Cerium(IV) oxide as a neutral catalyst for aldehyde-induced decarboxylative coupling of l-proline with triethyl phosphite and nitromethane

The application of cerium(IV) oxide (CeO₂) as a neutral and heterogeneous catalyst for aldehyde-induced decarboxylative coupling of l-proline with triethyl phosphite and nitromethane is described. In addition, a [3+2] cycloaddition reaction of the in situ generated 1,3-dipolar intermediate with benzaldehyde in the absence of a nucleophile is also reported.     

Posthypoxic behavioral impairment and mortality of Drosophila melanogaster are associated with high temperatures,enhanced predeath activity and oxidative stress

Hypoxia is an underlying pathophysiological condition of a variety of devastating diseases, including acute ischemic stroke (AIS). We are faced with limited therapeutic options for AIS patients, and even after successful restoration of cerebral blood flow, the poststroke mortality is still high. More basic research is needed to explain mortality after reperfusion and to develop adjunct neuroprotective therapies. Drosophila melanogaster (D.m.) is a suitable model to analyze hypoxia; however, little is known about the impacts of hypoxia and especially of the subsequent reperfusion injury on the behavior and survival of D.m. To address this knowledge gap, we subjected two wild-type D.m. strains (Canton-S and Oregon-R) to severe hypoxia (<0.3% O₂) under standardized environmental conditions in a well-constructed hypoxia chamber. During posthypoxic reperfusion (21% O₂), we assessed fly activity (evoked and spontaneous) and analyzed molecular characteristics (oxidative stress marker abundance, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and metabolic activity) at various timepoints during reperfusion. First, we established standard conditions to induce hypoxia in D.m. to guarantee stable and reproducible experiments. Exposure to severe hypoxia under defined conditions impaired the climbing ability and reduced the overall activity of both D.m. strains. Furthermore, a majority of the flies died during the early reperfusion phase (up to 24 h). Interestingly, the flies that died early exhibited elevated activity before death compared to that of the flies that survived the entire reperfusion period. Additionally, we detected increases in ROS and stress marker (Catalase, Superoxide Dismutase and Heat Shock Protein 70) levels as well as reductions in metabolic activity in the reperfusion phase. Finally, we found that changes in environmental conditions impacted the mortality rate. In particular, decreasing the temperature during hypoxia or the reperfusion phase displayed a protective effect. In conclusion, our data suggest that reperfusion-dependent death might be associated with elevated temperatures, predeath activity, and oxidative stress.Subject terms: Stroke, Molecular neuroscience     

Geochemical characterization of miocene core sediments from Shahbazpur gas-wells (Bangladesh) in terms of elemental abundances by instrumental neutron activation analysis

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Geochemical characterization of Shahbazpur structure (Bengal Foredeep) in terms of elemental abundances obtained from INAA are presented by...     

Aluminum dodecatungstophosphate (AlPW12O40) as an efficient heterogeneous inorganic catalyst for the chemoselective synthesis of geminal diacetates (acylals) under solvent-free conditions

An efficient and chemoselective preparation of acylals from structurally different aldehydes in the presence of AlPW₁₂O₄₀ and acetic anhydride was achieved easily in high yields at room temperature under solvent-free conditions.     

Computing the bump number is easy

The bump number b(P) of a partial order P is the minimum number of comparable adjacent pairs in some linear extension of P. It has an interesting application in the context of linear circuit layout problems. Its determination is equivalent to maximizing the number of jumps in some linear extension of P, for which the corresponding minimization problem (the jump number problem) is known to be NP-hard. We derive a polynomial algorithm for determining b(P). The proof of its correctness is based on a min-max theorem involving simple-structured series-parallel partial orders contained in P. This approach also leads to a characterization of all minimal partial orders (with respect to inclusion of the order relations) with fixed bump number.Supported by Sonderforschungsbereich 303 of the University of Bonn.Supported by DAAD and SSHRC, Grant No. 451861295.     

Identification of small amplitude perturbations in the electromagnetic parameters from partial dynamic boundary measurements

We consider the inverse problem of reconstructing small amplitude perturbations in the conductivity for the wave equation from partial (on part of the boundary) dynamic boundary measurements. Through construction of appropriate test functions by a geometrical control method we provide a rigorous derivation of the inverse Fourier transform of the perturbations in the conductivity as the leading order of an appropriate averaging of the partial dynamic boundary perturbations. This asymptotic formula is generalized to the full time-dependent Maxwell's equations. Our formulae may be expected to lead to very effective computational identification algorithms, aimed at determining electromagnetic parameters of an object based on partial dynamic boundary measurements.     

Aluminumdodecatungstophosphate (AlPW12O40) as a reusable Lewis acid catalyst: Facile regioselective ring opening of epoxides with alcohols, acetic acid and thiols

AlPW₁₂O₄₀ as a recyclable Lewis acid and stable solid compound was introduced for efficient ring opening of different epoxides with thiols, acetic acid, and primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols. These processes were carried out at room temperature with high regio- and stereoselectivity.     

Hardware Implementation of Discrete Stochastic Arithmetic

In this paper we present a hardware implementation of the Discrete Stochastic Arithmetic (DSA) which is based on CESTAC (Controle et Estimation STochastique des Arrondis de Calculs), a method of controlling round-off errors in floating-point scientific computations. Real-time software implementation of this method suffers from computation bottlenecks. This paper gives a hardware alternative that would significantly accelerate the computation. The proposed architecture is based on a Stochastic Floating-Point Unit (SFPU) which performs discrete stochastic operations. This SFPU has been integrated in a coprocessor, used in a complete System on Chip (SoC).