The application of levulinic acid and 5-nitro-2-furylmethylene diacetate in the total synthesis of some novel biologically active (5-nitro-2-furyl)azomethines

Summary The syntheses andin vitro antibacterial and antifungal evaluation of certain (5-nitro-2-furyl)azomethines with different heterocyclic nuclei are described.

---

Die Anwendung von Lävulinsäure und 5-Nitro-2-furylmethylendiacetat in der Totalsynthese einiger neuer biologisch aktiver (5-Nitro-2-furyl)azomethine

Zusammenfassung Es wird die Synthese und diein-vitro-antibakterielle und antifungale Wirksamkeit für bestimmte (5-Nitro-2-furyl)azomethine mit verschiedenen heterocyclischen Kernen beschrieben.

     

A new first integral corresponding to Lyapunov's function for a pendulum of variable length

Summary Using Noether's theorem and the generalized Killing equations [1], new first integrals of the differential equation of motion for a class of non-conservative mechanical systems with one degree of freedom, a special case of which is a simple pendulum of variable length, are obtained. These integrals are identified as Lyapunov's functions for non-autonomous systems. The stability conditions are established.

---

Zusammenfassung Mit Hilfe des Noetherschen Satzes und den verallgemeinerten Killingschen Gleichungen werden neue erste Integrale der Bewegungsdifferentialgleichungen für eine Klasse von nichtkonservativen mechanischen Systemen mit einem Freiheitsgrad, die das Pendel mit veränderlicher Länge als Sonderfall enthält, hergeleitet. Diese Integrale stellen Ljapunovsche Funktionen dar, mit denen sich die Stabilitätsbedingungen ergeben.

     

The formation of oxide nanoparticles on the surface of natural clinoptilolite

Nanoparticles of NiO, ZnO and Cu₂O crystallize when the Ni-, Zn- and Cu-exchanged natural clinoptilolite, respectively, are dehydrated by heating in air at 550 °C. The dehydration of Mn-exchanged clinoptilolite does not lead to the crystallization of manganese oxide but affects the crystallinity of the host clinoptilolite lattice, which becomes amorphous. The NiO, ZnO and Cu₂O nanoparticles are found to be randomly dispersed in the clinoptilolite matrix. The particle size varies from 2 to 5 nm and exceeds the aperture of the clinoptilolite channel (approximately 0.4 nm), suggesting that the crystallization of the oxide phases takes place on the surfaces of clinoptilolite microcrystals.     

Extended Lagrangian formalism and the corresponding energy relations

In this paper an extended Lagrangian formalism for the rheonomic systems with the nonstationary constraints is formulated, with the aim to examine more completely the energy relations for such systems in any generalized coordinates, which in this case always refer to some moving frame of reference. Introducing new quantities, which change according to the law τ_a=φ_a(t), it is demonstrated that these quantities determine the position of this moving reference frame with respect to an immobile one. In the transition to the generalized coordinates qⁱ they are taken as the additional generalized coordinates q^a=τ_a, whose dependence on time is given a priori. In this way the position of the considered mechanical system relative to this immobile frame of reference is determined completely.Based on this and using the corresponding d'Alembert–Lagrange's principle, an extended system of the Lagrangian equations is obtained. It is demonstrated that they give the same equations of motion qⁱ=qⁱ(t) as in the usual Lagrangian formulation, but substantially different energy relations. Namely, in this formulation two different types of the energy change law dE/dt and the corresponding conservation laws are obtained, which are more general than in the usual formulation. So, under certain conditions the energy conservation law has the form E=T+U+P=const, where the last term, so-called rheonomic potential expresses the influence of the nonstationary constraints.Afterwards, a detailed analysis of the obtained results and their connection with the usual formulation of mechanics are given. It is demonstrated that so formulated energy relations are in full accordance with the corresponding ones in the usual vector formulation, when they are expressed in terms of the rheonomic potential. Finally, the obtained results are illustrated by several simple, but characteristic examples.     

Fourth-order finite-difference method for boundary value problems with two small parameters

We present a finite difference scheme for a class of linear singularly perturbed boundary value problems with two small parameters. The problem is discretized using a Bakhvalov-type mesh. It is proved under certain conditions that this scheme is fourth-order accurate and that its error does not increase when the perturbation parameter tends to zero. Numerical examples are presented which demonstrate computationally the fourth order of the method.     

Functionalization of carbon nanotubes with silver clusters

In this paper, an advanced method of one-step functionalization of single and multi walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs and MWCNTs) using γ-irradiation was described. Two synthesis procedures, related with different reduction species, were employed. For the first time, poly(vinyl alcohol) PVA is successfully utilized as a source to reduce silver (Ag) metal ions without having any additional reducing agents to obtain Ag nanoparticles on CNTs. The decoration of carbon nanotubes with Ag nanoparticles takes place through anchoring of (PVA) on nanotube's surface. Optical properties of as-prepared samples and mechanism responsible for the functionalization of carbon nanotubes were investigated using UV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy, respectively. Decorated carbon nanotubes were visualized using microscopic techniques: transmission electron microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. Also, the presence of Ag on the nanotubes was confirmed using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. This simple and effective method of making a carbon nanotube type of composites is of interest not only for an application in various areas of technology and biology, but for investigation of the potential of radiation technology for nanoengineering of materials.     

Removal of nickel(II) ions from aqueous solutions using the natural clinoptilolite and preparation of nano-NiO on the exhausted clinoptilolite

The natural zeolite tuff (clinoptilolite) from a Serbian deposit has been studied as adsorbent for Ni(II) ions from aqueous solutions. Its sorption capacity at 298 K varies from 1.9 mg Ni g⁻¹ (for the initial solution concentration of 100 mg Ni dm⁻³) to 3.8 mg Ni g⁻¹ (for C₀ = 600 mg Ni dm⁻³) and it increases 3 times at 338 K. The sorption is best described by the Sips isotherm model. The sorption kinetics follows the pseudo-second-order model, the activation energies being 7.44, 5.86, 6.62 and 6.63 kJ mol⁻¹ for C₀ = 100, 200, 300 and 400 mg Ni dm⁻³, respectively. The sorption involves a film diffusion, an intra-particle diffusion, and a chemical cation-exchange between the Na⁺ ions of clinoptilolite and the Ni²⁺ ions. The sorption is endothermic (ΔH° being 37.9, 33.4, 30.0, 27.7 and 24.3 kJ mol⁻¹ for C₀ = 100, 200, 300, 400 and 600 mg Ni dm⁻³, respectively) and spontaneous in the 298-338 K temperature range. Thermal treatment of the Ni(II)-loaded clinoptilolite results in the formation of spherical nano-NiO particles of approx. 5 nm in diameter which are randomly dispersed in the clinoptilolite lattice.     

Non-noble metal catalyst for a future Pt free PEMFC

We have investigated the possibility of developing high-performance, cost-effective and durable non-noble Co metal electrocatalyst for PEMFC. In this work we applied electrodeposition process for PEMFC electrode preparation that is very efficient and far simpler than any other investigated method. The fuel cell with electrodeposited Co as anode catalyst has shown satisfying performance level. In determining FC’s operating conditions, subsequent electrochemical impedance and output power measurements were done, which enable the insight into the Co catalyst based anode behavior. Structure analysis of the electrodeposited anode layer was done by means of SEM and EDS technique. Although the Pt catalyst has higher efficiency, its cost performance ratio is significantly lower than for the Co catalyst, thus this investigation gives interesting possibilities in area of stationary fuel cell application.     

Genetic algorithms for solving the discrete ordered median problem

In this paper we present two new heuristic approaches to solve the Discrete Ordered Median Problem (DOMP). Described heuristic methods, named HGA1 and HGA2 are based on a hybrid of genetic algorithms (GA) and a generalization of the well-known Fast Interchange heuristic (GFI). In order to investigate the effect of encoding on GA performance, two different encoding schemes are implemented: binary encoding in HGA1, and integer representation in HGA2. If binary encoding is used (HGA1), new genetic operators that keep the feasibility of individuals are proposed. Integer representation keeps the individuals feasible by default, so HGA2 uses slightly modified standard genetic operators. In both methods, caching GA technique was integrated with the GFI heuristic to improve computational performance. The algorithms are tested on standard ORLIB p-median instances with up to 900 nodes. The obtained results are also compared with the results of existing methods for solving DOMP in order to assess their merits.