Microwave-assisted rapid cyclization of lapachol, a main constituent of Heterophragma adenophyllum

Cyclization reactions of lapachol (1) isolated from Heterophragma adenophyllum have been studied under microwave irradiation under different conditions using alumina (acidic, basic and neutral)/silica gel/montmorillonite (KSF and K-10) as solid support along with neat reaction using 2-3 drops of DMF giving naturally occurring dehydro-alpha-lapachone (2), alpha-lapachone (3), beta-lapachone (4) depending upon the nature of support and irradiation time. A novel naphthoquinone derivative adenophyllone (5) can be synthesized from lapachol using DMF under microwaves.     

Confined Water in Amyloid‐Competent Oligomers of the Prion Protein

Conformational switching of the prion protein into the abnormal form involves the formation of (obligatory) molten‐oligomers that mature into ordered amyloid fibrils. The role of water in directing the course of amyloid formation remains poorly understood. Here, we show that the mobility of the water molecules within the on‐pathway oligomers is highly retarded. The water relaxation time within the oligomers was estimated to be ≈1 ns which is about three orders of magnitude slower than the bulk water and resembles the characteristics of (trapped) nano‐confined water. We propose that the coalescence of these obligatory oligomers containing trapped water is entropically favored because of the release of ordered water molecules in the bulk milieu and results in the sequestration of favorable inter‐chain amyloid contacts via nucleated conformational conversion. The dynamic role of water in protein aggregation will have much broader implications in a variety of protein misfolding diseases.     

Aqueous Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate Initiated by Ce4+-Glycolic Acid Redox System

The aqueous heterogeneous polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) initiated by the Ce⁴⁺-glycolic acid (GA) redox system was studied at 35 × 0.2°C under a nitrogen atmosphere. The rate of monomer disappearance was proportional to [MMA]¹[GA]¹[Ce⁴⁺]°, and the rate of eerie ion disappearance was found to be directly proportional to [Ce⁴⁺] and [GA] but independent of [MMA]. The activation energy was found to be 34 kJ/mol. The molecular weight of polymethyl methacrylate increased with increasing [MMA] and decreased with increasing [oxidant]. The effect of increasing [H₂SO₄] on polymerization was also studied. The results are compared with those obtained for the aqueous homogeneous polymerization of acrylamide with the same redox pair.     

Construction of turbo code interleaves from 3-regular Hamiltonian graphs

In this letter, we present a new construction of interleavers for turbo codes from 3-regular Hamiltonian graphs. The interleavers can be generated using a few parameters, which can be selected in such a way that the girth of the interleaver graph (IG) becomes large, inducing a high summary distance. The size of the search space for these parameters is derived. The proposed interleavers themselves work as their de-interleavers.     

Nanoparticles of complex metal oxides synthesized using the reverse-micellar and polymeric precursor routes

Current interest in the properties of materials having grains in the nanometer regime has led to the investigation of the size-dependent properties of various dielectric and magnetic materials. We discuss two chemical methods, namely the reverse-micellar route and the polymeric citrate precursor route used to obtain homogeneous and monophasic nanoparticles of several dielectric oxides like BaTiO₃, Ba₂TiO₄, SrTiO₃, PbTiO₃, PbZrO₃ etc. In addition we also discuss the synthesis of some transition metal (Mn and Cu) oxalate nanorods using the reverse-micellar route. These nanorods on decomposition provide a facile route to the synthesis of transition metal oxide nanoparticles. We discuss the size dependence of the dielectric and magnetic properties in some of the above oxides     

2Inc/Chlorotrimethns Ilane: A Mild Reducing System for the Conversion of Epoxides into Alcohols

Reduction of epoxide into the corresponding saturated alcohol is an important synthetic transfornation. Various reagents t o bring about such a conversion have been reported in the literature¹. An important aspect of such a transformation is the regioselective opening in case of unsymmetrical epoxides. Numerous modifications of the existing reducing agents have also been reported¹ to meet with the regioselective requirements. Every reagent reported so far, to our knowledge, makes use of its hydride donating ability to effect the reduction.     

A Concise Total Synthesis of (+)‐Waihoensene Guided by Quaternary Center Analysis

The four contiguous all‐carbon quaternary centers of waihoensene, coupled with the absence of any traditional reactive functional groups other than a single alkene, render it a particularly challenging synthetic target among angular triquinane natural products. Here, we show that its polycyclic frame can be assembled concisely by using a strategically chosen quaternary center to guide the formation of the other three through judiciously selected C?C bond formation reactions. Those events, which included a unique Conia‐ene cyclization and a challenging Pauson–Khand reaction, afforded a 17‐step synthesis of the molecule in enantioenriched form.     

Defensins--non-antibiotic use for vaccine development

Vaccines should elicit protective and long lasting immune memory, which depends on well choreographed responses between innate and acquired immunity. Defensins are small host defense peptides of innate immunity hitherto reported to have antimicrobial activity, which also orchestrate chemotaxis and activation of effector immune cells, including immature dendritic cells. This review analyzes the biological meaning of the immunomodulatory and immunoenhancing features of defensins and their use for the development of novel vaccines to combat cancer and clinically relevant diseases.     

Ab-initio study of long-period superstructures and anti-phase boundaries in Al-rich γ-TiAl (L10)-based alloys

In this work, we report first-principles investigation of structural stability of all experimentally observed ordered long-period superstructures (LPSs), viz., r-Al₂Ti, h-Al₂Ti, Al₅Ti₃ along with Al₅Ti₃′, Al₁₁Ti₇ and Al₃Ti₂ LPSs, which are observed only as short-range ordered clusters at nanoscale level in Al-rich TiAl-based alloys. We adopt a procedure based on space-filling tiling arrangement of ordered Ti₂Al, Ti₃Al, Ti₄Al motifs and their combination along with a symmetry analysis programme to determine the unit cell and the crystallographic information of Al₅Ti₃′, Al₁₁Ti₇ and Al₃Ti₂ LPSs in terms of L1₀ fcc unit cell. First-principles calculations are performed to further refine these crystallographic parameters (Wyckoff positions and lattice parameters) obtained from the above procedure. Moreover, it is found that the family of five LPSs have subgroup–supergroup relationships with γ-TiAl (Sp. gr. P4/mmm) and among themselves. Further, we find the inherent stability of r-Al₂Ti?+?γ-TiAl and 2Al₅Ti₃?+?γ-TiAl phase mixtures at 0?K compared to isomolecular Al₃Ti₂ and Al₁₁Ti₇ LPSs at their respective concentrations. The calculations of single-crystal elastic constants of Al₅Ti₃, Al₁₁Ti₇, Al₃Ti₂ and Al₅Ti₃′ LPSs show all these four structures are mechanically stable. We also calculate antiphase boundary (APB) formation energies for two types of APBs, viz., type-A and type-C in ordered Al₅Ti₃ LPS using the supercell approach. The relaxed APB energies for type-A and type-C APBs are 15.44 and 124.16?mJ/m², respectively.     

Proline-Specific Extracellular Aminopeptidase Purified from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Streptomyces lavendulae</Emphasis>

Aminopeptidases catalyze the cleavage of specific amino acids from the amino terminus of protein or peptide substrates. A proline-specific aminopeptidase was purified to homogeneity from the culture-free extract of Streptomyces lavendulae ATCC 14162 in sequential steps comprising ammonium sulfate precipitation, ultra-filtration, and column chromatography on Q-sepharose and Sephadex G-100. The purified protein showed approximately 60 kDa in SDS-PAGE and was optimally active at pH 6.5 and 40 °C. Kinetic studies showed a K _m and V _max of 0.23 mM and 0.087 μmol/min, respectively, using Pro-p-NA, the substrate with maximum specificity. Enzyme activity was inhibited by PMSF and ions like Zn²⁺, Co²⁺, and Ni²⁺. However, unlike other aminopeptidases, the activity was enhanced in the presence of DTT, 1,10-phenanthroline, EDTA, amastatin, and bestatin. Ions like Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and Mn²⁺ also enhanced the activity.