Synthesis and characterization of (Z)-5-arylmethylidene-rhodanines with photosynthesis-inhibiting properties

A series of rhodanine derivatives was prepared. The synthetic approach, analytical and spectroscopic data of all synthesized compounds are presented. Lipophilicity of all the discussed rhodanine derivatives was analyzed using the RP-HPLC method. The compounds were tested for their ability to inhibit photosynthetic electron transport (PET) in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts and reduce chlorophyll content in freshwater alga Chlorella vulgaris. Structure-activity relationships between the chemical structure, physical properties and biological activities of the evaluated compounds are discussed. For majority of the tested compounds the lipophilicity of the compound and not electronic properties of the R1 substituent were decisive for PET-inhibiting activity. The most potent PET inhibitor was (5Z)-5-(4-bromobenzylidene)-2-thioxo-1,3-thiazolidin-4-one (IC(50) = 3.0 μmol/L) and the highest antialgal activity was exhibited by (5Z)-5-(4-chlorobenzylidene)-2-thioxo-1,3-thiazolidin-4-one (IC(50) = 1.3 μmol/L).     

Hydrothermally assisted complex polymerization method for barium strontium titanate powder synthesis

Barium strontium titanate was obtained by hydrothermal treatment of barium strontium titanate citric precursor solution, previously prepared by complex polymerization method. The thermally induced phase evolution was followed at various temperatures up to 800 °C using thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, and Raman spectroscopy. Microstructural characterization of barium strontium titanate powders was performed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The proposed synthesis route has been proven as a better and faster method for barium strontium titanate powder preparation as compared to the conventional complex polymerization route. The method was found efficient for production of low agglomerated, fine, nanosized barium strontium titanate powder with well defined stoichiometry, and sub-micron particle size. The results of structural and microstructural characterization showed the complete crystallization of carbonate-free barium strontium titanate powder at 700 °C with an average size of crystallites below 50 nm.     

A Unique Au–Ag–Au Triangular Motif in a Trimetallic Halonium Dication: Silver Incorporation in a Gold(I) Catalyst

As a result of explorations into the solution chemistry of silver/gold mixtures, a unique diphosphine trimetallic chloronium dication was discovered that incorporates silver–arene chelation and a triangular mixed gold/silver core in the solid state. Notably, it was isolated from a Celite prefiltered solution initially thought to be silver‐free. The crystal structure also incorporates the coordination to silver of one fluorine atom of one SbF₆^? counterion. The structure was compared to two new, but well‐precedented, phosphine digold chloride cations. DFT calculations supported significant silver–halide and silver–arene interactions in the mixed gold/silver complex and metallophilic interactions in all three complexes. Comparison of computed data revealed that the ωB97X‐D functional, which has a long‐range corrected hybrid with atom–atom dispersion corrections, gave a better fit to the experimental data compared with the PBE0 functional, which has previously failed to capture aurophilic interactions. Preliminary studies support the presence of the mixed gold/silver structure in solution.     

The Sokolov case,integrable Kirchhoff elasticae,and genus 2 theta functions via discriminantly separable polynomials

We use the discriminantly separable polynomials of degree 2 in each of three variables to integrate explicitly the Sokolov case of a rigid body in an ideal fluid and integrable Kirchhoff elasticae in terms of genus 2 theta functions. The integration procedure is a natural generalization of the one used by Kowalevski in her celebrated 1889 paper. The algebraic background for the most important changes of variables in this integration procedure is associated to the structure of the two-valued groups on an elliptic curve. Such two-valued groups have been introduced by V.M. Buchstaber.     

Complete determination of plant tissues based only on auto‐fluorescence and the advanced image analysis – study of needles and stamens

Proper determination of tissues is one of the challenging problems in modern medicine and histology. Currently, interpretation of the results mainly depends on the experience of a histologist, leading to high percentage of results misinterpretation. Bearing in mind potential application, we proposed the set of procedures that allow us to obtain precise, mathematically determined parameters for tissue discrimination. First, the method was tested on simulated set of images and compared with several other algorithms. As the set of experimentally obtained input data, auto‐fluorescence images of needle cross sections (Picea omorika) and stamens of common centaury (Centaurium erythraea) were used. Determination of cell types is based on inherent features of plant cells – auto‐fluorescence. As each cell type consists of various fluorescent components in different quantities for each type of tissue, its integral emission spectrum can be used as the fingerprint for identification. Cross sections were imaged using four sets of filters for detection of fluorescence (both excitation and emission). Such filter set is standard equipment for most fluorescence microscopes. One additional image was transmission image using the same optics. By applying ℓ₀‐norm‐constrained nonnegative matrix factorization in a space induced by explicit feature maps, it is possible to identify up to 11 tissues in needles and five in stamens (actual number of tissues). In comparison to other image analysis methods, the greatest advantage is the fact that the number of extracted components significantly exceeds the number of initial images while most other techniques can extract only as much components as the number of initial images. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis,anti-oxidant activity,and cytotoxicity of salicyloyl derivatives of estra-1,3,5(10)-triene and androst-5-ene

Since many estrane and androstane derivatives exhibit cytotoxic, anti-oxidant, or anti-hormone activity, new steroidal derivatives were synthesised from appropriate estrogen or androgen precursors in order to obtain potential therapeutics for the treatment of steroid-dependent diseases. Starting from estradiol (I), 6-oxo derivatives V and VII were prepared. 17β-Salicyloyl-6-oxo derivatives VI and VIII were synthesised by the reaction of compounds V or VII with methyl salicylate in the presence of sodium. 17β-Salicyloyloxy estradiol IX was prepared from estradiol. Beckmann fragmentation of 16-oxyimino alcohols XII and XIII with methyl salicylate yielded corresponding D-seco derivatives XIV and XV. Simultaneous fragmentation and acylation of compound XII resulted in 3β-salicyloyl-D-seco derivative XVI which was also obtained from compound XIV. Anti-oxidant assays of the newly synthesised compounds V-IX, XIV, and XVI indicated a stronger capacity for hydroxyl radical scavenging, and a weaker capacity for DPPH radical scavenging, compared with the standard anti-oxidants BHA and BHT. Compounds V, XIV, and XVI showed higher or the same activity as BHT. The cytotoxicity of new compounds was evaluated against human breast and prostate carcinoma cells. Compound VI exhibited strong cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 cells; compound XIV exhibited strong cytotoxicity against PC-3 cell line, while compound VII moderately inhibited the growth of PC-3 cells.     

Synthesis, X-ray structural analysis, and cytotoxic activity of some new androstane d-homo lactone derivatives

A series of d-homo lactones 4?C10 from dehydroepiandrosterone 1 via 16-hydroximino derivatives 2 and 3 were synthesized. The d-homo lactone 4 was transformed by the Oppenauer oxidation to obtain compound 5. The (Z)-2-hydroxymethylene-4-en-3-one compound 6, was obtained through reaction of 4-en-3-one compound 5 with ethyl formate and sodium hydride. The epoxides 8 and 9 were prepared from compound 7 by oxidation with m-chloroperbenzoic acid. Compound 10 was obtained by treating epoxides 8 and 9 with chromium(VI)-oxide. The structure of compounds 6 and 10 were confirmed by X-ray structural analysis. These derivatives were screened for antitumor activity against three tumor cell lines (human breast adenocarcinoma ER+, MCF-7, human breast adenocarcinoma ER?, MDA-MB-231, prostate cancer AR?, PC-3), and one human non-tumor cell line, MRC-5. Compounds 4, 7, 8, and 10 exhibited significant antitumor activity against MDA-MB-231 cells, while compound 5 showed strong cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231. No compounds displayed toxicity against MRC-5 cells.     

Tunable growth factor delivery from injectable hydrogels for tissue engineering

Current sustained delivery strategies of protein therapeutics are limited by the fragility of the protein, resulting in minimal quantities of bioactive protein delivered. In order to achieve prolonged release of bioactive protein, an affinity-based approach was designed which exploits the specific binding of the Src homology 3 (SH3) domain with short proline-rich peptides. Specifically, methyl cellulose was modified with SH3-binding peptides (MC-peptide) with either a weak affinity or strong affinity for SH3. The release profile of SH3-rhFGF2 fusion protein from hyaluronan MC-SH3 peptide (HAMC-peptide) hydrogels was investigated and compared to unmodified controls. SH3-rhFGF2 release from HAMC-peptide was extended to 10 days using peptides with different binding affinities compared to the 48 h release from unmodified HAMC. This system is capable of delivering additional proteins with tunable rates of release, while maintaining bioactivity, and thus is broadly applicable.     

Quantitative adsorption and local structures of gallium(III) at the water-alpha-FeOOH interface

The adsorption of Ga(III) at the water-alpha-FeOOH (goethite) interface has been investigated by means of quantitative adsorption experiments, extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy, and surface complexation modeling. Under the conditions studied, pH range 3-11 and surface coverages of 0.9-3.2 micromol/m2, Ga(III) was found to adsorb strongly to alpha-FeOOH, and the surface species were more resistant toward hydrolysis and formation of soluble Ga(OH)4- than either solid gallium hydroxides or soluble polynuclear complexes. The EXAFS measurements revealed the presence of octahedral Ga(III) complexes at the water-alpha-FeOOH interface, with practically no structural variations as a function of pH or total gallium concentration. Analysis of the first coordination shell required an anharmonic model indicating a distorted geometry of the GaO6 octahedra, with mean Ga-O distances at 1.96-1.98 angstroms. A method based on the continuous Cauchy wavelet transforms (CCWT) was used to identify backscattering atoms in the higher coordination shells. This analysis indicated predominately Fe backscattering, and the quantitative data fitting resulted in three Ga-Fe paths at 3.05, 3.2, and 3.55 angstroms, which correspond to two edge-sharing and one corner-sharing linkage, respectively. The collective results from EXAFS spectroscopy showed that Ga(III) adsorbs to Fe equivalent sites at the surface alpha-FeOOH as an extension of the rows of Fe octahedra in the bulk structure. This interpretation was further corroborated by a Ga-Fe-Fe multiple scattering path at 6.13 angstroms. The quantitative adsorption and proton data were modeled using a surface complexation formalism based on a 1 pK(a) constant capacitance model. In agreement with the EXAFS results, the model obtained included one predominating surface complex with the stoichiometry [triple bond]FeOGa(OH)2(-0.5) and the stability constant log beta(intr.) = -2.55 +/- 0.04 ([triple bond]FeOH(-0.5) + Ga3+ + 2H2O <--> [triple bond]FeOGa(OH)2(-0.5) + 3H+).     

Probability for Type I errors in gamma-ray spectrometric measurements of drinking water samples

In gamma-ray spectra, acquired in the absence of the sample, peaks occur which belong to the spectrometer background. When samples are measured, which contain radionuclides that appear in the background also and have activities near the detection level, the background contributes substantially to the peak areas. In the extreme case, when the contribution of the sample is much smaller than the contribution of the background, the peak area attributed to the radionuclide within a sample has the same probability of being positive or negative. Therefore, to interpret the results obtained from measurements of low-activity samples, the performance of the spectrum analysis procedure near the detection level must be known. To test the performance of the spectrum analysis procedure at low activities, the spectrometer background spectra were analyzed as if they had been water samples, prepared as dry residue obtained by evaporation of 50 L of water. The probabilities for false positives together with their decision thresholds are given for radionuclides appearing in the background spectra. For some of the radionuclides that do not appear in the background spectra, probabilities for false detection are given as well.