The Scaled Hermite–Weber Basis Still Highly Competitive

The effectiveness of the usual harmonic oscillator basis is demonstrated on a wide class of Schrödinger Hamiltonians with various spectral properties. More specifically, it is shown numerically that an appropriately scaled Hermite–Weber basis yields extremely accurate results not only for the energy eigenvalues which differ slighly from the harmonic oscillator levels, but also for the states which reflect a purely anharmonic character.     

Alteration of the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope composition of beef by substitution of grass silage with maize silage

This study investigated the effect of substituting grass silage (C3 photosynthetic plant product) with maize silage (C4 photosynthetic plant product) on the natural abundance carbon (delta13C) and nitrogen (delta15N) stable isotope composition of bovine muscle tissue. Forty-five continental crossbred heifers were assigned to one of three diets consisting of 3 kg of a barley-based concentrate plus grass silage, maize silage or an equal mixture (dry matter basis) of grass silage and maize silage, fed ad libitum, for 167 days. Substitution resulted in less negative delta13C values (P<0.001) in lipid-free muscle and in lipid, and also a lower delta15N (P<0.001) in lipid-free muscle. Feeding of maize silage was clearly reflected in the delta13C of muscle, with each 10% difference in the dietary C4 carbon intake resulting in a 0.9 to 1.0 per thousand shift of delta13C in lipid-free muscle and a 1.0 to 1.2 per thousand in lipid. Minimum detectable mean differences (95% confidence, power 0.80, n=15) in this experiment were about 0.5 per thousand and 1.0 per thousand for delta13C of lipid-free muscle and lipid, respectively, and about 0.5 per thousand for delta15N of lipid-free muscle. The power analysis presented here is useful for estimating minimum isotopic differences that can be detected between any two groups of beef samples with a given number of replicates. It is concluded that carbon stable isotope ratio analysis of meat can be used to quantify C3/C4 dietary constituents in beef production.     

Role of interaction forces in controlling the stability and polishing performance of CMP slurries

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is an essential step in metal and dielectric planarization in multilayer microelectronic device fabrication. In the CMP process it is necessary to minimize the extent of surface defect formation while maintaining good planarity and optimal material removal rates. These requirements are met through the control of chemical and mechanical interactions during the polishing process by engineering the slurry chemistry, particulate properties, and stability. In this study, the performance of surfactant-stabilized silica CMP slurries at high pH and high ionic strengths are investigated with particular emphasis on the particle-particle and particle-substrate interactions. It is shown that for the design of consistently high performing slurries, stability of abrasive particles must be achieved under the dynamic processing conditions of CMP while maintaining sufficient pad-particle-wafer interactions.     

A new natural product and insecticidal amides from seeds of Piper nigrum Linn

Studies on the petroleum ether soluble and insoluble fraction of ethanol extract of dried ground seeds of Piper nigrum resulted in the isolation and structure elucidation of 1 new and 11 known compounds which include 3 hitherto unreported constituents, namely, cinnamylideneacetone, 3,4-methylenedioxyphenylpropiophenone and 2-hydroxy-4,5-methylenedioxypropiophenone from this plant.     

Hydroxamic Acids as PARP-1 Inhibitors: Molecular Design and Anticancer Activity of Novel Phenanthridinones

Poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1 (PARP-1) is a promising target for antitumor agents. This study presents the first evidence of hydroxamic acids as efficient PARP inhibitors. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that N−O substituted phenanthridinones form a complex interplay with PARP-1. A series of cyclic aryl hydroxamic acids, N-(benzyloxy)- and N-(hydroxy)phenanthridinones, were prepared through a ligand-free methodology from N-(benzyloxy)benzamides using dual C−H/N−H bond activation. Three of the computed hit compounds exhibited significant activity in cell-based and enzymatic assays, inhibiting PARP-1 in the low-nanomolar range. The antiproliferative activity of all prepared compounds and the reference compounds PJ34 and Olaparib was evaluated in cancer cells (HepG2, BxPC3, MDA-MD-231, and HeLa) and in noncancer cell lines (NIH 3T3 and HEK 293). An N-(benzyloxy)- and an N-(hydroxy)phenanthridinone showed the most promising properties as leads for developing therapeutics with a submicromolar activity window. The study highlights the potential utility of this scaffold for PARP inhibitors and the importance of target-specific design to minimize toxicity and side effects.     

Organic Dyes Containing a 1,3‐indandione Moiety as Light Harvesting Materials

Organic dipolar compounds containing a 1,3‐indandione‐5,6‐dicarboxylic acid moiety as an electron acceptor group were examined for the feasibility of using as the light harvesting material in dye‐sensitized solar cells. Two compounds with triphenylamine donor moieties were synthesized by attaching it to 1,3‐indandione‐5,6‐dicarboxylic acid. The device made with these simple dyes achieved a quantum yield up to 2.5 %, which is comparable to the widely used dye made with cyanoacrylic acid. The spectroscopic properties of these compounds were analysed with the aid of theoretical models according to the time‐dependent density functional theory.     

Synthesis and Reactions of 1,4,4a,5,8,8a-Hexahydro-1,4-Methano-5,8-Ethenonaphthalene

The preparation of the titled compound 1 is described. Its photochemical reaction and its formation of a molybdenum carbonyl complex are also reported.     

Electron-related nonlinear optical properties of cylindrical quantum dot with the Rosen-Morse axial potential

We present a theoretical study on the effects of intense laser field(ILF) and static electric field on the linear and nonlinear optical properties of a cylindrical quantum dot with Rosen-Morse axial potential under the framework of effective mass and parabolic band approximations. This study also takes into account the effects of the structure parameters(η, V_1, and R). The analytical expressions of the linear, third-order nonlinear and total optical absorption coefficients(TOACs)and the relative refractive index changes(RRICs) are obtained by using the compact-densitymatrix approach. The results of numerical calculations show that the resonant peak position of the TOACs and RRICs shifts towards lower energies and the magnitude of the peak increases with the effect of the static electric field and ILF. In addition, it is observed that while the resonant energies of the TOACs and RRICs of system shift towards the higher(lower) energies with the enhancement of η, V_1, they decrease with the augmentation of R. Thus, the findings of this study show that the optical properties of the structure can be adjusted by changing the magnitude of structure parameters and applied external fields.