Searching for extensible Korobov rules

Extensible lattice sequences have been proposed and studied in [F.J. Hickernell, H.S. Hong, Computing multivariate normal probabilities using rank-1 lattice sequences, in: G.H. Golub, S.H. Lui, F.T. Luk, R.J. Plemmons (Eds.), Proceedings of the Workshop on Scientific Computing (Hong Kong), Singapore, Springer, Berlin, 1997, pp. 209–215; F.J. Hickernell, H.S. Hong, P. L’Ecuyer, C. Lemieux, Extensible lattice sequences for quasi-Monte Carlo quadrature, SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 22 (2001) 1117–1138; F.J. Hickernell, H.Niederreiter, The existence of good extensible rank-1 lattices, J. Complexity 19 (2003) 286–300]. For the special case of extensible Korobov sequences, parameters can be found in [F.J. Hickernell, H.S. Hong, P. L’Ecuyer, C.Lemieux, Extensible lattice sequences for quasi-Monte Carlo quadrature, SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 22 (2001) 1117–1138]. The searches made to obtain these parameters were based on quality measures that look at several projections of the lattice. Because it is often the case in practice that low-dimensional projections are very important, it is of interest to find parameters for these sequences based on measures that look more closely at these projections. In this paper, we prove the existence of “good” extensible Korobov rules with respect to a quality measure that considers two-dimensional projections. We also report results of experiments made on different problems where the newly obtained parameters compare favorably with those given in [F.J. Hickernell, H.S. Hong, P. L’Ecuyer, C. Lemieux, Extensible lattice sequences for quasi-Monte Carlo quadrature, SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 22 (2001) 1117–1138].     

Investigation of antiplasmodial efficacy of lupeol and ursolic acid isolated from Ficus benjamina leaves extract

Abstract

This study emphasizes on the investigation of antiplasmodial activity of triterpenoids isolated from Ficus benjamina leaves. An unsaponified fraction of petroleum ether extract of plant leaves was subjected to silica gel column chromatography which led to the isolation of two known triterpenoids; namely ursolic acid and lupeol. These compounds were evaluated for antiplasmodial activity by schizont maturation inhibition assay using 3D7 Plasmodium strains. Both, ursolic acid and lupeol were found to exhibit significant antiplasmodial effect with an IC₅₀ value of 18?µg/ml and 3.8?µg/ml, respectively. This study further confirms the traditional role of Ficus benjamina plant in the treatment of malaria which may be attributed to ursolic acid and lupeol.     

Performance of Dispersion-Compensated Optical Transmission Systems Based on Different Electrical Drivers

In this article, the simulation results have been presented for dispersive optical communication with different electrical drivers. The length of single-mode fiber has been put in a run that is compensated by dispersion-compensated fiber. The results have been presented and it is observed that of all the electrical drivers, the NRZ rectangular is best suited for dispersive optical communication systems. For this electrical driver, the parameters like BER remain constant and low. For other drivers, the BER decreases more for RZ super-Gaussian. Similarly, the Q factor increases with runs for all types of drivers except for NRZ rectangular, for which it decreases. For all the drivers, it is clear that as the runs are varied, the eye opening penalty increases, that is, there is less eye opening as the length of single-mode fiber is increased. It is also seen that the dispersion-compensated fiber compensates for the dispersion very effectively irrespective of the type of driver. Of the two formats, return to zero (RZ) and non-return to zero (NRZ), the earlier has more eye-opening penalty as the distortion is more and is clearly visible in all the rectangular, super-Gaussian, and raised cosine RZ formats. Of the three RZ formats, it is observed that RZ rectangular has the least eye-opening penalty. The non-return to zero format has less distortion and, of the two rectangular and raised cosine, the NRZ rectangular has less eye-opening penalty.     

Volumetric and ultrasonic behaviour of binary mixtures of 1-nonanol with o-cresol,m-cresol,p-cresol and anisole at T = (293.15 and 313.15) K

Densities, ρ, and speeds of sound, u, of binary liquid mixtures of 1-nonanol with o-cresol, m-cresol, p-cresol and anisole have been measured over the entire range of composition at T = (293.15 and 313.15) K and at atmospheric pressure. Using these data, the excess molar volume, V^E, molar free volume, V_f, parameters related to space-filling ability, V_f/V, non-linearity parameters, B/A, isentropic compressibility, κ_S, molar isentropic compressibility, K_S,m, deviation of molar isentropic compressibility, $K_{S\text{,}m}^E$, deviations of the speed of sound, u^D, and limiting excess partial molar volume, ${\overline{V}}_{m\text{,}i}^{E\text{,}0}$, and isentropic compressibility, ${\overline{K}}_{m\text{,}i}^{E\text{,}0}$, have been calculated. The calculated excess and deviation functions have been fitted to the Redlich–Kister polynomial equations and the results analyzed in terms of molecular interactions and structural effects.     

Gemini imidazolium surfactants: synthesis and their biophysiochemical study

New gemini imidazolium surfactants 9-13 have been synthesized by a regioselective epoxy ring-opening reaction under solvent-free conditions. The surface properties of these new gemini surfactants were evaluated by surface tension and conductivity measurements. These surfactants have been found to have low critical micelle concentration (cmc) values as compared to other categories of gemini cationic surfactants and also showed the tendency to form premicellar aggregates in solution at sufficiently low concentration below their cmc values. The thermal degradation of these surfactants was determined by thermograviometry analysis (TGA). These new cationic surfactants have a good DNA binding capability as determined by agarose gel electrophoresis and ethidium bromide exclusion experiments. They have also been found to have low cytotoxicity by MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay on the C6 glioma cell line.     

A large sample volume magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance probe for in situ investigations with constant flow of reactants

A large-sample-volume constant-flow magic angle sample spinning (CF-MAS) NMR probe is reported for in situ studies of the reaction dynamics, stable intermediates/transition states, and mechanisms of catalytic reactions. In our approach, the reactants are introduced into the catalyst bed using a fixed tube at one end of the MAS rotor while a second fixed tube, linked to a vacuum pump, is attached at the other end of the rotor. The pressure difference between both ends of the catalyst bed inside the sample cell space forces the reactants flowing through the catalyst bed, which improves the diffusion of the reactants and products. This design allows the use of a large sample volume for enhanced sensitivity and thus permitting in situ(13)C CF-MAS studies at natural abundance. As an example of application, we show that reactants, products and reaction transition states associated with the 2-butanol dehydration reaction over a mesoporous silicalite supported heteropoly acid catalyst (HPA/meso-silicalite-1) can all be detected in a single (13)C CF-MAS NMR spectrum at natural abundance. Coke products can also be detected at natural (13)C abundance and under the stopped flow condition. Furthermore, (1)H CF-MAS NMR is used to identify the surface functional groups of HPA/meso-silicalite-1 under the condition of in situ drying. We also show that the reaction dynamics of 2-butanol dehydration using HPA/meso-silicalite-1 as a catalyst can be explored using (1)H CF-MAS NMR.     

Ferulic Acid: A Natural Phenol That Inhibits Neoplastic Events through Modulation of Oncogenic Signaling

Despite the immense therapeutic advances in the field of health sciences, cancer is still to be found among the global leading causes of morbidity and mortality. Ethnomedicinally, natural bioactive compounds isolated from various plant sources have been used for the treatment of several cancer types and have gained notable attention. Ferulic acid, a natural compound derived from various seeds, nuts, leaves, and fruits, exhibits a variety of pharmacological effects in cancer, including its proapoptotic, cell-cycle-arresting, anti-metastatic, and anti-inflammatory activities. This review study presents a thorough overview of the molecular targets and cellular signaling pathways modulated by ferulic acid in diverse malignancies, showing high potential for this phenolic acid to be developed as a candidate agent for novel anticancer therapeutics. In addition, current investigations to develop promising synergistic formulations are also discussed.     

Simultaneous Determination of Safingol and d-erythro-Sphinganine in Human Plasma by LC with Fluorescence Detection

l-threo-Sphinganine (safingol) is a putative synthetic sphingosine kinase inhibitor currently being tested in clinical trials as an anticancer agent. To enable defining the pharmacokinetic properties of safingol in humans, we developed a sensitive analytical method to simultaneously quantitate safingol and its naturally-occurring diastereomer, d-erythro-sphinganine in human plasma. Of the two different fluorogenic derivatization agents (NDA and OPA) and several pH conditions compared for the derivatization, we found that NDA derivatization achieved more than 20 times greater sensitivity compared with OPA derivatization, and pH 9.0 showed the highest sensitivity for both compounds. An analytical method for liquid chromatography (LC) with a fluorescence detector (FLD) was developed and validated with calibration curve ranges of 20–1,000 ng mL⁻¹ for safingol and d-erythro-sphinganine. Our LC-FLD method using NDA-derivatization enabled simultaneous quantification of safingol and its naturally-occurring diastereomer, d-erythro-sphinganine with satisfactory sensitivity in human plasma.

     

Chemical resolution of enantiomers of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones using chiral auxiliary approach

Inherently racemic DHPMs have been resolved using chemical resolution methodology by appending enantiopure chiral auxiliary at N-1 or N-3 position of the DHPMs, leading to the formation of both diastereomers, which were separated chromatographically to obtain both enantiomers (ee upto 99.9%) of DHPMs, after removal of the auxiliary. Absolute configuration of the enantiomers has been assigned.