Selective sorption of ferric ion onto a crosslinked resin bearing triphenylphosphinimine residues

A polymeric sorbent containing triphenylphosphinimine residues has been obtained from crosslinked chloromethylated polystyrene by azidation, using phase-transfer catalysis, followed by reaction with triphenylphosphine at room temperature. The sorbent exhibits 100 % sorption selectivity for Fe(III) in the presence of Cu(II), Fe(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Mn(II), and Zn(II) in aqueous media. In the absence of Fe(III), however, Fe(II) is selectively sorbed over the other metal ions, and in the absence of both Fe(II) and Fe(III), Cu(II) has the highest selectivity of sorption on the resin. The sorption of Fe(III) is sensitive to pH, being maximum at pH not, vert, similar 2 and falling sharply at both higher and lower pH values. The sorbed Fe(III) is easily stripped with dilute HCl and the resulting protonated resin is regenerated to its original sorption capacity by treatment with dilute NaOH at room temperature.

Src Homology 3-interacting Domain of Rv1917c of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Induces Selective Maturation of Human Dendritic Cells by Regulating PI3K-MAPK-NF-kappa B Signaling and Drives Th2 Immune Responses

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, an etiological agent of pulmonary tuberculosis, causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Pathogenic mycobacteria survive in the host by subverting host innate immunity. Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen-presenting cells that are vital for eliciting immune responses to infectious agents, including pathogenic mycobacteria. DCs orchestrate distinct Th responses based on the signals they receive. In this perspective, deciphering the interactions of the proline-glutamic acid/proline-proline-glutamic acid (PE/PPE) family of proteins of M. tuberculosis with DCs assumes significant pathophysiological attributes. In this study, we demonstrate that Rv1917c (PPE34), a representative member of the proline-proline-glutamic-major polymorphic tandem repeat family, interacts with TLR2 and triggers functional maturation of human DCs. Signaling perturbations implicated a critical role for integrated cross-talk among PI3K-MAPK and NF-kappa B signaling cascades in Rv1917c-induced maturation of DCs. However, this maturation of DCs was associated with a secretion of high amounts of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, whereas Th1-polarizing cytokine IL-12 was not induced. Consistent with these results, Rv1917c-matured DCs favored secretion of IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10 from CD4(+) T cells and contributed to Th2-skewed cytokine balance ex vivo in healthy individuals and in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Interestingly, the Rv1917c-skewed Th2 immune response involved induced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in DCs. Taken together, these results indicate that Rv1917c facilitates a shift in the ensuing immunity toward the Th2 phenotype and could aid in immune evasion by mycobacteria.

Ruthenium-Oxygen Coordination-Driven Self-Assembly of a Ru-8(II) Incomplete Prism: Synthesis, Structure, and Shape-Selective Molecular Recognition Study

Coordination-driven self-assembly of 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate (tma; 1) and oxalato-bridged p-cymeneruthenium(II) building block Ru-2(mu-eta(4)-C2O4)(MeOH)(2)(eta(6)-p-cymene)(2)](O3SCF3)(2) (2) affords an unusual octanuclear incomplete prism Ru-8(eta(6)-p-cymene)(8)(tma)(2)(mu-eta(4)-C2O4)(2)(OMe)(4)](O3SCF3)( 2) (3), which exhibits a remarkable shape-selective binding affinity for neutral phenolic compounds via hydrogen-bonding interactions (p-cymene = p-(PrC6H4Me)-Pr-i). Such a binding was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis using 1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene as an analyte.

Second harmonic generation in some donor-acceptor ethylenes—I

We report the absorption spectra, oscillator strengths, ground state and excited state dipole moments, and molecular second order polarizability coefficients (βCT) due to donor—acceptor charge transfer in four trisubstituted ethylenes, namely 1,1-bisdimethylamino-2-nitroethylene, 1,1-bispyrolidino-2-nitroethylene, 1,1-bispiperidino-2-nitroethylene and 1,1-bismorpholino-2-nitroethylene. The results are compared with that of trans-N,N-dimethylamino-nitroethylene, which has a large βCT. The powder second harmonic generation (SHG) intensity of all these molecules is also measured and only 1,1-bispiperidino-2-nitroethylene is found to possess an efficiency of 20% of that of urea under the same conditions. The SHG efficiency of this compound and deficiency in the other molecules in the powdered state is discussed in terms of their arrangements in the unit cell. The crystal structure of the active molecule is also presented and the structure—property relationship is critically examined in all these molecules.

Selective-Area Atomic Layer Deposition

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a method to deposit thin films from gaseous precursors to the substrate layer-by-layer so that the film thickness can be tailored with atomic layer accuracy. Film tailoring is even further emphasized with selective-area ALD which enables the film growth to be controlled also on the substrate surface. Selective-area ALD allows the decrease of a process steps in preparing thin film devices. This can be of a great technological importance when the ALD films become into wider use in different applications. Selective-area ALD can be achieved by passivation or activation of a surface. In this work ALD growth was prevented by octadecyltrimethoxysilane, octadecyltrichlorosilane and 1-dodecanethiol SAMs, and by PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) and PVP (poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) polymer films. SAMs were prepared from vapor phase and by microcontact printing, and polymer films were spin coated. Microcontact printing created patterned SAMs at once. The SAMs prepared from vapor phase and the polymer mask layers were patterned by UV lithography or lift-off process so that after preparation of a continuous mask layer selected areas of them were removed. On these areas the ALD film was deposited selectively. SAMs and polymer films prevented the growth in several ALD processes such as iridium, ruthenium, platinum, TiO2 and polyimide so that the ALD films did grow only on areas without SAM or polymer mask layer. PMMA and PVP films also protected the surface against Al2O3 and ZrO2 growth. Activation of the surface for ALD of ruthenium was achieved by preparing a RuOX layer by microcontact printing. At low temperatures the RuCp2-O2 process nucleated only on this oxidative activation layer but not on bare silicon.

A Convenient Methodology for the Selective Reduction of Carboxylic Acids With Benzyltriethyl-Ammonium Borohydride—Chlorotrimethylsilane

A combination of benzyltriethylammonium borohydride and chlorotrimethylsilane (1:1) in dichloromethane (0-25°C) has been found to be a convenient reagent system for the selective reduction of carboxylic acids to alcohols.

Selective Flotation of Molybdenite and Chalcopyrite

Separation of molybdenite from chalcopyrite from the bulk concentrate of a low grade molybdenite ore from Chintamani, Kolar District, Karnataka, has been attempted in a modified Hallimond tube microflotation set-up. The flotation parameters studied are, sodium sulphide and potassium cyanide as depressants for chalcopyrite, pH, depressant concentration, steaming time and time of flotation. Selectivity index was used as a separation parameter. Steaming for 25 min followed by flotation for 7 min at 80 mg/l concentration of potassium cyanide and pH 9 gave the best results for separation of molybdenite. 19 ref.--AA

Nonequilibrium stationary states of harmonic chains with bulk noises

We consider a chain composed of $N$ coupled harmonic oscillators in contact with heat baths at temperature $T_\ell$ and $T_r$ at sites 1 and $N$ respectively. The oscillators are also subjected to non-momentum conserving bulk stochastic noises. These make the heat conductivity satisfy Fourier's law. Here we describe some new results about the hydrodynamical equations for typical macroscopic energy and displacement profiles, as well as their fluctuations and large deviations, in two simple models of this type.

Amino acid selective unlabeling for sequence specific resonance assignments in proteins

Sequence specific resonance assignment constitutes an important step towards high-resolution structure determination of proteins by NMR and is aided by selective identification and assignment of amino acid types. The traditional approach to selective labeling yields only the chemical shifts of the particular amino acid being selected and does not help in establishing a link between adjacent residues along the polypeptide chain, which is important for sequential assignments. An alternative approach is the method of amino acid selective `unlabeling' or reverse labeling, which involves selective unlabeling of specific amino acid types against a uniformly C-13/N-15 labeled background. Based on this method, we present a novel approach for sequential assignments in proteins. The method involves a new NMR experiment named, {(CO)-C-12 (i) -N-15 (i+1)}-filtered HSQC, which aids in linking the H-1(N)/N-15 resonances of the selectively unlabeled residue, i, and its C-terminal neighbor, i + 1, in HN-detected double and triple resonance spectra. This leads to the assignment of a tri-peptide segment from the knowledge of the amino acid types of residues: i - 1, i and i + 1, thereby speeding up the sequential assignment process. The method has the advantage of being relatively inexpensive, applicable to H-2 labeled protein and can be coupled with cell-free synthesis and/or automated assignment approaches. A detailed survey involving unlabeling of different amino acid types individually or in pairs reveals that the proposed approach is also robust to misincorporation of N-14 at undesired sites. Taken together, this study represents the first application of selective unlabeling for sequence specific resonance assignments and opens up new avenues to using this methodology in protein structural studies.

Second harmonic generation in poled molecularly doped polymer films : Push-pull butadienes in poly(methyl methacrylate) and polystyrene

We report second harmonic generation in a new class of organic materials, namely donor-acceptor substituted all-trans butadienes doped in poly(methyl methacrylate) or polystyrene and oriented by corona poling at elevated temperatures. Second harmonic measurements were made at room temperature. The observed d33 coefficients are greater than those of potassium dihydrogen phosphate or 4-dimethylamino-4'-nitrostilbene doped in similar polymer matrices. Rotational diffusion coefficients estimated from the decay characteristics of the second harmonic intensity in the polymer films indicate that the polymer matrix plays a major role in stabilizing the dopants in a nonlinear optics conducive environment.

Cooperative Spectrum Sensing Algorithms For OFDM Systems with Frequency Selective Channels

This paper considers the problem of spectrum sensing in cognitive radio networks when the primary user employs Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). We specifically consider the scenario when the channel between the primary and a secondary user is frequency selective. We develop cooperative sequential detection algorithms based on energy detectors. We modify the detectors to mitigate the effects of some common model uncertainties such as timing and frequency offset, IQ-imbalance and uncertainty in noise and transmit power. The performance of the proposed algorithms are studied via simulations. We show that the performance of the energy detector is not affected by the frequency selective channel. We also provide a theoretical analysis for some of our algorithms.

Utility of microbes in organic-synthesis - selective transformations of acyclic isoprenoids by aspergillus-niger

Bioconversion of acyclic isoprenoids using a strain of Aspergillus niger results in hydroxylated metabolites with regio- and stereoselectivity. The organism carries out oxidation of the terminal allylic methyl group and the remote double bond in all the compounds tested (I-VII). However, these two activities seem to have preferential structural requirements. When an acyclic isoprenoid with a ketone functionality such as geranylacetone is used as the substrate, the organism also carries out the asymmetric reduction of the keto group. All the metabolites formed have been purified and characterized by conventional spectroscopic methods and quantification has been made by gas chromatographic analyses.