Electrical transport and gas sensing characteristics of dielectrophoretically aligned MBE grown catalyst free InAs nanowires.

In this report, the precise alignment of catalyst free InAs nanowires (NWs) on pre-patterned Au microelectrodes by dielectrophoresis (DEP) technique for gas sensing applications is presented. The catalyst free InAs NWs have been grown on Si (111) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique. The effect of dispersing solvents, electrode geometries and gaps, magnitude, frequency and duration of applied voltage etc, has been studied for aligning the InAs NWs by DEP technique. Current-voltage (I-V) measurements on the aligned NWs show linear behavior at room temperature (300 K), which changes to nonlinear at lower temperatures and higher voltages. The nonlinearity at lower temperatures and higher voltages is well explained by a space charge limited current contribution, which further gives a quantitative estimation of free charge carriers and trap density. The DEP aligned NWs exhibit good sensing response upon exposure to 10 ppm NO2 gas.

Identification of novel peptide motifs in the serpin maspin that affect vascular smooth muscle cell function.

Maspin is a non-inhibitory member of the serpin family that affects cell behaviours related to migration and survival. We have previously shown that peptides of the isolated G α-helix (G-helix) domain of maspin show bioactivity. Migration, invasion, adhesion and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) are important processes that contribute to the build-up of atherosclerotic plaques. Here we report the use of functional assays of these behaviours to investigate whether other maspin-derived peptides impact directly on VSMC; focusing on potential anti-atherogenic properties. We designed 18 new peptides from the structural moieties of maspin above ten amino acid residues in length and considered them beside the existing G-helix peptides. Of the novel peptides screened those with the sequences of maspin strand 4 and 5 of beta sheet B (S4B and S5B) reduced VSMC migration, invasion and proliferation, as well as increasing cell adhesion. A longer peptide combining these consecutive sequences showed a potentiation of responses, and a 7-mer contained all essential elements for functionality. This is the first time that these parts of maspin have been highlighted as having key roles affecting cell function. We present evidence for a mechanism whereby S4B and S5B act through ERK1/2 and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) to influence VSMC responses.

Schizophrenia Patient or Spiritually Advanced Personality? A Qualitative Case Analysis.

Many aspects of spiritual experience are similar in form and content to symptoms of psychosis. Both spiritually advanced people and patients suffering from psychopathology experience alterations in their sense of 'self.' Psychotic experiences originate from derangement of the personality, whereas spiritual experiences involve systematic thinning out of the selfish ego, allowing individual consciousness to merge into universal consciousness. Documented instances and case studies suggest possible confusion between the spiritually advanced and schizophrenia patients. Clinical practice contains no clear guidelines on how to distinguish them. Here we use a case presentation to help tabulate clinically useful points distinguishing spiritually advanced persons from schizophrenia patients. A 34-year-old unmarried male reported to our clinic with four main complaints: lack of sense of self since childhood; repeated thoughts questioning whether he existed or not; social withdrawal; and inability to continue in any occupation. Qualitative case analysis and discussions using descriptions from ancient texts and modern psychology led to the diagnosis of schizophrenia rather than spiritual advancement.

1-[2-Hy-droxy-4-(prop-2-yn-1-yl-oxy)phen-yl]ethanone.

In the title compound, C11H10O3, there is an intra-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bond generating an S(6) ring motif. The O atom of the hy-droxy group deviates by 0.0200 (1) Šfrom the benzene ring to which it is attached. The propyne group is almost linear, the C-C C angle being 177.83 (15)°, and is almost coplanar with the benzene ring; the C-C-O-C torsion angle being only -1.1 (2)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked via C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming infinite C(11) chains running parallel to [103]. These chains are linked by a pair of C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, enclosing R 2 (2)(8) inversion dimers, forming a corrugated two-dimensional network lying parallel to (103).

(E)-3-Isopropyl-1-methyl-2,6-di-phenyl-piperidin-4-one O-nicotinoyl oxime.

In the title compound, C27H29N3O2, the piperidine ring exists in a chair conformation with an equatorial orientation of the phenyl and methyl substituents. The C-C=N bond angles are significantly different [119.1 (2) and 127.2 (2)°]. The phenyl rings are inclined to one another by 44.90 (14)°, and by 80.85 (13) and 79.62 (12)° to the mean plane of the piperidine ring. The terminal pyridine ring is inclined to the piperidine ring mean plane by 74.79 (15)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by C-H⋯π inter-actions, forming a three-dimensional network.

6-Phenyl-benzo[d]naphtho-[2,3-b]thio-phene.

In the title compound, C22H14S, the r.m.s. deviation from the mean plane of the four-fused-ring naphtho-thio-phene unit is 0.056 Å. The dihedral angle between the naphtho-thio-phene plane and the pendant phenyl ring is 67.24 (6)°. In the crystal, weak C-H⋯π and π-π stacking [minimum centroid-centroid separation = 3.7466 (10) Å] inter-actions are observed, which together lead to (010) sheets.

3-Hy-droxy-1-[(morpholin-4-yl)meth-yl]pyridazin-6(1H)-one.

In the title compound, C9H13N3O3, the morpholine ring adopts a chair conformation and its mean plane makes a dihedral angle of 68.00 (11)° with the pyridazine ring. The carbonyl O atom deviates from the plane of the pyridazine ring by 0.0482 (12) Å. An intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bond occurs. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by O-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains along [1-10].

[(4E)-1-Methyl-2,6-diphenyl-3-(propan-2-yl)piperidin-4-yl-idene]amino 3-methyl-benzoate.

In the title compound, C29H32N2O2, the piperidine ring exists in a chair conformation (the bond-angle sum at the sp (2)-hybridized C atom is 359.79°). The phenyl rings and the methyl group substituted on the heterocyclic ring are in equatorial orientations. In the crystal, pairs of C-H⋯π inter-actions result in the formation of inversion dimers.

[(4E)-3-Ethyl-1-methyl-2,6-di-phenyl-piperidin-4-yl-idene]amino 3-methyl-benzoate.

In the title compound, C28H30N2O2, the piperidine ring exists in a chair conformation with an equatorial orientation of the phenyl rings and methyl group substituted on the heterocycle. In the crystal, C-H⋯π inter-actions result in chains of mol-ecules running parallel to the a-axis direction.

4-Methyl-6-(piperidin-1-yl)pyrimidin-2-amine.

The title compound, C(10)H(16)N(4), crystalizes with two mol-ecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit in which the dihedral angles between the piperidine and pyrimidine rings are 47.5 (1) and 10.3 (1)°. The four C atoms of the pyrimidine ring in one of the mol-ecules are disordered over two sets of sites with occupancy factors 0.508 (11):0.492 (11). In the crystal, the A mol-ecules are linked to one another through N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, generating R(2) (2)(8) ring patterns and forming inversion dimers. These dimers are further connected on either side to a B molecule through pairs of N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, resulting in a tetra-meric unit.

1-Eth-oxy-2-meth-oxy-4-[2-(4-nitro-phen-yl)ethen-yl]benzene.

In the title mol-ecule, C(17)H(17)NO(4), the dihedral angle between the two aromatic rings is 42.47 (7)°. The nitro group is twisted by 7.44 (11)° out of the plane of the ring to which it is attached. The methoxy and ethoxy group O atoms deviate significantly from the phenyl ring [by 0.0108 (11) and 0.0449 (11) Å, respectively]. The crystal structure is stabilized by C-H⋯π inter-actions.

{1'-Phenyl-1',2',5',6',7',7a'-hexa-hydro-spiro-[indeno-[1,2-b]quinoxaline-11,3'-pyrrolizin]-2'-yl}(p-tol-yl)methanone.

In the title compound, C(35)H(29)N(3)O, the quinoxaline and indene systems are essentially planar, with maximum deviations of 0.047 (2) and 0.032 (2) Šfor C atoms, respectively. The quinoxaline system forms a dihedral angle of 4.75 (3)° with the indene system. The pyrrolizine system is folded. The substituted five-membered ring adopts an envelope conformation. In the other five-membered ring, one C atom is disordered with a site-occupancy ratio of 0.676 (12):0.324 (12). In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked via C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the bifurcated carbonyl O atom.

3-(Ferrocen-1-ylcarbon-yl)-1-methyl-4-(4-methyl-phen-yl)spiro-[pyrrolidine-2,11'-indeno-[1,2-b]quinoxaline].

In the title compound, [Fe(C(5)H(5))(C(32)H(26)N(3)O)], the pyrrolidine ring adopts a twist conformation. The indeno-quinoxaline ring system [86.44 (5)°], the methyl-phenyl ring [86.06 (7)°] and the ferrocene rings [82.00 (7) and 83.95 (9)°] are almost perpendicular to the pyrrolidine ring. The two cyclopentadienyl rings adopt an eclipsed conformation. The crystal structure features C-H⋯N inter-actions.

6-(4-Meth-oxy-phen-yl)naphtho[2,3-b][1]benzothio-phene.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C23H16OS, contains two independent mol-ecules with opposite orientations of the meth-oxy groups bonded to the benzene rings. The napthobenzothiophene group in the two molecules is separated by an average distance of 3.912 Å. In both mol-ecules, the napthobenzothio-phene unit is almost planar, with r.m.s deviations of 0.0522 and 0.0143 Å. The meth-oxy-phenyl ring makes dihedral angles of 67.0 (6)° and 70.4 (6)° with respect to the napthobenzothio-phene ring system in the two mol-ecules. The crystal packing features C-H⋯S, π-π [centroid-centroid distances = 3.666 (10) and 3.658 (10) Å] and C-H⋯π inter-actions, forming a sheet running along the b-axis direction.

9-(4-Meth-oxy-phen-yl)anthracene.

In the title compound, C21H16O, the dihedral angle between the anthracene ring system and the benzene ring is 74.3 (5)°. The anthracene ring system is essentially planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0257 Å) and the meth-oxy group lies in the plane of the benzene ring [C1-O1-C2-C7 torsion angle = 0.5 (2)°]. The crystal structure features π-π [centroid-centroid distance = 3.9487 (12) Å] and C-H⋯π inter-actions, forming a sheet running along the a-axis direction.

3'-Ferrocenylcarbon-yl-1'-methyl-4'-phenyl-spiro-[indeno-[2,3-b]quinoxaline-11,2'-pyrrolidine].

In the title compound, [Fe(C(5)H(5))(C(31)H(24)N(3)O)], the pyrrolidine ring makes a dihedral angle of 86.3 (3)° with the mean plane [r.m.s deviation = 0.074 (2) Å] of the indeno-quinoxaline ring system. The central pyrrolidine ring adopts a twist conformation and the two cyclopentadienyl rings adopt an eclipsed conformation. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by weak C-H⋯N and C-H⋯π inter-actions, propagating along the c and a axes, respectively.

1-(2-Amino-6-methyl-pyrimidin-4-yl)-N,N-dimethyl-piperidin-4-aminium chloride.

In the title mol-ecular salt, C12H22N5(+)·Cl(-), the cation is protonated at the dimethyl-substituted tertiary N atom. The piperidine ring adopts a chair conformation with the exocyclic N-C bond in an equatorial orientation. The dihedral angle between the piperidine ring (all atoms) and the pyrimidine ring is 14.00 (1)°. In the crystal, the ions are connected by N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming inversion dimers, which are further connected by N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds. Aromatic π-π stacking inter-actions [centroid-centroid separation = 3.4790 (9) Å] are also observed in the structure.

6-[4-Chloro-2-(trifluoro-meth-yl)phen-yl]-3-fluoro-2-methyl-pyridine.

In the title compound, C13H8ClF4N, the dihedral angle between the benzene and pyridine rings is 59.8 (3)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are stacked in columns along the b axis through weak C-H⋯π inter-actions.

Insights on the Dynamics and Toxicity of Nanoparticles in Environmental Matrices.

The manufacturing rate of nanoparticles (10-100 nm) is steadily increasing due to their extensive applications in the fabrication of nanoproducts related to pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, medical devices, paints and pigments, energy storage etc. An increase in research related to nanotechnology is also a cause for the production and disposal of nanomaterials at the lab scale. As a result, contamination of environmental matrices with nanoparticles becomes inevitable, and the understanding of the risk of nanoecotoxicology is getting larger attention. In this context, focusing on the environmental hazards is essential. Hence, this manuscript aims to review the toxic effects of nanoparticles on soil, water, aquatic, and terrestrial organisms. The effects of toxicity on vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants and the source of exposure, environmental and biological dynamics, and the adverse effects of some nanoparticles are discussed.