Turbulent flow in a ribbed channel: Flow structures in the vicinity of a rib

PIV measurements are performed in a channel with periodic ribs on one wall. The emphasis of this study is to investigate the flow structures in the vicinity of a rib in terms of mean velocities, Reynolds stresses, probability density functions (PDF), and two-point correlations. The PDF distribution of u′ is bimodal in the separated shear layer downstream of the rib. The maximum Reynolds shear stresses occur at the leading edge of the rib. Based on quadrant analysis, it is found that ejection motions make a dominant contribution to the Reynolds shear stress in this region. Moreover, topology-based visualization is applied to the separation bubble upstream of the rib. Salient critical points and limit cycles are extracted, which gives clues to the physical processes occurring in the flow.     

A Six-Pulse PASS MAS-NMR Technique Solved by a Phasor Method

The PASS MAS-NMR technique is capable of recovering full intensities of the central resonances of a spectrum by phase adjusting the spinning sidebands. This variant of the original PASS sequence by Dixon uses six π pulses instead of four. The addition of two π pulses provides more flexibility in choosing the spacing between pulses and therefore eliminates pulse overlap and receiver dead-time problems. The nonlinear, underdetermined PASS equations were solved using a graphical phasor method. All PASS sequences were successfully tested. A table of the six pulse delay times for different pitches is presented.     

Locked by Design: A Conformationally Constrained Transglutaminase Tag Enables Efficient Site‐Specific Conjugation

Based on the crystal structure of a natural protein substrate for microbial transglutaminase, an enzyme that catalyzes protein crosslinking, a recognition motif for site‐specific conjugation was rationally designed. Conformationally locked by an intramolecular disulfide bond, this structural mimic of a native conjugation site ensured efficient conjugation of a reporter cargo to the therapeutic monoclonal antibody cetuximab without erosion of its binding properties.     

Dynamics of Fluorescent Dyes Attached to G‐Quadruplex DNA and their Effect on FRET Experiments

FRET spectroscopy is a promising approach for investigating the dynamics of G‐quadruplex DNA folds and improving the targeting of G‐quadruplexes by potential anticancer compounds. To better interpret such experiments, classical and replica‐exchange molecular dynamics simulations and fluorescence‐lifetime measurements are used to understand the behavior of a range of Cy3‐based dyes attached to the 3′ end of G‐quadruplex DNA. The simulations revealed that the dyes interact extensively with the G‐quadruplex. Identification of preferred dye positions relative to the G‐quadruplex in the simulations allows the impact of dye–DNA interactions on FRET results to be determined. All the dyes show significant deviations from the common approximation of being freely rotating and not interacting with the host, but one of the Cy3 dye analogues is slightly closer to this case.     

Total Synthesis of (+)‐Rubriflordilactone A

Two enantioselective total syntheses of the nortriterpenoid natural product rubriflordilactone A are described, which use palladium‐ or cobalt‐catalyzed cyclizations to form the CDE rings, and converge on a late‐stage synthetic intermediate. These key processes are set up through the convergent coupling of a common diyne component with appropriate AB‐ring aldehydes, a strategy that sets the stage for the synthetic exploration of other members of this family of natural products.     

Crystal Structure and Magnetic Properties of a Hexanuclear Copper(II) Carboxylate

The synthesis and characterisation of the hexanuclear copper(II) carboxylate complex [Cu(O₂CCHPhOC₂H₄OC₂H₄OCH₃)₂]₆ ( 1 ) is described. Single‐crystal X‐ray structure analysis reveals that the copper(II) ions are arranged in a six‐membered ring which adopts a chair‐like conformation. The copper(II) ions are bridged by μ₂‐ and μ₃‐coordinating carboxylates. The magnetic behavior of 1 was measured between 2 and 300 K, revealing at low temperature a weak antiferromagnetic interaction. The χ_M(T) dependency was fitted mathematically with one coupling constant J₁ and a paramagnetic impurity α.     

Desch‐Schappacher perturbation of one‐parameter semigroups on locally convex spaces

We prove a Desch‐Schappacher type perturbation theorem for strongly continuous and locally equicontinuous one‐parameter semigroups which are defined on a sequentially complete locally convex space.     

Remobilization of pentavalent antimony and vanadium from a granular iron hydroxide material--a comparative study of different leaching systems

The remobilization of antimony and vanadium from previously loaded commercial granular ferric-hydroxide GEH material (intended for water treatment) was examined by using a sequential extraction procedure and three different leaching systems to evaluate their physicochemical mobility and potential availability under different simulated environmental conditions. A classical batch extraction, an extraction cell (EC) and rotating-coiled columns (RCC) were used as extraction systems.For each system it could be shown that the content of ion-exchangeable antimony and vanadium in previously loaded material is negligible (<1.5%). The oxyanions were sorbed strongly and could be predominantly remobilized through reducing agents, which means through dissolution of the iron (hydr)oxide matrix.The major advantages of dynamic systems in comparison to batchwise fractionation technique are the drastically reduced extraction time and the possibility of generating information to the leaching kinetics. It is shown that the efficiency of the three leaching systems is quite different employing Wenzel's sequential fractionation protocol. Only by working with RCC, the iron (hydr)oxide matrix was completely dissolved within four steps resulting in the total mobilization of antimony and vanadium. EC seems to be less suitable for leaching studies of Sb and V sorbed on iron(hydr)oxide. The remobilizable proportion of the several fractions was lower in comparison to batch and RCC and seems to be a result of an agglomeration of the GEH in the EC device.     

Optimizing the formation of biocompatible gold nanorods for cancer research: functionalization, stabilization and purification

We have investigated the most efficient way of preparing biocompatible gold nanorods (GNR) used as tool for cancer imaging and therapy. The surface of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide-stabilized gold nanorods (GNR-CTAB) was functionalized with various thio-polyethylene glycols of the general formula HS-PEGmX (m=356-10,000; X=-OMe, -NH(2)). The influence of several parameters such as PEG chain length, reaction conditions and purification method on long-term stability, morphology and optical properties of the produced GNR-S-PEGmX was studied, demonstrating the existence of a threshold HS-PEGmX chain length (with molecular weight m≥2000) for efficient steric stabilization of GNR. Several purification techniques were compared: dialysis, centrifugation and a rarely used technique in this field, size exclusion chromatography. While a very weak efficiency of dialysis was evidenced, both centrifugation and size exclusion chromatography were found to provide pure GNRs, though the latter method yielded nanoparticles with a significantly higher stability. Finally, the long-term stability of the produced GNRs was investigated in various media: water, PBS buffer and serum.     

3-(Hetero)aryl-4-indolylamino-α-tetralones by diastereoselective internal redox cyclization: an "azaenamine" conjugate addition

(E)-3-(hetero)aryl-1-(2-((E)-(indolin-1-ylimino)methyl)phenyl)prop-2-en-1-ones 1 undergo 6-exo-trig cyclization reactions upon treatment with BF(3)·Me(2)S in dichloromethane at low temperature to give the tetralones 10 in good yield. This cyclization process can be considered to be an intramolecular Michael-type addition which is accompanied by an internal redox reaction as the indoline fragment is oxidized to indole with simultaneous hydrogen shift to nitrogen atom N1 and the α-carbon atom of the Michael system. The reactions at the iminic centers take place via umpolung of the classical carbonyl reactivity. The reaction is diastereoselective and affords exclusively 3,4-disubstituted α-tetralones 10 as trans-diastereomers. According to quantum chemical calculations the reactions take place under kinetic control with the trans-diastereomer being the kinetically favored product as it has the lower activation barrier compared to the cis-diastereomer.