Physical, structural, and luminescence studies of Nd3+ doped MgO-ZnO borate glass

A series of borate glass of the system xNd₂O₃-5MgO-20ZnO-(75 ? x)B₂O₃, where x = 0.5, 1.0,1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 was successfully fabricated using melt quench method. The properties of the glass were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), absorption and luminescence spectra. The upconversion properties of Nd³⁺ doped borate glass were observed by using 574 nm excitation wavelength corresponding to ⁴ I _15/2 → ² H _114/2 transition. The emission bands centered at 460, 500 and 620 nm which corresponding to the Nd³⁺ transitions, ⁴ F _7/2 → ⁴ I _15/2, ² H _11/2 → ⁴ I _15/2, and ⁴ F _9/2 → ⁴ I _15/2 respectively were observed at room temperature. The presence of Nd³⁺ in borate based glass could intensify the upconversion luminescence spectra as it can potentially be used as host materials for upconversion lasers.     

Assessment of health risk associated with natural gamma dose rate levels and isodose mapping of Jordan

ABSTRACT

As a pioneering study in Jordan, an extensive measurement for external gamma dose rate (GDR) was conducted. A portable gamma radiation detector was used to perform these measurements at 1?m above the soil surface. A geographical positioning system Garmin was used to record a total of 823 measured points. The GDRs’ measurement ranged from 35 to 470?nGy?h^?1 giving a mean value of 90?nGy?h^?1, which was found to be one and half times higher than the world average of 59?nGy?h^?1. The lowest mean GDR 72?nGy?h^?1 was found in the Albalqa governate, while the highest mean GDR 131?nGy?h^?1 was found to be for the Alkarak governate. The mean annual effective dose was found to be 0.551?mSv, which is higher than the world average value of 0.48?mSv. This is a pivotal study evaluating the risks associated with GDR levels in Jordan that were the relative excess lifetime cancer risk, the mean collective effective dose, the mean weighted GDR and the mean lifetime dose that are 2.24?×?10^?3, 5538manSv?y^?1, 0.531?mSv and 39?mSv, respectively. The cosmic rays mean GDR was determined to be 20?nGy?h^?1. This study focuses on constructing GDRs’ baseline data in Jordan, which will be used to determine the possible change in the natural radiation due to other human activities in the future. ArcGIS software was employed to generate an isodose map to characterise exposure rates caused by GDR in Jordan.     

New Composite Sorbent for Removal of Sulfate Ions from Simulated and Real Groundwater in the Batch and Continuous Tests

The evaluation of groundwater quality in the Dammam formation, Faddak farm, Karbala Governorate, Iraq proved that the sulfate (SO₄²⁻) concentrations have high values; so, this water is not suitable for livestock, poultry and irrigation purposes. For reclamation of this water, manufacturing of new sorbent for permeable reactive barrier was required through precipitation of Mg and Fe hydroxides nanoparticles on the activated carbon (AC) surface with best Mg/Fe molar ratio of 7.5/2.5. Mixture of 50% coated AC and 50% scrap iron was applied to eliminate SO₄²⁻ from contaminated water with efficiency of 59% and maximum capacity of adsorption equals to 9.5 mg/g for a time period of 1 h, sorbent dosage 40 g/L, and initial pH = 5 at 50 mg/L initial SO₄²⁻ concentration and 200 rpm shaking speed. Characterization analyses certified that the plantation of Mg and Fe nanoparticles onto AC was achieved. Continuous tests showed that the longevity of composite sorbent is increased with thicker bed and lower influent concentration and flow rate. Computer solution (COMSOL) software was well simulated for continuous measurements. The reclamation of real contaminated groundwater was achieved in column set-up with efficiency of 70% when flow rate was 5 mL/min, bed depth was 50 cm and inlet SO₄²⁻ concentration was 2301 mg/L.     

Divergent reaction pathways for one-pot,three-component synthesis of novel 4H-pyrano[3,2-h]quinolines under ultrasound irradiation

The present paper deal with the multi-component condensation of 8-hydroxy quinoline, aromatic aldehydes, and sulfone derivatives catalyzed by p-toluenesulfonic acid for the synthesis of a series of 4H-pyrano[3,2-h]quinoline derivatives in ethanol under ultrasonic irradiations. We provide a series of quinoline derivatives containing sulfone moiety interesting for biological screening tests. The reactions were carried out under both conventional and ultrasonic irradiation conditions. In general, improvement in rates and yields were observed when reactions were carried out under sonication compared with classical silent conditions. Also, also, sonochemical reaction give different reaction pathway other than silent reaction. These remarkable effects appeared in sonicated reactions can be reasonably interpreted in terms of acoustic cavitation phenomenon. Structures of the products were established on analytical and spectral data.     

Multicomponent access to novel proline/cyclized cysteine tethered monastrol conjugates as potential anticancer agents

The versatility of multicomponent Biginelli’s reaction is exploited in the development of proline and cyclized cysteine tethered conjugates of monastrol, a kinesin Eg5 inhibitor. Ten new conjugates are synthesized focusing on structural replacement of the ester moiety (C-5 position) of the monastrol backbone with amino acid based amide moieties. On cytotoxic evaluation, conjugate 24 has shown promising in vitro cytotoxic activity against leukemia. Molecular docking studies revealed that the conjugates 19 and 24 exhibit better interaction at kinesin Eg5 receptor compared to monastrol. Moreover, computational calculations and predictions of important molecular properties suggest that these new amino acid based conjugates could be further improved to provide potential anticancer agents.     

Synchronization of chaotic fractional-order systems via active sliding mode controller

In this paper, we propose a controller based on active sliding mode theory to synchronize chaotic fractional-order systems in master-slave structure. Master and slave systems may be identical or different. Based on stability theorems in the fractional calculus, analysis of stability is performed for the proposed method. Finally, three numerical simulations (synchronizing fractional-order Lü-Lü systems, synchronizing fractional order Chen-Chen systems and synchronizing fractional-order Lü-Chen systems) are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller. The simulations are implemented using two different numerical methods to solve the fractional differential equations.     

A concise route to 4-aminomethylpyrazoles and 4-aminomethylisoxazoles from acetylacetone-derived hexahydropyrimidines under mild conditions

Acetylacetone was successfully used as a precursor of 4-aminomethylpyrazoles and 4-aminomethylisoxazoles in a two step process at ambient temperature. In the first step, acetylacetone was transformed to the corresponding hexahydropyrimidines (1,3-diazinanes) via two consecutive one-pot Mannich aminomethylations. Hexahydropyrimidines were then treated with hydrazine, phenylhydrazine, and hydroxylamine, respectively, to obtain the corresponding 4-aminomethylpyrazoles and 4-aminomethylisoxazoles in good yields. The hexahydropyrimidine ring decomposed providing the title compounds and a reasonable mechanism has been proposed.     

Luminescent amphiphilic nanogels by terpyridine-Zn(II) complexation of polymeric micelles

In this work, we investigated terpyridine (tpy)/Zn(II) complexation for the crosslinking of polymeric micelles of the branched poly(ethylene oxide)–poly(propylene oxide) block copolymer Tetronic® 1107 (T1107) in water and produce physically stable amphiphilic luminescent nanogels. Nanoparticles displayed a size of 235 ± 25 and 318 ± 57 nm before and after Zn(II) crosslinking, respectively, as measured by dynamic light scattering. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed the multimicellar nature of the crosslinked nanoparticles. In addition, Zn(II) complexation prevented nanoparticle disassembly after extreme dilution below the critical micellar concentration and reduced the minimum concentration required for the reverse thermal gelation of concentrated aqueous T1107 systems. The cell compatibility and uptake were initially assessed in the murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7. Results showed that complexation increases the cell compatibility of the nanoparticles with respect to the non-complexed counterparts. In addition, non-crosslinked nanoparticles accumulated in the cell membrane, while the complexed ones were internalized, as observed by confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy. Then, the antiproliferative activity of the crosslinked nanoparticles was confirmed in the rhabdomyosarcoma cell line Rh30; their inhibitory concentration 50 (IC₅₀) being 101 μg/mL (6.7 μM). Finally, the encapsulation and release of the hydrophobic antiretroviral efavirenz was characterized in vitro. Complexation slightly reduced the release kinetics with respect to the pristine nanoparticles. Overall results demonstrate the promise of this simple modification strategy to produce amphiphilic nanogels with a set of advantageous physicochemical, optical, and biological properties.