An eco-friendly catalytic route for one-pot synthesis of 2-amino-6-(2-oxo-2Hchromen-3-yl)-4-arylnicotinonitrile derivatives by silica-supported perchloric acid (HClO4–SiO2) under solvent-free conditions

A facile and environmentally benign synthesis of some 2-amino-6-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)-4-arylnicotinonitrile derivatives from the reaction of 3-acetylcoumarin, aromatic aldehydes, and malononitrile under solvent-free condition in the presence of silica-supported perchloric acid (HClO₄–SiO₂) is described. The ability to reuse the catalyst, the high yields, and ease of purification are the important features of this process.     

Aqueous media preparation of 2-amino-4,6-diphenylnicotinonitriles using cellulose sulfuric acid as an efficient catalyst

A convenient approach to the synthesis of 2-amino-4,6-diphenylnicotinonitriles via four-component reaction of aromatic aldehydes, acetophenone derivatives, malononitrile and ammonium acetate is described. The reactions were done in water as solvent using cellulose sulfuric acid as catalyst. This simple protocol offer advantages such as shorter reaction times, simple work-up procedure, excellent yields and catalyst recovery.     

Development of Yttrium and Iron Oxide Thin Films via AACVD Method for Photooxidation of Water

Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry - Owing to high stability, metal oxide-based ceramic thin films are of great interest for photocatalytic oxidation of water. Therefore, the current research is...     

Modeling of the mode dynamics generated by Madison Symmetric Torus machine utilizing a modified sine-Gordon equation

In this paper, a new dynamic model is presented for the experimental data generated by the Madison Symmetric Torus (MST) machine. The model is based on a modified sine-Gordon (SG) dynamic equation. The modified sine-Gordon equation model effectively captures the behavior of the slinky mode in reversed-field pinch experiments. In addition, this paper demonstrates how the derived model accurately describes the behavior of the localized magnetohydrodynamic mode (slinky mode) that appears in reversed-field pinch toroidal magnetic confinement systems. The modified SG equation model is solved analytically by using the perturbation method. The resulting model is fit to match a variety of experimental results in the MST reversed-field pinch experiment. The efficacy of the newly developed model in effectively representing the slinky mode is verified by comparing obtained analytical solution to experimentally measured data.     

A deterministic,multi-item inventory model with supplier selection and imperfect quality

This paper considers the scenario of supply chain with multiple products and multiple suppliers, all of which have limited capacity. We assume that received items from suppliers are not of perfect quality. Items of imperfect quality, not necessarily defective, could be used in another inventory situation. Imperfect items are sold as a single batch, prior to receiving the next shipment, at a discounted price. The demand over a finite planning horizon is known, and an optimal procurement strategy for this multi-period horizon is to be determined. Each of products can be sourced from a set of approved suppliers, a supplier-dependent transaction cost applies for each period in which an order is placed on a supplier. A product-dependent holding cost per period applies for each product in the inventory that is carried across a period in the planning horizon. Also a maximum storage space for the buyer in each period is considered. The decision maker, the buyer, needs to decide what products to order, in what quantities, with which suppliers, and in which periods. Finally, a genetic algorithm (GA) is used to solve the model.     

Accurate radial basis function based neural network approach for analysis of photonic crystal fibers

In this paper, a new and an accurate artificial neural network approach (ANN) is presented for the analysis and design of photonic crystal fibers (PCFs). The new ANN approach is based on the radial basis functions which offer a very quick convergence and high efficiency during the ANN learning. The accuracy of the suggested approach is demonstrated via the excellent agreement between the results obtained using the presented approach and the results of the full vectorial finite difference method (FVFDM). In addition, a new design of highly birefringence PCF with low losses for the two polarized modes is presented using the proposed approach.     

Self‐assembled complexes of poly(acrylic acid) and poly(styrene)‐block‐poly(4‐vinyl pyridine)

Polymer complexes were prepared from high molecular weight poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(styrene)‐block‐poly(4‐vinyl pyridine) (PS‐b‐P4VP) in dimethyl formamide (DMF). The hydrogen bonding interactions, phase behavior, and morphology of the complexes were investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In this A‐b‐B/C type block copolymer/homopolymer system, P4VP block of the block copolymer has strong intermolecular interaction with PAA which led to the formation of nanostructured micelles at various PAA concentrations. The pure PS‐b‐P4VP block copolymer showed a cylindrical rodlike morphology. Spherical micelles were observed in the complexes and the size of the micelles increased with increasing PAA concentration. The micelles are composed of hydrogen‐bonded PAA/P4VP core and non‐bonded PS corona. Finally, a model was proposed to explain the microphase morphology of complex based on the experimental results obtained. The selective swelling of the PS‐b‐P4VP block copolymer by PAA resulted in the formation of different micelles. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 1192–1202, 2009     

Challenges associated with the synthesis of unusual o-carboxamido stilbenes by the Heck protocol: Intriguing substituent effects, their toxicological and chemopreventive implications

The syntheses of fourteen unusual o-carboxamido stilbenes by the Heck protocol revealed surprising complexity related to intriguing substituent effects with mechanistic implications. The unexpected cytotoxic and chemopreventive properties also seem to be substituent dependent. For example, although stilbene 15d (with a 4-methoxy substituent) showed cytotoxicity on HT29 colon cancer cells with an IC(50) of 4.9 μM, the 3,4-dimethoxy derivative (15c) is inactive. It is interesting to observe that the 3,5-dimethoxy derivative (15e) showed remarkable chemopreventive activity in WRL-68 fetal hepatocytes, surpassing the gold standard, resveratrol. The resveratrol concentration needed to be 5 times higher than that of 15e to produce comparable elevation of NQO1.     

A first‐order system least‐squares finite element method for the Poisson‐Boltzmann equation

The Poisson‐Boltzmann equation is an important tool in modeling solvent in biomolecular systems. In this article, we focus on numerical approximations to the electrostatic potential expressed in the regularized linear Poisson‐Boltzmann equation. We expose the flux directly through a first‐order system form of the equation. Using this formulation, we propose a system that yields a tractable least‐squares finite element formulation and establish theory to support this approach. The least‐squares finite element approximation naturally provides an a posteriori error estimator and we present numerical evidence in support of the method. The computational results highlight optimality in the case of adaptive mesh refinement for a variety of molecular configurations. In particular, we show promising performance for the Born ion, Fasciculin 1, methanol, and a dipole, which highlights robustness of our approach. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010     

Fabrication and characterization of Zn1−xAlxO nanoparticles by DC arc plasma

In this paper we have introduced a simple method for the fabrication of aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanoparticles. The Zn_1−xAl_xO nanoparticles with different concentrations of Al (x=0.01, 0.03, 0.06, 0.09, 0.12) were fabricated successfully by this method. The samples were analyzed by the use of several techniques such as SEM, EDX, XRD, PL and UV-vis spectroscopy. The SEM images showed that the fabricated nanoparticles had spherical shapes. The XRD patterns of the samples indicated that the Al atoms substituted in the Zn positions in the crystal lattice of ZnO and there were some changes in the lattice parameters. A blue shift in the λ_max of the absorption and a red shift in the λ_max of the emission were observed. The results also indicated that the amount of shifts had a direct relationship with the changes in the lattice parameters.