General one-pot, three-step methodology leading to an extended class of N-heterocyclic cations: spontaneous nucleophilic addition, cyclization, and hydride loss

A new class of phenanthridinium derivative has been isolated from the reaction of 2-bromoethyl-phenanthridinium bromide with a range of primary amines in excellent yields. The reaction pathway is unprecedented and proceeds via three cascade steps: nucleophilic attack of a primary amine on the iminium moiety of a heteroaromatic ring system and cyclization to form a five-membered ring, followed by hydride loss to yield a rearomatized dihydro-1H-imidazo[1,2-f]phenanthridinium derivative. A range of NMR phase transfer experiments were carried out to elucidate the mechanistic pathway, and the methodology has been further developed by means of a biphasic system using N-bromosuccinimide as a co-oxidizing agent. The method has also been extended to other N-heterocyclic cation derivatives such as quinolinium and quinazolinium.     

Filtered optical feedback induced frequency dynamics in semiconductor lasers

We demonstrate experimentally and numerically that, by spectrally filtering the delayed optical feedback into a semiconductor laser, one can elicit novel dynamics in the frequency of the laser output light on a time scale that is set by the delay time of the feedback. In particular, we show that through a judicious choice of the filter bandwidth, and its frequency relative to that of the laser, one can produce controlled oscillations in the frequency of light from the laser.     

Adsorption of cobalt ions on the "electrolytic solution/gamma-alumina" interface studied by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS)

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was used for the first time to investigate the adsorption of the [Co(H2O)6]2+ ions on the interface developed between the surface of the gamma-alumina particles and the electrolytic aqueous solutions used for the preparation of cobalt-supported gamma-alumina catalysts by equilibrium deposition filtration. The formation of inner-sphere Co(II) surface complexes in which Co(II) is in octahedral symmetry was confirmed. A deconvolution peak centered at approximately 585 nm was attributed to the exchange of one aqua ligand with one AlxOHy (x = 1, 2, or 3; y = 0 or 1) negatively charged surface group resulting in the formation of mononuclear monosubstituted inner-sphere Co(II) complexes at a Co(II) surface concentration equal to 0.02 micromol of Co(II)/m2. It was inferred that as the surface Co(II) concentration increases the formation of disubstituted and/or trisubstituted surface complexes is favored with respect to the formation of monosubstituted Co(II) surface complexes. A deconvolution peak centered at approximately 640 nm was attributed to the exchange of one or more aqua ligands with bridging hydroxo ligands (Co-O-H). The relative magnitude of this peak increases with the Co(II) surface concentration, reflecting the increasing formation of binuclear, oligonuclear, and multinuclear Co(II) surface complexes and then the formation of the Co(II) surface precipitate.     

Synthesis of methanesulfonyl chloride (MSC) from methane and sulfuryl chloride

Methane is transformed selectively to methanesulfonyl chloride at low temperature by liquid-phase reaction of methane with SO(2)Cl(2) in the presence of a free radical initiator and a promoter using 100% H(2)SO(4) as the solvent.     

Direct oxidation of methane to acetic acid catalyzed by Pd2+ and Cu2+ in the presence of molecular oxygen

Methane is catalytically converted primarily to acetic acid in concentrated sulfuric acid using a combination of Pd(2+) and Cu(2+) in the presence of oxygen.     

Equilibrium schemes for scalar conservation laws with stiff sources

We consider a simple model case of stiff source terms in hyperbolic conservation laws, namely, the case of scalar conservation laws with a zeroth order source with low regularity. It is well known that a direct treatment of the source term by finite volume schemes gives unsatisfactory results for both the reduced CFL condition and refined meshes required because of the lack of accuracy on equilibrium states. The source term should be taken into account in the upwinding and discretized at the nodes of the grid. In order to solve numerically the problem, we introduce a so-called equilibrium schemes with the properties that (i) the maximum principle holds true; (ii) discrete entropy inequalities are satisfied; (iii) steady state solutions of the problem are maintained. One of the difficulties in studying the convergence is that there are no estimates for this problem. We therefore introduce a kinetic interpretation of upwinding taking into account the source terms. Based on the kinetic formulation we give a new convergence proof that only uses property (ii) in order to ensure desired compactness framework for a family of approximate solutions and that relies on minimal assumptions. The computational efficiency of our equilibrium schemes is demonstrated by numerical tests that show that, in comparison with an usual upwind scheme, the corresponding equilibrium version is far more accurate. Furthermore, numerical computations show that equilibrium schemes enable us to treat efficiently the sources with singularities and oscillating coefficients.

     

Dynamic and redundant regulation of LRRK2 and LRRK1 expression

Background  

Mutations within the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene account for a significant proportion of autosomal-dominant and some late-onset sporadic Parkinson's disease. Elucidation of LRRK2 protein function in health and disease provides an opportunity for deciphering molecular pathways important in neurodegeneration. In mammals, LRRK1 and LRRK2 protein comprise a unique family encoding a GTPase domain that controls intrinsic kinase activity. The expression profiles of the murine LRRK proteins have not been fully described and insufficiently characterized antibodies have produced conflicting results in the literature.     

Geometrothermodynamics of a Charged Black Hole of String Theory

The thermodynamics of the Gibbons–Maeda–Garfinkle–Horowitz–Strominger charged black hole from string theory is reformulated within the context of the recently developed formalism of geometrothermodynamics. The geometry of the space of equilibrium states is curved, but we show that the thermodynamic curvature does not diverge at the phase transition point expected when the black hole solution becomes a naked singularity. This provides a counterexample to the conventional notion that such a divergence signals the occurrence of a second-order phase transition.     

On Thermodynamical Relation Between Rotating Charged BTZ Black Holes and Effective String Theory

In this paper we study the first law of thermodynamics for the （2＋1）-dimensional rotating charged BTZ black hole considering a pair of thermodynamical systems constructed with the two horizons of this solution. We show that these two systems are similar to the right and left movers of string theory and that the temperature associated with the black hole is the harmonic mean of the temperatures associated with these two systems.