Photoresponsive polyamides containing pentamethylated norbornadiene moieties: Synthesis and photochemical properties under sunlight irradiation

Photoresponsive polyamides containing main‐chain pentamethylated norbornadiene (NBD) moieties are obtained in quantitative yields via the Yamazaki–Higashi reaction between a pentamethylated NBD dicarboxylic acid and a series of aromatic diamines. Chemical structures are confirmed by ¹H and ¹³C NMR and weight average molar masses measured by SEC are in the range of 21,500–28,600 g mol^?1 with chain dispersities close to 2. Physical properties are investigated by FTIR, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis, and viscosimetry. All obtained polyamides are amorphous with glass transition temperatures ranging from 68 to 124 °C. They are soluble at room temperature in common organic solvents and exhibit good thermal stabilities with T_d10 values ranging from 175 to 276 °C. The photochemical isomerization of the NBD moiety into quadricyclane (QC) is studied by UV/vis spectroscopy after sunlight irradiation of polymer films. For all polyamides, a first‐order kinetic rate is observed for the conversion of NBD to QC. The thermal release of the stored energy associated to the reverse transformation of QC groups into NBD ones is about 90–95 kJ mol^?1 as measured by DSC of the irradiated polymer films. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 4650–4656     

Synthesis,Antibacterial, and Antifungal Activities of Imidazo[2,1-c][1,2,4]triazoles and 1,2,4-Triazolo[4,3-a]pyrimidinones

A straightforward method has been developed for the synthesis of 1-phenyl-imidazo [2,1-c][1,2,4]triazole derivatives 5a–j and 1-phenyl-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyrimidinones derivatives 6a–g starting from 5-amino-1-phenyl[1,2,4]triazole and p-toluenesulfonic acid (PTSA). This methodology affords a number of 1-phenyl-imidazo [2,1-c][1,2,4]triazoles 5a–j and 1-phenyl-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyrimidinones 6a–g in reasonable yields and short reaction times. The structures of all new compounds were elucidated using infrared, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Some of the newly synthesized compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activity.

[Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications ^® for the following free supplemental resource(s): Full experimental and spectral details.]     

Triggering of the Antibacterial Activity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus subtilis</Emphasis> B38 Strain against Methicillin-Resistant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Staphylococcus aureus</Emphasis>

When cultured in minimal growth medium, the B38 strain of Bacillus subtilis did not exhibit any antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clinical isolate. Coculturing B38 strain with viable MRSA cells weakly increased antibacterial activity production (20 AU/ml). Addition of dead MRSA cells in a B38 culture, increased by 8-fold the B. subtilis strain antibacterial activity reaching 160 AU/ml against MRSA strain. This antibacterial activity recovered from cell-free supernatants was stimulated by an autoinducing compound which is sensitive to the action of proteinase K suggesting a proteinaceous nature. This compound was heat-stable till 80 °C and showed a molecular mass around 20 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. These results suggest that the production of antibacterial compounds by B38 strain is dependent on the amount of the autoinducing compound.     

Construction of singular limits for four-dimensional elliptic problems with exponentially dominated nonlinearity

The authors consider the existence of singular limit solution for a family of nonlinear elliptic problems with exponentially dominated nonlinearity and Navier boundary condition.     

Enzymatic and Molecular Characterization of Anti-Leishmania Molecules That Differently Target Leishmania and Mammalian eIF4A Proteins,LieIF4A and eIF4AMus

Previous investigations of the Leishmania infantum eIF4A-like protein (LieIF4A) as a potential drug target delivered cholestanol derivatives inhibitors. Here, we investigated the mode of action of cholesterol derivatives as a novel scaffold structure of LieIF4A inhibitors on the RNA-dependent ATPase activity of LieIF4A and its mammalian ortholog (eIF4AI). We compared their biochemical effects on RNA-dependent ATPase activities of both proteins and investigated if rocaglamide, a known inhibitor of eIF4A, could affect LieIF4A as well. Kinetic measurements were conducted at different concentrations of ATP, of the compound and in the presence of saturating whole yeast RNA concentrations. Kinetic analyses showed different ATP binding affinities for the two enzymes as well as different sensitivities to 7-α-aminocholesterol and rocaglamide. The 7-α-aminocholesterol inhibited LieIF4A with a higher binding affinity relative to cholestanol analogs. Cholesterol, another tested sterol, had no effect on the ATPase activity of LieIF4A or eIF4AI. The 7-α-aminocholesterol demonstrated an anti-Leishmania activity on L. infantum promastigotes. Additionally, docking simulations explained the importance of the double bond between C5 and C6 in 7-α-aminocholesterol and the amino group in the C7 position. In conclusion, Leishmania and mammalian eIF4A proteins appeared to interact differently with effectors, thus making LieIF4A a potential drug against leishmaniases.     

Chemical Composition,Antioxidant, and Antimicrobial Activities of Leaves of Ajuga Iva

The main objective of this research was to study the biological characteristics in terms of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Ajuga iva and determine the best analytical and extraction methods applicable to this specie and studied compounds. A short screening of its nutritional value in terms of chemical composition is also included. A. iva leaves were analyzed for crude protein (CP), cell wall [neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL)], minerals, fatty acids, essential oils, and phenolic compounds. Mature aerial parts of A. iva were randomly collected during the Spring season from Mograne-Zaghouan, Tunisia. Leaves of A. iva contained 13.4 ± 0.4% CP, 26.3 ± 0.35% NDF, 20.2 ± 0.42% ADF, and 5.13 ± 0.21% ADL. Mineral content (13.0 ± 0.45%) was mainly composed of potassium (4.5% g DM) and magnesium (4.25% DM). Leaves of A. iva had linolenic (26.29 ± 0.760%) and linoleic (37.66 ± 2.35%) acids as the main components of the acid profile. Thymol was found to be the most dominant (23.43%) essential oil, followed by 4-vinylguaiacol (14.27%) and linalool (13.66%). HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS/MS analysis pointed out the presence of phytoecdysteroids. Phenolic acids and flavonoids, such as glycosylated derivatives of naringenin, eriodyctiol, and apigenin, were detected in the methanol extract of A. iva leaves. Our results underline the importance of choosing proper extraction methods and solvents to extract and characterize the described compounds profile of A. iva leaves. Results also show A. iva leaves as a potential source of functional ingredients with beneficial health-promoting properties. Overall, leaves of A. iva have low biological activities (antioxidant and antimicrobial activities) with a chemical composition suitable as a feed for ruminants in rangeland pasture. It also has low-grade antibacterial or medicinal characteristics when fed to ruminants.     

Economic design of attribute np control charts using a variable sampling policy

To use a control chart, the quality engineer should specify three decision variables, namely the sample size, the sampling interval and the critical region of the chart. A significant part of recent research relaxed the constraint of using fixed design parameters to open the way to a new type of control charts called adaptive ones where at least one of the decision variables may change in real time based on the last data information. These adaptive schemes have proven their effectiveness from economical and statistical point of views. In this paper, the economic design of an attribute np control chart using a variable sampling interval (VSI) is treated. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to search for optimal design parameters minimizing the expected total cost per hour and to reveal the impact of the process and cost parameters on the behavior of optimal solutions. An economic comparison between the classical np chart, variable sample size (VSS) np control chart and VSI chart is conducted. It is found that switching from the classical attribute chart to the VSI sampling strategy results in notable cost savings and in reduction of the average time to signal and the average number of false alarms. In most cases of the sensitivity analysis, the VSI np chart outperforms the VSS np chart based on economical and statistical considerations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.