Uranium isotopes in carbonate aquifers of arid region setting

Groundwater in arid and semiarid regions is vital resource for many uses and therefore information about concentrations of uranium isotopes among other chemical parameters are necessary. In the study presented here, distribution of ²³⁸U and ²³⁵U in groundwater of four selected locations in the southern Arabian peninsula, namely at two locations within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and two locations in Oman are discussed. The analyses of the uranium isotopes were performed using ICP-MS and the results indicated a range of concentrations for ²³⁵U and ²³⁸ U at 3–39 ng L^?1 (average: 18 ng L^?1) and 429–5,293 ng L^?1 (average: 2,508 ng L^?1) respectively. These uranium concentrations are below the higher permissible WHO limit for drinking water and also comparable to averages found in groundwater from similar aquifers in Florida and Tunisia. Negative correlation between rainfall and uranium concentrations suggests that in lithologically comparable aquifers, climate may influence the concentration of uranium in subtropical to arid regions.     

Antibacterial activity of an aqueous extract of Petroselinum crispum leaves against pathogenic bacteria isolated from patients with burns infections in Al-najaf Governorate, Iraq

The purpose of this study was to investigate, by use of the agar well diffusion method, the ability of cold-water and hot-water extracts of Petroselinum crispum leaves to inhibit bacteria isolated from patients with burns infections. The results revealed that 250 mg/ml of the hot-water extract was the more effective inhibitor of the growth of P. aeruginosa. The inhibition zone diameter of 29.667 mm was significantly different (P < 0.05) from that for nitrofurantoin, chosen as positive control. From the overall results obtained it is evident that the plant screened has anti-bacterial activity against some bacteria associated with burns infections.     

Efficient One-Pot Synthesis of Polyhydroquinoline Derivatives Using Silica Sulfuric Acid as a Heterogeneous and Reusable Catalyst Under Conventional Heating and Energy-Saving Microwave Irradiation

An efficient Hantzsch four-component condensation reaction for the synthesis of polyhydroquinoline derivatives was reported under two conditions: solvent-free conventional heating and energy-saving microwave irradiation. The process is simple and environmentally benign, and the use of a heterogeneous and reusable catalyst, high yields, and short reaction times are the key features of this protocol.     

New Functional Cyclic Aminomethylphosphine Ligands for the Construction of Catalysts for Electrochemical Hydrogen Transformations

Eight‐membered cyclic functional bisphosphines, namely 1,5‐di‐aryl‐3,7‐di(2‐pyridyl)‐1,5‐diaza‐3,7‐diphosphacyclooctanes (aryl=2‐pyridyl, m‐tolyl, p‐tolyl, diphenylmethyl, benzyl, (R)‐(+)‐(α‐methyl)benzyl), with 2‐pyridyl substituents on the phosphorus atoms have been synthesized by condensation of 2‐pyridylphosphine, formaldehyde, and the corresponding primary amine. The structures of some of these bisphosphines have been investigated by X‐ray crystallography. The bisphosphines readily form neutral P,P‐chelate complexes [(κ²‐P,P‐L)MCl₂], cationic bis‐P,P‐chelate complexes [(κ²‐P,P‐L)₂M]²⁺, or a five‐coordinate complex [(κ²‐P,P‐L)₂NiBr]Br. The electrochemical behavior of two of the nickel complexes, and their catalytic activities in electrochemical hydrogen evolution and hydrogen oxidation, including the fuel‐cell test, have been studied.     

Ion permeation dynamics in carbon nanotubes

Molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to investigate the permeation of ions and water in a membrane consisting of single wall carbon nanotubes possessing no surface charges connecting two reservoirs. Our simulations reveal that there are changes in the first hydration shell of the ions upon confinement in tubes of 0.82 or 0.90 nm effective internal diameter. Although the first minimum in the g(r) is barely changed in the nanotube compared to in the bulk solution, the hydration number of Na(+) ion is reduced by 1.0 (from 4.5 in bulk to 3.5 in the 0.90 nm tube) and the hydration number is reduced further in the 0.82 nm tube. The changes in the hydration shell of Cl(-) ion are negligible, within statistical errors. The water molecules of the first hydration shell of both ions exchange less frequently inside the tube than in the bulk solution. We compare ion trajectories for ions in the same tube under identical reservoir conditions but with different numbers of ions in the tubes. This permits investigation of changes in structure and dynamics which arise from multiple ion occupancy in a carbon nanotube possessing no surface charges. We also investigated the effects of tube flexibility. Ions enter the tubes so as to form a train of ion pairs. We find that the radial distribution profiles of Na(+) ions broaden significantly systematically with increasing number of ion pairs in the tube. The radial distribution profiles of Cl(-) ions change only slightly with increasing number of ions in the tube. Trajectories reveal that Na(+) ions do not pass each other in 0.90 nm tubes, while Cl(-) ions pass each other, as do ions of opposite charge. An ion entering the tube causes the like-charged ions preceding it in the tube to be displaced along the tube axis and positive or negative ions will exit the tube only when one or two other ions of the same charge are present in the tube. Thus, the permeation mechanism involves multiple ions and Coulomb repulsion among the ions plays an essential role.     

A study of surface diffusion of ternary (Cu-Ag-Zr) adatoms clusters for applications in thin film formation

This study presents the diffusion of heterogeneous ternary (Cu-Ag-Zr) adatoms clusters on Ag(111) using molecular dynamics techniques which could be important for the surface phenomena's and helpful for the ternary cluster's growth and formation of ternary alloy-based thin films. The mechanism of nanoscale surface diffusion is investigated for 1Cu-1Ag-1Zr, 2Cu-2Ag-2Zr, 3Cu-3Ag-3Zr, and 4Cu-4Ag-4Zr clusters at temperatures 300, 500, and 700 K. The diffusion mechanism displays that the diffusion of trimer cluster exhibits hopping, sliding, and shearing at 300 K, whereas for hexamer, nonamer, and decamer, the diffusion rate is low; however, breathing, anchoring, and concentrated motion dominates. At 500 K, trimer and hexamer show the process of atomic exchange; however, the atomic exchange is not observed in the case of nonamer and decamer diffusion. The atomic exchange mechanism of Cu and Zr adatoms dominates at 700 K for all size clusters, except Ag adatoms, where Zr adatoms show a relatively more tendency. Separation and rejoining of the one and two adatoms (likely Zr adatom) are also witnessed at high temperature. The pop-up of Ag adatoms also occurs in very short intervals over the remaining adatoms of clusters. Interestingly, during trimer diffusion, the adsorption of the Zr- or Cu-adatom among the trimer cluster into the substitutional site is found. At 700 K, vacancy generation, filling of vacancies, and migration of vacancy, in the neighborhood of the adatoms cluster, also observed. Moreover, the rate of diffusion decreases with the size increase of the clusters and increases with the increase in temperature.     

Phytochemical analysis and Enzyme Inhibition Assay of Aerva javanica for Ulcer

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Aerva javanica (Burm. f.) Juss. ex Schult. (Amaranthacea) is traditionally used for the treatment of wound healings, cough, diarrhoea, ulcer and hyperglycaemia. The current study was aimed to fractionate and isolate bioactive compounds and ultimately to evaluate their anti-ulcereogenic potential. RESULTS: In order to achieve these aims, the fractionation, purifications and then biological potential determination of the isolated compounds was carried out. For purification purpose, initially extraction of the plant material was done with aqueous MeOH in the order of increasing polarity by using solvent-solvent extraction method. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of three compounds, 3-hydroxy-4 methoxybenzaldehyde (1), ursolic acid (2) and (E)-N-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenethyl)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-ethoxyphenyl) acryl amide (3). Inhibition of urease activity of various fractions revealed that ethyl acetate fraction showed significant activity (P <0.05) as compared to other fractions. (E)-N-(4-hydroxy-3- methoxyphenethyl)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-ethoxyphenyl) acryl amide (3) showed marked anti ulcer activity (P <0.05). CONCLUSION: These results suggested the mild potential of A. javanica against ulcer.     

Fingerprint chemotaxonomic GC–TOFMS profile of wood and bark of mangrove tree Sonneratia caseolaris (L.) Engl.

The bark and wood of Sonneratia caseolaris (L.) Engl. have been analyzed for chemical profile by GC–TOFMS. Overall thirty-two compounds from bark and twenty-eight compounds from wood have been detected. Sixteen constituents have been found to be common in both the extracts. GC–TOFMS chemical profile may be a significant finger print chemotaxonomic marker as an identity of this plant.     

Purification,Characterization and N‐terminal Sequence Analysis of Betel Leaf (Piper betle) Invertase

The present study is the first report describing the purification, enzymatic properties and N‐terminal amino acid sequence of a native invertase in betel leaf. The invertase was purified as a monomeric glycoprotein of molecular mass (Mr) 68 kDa. The enzyme was capable to attack β‐fructofuranoside linkages from the fructose end of sucrose, raffinose and stachyose indicating it as an authentic β‐D‐fructofuranosidase with high specificity for sucrose (Km 4.83 mM). The maximum activity was detected at pH 5.2 and 37 °C. Glucose and fructose showed typical inhibitory effect on the enzyme activity where as lectin was found to be effective activators of the enzyme. Significant inhibition by heavy metal ion Hg²⁺ and sulfhydryl group modifying agents suggesting that free sulfhydryl group containing amino acid, cysteine is necessary for the catalytic activity of the invertase. A BLAST search of the N‐terminal amino acid sequence of betel leaf invertase showed significant homology with the homologous invertases in database.