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@APTMS@complex as catalysts 1 and 2 were evaluated by the epoxidation of geraniol , 3‐methyl‐2‐buten‐1‐ol , trans‐2‐hexen‐1‐ol and 1‐octen‐3‐ol with 70–98% conversions and 95–100% selectivities. Based on the obtained results, the heterogeneity and reusability of the catalyst seems promising. In addition, the in vitro antibacterial activity of [VO₂ (bpca)] complex have also been evaluated and compared to the activities of other vanadium complexes, tptz ligand and two standard antibacterial drugs, Nalidixic acid and Vancomycin.     

Effects of Convection and Fracture Boundary Conditions on Heat Transfer Shape Factor in Fractured Geothermal Reservoirs

The yield stress fluids porosimetry method (YSM) was recently presented as a simple and non-toxic potential alternative to the extensively used mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The success of YSM heavily relies on the choice of an appropriate yield stress fluid to be injected through the investigated porous medium. In previous works, xanthan gum aqueous solutions were used due to their ability to exhibit a pseudo-yield stress without substantial levels of unwanted thixotropy or viscoelasticity. Given that YSM is based on the existence of a yield stress, the accuracy of the obtained pore size distribution (PSD) crucially depends on the capacity of the injected fluid to emulate the shear rheology of a yield stress fluid. However, this capacity has still not been fully assessed in the case of xanthan gum solutions. Neither has the robustness of YSM with regard to errors in the determination of the shear-rheology parameters of the injected fluid been analysed. The shear viscosity of polymer solutions is known to be deeply influenced by polymer concentration. For these reasons, a first objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of polymer concentration on the accuracy of PSDs obtained by YSM when using xanthan gum solutions as injected fluids in laboratory experiments. To do so, xanthan gum solutions with different polymer concentrations were injected through analogous samples of a sintered silicate and the obtained PSDs were compared to the results of standard MIP. Moreover, the sensitivity of YSM to errors in the experimental determination of the shear-rheology parameters was also investigated through numerical experiments. The results of the present work permitted to gain further insight into the viability of YSM as an efficient alternative to MIP.     

Design of Tunable Devices at Terahertz Frequencies Based on Quasi-Photonic Crystals Incorporated with Graphene

In this study, we present a new theoretical model including Thue-Morse and double-period sequences as quasi-photonic crystals are incorporation with graphene and investigate the transmission properties of the THz waves in both structures using a straightforward computational method. We also consider properties of nonlinear conductivity in addition to surface linear conductivity for graphene. We observe the sharp peaks and proper forbidden bands are created in the range of $0.3$ THz to $30$ THz. In addition, we find that by considering the nonlinear term of graphene and engineering the structural parameters such as the chemical potential of graphene, number of layers and the incidence wave angle, transmission levels of peaks enhance scientifically and quality factor improve considerably. These results show that it would be possible to design of high-Q tunable filters with multi-stop bands in the THz regime which can reduce the noise associated with THz frequency peaks and increase the number of sharp frequency peaks.