Synthesis of furan-2-ones and spiro[furan-2,3'-indoline] derivatives using polyether sulfone sulfamic acid catalysis.

Polyether sulfone sulfamic acid (PES-NHSOH) was prepared by simple sulfonation of a modified polyether sulfone. The number of acidic sites (SOH) was determined to be 4.23 mmol H/g by acid-base titration and 4.

Multi-Component Syntheses of Spiro[furan-2,3'-indoline]-3-carboxylate Derivatives Using Ionic Liquid Catalysts.

Two previously described Brønsted acidic ionic liquids, 3,3'-(1,6-hexanediyl)bis(1-methyl)-1-imidazolium hydrogen sulfate () and 1,1'-(1,6-hexanediyl)bis(pyridinium) hydrogen sulfate (), were used as catalysts for the preparation of spiro[furan-2,3'-indoline]-3-carboxylate derivatives via a three-component reaction of anilines, isatins (-alkyl-indoline-2,3-diones), and diethyl acetylenedicarboxylate, in high yields. The use of ultrasonic (US) irradiation led to the targeted products (-) in high yields ranging from 80% to 98%. Under the same conditions, the use of sulfuric acid and acetic acid as a Brønstedt catalyst did not yield the desired benchmark product .

Polyethylenimine Grafted onto Nano-NiFeO@SiO for the Removal of CrO, Ni, and Pb Ions from Aqueous Solutions.

Polyethyleneimine (PEI) has been reported to have good potential for the adsorption of metal ions. In this work, PEI was covalently bound to NiFeO@SiO nanoparticles to form the new adsorbent NiFeO@SiO-PEI. The material allowed for magnetic separation and was characterized via powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), showing the pattern of the NiFeO core and an amorphous shell.

Heteromeric guanosine (G)-quadruplex derived antenna modules with directional energy transfer.

A heteromeric guanosine (G)-quadruplex centered self-assembly approach is developed to prepare compact light-harvesting antenna modules featuring multiple donor dyes and a single toehold region. Due to the mix-and-match nature of our approach, the number and placement of donor dyes can be readily fine-tuned quadruplex assembly. Moreover, hybridization of the toehold with an acceptor containing sequence results in directional energy transfer ensembles with effective absorption coefficients in the 10 M cm range.

Multicriteria analysis of sewage sludge-based biodiesel production.

There is increasing attention on developing efficient processes including circular economy principles, and obtaining fuels from wastewater treatment feedstocks is among the most promising. As a wastewater treatment byproduct, sewage sludge is a source of lipids that can be converted to biodiesel in a transesterification process. Economic and environmental analysis have been applied to a 60 m/h sewage sludge plant, exploring 32 process alternatives.

Non-invasive Body Contouring Technologies: An Updated Narrative Review.

Introduction: Nowadays, a lot of body contouring devices and methods are introduced all over the world. The object of the present narrative review was to update and classify existing evidence on these methods and devices.

Methods: We searched databases including PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar for 11 essential keywords, including cryolipolysis, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), shock wave, low-level laser therapy (LLLT), radiofrequency (RF), capacitive resistive electrical transfer (TECAR), high-intensity focused electromagnetic (HIFEM), electromyostimulation (EMS), carboxytherapy, mesotherapy, and acupuncture and their abbreviations, in addition to obesity, overweight, cellulite, subcutaneous fat, and body contouring.

Perception of timbre in adult Cochlear implant users: Comparison of Iranian and Western musical instruments.

Objectives: Cochlear implants (CI) have dramatically improved speech perception for patients with sensorineural hearing impairment. However, listening to music is a great challenge for them. This study examined the perception and appraisal of Iranian musical instruments comparing with similar Western instruments.

A Cu(ii) complex supported on FeO@SiO as a magnetic heterogeneous catalyst for the reduction of environmental pollutants.

Today, the presence of pollutants in the environment has become one of the serious problems and concerns of human beings. To eliminate these pollutants, researchers have made many efforts. One of the most important of these efforts is the reduction of such contaminants in the presence of effective catalysts.

A combination of novel NSC small molecule inhibitor along with doxorubicin inhibits proliferation of triple-negative breast cancer through metabolic reprogramming.

Treatment of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has been challenging due to the absence of well-defined molecular targets and the highly invasive and proliferative nature of TNBC cells. Current treatments against TNBC have shown little promise due to high recurrence rate in patients. Consequently, there is a pressing need for novel and efficacious therapies against TNBC.

Prevalence of Micro-Aspiration of Bile Acids in Patients with Primary Lung Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Lung cancer remains a serious public health problem and is the first cause of cancer-related death worldwide. There is some evidence suggests that bile acid micro-aspiration may contribute to the development of lung diseases. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of micro-aspiration of bile acids in patients with primary lung cancer.

The prevalence of gonococcal and non-gonococcal infections in women referred to obstetrics and gynecology clinics.

Bacterial vaginosis is a condition caused by changes in the vaginal microbial ecosystem and increases the risk of preterm delivery, premature rupture of membranes, endometritis, and weight loss of the baby. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of gonococcal and non-gonococcal genital infections in women referred to clinics in Ilam, Iran. Two swab samples were taken from each patient using a sterile swab, one swab was placed in a THB medium for the culture of and the other in PBS buffer for PCR.

A modified carbon paste electrode with N-rGO/CuO nanocomposite and ionic liquid for the efficient and cheap voltammetric sensing of hydroquinone in water specimens.

This paper reports a voltammetric sensor based on copper oxide nanoparticles on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite (N-rGO/CuO)-ionic liquid modified carbon paste electrode (N-rGO/CuO-ILCPE) for determining the hydroquinone (HQ). The N-rGO/CuO was prepared by a facile protocol, followed by characterization via fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) patterns, field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The electrochemical behaviour was linearly symmetrical to various hydroquinone levels (1.

Synthesis and Applications of Porphyrin-Biomacromolecule Conjugates.

With potential applications in materials and especially in light-responsive biomedicine that targets cancer tissue selectively, much research has focused on developing covalent conjugation techniques to tether porphyrinoid units to various biomacromolecules. This review details the key synthetic approaches that have been employed in the recent decades to conjugate porphyrinoids with oligonucleotides and peptides/proteins. In addition, we provide succinct discussions on the subsequent applications of such hybrid systems and also give a brief overview of the rapidly progressing field of porphyrin-antibody conjugates.

Effect of tube length on the buckling pressure of collapsible tubes.

Background: The higher incidence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in men than in women has been attributed to the upper airway being longer in men. The Starling resistor is the paradigm biomechanical model of upper airway collapse in OSA where a collapsible tube (representing the pharynx) is located between two rigid tubes (representing the nasal cavity and trachea). While the Starling resistor has been extensively studied due to its relevance to many physiological phenomena, the effect of tube length on tube collapsibility has not been quantified yet.

The effect of calcitriol and all-trans retinoic acid on T-bet, IFN-γ, GATA3 and IL-4 genes expression in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease which affects the central nervous system (CNS). In the present study, the in vivo effects of ATRA, calcitriol, and their combinations on the expression of murine CD4+ T cell cytokines and their specific transcription factors in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)-induced mice were explored. Thirty-two EAE induced inbred C57BL/6 female mice with an age ranged from 8 to 10 weeks were divided into four categories in a random manner.

A National Iranian Cochlear Implant Registry (ICIR): cochlear implanted recipient observational study.

Background And Objective: Patients who receive cochlear implants (CIs) constitutes a significant population in Iran. This population needs regular monitor on long-term outcomes, educational placement and quality of life. Currently, there is no national or regional registry on the long term outcomes of CI users in Iran.

Optimizing the Interface between Hole Transporting Material and Nanocomposite for Highly Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells.

The performances of organometallic halide perovskite-based solar cells severely depend on the device architecture and the interface between each layer included in the device stack. In particular, the interface between the charge transporting layer and the perovskite film is crucial, since it represents both the substrate where the perovskite polycrystalline film grows, thus directly influencing the active layer morphology, and an important site for electrical charge extraction and/or recombination. Here, we focus on engineering the interface between a perovskite-polymer nanocomposite, recently developed by our group, and different commonly employed polymeric hole transporters, namely PEDOT: PSS [poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)], PEDOT, PTAA [poly(bis 4-phenyl}{2,4,6-trimethylphenyl}amine)], Poly-TPD [Poly(,'-bis(4-butylphenyl)-,'-bis(phenyl)-benzidine] Poly-TPD, in inverted planar perovskite solar cell architecture.

Synthesis and structure-activity studies on novel analogs of human growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) with enhanced inhibitory activities on tumor growth.

The syntheses and biological evaluations of new GHRH analogs of Miami (MIA) series with greatly increased anticancer activity are described. In the design and synthesis of these analogs, the following previous substitutions were conserved: D-Arg, Har, Abu, and Nle. Most new analogs had Ala at position 8.

Agonistic analogs of growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) promote wound healing by stimulating the proliferation and survival of human dermal fibroblasts through ERK and AKT pathways.

Decreased or impaired proliferation capability of dermal fibroblasts interferes with successful wound healing. Several growth factors tested failed to fully restore the growth of fibroblasts, possibly due to their rapid degradation by proteases. It is therefore critical to find new agents which have stimulatory effects on fibroblasts while being highly resistant to degradation.

Antiamnesic properties of analogs and mimetics of the tripeptide human urocortin 3.

Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage, disease, or trauma. Until now, there are no successful medications on the drug market available to treat amnesia. Short analogs and mimetics of human urocortin 3 (Ucn 3) tripeptide were synthetized and tested for their action against amnesia induced by eletroconvulsion in mice.

A Computer-Aided Type-II Fuzzy Image Processing for Diagnosis of Meniscus Tear.

Meniscal tear is one of the prevalent knee disorders among young athletes and the aging population, and requires correct diagnosis and surgical intervention, if necessary. Not only the errors followed by human intervention but also the obstacles of manual meniscal tear detection highlight the need for automatic detection techniques. This paper presents a type-2 fuzzy expert system for meniscal tear diagnosis using PD magnetic resonance images (MRI).

Drug release, cell adhesion and wound healing evaluations of electrospun carboxymethyl chitosan/polyethylene oxide nanofibres containing phenytoin sodium and vitamin C.

In this work, N, O-carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) samples from virgin chitosan (CS) were synthesised and CMCS/polyethylene oxide (PEO) (50/50) blend nanofibrous samples were successfully electrospun from their aqueous solution. The electrospinning conditions to achieve smooth and fine diameter nanofibrous mats were optimised via D-optimal design approach. Afterwards, vitamin C and phenytoin sodium (PHT-Na) were added to these samples for producing wound dressing materials.