Absorption and resonance Raman spectroscopy of the 1Bu state of trans‐1,3,5‐hexatriene including vibronic coupling

The vibronic coupling between the first excited S₁ (2¹A_g) and the second excited S₂ (1¹B_u) singlet electronic states in spectroscopy of trans‐1,3,5‐hexatriene molecule is investigated on the basis of a model consisting of two electronic states coupled by two vibrational modes. Employing a perturbation theory that treats the intramolecular couplings in a perturbative manner, the absorption and resonance Raman cross sections and excitation profiles of this molecule are calculated using the time‐correlation function formalism. The non‐Condon corrections are included in evaluation of cross sections. The multidimensional time‐domain integrals that arise in these calculations have been evaluated for the case in which S₀ (1¹A_g) S₂ (1¹B_u) electronic transition takes place between displaced and distorted harmonic potential energy surfaces. The calculated spectra are in good agreement with the experimental ones. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sextic centrifugal distortion constants: interplay of density functional and basis set for accurate yet feasible computations

Quantum-chemical calculations assist the analysis of laboratory spectra, and often provide the only means to determine spectroscopic data that cannot be accessed experimentally. Accurate predictions of vibrational and rotational spectroscopic parameters are required for applications in the field of high-resolution molecular spectroscopy. While the accuracy issue of the quantum-chemical calculation of vibrational properties and of equilibrium structures has been addressed in the literature, the same is not true for centrifugal distortion constants that however play an essential role for the interpretation of remote sensing data. In this work, the performance of several model chemistries, rooted mainly in density functional theory, in computing sextic centrifugal distortion constants is assessed employing a benchmark set of molecules of both atmospheric and astrochemical relevance. The Jensen’s (aug-)pcs-n basis sets, different flavours of Dunning’s triple-ζ basis sets and the SNSD basis set, are employed in conjunction with different functionals, and their predictions are benchmarked against experimental and theoretical data at the coupled cluster level of theory. This study also demonstrates the reliability of the calculation of sextic centrifugal distortion constants within the Gaussian16 rev. B.01 program package. Reliable predictions of the sextic centrifugal distortion constants for the gauche- and trans-conformers of ethyl-mercaptan are also presented.     

Rapid analysis of ultraviolet filters using dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction coupled to headspace gas chromatography and mass spectrometry

An ionic‐liquid‐based in situ dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction method coupled to headspace gas chromatography and mass spectrometry was developed for the rapid analysis of ultraviolet filters. The chemical structures of five ionic liquids were specifically designed to incorporate various functional groups for the favorable extraction of the target analytes. Extraction parameters including ionic liquid mass, molar ratio of ionic liquid to metathesis reagent, vortex time, ionic strength, pH, and total sample volume were studied and optimized. The effect of the headspace temperature and volume during the headspace sampling step was also evaluated to increase the sensitivity of the method. The optimized procedure is fast as it only required ∼7–10 min per extraction and allowed for multiple extractions to be performed simultaneously. In addition, the method exhibited high precision, good linearity, and low limits of detection for six ultraviolet filters in aqueous samples. The developed method was applied to both pool and lake water samples attaining acceptable relative recovery values.     

Sub‐ and Supramolecular X‐Ray Characterization of Engineered Tissues from Equine Tendon,Bovine Dermis,and Fish Skin Type‐I Collagen

Collagen represents one of the most widely used biomaterial for scaffolds fabrication in tissue engineering as it represents the mechanical support of natural tissues. It also provides physical scaffolding for cells and it influences their attachment, growth, and tissue regeneration. Among all fibrillary collagens, type I is considered one of the gold standard for scaffolds fabrication, thanks to its high biocompatibility, biodegradability, and hemostatic properties. It can be extracted by chemical and enzymatic protocols from several collagen‐rich tissues, such as tendon and skin, of different animal species. Both the extraction processes and the manufacturing protocols for scaffolds fabrication provide structural and mechanical changes that can be tuned in order to deeply impact the properties of the final biomaterial. The aim of this review is to discuss the role of X‐rays to study structural changes of type I collagen from fresh collagen‐rich tissues (bovine, equine, fish) to the final scaffolds, with the aim to screen across available collagen sources and scaffolds fabrication protocols to be used in tissue regeneration.     

Engineering nanostructures of CuO-based photocatalysts for water treatment: Current progress and future challenges

Nowadays, increasing extortions regarding environmental problems and energy scarcity have stuck the development and endurance of human society. The issue of inorganic and organic pollutants that exist in water from agricultural, domestic, and industrial activities has directed the development of advanced technologies to address the challenges of water scarcity efficiently. To solve this major issue, various scientists and researchers are looking for novel and effective technologies that can efficiently remove pollutants from wastewater. Nanoscale metal oxide materials have been proposed due to their distinctive size, physical and chemical properties along with promising applications. Cupric Oxide (CuO) is one of the most commonly used benchmark photocatalysts in photodegradation owing to the fact that they are cost-effective, non-toxic, and more efficient in absorption across a significant fraction of solar spectrum. In this review, we have summarized synthetic strategies of CuO fabrication, modification methods with applications for water treatment purposes. Moreover, an elaborative discussion on feasible strategies includes; binary and ternary heterojunction formation, Z-scheme based photocatalytic system, incorporation of rare earth/transition metal ions as dopants, and carbonaceous materials serving as a support system. The mechanistic insight inferring photo-induced charge separation and transfer, the functional reactive radical species involved in a photocatalytic reaction, have been successfully featured and examined. Finally, a conclusive remark regarding current studies and unresolved challenges related to CuO are put forth for future perspectives.     

General non local boundary value problem for second order elliptic equation

In this paper we study a class of second order coefficient operators differential equation with general (possibly non local) boundary conditions. We obtain new results extending those given in a previous paper 1 . Existence, uniqueness and optimal regularity of the strict solution are proved in UMD spaces, using the well‐known Dore–Venni theorem.     

近红外光谱结合共识模型快速检测果酒的总酚含量

果酒发酵中的多酚是引起果酒口感、颜色变化的重要因素。为保证果酒品质,有必要开发一种快速监测发酵过程中多酚含量变化的技术。收集不同批次成熟期的蓝莓、桑葚为原料,分别碾压成汁,同时按比例混合二者,于小型发酵罐进行发酵。通过离线收集不同发酵时段的发酵液于离心管,高速离心后取上清液置于棕色瓶保存,共计得到48个果酒发酵样本。将上清液置于三个平行样比色皿,以傅里叶快速变换近红外光谱仪(FT-NIR)采集其透射光谱,取平均值作为该样本的光谱信号。然后将棕色瓶内的发酵液以国标法(即以标准液的吸光度值制定标准曲线)测定各样品的总酚含量,以duplex法计算样本光谱之间的距离且按2∶1的比例划分为训练集和预测集。采用间隔偏最小二乘法(iPLS)将训练集样本的透射光谱与总酚含量之间构建定量模型,间隔数从2依次变化到60个。该研究创新之处是使用共识方法融合多个已构建好的iPLS成员模型,按一定的共识规则分配权系数。通过各成员模型交互验证的残差及其残差之间的相关性来优化各成员模型的线性组合,以拉格朗日乘数法求解各成员模型的权系数,使间隔偏最小二乘-共识模型(consensual iPLS,CiPLS)的交互验证均方根误差最小。相比于全局PLS模型、划分不同间隔数量时的iPLS模型,CiPLS均具有较小的预测误差。当划分39个间隔时由三个iPLS成员模型(即14th,16th,18th)组成的共识模型误差最小为124.2,交互验证相关系数为0.944,对预测集样本的预测均方根误差为163.4,预测相关系数为0.931,预测性能均优于PLS和iPLS模型。另外,作为对比选用连续投影算法与无信息变量剔除法来优化光谱模型,其预测性能均不及本文提出的共识模型。分析各iPLS模型预测残差之间的相关性,发现共识模型主要是融合那些具有较高预测性能且模型间较低相关性的成员模型。结果表明,光谱分析结合共识方法可提高回归模型的预测精度、减少建模所需变量数,能够用于果酒总酚含量的离线快速检测。     

On the accuracy of a nonlinear finite volume method for the solution of diffusion problems using different interpolations strategies

In this paper, we consider a nonlinear finite volume method to solve the steady‐state diffusion equation in nonhomogeneous and non‐isotropic media. The method is nonlinear even if the original problem is linear. In its original form, the scheme is monotone, because the coefficient matrix is monotone under certain assumptions and, as a consequence, whenever the analytic operator demands, it preserves the positivity of numerical solutions. On the other hand, the scheme is unable to reproduce piecewise linear solutions exactly. In order to recover this interesting feature, we use two different interpolation strategies. In this case, even though we are unable to prove monotonicity, we show some numerical evidences that the combined method has an improved behavior, producing second order accurate solutions, even for nonhomogeneous and strongly anisotropic media. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.