The effect of virtual mass on the numerical stability of accelerating two-phase flows

The effect of the virtual mass in accelerating two-phase flow was studied for various nozzle/diffuser flows. It was found that the final results were insensitive to virtual mass effects, but the numerical stability and efficiency was greatly improved. An analysis of the eigenvalues of the mathematical systems shows that virtual mass models improve numerical stability and efficiency by changing the nature of the eigenvalues.     

Radiative and radiationless processes of Er3+ in MnF2

We have designed a method for the measurement of radiative and radiationless transition rates of fluorescent systems with several metastable levels. This method applies to systems with adjacent metastable levels connected by multiphonon relaxation processes. The measurements required are those of the integrated fluorescence intensities and decay times at different temperatures; no absorption or excitation measurements are required. We have applied this method to the study of the fluorescence of Er³⁺ in MnF₂. The knowledge of both radiative and non- radiative decays has allowed us to reconstruct the kinetics of the excitation and de-excitation processes and to find the dependence on temperature and energy gap of multiphonon relaxation processes in this system.     

Analysis of InP LEC metl flows using a parallel adaptive finite element scheme

A single-phase model for Liquid Encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) melt flows of InP is used in conjunction with a new three-dimensional parallel adaptive finite element scheme. Buoyancy, crystal rotation and crucible rotation are accounted for. The effect of the encapsulant rotation on the flow in the melt is accounted for by using a special boundary condition on the melt surface. The results of some quasi-steady simulations are presented.     

Regioselectivity and mechanism of dihalocarbene addition to benzocyclopropene

Dihalocarbenes add regioselectively to aryl-substituted benzocyclopropenes to produce dihalobenzocyclobutenes. The regioselectivity of addition is not due to steric effects but depends on the electronic donor or acceptor ability of the substituent. B3LYP/6-31G* calculations show preferential :CCl2 addition to substituted benzocyclopropene through electrophilic attack on the benzocyclopropene pi-system (Ea = 1.1-2.4 kcal/mol) rather than C-C sigma-bond insertion into the cyclopropenyl moiety (Ea = 5-24 kcal/mol). pi-Addition proceeds regioselectively through a single transition state to xylylene intermediates or directly to benzocyclobutene products.     

Indoprofen upregulates the survival motor neuron protein through a cyclooxygenase-independent mechanism

Most patients with the pediatric neurodegenerative disease spinal muscular atrophy have a homozygous deletion of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene, but retain one or more copies of the closely related SMN2 gene. The SMN2 gene encodes the same protein (SMN) but produces it at a low efficiency compared with the SMN1 gene. We performed a high-throughput screen of approximately 47,000 compounds to identify those that increase production of an SMN2-luciferase reporter protein, but not an SMN1-luciferase reporter protein. Indoprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor, selectively increased SMN2-luciferase reporter protein and endogenous SMN protein and caused a 5-fold increase in the number of nuclear gems in fibroblasts from SMA patients. No other NSAIDs or COX inhibitors tested exhibited this activity.     

The aza-

The inclusion of a C-2 trialkylsilyl substituent into allylic amine precursors allows the base-induced aza-[2,3]-Wittig sigmatropic rearrangement to proceed in excellent yield and diastereoselectivity. The rearrangement precursors require a carbonyl-based nitrogen protecting group that must be stable to the excess of strong base required for the reaction. The N-Boc and N-benzoyl group are very good at stabilizing the product anion and initiating deprotonation. The migrating groups (G) need to stabilize the intial anion by resonance and require G-CH(3)() pK(a) > 22 in order for the initial anion to be reactive enough for rearrangement. Products 7, 20b-d,f,g, and 23 are formed with high (10-20:1) anti diastereoselectivity. Product 23 containing the morpholine amide group is useful for preparing other carbonyl derivatives.     

Biological mechanism profiling using an annotated compound library

We present a method for testing many biological mechanisms in cellular assays using an annotated library of 2036 small organic molecules. This annotated compound library represents a large-scale collection of compounds with diverse, experimentally confirmed biological mechanisms and effects. We found that this chemical library is (1) more structurally diverse than conventional, commercially available libraries, (2) enriched in active compounds in a tumor cell viability assay, and (3) capable of generating hypotheses regarding biological mechanisms underlying cellular processes. We elucidated biological mechanisms relevant to the antiproliferative activity of 85 compounds from this library that were selected using a high-throughput cell viability screen. We developed a novel automated scoring system for identifying statistically enriched mechanisms among such a subset of compounds. This scoring system can identify both previously known and potentially novel antiproliferative mechanisms.     

Ester Reduction with H2 on Bifunctional Metal-Acid Catalysts: Implications of Metal Identity on Rates and Selectivities

Esters reduce to form ethers and alcohols on contact with metal nanoparticles supported on Brønsted acidic faujasite (M-FAU) that cleave C−O bonds by hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis pathways. Rates and selectivities for each pathway depend on the metal identity (M=Co, Ni, Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd, and Pt). Pt-FAU gives propyl acetate consumption rates up to 100 times greater than other M-FAU catalysts and provides an ethyl propyl ether selectivity of 34 %. Measured formation rates, kinetic isotope effects, and site titrations suggest that ester reduction involves a bifunctional mechanism that implicates the stepwise addition of H* atoms to the carbonyl to form hemiacetals on the metal sites, followed by hemiacetal diffusion to a nearby Brønsted acid site to dehydrate to ethers or decompose to alcohol and aldehyde. The rates of reduction of propyl acetate appear to be determined by the H* addition to the carbonyl and by the C−O cleavage of hemiacetal.