Efficient Synthesis of tert‐Butyl Ethers under Solvent‐Free Conditions

A simple and efficient synthesis of tert‐butyl ethers from various alcohols and substituted phenols using tert‐butyl bromide in the presence of basic lead carbonate as a catalyst. The catalyst is easily recovered via filtration and can be reused up to three times without appreciable loss of activity.     

Colorimetrically accurate gray component replacement using the additive model

In four color printing, gray component replacement (GCR) is a method of replacing the achromatic component of a mixture of chromatic inks by a corresponding amount of the achromatic ink. Simple approaches to GCR lead to unacceptable color shifts. In this paper, the method using multiple processing steps is proposed. The novelty of the proposed method is augmentation of masking equations, which allows finding solutions for a pre-set amount of the black ink. The method performance was evaluated and compared with state of the art commercial solution. The experiments have shown that the proposed model is on average capable of achieving 40–55% ink savings with median colorimetric difference of less than 0.3, thus preserving the visual appearance of images.     

Synthesis of 1‐(2,6‐Dimethylphenyl)‐N‐hydroxy‐4,4‐dialkyl‐2,5‐dioxo‐N‐aryl‐3‐pyrrolidine‐carboxamides from Reaction of 2,6‐Dimethylphenyl Isocyanide,Alkylidene Meldrum's Acids,and Arylhydroxylamines

Alkylidene Meldrum's acids and 2,6‐dimethylphenyl isocyanide react smoothly in the presence of arylhydroxylamines at room temperature to produce 2,5‐dioxo‐pyrrolidines in fairly high yield.     

Grcarma: A fully automated task‐oriented interface for the analysis of molecular dynamics trajectories

We report the availability of grcarma, a program encoding for a fully automated set of tasks aiming to simplify the analysis of molecular dynamics trajectories of biological macromolecules. It is a cross‐platform, Perl/Tk‐based front‐end to the program carma and is designed to facilitate the needs of the novice as well as those of the expert user, while at the same time maintaining a user‐friendly and intuitive design. Particular emphasis was given to the automation of several tedious tasks, such as extraction of clusters of structures based on dihedral and Cartesian principal component analysis, secondary structure analysis, calculation and display of root‐mean‐square deviation (RMSD) matrices, calculation of entropy, calculation and analysis of variance–covariance matrices, calculation of the fraction of native contacts, etc. The program is free‐open source software available immediately for download. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Spectrum–effect relationship study between HPLC fingerprints and antioxidant of honeysuckle extract

Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica flos) is a well‐known agent of edible and medicinal value in China and its antioxidative activity makes a major contribution to its dual use. However, the compounds responsible for its antioxidative activity are still unknown. In this study, 10 batches of honeysuckle were collected from different origins in China. The fingerprints were established by HPLC technique to investigate the compounds and a 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity assay was carried out to evaluate their antioxidant activity. partial least squares regression analysis was applied to set up the regression equation between DPPH radical scavenging activity and average peak area of common peaks of fingerprints. The results showed that peaks 10 (isochlorogenic acid B), 12 (isochlorogenic acid C), 11 (isochlorogenic acid A) and 9 (cynaroside) in the fingerprints were closely related to the antioxidant activity of 50% methanol extracts of honeysuckle. This study successfully established the spectrum–effect relationship between HPLC fingerprints and DPPH radical scavenging activity and provided a general model for exploring active components with a combination of chromatography and efficacy.     

Effective and Green One‐Pot Multicomponent Synthesis of Novel Derivatives of 4H‐Pyrans in the Presence of Hexamethylenetetramine as Catalyst in Water Medium

Hexamethylenetetramine catalyzes synthesis of new polyfunctionalized 4H‐pyrans by the reaction of aromatic aldehyde, malononitrile, and β‐keto esters via one‐pot three‐component procedure in water medium. Addition of reactants was performed by two methods led to achieve similar results. Using hexamethylenetetramine in catalytic amount not only represents the economic face of the reaction but also due to the use of water, a green and safe reaction condition is organized. Thus, the current strategy provides the benefits of high productivity, convenient operation, and environmental friendliness. The structure of all products were proved by elemental analysis, IR, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy.     

Nanomagnetically modified thioglycolic acid (γ‐Fe2O3@SiO2‐SCH2CO2H): Efficient and reusable green catalyst for the one‐pot domino synthesis of spiro[benzo[a]benzo[6,7]chromeno[2,3‐c]phenazine] and benzo[a]benzo[6,7]chromeno[2,3‐c]phenazines

Superparamagnetic nanoparticles of modified thioglycolic acid (γ‐Fe₂O₃@SiO₂‐SCH₂CO₂H) represent a new, efficient and green catalyst for the one‐pot synthesis of novel spiro[benzo[a ]benzo[6,7]chromeno[2,3‐c ]phenazine] derivatives via domino Knoevenagel–Michael–cyclization reaction of 2‐hydroxynaphthalene‐1,4‐dione, benzene‐1,2‐diamines, ninhydrin and isatin. This novel magnetic organocatalyst was easily isolated from the reaction mixture by magnetic decantation using an external magnet and reused at least six times without significant loss in its activity. The catalyst was fully characterized using various techniques. This procedure was also applied successfully for the synthesis of benzo[a ]benzo[6,7]chromeno[2,3‐c ]phenazines.     

Novel adaptive generalized principal component analysis algorithm based on Hebbian rule

In order to adaptively estimate the generalized principal component from input signals,a novel generalized principal component analysis algorithm was proposed based on the Hebbian linear neuron model.Since the autocorrelation matrices of the signals were estimated directly from the sampled data at the current time,the proposed algorithm had low computation complexity.Trough analyzing all of the equilibrium points by Lyapunov method,it is proven that if and only if the weight vector in the neuron had the same direction with the generalized principal component,the proposed algorithm attains the convergence status.Simulation results shows that compared with some same type algorithms,the proposed algorithm has faster convergence speed.     

Simultaneous determination of eight flavonoids in Sedum sarmentosum Bunge from different areas by UHPLC with triple quadrupole MS/MS

Sedum sarmentosum Bunge (SSB) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine containing multiple components that has been extensively used clinically to treat chronic viral hepatitis and some inflammatory diseases. Total flavonoids are major pharmacologically active components of SSB. To gain a deeper understanding of SSB resources, we analyzed eight chemical constituents in 33 batches of SSB from 11 regions in China. An accurate, precise and sensitive ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the determination of eight flavonoids in SSB. Under the optimized chromatographic conditions, good separation for the eight target components was obtained on an Agilent Zobax SB C₁₈ (50 × 2.1 mm, 5 μm) column within 4 min. The established methods were validated with good linearity (r ≥ 0.9988), precision (RSD ≤ 2.68%), stability (1.43–3.28%) and repeatability (1.14–2.89%). Moreover, the average recoveries were 95.91–100.68%, and the RSDs were 1.50–3.80%. In addition, the analytical conditions of UPLC–ESI–MS/MS provided better sensitivity with a shorter analysis time when compared with the HPLC–DAD method. Hierarchical clustering analysis and principal component analysis were performed to estimate and classify these samples based on the contents of the eight chemical constituents. This study provided the theoretical basis and scientific evidence for the development and utilization of SSB resources.     

Synthesis and characterization of MgO nanoparticles supported on ionic liquid‐based periodic mesoporous organosilica (MgO@PMO‐IL) as a highly efficient and reusable nanocatalyst for the synthesis of novel spirooxindole‐furan derivatives

The synthesis and catalytic application of a novel MgO containing periodic mesoporous organosilica with ionic liquid framework (MgO@PMO‐IL) is described. The prepared MgO@PMO‐IL was characterized by Fourier transform‐infrared spectroscopy, N₂ adsorption/desorption, transmission electron microscopy, field emission‐scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric and inductively coupled plasma analyses. This nanocatalyst was successfully applied as a highly efficient and recoverable catalyst for the synthesis of novel spirooxindole‐furan derivatives via the three‐component reaction of 1,3‐dicarbonyl compounds, N‐phenacyl pyridinium salts and isatin derivatives. The products were achieved in high to excellent yields with a simple work‐up procedure and short reaction times, and the catalyst could be recovered through a simple filtration process and successfully reused seven times without any significant decrease in its efficiency.