Electrocatalytic activity of binary Palladium Ruthenium anode catalyst on Ni-support for ethanol alkaline fuel cells

In search for a cheaper anode catalyst for the oxidation of ethanol for development of direct alcohol fuel cells, Pd has been considered here as an interesting substitute for Pt in Pt Ru binary electrodeposite. The binary catalyst when co-deposited on nickel support has been found to increase the current density and decrease the anodic overvoltage significantly with respect to pure Pt, Pd and Ni. Its electrocatalytic capability is also comparable with that of the Pt-Ru binary electrocatalyst on Ni-support, when studied in 1 M EtOH containing 1 M NaOH solution. The effect of loading of Pd Ru electrocatalyst on Ni support has also been tested. The electrocatalytic activity of the electrodes for oxidation of ethanol has been explained by studies of cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, steady-state polarization, and conjugated scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy. It has been found that electrode containing the higher amount of deposit are less affected by carbonaceous poisons.     

Condensation of 4-aryl-4-oxobutanoic acids with benzylamines: Synthetic and structural studies on 1-arylmethyl-3-[(<Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis>)-1-arylmethylidene]-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-2-pyrrolones

The microwave-mediated reaction of 4-aryl-4-oxobutanoic acids with benzylamines furnished 1-arylmethyl-3-[(E)-1-arylmethylidene]-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolones. This result is in contract to the earlier report on this reaction conducted under neat conditions. Structures for the products were assigned on the basis of spectral data and confirmed by independent synthesis. __________ Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 3, pp. 368–373, March, 2007.     

A new isoprenyl phenyl ether compound from mangrove fungus

A new isoprenyl phenyl ether, 3-hydroxy-4-(3-methylbut-2-enyloxy)benzoic acid methyl ester (1), together with 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (2), 2-hydroxy-6-methylbenzoic acid (3), and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid (4) were isolated from Mangrove fungus (No. B60) from the South China Sea. The structures of the compounds were established on the basis of NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data. In the preliminary bioassay, compound 1 exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activities. Compound 1 also inhibited cytotoxicity to the hepG2 cell line with an IC₅₀ value of 10.0 μg/mL. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 313–314, July–August, 2007.     

Global Forcing Number of Benzenoid Graphs

A global forcing set in a simple connected graph G with a perfect matching is any subset S of E(G) such that the restriction of the characteristic function of perfect matchings of G on S is an injection. The number of edges in a global forcing set of the smallest cardinality is called the global forcing number of G. In this paper we prove several results concerning global forcing sets and numbers of benzenoid graphs. In particular, we prove that all catacondensed benzenoids and catafused coronoids with n hexagons have the global forcing number equal to n, and that for pericondensed benzenoids the global forcing number is always strictly smaller than the number of hexagons.     

Thermal studies of pre-formulates of metronidazole obtained by spray drying technique

Compatibility studies between active drugs and excipients are substantial in the pharmaceutical technology. The objective of the present work was to develop pre-formulated mixtures of metronidazole (MT) obtained by spray drying (SPDR) and their thermoanalytical characterization. Dynamic and isothermal TG, conventional DSC and DSC coupled to a photovisual system were used. DSC experiments with both techniques confirmed the homogeneity of the conventional and pre-formulated mixtures. The TG data made possible the comparison the thermal stability of the different mixtures. Similar thermal stabilities were found of the conventional and pre-formulated mixtures, with slower particles sizes of MT.     

A theoretical study of electronic excited states of photosynthetic reaction center in Rhodopseudomonas viridis

The electronic singlet vertical excited states of photosynthetic reaction center (PSRC) in Rhodopseudomonas (Rps.) viridis were investigated by ZINDO and INDO/S methods. The effects of the interactions of pigment-pigment and pigment-protein on the electronic excitations were examined. The calculation results showed that the interactions of pigment-pigment and pigment-protein play an important role in reasonably assigning the experimental absorption and circular dichroism (CD) spectra of PSRC in Rps. virids. By comparing the theoretically computed excited states with the experimental absorption and CD spectra, satisfactory assignments of the experimental spectroscopic peaks were achieved.     

Heterocyclic inflammation inhibitors

Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the most widely used medicines for relief of pain. These drugs have some side effects, particularly toxicity in the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys. Various approaches have been used for obtaining safer anti-inflammatory drugs. In this review we have summarized the recent developments in the following areas; (i) mode of action of NSAIDs (ii) Role of COX-1 & COX-2 in inflammation, (iii) Different approaches used to improve gastric tolerance i.e. chemical manipulation, formulation & co-administration, development of non specific (COX-1 & COX-2 inhibitors) and specific (COX-2 inhibitors) inflammation inhibitors, and development of inflammation inhibitors having a mode of action other than COX-1 & COX-2 inhibition. We have also focused on the safety of COX-2 inhibitors and the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds and their role as inflammation inhibitors.     

Angular hydroxymethyl directed intramolecular Diels-Alder approach for the stereo- and regioselective synthesis of pimaraditerpenes

The stereo- and regioselective synthetic route to pimaraditerpenes, employing an angular hydroxymethyl directed intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of the decaline intermediate, has been developed. This synthetic approach allows prompt access to both natural pimaraditerpenes and the unnatural regioisomers, which would be potentially new anti-inflammatory pimaraditerpenes.     

Lysophosphatidic acid induces astrocyte proliferation in hippocampus slices partially through activating extracellular signal-regulated kinases

The goal of the present study is to test the hypothesis that LPA induces proliferation of astrocytes in hippocampus in vivo via phosphorylation of ERK 1/2. We first characterized the expression of GFAP, a special marker fiber protein of astrocytes, in brain slices after direct injection of LPA into hippocampus by immunohistochemistry, and found that LPA induced a remarkable proliferation of astrocytes. Then double-lablled immunofluorescence was used to detect GFAP and phosphorylation ERK 1/2 (p-ERK 1/2), LPA induced an immediate (10 min) and transient (<30 min) phosphorylation of ERK 1/2, and sequence sustained activation of ERK 1/2 was observed, which last for at least 3 weeks after injection of LPA. Reactions are inhibited by U0126, a specific pharmacological mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK) inhibitor. Laser confocal scanning was used to study spatial relationship of p-ERK and astrocytes. Amazingly, the early (<7 days) phosphorylation of ERK 1/2 is not expressed in astrocytes but in area where neurons and/or in other cell type(s) occupied, expression of p-ERK 1/2 in astrocytes is not detected until 14 days after LPA injection and lasts for at least 3 weeks. Taken together, these data suggest that LPA play an important role in proliferation of astrocytes through phosphorylation of ERK 1/2 in hippocampus. It provides further proof for the functions of LPA in CNS injury, and may contribute to clinical therapy for relative diseases.     

化学气相淀积法合成氮化铝薄膜及其工艺设计

对ＡｌＢｒ３－ＮＨ３－Ｎ２体系化学气相淀积法合成Ａ１Ｎ膜进行了热力学分析和工艺设计，研究了在不同淀积温度和体系总压时，体系中主要气态物种的平衡分压和Ａ１Ｎ膜的理论淀积速率与源温和载气流量的关系，并与微波等离子体化学气相淀积Ａ１Ｎ膜的实验结果进行了比较。