The asymptotic behavior of an inertial alternating proximal algorithm for monotone inclusions

The aim of this paper is to investigate the asymptotic behavior of an inertial alternating algorithm based on the composition of resolvents of monotone operators. The proposed algorithm is a generalization of those proposed in Attouch et al. (2007) [3] and Bauschke et al. (2005) [1]. As a special case, we also recover the classical alternating minimization algorithm (Acker, 1980) [2], which itself is a natural extension of the alternating projection algorithm of von Neumann (1950) [4]. An application to equilibrium problems is also proposed.     

Discontinuous Hybrid Primal Finite Element Method for Elliptic Equations

A primal hybrid finite element scheme is introduced to produce completely discontinuous solution for diffusion and convection-diffusion problems. Same rate of convergence as classical methods is obtained in suitable norms. Finally an a posteriori error estimator is given.     

On extension and refinement of the Poincaré inequality

The aim of this paper is to analyze the heat semigroup ${(\mathcal{N}_{t})_{t >0 } = \{e^{t \Delta}\}_{t >0 }}$ generated by the usual Laplacian operator Δ on ${\mathbb{R}^{d}}$ equipped with the d-dimensional Lebesgue measure. We obtain and study, via a method involving some semigroup techniques, a large family of functional inequalities that does not exist in the literature and with the local Poincaré and reverse local Poincaré inequalities as particular cases. As a consequence, we establish in parallel a new functional and integral inequality related to the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck semigroup.     

A novel carbon/chitosan paste electrode for electrochemical detection of normetanephrine in the urine

Normetanephrine is a marker for pheochromocytoma, a rare catecholamine-secreting and neuroendocrine tumor, that arises from sympathetic and parasympathetic paraganglia. In this work, a novel carbon/chitosan electrode paste was used for sensitive voltammetric determination of normetanephrine and dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid and uric acid. The modified electrode has shown an increase in the effective area of up to 68%, well-separated oxidation peaks, and an excellent electrocatalytic activity. The electrochemical response characteristics were investigated by cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry. Interestingly, high sensitivity and selectivity in the linear range of normetanephrine, dopamine, ascorbic acid, and uric acid concentrations were observed. The present method was applied in the urine sample and satisfactory results were obtained showing that this electrode is very suitable in pharmaceutical and clinical preparations.     

Kilogram-scale synthesis of a second-generation dendrimer based on 1,3,5-triazine using green and industrially compatible methods with a single chromatographic step

A kilogram scale, divergent and iterative synthesis of a second generation, triazine dendrimer with 12 protected amines on the periphery using common laboratory equipment is reported. The route benefits from common reaction conditions, inexpensive reagents, and aqueous solvents. From the monomers, the desired product dendrimer--the last uncommitted intermediate that leads to a range of committed, generation three targets--can be obtained in 70% overall yield. Of critical importance in the execution of this divergent synthesis is the differential reactivity of chlorine atoms of trichlorotriazine. The stepwise, nucleophilic aromatic substitution of these atoms with amine nucleophiles is both the basis for the dendrimer growth as well as incorporation of solubilizing piperidine groups. Intermediates are obtained and purified through precipitation and/or extraction protocols with the exception of the final product. Isolation of the target dendrimer requires a single silica gel plug filtration. The purity of this material is assessed at >93%, a level consistent with and/or exceeding other commercially available targets.     

Aryl to aryl palladium migration in the Heck and Suzuki coupling of o-halobiaryls

A novel 1,4-palladium migration between the o- and o'-positions of biaryls has been observed in organopalladium intermediates derived from o-halobiaryls. The organopalladium intermediates generated by this migration have been trapped either by a Heck reaction employing ethyl acrylate or by Suzuki cross-coupling using arylboronic acids. This palladium migration can be activated or deactivated by choosing the appropriate reaction conditions. Chemical and computational evidence supports the presence of an equilibrium that correlates with the C-H acidity of the available arene positions.     

Sage,Salvia officinalis L., Constituents,Hepatoprotective Activity,and Cytotoxicity Evaluations of the Essential Oils Obtained from Fresh and Differently Timed Dried Herbs: A Comparative Analysis

Sage, Salvia officinalis L., is used worldwide as an aromatic herb for culinary purposes as well as a traditional medicinal agent for various ailments. Current investigations exhibited the effects of extended dryings of the herb on the yields, composition, oil quality, and hepatoprotective as well as anti-cancer biological activities of the hydrodistillation-obtained essential oils from the aerial parts of the plant. The essential oils’ yields, compositions, and biological activities levels of the fresh and differently timed and room-temperature dried herbs differed significantly. The lowest yields of the essential oil were obtained from the fresh herbs (FH, 631 mg, 0.16%), while the highest yield was obtained from the two-week dried herbs (2WDH, 1102 mg, 0.28%). A notable decrease in monoterpenes, with increment in the sesquiterpene constituents, was observed for the FH-based essential oil as compared to all the other batches of the essential oils obtained from the different-timed dried herbs. Additionally, characteristic chemotypic constituents of sage, i.e., α-pinene, camphene, β-pinene, myrcene, 1, 8-cineole, α-thujone, and camphor, were present in significantly higher proportions in all the dried herbs’ essential oils as compared to the FH-based essential oil. The in vivo hepatoprotective activity demonstrated significant reductions in the levels of AST, ALT, and ALP, as well as a significant increase in the total protein (p < 0.05) contents level, as compared to the acetaminophen (AAP) administered experimental group of rats. A significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the ALT level was demonstrated by the 4WDH-based essential oil in comparison to the FH-based essential oil. The levels of creatinine, cholesterol, and triglycerides were reduced (p < 0.05) in the pre-treated rats by the essential oil batches, with non-significant differences found among them as a result of the herbs dryings based oils. A notable increase in the viability of the cells, and total antioxidant capacity (TAOxC) levels, together with the reduction in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were observed by the essential oils obtained from all the batches as compared with the AAP-treated cell-lines, HepG-2, HeLa, and MCF-7, that indicated the in vitro hepatoprotective effects of the sage essential oils. However, significant improvements in the in vivo and in vitro hepatoprotective activities with the 4WDH-based oil, as compared to all other essential oil-batches and silymarin standard demonstrated the beneficial effects of the drying protocol for the herb for its medicinal purposes.     

Preparation of Arabinoxylan and its Sorption on Bacterial Cellulose During Cultivation

The sorption of arabinoxylan (AX) on bacterial cellulose was investigated by adding AX to the culture medium of Gluconacetobacter xylinus. The starting AX material was produced by alkaline extraction of oat spelts. To investigate the impact of varying AX quality, the residual lignin was reduced by ClO₂ bleaching. Furthermore, bleached and unbleached xylans were subjected to xylanase hydrolysis in order to produce fractions of varying molar mass. Of all samples only the water soluble fractions were used for sorption experiments. A reduced molar mass resulted in a lower sorption of AX to the cellulose, while the lignin content increased the sorption of AX on bacterial cellulose. The sorption of AX resulted in a reduction of bacterial cellulose crystallinity and cellulose Iα content. In combined treatments of AX with xyloglucan and β-glucan no synergistic effect of those polysaccharides on the AX sorption was found.     

Influences of the separation distance,ship speed and channel dimension on ship maneuverability in a confined waterway

Ship maneuvering in the confined inland waterway is investigated using the system-based method, where a nonlinear transient hydrodynamic model is adopted and confinement models are implemented to account for the influence of the channel bank and bottom. The maneuvering model is validated using the turning circle test, and the confinement model is validated using the experimental data. The separation distance, ship speed, and channel width are then varied to investigate their influences on ship maneuverability. With smaller separation distances and higher speeds near the bank, the ship's trajectory deviates more from the original course and the bow is repelled with a larger yaw angle, which increase the difficulty of maneuvering. Smaller channel widths induce higher advancing resistances on the ship. The minimum distance to the bank are extracted and studied. It is suggested to navigate the ship in the middle of the channel and with a reasonable speed in the restricted waterway.