Isotopic production cross sections of residues in reactions induced by relativistic heavy ions with protons and deuterons

The isotopic production cross sections of heavy residues in relativistic heavy-ion collisions have been investigated in inverse kinematics. The primary reaction products were fully identified in mass and atomic number prior to beta decay using the fragment separator FRS. The huge collection of data obtained helps in the understanding of the two main reaction mechanisms involved: fragmentation and fission. These data provide basic information for future radioactive ion beam facilities and for technical applications like intense neutron sources by means of spallation targets.     

On solvability of differential equations with the Riesz fractional derivative

We consider the solvability of fractional differential equations involving the Riesz fractional derivative. Our approach basically relies on the reduction of the problem considered to the equivalent nonlinear mixed Volterra and Cauchy-type singular integral equation and on the theory of fractional calculus. By establishing a compactness property of the Riemann–Liouville fractional integral operator on Lebesgue spaces and using the well-known Krasnoselskii's fixed point theorem, an existence of at least one solution is gleaned. An example is finally included to show the applicability of the theory.     

Palladium-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling of aryl halides with aryl boronic acids in the presence of glucosamine-based phosphines

Carbohydrate-substituted phosphines are easily obtained in quite good yields by coupling of protected or non-protected d-glucosamine with the corresponding diphenylphosphino acid. These neutral ligands, in association with palladium acetate, are very active catalysts in the Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. The polyhydroxy phosphines are more active than the peracetylated phosphines. The process tolerates electron-rich as well as electron-poor substituents. Excellent turnovers, up to 97?000 are observed.     

Energetic Bio-Activation of Some Organic Molecules and Their Antioxidant Activity in the Pulp of the Moroccan Argan Tree «Argania spinosa L.»

Argania spinosa L. Skeels is an emblematic tree in Morocco, known worldwide for its medicinal and nutritional value. Its fruits contain kernels used to prepare an edible oil, the leaves are used to feed livestock, and its wood is used as fuel. If the oil acquires high importance, the other components of the fruit of the argan are undervalued. Our objective is to invest the waste of the argan industry. Particularly, our study aimed to assess the effect of thermal activation of argan pulp on its therapeutic value, its phenolic profile and its functional and physicochemical properties. After heat treatment, the HPLC analysis for the average total phenolic content varied from 2% to 37%, depending on temperature. The antioxidant activity was increased with heat treatment. Higher values of antioxidant activity, polyphenol and pigment content were recorded at 70 °C. Functional properties analysis indicated that water solubility index and water absorption capacity were significantly affected by heat stress. Physicochemical analysis showed that moisture content, titratable acidity and soluble solids were affected.     

Novel Copolymers of 2-Phenyl-1,1-dicyanoethylene with 4-Fluoro- and Pentafluorostyrene

Copolymerization of 2-phenyl-1,1-dicyanoethylene (PDE) with 4-fluorostyrene and pentafluorostyrene in solution with radical initiation (ABCN) at 70°C yielded random copolymers with PDE alternating units. The composition of the copolymers was calculated from nitrogen analysis and the structure was analyzed by IR, ¹H and ¹³C-NMR. The order of relative reactivity (1/r₁) and the tendency toward alternation of monomer units in the copolymer for these two monomers, is 4-fluorostyrene (1.96) > pentafluorostyrene (0.51). Higher glass transition temperature of the copolymers in comparison with that of homopolymers indicates a decrease in chain mobility of the copolymer due to the high dipolar character of the trisubstituted ethylene monomer unit.     

Electrospun copper oxide nanoparticles as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for N-arylation of indole

The N-arylation of indoles with a variety of aryl bromides is reported using copper oxide nanoparticles as a heterogeneous catalyst. These copper oxide nanoparticles, which were produced in a novel, facile, and scalable fashion via an electrospinning technique, resulted in an excellent product yield under mild conditions. Moreover, the catalyst was easily recovered and reused several times without significant loss of activity.     

Order-Unity 13C Nuclear Polarization of [1-13C]Pyruvate in Seconds and the Interplay of Water and SABRE Enhancement

Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange in SHield Enabled Alignment Transfer (SABRE-SHEATH) is investigated to achieve rapid hyperpolarization of ¹³C₁ spins of [1-¹³C]pyruvate, using parahydrogen as the source of nuclear spin order. Pyruvate exchange with an iridium polarization transfer complex can be modulated via a sensitive interplay between temperature and co-ligation of DMSO and H₂O. Order-unity ¹³C (>50 %) polarization of catalyst-bound [1-¹³C]pyruvate is achieved in less than 30 s by restricting the chemical exchange of [1-¹³C]pyruvate at lower temperatures. On the catalyst bound pyruvate, 39 % polarization is measured using a 1.4 T NMR spectrometer, and extrapolated to >50 % at the end of build-up in situ. The highest measured polarization of a 30-mM pyruvate sample, including free and bound pyruvate is 13 % when using 20 mM DMSO and 0.5 M water in CD₃OD. Efficient ¹³C polarization is also enabled by favorable relaxation dynamics in sub-microtesla magnetic fields, as indicated by fast polarization buildup rates compared to the T₁ spin-relaxation rates (e. g., ∼0.2 s⁻¹ versus ∼0.1 s⁻¹, respectively, for a 6 mM catalyst-[1-¹³C]pyruvate sample). Finally, the catalyst-bound hyperpolarized [1-¹³C]pyruvate can be released rapidly by cycling the temperature and/or by optimizing the amount of water, paving the way to future biomedical applications of hyperpolarized [1-¹³C]pyruvate produced via comparatively fast and simple SABRE-SHEATH-based approaches.     

Evaluation of the Long‐term Cumulative UVA Facial Exposure of Queensland School Teachers derived for an Extended Period from the OMI Satellite Irradiance

This research presents a novel methodology for deriving the total daily broadband solar UVA (320–400 nm) received by school teachers during their working day from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite solar noon UVA irradiance measurements for a Queensland subtropical site (27.5°S, 152°E). Daily UVA exposures are weighted to the anatomical human cheek (anterior infra‐orbital region) for teachers wearing and not wearing broad‐brimmed hats. The method utilizes the OMI UVA irradiance data collected daily at high temporal resolution over 2005 to 2016 to derive the total daily UVA exposure to a horizontal plane. These horizontal plane exposures are scaled by factors to take into account the timing of outdoor activity. The relationship between exposures to a horizontal plane and those to a vertical plane and the protection provided by a broad‐brimmed hat was assessed to evaluate the total daily UVA exposures to the cheek for classroom and physical education teaching staff expected to be outside at different periods of the day. The developed method enables the total daily UVA exposure to specific anatomical sites to be evaluated from the satellite solar noon irradiance at locations that do not have access to surface‐based instrumentation capable of recording in the solar UVA waveband.