Synthesis and reactivity of N-hydroxy-2-aminoindoles

Catalytic hydrogenation of (2-nitrophenyl)acetonitriles bearing an electron-withdrawing substituent α to the nitrile, using Pd/C and (Ph₃P)₄Pd, affords N-hydroxy-2-aminoindoles in good to excellent yields. (Ph₃P)₄Pd decreases the reduction rate of the intermediate hydroxylamine and acts as a catalyst during the cyclization onto the nitrile.     

Polymer-Modified Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Affect Photosystem II Photochemistry,Intersystem Electron Transport Carriers and Photosystem I End Acceptors in Pea Plants

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) have recently been attracting the attention of plant biologists as a prospective tool for modulation of photosynthesis in higher plants. However, the exact mode of action of SWCNT on the photosynthetic electron transport chain remains unknown. In this work, we examined the effect of foliar application of polymer-grafted SWCNT on the donor side of photosystem II, the intersystem electron transfer chain and the acceptor side of photosystem I. Analysis of the induction curves of chlorophyll fluorescence via JIP test and construction of differential curves revealed that SWCNT concentrations up to 100 mg/L did not affect the photosynthetic electron transport chain. SWCNT concentration of 300 mg/L had no effect on the photosystem II donor side but provoked inactivation of photosystem II reaction centres and slowed down the reduction of the plastoquinone pool and the photosystem I end acceptors. Changes in the modulated reflection at 820 nm, too, indicated slower re-reduction of photosystem I reaction centres in SWCNT-treated leaves. We conclude that SWCNT are likely to be able to divert electrons from the photosynthetic electron transport chain at the level of photosystem I end acceptors and plastoquinone pool in vivo. Further research is needed to unequivocally prove if the observed effects are due to specific interaction between SWCNT and the photosynthetic apparatus.     

Chain regularity of isotactic polypropylene determined by different thermal fractionation methods

The chain regularity of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) homopolymer and random copolymers was characterized by different thermal fractionation methods in this study. Different stepwise temperature programs were applied in a calorimeter (DSC), in order to develop a method which is significantly faster than stepwise isothermal segregation technique (SIST) and provides reliable information about the chain regularity of iPP. Our studies prove that self-seeding accelerates the crystallization process during annealing in SSA–DSC experiments (successive self-nucleation and annealing). Consequently, the time of isothermal steps can be shortened significantly in the SSA–DSC method. On the other hand, we found that step time should not be too short if the goal of the measurement is the determination of average chain regularity. Our results clearly indicate that both the experimental conditions and the evaluation technique influence the obtained results. A standard experimental procedure is proposed for reliably determining the average chain regularity of iPP. The length of the SSA–DSC temperature program developed in this study is much shorter compared to that of the conventional SIST measurements used recently for such experiments. The proposed SSA–DSC program makes the reliable characterization of a large number of samples on an acceptable timescale possible.     

Identification of volatile components of liverwort (Porella cordaeana) extracts using GC/MS-SPME and their antimicrobial activity

Chemical constituents of liverwort (Porella cordaeana) extracts have been identified using solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography mass spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS). The methanol, ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts were rich in terpenoids such as sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (53.12%, 51.68%, 23.16%), and monoterpene hydrocarbons (22.83%, 18.90%, 23.36%), respectively. The dominant compounds in the extracts were β-phellandrene (15.54%, 13.66%, 12.10%) and β-caryophyllene (10.72%, 8.29%, 7.79%, respectively). The antimicrobial activity of the extracts was evaluated against eleven food microorganisms using the microdilution and disc diffusion methods. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) varied from 0.50 to 2.00 mg/mL for yeast strains (Saccharomyces cerevisiae 635, Zygosacharomyces bailii 45, Aerobasidium pullulans L6F, Pichia membranaefaciens OC 71, Pichia membranaefaciens OC 70, Pichia anomala CBS 5759, Pichia anomala DBVPG 3003 and Yarrowia lipolytica RO13), and from 1.00 to 3.00 mg/mL for bacterial strains (Salmonella enteritidis 155, Escherichia coli 555 and Listeria monocytogenes 56Ly). Methanol extract showed better activity in comparison with ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts. High percentages of monoterpene and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons could be responsible for the better antimicrobial activity.     

Stable self-homotopy equivalences

In this paper we develop a new method for the study of structural properties of the group stable self-homotopy equivalences. Using this new approach we give more efficient proofs for some classical theorems, together with a series of new results.     

Optimal strong Mal’cev conditions for congruence meet-semidistributivity in locally finite varieties

Locally finite, congruence meet-semidistributive varieties have been characterized by numerous Mal’cev conditions and, recently, by two strong Mal’cev conditions. We provide three new strong Mal’cev characterizations and a new Mal’cev characterization each of which improves the known ones in some way.     

A general method for the computation of probabilities in systems of first order chemical reactions

We present a general method for the computation of molecular population distributions in a system of first-order chemical reactions. The method is based on the observation that the molecules in first-order reactions do not interact with each other. Therefore, the population distributions are a convolution of densities for one molecule. With this method one can study reactions involving any number of molecules. Such analysis is demonstrated on several examples, including an enzyme catalyst reaction and a first-order reaction chain.