Search

Data assimilation (DA) aims to combine observations/data with a model to maximize the utility of information for obtaining the optimal estimate. The maximum likelihood ensemble filter (MLEF) is a sequential DA method or a filter-type method. Weaknesses of the filter method are assimilating time-integrated observations and estimating empirical parameter estimation. The reason is that the forward model is employed outside of the analysis procedure in this type of DA method. To overcome these weaknesses, the MLEF is now extended as a smoother and the novel maximum likelihood ensemble smoother (MLES) is proposed. The MLES is a smoothing method with variational-like qualities, specifically in the cost function. Rather than using the error information from a single temporal location to solve for the optimal analysis update as done by the MLEF, the MLES can include observations and the forward model within a chosen time window. The newly proposed DA method is first validated by a series of rigorous and thorough performance tests using the Lorenz 96 model. Then, as DA is known to be used extensively to increase the predictability of the commonly chaotic dynamical systems seen in meteorological applications, this study demonstrates the MLES with a model chaotic problem governed by the 1D Kuramoto–Sivashinky (KS) equation. Additionally, the MLES is shown to be an effective method in improving the estimate of uncertain empirical model parameters. The MLES and MLEF are then directly compared and it is shown that the performance of the MLES is adequate and that it is a good candidate for increasing the predictability of a chaotic dynamical system. Future work will focus on an extensive application of the MLES to highly turbulent flows.

Photochemical dearomative cycloaddition has emerged as a useful strategy to rapidly generate molecular complexity. Within this context, stereo- and regiocontrolled intermolecular

The numerical solution of partial differential equations that govern fluid dynamics with turbulence and combustion is challenging due to the multiscale nature of the dynamical system and the need to resolve small-scale physical features. In addition, the uncertainties in the dynamical system, including those in the physical models and parameters, initial and boundary conditions and numerical methods, impact the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) prediction of turbulence and chemical reactions. To improve the CFD prediction, this study focuses on the development and application of a maximum likelihood ensemble filter (MLEF), an ensemble-based data assimilation (DA), for flows featuring combustion and/or turbulence. MLEF finds the optimal analysis and its uncertainty by maximizing the posterior probability density function. The novelty of the study lies in the combination of advanced DA and CFD methods for a new comprehensive application to predict engineering fluid dynamics. The study combines important aspects, including an ensemble-based DA with analysis and uncertainty estimation, an augmented control vector that simultaneously adjusts initial conditions and model empirical parameters and an application of DA to CFD modeling of combustion and flows with complex geometry. The DA performance is validated by a turbulent Couette flow. The new CFD–DA system is then applied to solve the time-evolving shear-layer mixing with methane-air combustion and the turbulent flow over a bluff-body geometry. Results demonstrate the improvement of estimates of model parameters and the uncertainty reduction in initial conditions (ICs) for CFD modeling of flames and flows by the MLEF method.

The syntheses of (DIM)Ni(NO3)2 and (DIM)Ni(NO2)2, where DIM is a 1,4-diazadiene bidentate donor, are reported to enable testing of bis boryl reduced N-heterocycles for their ability to carry out stepwise deoxygenation of coordinated nitrate and nitrite, forming O(Bpin)2. Single deoxygenation of (DIM)Ni(NO2)2 yields the tetrahedral complex (DIM)Ni(NO)(ONO), with a linear nitrosyl and κ1-ONO. Further deoxygenation of (DIM)Ni(NO)(ONO) results in the formation of dimeric [(DIM)Ni(NO)]2, where the dimer is linked through a Ni–Ni bond. The lost reduced nitrogen byproduct is shown to be N2O, indicating N–N bond formation in the course of the reaction. Isotopic labelling studies establish that the N–N bond of N2O is formed in a bimetallic Ni2 intermediate and that the two nitrogen atoms of (DIM)Ni(NO)(ONO) become symmetry equivalent prior to N–N bond formation. The [(DIM)Ni(NO)]2 dimer is susceptible to oxidation by AgX (X = NO3−, NO2−, and OTf−) as well as nitric oxide, the latter of which undergoes nitric oxide disproportionation to yield N2O and (DIM)Ni(NO)(ONO). We show that the first step in the deoxygenation of (DIM)Ni(NO)(ONO) to liberate N2O is outer sphere electron transfer, providing insight into the organic reductants employed for deoxygenation. Lastly, we show that at elevated temperatures, deoxygenation is accompanied by loss of DIM to form either pyrazine or bipyridine bridged polymers, with retention of a BpinO− bridging ligand., Deoxygenation of nitrogen oxyanions coordinated to nickel using reduced borylated heterocycles leads to N–N bond formation and N2O liberation. The nickel dimer product facilitates NO disproportionation, leading to a synthetic cycle.

There is a substantial need to better understand multi-physics interactions in realistic laboratory experiments, yet it is currently unfeasible to perform direct numerical simulations (DNS) of most...

The N2 analogue phosphorus nitride (PN) was the first phosphorus-containing compound to be detected in the interstellar medium; however, this thermodynamically unstable compound has a fleeting existence on Earth. Here, we show that reductive coupling of iron(IV) nitride and molybdenum(VI) phosphide complexes assembles PN as a bridging ligand in a structurally characterized bimetallic complex. Reaction with C≡NtBu releases the mononuclear complex [(N3N)Mo—PN]−, N3N = [(Me3SiNCH2CH2)3N]3–), which undergoes light-induced linkage isomerization to provide [(N3N)Mo—NP]−, as revealed by photocrystallography. While structural and spectroscopic characterization, supported by electronic structure calculations, reveals the PN multiple bond character, coordination to molybdenum induces a nucleophilic character at the terminal atom of the PN/NP ligands. Indeed, the linkage isomers can be trapped in solution by reaction with a Rh(I) electrophile., The highly reactive interstellar gas, phosphorus nitride, is assembled and stabilized as a reactive ligand in transition metal complexes.

A central theme of nanocrystal (NC) research involves synthesis of dimension-controlled NCs and studyof size-dependent scaling laws governing their optical, electrical, magnetic, and thermodynamic properties. Here, we describe the synthesis of monodisperse CdO NCs that exhibit high quality-factor (up to 5.5) mid-infrared (MIR) localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) and elucidate the inverse scaling relationship between carrier concentration and NC size. The LSPR wavelength is readily tunable between 2.4 and ∼6.0 μm by controlling the size of CdO NCs. Structural and spectroscopic characterization provide strong evidence that free electrons primarily originate from self-doping due to NC surface-induced nonstoichiometry. The ability to probe and to control NC stoichiometry and intrinsic defects will pave the way toward predictive synthesis of doped NCs with desirable LSPR characteristics.

A series of heterobicyclic aza/thia-lactams and cryptands incorporating changes in n-alkyl bridging length have been synthesized, characterized, chelated to heavy metals and computationally assessed. Spectroscopic analysis of aza/thia-lactams L1 and L3 revealed multiple conformational isomers, due to rotameric perturbations associated with the amide bond. Correlation spectroscopy on amine cryptands L2 and L4 supported the presence of intrinsic topological chirality, resulting from a preferred orientation of the amine lone pairs in solution. The unique magnetic environments observed in 1H NMR were attributed to the electron density inside the crypt, which adopt a nephroidal-epicycloid structure with two nitrogen atoms representing the cusps. The major conformational and constitutional isomers for L2 and L4 present in solution were determined to be the in/in pair of enantiomers (R,R and S,S) and confirmed through computational analysis. Application of ligands L1–L4 as heavy metal chelates was addressed using Pb(II), Hg(II), Cd(II) and Ag(I) through NMR spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy.

ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) is a critical transporter that mediates cellular cholesterol efflux from macrophages to apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I). Therefore, increasing the expression level of ABCA1 is anti-atherogenic and ABCA1 expression upregulators have become novel choices for atherosclerosis treatment. In this study, a series of N-benzothiazolyl-2-benzenesulfonamides, based on the structure of WY06 discovered in our laboratory, were designed and synthesized as novel ABCA1 expression upregulators. Based on an in vitro ABCA1 upregulatory cell model, ABCA1 upregulation of target compounds was evaluated. Compounds 6c, 6d, and 6i have good upregulated ABCA1 expression activities, with EC50 values of 0.97, 0.37, and 0.41 μM, respectively. A preliminary structure–activity relationship is summarized. Replacing the methoxy group on the benzothiazole moiety of WY06 with a fluorine or chlorine atom and exchanging the ester group with a cyano group resulted in more potent ABCA1 upregulating activity. Moreover, compound 6i increased ABCA1 mRNA and protein expression and significantly promoted cholesterol efflux in RAW264.7 cells. In conclusion, N-benzothiazolyl-2-benzenesulfonamides were identified as novel ABCA1 expression upregulators.

The design of bone scaffolds is predominately aimed to well reproduce the natural bony environment by imitating the architecture/composition of host bone. Such biomimetic biomaterials are gaining increasing attention and acknowledged quite promising for bone tissue engineering. Herein, novel biomimetic bone scaffolds containing decellularized small intestinal submucosa matrix (SIS-ECM) and Sr

The nitride ligand in iron(IV) complex PhB(MesIm)3Fe≡N reacts with excess H3SiPh to afford PhB(MesIm)3Fe(μ-H)3(SiHPh) as the major product, which has been structurally and spectroscopically characterized. Bulkier silane HaSiPh2 provides iron(II) amido complex PhB(MesIm)3FeN(H)(SiHPh2) as the initial product of the reaction, with excess H2SiPh2 affording diamagnetic PhB(MesIm)3Fe(μ-H)3(SiPh2) as the major product. Unobserved iron(II) hydride PhB(MesIm)3Fe–H is implicated as an intermediate in this reaction, as suggested by the results of the reaction between iron(II) amido PhB(MesIm)3FeN(H)tBu and H3SiPh, which provides PhB(MesIm)3Fe(H)(μ-H)2(Si(NHtBu)Ph) as the sole product.

New aerospace aerodynamic bodies increasingly require robust design methods that demand data of the key problem variables in the presence of uncertainty. When these bodies are subject to complex ph...

Metal-oxide nanocrystals doped with aliovalent atoms can exhibit tunable infrared localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs). Yet, the range of dopant types and concentrations remains limited for many metal-oxide hosts, largely because of the difficulty in establishing reaction kinetics that favors dopant incorporation by using the co-thermolysis method. Here we develop cation-exchange reactions to introduce p-type dopants (Cu+, Ag+, etc.) into n-type metal-oxide nanocrystals, producing programmable LSPR redshifts due to dopant compensation. We further demonstrate that enhanced n-type doping can be realized via sequential cation-exchange reactions mediated by the Cu+ ions. Cation-exchange transformations add a new dimension to the design of plasmonic nanocrystals, allowing preformed nanocrystals to be used as templates to create compositionally diverse nanocrystals with well-defined LSPR characteristics. The ability to tailor the doping profile postsynthetically opens the door to a multitude of opportunities to deepen our understanding of the relationship between local structure and LSPR properties., Doping semiconductor nanocrystals with impurity atoms is a key pathway for tuning their plasmonic properties. Here, the authors use a cation exchange strategy to dope p-type or n-type metal ions into n-type metal-oxide nanocrystals, post-synthetically tailoring their localized surface plasmon resonances in the infrared region.

Simulations of complex, compressible, high-Reynolds-number flows require high-fidelity physics and turbulence models to be appropriately coupled with strong numerical regularization methods. Obtaining grid-independent and scheme-independent solutions of these flows when using both explicit turbulence models and additional numerical regularization is especially important for further testing and development of accurate physics models. To this end, the current study investigates the interaction between the stretched-vortex subgrid-scale model and both the fourth-order piecewise parabolic limiter and a fifth-order upwinding interpolation (or hyperviscosity). It is demonstrated that computing the subgrid-scale kinetic energy estimate for the stretched-vortex model at a coarser resolution than the base mesh provides results which are independent of the use of numerical regularization techniques. This is shown to be the case for a temporally-evolving shear-layer, the inviscid Taylor–Green vortex problem, and a decaying, homogeneous turbulent flow.

4-Hexylresorcinol (4HR) is a small organic compound that is widely used as an antiseptic and antioxidant. In the present study, its role in osteoclastogenesis was investigated. Bone marrow-derived macrophages from mice were used to examine the role of 4HR in osteogenesis. An ovariectomy (OVX) mouse model was constructed to examine the effect of 4HR in vivo, followed by hematoxylin and eosin and tartrate resistant acid phosphatase staining. In the present study, 4HR effectively suppressed receptor activator of NF-κB ligand-induced osteoclastogenesis in a dose-dependent manner. 4HR was also found to significantly suppress the expression of osteoclast (OC)-specific markers, including tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, cathepsin K, nuclear factor of activated T-cell cytoplasmic 1 and c-Fos in the presence of RANKL in BMMs. Furthermore, 4HR inhibited osteoclastogenesis by inhibiting the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in BMMs. Consistent with the in vitro results, 4HR effectively ameliorated OVX-induced bone loss and markedly reduced OC number in the proximal tibia in vivo. In conclusion, the present results suggested that 4HR inhibited osteoclastogenesis in vitro and rescued bone loss in vivo, suggesting that 4HR may serve as a novel therapeutic agent for osteoporosis treatment.

International audience; The recognition of substituted phosphates underpins many processes including DNA binding, enantioselective catalysis, and recently template-directed rotaxane synthesis. Beyond ATP and a few commercial substrates, however, little is known about how substituents effect organophosphate recognition. Here, we examined alcohol substituents and their impact on recognition by cyanostar macrocycles. The organophosphates were disubstituted by alcohols of various chain lengths, dipropanol, dihexanol, and didecanol phosphate, each accessed using modular solid-phases syntheses. Based on the known size-selective binding of phosphates by π-stacked dimers of cyanostars, threaded [3]pseudorotaxanes were anticipated. While seen with butyl substituents, pseudorotaxane formation was disrupted by competitive OH···O– hydrogen bonding between both terminal hydroxyls and the anionic phosphate unit. Crystallography also showed formation of a backfolded propanol conformation resulting in an 8-membered ring and a perched cyanostar assembly. Motivated by established entropic penalties accompanying ring formation, we reinstated [3]pseudorotaxanes by extending the size of the substituent to hexanol and decanol. Chain entropy overcomes the enthalpically favored OH···O– contacts to favor random-coil conformations required for seamless, high-fidelity threading of dihexanol and didecanol phosphates inside cyanostars. These studies highlight how chain length and functional groups on phosphate’s substituents can be powerful design tools to regulate binding and control assembly formation during phosphate recognition.

Background: 4-Hexylresorcinol is a small organic compound that is widely used as additive antiseptic and antioxidant. In the present study, we investigated its role in osteoclastogenesis. Methods: Bone marrow-derived macrophages were used to test the role of 4-Hexylresorcinol on osteogenesis. Ovariectomy model was created to examine the effect of 4-Hexylresorcinol in vivo. Results: In this study 4-Hexylresorcinol effectively suppressed RANKL‐induced osteoclastogenesis in a dose‐dependent manner. It also significantly suppressed the expression of osteoclast‐specific markers including tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase, cathepsin K, nuclear factor of activated T‐cells cytoplasmic 1 and c‐Fos. Furthermore, it inhibited osteoclastogenesis by inhibiting activation of NF‐κB signaling pathway. Consistent with in vitro results, 4-Hexylresorcinol effectively ameliorated ovariectomy surgery induced bone loss and profoundly reduced osteoclast number in vivo. Conclusions: Overall, our results suggested that 4-Hexylresorcinol may be a novel therapeutic approach for osteoporosis treatment.

This paper describes a space-time parallel algorithm with space-time adaptive mesh refinement (AMR). AMR with subcycling is added to multigrid reduction-in-time (MGRIT) in order to provide solution efficient adaptive grids with a reduction in work performed on coarser grids. This algorithm is achieved by integrating two software libraries: XBraid (Parallel time integration with multigrid. https://computation.llnl.gov/projects/parallel-timeintegration-multigrid ) and Chombo (Chombo software package for AMR applications—design document, 2014). The former is a parallel time integration library using multigrid and the latter is a massively parallel structured AMR library. Employing this adaptive space-time parallel algorithm is Chord (Comput Fluids 123:202–217, 2015), a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) application code for solving compressible fluid dynamics problems. For the same solution accuracy, speedups are demonstrated from the use of space-time parallelization over the time-sequential integration on Couette flow and Stokes’ second problem. On a transient Couette flow case, at least a $$1.5\times $$ speedup is achieved, and with a time periodic problem, a speedup of up to $$13.7\times $$ over the time-sequential case is obtained. In both cases, the speedup is achieved by adding processors and exploring additional parallelization in time. The numerical experiments show the algorithm is promising for CFD applications that can take advantage of the time parallelism. Future work will focus on improving the parallel performance and providing more tests with complex fluid dynamics to demonstrate the full potential of the algorithm.

The N2 analogue phosphorus nitride (PN) was the first phosphorus containing compound to be detected in the interstellar medium, however this thermodynamically unstable compound has a fleeting existence on Earth. Here, we show that reductive coupling of iron(IV) nitride and molybdenum(VI) phosphide complexes assembles PN as a bridging ligand in a structurally-characterized bimetallic complex. Reaction with C≡NtBu releases the mononuclear complex [(N3N)Mo-PN]−, N3N = [(Me3SiNCH2CH2)3N]3−), which undergoes light-induced linkage isomerization to provide [(N3N)Mo-NP]−, as revealed by photocrystallography. While structural and spectroscopic characterization, supported by electronic structure calculations reveal PN multiple bond character, coordination to molybdenum creates nucleophilic character at the terminal atom of the PN/NP ligands. Indeed, the linkage isomers can be trapped in solution by reaction with a Rh(I) electrophile.

Objective To investigate the effects of HuR protein on the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Methods LCL lymphoblast cells and B lymphocytes were subjected to HuR overexpression (OV) or interference (IV). Western blot was used to observe the protein expression of human tumor necrosis factor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1), human inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase α (IKK-α), NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK), and p52. Flow cytometry was performed to evaluate apoptosis, and the mRNA expression of TRAF1 was examined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Immunofluorescence was carried out to visualize the expression of HuR, and the relationship between HuR and TRAF1 was observed by pull-down test. Cell sensitivity to chlorambucil (CLB) and fludarabine (Flu) was assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8. Results The expression of HuR and TRAF1 in LCLs was significantly increased compared to that in B lymphocytes. Compared with the control, HuR OV significantly increased the expression of TRAF1 (P < 0.05), whereas it was significantly decreased in the IV group (P < 0.05). HuR can bind to TRAF1 directly, and the binding rate is positively correlated with HuR expression. After inhibiting HuR, the expression of TRAF1, IKK-α, NIK, p52, pro-Caspase 3, and PARP was significantly upregulated in LCLs and B lymphocytes (P < 0.05), while Caspase 3 was downregulated (P < 0.05). Compared with the control, the proliferation of LCLs and B lymphocytes treated by CLB and Flu decreased significantly after HuR blockade (P < 0.05). Conclusion HuR may be a key protein regulating CLL resistance. After inhibiting HuR, inflammatory response and apoptosis were significantly increased, and the cell sensitivity to CLB and Flu increased, suggesting that inhibiting HuR activity may be a potential strategy to solve the problem of drug resistance in CLL cells.

Bcl-xL is a transmembrane molecule in the mitochondria, with apoptosis-related and pro-metabolic functions, that also plays a role in chondrogenesis and differentiation. A Bcl-xL mutant, in which the GRI sequence is replaced by ELN, has no anti-apoptotic effect, while other biological functions of this mutant remain unchanged. The present study investigated the impact of this Bcl-xL mutant on cartilage differentiation and the expression levels of TGF-β and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP). Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were transfected with Bcl-xL and Bcl-xL mutant (∆Bcl-xL) overexpression vectors. The cells were divided into four groups: Control (not subjected to any transfection), EV (empty pcDNA3.1-Bcl-xL vector), OV (Bcl-xL overexpression) and ∆OV (∆Bcl-xL overexpression). Saffron and toluidine blue staining was performed to observe cartilage tissue formation. Flow cytometry was conducted to measure BMSC apoptosis. The expression levels of TGF-β and BMP were evaluated using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blotting. Compared with that in the control group, the expression levels of Bcl-xL in the OV group increased significantly (P

Amines are ubiquitous in the chemical industry and are present in a wide range of biological processes, motivating the development of amine-sensitive sensors. There are many turn-on amine sensors, however there are no examples of turn-on sensors that utilize the amine's ability to react by single electron transfer (SET). We investigated a new turn-on amine probe with a 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY) fluorophore. BODIPY fluorescence is first preprogrammed into an off state by internal photoinduced electron transfer (PET) to an electron-deficient quinolinium ring, resulting in fluorescence quenching. At low concentrations of aliphatic amine (0 to 10 mM), this PET pathway is shut down by external SET from the amine to the photoexcited charge-transfer state of the probe and the fluorescence is turned on. At high concentrations of amine (50 mM to 1 M), we observed collisional quenching of the BODIPY fluorescence. The probe is selective for aliphatic amines over aromatic amines, and aliphatic thiols or alcohols. The three molecular processes modulate the BODIPY fluorescence in a multi-mechanistic way with two of them producing a direct response to amine concentrations. The totality of the three molecular processes produced the first example of a multi-state and dose-responsive amine sensor.

Objective. To investigate the effects of HuR protein on the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Methods. LCL lymphoblast cells and B lymphocytes were subjected to HuR overexpression (OV) or interference (IV). Western blot was used to observe the protein expression of human tumor necrosis factor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1), human inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase α (IKK-α), NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK), and p52. Flow cytometry was performed to evaluate apoptosis, and the mRNA expression of TRAF1 was examined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Immunofluorescence was carried out to visualize the expression of HuR, and the relationship between HuR and TRAF1 was observed by pull-down test. Cell sensitivity to chlorambucil (CLB) and fludarabine (Flu) was assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8. Results. The expression of HuR and TRAF1 in LCLs was significantly increased compared to that in B lymphocytes. Compared with the control, HuR OV significantly increased the expression of TRAF1 (P<0.05), whereas it was significantly decreased in the IV group (P<0.05). HuR can bind to TRAF1 directly, and the binding rate is positively correlated with HuR expression. After inhibiting HuR, the expression of TRAF1, IKK-α, NIK, p52, pro-Caspase 3, and PARP was significantly upregulated in LCLs and B lymphocytes (P<0.05), while Caspase 3 was downregulated (P<0.05). Compared with the control, the proliferation of LCLs and B lymphocytes treated by CLB and Flu decreased significantly after HuR blockade (P<0.05). Conclusion. HuR may be a key protein regulating CLL resistance. After inhibiting HuR, inflammatory response and apoptosis were significantly increased, and the cell sensitivity to CLB and Flu increased, suggesting that inhibiting HuR activity may be a potential strategy to solve the problem of drug resistance in CLL cells.