The separation of some Bi- and tervalent cations on zirconium phosphate columns

Summary On small columns filled with the inorganic cation-exchanger zirconium phosphate, Zn²⁺-Cd²⁺ were quantitatively and Ni²⁺-Co²⁺ partly separated. The exchanger was in the NH₄+ form, and 0.5–4N NH₄Cl served as eluent. With the exchanger in the H+ form, U0₂ ²⁺ was separated from bivalent cations and ferric iron by stepwise elution with 0.1, 0.5 and 4N HCl solutions.

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Zusammenfassung An kleinen Säulen des anorganischen Kationenaustauschers Zirkoniumphosphat wurden Zn²⁺ und Cd²⁺ quantitativ, Ni²⁺ und Co²⁺ teilweise getrennt. Der Austauscher lag in der NH₄+-Form vor, 0,5-bis 4-n Ammoniumchlorid diente als Eluent. Mit der H+-Form des Austauschers wurde UO₂ ²⁺ von zweiwertigen Kationen und von Fe³⁺ durch schrittweise Elution mit 0,1-, 0,5- und 4-n Salzsäure getrennt.

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Résumé On a séparé Zn²⁺-Cd²⁺ quantitativement et Ni²⁺-Co²⁺ partiellement sur de petites colonnes remplies de phosphate de zirconium comme échangeur minéral cationique. L'échangeur se trouvait sous forme NH₄+ et l'on a pris NH₄Cl 0,5-4N comme éluant. Avec l'échangeur sous forme H⁺, on a séparé UO₂ ²⁺ des cations bivalents et de l'ion ferrique par élution graduelle avec des solutions chlorhydriques 0,1, 0,5 et 4N.

     

Virtual Screening and Hit Selection of Natural Compounds as Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is one of the classical targets in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Inhibition of AChE slows down the hydrolysis of acetycholine and increases choline levels, improving the cognitive function. The achieved success of plant-based natural drugs acting as AChE inhibitors, such as galantamine (GAL) from Galanthus genus and huperzine A from Huperzia serrate (approved drug in China), in the treatment of AD, and the fact that natural compounds (NCs) are considered as safer and less toxic compared to synthetic drugs, led us to screen the available NCs (almost 150,000) in the ZINC12 database for AChE inhibitory activity. The compounds were screened virtually by molecular docking, filtered for suitable ADME properties, and 32 ligands from 23 structural groups were selected. The stability of the complexes was estimated via 1 μs molecular dynamics simulation. Ten compounds formed stable complexes with the enzyme and had a vendor and a reasonable price per mg. They were tested for AChE inhibitory and antioxidant activity. Five compounds showed weak AChE inhibition and three of them exhibited high antioxidant activity.     

Synthesis and Antiviral Properties against SARS-CoV-2 of Epoxybenzooxocino[4,3-b]Pyridine Derivatives

The COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing as of mid-2022 and requires the development of new therapeutic drugs, because the existing clinically approved drugs are limited. In this work, seven derivatives of epoxybenzooxocinopyridine were synthesized and tested for the ability to inhibit the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in cell cultures. Among the described compounds, six were not able to suppress the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ replication. One compound, which is a derivative of epoxybenzooxocinopyridine with an attached side group of 3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2-one, demonstrated antiviral activity comparable to that of one pharmaceutical drug. The described compound is a prospective lead substance, because the half-maximal effective concentration is 2.23 μg/μL, which is within a pharmacologically achievable range.     

Pulsed Nd:YAG laser welding of AISI 304 to AISI 420 stainless steels

The technique to weld AISI 304 stainless steel to AISI 420 stainless steel with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser has been investigated. The main objective of this study was to determine the influence of the laser beam position, with respect to the joint, on weld characteristics. Specimens were welded with the laser beam incident on the joint and moved 0.1 and 0.2 mm on either side of the joint. The joints were examined in an optical microscope for cracks, pores and to determine the weld geometry. The microstructure of the weld and the heat affected zones were observed in a scanning electron microscope. An energy dispersive spectrometer, coupled to the scanning electron microscope, was used to determine variations in (weight %) the main chemical elements across the fillet weld. Vickers microhardness testing and tensile testing were carried out to determine the mechanical properties of the weld. The results of the various tests and examinations enabled definition of the best position for the incident laser beam with respect to the joint, for welding together the two stainless steels.     

Novel Inhibitors of 2′-O-Methyltransferase of the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus

The COVID-19 pandemic is still affecting many people worldwide and causing a heavy burden to global health. To eliminate the disease, SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the pandemic, can be targeted in several ways. One of them is to inhibit the 2′-O-methyltransferase (nsp16) enzyme that is crucial for effective translation of viral RNA and virus replication. For methylation of substrates, nsp16 utilizes S-adenosyl methionine (SAM). Binding of a small molecule in the protein site where SAM binds can disrupt the synthesis of viral proteins and, as a result, the replication of the virus. Here, we performed high-throughput docking into the SAM-binding site of nsp16 for almost 40 thousand structures, prepared for compounds from three libraries: Enamine Coronavirus Library, Enamine Nucleoside Mimetics Library, and Chemdiv Nucleoside Analogue Library. For the top scoring ligands, semi-empirical quantum-chemical calculations were performed, to better estimate protein–ligand binding enthalpy. Relying upon the calculated binding energies and predicted docking poses, we selected 21 compounds for experimental testing.     

DMSA and its complexes with radioisotopes: review

Meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) forms stable complexes with a remarkable wide range of metal ions. This relatively small molecule has attracted increasing attention in the field of radiopharmacy, treatment of heavy metal intoxications and nanoparticles preparation. In this review detailed summary of all physical, chemical and biological properties of DMSA and its complex compounds with ^99mTc, ^186/188Re, ¹⁶⁶Ho, ¹⁷⁷Lu and ⁹⁰Y is provided. The clinical utilisation of DMSA complexes in the nuclear medicine and its use for treatment of heavy metal intoxication is briefly summarised. The aspects of its application in the field of nanoparticles preparation is behind the scope of this review, therefore it is only shortly described.     

Unexpected formation of dinaphthoaza-17-crown-5 ether containing γ-aminopiperidine subunit

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Statistical inference for Vasicek-type model driven by Hermite processes

Let $Z$ denote a Hermite process of order $q\ge 1$ and self-similarity parameter $H\in (\frac{1}{2},1)$. This process is $H$-self-similar, has stationary increments and exhibits long-range dependence. When $q=1$, it corresponds to the fractional Brownian motion, whereas it is not Gaussian as soon as $q?2$. In this paper, we deal with a Vasicek-type model driven by $Z$, of the form $d{X}_t=a(b?X_t)dt+d{Z}_t$. Here, $a>0$ and $b\in \mathbb{R}$ are considered as unknown drift parameters. We provide estimators for $a$ and $b$ based on continuous-time observations. For all possible values of $H$ and $q$, we prove strong consistency and we analyze the asymptotic fluctuations.     

Intermolecular interactions between natural humic substances and tricyclic antidepressants

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On the variety of triangles for a hyper-Kähler fourfold constructed by Debarre and Voisin

We study the similarities between the Fano varieties of lines on a cubic fourfold, a hyper-Kähler fourfold studied by Beauville and Donagi, and the hyper-Kähler fourfold constructed by Debarre and Voisin in [3]. We exhibit an analog of the notion of “triangle” for these varieties and prove that the 6-dimensional variety of “triangles” is a Lagrangian subvariety in the cube of the constructed hyper-Kähler fourfold.