Lifting Modules with Indecomposable Decompositions

A module M is called a “lifting module” if, any submodule A of M contains a direct summand B of M such that A/B is small in M/B. This is a generalization of projective modules over perfect rings as well as the dual of extending modules. It is well known that an extending module with ascending chain condition (a.c.c.) on the annihilators of its elements is a direct sum of indecomposable modules. If and when a lifting module has such a decomposition is not known in general. In this article, among other results, we prove that a lifting module M is a direct sum of indecomposable modules if (i) rad(M ^(I)) is small in M ^(I) for every index set I, or, (ii) M has a.c.c. on the annihilators of (certain) elements, and rad(M) is small in M.     

Quantitative correlation between (1)H MRS and dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI of human breast cancer

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H MRS) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provide functional information, including vascular volume, vascular permeability and choline (Cho) metabolism. In this study, we applied these two imaging modalities to quantitatively characterize 36 malignant breast lesions in 32 patients and analyzed the correlation between them. Cho concentration was quantified by single-voxel ¹H MRS using water as an internal reference. The measured Cho levels ranged from 0.32 to 10.47 mmol/kg, consistent with previously reported values. In 25 mass-type lesions, the Cho concentration was significantly correlated with tumor size (r=.69, P<.0002). In addition, the Cho level was found to be significantly higher in lesions presenting as mass-type lesions compared to non-mass-type diffuse enhancements (P=.035). The enhancement kinetics from tissues covered within each MRS voxel were measured and analyzed with a two-compartmental model to obtain pharmacokinetic parameters K^trans and k_ep. A significant correlation was found between the Cho level and the pharmacokinetic parameter k_ep (r=.62, P<.0001), indicating that tissues with a high Cho level have higher wash-out rates in DCE MRI. The results suggest a correlation between Cho metabolism and angiogenesis activity, which might be explained by the association of Cho with cell replication and angiogenesis required to support tumor growth.     

Local molecular orbitals and hyper-susceptibility of TeO2 glass

The dielectric properties of the glassy telluria have been modeled and studied via the ab initio calculations of the linear- and hyper-polarizabilities of chain-like (TeO₂)_n clusters. By using the localized molecular orbitals approximation (GAMESS program), it is shown that their linear polarizability is mainly associated with the tellurium atom lone pairs and with the Te–O–Te bridges, whose contributions are comparable. On contrary, the bridge contributions unequivocally dominate the hyperpolarizability value (providing 75% of this) whereas the role of the lone pair on tellurium atoms is minimal (5%). The same estimations can be obtained for the relevant characteristics of TeO₂ glass.     

Biodegradation of Tetracycline Under Various Conditions and Effects on Microbial Community

Five hundred tons of antibiotics are consumed yearly in the world. In this study, the biodegradation characteristics of tetracycline (TET) under nitrate-reducing, sulfate-reducing, and methanogenic conditions were determined by batch tests. Also, effects of TET on mixed microbial cultures were revealed by microbiological analysis. In this scope, gas generation and composition, dissolved organic carbon, and electron acceptor concentrations were monitored during 120 days. Additionally, changes on quantities of specific microbial groups were determined by Q-PCR. TET showed non-biodegradable behavior under nitrate- and sulfate-reducing conditions, whereas slightly biodegradable behavior under methanogenic conditions approximately 46 % degradation. The effects of TET on the abundance of mixed culture varied according to taxonomic units. Sulfate-reducing bacteria were inhibited by TET, while archaeal, bacterial, and methanogenic populations were not affected significantly.     

Imidazolium salicylaldimine frameworks for the preparation of tridentate N-heterocyclic carbene ligands

Sterically hindered salicylaldimine functionalized imidazolium salts 2 have been prepared. The structures of the synthesized compounds were determined by spectroscopic techniques. The reaction of these salts containing arylmethyl-N chain (aryl: phenyl (2a), 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl (2b), 2,3,4,5,6-pentamethylphenyl (2c)) with Pd(OAc)₂ in boiling toluene afforded Pd(II) complexes 3 in high yields. The X-ray structure of 1-[3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-oxophenyl)propyliminato]-3-(2,4,6-trimethylbenzyl)imidazol-2-ylidenebromopalladium(II) (3b) has been determined. The Suzuki-Miyaura reaction was used to investigate their activity as catalysts either prepared in situ or from well-defined complexes. They are efficient when activated arylbromides are used as substrates.     

Structural and vibrational investigation of 1, 2-<Emphasis Type="Italic">bis</Emphasis>(3, 4-dimethoxyphenyl) ethane-1, 2-dione (Veratril): experimental and theoretical studies

The molecular and crystal structures of 1,2-bis(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)ethane-1,2-dione (TMBZ = tetramethoxybenzil) were determined by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction, ¹H NMR, and FT-IR spectroscopy. The compound TMBZ (C₁₈H₁₈O₆, M _r = 330.32) crystallized in the orthorhombic Fdd2 space group wherein: a = 39.145(4), b = 18.167(2), c = 4.3139(5) Å and β = 90°, Z = 8. The packing of the molecules in the crystal lattice is stabilized by intermolecular C–H?O contacts in the herringbone arrangement. The molecular geometry and harmonic frequencies of TMBZ in the ground state were calculated utilizing density functional (B3LYP) method with the 6-311++G(d, p)-basis set. The density functional theory optimized the geometric structure, and vibrational wave numbers of TMBZ in gas phase were compared with the experimental data. A complete assignment of the fundamentals was proposed based on the total energy distribution calculation.     

Chelate structures of 5-(H/Br)-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde-4-allyl-thiosemicarbazones (H2L): Synthesis and structural characterizations of [Ni(L)(PPh3)] and [Ru(HL)2(PPh3)2]

The reactions of 5-R-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde-4-allyl-thiosemicarbazone {R: H (L¹); Br (L²)} with [M^II(PPh₃)nCl₂] (M = Ni, n = 2 and M = Ru, n = 3) in a 1:1 molar ratio have given stable solid complexes corresponding to the general formula [Ni(L)(PPh₃)] and [Ru(HL)₂(PPh₃)₂]. While the 1:1 nickel complexes are formed from an ONS donor set of the thiosemicarbazone and the P atom of triphenylphosphine in a square planar structure, the 1:2 ruthenium complexes consist of a couple from each of N, S and P donor atoms in a distorted octahedral geometry. These mixed-ligand complexes have been characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV–Vis, APCI-MS, ¹H and ³¹P NMR spectroscopies. The structures of [Ni(L²)(PPh₃)] (II) and [Ru(L¹H)₂(PPh₃)₂] (III) were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction.     

Synthesis of 2-(2,3,4-trimethoxyphenyl)-1-(substituted-phenyl)acrylonitriles: in vitro anticancer activity against MCF-7, PC-3 and A2780 cancer cell lines

A series of 2-(2,3,4-trimethoxyphenyl)-1-(substituted-phenyl)acrylonitrile (2–9) were designed and synthesized to develop new cancer drugs. The structures of synthesized compounds 2–9 were described by using melting point, mass (MALDI-TOF-MS), FT-IR, elemental analysis, ¹H, ¹³C, ¹³C-APT and 2D NMR spectroscopy. The in vitro anticancer activities of 2–9 against human breast cancer (MCF-7), human prostate cancer (PC-3) and human ovarian cancer cells (A2780) were investigated by [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol)-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide] (MTT) assay method. Additionally, the LogIC₅₀ values of these compounds on A2780, MCF-7 and PC-3 cell lines were calculated by using inhibition % values by the GraphPad Prism 6 program on a computer. The results indicated that these compounds have high anticancer activity against MCF-7, PC-3 and A2780 cell lines (especially A2780 cell lines, p < 0.05).