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The hierarchical H/BEA zeolites were prepared by postsynthesis treatment. The portion of the parent H/BEA zeolite was treated with aqueous 0.1 M NaOH solution with different alkali volume to H/BEA zeolite weight (5, 10, 30,150, and 300 mL/g) ratios. The physicochemical properties of samples were evaluated by powder X-ray diffraction, Pyridine Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, NH3 temperature programme desorption, Nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms, and magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The catalytic performance of various catalysts was investigated in solvent free acetalization of glycerol with formaldehyde. Among all the catalysts, a hierarchical H/BEA prepared by treating H/BEA with 5 mL aqueous 0.1 M NaOH solution per gram of H/BEA exhibited the highest specific surface area and high acidity. This optimal hierarchical H/BEA5 catalyst has shown an excellent catalytic activity with glycerol conversion of 78% and 1,3 dioxalane selectivity of 85% under mild operating parameters than reported. H/BEA5 was found to be highly stable and recyclable. The acetalization of glycerol with formaldehyde follows first order reversible using PseudoHomogeneous model. In present study, the activation energy for this reaction is found to be 46.95 KJmol−1 which is lower than reported. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2017

While pro-inflammatory immune responses are a requirement to combat microbes, uncontrolled self-directed inflammatory immune responses are the hallmark of autoimmune diseases. Restoration of immunological tolerance involves both suppression of ongoing tissue-destructive immune responses and re-education of the host immune system. Both functionally immunosuppressive macrophages (M2) and regulatory T cells (Tregs) are implicated in these processes. Their mutual interaction is synergistic in this context and adoptive transfer of each cell type has been functioning as immunotherapy in experimental models, being particularly effective when using M2 macrophages generated with an optimized interleukin-4 (IL-4)/interleukin-10 (IL-10)/transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) combination. As a prerequisite for eventual translation of M2 therapy into clinical settings we herein studied the induction, stability and mechanism of generation of human induced Tregs (iTregs) by M2 macrophages generated with IL-4/IL-10/TGF-β. The supernatants of monocyte-derived human M2 macrophages robustly induced FOXP3 and other Treg signature molecules such as CTLA-4 and IKZF4 in human naïve CD4 T cells. M2-induced iTregs displayed enhanced FOXP3 stability and low expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines interferon-γ and IL-17, as well as functional immunosuppressive activity compared with control T cells. The FOXP3-inducing activity was dependent on TGF-β, which was both expressed and captured with re-release by M2 macrophages into the soluble supernatant fraction, in which the TGF-β was not confined to extracellular vesicles such as exosomes. We propose that adoptive transfer of human M2 macrophages may be exploited in the future to induce Tregs in situ by delivering TGF-β, which could be developed as a therapeutic strategy to target autoimmune and other inflammatory diseases.

In an earlier study, the genotypes associated with higher level of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) were found to reduce the risk for breast cancer in western Indian women. This observation implied that gene polymorphisms affecting the levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines may influence the risk for breast cancer in this population. Hence, we performed genotyping for three more functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) responsible for variations in the levels of cytokines associated with inflammation. To that effect, polymorphisms in genes coding for IL-4 (IL-4 C-590T; rs2243250), IFN-γ (IFN-G A + 874T; rs2430561) and MCP-1 (MCP-1 A-2578G; rs1024611) were examined in premenopausal, healthy women (N = 239) and patients with breast cancer (N = 182) from western India. In carriers of the IL-4*590T allele, a reduced risk for the disease (dominant model; OR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.37-0.98) was seen similar to that seen in TGF-B1*10C carriers. An opposite trend was observed with respect to the alleles associated with higher expression of MCP-1 or IFN-γ. In individuals positive for three or more alleles associated with higher levels of either pro- or anti-inflammatory cytokines, an additive effect on the modulation of risk for the disease was evident (for TGF-B1 & IL-4, OR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.12-0.87; for IFN-G & MCP-1, OR = 2.29, 95% CI 0.95-5.51). In the context of contrasting observations in other populations, these results indicate a significant contribution of anti-inflammatory genotypes in the modulation of risk for breast cancer in western Indian women.

Copper(II) complexes of the type [Cu(SPF)(Ln)Cl] (where SPF is sparfloxacin and Ln = substituted terpyridines) were synthesized and found to have a distorted octahedral geometry. Superoxide dismutase-like activity of the complexes was measured using a nitroblue tetrazolium/reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide/phenazine methosulfate system and expressed in terms of the concentration of complex which terminates the formation of formazan by 50% (IC50 value), which was found to range from 0.572 to 1.522 µm. Interactions of the complexes with herring sperm DNA were studied by absorption titration, viscosity measurement and gel electrophoresis under physiological conditions. The antimicrobial efficiency of the complexes was tested against five different microorganisms and showed good biological activity. All the complexes showed good cytotoxic activity, with LC50 values ranging from 4.01 to 9.64 µg ml−1. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The copper(II) complexes with NS donor ligand and ciprofloxacin were synthesized. The synthesized complexes were characterized by physicochemical parameters like elemental and thermal analysis, electronic, FT-IR, and LC-MS spectroscopy. The complexes were tested for their antibacterial activity against two Gram(+ve) i.e. Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and three Gram(–ve) i.e., Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli bacteria in terms of MIC (μM) and the results were compared with the parent drug. Viscosity measurement and absorption titration were employed to determine the mode of binding of complexes with DNA. DNA cleavage activity was carried out by gel electrophoresis experiment using supercoiled form of pUC19 DNA. The complexes were screened for their SOD mimic activity in terms of IC50 value. The complexes were also checked for their cytotoxicity using brine shrimp assay method.

Paracetamol, a weak inhibitor of cyclooxygenase COX-1 and COX-2 activities, has been reported to inhibit the activity of COX-2 induced by diclofenac in J774.2 macrophage cell line. The lack of inhibition of COX-2 by paracetamol in inflamed tissues and thereby the lack of anti-inflammatory activity has been attributed to high lipid hydroperoxide (LHP) tone. In this study, we demonstrate that the inhibition of the diclofenac-induced COX-2 activity in J774.2 cells by paracetamol is not related to the intracellular LHP tone as paracetamol inhibited this activity in the absence and presence of T-butyl hydroperoxide, which is an LHP donor, to the same extents. In fact, treatment of the cells with diclofenac resulted in an increase in the LHP tone. Stimulation of the cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) results in the induction of a COX-2 activity, which was not inhibited by paracetamol. This represents the classical induction pathway for COX-2. LPS stimulation did not alter the LHP tone. These results suggest that the enzymatic activity of the diclofenac-induced COX-2 protein does not depend on the supply of hydroperoxides to its peroxidase active site.

Allocating resources to competing projects is typically driven by multiple quantified objectives generated from the top-level goals of a large-scale system. Analytical tools to aid such allocations have a significant history with many existing methodologies, particularly for optimization and programming within a hierarchy of objective functions. However, the quantified objective functions are known to only partially represent the system goals, and significant challenges remain to preserve relevant considerations that resisted quantification. In particular, the patterns of allocation of resources across the goals may be important to decision-makers, since they could thereby address known, quantifiable issues with some consideration of unknown and emergent issues. This paper develops decision-aiding diagrams of top-level goals and resources that complement the existing multiobjective combinatorial optimization models, to better refine and choose among the optimization-generated portfolios of projects. Adapting existing path diagrams from the social sciences, the newly developed methodology can be subordinate to the generation of Pareto-optimal solutions via the optimization model. The application of path diagrams is demonstrated through a case study of allocating resources to a large-scale system of airports. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 14: 73–86, 2011 © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Spinel Cobalt ferrites were synthesized by the co-precipitation method using tetramethyl-, tetraethyl-, and tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide as precipitating agents. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption measurements. The influence of the length of the carbon chain of the precipitating agent on the progressive development of the spinel structure has been investigated as a function of thermal decomposition temperature. The degree of crystallization depends on the thermal decomposition temperature, and also on the type of precipitating agent used to form the precursor. Tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide is the weakest base with the highest molecular weight among the three precipitating agents. An increase in the size of the tetraalkyl ammonium cation reduces the crystallite size and lattice parameter of cobalt ferrite spinel. It also appears to reduce the degree of particle aggregation significantly.

An experiment was conducted on four genotypes of Cenchrus ciliaris, two genotypes of C. setigerus and one genotype each of Panicum maximum, P. antidotale and Lasirus sindicus grasses at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Haryana, India in 2003 and 2004. Two cuts were taken in the months of September and November in each year. Measurements were made of seven morphological characteristics and the nutritive value of the grasses. The total green fodder yield was highest in C. ciliaris cv. IGFRI in 2003 and in C. ciliaris cv. CAZRI 75 in 2004. Total dry matter (DM) yield was highest in P. maximum cv. IGFRI and C. ciliaris cv. CAZRI 75 in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Crude protein and digestible DM yields were highest in C. ciliaris cv. CAZRI 75. It was concluded that C. ciliaris cv. CAZRI 75 can be recommended as the one with the most potential among the studied grasses for use in the arid regions of south-west Haryana, India.

Zeolite beta (BEA) was synthesized hydrothermally using fly ash as a combined source of alumina and silica. The overall crystallization period required to obtain pure crystalline BEA zeolite was found to be slightly longer when fly ash was used. The physicochemical properties of BEA phases obtained using fly ash (FLBEA) and conventional source materials (CONBEA) were compared. The H/FLBEA catalyst has exhibited excellent catalytic performance in commercially important benzene isopropylation process. These results have demonstrated that converting fly ash into BEA zeolite not only alleviates the disposal problem but also turns an otherwise waste material into a marketable commodity.

The energy consumption of reverse osmosis (RO) has declined significantly since inception and to further decrease the energy consumption is a challenging task. The present article demonstrates the novel method to increase the membrane productivity and reduce energy consumption of desalination. Thin film composite RO (TFC RO) membrane was subjected to 2000 mg/L sodium hypochlorite for 1 h followed by varying concentrations of chitosan and glutaraldehyde for 1 h each to make a hydrophilic supra-molecular assembly of linear polysaccharide over the polyamide layer. RO membrane exposed to 1000 mg/L chitosan and glutaraldehyde each reported 180% increase in water-flux with about 2.7% increase in divalent ion rejection as compared to virgin TFC RO membrane. The superior performance of the membrane was explained by increased hydrophilicity as shown by decline in contact angle from 46.37° to 29.87°, increase in surface area ratio from atomic force microscope image analysis, and modification in chemical structure of polyamide from attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was further investigated that curing of glutaraldehyde treated membrane resulted in decreased water-flux because of increase in crosslink density. Thus, an ultra-low energy RO process can be developed based on polyamide–chitosan–glutaraldehyde membrane. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 135, 45971.

High diastereoselectivities in direct aldol reactions can be achieved even in pyrrolidine-catalyzed reactions.

Aim Recto-urethral fistulas are an uncommon, but devastating complication following rectal or urinary tract surgery. Repair is often difficult, and the optimal approach is unclear. We report our recent experience using an endorectal advancement flap. Method A case note review of all patients undergoing repair of recto-urethral fistula in our institution was undertaken. Data on aetiology of the fistula, patient demographics, operative procedure and outcome both clinically and radiologically were extracted. Results Between 2002 and 2008, six transanal rectal advancement flaps in five patients were carried out. Four had undergone a laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, without any radiotherapy. Two types of fistula (type 1 associated with severe intra-abdominal sepsis and type 2 associated with localized sepsis) were found, with faecal diversion being less likely with the latter. Four (80%) patients underwent successful primary repair, with one patient requiring a second procedure. Postoperative cystography confirmed closure of the fistula in all five patients, and no recurrence has been observed at a mean follow-up time of 11 months. Conclusion Rectal advancement flap is a simple, effective technique for iatrogenic recto-urethral fistula with minimal morbidity.

Base-catalyzed reactions of silyl enolates with carbonyl compounds are an attractive variant of conventional directed aldol reactions. Over the past two decades, the reaction has gained prominence due to its inherent advantage for stereoselective manipulations. The present review provides a brief account of developments in this area. Various approaches are grouped together in order to provide the salient features of each conceptual development. It appears that the methods which generate nascent chiral enolates or cationic siliconium species have the biggest influence on the stereoselectivity.

The Pd17Se15 nanoparticles, synthesized for the first time from a single source precursor [Pd(L)Cl2] {L = 1,3-bis(phenylselenyl)propan-2-ol} and grafted onto graphene oxide, show high catalytic activity in C–O coupling between aryl/heteroaryl chlorides/bromides and phenol at room temperature (Pd loading 1 mol%; yield up to 94%).

Enantioselective addition of RZnX (R = alkyl, X = Cl, OAc) was studied using chiral chelating agents, particularly metal-alkoxides. Moderate enantioselectivity was achieved in the presence of magnesium-TADDOLate using RZnOAcMg(OAc)Br as the alkylating agent.

Interaction between two commercial silicon nitride powders and various metal-organic surfactants was investigated in an aqueous medium to obtain a homogeneous distribution of sintering aid. Conditions under which the silicon nitride particles could be coated with metal oxide sintering aids were identified. Acoustophoresis, XPS, TEM, and FTIR were used to characterize the interaction between the metalorganic and the silicon nitride powder. From these data, the mechanism of attachment of the coatings was proposed. The surface area and surface chemistry of the powder, the pH of the solution, the structure of the surfactant, and the surface charge behavior of the powder and the coating were found to be the crucial parameters. The control of these parameters offered a simple and reproducible method to homogeneously distribute various metal oxides. Multicomponent coatings were also possible. The coated powders containing 0.5–4 wt% sintering aid could be compacted to 72% green density.

Various dialkoxides of zinc, magnesium and boron were examined for the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aryl aldehydes. Only zinc based reagent catalysed the reaction effectively providing up to 89% ee of the product.

Tetramisole has been found to complex with chromium trioxide. Elemental analysis suggests a 1:1 complex formation and IR data suggest the ligand binding through N-7 nitrogen. The new complex is capable of selectively oxidizing alcohols, including benzyl and allylic alcohol, to carbonyl compounds under mild conditions. @ Abstract published in Advance ACS abstracts, Sept. 7, 1997.

The diastereoselective synthesis of various β-lactams 6a – d and 7a – d has been achieved using a chiral acid derived from (+)-3-carene. An efficient zinc induced cleavage of the o -halo ether linkage of these β-lactams to give enantiomerically pure 3-hydroxy- cis -β-lactams 8a , b and 9a – d is described.

Zinc complexes of amino acids efficiently catalyze the condensation between α-nitro-esters and a variety of aldehydes. An unusual domino reaction sequence leads to the diastereoselective formation of substituted isoxazoline N-oxides in high yields.

Sodium alkoxides of a variety of diols were reacted with dibromoalkanes. It was found that the products of the reaction were alkenyl ethers resulting from intramolecular dehydrohalogenation of the initially formed monobromo ethers.

A variety of chiral tridentate and tetradentate ligands, related to each other through stereoelectronic relationship have been synthesized. Homochiral diols and amino alcohols have been used for this purpose. Titanium complexes of these ligands have been prepared and examined for enantioselective pinacol coupling reaction.

Trans‐1,2‐cyclohexanediol and trans‐2‐aminocycloxexanol are useful chiral auxiliaries. Simple chemical resolution procedures for these molecules are presented.

The synthesis of N-[p-(3'-(2'-aryl-4'-oxo-1',3'-thiazolyl)}diphcnylj-7-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoquinolines 4 have been achieved starting from resorcinol. 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin(4-methylumbelliferone) 1 is obtained by the reaction of resorcinol with ethylacetoacetate. 1 on treatment with benzidine gives N-(p-aminodiphenyl)-7-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoquinoline 2. 2 on treatment with different aryl aldehydes in presence of glacial acetic acid furnishes N-(p-arylidinoamino-diphenyl-7-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-oxoquinolines 3a-e. The latter on treatment with thioglycollic acid in presence of anhydrous ZnCl 2 yields 4a-e. The in vitro anti-JEV activity of these compounds has also been evaluated.