Convenient Synthesis of 1,3,6-Triene Systems Through Alkylation of 3-Methyl-3-sulfolene.

Abstract: Various 1,3,6-triene systems have been synthesised through alkylation of 3-methyl-3-sulfolene with conjugated aldehydes followed by silylation and subsequent desulfonylation. A new route to synthesis of (+/?)-α-chamigrene, isofokienol and 5-hydroxy-α-farnesene has been described.     

Bioconversion of acrylonitruke to acrylamide using a thermostable nitrile hydratase

Although providing an attractive route for production of crrylamide from acrylonitrile, utilization of nitrile hydratase en zymes has been limited by the requirement for low temperatu rebioconversion conditions. Thisrreportsummarizes a search for thermostable nitrile hydratases from aerobic moderate thermophiles screened for ability to grow on acrylonitrileatt concentrations to 1% at elevated temperatures. A new isolate Bacillus sp. BR449 constitutively expresses a thermostble nitrile hydratase with properties iccluding low substrate inhibition and broad temperature range with optimal activity at 55°C. With prolonged exposure, BR449 nitrile hydratase exhibited temperature-dependent inactivation by acrylonitrile, which is attributed to alkylation of nucleophilic sites on the enzymes/     

Self-supervised clustering of mass spectrometry imaging data using contrastive learning

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is widely used for the label-free molecular mapping of biological samples. The identification of co-localized molecules in MSI data is crucial to the understanding of biochemical pathways. One of key challenges in molecular colocalization is that complex MSI data are too large for manual annotation but too small for training deep neural networks. Herein, we introduce a self-supervised clustering approach based on contrastive learning, which shows an excellent performance in clustering of MSI data. We train a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) using MSI data from a single experiment without manual annotations to effectively learn high-level spatial features from ion images and classify them based on molecular colocalizations. We demonstrate that contrastive learning generates ion image representations that form well-resolved clusters. Subsequent self-labeling is used to fine-tune both the CNN encoder and linear classifier based on confidently classified ion images. This new approach enables autonomous and high-throughput identification of co-localized species in MSI data, which will dramatically expand the application of spatial lipidomics, metabolomics, and proteomics in biological research.

Contrastive learning is used to train a deep convolutional neural network to identify high-level features in mass spectrometry imaging data. These features enable self-supervised clustering of ion images without manual annotation.     

Cobalt activation of Bacillus BR449 thermostable nitrile hydratase expressed in Escherichia coli

Expression of nitrile hydratase enzymes utilized in a new “green” process for acrylamide production has proven difficult in Escherichia coli owing to lack of a cobalt transport system to introduce the required cobaltion into this host. We describe the expression of a thermostable nitrile hydratase from a moderatethermophile Bacillus sp. BR449 in E. coli in which the cobaltrequired for enzyme activation is introduced by incubation, of the apoenzyme in the presence of Co⁺⁺ ion at 50°C, yielding active and thermostable, enzyme.     

Backside illuminated CMOS image sensors optimized by modeling and simulation

Design and optimization of back-side illuminated (BSI) CMOS active pixel sensors (APS) using modeling and simulation are presented. To obtain an effective architecture, various device-physics models were developed and CAD simulation tools employed. Subsequently the imagers were successfully designed, fabricated and tested. The imagers exhibit excellent performance regarding many sensor parameters. Optimization exercises intended to further improve the performance matrix have also been deliberated in detail. Three critical aspects have been covered in the paper: the epitaxial layer; pixel isolating deep trenches; and isolation structures (LOCOS).     

Hyperfine interaction in K2Ba[Fe(NO2)6

Magnetic hyperfine splitting observed in the low temperature M?ssbauer spectrum of potassium barium hexanitro ferrate(II), in the absence of any external field, is attributed to the 5T2g state of the central metal atom further split into a ground 5Eg state and a first excited 5B2g state under a distorted octahedral symmetry in contrast to the earlier prediction of 1A1g ground state on the basis of room temperature M?ssbauer spectral and other properties. The central iron atom is coordinated to six nitrito groups (NO2-), having an oxidation state of +2. The temperature dependence of M?ssbauer spectra is explained on the basis of electronic relaxation among the spin-orbit coupled levels of the 5Eg ground state. Various kinds of electronic relaxation mechanisms have been compared to explain the proposed mechanism. The observed temperature dependent spectra with varying internal magnetic field and line width can be explained by simple spin lattice relaxation.     

Structure-property relationship of highly crosslinked rubber-iron oxide composite based on chloroprene rubber (CR) as well as on nitrile rubber (NBR); a comparative study using different models

Abstract

Highly crosslinked elastomer-iron oxide composite for grinding as well as for polishing application. With the recent introduction of organic acid-based coolants in polishing applications, the designed composites should have good resistance to oils. This investigation reports the preparation and properties of high crosslinked elastomer-iron oxide composites based on Chloroprene Rubber (CR) as well as on Nitrile Rubber (NBR) as main elastomer matrix and their comparative study. In NBR system, a small amount of natural rubber (NR) was used to improve the abrasion resistance. The crosslink density (CLD) was determined from the plateau modulus in DMA using Nielsen’s model. CLD was also determined based on the equilibrium-swelling ratio by using Flory-Rehner model. The CLD at lower cure time estimated by both methods was substantially different. Nevertheless, it converges to a common value at highly crosslinked state. Highly crosslinked CR shows 500% higher modulus at high temperature when compared to the NBR system.

Highly crosslinked elastomeric composites based on Chloroprene Rubber (CR) as well as Nitrile Rubber (NBR) with high iron oxide content were prepared. This investigation gives insights into the fabrication of composites and evaluates the network structure of highly crosslinked composites. Different models were used to characterize the elastomeric network structures in the composites.     

Friedel-Crafts Acylation of Aromatic Hydrocarbons Using Zeolites

A convenient heterogeneous catalytic methodology for Friedel-Crafts acylation of benzene and toluene using various aliphatic carboxylic anhydrides over zeolites at 250 °C is described. An interesting para selectivity is observed in the case of acylation of toluene over HZSM-5.     

Synthesis of Azafluorenones using Zeolites.

A convenient method for the synthesis of various azafluorenones (2a-f & 4a-d) by cyclization of substituted arylpyridines (1a-f & 3a-d) using zeolites are described.