The symmetry group of nonrigid tetramethylsilane

Using nonrigid group theory, it is shown that the full nonrigid (f‐NRG) group of tetramethylsilane is isomorphic to the group C₃ S₄ of order 1944, where “” denotes the wreath product of groups, and C₃ and S₄ are the cyclic group of order three and the symmetric group of order four, respectively. This group has 51 conjugacy classes and irreducible representations. Then the character table of tetramethylsilane is derived for the first time. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2008     

A palladium-catalyzed alkylation/direct arylation synthesis of nitrogen-containing heterocycles

A norbornene-mediated palladium-catalyzed sequence is described in which an alkyl-aryl bond and an aryl-heteroaryl bond are formed in one reaction vessel. The aryl-heteroaryl bond-forming step occurs via a direct arylation reaction. A number of six-, seven-, and eight-membered ring-annulated indoles, pyrroles, pyrazoles, and azaindoles were synthesized from the corresponding bromoalkyl azole and an aryl iodide.     

X-ray microfocussing combined with microfluidics for on-chip X-ray scattering measurements

This work describes the fabrication of thin microfluidic devices in Kapton (polyimide). These chips are well-suited to perform X-ray scattering experiments using intense microfocussed beams, as Kapton is both relatively resistant to the high intensities generated by a synchrotron, and almost transparent to X-rays. We show networks of microchannels obtained using laser ablation of Kapton films, and we also present a simple way to perform fusion bonding between two Kapton films. The possibilities offered using such devices are illustrated with X-ray scattering experiments. These experiments demonstrate that structural measurements in the 1 A-20 nm range can be obtained with spatial resolutions of a few microns in a microchannel.     

Cluster-type basic lanthanide iodides [M6(mu6-O)(mu3-OH)8(H2O)24]I8(H2O)8 (M = Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy)

Ln6(mu6-O)(mu3-OH)8(H2O)24]I8(H2O)(8) (Ln = Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy) compounds are obtained as the final hydrolysis products of lanthanide triiodides in an aqueous solution. Their X-ray crystal structure features a body-centered arrangement of oxygen-centered {Ln6X8}8+ cluster cores: [Nd6(mu6-O)(mu3-OH)8(H2O)24]I8(H2O)8 [Pearson code oP156, orthorhombic, Pnnm (No. 58), Z = 2, a = 1310.4(3) pm, b = 1502.1(3) pm, c = 1514.9(3) pm, 3384 reflections with I0 > 2sigma(I0), R1 = 0.0340, wR2 = 0.0764, GOF = 1.022, T = 298(2) K], [Eu6(mu6-O)(mu3-OH)8(H2O)24]I8(H2O)8 [Pearson code oP156, orthorhombic, Pnnm (No. 58), Z = 2, a = 1306.6(2) pm, b = 1498.15(19) pm, c = 1499.41(18) pm, 4262 reflections with I0 > 2sigma(I0), R1 = 0.0540, wR2 = 0.0860, GOF = 0.910, T = 298(2) K], [Tb6(mu6-O)(mu3-OH)8(H2O)24]I8(H2O)8 [Pearson code oP156, orthorhombic, Pnnm (No. 58), Z = 2, a = 1296.34(5) pm, b = 1486.13(7) pm, c = 1491.88(6) pm, 4182 reflections with I0 > 2sigma(I0), R1 = 0.0395, wR2 = 0.0924, GOF = 1.000, T = 298(2) K], and [Dy6(mu6-O)(mu3-OH)8(H2O)24]I8(H2O)8 [Pearson code oP156, orthorhombic, Pnnm (No. 58), Z = 2, a = 1296.34(5) pm, b = 1486.13(7) pm, c = 1491.88(6) pm, 3329 reflections with I0 > 2sigma(I0), R1 = 0.0389, wR2 = 0.0801, GOF = 0.992, T = 298(2) K.     

Characterization of edge‐colored complete graphs with properly colored Hamilton paths

An edge‐colored graph H is properly colored if no two adjacent edges of H have the same color. In 1997, J. Bang‐Jensen and G. Gutin conjectured that an edge‐colored complete graph G has a properly colored Hamilton path if and only if G has a spanning subgraph consisting of a properly colored path C₀ and a (possibly empty) collection of properly colored cycles C₁,C₂,…, C_d such that provided . We prove this conjecture. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 53: 333–346, 2006     

Electrocatalytic Oxidation and Determination of Sulfite with a Novel Copper‐Cobalt Hexacyanoferrate Modified Carbon Paste Electrode

The electrocatalytic oxidation of sulfite has been studied at a stable electroactive thin film of copper‐cobalt hexacyanoferrate (CuCoHCF) hybrid electrodeposited on a carbon paste electrode (ECMCPE). A linear range of 5 μM to 5 mM of sulfite, with an experimental detection limit of 1 μM, was obtained using the cyclic voltammetric method. The oxidation of sulfite showed no significant fouling effect on the modified electrode surface at sulfite concentrations below 5 mM. The proposed modified electrode exhibited several attractive features, including simple preparation, fast response, good stability and repeatability, and could be applied to sulfite determination in real samples.     

Dielectrophoresis microbial characterization and isolation of Staphylococcus aureus based on optimum crossover frequency

Characterization of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a significant concern that persists for the rapid classification and analysis of the bacteria. A technology that utilizes the manipulation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is key to solving the significant threat of these pathogenic bacteria by rapid characterization profile. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) can differentiate between antibiotic-resistant and susceptible bacteria based on their physical structure and polarization properties. In this work, the DEP response of two Gram-positive bacteria, namely, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), was investigated and simulated. The DEP characterization was experimentally observed on the bacteria influenced by oxacillin and vancomycin antibiotics. MSSA control without antibiotics has crossover frequencies ($f_{x0}$) from 6 to 8 MHz, whereas MRSA control is from 2 to 3 MHz. The $f_{x0}$ changed when bacteria were exposed to the antibiotic. As for MSSA, the $f_{x0}$ decreased to 3.35 MHz compared to $f_{x0}$ MSSA control without antibiotics, MRSA, $f_{x0}$ increased to 7 MHz when compared to MRSA control. The changes in the DEP response of MSSA and MRSA with and without antibiotics were theoretically proven using MyDEP and COMSOL simulation and experimentally based on the modification to the bacteria cell walls. Thus, the DEP response can be employed as a label-free detectable method to sense and differentiate between resistant and susceptible strains with different antibiotic profiles. The developed method can be implemented on a single platform to analyze and identify bacteria for rapid, scalable, and accurate characterization.     

The Newton-Kleinman method for the optimal control of stable weakly regular linear systems

We give an algorithm to find the approximate solution of the linear-quadratic optimal control problem for stable weakly regular linear systems. This algorithm can be understood as a generalization of the Newton-Kleinman method known from the finite-dimensional theory. The central characteristic of our approach is the possibility to solve problems with unbounded control and observation operators, which is motivated by partial differential equations with boundary control and observation. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

In Vitro Effect of 445 nm Blue Laser and 660 nm Low-Level Laser on the Quantity and Quality of Human Gingival Fibroblasts

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has several benefits in dentistry, including anti-inflammatory effects and increased proliferation. This study aimed to investigate the effect of 445 nm blue laser and 660 nm low-power laser on the quantity and quality of human gingival fibroblasts in vitro. In this in vitro experimental study, 445 nm and 660 nm lasers were irradiated on the samples six times. After examining the cells on the 7^th and 14^th days, the data were analyzed using ANOVA PASS11 and the post hoc Tukey test. The results showed the positive effect of the 660 nm laser on fibroblast proliferation. The viability on the 7^th day was the highest in the control group, lowest in the 445 nm laser group and highest in the 660 nm laser group on the 14^th day. In the morphological examination, the cells were spherical with narrow appendages in the control group, spindle-shaped with lamellipodia appendages in the 660 nm laser group and spherical with no cytoplasmic appendages in the 445 nm laser group. Evidence of necrosis and granulation phenomenon was observed in the 445 nm laser group. The use of the 660 nm low-power laser, compared with the 445 nm laser, has a positive effect on the quantity and quality of gingival fibroblasts.