Chiral Compounds Synthesized by Biocatalytic Reductions [New Synthetic Methods (51)]

It has been known for many decades that chiral compounds can be obtained by stereospecific biocatalytic reduction. Further significant methodological developments in this field have, however, only been made during the past ten years; they include the application of previously unused microorganisms and electron donors, the discovery of additional substrates for the known reductases, the development of methods for regenerating reduced pyridine nucleotides, and the discovery of new reductases which were sought for specific preparative purposes. Many chiral compounds can now be synthesized by microbial hydrogenation using H₂ and hydrogenase-containing microorganisms as well as by electromicrobial or electroenzymatic reduction. In the two latter methods, anaerobic or aerobic organisms are supplied with electrons from electrochemically reduced, artificial mediators, e.g., methyl viologen. Reductases that do not require pyridine nucleotides and can accept electrons directly from reduced viologens are especially useful. Two examples of this type of enzyme are described which are of preparative interest. Many cells contain methyl viologen-dependent NAD(P) reductases, a large number of which have still not been characterized. A productivity number is proposed which allows different methods of bioconversion with microorganisms to be compared. The productivity numbers of compounds synthesized by the methods described in this review are often 10- to 100-fold higher than those of substances obtained by conventional techniques.     

Modelling and analysis of sustainable operations management: certain investigations for research and applications

Sustainable operations management (SOM) can be defined as the operations strategies, tactics and techniques, and operational policies to support both economic and environmental objectives and goals. The subject of sustainability has gained much attention from both researchers and practitioners in the past 6–8 years. Most of the articles deal with sustainability from environmental perspectives, but a limited number of them integrate both economic and environmental implications or focus on trading-off between profitability, competitiveness and environmental dimensions. Moreover, there is a limited focus on modelling and analysis (MA) of SOM integrating and balancing the interests of both economic and environmental interests. Therefore, an attempt has been made in this paper to review the extant literature on SOM. The objective is to understand the definition of SOM and present the current status of research in MA, as well as future research directions in the field. Considering the recent focus of the subject, we review the literature on MA of SOM beginning in 2000 in order to make our study current and more relevant for both researchers and practitioners. Finally, a summary of findings and conclusions is reported.     

Dielectric Relaxation of the β-Cyclodextrin Complexes with Tridecanoic Acid and 1,13-Tridecanedioic Acid

The frequency and temperature dependence of the real (') and imaginary (') parts of the dielectric permittivity of the polycrystalline complex-cyclodextrin-tridecanoic acid in two hydration forms (with 16.2 and 10.7 water molecules) and -cyclodextrin-1,13-tridecanedioic acid with 16.4 and 10.5 water molecules have been investigated, in the frequency range 0.1–100 kHz and temperature range 120–310 K. The dielectric behavior is described well by Debye-type relaxation dispersion. All systems except for the complex of partially dehydrated monocarboxylic acid, exhibit an additional -dispersion, at low frequencies (f < 1000 Hz). Only one-step was found in the ' vs. Tplots of both complexes in the two hydration forms, a fact indicating that the watermolecules cannot be divided into strongly bound and easily movable molecules. The'vs. T plots, at a fixed frequency (200 Hz), show the characteristic peakattributed to a transition between ordered and disordered -CD hydroxyl groupsand water molecules. The transition temperature was 202.7 K for all systems examinedexcept for the complex -CD-tridecanoic acid.16.2 H₂O (214.5 K). This means that the order to disorder transformation process was unaffected by the dehydration process in the case of the dicarboxylic acid complex, whereas in the case of the monocarboxylic acid, it was unexpectedly facilitated. The relaxation time varies with temperature, in a like curve (in the range 8–14 s), with maximum values located at the corresponding order-disorder transition temperatures. The activation energies of the fully hydrated complexes have absolute values of 5 kJ/mol in the range 1.98–3.82 K_{BT transition} which are higher than the corresponding values of :2 kJ/mol of the dehydrated complexes. A thermal hysteresis observed in all complexes is a result of the order-disorder transformation.     

Studies towards the synthesis of ertugliflozin from l-Arabinose

A new method for the diastereoselective synthesis of enantiomerically pure ertugliflozin was developed. The crucial step involves an aldol condensation between 1-(4-chloro-3-(4-ethoxybenzyl)phenyl)ethanone and (4R,5R)-5-(((tert-butyldimethylsilyl)oxy)methyl)-2,2-dimethyl-5-((trityloxy)methyl)-1,3-dioxolane-4-carbaldehyde, which was prepared from known 2-C-trityloxymethyl-2,3-O-isopropylidene-l-erythrose (easily accessible in three steps from l-arabinose) by standard reduction/oxidation and protection/deprotection manipulations. Dihydroxylation of the aldol condensation product and further global deprotection led to the formation of the target molecule.     

Specific orientation of electrochemically deposited PbO2 crystals

Lead dioxide anodes were prepared by electrodeposition of Pb²⁺ on titanium in acidic Pb(NO₃)₂ solutions at 30, 50, 70, 90 and 130°C. The electrodes plated at higher temperatures revealed a progressive increase in the content of β-PbO₂ relative to α-PbO₂. The individual crystals were larger and a higher $\text{O}{}_2\text{O}{}_3$ overpotential was observed during the electrolysis of water on such anodes in 0.5 M HClO₄. At higher temperatures the 110 orientation parallel to the geometrical plane of the electrode predominates for the crystallographic planes. An opposite trend can be established for the crystallographic planes 200 and 101.     

Social media and sensemaking patterns in new product development: demystifying the customer sentiment

Artificial intelligence by principle is developed to assist but also support decision making processes. In our study, we explore how information retrieved from social media can assist decision-making processes for new product development (NPD). We focus on consumers’ emotions that are expressed through social media and analyse the variations of their sentiments in all the stages of NPD. We collect data from Twitter that reveal consumers’ appreciation of aspects of the design of a newly launched model of an innovative automotive company. We adopt the sensemaking approach coupled with the use of fuzzy logic for text mining. This combinatory methodological approach enables us to retrieve consensus from the data and to explore the variations of sentiments of the customers about the product and define the polarity of these emotions for each of the NPD stages. The analysis identifies sensemaking patterns in Twitter data and explains the NPD process and the associated steps where the social interactions from customers can have an iterative role. We conclude the paper by outlining an agenda for future research in the NPD process and the role of the customer opinion through sensemaking mechanisms.