Analytic hierarchy process for multi-sensor data fusion based on belief function theory

Multi-sensor data fusion is an evolving technology whereby data from multiple sensor inputs are processed and combined. The data derived from multiple sensors can, however, be uncertain, imperfect, and conflicting. The present study is undertaken to help contribute to the continuous search for viable approaches to overcome the problems associated with data conflict and imperfection. Sensor readings, represented by belief functions, have to be fused according to their corresponding weights. Previous studies have often estimated the weights of sensor readings based on a single criterion. Mono-criteria approaches for the assessment of sensor reading weights are, however, often unreliable and inadequate for the reflection of reality. Accordingly, this work opts for the use of a multi-criteria decision aid. A modified Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) that incorporates several criteria is proposed to determine the weights of a sensor reading set. The approach relies on the automation of pairwise comparisons to eliminate subjectivity and reduce inconsistency. It assesses the weight of each sensor reading, and fuses the weighed readings obtained using a modified average combination rule. The efficiency of this approach is evaluated in a target recognition context. Several tests, sensitivity analysis, and comparisons with other approaches available in the literature are described.     

Novel cytotoxic brominated diterpenes from the red alga Laurencia obtusa

Five new brominated diterpenes, along with two known, have been isolated from the organic extract of the red alga Laurencia obtusa, collected from the coastal rocks of Preveza in the Ionean Sea, Greece. The novel metabolites prevezols B-E possess two new carbon skeletons, to the best of our knowledge, unprecedented in the literature. The structures and the relative stereochemistry of the new natural products were established by means of spectral data analyses. The new metabolites were tested for their cytotoxic activity against five human cell lines. Two metabolites have exhibited significant cytotoxicity.     

Sensitive trace enrichment of environmental andiandrogen vinclozolin from natural waters and sediment samples using hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction

The presence of vinclozolin in the environment as far as the endocrine disruption effects in biota are concerned has raised interest in the environmental fate of this compound. In this respect, the present study attempts to investigate the feasibility of applying a novel quantitative method, liquid-phase microextraction (LPME), so as to determine this environmental andiandrogen in environmental samples such as water and sediment samples. The technique involved the use of a small amount (3 microL) of organic solvent impregnated in a hollow fiber membrane, which was attached to the needle of a conventional GC syringe. The extracted samples were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with electron-capture detection. Experimental LPME conditions such as extraction solvent, stirring rate, content of NaCl and pH were tested. Once LPME was optimized, the performance of the proposed technique was evaluated for the determination of vinclozolin in different types of natural water samples. The recovery of spiked water samples was from 80 to 99%. The procedure was adequate for quantification of vinclozolin in waters at levels of 0.010 to 50 microg/L (r> 0.994) with a detection limit of 0.001 microg/L (S/N= 3). Natural sediment samples from the Aliakmonas River area (Macedonia, Greece) spiked with the target andiandrogen compound were liquid-liquid extracted and analyzed by the methodology developed in this work. No significant interferences from the samples matrix were noticed, indicating that the reported methodology is an innovative tactic for sample preparation in sediment analysis, with a considerable improvement in the achieved detection limits. The results demonstrated that apart from analyte enrichment, the proposed LPME procedure also serves as clean-up method and could be successfully performed to determine trace amounts of vinclozolin in water and sediment samples.     

Aminonaphthalic anhydrides as red-emitting materials: electroluminescence, crystal structure, and photophysical properties

The red and orange emitters (ANA-1-3) consisting of a 4-amino-1,8-naphthalic anhydride group were synthesized. The lowest absorption band of these ANA molecules centered at approximately 450 nm is assigned to be a charge-transfer transition with emission at 514-536 nm in nonpolar solvents such as n-hexane and at approximately 590-640 nm in polar solvents such as THF and CH(2)Cl(2) and in the solid states. Emission lifetimes are measured with time-correlated single photon counting. Shorter lifetimes are observed for the ANA molecules when dissolved in polar solvents compared with those in nonpolar solvents. Strong dipole-dipole interaction of ANA molecules with solvents is indicated. At high concentrations the measured emission lifetimes, generally shortened from self-quenching, are found to remain about the same order of magnitude in ANAs. This implies that the exciton states of aggregates are formed and they exhibit a relatively long lifetime. Crystallographic data of 4-(phenyl antracen-9-yl) (ANA-2) and 4-(phenyl-2-naphthyl) amino-1,8-naphthalic anhydrides (ANA-3) show that the molecules exist as dimeric structures with antiparallel head-to-tail stacking of naphthalic anhydride planes in addition to other pi-pi stacking. The strong dipole-dipole interactions and the pi-pi stacking account for the observed red-shifted emissions of ANAs in the powders. For films prepared from vacuum sublimation, a structure similar to that in the crystal but with less crystalline order is expected based on the emission wavelength. Several electroluminescent devices based on these ANAs are reported here; they emit orange-red light at 602-628 nm with high brightness and steady external quantum efficiency.     

UV spectra and excitation delocalization in DNA: influence of the spectral width.

The singlet excited states of the model DNA duplex (dA)10.(dT)10 are studied. Calculations are performed in the exciton theory framework. Molecular dynamics calculations provide the duplex geometry. The dipolar coupling is determined using atomic transition charges. The monomer transition energies are simulated by Gaussian functions resembling the absorption bands of nucleosides in aqueous solutions. Most of the excited states are found to be delocalized over at least two bases and result from the mixing of different monomer states. Their properties are only weakly affected by conformational changes of the double helix. On average, the highest oscillator strength is carried by the upper eigenstates. The duplex absorption spectra are shifted a few nanometers to higher energies with respect to the spectra of noninteracting monomers. The states with larger spatial extent are located close to the maximum of the absorption spectrum.     

Kinetic and mechanistic studies on the formation of bis(dicarboxylato)carbonatochromate(III) complexes

The reaction of the Cr(xx)₂(H₂O)₂ ⁻ (xx = oxalate, malonate and methylmalonate) complexes with dissolved CO₂ was studied by stopped-flow spectrophotometry in the 7 < pH < 9 range and between 20 to 30°C at an ionic strength of 0.5 mol dm⁻³ (NaCl). Under the experimental conditions the aqua complex ion consists of a pH-dependent mixture of Cr(xx)₂(H₂O)₂ ⁻, Cr(xx)₂(OH) (H₂O)²⁻ and Cr(xx)₂(OH)₂ ³⁻. The monohydroxo and dihydroxo species undergo CO₂ uptake and subsequent intramolecular carbonate ligand chelation independently, at rates which are readily distinguishable and are governed by the uptake rate constants k ₁ and k ₂ and chelation rate constants k ₃ and k ₄, respectively. Only the k ₁ values for oxalato, malonato and methylmalonato complexes could be calculated; k ₁ = 1084 and 1333 and 1650 mol⁻¹ dm³ s⁻¹, respectively. The results obtained were compared with those obtained from other systems that have either cobalt(III), iridium(III) or rhodium(III) as central atoms. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Preparations and spectroscopic studies of organotin complexes of diclofenac

The reactions of the potent and widely used anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, HL, with diorganotin(IV) oxides were studied. The dimeric tetraorganodistannoxane complexes [Me(2)LSnOSnLMe(2)](2), [Bu(2)LSnOSnLBu(2)](2), [Ph(2)LSnOSnLPh(2)](2) and the dibutyltin complex [Bu(2)SnL(2)], have been prepared and structurally characterized in the solid state by means of vibrational and 119Sn M?ssbauer spectroscopy. Determination of lattice dynamics by temperature-dependent 119Sn M?ssbauer spectroscopy. From the variable-temperature M?ssbauer effect, the Debye temperature was determined. The complexes have been characterized in solution by NMR (1H and 13C) spectroscopy. Vibrational, M?ssbauer, and NMR data are discussed in terms of the proposed structures.     

Collective behavior of Franck-Condon excited states and energy transfer in DNA double helices

Absorption of UV radiation by DNA bases is known to induce carcinogenic mutations. The lesion distribution depends on the sequence around the hotspots, suggesting cooperativity between bases. Here we show that such cooperativity may intervene at the very first step of a cascade of events by formation of Franck-Condon states delocalized over several bases and subsequent energy transfer faster than 100 fs. Our study focuses on the double helix poly(dA).poly(dT), whose fluorescence, induced by femtosecond pulses at 267 nm, is probed by the upconversion technique and time-correlated single photon counting, over a large time domain (100 fs to 100 ns). The time-resolved fluorescence decays and fluorescence anisotropy decays are discussed in relation with the steady-state absorption and fluorescence spectra in the frame of exciton theory.     

Reactivity and regioselectivity in the synthesis of spiroindoles via indole o-quinodimethanes. An experimental and computational study

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of stable nitrile oxides with indole o-quinodimethanes have been examined. In all cases the ‘exo-anti’ addition products, dispiroisoxazolines, were isolated in moderate to good yields (25-47%). In addition, from the reaction of one of the indole quinodimethanes with mesitonitrile oxide the ‘exo-syn’ addition product was isolated in 7% yield along with the remarkable indole quinodimethane dimerization and cycloaddition product, which was isolated in 13% yield. An analogous dimerization and cycloaddition product was isolated in 18% yield from the reaction of the N-acetyl-indole quinodimethane with mesitonitrile oxide. In the case of the reaction of the N-benzoylindole quinodimethane with the 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile oxide an oxime was also isolated in 13% yield. The proposed reaction mechanism is supported by semiempirical (AM1) MO calculations via FMO interactions. The observed selectivity was explained by an investigation of the transition states carried out also for analogous dispiroisoxazolines.     

Synthesis,Spectroscopic Studies,and Crystal Structures of Phenylorganotin Derivatives with [Bis(2,6‐dimethylphenyl)amino]benzoic Acid: Novel Antituberculosis Agents

The novel triphenyl adduct of 2‐[(2,6‐dimethylphenyl)amino]benzoic acid (HDMPA; 1 ), i.e., [SnPh₃(DMPA)] ( 2 ), the dimeric tetraorganostannoxane [Ph₂(DMPA)SnOSn(DMPA)Ph₂]₂ ( 3 ), and the monomeric adduct [SnPh₂(DMPA)₂] ( 4 ), where DMPA is monodeprotonated HDMPA, have been prepared and structurally characterized by means of IR, ¹H‐NMR, and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy. The structures of 1 and 2 have been determined by X‐ray crystallography. Single‐crystal X‐ray‐diffraction analysis of 1 revealed that there are two molecules in the asymmetric unit, HD1 and HD2 , differing in conformation, both forming centrosymmetric dimers linked by H‐bonds between the carboxylic O‐atoms. X‐Ray analysis of 2 revealed a pentacoordinate structure containing Ph₃Sn coordinated to the carboxylato group. Significant C? H/π interactions and intramolecular H‐bonds stabilize the structures of 1 and 2 , which self‐assembled via C? H/π and π/π‐stacking interactions. The Ph₃Sn adduct 2 was found to be a promising antimycobacterial lead compound, displaying activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. The cytotoxiciy in the Vero cell line is also reported.