Ammonium Acetate-Basic Alumina Catalyzed Knoevenagel Condensation Under Microwave Irradiation Under Solvent-Free Condition

Ammonium acetate and basic alumina catalyzed efficiently the Knoevenagel condensation of aldehydes and ketones with active methylene compounds under solvent-free condition where olefinic products were obtained in high yields.     

A convenient protocol for the synthesis of axially chiral Brønsted acids

Partially hydrogenated binaphthol monophosphoric acids were prepared via an improved four-step sequence. It is demonstrated that typical protection and deprotection of the phenolic groups are dispensable. The vinyl-substituted derivative has been polymerized to give a novel polymerized organocatalyst.     

Effect of Gold Nanosphere Surface Chemistry on Protein Adsorption and Cell Uptake In Vitro

Gold nanoparticles exhibit unique spectral properties that make them ideal for biosensing, imaging, drug delivery, and other therapeutic applications. Interaction of gold nanoparticles within biological environments is dependent on surface characteristics, which may rely on particular capping agents. In this study, gold nanospheres (GNS) synthesized with different capping agents??specifically citric acid (CA) and tannic acid (TA)??were compared for serum protein adsorption and cellular uptake into a lung epithelial cell line (A549). Both GNS samples exhibited noticeable protein adsorption based on surface charge data after exposure to serum proteins. Light scattering measurements revealed that GNS-CA-protein composites were smaller and less dense compared to GNS-TA-protein composites. The cell uptake characteristics of these nanoparticles were also different. GNS-CA formed large clusters and elicited high uptake, while GNS-TA were taken up as discrete particles, possibly through nonendosomal mechanisms. These results indicate that the capping agents used for GNS synthesis result in unique biological interactions.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Doxorubicin-Loaded Poly(Lactide-co-glycolide) Nanoparticles as a Sustained-Release Anticancer Drug Delivery System

The objective of the present study was to prepare a polymeric drug delivery system with no burst effect. To attain this goal, doxorubicin (Dox) as an effective anticancer drug was loaded into poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) to improve the drug performance and also maximize the release period. After the synthesis process, the freshly made PLGA NPs with two different lactide-to-glycolide ratios (75:25 and 50:50) were evaluated physically and chemically. To determine the encapsulation efficiency, a centrifugation method was applied. Also, the drug loading effect on particle size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential was examined. The results indicated that the NPs had nearly the same diameters around 360?nm, and the entrapment efficiencies for 75:25 PLGA and 50:50 PLGA were reported around 39 and 48?%, respectively. A slight increase in all parameters was observed due to the increase of the drug loading content. The primary release was 7.91?% (w/w) and 14.70?% (w/w) for 75:25 and 50:50 drug-loaded NPs, respectively; no burst effect was observed. After 20?days, the drug release was around 70.98 and 62.22?% of the total entrapped drug for 75:25 and 50:50 drug-loaded NPs, respectively. Finally, it was found that Dox was an appropriate anticancer agent with good capability to be encapsulated in polymeric NPs and could be released from the carriers with no burst effect and favor rate.     

Some topological properties of star graphs: The surface area and volume

The star graph, as an interesting network topology, has been extensively studied in the past. In this paper, we address some of the combinatorial properties of the star graph. In particular, we consider the problem of calculating the surface area and volume of the star graph, and thus answering an open problem previously posed in the literature. The surface area of a sphere with radius i in a graph is the number of nodes in the graph whose distance from a given node is exactly i. The volume of a sphere with radius i in a graph is the number of nodes within distance i from the given node. In this paper, we derive explicit expressions to calculate the surface area and volume in the star graph.     

Theoretical and experimental aspects of microbicidal activities of hard surface disinfectants: are their label claims based on testing under field conditions?

High-touch environmental surfaces are important in the spread of many nosocomial pathogens. Although such surfaces are routinely disinfected, the testing and label claims of many common disinfectants do not reflect the realities of field use. A study was conducted to determine the influence of several crucial factors on the action of disinfectants in general, and to assess the killing efficiency of selected chemistries against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, related to their drying times (i.e., after one application) and label-specified contact times using a quantitative carrier test. The products were also tested for their ability to wet a hydrophobic (epoxy resin) surface. The hard-surface disinfectants (in-use concentration in ppm) tested were: (a) chlorine bleach (500); (b) quaternary ammonium compounds (quat; 600) alone; (c) quat (3000) with 17% isopropanol (v/v); (d) quat (3000) with 60% ethanol (v/v); (e) phenolic (800) alone; (f) quat (2000), phenolic (3000) with 70% ethanol (v/v); and (g) accelerated hydrogen peroxide (AHP; 5000 of H2O2). The arbitrarily set criterion of bactericidal activity was > or = 6 log10 reduction in the viability of both species tested. All surfaces tested with all products dried in < 5 min, with alcohol-based surfaces drying significantly faster. Even though the alcohol-free quat and phenolic claim a contact time of 10 min, they dried in < 4 min after a single application and failed to meet the performance criterion. Bleach (500 ppm) dried in about 3 min and was effective. AHP also dried in about 3 min and met its label claim even at 1 min of contact. Quat (3000) with 17% isopropanol dried at 1 min and was effective. Quat (3000) with 60% ethanol and quat (2000), phenolic (3000) with 70% ethanol dried in < 1 min, and were ineffective. AHP, alcohol-containing quats, and quat-phenolic-alcohol gave acceptable wettability, while quat and phenolic alone, as well as bleach, covered the treated surface unevenly. The findings show that label claims, especially those for contact times, fail to reflect the way many hard-surface disinfectants are used in the field.     

A fair optimization scheduling scheme for IEEE 802.16 networks in multimedia applications

IEEE 802.16 networks are designed based on differentiated services concept to provide better Quality of Service (QoS) support for a wide range of applications, from multimedia to typical web services, and therefore they require a fair and efficient scheduling scheme. However, this issue is not addressed in the standard. In this paper we present a new fair scheduling scheme which fulfills the negotiated QoS parameters of different connections while providing fairness among the connections of each class of service. This scheme models scheduling as a knapsack problem, where a fairness parameter reflecting the specific requirements of the connections is defined to be used in the optimization criterion. The proposed scheduler is evaluated through simulation in terms of delay, throughput and fairness index. The results show fairness of the scheduling scheme to all connections while the network guarantees for those connections are fulfilled.     

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Inactivation: Decreased Cell Culturability, Adhesiveness to Surfaces, and Biofilm Thickness Upon High-Pressure Nonthermal Plasma Treatment

Bacterial biofilms are more resilient to standard killing methods than free-living bacteria. Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 biofilms grown on borosilicate coupons were treated with gas-discharge plasma for various exposure times. Almost 100% of the cells were inactivated after a 5-min plasma exposure. Atomic force microscopy was used to image the biofilms and study their micromechanical properties. Results show that the adhesiveness to borosilicate and the thickness of the Pseudomonas biofilms are reduced upon plasma treatment.     

A robust algorithm for computing fluid flows on highly non‐smooth staggered grids

A new method for computing the fluid flow in complex geometries using highly non‐smooth and non‐orthogonal staggered grid is presented. In a context of the SIMPLE algorithm, pressure and physical tangential velocity components are used as dependent variables in momentum equations. To reduce the sensitivity of the curvature terms in response to coordinate line orientation change, these terms are exclusively computed using Cartesian velocity components in momentum equations. The method is then used to solve some fairly complicated 2‐D and 3‐D flow field using highly non‐smooth grids. The accuracy of results on rough grids (with sharp grid line orientation change and non‐uniformity) was found to be high and the agreement with previous experimental and numerical results was quite good. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Selenium Nanomaterials to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance

The rise of antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics (AMR) as a healthcare crisis has led to a tremendous social and economic impact, whose damage poses a significant threat to future generations. Current treatments either are less effective or result in further acquired resistance. At the same time, several new antimicrobial discovery approaches are expensive, slow, and relatively poorly equipped for translation into the clinical world. Therefore, the use of nanomaterials is presented as a suitable solution. In particular, this review discusses selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) as one of the most promising therapeutic agents based in the nanoscale to treat infections effectively. This work summarizes the latest advances in the synthesis of SeNPs and their progress as antimicrobial agents using traditional and biogenic approaches. While physiochemical methods produce consistent nanostructures, along with shortened processing procedures and potential for functionalization of designs, green or biogenic synthesis represents a quick, inexpensive, efficient, and eco-friendly approach with more promise for tunability and versatility. In the end, the clinical translation of SeNPs faces various obstacles, including uncertain in vivo safety profiles and mechanisms of action and unclear regulatory frameworks. Nonetheless, the promise possessed by these metalloid nanostructures, along with other nanoparticles in treating bacterial infections and slowing down the AMR crisis, are worth exploring.