Photo-induced Synthesis and Characterization of Poly（methyl methacrylate） Grafted Sodium Salt of Partially Carboxymethylated Guar Gum

Photo-induced graft copolymerization of methyl methacrylate（MMA） onto sodium salt of partially carboxymethylated guar gum（Na-PCMGG, DS = 0.291） was carried out in an aqueous medium using ceric ammonium nitrate（CAN） as photoinitiator to synthesize a novel graft copolymer, Na-PCMGG-g-PMMA, which may find its potential application as a metal adsorbent. The influences of synthesis variables such as concentrations of photoinitiator（CAN）, nitric acid and monomer（MMA） as well as reaction time, temperature and amount of substrate on the grafting yields were studied and the reaction conditions for optimum photo-grafting were evaluated. At optimum concentration, the maximum values of the grafting yields achieved were G = 271.61% and GE = 63.89%. The experimental results were found to be in very good agreement with the proposed kinetic scheme. The photo-graft copolymerization of MMA onto Na-PCMGG（ DS = 0.291） was also carried out in the presence and absence of ultraviolet radiation for studying the efficiency of the photoinitiator. The influence of carboxymethyl groups introduced onto the guar gum molecules with regard to its behavior towards ultra-violet radiation induced grafting with MMA was also investigated. Photo-grafting process was confirmed and the products were characterized with the help of the spectroscopic（1H-NMR and FTIR） and SEM techniques.     

Effect of Various Growth Hormone Concentration and Combination on Callus Induction,Nature of Callus and Callogenic Response of Nerium odorum

Nerium odorum, Linn. (Apocynaceae) is an important evergreen shrub. It is heat, salinity and drought tolerant. Plants with milky sap have medicinal value, mainly cardenolides, flavonoids and terpenes. It is used for wastewater purification and for restoration of riparian woodlands. In view of these facts, the study was conducted for micropropagation of N. odorum. Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with different concentrations (0.5–10.0 mg/l) of 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and kinetin (Kin) were used singly and in combinations. Among all the growth hormones, 2,4-D was the best for callus induction (75 % in stem and 79 % in leaf) and in combination 2,4-D and BAP (78 % in stem and 81 % in leaf). The day of callus induction started from the 19th to the 37th day. This variation is due to the differences in culture conditions and the age of explants. The fresh and dry weight and moisture content showed good growth of callus, which is used in further studies of alkaloid production. Micropropagation of this plant allows the production of clones at a fast rate and in continuous manner. This work can lead to the development of an efficient protocol for callus induction and other issues.     

On sequential and simultaneous contributions under incomplete information

When contributors to a common cause (or public good) are uncertain about each others’ valuations, early contributors are likely to be cautious in free-riding on future contributors. Contrary to the case of complete information, when contributors have independent private valuations for the public good, the expected total contribution generated in a sequential move game may be higher than in a simultaneous move game. This is established in a conventional framework with quasi-linear utility where agents care only about the total provision of the public good (rather than individual contribution levels) and there is no non-convexity in the provision of the public good. We allow for arbitrary number of agents and fairly general distribution of types.     

Novel pattern forming process due to the coupling of convection and phase change

We present a novel mechanism of pattern formation behind a flat interface during directional solidification of peritectic alloys. It is shown through computational modeling that irregular oscillatory thermosolutal convection can develop in the vertical Bridgman system, even with bottom seeding and bottom cooling. The coupling of the flow oscillation near the interface with solidification leads to ordered layered structures in the solidified crystal, which agree closely with earlier experimental results.     

Pump-induced nonlinear refractive-index change in erbium- and ytterbium-doped fibers: theory and experiment

A 980-nm pump-induced nonlinear refractive-index (n2) change in erbium-doped (20-m) and ytterbium-doped (20-m) fibers has been measured at 1064 nm by time-delayed photorefractive beam coupling in a co-propagating and counterpropagating geometry. It was found that n2 decreases at the wavelength of the probe beam when the pump beam is present. We present a semiclassical theory based on a four-state system that accounts for the pump-induced change of n2. Both theoretical and experimental results show that a significant index change, of the order of 10%, can be obtained for cw pump powers as small as 10 mW.     

Structure of a discrete hexadecameric water cluster in a metal-organic framework structure

Pyrazine-2,3,5,6-tetracarboxylic acid (pytcH(4)) reacts with Cu(NO(3))(2)x6H(2)O in 1:2 molar ratio in the presence of pyridine (py) vapor to form blue crystals of a coordination polymer with the empirical formula [Cu(2.5)(pytc)(py)(8)(NO(3)(-))x10H(2)O](n). Four such polymeric chains gather around a hexadecameric water cluster to form an overall 3D metal-organic framework structure. Once the water molecules are removed, the 3D structure breaks down. It presents a new mode of association of water molecules not predicted theoretically or found experimentally.     

New approach to the measurement of the nonlinear refractive index of short (<25 m) lengths of silica and erbium-doped fibers

The nonlinear refractive index n2 of silica fiber (24 m) and erbium-doped fiber (10 m) is measured to within an accuracy of 5% by use of time-delayed photorefractive beam coupling of intense 53-ps, 1.064-microm pulses that experience self-phase modulation in the fibers. The resultant induced grating autocorrelation response yields a value of n2/A(eff) and a calibration standard for the fiber. A phase shift of the order of 0.19pi can be detected and is limited only by laser amplitude fluctuations. A unique advantage of this technique is its ability to measure n2 accurately in short lengths (z < or = 25 m) of fiber, whereas other approaches typically use much longer lengths of fiber (z > or = 100 m).     

HPLC method development and validation of cytotoxic agent phenyl‐heptatriyne in Bidens pilosa with ultrasonic‐assisted cloud point extraction and preconcentration

Extraction and pre‐concentration of a bioactive marker compound, phenyl‐1,3,5‐heptatriyne from Bidens pilosa, prior to HPLC has been demonstrated using both organic and ecofriendly solvents. Non‐ionic surfactants, viz. Triton X‐100, Triton X‐114 and Genapol X‐80, were used for extraction. No back‐extraction or liquid chromatographic steps were required to remove the target phytochemical from the surfactant‐rich extractant phase. The optimized cloud point extraction procedure has been shown to be a potentially useful methodology for the preconcentration of the target analyte, with a preconcentration factor of 4–99. Moreover, the method is simple, sensitive, rapid and consumes lesser solvent than traditional methods. An isocratic chromatographic separation and quantitation was accomplished on a C₁₈ column with acetonitrile–acidified aqueous as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, UV detection at 254 nm and specificity with photo diode‐array detector (PDA) and MS. Under the optimum experimental conditions recovery was satisfactory (99.18–100.33%) without interference from the surfactant. The method seems to be reliable with intraday precision and interday precision below 2.0%. Good linearity was obtained in the working range from 7.5 to 30 µg/mL with correlation coefficient >0.99. The limits of detection and quantitation were 1.84 and 6.13 µg/mL, respectively. The method was validated following international guidelines and successfully applied for quantitative assays of cytotoxic compound phenyl‐1,3,5‐heptatriyne in Bidens pilosa. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of novel isoxazole-linked steroidal glycoconjugates—an application of a novel steroidal nitrile oxide

Isoxazole-linked steroidal glycoconjugates are prepared by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of an in situ generated and hitherto unknown steroidal nitrile oxide with appropriate propargyl ethers of sugars. The methodology provides a novel vector in the form of an easily accessible nitrile oxide having the ability to couple with many biomolecules, thus offering a new pathway to construct biologically significant novel steroidal conjugates.     

A novel frequency encoded all optical CNOT gate exploiting difference frequency generation and implementation of fast binary adders using frequency encoding and nonlinear dielectric films

Optics has an important role in logic implementation and computation is established in two and half decades by many researchers. Recently frequency encoding technique is established. This technique does not suffer from intensity dependent loss problems like other schemes. Amorphous dielectric thin films with reflecting edges can also be used for logic realization and has very fast response speed. It also does not use any semiconductor device and simple to construct. In this communication the authors have proposed all optical CNOT gate using frequency encoded difference frequency generation exploiting nonlinear response of some material and implementation of binary adders by CNOT gate and dielectric thin film AND gate.