Theoretical study of the effect of radiation on thymine

The possible effects of radiation exposure to DNA are studied by investigations for the thymine residue. Detailed analysis of the various addition and other products is undertaken theoretically, using the semiempirical AM1 procedure. The results agree with the experimental finding that the loss of hydrogen on radiation exposure occurs from the C₅-methyl group and hydroxyl radical addition occurs at C₆, yielding the ‘5-yl’ radical. This radical is nonplanar, the axial conformer being slightly preferred over the equatorial one. In contrast, the other possible radical, the ‘6-yl’ radical, is almost planar. These results are important in understanding the conformational changes in DNA as a consequence of radiation exposure.     

Relationship among glottal area, static supraglottic compression, and laryngeal function studies in unilateral vocal fold paresis and paralysis

In this study, we evaluated the relationship between laryngeal function measures and glottal gap ratio and normalized measures of supraglottic behaviors in patients with unilateral vocal fold paresis (UVFP). Thirty-one patients were found to have unilateral vocal fold paresis by videoendoscopy and laryngeal electromyography, and 13 controls participated in this study. Patients with UVFP demonstrated significantly larger glottal gap ratios (p = 0.016) than control subjects. The nonparalyzed or contralateral vocal fold was associated with significantly more static false vocal fold compression (p = 0.03) compared with the paralyzed vocal fold or with the controls. Patients with unilateral vocal fold paresis were divided into subgroups: those with normal or abnormal maximum phonation time, flow, or pressure measures. Smaller glottal gap ratios were identified in patients with normal maximum phonation times and flow measures. Greater false vocal fold activity was identified in unilateral vocal fold paresis patients with normal laryngeal function measures than in unilateral vocal fold paresis patients with abnormal measures. These findings suggest that some patients with documented unilateral paresis and glottal incompetence can compensate for vocal fold weakness such that their acoustic and aerodynamic measures are normal.     

Efficient Elemental Iodine Catalyzed One-Pot Synthesis of 2,4,5-Triarylimidazoles

Elemental iodine is used as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of 2,4,5-triarylimidazoles in excellent yields via condensation of benzoin, ammonium acetate, and aromatic aldehydes. This is a simple, one-pot, high yielding technique using cheap, non-toxic iodine in catalytic amounts.     

Mitigating repulsions in close quarters: Copper tells us how!

Four copper(I) complexes of short bite ligands, bis(diphenylphosphino)amine (dppa) and bis(diphenylphosphino)isopropylamine (dppipa) were synthesized from appropriate precursors. All complexes were characterized by single crystal X-ray crystallography and spectroscopic techniques. In each of these complexes, two filled shell cations are forced into close proximity (≈2.7–2.8 Å). With no strong π acid ligands to siphon electron density from the filled d shell, the unavoidable repulsive d¹⁰–d¹⁰ interaction is mitigated when an unsymmetrical coordination environment around the copper atoms exists. The coordinatively saturated copper ion functions as a donor to the coordinatively unsaturated copper. A Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) search reveals the greater propensity of clusters with short contacts to adopt unsymmetrical coordination.     

A Generalized Time–Cost Trade-Off Transportation Problem

In the classical transportation problem if the unit costs and transportation durations are considered, the time-cost trade-off solutions can be determined by the well-known threshold approach assuming that all the transportations are permitted to be simultaneous in time. If all the unit costs are linear functions of time over a specified interval of time, a parametric technique can be applied for identifying all the time-cost trade-off solutions pertaining to this interval. In this paper, the unit costs considered are piecewise linear non-increasing functions of time and transportations are allowed to be simultaneous. It is shown that a parametric method involving a finite sequence of parametric transportation problems reveals all the time-cost trade-off solutions of this generalized trade-off problem. Computational experience is included. If the transportation problem has considerable degeneracy, the parametric approach may pose some computational difficulty. This difficulty can be reduced by using an alternative method involving the bicriteria optimization approach of Aneja and Nair. Also, a direct method is outlined for the case where a finite set of discrete alternatives of unit cost-time pairs is available.     

Copper(I) Derivative of Pyridine-3-carbaldehyde-N-ethylthiosemicarbazone and Triphenylphosphine—First Case of Crystal Structure Study

The synthesis and crystal structure of pyridine-3-carbaldehyde-N-ethylthiosemicarbazone (3-pytscH-NHEt) 1, and its Cu^I complex of stoichiometry, [CuCl(3-pytscH-NHEt)(PPh₃)₂] 2, studied using single crystal X-ray crystallography, are reported in this paper. Crystal data: 1, monoclinic, P2₁/n, a?=?6.6322(3), b?=?21.1200(8), c?=?7.2989(3) Å; β?=?91.883(4), T?=?173(2), R factor?=?0.0457; 2: triclinic, P-1, a?=?19.3600(5), b?=?20.6241(6), c?=?23.8015(6) Å,α?=?92.647(2), β?=?104.388(2), γ?=?114.377(3), R factor?=?0.0662. The thio-ligand, as a neutral entity, is coordinating to Cu through its S donor atom in complex 2. It has exhibited an unusual feature of forming four independent molecules (A, B, C, D) in the unit cell, with minor differences in the bond angles / distances / torsion angles. The geometry of each molecule of 2 is distorted tetrahedral. Crystal packing, as well as Infrared, electronic absorption and proton NMR spectroscopic studies, are also reported. Copper compound 2 represents the first example of a structurally studied copper coordination compound of 3-pyridyl based thiosemicarbazones.

Graphical Abstract

Copper(I) chloride with pyridine-3-carbaldehyde-N-ethylthiosemicarbazone and PPh₃ in CH₃CN yielded a copper compound, 2 (Green-Cl, blue-N; aqua-Cu, orange-S, magneta-P).

     

Physical Properties of Binary Liquid Systems: Ethanoic Acid/Propanoic Acid/Butanoic Acid with Cresols

Density, viscosity and surface tension of nine binary liquid systems: ethanoic acid, propanoic acid and butanoic acid with o-cresol, m-cresol and p-cresol have been determined at 298.15, 308.15 and 318.15 K over the complete compositional range. From the experimental results the excess values of molar volume (V ^E), viscosity (η ^E), Gibbs free energy for the activation of flow (ΔG ^E) and surface tension (σ ^E) were evaluated. The excess values were fitted to the Redlich–Kister type equation using a nonlinear regression technique. The Grunberg–Nissan parameter, d, was also calculated. From the sign and magnitude of the V ^E, η ^E, ΔG ^E, σ ^E, and d values, it is concluded that specific interactions are present in all of the nine binary mixtures under study. V ^E is negative for carboxylic acid–cresol mixtures at all temperatures and over the entire composition range. The values of η ^E, ΔG ^E and σ ^E are positive over the whole range of composition and increase with increasing temperature at a constant mole fraction of the carboxylic acid, confirming the existence of specific interactions in these binary mixtures. Further, the viscosity data of the binary systems were fitted to various theoretical/empirical models. The binary viscosity data is well represented by the Auslander model. Surface tension data were fitted to various theoretical/empirical models. The binary mixture surface tension data are well represented by the model given by Zihao and Jufu.     

Palladium-Catalyzed Organic Reactions Involving Hypervalent Iodine Reagents

The chemistry of polyvalent iodine compounds has piqued the interest of researchers due to their role as important and flexible reagents in synthetic organic chemistry, resulting in a broad variety of useful organic molecules. These chemicals have potential uses in various functionalization procedures due to their non-toxic and environmentally friendly properties. As they are also strong electrophiles and potent oxidizing agents, the use of hypervalent iodine reagents in palladium-catalyzed transformations has received a lot of attention in recent years. Extensive research has been conducted on the subject of C—H bond functionalization by Pd catalysis with hypervalent iodine reagents as oxidants. Furthermore, the iodine(III) reagent is now often used as an arylating agent in Pd-catalyzed C—H arylation or Heck-type cross-coupling processes. In this article, the recent advances in palladium-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling reactions employing hypervalent iodine reagents are reviewed in detail.     

Chemical Approach Towards Broadband Spintronics on Nanoscale Pyrene Films

The injection of pure spin current into the non-magnetic layer plays a crucial role in transmitting, processing, and storing data information in the realm of spintronics. To understand broadband molecular spintronics, pyrene oligomer film (≈20 nm thickness) was prepared using an electrochemical method forming indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode/pyrene covalent interfaces. Permalloy (Ni₈₀Fe₂₀) films with different nanoscale thicknesses were used as top contact over ITO/pyrene layers to estimate the spin pumping efficiency across the interfaces using broadband ferromagnetic resonance spectra. The spintronic devices are composed of permalloy/pyrene/ITO orthogonal configuration, showing remarkable spin pumping from permalloy to pyrene film. The large spin pumping is evident from the linewidth broadening of 5.4 mT at 9 GHz, which is direct proof of spin angular momentum transfer across the interface. A striking observation is made with the high spin-mixing conductance of ≈1.02×10¹⁸ m⁻², a value comparable to the conventional heavy metals. Large spin angular moment transfer was observed at the permalloy-pyrene interfaces, especially at the lower thickness of permalloy, indicating a strong spinterface effect. Pure spin current injection from ferromagnetic into electrochemically grown pyrene films ensures efficient broadband spin transport, which opens a new area in molecular broadband spintronics.     

The Effect of a Hydrogen Bonding Environment (Dimethyl Sulfoxide) on the Ionisation and Redox Properties of the Thiol Group in Cysteine and a Protein Disulfide Isomerase Mimic (Vectrase)

Increasing enrichment of dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO, in DMSO-water mixtures causes a reversal in the thermodynamic dissociation constants, pK _as, and has a marked effect on the redox potentails of the thiolic and amino groups in cysteine and the protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) mimic BMC, Vectrase. This paper illustrates the effect of a hydrogen-bonding environment on the ionisation and redox properties of thiol groups in amino acids. A combination of potentiometry and Raman spectroscopy was applied to rationalise the observations. Intracellular environments are full of hydrophobic, hydrogen-bonding environments. The results illustrate the profound effects of the local environment on the thiol group.