Thermal analysis of diazo pigments

The differential-thermal and thermogravimetric analysis of eight derivatives of 1,4-bis-(8′-hydroxy-3′,6′-disulpho-1′-naphthyl)-benzenediamide showed that these compounds have a marked exothermic effect, with maxima in the temperature range 290–340°C. The 4-nitroaniline derivative was found to undergo a blast-like decomposition in the temperature interval 285–295°C, reflected by large steps in the TG curves. The thermal analysis of diazo pigments permits determination of their applicability at higher temperatures.     

Thermal analysis of disazo pigments

The differential-thermal and thermogravimetric analysis of eight derivatives of 1,4-bis-(5-hydroxy-7-sulpho-2naphthyl)-benzenediamide showed that these compounds have a marked exothermic effect, with maxima in the temperature range 280–330°C. The derivative of 4-nitroaniline-2-sulphonic acid were found to undergo a blast-like decomposition in the temperature intervals 255–265°C and 285–290°C, which is reflected by large steps in their TG curves.The thermal analysis of disazo pigments permits determination of their applicability at higher temperatures.

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Zusammenfassung Die DT- und TG- Analyse von acht Derivaten von 1,4-bis-(5-Hydroxy-7-sulpho-2naphthyl)-benzoldiamid zeigte, dass diese Verbindungen mit einem Maximum im Temperaturbereich 280–330°C einen eindeutigen exothermen Effekt aufweisen. Derivate mit 4-Nitroanilin-2-sulfonsäure zeigen eine explosionsartige Zersetzung im Temperaturintervall 255–265°C und 285–290°C, was sich in den TG-Kurven in einer großen Stufe wiederspiegelt.Die Thermoanalyse von Bisazopigmenten ermöglicht eine Ermittlung ihrer Anwendbarkeit für höhere Temperaturen.

     

Chemometrical approaches to evaluate analytical data from aquatic macrophytes and marine algae

The possibility of using aquatic macrophytes and algae as bioindicators of water pollution is investigated. The use of cluster analysis enables the treatment of the analytical data in a global way, revealing hidden clusters of similar behaviour between various biological species or sampling sites. A great number of species was collected from four rivers and fourteen coastal sites in Greece and were analysed for zinc, copper, cadmium, lead and manganese. The analytical data obtained were treated by hierarchical clustering, for marine algae and aquatic macrophytes separately.     

Environmetric modeling of emission sources for dry and wet precipitation from an urban area

Monitoring data from chemical analysis of rainwater and aerosol samples collected in an urban area have been interpreted by the use of environmetric approaches. An attempt was done to compare the data set structures of both type of precipitation and to estimate the contribution of different anthropogenic and naturally occurring emission sources to the total mass of the wet and dry precipitation. It was found that three latent factors explaining over 80% of the total variance of the set are responsible for the rainwater set structure-'sea spray', 'soil dust', and 'anthropogenic'. Only two were the latent factors explaining the dominant part of the variance in the case of aerosol samples-'anthropogenic' and 'natural'. It is shown that the anthropogenic influence for aerosol samples is more complex that that of rainwater samples and represents interaction between typical anthropogenic sources and natural emitters. Additionally, a source apportioning using multiple regression on absolute principal component scores is performed in order to obtain qualitative information about the impact of the different identified emission sources on the urban environment.     

(Z)-3-p-tolylsulfinylacrylonitrile as a chiral dienophile: diels-alder reactions with furan and acyclic dienes

The behavior of (Z)-3-p-tolylsulfinylacrylonitrile (1) as a chiral dienophile has been evaluated from its reactions with furan and acyclic dienes. Electrostatic interactions of the cyano group with the sulfinyl one restrict the conformational mobility around the C-S bond, thus controlling the pi-facial selectivity, which is almost complete in all cases, the approach of the diene from the less-hindered face of the dienophile (that bearing the lone electron pair) in the predominant rotamer being the favored one. The regioselectivity is also completely controlled by the cyano group. Additionally, the reactivity of compound 1 as well as its endo-selectivity are both higher than those observed for the corresponding (Z)-3-sulfinylacrylates, thus proving the potential of sulfinylnitriles as chiral dienophiles.     

Narrow band quantitative and multivariate electroencephalogram analysis of peri-adolescent period

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The peri-adolescent period is a crucial developmental moment of transition from childhood to emergent adulthood. The present report analyses the differences in Power Spectrum (PS) of the Electroencephalogram (EEG) between late childhood (24 children between 8 and 13 years old) and young adulthood (24 young adults between 18 and 23 years old). RESULTS: The narrow band analysis of the Electroencephalogram was computed in the frequency range of 0--20 Hz. The analysis of mean and variance suggested that six frequency ranges presented a different rate of maturation at these ages, namely: low delta, delta-theta, low alpha, high alpha, low beta and high beta. For most of these bands the maturation seems to occur later in anterior sites than posterior sites. Correlational analysis showed a lower pattern of correlation between different frequencies in children than in young adults, suggesting a certain asynchrony in the maturation of different rhythms. The topographical analysis revealed similar topographies of the different rhythms in children and young adults. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) demonstrated the same internal structure for the Electroencephalogram of both age groups. Principal Component Analysis allowed to separate four subcomponents in the alpha range. All these subcomponents peaked at a lower frequency in children than in young adults. CONCLUSIONS: The present approaches complement and solve some of the incertitudes when the classical brain broad rhythm analysis is applied. Children have a higher absolute power than young adults for frequency ranges between 0-20 Hz, the correlation of Power Spectrum (PS) with age and the variance age comparison showed that there are six ranges of frequencies that can distinguish the level of EEG maturation in children and adults. The establishment of maturational order of different frequencies and its possible maturational interdependence would require a complete series including all the different ages.     

Structural insight into exosite binding and discovery of novel exosite inhibitors of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A through in silico screening

Botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT/A) is the most lethal toxin among the Tier 1 Select Agents. Development of potent and selective small molecule inhibitors against BoNT/A zinc metalloprotease remains a challenging problem due to its exceptionally large substrate binding surface and conformational plasticity. The exosites of the catalytic domain of BoNT/A are intriguing alternative sites for small molecule intervention, but their suitability for inhibitor design remains largely unexplored. In this study, we employed two recently identified exosite inhibitors, D-chicoric acid and lomofungin, to probe the structural features of the exosites and molecular mechanisms of synergistic inhibition. The results showed that D-chicoric acid favors binding at the α-exosite, whereas lomofungin preferentially binds at the β-exosite by mimicking the substrate β-sheet binding interaction. Molecular dynamics simulations and binding interaction analysis of the exosite inhibitors with BoNT/A revealed key elements and hotspots that likely contribute to the inhibitor binding and synergistic inhibition. Finally, we performed database virtual screening for novel inhibitors of BoNT/A targeting the exosites. Hits C1 and C2 showed non-competitive inhibition and likely target the α- and β-exosites, respectively. The identified exosite inhibitors may provide novel candidates for structure-based development of therapeutics against BoNT/A intoxication.