Study of zinc hexacyanoferrate—modified platinum electrodes using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance

In this work, the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance has been employed to monitor directly the in situ growth of the zinc hexacyanoferrate film during the electrodeposition. Mass changes of the platinum|crystal working electrode were correlated with cyclic voltammetry data. Effects of the sorption of counter-cations (K⁺, Na⁺, and NH₄⁺ {\hbox{NH}}_4^{+} and anions (Cl⁻ and SO₄^{2 -} {\hbox{SO}}_4^{2 - } ) during redox reactions were studied. The electrocatalytic oxidation properties of procaine by the zinc hexacyanoferrate films were performed.     

On non-linear dynamics and control designs applied to the ideal and non-ideal variants of the Fitzhugh–Nagumo (FN) mathematical model

The Fitzhugh–Nagumo (FH) mathematical model is considered a simplification of the Hodgkin–Huxley (HH) model. This paper analyzes the non-linear dynamics of the Fitzhugh–Nagumo (FN) mathematical model, and still presents some modifications in the governing equations of the system in order to transform it into a non-ideal one (taking into account that an energy source has limited power supply). We also developed an optimal linear control design and used Sinhas’s theory for the membrane’s action potential in order to stabilize the variation of this potential.     

Niobium oxide solid catalyst: esterification of fatty acids and modeling for biodiesel production

Biodiesel can be obtained from fatty acid raw materials through esterification. The reactivity of lauric, palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic fatty acids with methanol using powdered niobic acid as a heterogeneous catalyst was investigated in this work, both experimentally (in a batch reactor) and theoretically. A 2³ experimental design was used, with methanol/fatty acid molar ratio, catalyst concentration, and temperature as main factors. An empirical model demonstrated that temperature is the most important variable. Fourteen heterogeneous and 56 homogeneous‐like kinetic models were tested. A homogeneous‐like model considering zero order for all species and inhibition by water was the most adequate for experiments without catalyst. A homogeneous‐like model considering a second‐order reaction in relation to the fatty acid and no water inhibition was the most adequate for niobic acid catalyzed reaction. Molecular modeling confirmed the experimental results showing that the reactivity is directly related to the increase of unsaturated bonds and the reduction of carbon chain length. The polarity of the fatty acid is determinant in the reactivity. At the molecular level, reaction occurs between the HOMO orbital of methanol and LUMO orbitals of fatty acids and reactivity is higher when the energy difference between these orbitals is lower. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An N‐Heterocyclic Carbene with a Saturated Backbone and Spatially‐Defined Steric Impact

The synthesis and coordination chemistry of a saturated analogue of a “bulky‐yet‐flexible” N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand are described. “SIPaul” is a 4,5‐dihydroimidazol‐2‐ylidene ligand with unsymmetrical aryl N‐substituents, and is one of the growing class of “bulky‐yet‐flexible” NHCs that are sufficiently bulky to stabilize catalytic intermediates, but sufficiently flexible that they do not inhibit productive chemistry at the central metal atom. Here, the synthesis of SIPaul.HCl and its complexes with copper, silver, iridium, palladium, and nickel, and its selenourea, are reported. The steric impact of the ligand is quantified using percent buried volume (% V_bur), whereas the electronic properties are probed and quantified using the Tolman Electronic Parameter (TEP) and δ_Se of the corresponding selenourea. This work shows that despite the often very different performance of saturated versus unsaturated carbenes in catalysis, the effect of backbone saturation on measurable properties is very small.     

Impact of generalized dissipative coefficient on warm inflationary dynamics in the light of latest Planck data

The warm inflation scenario in view of the modified Chaplygin gas is studied. We consider the inflationary expansion to be driven by a standard scalar field whose decay ratio \(\Gamma \) has a generic power-law dependence with the scalar field \(\phi \) and the temperature of the thermal bath T. By assuming an exponential power-law dependence in the cosmic time for the scale factor a(t), corresponding to the intermediate inflation model, we solve the background and perturbative dynamics considering our model to evolve according to (1) weak dissipative regime and (2) strong dissipative regime. Specifically, we find explicit expressions for the dissipative coefficient, scalar potential, and the relevant inflationary observables like the scalar power spectrum, scalar spectral index, and tensor-to-scalar ratio. The free parameters characterizing our model are constrained by considering the essential condition for warm inflation, the conditions for the model evolves according to weak or strong dissipative regime, and the 2015 Planck results through the \(n_s\)–r plane.     

PMD tolerance in Stokes space based polarization de-multiplexing algorithms

We numerically investigate the polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) tolerance of Stokes space based polarization-demultiplexing (SSPolDemux) algorithms in optical transmission supported by coherent detection and digital signal processing. The PMD tolerance is evaluated as function of the ratio differential group delay over symbol period, allowing to identify a regime where SSPolDemux is performed practically without penalty (smaller than 1 dB), a regime where SSPolDemux is achievable but induces large penalties, and a third regime where SSPolDemux cannot be accomplished. Results show that coherent access/metro networks are the most evident and potentiating application scenarios for SSPolDemux techniques.     

Hierarchical Functionalized Polymeric‐Ceramic Coatings on Mg‐Ca Alloys for Biodegradable Implant Applications

Magnesium‐based implants present several advantages for clinical applications, in particular due to their biocompatibility and degradability. However, degradation products can affect negatively the cell activity. In this work, a combined coating strategy to control the implant degradation and cell regulation processes is evaluated, including plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) that produces a 13 µm‐thick Ca, P, and Si containing ceramic coating with surface porosity, and breath figures (BF) approach that produces a porous polymeric poly(ε‐caprolactone) surface. The degradation of PCL‐PEO‐coated Mg hierarchical scaffold can be tailored to promote cell adhesion and proliferation into the porous structure. As a result, cell culture can colonize the inner PEO‐ceramic coating structure where higher amount of bioelements are present. The Mg/PEO/PCL/BF scaffolds exhibit equally good or better premyoblast cell adhesion and proliferation compared with Ti CP control. The biological behavior of this new hierarchical functionalized scaffold can improve the implantation success in bone and cardiovascular clinical applications.     

Detection of nanoparticles in edible plant tissues exposed to nano-copper using single-particle ICP-MS

The increasing use of nanopesticides has raised concerns about their effects on crop plants and the impact of human health as well as ecological effects. While increased uptake of metal ions has been observed before, to date, very few studies have demonstrated the presence of nanoparticles in edible tissues. Single-particle inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (sp-ICP-MS) has been suggested as a powerful tool to detect inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) in environmental samples. Here, we exposed edible plant tissues from lettuce, kale, and collard green to nano-CuO, simulating its use as a nanopesticide. We applied sp-ICP-MS to demonstrate the presence of nanoparticles, both in the water used to rinse crop leaf surfaces exposed to nano-CuO and within the leaf tissues. Lettuces retained the highest amounts of nCuO NPs on the leaf surface, followed by collard green and then kale. Surface hydrophilicity and roughness of the leaf surfaces played an important role in retaining nano-CuO. The results indicate that most of the nanoparticles are removed via washing, but that a certain fraction is taken up by the leaves and can result in human exposure, albeit at low levels.

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