Optimized Biocatalytic Synthesis of 2-Selenopyrimidine Nucleosides by Transglycosylation**

Selenium-modified nucleosides are powerful tools to study the structure and function of nucleic acids and their protein interactions. The widespread application of 2-selenopyrimidine nucleosides is currently limited by low yields in established synthetic routes. Herein, we describe the optimization of the synthesis of 2-Se-uridine and 2-Se-thymidine derivatives by thermostable nucleoside phosphorylases in transglycosylation reactions using natural uridine or thymidine as sugar donors. Reactions were performed at 60 or 80 °C and at pH 9 under hypoxic conditions to improve the solubility and stability of the 2-Se-nucleobases in aqueous media. To optimize the conversion, the reaction equilibria in analytical transglycosylation reactions were studied. The equilibrium constants of phosphorolysis of the 2-Se-pyrimidines were between 5 and 10, and therefore differ by an order of magnitude from the equilibrium constants of any other known case. Hence, the thermodynamic properties of the target nucleosides are inherently unfavorable, and this complicates their synthesis significantly. A tenfold excess of sugar donor was needed to achieve 40−48 % conversion to the target nucleoside. Scale-up of the optimized conditions provided four Se-containing nucleosides in 6–40 % isolated yield, which compares favorably to established chemical routes.     

Evolution of weakly non-linear shallow water waves generated by a moving boundary

Summary In this study we describe the evolution of weakly non-linear shallow water waves in a rectangular channel of 16 m length which aregenerated by a moving boundary. We present a detailed comparison of computaticnal and observational waveheight-time series and thus verify the theoretical model as presented by Villeneuve and Savage [27].Three different types of wave generating devices were used: pistons with vertical and inclined frontal faces, submerged boxes and a rotating plate. Waveheight-time series are recorded at eight different positions along the channel by electrical resistivity gauges, and velocity profiles are determined at certain selective cross sections. Data of many wave experiments are presented in nondimensional form. This representation reveals that the initial wave forms depend upon a Froude number of the motion of the wave generator, the slope angle of the wedge-type pistons and on the dimensionless displaced volume. Evolving waveheight-time series that are recorded at the various gauges are compared with those obtained from computations by use of equations which generalize the Boussinesq equations to include time variations of the boundaries.The method of inverse scattering is applied both, experimental and numerical waveheight-time series are prescribed as initial data. Results are tested relative to two different observers one fixed in time the other fixed in space. Deviations are shown to be small in all cases.     

Benign breast changes and the risk for subsequent breast cancer: an update of the 1985 consensus statement. Cancer Committee of the College of American Pathologists

The Cancer Committee of the College of American Pathologists has prepared an update of the consensus statement on premalignant breast lesions and breast cancer risk that was originally published in the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine in 1986. The objective of this publication is to better define the relative breast cancer risk associated with specific histologic abnormalities by incorporating data derived from recent case-control studies. Explanatory notes are used to document and explain specific risk classifications. In addition to refining the degree of risk associated with individual lesions, such as fibroadenoma and atypical hyperplasia, this update includes a discussion of age-specific breast cancer risk and provides examples that can be used when counseling patients.     

Dynamic light scattering and ultrasonic investigations during the cure reaction of an epoxy resin

Brillouin scattering (BS), photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS), and ultrasonic (US) measurements were conducted to study the curing process of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A with butane-1,4-diol at a curing temperature of 100°C. The experimental techniques probe the primary glass-rubber transition during the curing reaction. The primary relaxation time τ obtained from the BS and US velocity and absorption increases with curing time and hence the BS experiment measures τ at earlier stages of cure than the US experiment. The relaxation times at a different extent of reaction and for different measuring temperatures are consistent with BS, US, PCS, and DSC measurements and conform to a single reduced Vogel–Fulcher–Hesse–Tamann equation. Furthermore, the US experiments show evidence of secondary relaxations in the epoxy system.     

Silphinene Sesquiterpenes as Model Insect Antifeedants

Silphinene sesquiterpenes are established chrysomelid antifeedants. In this work, nine silphinene analogs, 11-acetoxy-5-angeloyloxysilphinen-3-one (1), 11-acetoxy-5-tigloyloxysilphinen-3-one (2), 11-acetoxy-5-iso- butyryloxysilphinen-3-one (3), 11-hydroxy-5-angeloyloxysilphinen-3-one (4), 11,5-dihydroxysilphinen-3-one (5), 11,5-diacetoxysilphinen-3-one (6), 5,11-diisobutyryloxysilphinen-3-one (7), silphinen-3,5,11-trione (8), and O-methyl-5-epicantabrenolic acid methyl ester (10), and a presilphiperfolane sesquiterpene (9) were tested against several divergent insect species, including the lepidopteran Spodoptera littoralis, the chrysomelid Leptinotarsa decemlineata, and five aphid species, and their antifeedant effects were compared with those of picrotoxinin, a GABA-antagonist, and thymol, an allosteric modulator for insect GABA receptors. All insects tested responded to at least one silphinene analog and/or GABA antagonist. Compound 3 and thymol were effective antifeedants against all species tested except S. littoralis, with varying potencies according to their feeding ecologies. The toxicity of these compounds was species-dependent and did not correlate with their antifeedant effect.     

Sustainability in Web server systems

The exponential growth of Internet during the last decade leads us to make more efforts in the researching and developing of sustainable Web servers in order to decrease the global energy demand. In this paper, we cover, as a first step, a proper review of the literature related to the energy efficiency research in Web server systems to depict the state of the art to plan further contributions as more research in sustainable Web systems. We also propose and implement an energy metric that permits to establish a relation between the Quality of Service (QoS) obtained by the system and the power it consumes.     

Sensitivity analysis based preform die shape design using the finite element method

This paper uses a finite element-based sensitivity analysis method to design the preform die shape for metal forming processes. The sensitivity analysis was developed using the rigid visco-plastic finite element method. The preform die shapes are represented by cubic B-spline curves. The control points or coefficients of the B-spline are used as the design variables. The optimization problem is to minimize the difference between the realized and the desired final forging shapes. The sensitivity analysis includes the sensitivities of the objective function, nodal coordinates, and nodal velocities with respect to the design variables. The remeshing procedure and the interpolation/transfer of the history/dependent parameters are considered. An adjustment of the volume loss resulting from the finite element analysis is used to make the workpiece volume consistent in each optimization iteration and improve the optimization convergence. In addition, a technique for dealing with fold-over defects during the forming simulation is employed in order to continue the optimization procedures of the preform die shape design. The method developed in this paper is used to design the preform die shape for both plane strain and axisymmetric deformations with shaped cavities. The analysis shows that satisfactory final forging shapes are obtained using the optimized preform die shapes.