Computational singular perturbation with non-parametric tabulation of slow manifolds for time integration of stiff chemical kinetics

This paper presents a novel tabulation strategy for the adaptive numerical integration of chemical kinetics using the computational singular perturbation (CSP) method. The strategy stores and reuses CSP quantities required to filter out fast dissipative processes, resulting in a non-stiff chemical source term. In particular, non-parametric regression on low-dimensional slow invariant manifolds (SIMs) in the chemical state space is used to approximate the CSP vectors spanning the fast chemical subspace and the associated fast chemical time-scales. The relevant manifold and its dimension varies depending on the local number of exhausted modes at every location in the chemical state space. Multiple manifolds are therefore tabulated, corresponding to different numbers of exhausted modes (dimensions) and associated radical species. Non-parametric representations are inherently adaptive, and rely on efficient approximate-nearest-neighbor queries. As the CSP information is only a function of the non-radical species in the system and has relatively small gradients in the chemical state space, tabulation occurs in a lower-dimensional state space and at a relatively coarse level, thereby improving scalability to larger chemical mechanisms. The approach is demonstrated on the simulation of homogeneous constant pressure H₂–air and CH₄–air ignition, over a range of initial conditions. For CH₄–air, results are shown that outperform direct implicit integration of the stiff chemical kinetics while maintaining good accuracy.     

Naturally Available Flavonoid Aglycones as Potential Antiviral Drug Candidates against SARS-CoV-2

Flavonoids are important secondary plant metabolites that have been studied for a long time for their therapeutic potential in inflammatory diseases because of their cytokine-modulatory effects. Five flavonoid aglycones were isolated and identified from the hydrolyzed aqueous methanol extracts of Anastatica hierochuntica L., Citrus reticulata Blanco, and Kickxia aegyptiaca (L.) Nabelek. They were identified as taxifolin (1), pectolinarigenin (2), tangeretin (3), gardenin B (4), and hispidulin (5). These structures were elucidated based on chromatographic and spectral analysis. In this study, molecular docking studies were carried out for the isolated and identified compounds against SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) compared to the co-crystallized inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro (α-ketoamide inhibitor (KI), IC₅₀ = 66.72 µg/mL) as a reference standard. Moreover, in vitro screening against SARS-CoV-2 was evaluated. Compounds 2 and 3 showed the highest virus inhibition with IC₅₀ 12.4 and 2.5 µg/mL, respectively. Our findings recommend further advanced in vitro and in vivo studies of the examined isolated flavonoids, especially pectolinarigenin (2), tangeretin (3), and gardenin B (4), either alone or in combination with each other to identify a promising lead to target SARS-CoV-2 effectively. This is the first report of the activity of these compounds against SARS-CoV-2.     

Electrical and optical properties of chalcopyrite compounds

Optical and electrical properties of Zn- and Cd-modified Cu₂SnSe₄ amorphous films have been studied. The results show that Zn and Cd incorporation decreases the thermal activation energy, the pre-exponential factor and the optical gap. Variation in the refractive index and extinction coefficient with the wavelength has been also reported. The relations between the optical gap and the chemical composition in the investigated films have been discussed in terms of the average heat of atomization. The effect of γ-radiation up to 71.25 Mrad dose on the optical gap was also studied.     

Potentiometric ion-selective electrodes for determination of cyclopentolate hydrochloride and phenylephrine hydrochloride in their challenging ophthalmic formulation

Introduction of potentiometric ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) opened a new bright area in pharmaceutical analysis acknowledged as being an eco-friendly, simple, and energy-saving technique that is well-suited with microfabrication. In this contribution, potentiometric ISEs were employed as an alternative green analytical tool with the crucial goal of expanding the effective application of the potentiometric sensors in different disciplines of drug-stability studies and quality-control investigations. Four novel cyclopentolate hydrochloride and phenylephrine hydrochloride selective membrane sensors were constructed and evaluated. Sensors’ fabrication was achieved using potassium tetrakis (4-chlorophenyl) borate, a cationic exchanger, in a polyvinyl chloride polymeric matrix plasticized with 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether and using 2-hydroxy propyl-β-cyclodextrin as an ionophore. A comparative potentiometric study was implemented using two designs of ISEs; a conventional liquid inner contact and a glassy carbon solid-contact one. Using solid-contact ISEs, detection limit was substantially decreased and the discriminative ability in the presence of the most interfering substances was enhanced. This permits simultaneous estimation of both drugs, in spite of their similar ionic characteristics, abolishing the need for any pretreatment or separation steps in their challenging combined ophthalmic formulation as well as in rabbit aqueous humor and in the presence of their degradation products.     

Pyrimidinthiones (Part I): Utility of 2-Thioxopyrimidin-6-(1H)ones as Ring Transformer in the Synthesis of Fused Bi- and Tri-Cyclic Heterocyclic Compounds and Their Potential Biological Activities

The pyrimidinethiones have wide biological and pharmaceutical activities, that have attracted considerable interest in recent years especially as antiviral inhibiting production of hepatitis B virus (HBV), and in vitro insulin-mimetic. Activity of the complexes of pyrimidinone derivatives evaluated from 50% inhibitory concentration promoted us to study the transformation of the 2-thioxopyrimidin-6(1H) ones to fused bi- and tri-cyclic heterocyclic compounds having the pyrimidine moieties and screening their biological activity.

The reactivity of 2-mercapto-4-aryl-5-cyanopyrimidin-6(1H)ones (1) towards alkylation by different mono and bifunctional halo-organic compounds has been investigated to give S-monoalkylated products 2, 7 and 9; S- and N-dialkylated products 3, 13 and 14. Treatment of 1 and/or 2 with hydrazine hydrate as a nitrogen nucleophile have been investigated to give 4, treatment of 4 with CS₂ and sodium nitrite in the presence of acetic acid (0°C) produced 1,2,4-triazolopyrimidin-5(1H)one derivatives (5)and tetrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-5(1H)ones (6), respectively. Also cyclization of 7 and 9 gave [1,3]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-5(1H)one and [1,3]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-3,5-dione derivatives 8 and 10 respectively, treatment of 10 with aromatic aldehyde produces 11 which reacted with guanidine HCl to give pyrimido[4,5-d]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-6(1H)one derivative 12. Reaction of 14 with o-phenylenediamine was investigated and gave [1,4]quinoxalino[2,3-b][1,3]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidin-9(1H)one derivative 15.     

Simple analyzer for continuous monitoring of sulfur dioxide in gas streams

The construction, optimization and use of simple and inexpensive gas analyzer for real time measurement of sulfur dioxide in gas streams are described. The analyzer consisted of three main components (i) a custom fabricated hollow fiber membrane (HFM) gas contactor, (ii) carrier solution which absorbs SO₂ molecules from the gas stream in the HFM gas contactor and (iii) a flow-through detector placed downstream which continuously measures the changes occurred to the carrier solution upon absorption of SO₂ molecules. The significant acidic properties of the produced sulfurous acid suggested pH and conductivity detectors to monitor the decrease in pH or the increase in the conductivity which constituted the basis for quantification of SO₂ in the gas line. Aqueous potassium oxalate (10^? 1 mol/L) and hydrogen peroxide (10^? 3 mol/L) were used as carrier solutions in combination with pH and conductivity detectors, respectively. The analyzer equipped with pH detector provided linear potentiometric response to SO₂ concentration up to 1000 ppm with Nernstian slop of 61 mV/log[SO₂]. Excellent SO₂ recoveries (97–108%) were obtained in the presence of several folds of potentially interfering acidic gases, i.e., CO₂ and H₂S. The conductivity detector provided linear response up to 2500 ppm. Under optimized conditions, both detectors offered several favorable performance characteristics such as (i) fast response and recovery times, (ii) excellent signal stability and reproducibility (RSD = 0.5%), (iii) intrinsic high selectivity to most common neutral gases, e.g., CH₄, N₂, O₂, CO, etc. The suggested analyzer was applied successfully in monitoring the removal of SO₂ from SO₂–N₂ gas mixtures with hollow fiber membrane contactor using distilled water or aqueous sodium hydroxide as stripping solvents.     

GC Comparative Analysis of Leaf Essential Oils from Two Myrtle Varieties at Different Phenological Stages

The essential oils obtained from leaves of two Myrtus communis varieties (baetica and italica), growing wild in North Tunisia, were investigated by GC and GC–MS at their different phenological stages. The highest essential oil yield was observed at the flowering stage with 0.6% (w/w) for italica and 0.4% (w/w) for baetica and 49 compounds were identified. The main essential oil leaf compounds of both myrtle varieties, belonging to the monoterpene class, were α-pinene, 1,8-cineole, limonene and linalool and their percentages showed significant changes during the phenological stages.

     

Design,Synthesis, and Evaluation of Some Novel Heterocycles Bearing Pyrazole Moiety as Potential Anticancer Agents

1,3‐Diphenylpyrazole‐4‐carboxylaldehyde and o‐hydroxyacetophenone were exploited as starting materials for the synthesis of novel substituted chalconated pyrazole derivative. The proclivity of this compound towards carbon and nitrogen nucleophiles such as malononitrile, diethyl malonate, ethyl cyanoacetate, ethyl acetoacetate, semicarbazide, thiosemicarbazide, and hydroxylamine has been investigated. The structures of all synthesized compounds were ascertained by analytical and spectral data. The antitumor activity of the target synthesized compounds was tested against a panel of two human tumor cell lines, namely, hepatocellular carcinoma (liver) HepG2 and mammary gland breast MCF‐7.     

UV-visible and infrared absorption spectra of Bi2O3 in lithium phosphate glasses and effect of gamma irradiation

Ultraviolet and visible absorption spectra of prepared undoped lithium phosphate glass and samples of the same nominal composition with additional Bi₂O₃ contents were measured before and after being subjected to gamma doses of 3 and 6 Mrad. The base undoped lithium phosphate glass exhibits strong charge transfer ultraviolet absorption bands, which are related to unavoidable presence of trace iron impurities within the raw materials for the preparation of this glass. Bi₂O₃-containing glasses show the extension of UV absorption beside the resolution of visible bands at 400, 450, and 700 nm with the increase of Bi₂O₃ content due the sharing of absorption of Bi³⁺ ions. Gamma irradiation of the base glass reveals extended induced bands; the UV bands are related to the conversion of some Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺ through photochemical reactions during the irradiation process. The visible induced bands are related to the formation of positive hole centers from the host phosphate glass. Glasses containing Bi₂O₃ are observed to show some shielding behavior, which is attributed to the presence of heavy weight and large atomic number of Bi³⁺ ions. Infrared absorption spectral measurements of the base lithium phosphate glass show characteristic vibrational modes which are related to specific phosphate groups. The addition of Bi₂O₃ in measurable percent produces additional vibrational bands due to the introduction of Bi–O groups such as BiO₃ and BiO₆.     

Antiproliferative and Antiangiogenic Properties of New VEGFR-2-targeting 2-thioxobenzo[g]quinazoline Derivatives (In Vitro)

A series of 3-ethyl(methyl)-2-thioxo-2,3-dihydrobenzo[g]quinazolines (1–17) were synthesized, characterized, and evaluated in vitro for their antiangiogenesis VEGFR-2-targeting, antiproliferative, and antiapoptotic activities against breast MCF-7 and liver HepG2 cells. Flow cytometry was used to determine cancer-cell cycle distributions, and apoptosis was detected using annexin-V-FITC (V) and propidium iodide (PI) dyes. Fluorescence microscopy, in combination with Hoechst staining was used to detect DNA fragmentation. Most of the tested benzo[g]quinazolines demonstrated promising activity (IC₅₀ = 8.8 ± 0.5–10.9 ± 0.9 μM) and (IC₅₀ = 26.0 ± 2.5–40.4 ± 4.1 μM) against MCF-7 and HepG2, respectively. Doxorubicin was used as a reference drug. Compounds 13–15 showed the highest activity against both cancer cell lines. Differential effects were detected by cell-cycle analysis, indicating similarities in the actions of 13 and 14 against both MCF7 and HepG2, involving the targeting of G1 and S phases, respectively. Compound 15 showed similar indices against both cells, indicating that its cytotoxicity toward the examined cancer cells could be unselective. Interestingly, 14 and 15 showed the highest apoptosis (30.76% and 25.30%, respectively) against MCF-7. The DNA fragmentation results agreed well with the apoptosis detected by flow cytometry. In terms of antiangiogenesis activity, as derived from VEGFR-2 inhibition, 13 and 15 were comparable to sorafenib and effected 1.5- and 1.4-fold inhibition relative to the standard sorafenib. A docking study was conducted to investigate the interaction between the synthesized benzo[g]quinazolines and the ATP-binding site within the catalytic domain of VEGFR-2.