I. Gas-phase intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions of 2,3-dimethylene-2,3-dihydrofurans; II. Formation of anthracene and other polycyclic aromatic compounds in the pyrolysis of 1,5-dibenzocyclooctadienes and related compounds; III. Formation of 9-methylanthracene and anthracene in the pyrolysis of 5,6,11,12-tetrahydrodibenzo[a,e]cyclooctene and other related compounds; IV. Preparation of cyclopentadienones by flash vacuum pyrolysis and their dimerization and intramolecular reactions

The intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions of 2,3-dimethylene-2,3-dihydrofurans have been investigated through the pyrolysis of 2-alkenyl-3-furylmethyl benzoates. Under FVP conditions each of the 2,3-dimethylene-2,3-dihydrofurans can undergo an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction or 1,5-hydrogen shift to give the corresponding tricycles 4c,t, 5c,t, and 6c,t and 1,5-hydrogen shift products 36c,t and 37c,t;FVP of 1,5-dibenzocyclooctadienes containing heteroatoms and dibenzosuberanes gave the corresponding tricyclic compounds benzodifuran (18), acridine (24), and anthracene with exception of 6H,11H-dibenzo b,f 1,4 -dioxocin (17). The FVP of 17 gave (2-hydroxybenzyl)-o-benzaldehyde (28) as a major product;A mechanistic study of the regiospecific formation of 9-methyl- anthracene from the sealed tube pyrolysis the 4+4 dimer of o-xylylene (1) is presented. This study was carried out by pyrolyzing several possible precursors for 9-methylanthracene (e.g., 5,6-dihydrodibenzo a,e cyclooctene, di-o-tolylethane, and 5-methyl- dibenzosuberane). Sealed tube pyrolyses of dibenzosuberanes and dibenzosuberones were also carried out;A new method of preparing cyclopentadienones by the pyrolysis of cyclic diethers is presented. Cyclopentadienones including inden-2-one have been utilized in the synthesis of polycyclic compounds;The transient existence of these intermediates has also been proven by the isolation of polycyclic compounds; *DOE Report IS-T-1293. This work was performed under contract No. W-7405-Eng-82 with the U.S. Department of Energy

Progressive Processing of Continuous Range Queries in Hierarchical Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, we study the problem of processing continuous range queries in a hierarchical wireless sensor network. Contrasted with the traditional approach of building networks in a "flat" structure using sensor devices of the same capability, the hierarchical approach deploys devices of higher capability in a higher tier, i.e., a tier closer to the server. While query processing in flat sensor networks has been widely studied, the study on query processing in hierarchical sensor networks has been inadequate. In wireless sensor networks, the main costs that should be considered are the energy for sending data and the storage for storing queries. There is a trade-off between these two costs. Based on this, we first propose a progressive processing method that effectively processes a large number of continuous range queries in hierarchical sensor networks. The proposed method uses the query merging technique proposed by Xiang et al. as the basis and additionally considers the trade-off between the two costs. More specifically, it works toward reducing the storage cost at lower-tier nodes by merging more queries, and toward reducing the energy cost at higher-tier nodes by merging fewer queries (thereby reducing "false alarms"). We then present how to build a hierarchical sensor network that is optimal with respect to the weighted sum of the two costs. It allows for a cost-based systematic control of the trade-off based on the relative importance between the storage and energy in a given network environment and application. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves a near-optimal control between the storage and energy and reduces the cost by 0.989~84.995 times compared with the cost achieved using the flat (i.e., non-hierarchical) setup as in the work by Xiang et al.Comment: 41 pages, 20 figure

Development of a hybrid magnetic resonance/computed tomography-compatible phantom for magnetic resonance guided radiotherapy

The purpose of the present study was to develop a hybrid magnetic resonance/computed tomography (MR/CT)-compatible phantom and tissue-equivalent materials for each MR and CT image. Therefore, the essential requirements necessary for the development of a hybrid MR/CT-compatible phantom were determined and the development process is described. A total of 12 different tissue-equivalent materials for each MR and CT image were developed from chemical components. The uniformity of each sample was calculated. The developed phantom was designed to use 14 plugs that contained various tissue-equivalent materials. Measurement using the developed phantom was performed using a 3.0-T scanner with 32 channels and a Somatom Sensation 64. The maximum percentage difference of the signal intensity (SI) value on MR images after adding K2CO3 was 3.31%. Additionally, the uniformity of each tissue was evaluated by calculating the percent image uniformity (%PIU) of the MR image, which was 82.18 ±1.87% with 83% acceptance, and the average circular-shaped regions of interest (ROIs) on CT images for all samples were within ±5 Hounsfield units (HU). Also, dosimetric evaluation was performed. The percentage differences of each tissue-equivalent sample for average dose ranged from -0.76 to 0.21%. A hybrid MR/CT-compatible phantom for MR and CT was investigated as the first trial in this field of radiation oncology and medical physics

Evaluation of luteolin from shells of Korean peanut cultivars for industrial utilization

Luteolin is a medicinally valuable phyto-chemical, which was indentified in plants. This study was aimed to analyse the luteolin content in peanut waste (shell) of 42 peanut cultivars. The concentration of luteolin varied in the range of 546.8 to 4485.0 mg/kg and a significantly higher concentration of luteolin (4485.0 mg) was found in Mikwang. This is the first report on luteolin analysis in Korean peanut shells. The results of the present study suggest that Mikwang peanut shells have higher concentration of luteolin, which would be useful for agricultural, industrial and pharmaceutical purposes.Keywords: Luteolin, peanut, shell, Mikwang.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(28), pp. 4477-448

Novel water filtration of saline water in the outermost layer of mangrove roots

The scarcity of fresh water is a global challenge faced at present. Several desalination methods have been suggested to secure fresh water from sea water. However, conventional methods suffer from technical limitations, such as high power consumption, expensive operating costs, and limited system durability. In this study, we examined the feasibility of using halophytes as a novel technology of desalinating high-concentration saline water for long periods. This study investigated the biophysical characteristics of sea water filtration in the roots of the mangrove Rhizophora stylosa from a plant hydrodynamic point of view. R. stylosa can grow even in saline water, and the salt level in its roots is regulated within a certain threshold value through filtration. The root possesses a hierarchical, triple layered pore structure in the epidermis, and most Na+ ions are filtered at the first sublayer of the outermost layer. The high blockage of Na+ ions is attributed to the high surface zeta potential of the first layer. The second layer, which is composed of macroporous structures, also facilitates Na+ ion filtration. This study provides insights into the mechanism underlying water filtration through halophyte roots and serves as a basis for the development of a novel bio-inspired desalination method.Creative Research Initiative (Diagnosis of Biofluid Flow Phenomena and Biomimic Research) of the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) , National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea , ICT R&D program of MSIP/IITP (Korea

Role of Hippocampal Lipocalin-2 in Experimental Diabetic Encephalopathy

Diabetic encephalopathy is a severe diabetes-related complication in the central nervous system (CNS) that is characterized by degenerative neurochemical and structural changes leading to impaired cognitive function. While the exact pathophysiology of diabetic encephalopathy is not well-understood, it is likely that neuroinflammation is one of the key pathogenic mechanisms that cause this complication. Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) is an acute phase protein known to promote neuroinflammation via the recruitment and activation of immune cells and glia, particularly microglia and astrocytes, thereby inducing proinflammatory mediators in a range of neurological disorders. In this study, we investigated the role of LCN2 in multiple aspects of diabetic encephalopathy in mouse models of diabetes. Here, we show that induction of diabetes increased the expression of both Lcn2 mRNA and protein in the hippocampus. Genetic deficiency of Lcn2 significantly reduced gliosis, recruitment of macrophages, and production of inflammatory cytokines in the diabetic mice. Further, diabetes-induced hippocampal toxicity and cognitive decline were both lower in Lcn2 knockout mice than in the wild-type animals. Taken together, our findings highlight the critical role of LCN2 in the pathogenesis of diabetic encephalopathy

Pedigree reconstruction and spatial analysis for genetic testing and selection in a Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carrière plantation

Larix kaempferi is one of the major timber species in Northeast Asia. Demand for the reforestation of the species is rising in South Korea due to an increase in large timber production and utilization. However, progeny trials for the species have not been explored, making it challenging to foster advanced generations of tree improvement. In the present study, genetic testing and selection for diameter growth were conducted using pedigree reconstruction and phenotypic spatial distribution analysis in a plantation of L. kaempferi. The aim of the present study was to select the superior larch individuals using the pedigree reconstruction and phenotypic spatial distribution to substitute progeny trials. The plantation of seed orchard crops was established in 1990 and one-hundred and eighty-eight trees were selected as the study material. Genetic variation was investigated first to validate its adequacy as breeding material. Genetic testing was carried out using a model considering pedigree information and spatial autoregression of the phenotypes. The expected heterozygosity of the mother trees and offspring were 0.672 and 0.681 presenting the corresponding level of genetic variation between two groups. The pedigree reconstruction using maternity analysis assigned one to six progenies to ninety-two candidate mothers. The accuracy of genetic testing was exceedingly increased with the animal model considering AR1 ⊗ AR1 structure compared to the animal model only. The estimated genetic variance of the former was 9.086 whereas that of the latter was 4.9E-5 for DBH. The predicted breeding values of the offspring for DBH were ranged from -5.937cm to 5.655cm and the estimated heritability of diameter growth was 0.344. The genetic testing approach based on pedigree reconstruction and phenotypic spatial distribution analysis was considered a useful analytical scheme that could replace or supplement progeny trials.K L and I-S K have a grant from the National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS), Korea and K-S has a fnancial support (2020182B10-2022-BB01) from the Korea Forest Service