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    Synthesis of novel chemicals from cardanol as a product of cashew nutshell processing
    (Chichester : Wiley, 2020) Deutsch, Jens; Köckritz, Angela
    The conversion of the worldwide chemical production from fossil to sustainable resources is currently one of the most urgent tasks for the chemical industry. Based on this approach cardanol, a mixture of phenols with C15-chains as substituents is produced in some countries of the tropical zone from the processing of cashew nutshells. The paper reports the specific transformation of the aromatic moiety in this cheap material, and thus, the development of a novel route to potential useful green bifunctional chemicals in gram scale. Accordingly, cardanol was converted successfully in three steps into hexane-1,6-diols. The evaluation of appropriate synthesis methods and suitable conditions for each of these reaction steps is presented as an essential topic of these investigations. The target compounds synthesized in the reaction sequence are potential building blocks for future biomass-based chemicals and monomers for green polymeric materials, surfactants, and lubricants.
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    Phosphorus speciation in long-term drained and rewetted peatlands of northern germany
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Negassa, Wakene; Michalik, Dirk; Klysubun, Wantana; Leinweber, Peter
    Previous studies, conducted at the inception of rewetting degraded peatlands, reported that rewetting increased phosphorus (P) mobilization but long-term effects of rewetting on the soil P status are unknown. The objectives of this study were to (i) characterize P in the surface and subsurface horizons of long-term drained and rewetted percolation mires, forest, and coastal peatlands and (ii) examine the influence of drainage and rewetting on P speciation and distributions using wet-chemical and advanced spectroscopic analyses. The total P was significantly (p < 0.05) different at the surface horizons. The total concentration of P ranged from 1022 to 2320 mg kg−1 in the surface horizons and decreased by a factor of two to five to the deepest horizons. Results of the chemical, solution 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and P K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) indicated that the major proportions of total P were organic P (Po). In the same peatland types, the relative proportions of Po and stable P fractions were lower in the drained than in the rewetted peatland. The results indicate that long-term rewetting not only locks P in organic matter but also transforms labile P to stable P fractions at the surface horizons of the different peatland types. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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    PDA Indolylmaleimides Induce Anti-Tumor Effects in Prostate Carcinoma Cell Lines Through Mitotic Death
    (Lausanne : Frontiers Research Foundation, 2021) Schille, Jan Torben; Nolte, Ingo; Beck, Julia; Jilani, Daria; Roolf, Catrin; Pews-Davtyan, Anahit; Rolfs, Arndt; Henze, Larissa; Beller, Matthias; Brenig, Bertram; Junghanss, Christian; Schütz, Ekkehard; Murua Escobar, Hugo
    Castrate resistant prostate cancer in men shares several characteristics with canine prostate cancer (PCa). Due to current insufficient therapies, evaluating novel therapeutic agents for late-stage PCa is of considerable interest for both species. PDA indolylmaleimides showed anticancer effects in several neoplastic cell lines. Herein, a comparative characterization of PDA-66 and PDA-377 mediated effects was performed in human and canine PCa cell lines, which is also the first detailed characterization of these agents on cells derived from solid tumors in general. While PDA-377 showed only weak growth inhibition on human PCa cell lines, PDA-66 inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in human and canine cell lines with concentrations in the low micromolar range. Morphological characterization and whole transcriptome sequencing revealed that PDA-66 induces mitotic death through its microtubule-depolymerizing ability. PDA-66 appears to be a worthwhile anti-mitotic agent for further evaluation. The similarities in cellular and molecular response observed in the cell lines of both origins form a solid basis for the use of canine PCa in vivo models to gain valuable interchangeable data to the advantage of both species.