An anticancer-active imidazole analogue as a fluorescent sensor: sensitive and selective detection of Cu2+ ions

Transition Metal Chemistry - A highly sensitive and selective imidazole-based fluorescent “on–off” probe, (2-(4,5-bis((E)-4-methoxystyryl)-1H-imidazol-2-yl) phenol) (BMIP), is...     

Direct Catalytic Conversion of Ethanol to C5+ Ketones: Role of Pd–Zn Alloy on Catalytic Activity and Stability

Ethanol can be used as a platform molecule for synthesizing valuable chemicals and fuel precursors. Direct synthesis of C₅₊ ketones, building blocks for lubricants and hydrocarbon fuels, from ethanol was achieved over a stable Pd-promoted ZnO-ZrO₂ catalyst. The sequence of reaction steps involved in the C₅₊ ketone formation from ethanol was determined. The key reaction steps were found to be the in situ generation of the acetone intermediate and the cross-aldol condensation between the reaction intermediates acetaldehyde and acetone. The formation of a Pd–Zn alloy in situ was identified to be the critical factor in maintaining high yield to the C₅₊ ketones and the stability of the catalyst. A yield of >70 % to C₅₊ ketones was achieved over a 0.1 % Pd-ZnO-ZrO₂ mixed oxide catalyst, and the catalyst was demonstrated to be stable beyond 2000 hours on stream without any catalyst deactivation.     

Reactive oxygen species-induced impairment of endothelium-dependent relaxations in rat aortic rings: protection by methanolic extracts of Phoebe grandis

Generation of reactive oxygen species plays a pivotal role in the development of cardiovascular diseases. The present study describes the effects of the methanolic extract of Phoebe grandis (MPG) stem bark on reactive oxygen species-induced endothelial dysfunction in vitro. Endothelium-dependent (acetylcholine, ACh) and -independent relaxation (sodium nitroprusside, SNP) was investigated from isolated rat aorta of Sprague-Dawley (SD) in the presence of the β-NADH (enzymatic superoxide inducer) and MPG extract. Superoxide anion production in aortic vessels was measured by lucigen chemiluminesence. Thirty minutes incubation of the rat aorta in vitro with β-NADH increased superoxide radical production and significantly inhibited ACh-induced relaxations. Pretreatment with MPG (0.5, 5 and 50 μg/mL) restored the ACh-induced relaxations (R(max): 92.29% ± 2.93, 91.02% ± 4.54 and 88.31 ± 2.36, respectively) in the presence of β-NADH. MPG was ineffective in reversing the impaired ACh-induced relaxations caused by pyrogallol, a non-enzymatic superoxide generator. Superoxide dismutase (a superoxide scavenger), however, reversed the impaired ACh relaxations induced by both β-NADH and pyrogallol. MPG also markedly inhibited the β-NADH-induced generation of the superoxide radicals. Furthermore, MPG scavenging peroxyl radicals generated by tBuOOH (10?? M).These results indicate that MPG may improve the endothelium dependent relaxations to ACh through its scavenging activity as well as by inhibiting the NADH/NADPH oxidase induced generation of superoxide anions.     

Reliable gain‐scheduled control design for networked control systems

In this article, the problem of reliable gain‐scheduled H_∞ performance optimization and controller design for a class of discrete‐time networked control system (NCS) is discussed. The main aim of this work is to design a gain‐scheduled controller, which consists of not only the constant parameters but also the time‐varying parameter such that NCS is asymptotically stable. In particular, the proposed gain‐scheduled controller is not only based on fixed gains but also the measured time‐varying parameter. Further, the result is extended to obtain a robust reliable gain‐scheduled H_∞ control by considering both unknown disturbances and linear fractional transformation parametric uncertainties in the system model. By constructing a parameter‐dependent Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional, a new set of sufficient conditions are obtained in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The existence conditions for controllers are formulated in the form of LMIs, and the controller design is cast into a convex optimization problem subject to LMI constraints. Finally, a numerical example based on a station‐keeping satellite system is given to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed reliable control law. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 21: 214–228, 2015     

Synthesis of N‐Protected/Free Indole‐7‐Carboxaldehyde

A direct method for the preparation of N‐protected/free indole‐7‐carboxaldehyde is reported from the corresponding N‐protected 7‐bromomethylindoles using three different conditions.     

Boundary multifractality at the integer quantum Hall plateau transition: implications for the critical theory

We study multifractal spectra of critical wave functions at the integer quantum Hall plateau transition using the Chalker-Coddington network model. Our numerical results provide important new constraints which any critical theory for the transition will have to satisfy. We find a nonparabolic multifractal spectrum and determine the ratio of boundary to bulk multifractal exponents. Our results rule out an exactly parabolic spectrum that has been the centerpiece in a number of proposals for critical field theories of the transition. In addition, we demonstrate analytically exact parabolicity of the related boundary spectra in the two-dimensional chiral orthogonal "Gade-Wegner" symmetry class.