Electrocatalytic activity of binary Palladium Ruthenium anode catalyst on Ni-support for ethanol alkaline fuel cells

In search for a cheaper anode catalyst for the oxidation of ethanol for development of direct alcohol fuel cells, Pd has been considered here as an interesting substitute for Pt in Pt Ru binary electrodeposite. The binary catalyst when co-deposited on nickel support has been found to increase the current density and decrease the anodic overvoltage significantly with respect to pure Pt, Pd and Ni. Its electrocatalytic capability is also comparable with that of the Pt-Ru binary electrocatalyst on Ni-support, when studied in 1 M EtOH containing 1 M NaOH solution. The effect of loading of Pd Ru electrocatalyst on Ni support has also been tested. The electrocatalytic activity of the electrodes for oxidation of ethanol has been explained by studies of cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, steady-state polarization, and conjugated scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy. It has been found that electrode containing the higher amount of deposit are less affected by carbonaceous poisons.     

Condensation of 4-aryl-4-oxobutanoic acids with benzylamines: Synthetic and structural studies on 1-arylmethyl-3-[(<Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis>)-1-arylmethylidene]-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-2-pyrrolones

The microwave-mediated reaction of 4-aryl-4-oxobutanoic acids with benzylamines furnished 1-arylmethyl-3-[(E)-1-arylmethylidene]-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrrolones. This result is in contract to the earlier report on this reaction conducted under neat conditions. Structures for the products were assigned on the basis of spectral data and confirmed by independent synthesis. __________ Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 3, pp. 368–373, March, 2007.     

A novel one-pot conversion of amines to homologated esters in poly(ethylene glycol)

The first deaminative homologation of amines (-CH₂NH₂) to esters (-CH₂CH₂COOEt) in one-pot is reported. The reaction proceeds through, formation of an aldehyde from an amine in the presence of Pd/C as catalyst followed by Wittig reaction and catalytic hydrogenation using poly(ethylene glycol) as the solvent in one-pot.     

Mechanism of the oxidation of cycloheptanone by chloramine-T

The oxidation kinetics of cycloheptanone by chloramine-T in alkaline media has been investigated. A mechanism involving the formation of an intermediate by the interaction between the enolic anion of cycloheptanone and chloramine-T in a slow step followed by its interaction with another molecule of chloramine-T in a fast step leading to products has been proposed. The scheme satisfactorily accords with the observed stoichiometry, negligible influence of ionic strength and a positive dielectric effect. Various rate parameters have been computed and 1.2-cycloheptanedione identified as the end product.With 2 Figures     

A new isoprenyl phenyl ether compound from mangrove fungus

A new isoprenyl phenyl ether, 3-hydroxy-4-(3-methylbut-2-enyloxy)benzoic acid methyl ester (1), together with 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (2), 2-hydroxy-6-methylbenzoic acid (3), and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid (4) were isolated from Mangrove fungus (No. B60) from the South China Sea. The structures of the compounds were established on the basis of NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric data. In the preliminary bioassay, compound 1 exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activities. Compound 1 also inhibited cytotoxicity to the hepG2 cell line with an IC₅₀ value of 10.0 μg/mL. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 313–314, July–August, 2007.     

Global Forcing Number of Benzenoid Graphs

A global forcing set in a simple connected graph G with a perfect matching is any subset S of E(G) such that the restriction of the characteristic function of perfect matchings of G on S is an injection. The number of edges in a global forcing set of the smallest cardinality is called the global forcing number of G. In this paper we prove several results concerning global forcing sets and numbers of benzenoid graphs. In particular, we prove that all catacondensed benzenoids and catafused coronoids with n hexagons have the global forcing number equal to n, and that for pericondensed benzenoids the global forcing number is always strictly smaller than the number of hexagons.     

Thermal studies of pre-formulates of metronidazole obtained by spray drying technique

Compatibility studies between active drugs and excipients are substantial in the pharmaceutical technology. The objective of the present work was to develop pre-formulated mixtures of metronidazole (MT) obtained by spray drying (SPDR) and their thermoanalytical characterization. Dynamic and isothermal TG, conventional DSC and DSC coupled to a photovisual system were used. DSC experiments with both techniques confirmed the homogeneity of the conventional and pre-formulated mixtures. The TG data made possible the comparison the thermal stability of the different mixtures. Similar thermal stabilities were found of the conventional and pre-formulated mixtures, with slower particles sizes of MT.     

Formatation of pore structure in tape-cast alumina membranes – effects of binder content and firing temperature

Disc type ceramic aluminium oxide membrane has been prepared by tape casting technique. Thickness of this single layer membrane is in the range 200–300 μm. Porosity and pore size distribution have been determined by mercury porosimetry. Polymeric binder content of the green tape and the firing temperature are found to have strong influence on the average pore size, pore size distribution and overall porosity. Higher binder content promotes agglomeration of the ceramic particles, which on firing leads to wider pore size distribution and formation of closed pores. Pore coarsening is observed with increasing firing temperature.     

PHOTODYNAMIC DAMAGE AND ITS REPAIR IN Vibrio cholerae

Abstract— Repair of photodynamic damage induced by acriflavine and visible light has been examined in three strains of Vibrio cholerae differing in their capabilities to repair ultraviolet (UV) light induced DN A damage. Excision repair deficient wild type cells of strain 154 are more sensitive to photodynamic treatment compared to repair proficient cells of strain 569B. However, no difference in their capabilities to repair of damage following photodynamic treatment can be detected. No single-strand breaks in the irradiated cell DNA are observed when the cell survival is more than 10%. Single-strand breaks observed at cell survival less than 5% are not dark repairable even in excision repair proficient wild type cells. Repair of membrane damage can partially account for the recovery observed at low doses. In contrast, radiation-sensitive mutant 569B_s cells which lack both excision and medium-dependent dark repair for UV-lesions are most efficient in repairing damage induced by photodynamic treatment.     

Heterocyclic inflammation inhibitors

Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are the most widely used medicines for relief of pain. These drugs have some side effects, particularly toxicity in the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys. Various approaches have been used for obtaining safer anti-inflammatory drugs. In this review we have summarized the recent developments in the following areas; (i) mode of action of NSAIDs (ii) Role of COX-1 & COX-2 in inflammation, (iii) Different approaches used to improve gastric tolerance i.e. chemical manipulation, formulation & co-administration, development of non specific (COX-1 & COX-2 inhibitors) and specific (COX-2 inhibitors) inflammation inhibitors, and development of inflammation inhibitors having a mode of action other than COX-1 & COX-2 inhibition. We have also focused on the safety of COX-2 inhibitors and the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds and their role as inflammation inhibitors.