General and Efficient Transesterification of β-Keto Esters with Various Alcohols Using Et3N as a Brønsted Base Additive

Transesterification of β-keto esters with a wide variety of allyl, benzyl, propargyl, and alkyl alcohols using, for the first time, commercially available and inexpensive Et₃N as a Brønsted base additive, is efficiently performed in toluene at reflux. The corresponding esters are exclusively obtained in 57–98% yields with no trace amounts of γ,δ-ketones, usually expected from the decarboxylative Carroll rearrangement.     

Inhibition of Fungi and Gram-Negative Bacteria by Bacteriocin BacTN635 Produced by Lactobacillus plantarum sp. TN635

The aim of this study was to evaluate 54 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains isolated from meat, fermented vegetables and dairy products for their capacity to produce antimicrobial activities against several bacteria and fungi. The strain designed TN635 has been selected for advanced studies. The supernatant culture of this strain inhibits the growth of all tested pathogenic including the four Gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella enterica ATCC43972, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 49189, Hafnia sp. and Serratia sp.) and the pathogenic fungus Candida tropicalis R2 CIP203. Based on the nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene of the strain TN635 (1,540 pb accession no FN252881) and the phylogenetic analysis, we propose the assignment of our new isolate bacterium as Lactobacillus plantarum sp. TN635 strain. Its antimicrobial compound was determined as a proteinaceous substance, stable to heat and to treatment with surfactants and organic solvents. Highest antimicrobial activity was found between pH 3 and 11 with an optimum at pH?=?7. The BacTN635 was purified to homogeneity by a four-step protocol involving ammonium sulfate precipitation, centrifugal microconcentrators with a 10-kDa membrane cutoff, gel filtration Sephadex G-25, and C18 reverse-phase HPLC. SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified BacTN635, revealed a single band with an estimated molecular mass of approximately 4 kDa. The maximum bacteriocin production (5,000 AU/ml) was recorded after a 16-h incubation in Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS) medium at 30?°C. The mode of action of the partial purified BacTN635 was identified as bactericidal against Listeria ivanovii BUG 496 and as fungistatic against C. tropicalis R2 CIP203.     

Analytical solution for Van der Pol–Duffing oscillators

In this paper, the problem of single-well, double-well and double-hump Van der Pol–Duffing oscillator is studied. Governing equation is solved analytically using a new kind of analytic technique for nonlinear problems namely the “Homotopy Analysis Method” (HAM), for the first time. Present solution gives an expression which can be used in wide range of time for all domain of response. Comparisons of the obtained solutions with numerical results show that this method is effective and convenient for solving this problem. This method is a capable tool for solving this kind of nonlinear problems.     

Magnetic properties of Mn-doped GaN with defects: ab-initio calculations

According to first-principles density functional calculations,we have investigated the magnetic properties of Mn-doped GaN with defects,Ga 1-x-y V Gx Mn y N 1-z-t V Nz O t with Mn substituted at Ga sites,nitrogen vacancies V N,gallium vacancies V G and oxygen substituted at nitrogen sites.The magnetic interaction in Mn-doped GaN favours the ferromagnetic coupling via the double exchange mechanism.The ground state is found to be well described by a model based on a Mn 3+-d 5 in a high spin state coupled via a double exchange to a partially delocalized hole accommodated in the 2p states of neighbouring nitrogen ions.The effect of defects on ferromagnetic coupling is investigated.It is found that in the presence of donor defects,such as oxygen substituted at nitrogen sites,nitrogen vacancy antiferromagnetic interactions appear,while in the case of Ga vacancies,the interactions remain ferromagnetic;in the case of acceptor defects like Mg and Zn codoping,ferromagnetism is stabilized.The formation energies of these defects are computed.Furthermore,the half-metallic behaviours appear in some studied compounds.     

Electron–Phonon Superconductivity in Boron-Based Chalcogenide (X= S,Se) Monolayers

Electron–phonon mediated superconductivity is deeply investigated in two boron based monolayer materials, namely, $B_{3}S$, a metal exhibiting the ability to superconduct, and a new metal, $B_{3}Se$, presenting perfect kinetic stability. Calculations based on density functional perturbation theory combined with the maximally localized Wannier function also reveal that both materials exhibit anisotropic planar hexagonal structure like graphene. The key parameters involved in the superconductor behavior are all calculated. The electronic density in the Fermi surface is given to provide the environment for enhanced electron–phonon coupling. The longitudinal and transverse vibration modes of optical phonons mainly contribute to the electron–phonon coupling strength. Furthermore, the binding energy between the bosonic Cooper pair superfluid is quantified and determined. The critical temperature for the two materials is 20 and 10.5 K, respectively. The results obtained show the potential use of such materials for superconducting applications.