Basic structures of the Shilnikov homoclinic bifurcation scenario

We find numerically small scale basic structures of homoclinic bifurcation curves in the parameter space of the Chua circuit. The distribution of these basic structures in the parameter space and their geometrical properties constitute a complete homoclinic bifurcation scenario of this system. Furthermore, these structures and the scenario are theoretically demonstrated to be generic to a large class of dynamical systems that presents, as the Chua circuit, Shilnikov homoclinic orbits. We classify the complexity of primary and subsidiary homoclinic orbits by their order given by the number of their returning loops. Our results confirm previous predictions of structures of homoclinic bifurcation curves and extend this study to high order primary orbits. Furthermore, we identify accumulations of bifurcation curves of subsidiary homoclinic orbits into bifurcation curves of both primary and subsidiary orbits.     

On some low separation axioms via λ-open and λ-closure operator

In this paper, we introduce and study two new low separation axioms called λ-R ₀ and λ-R ₁ by using the notions of λ-open sets and λ-closure operator.     

More on Weak α-Openness

In [6] the authors, introduced the notion of weak -openness and investigated its fundamental properties. In this paper we investigate some more properties of this type of openness. In this connection, we obtain a new decomposition of -openness and it is also shown that weakly -open bijections preserve clopen sets.     

Co-production of Fructooligosaccharides and Levan by Levansucrase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus subtilis</Emphasis> natto with Potential Application in the Food Industry

Fructooligosaccharides and levan have a wide range of applications in the food industry due to their physiological and functional properties. The enzymatic synthesis of these molecules exhibits great advantages when compared with microbial fermentation. In this study, the production of levansucrase from Bacillus subtilis natto and its utilization in fructooligosaccharides and levan syntheses using different reaction conditions were described. The best condition for levansucrase production was 420.7 g L^?1 of sucrose at pH 7.0, which reached 23.9 U ml^?1 of transfructosylation activity. In a bioreactor, the highest production of fructooligosaccharides was 41.3 g L^?1 using a medium containing 350 g L^?1 sucrose at 35 °C for 36 h. The enzymatic synthesis of levan resulted in 86.9 g L^?1 when conditions similar to those used for fructooligosaccharides synthesis were applied. These results indicate that the levansucrase from B. subtilis natto could be applied for the co-production of fructooligosaccharides and levan, which are biomolecules that have health benefits and are used successfully in the food industry.     

Palladium-catalyzed tandem Heck-lactonization from o-iodophenols and enoates: synthesis of coumarins and the study of the mechanism by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The tandem Heck-lactonization reaction between enoates Z-1a,b, E-1a, E-2a-d, Z-2e, 2f, and o-iodophenols (4a-f) was studied in the presence of substoichiometric amounts of Pd(OAc)(2) or PdCl(2), under experimental conditions favoring the cationic mechanism (conditions A, B, and C), leading to coumarins 5a-f and 6a-e. Moderate to excellent yields were obtained under aqueous conditions (conditions A and B). Using electrospray ionization for transferring ions directly from solution to the gas phase, and mass spectrometry for structural assignments, key cationic palladium intermediates have been successfully intercepted and structurally characterized for the first time for this type of reaction.     

Monitoring the quality of frying oils using a nanolayer coated optical fiber refractometer

The analysis of the quality of food oils is of paramount importance, because the degradation of oils can lead to formation of harmful substances to the human organism. With the increase of the degradation of oils an increase of its refractive index occurs. The objective of this work is to develop and to characterize optical fiber refractometers sensitive to variations of refractive index of food oil samples. The optical fiber refractometers thanks to the intrinsic characteristics make them suitable for monitoring the quality of frying oils. They possess the advantages to require small volumes of sample for analysis, do not contaminate the sample, and supply the response in real time. In this work a long period grating (LPG) as refractometer is used because of their sensitivity to refractive index of the external media: degraded and not degraded frying oil samples. The oil samples had been characterized by the analysis of total polar components. The refractive index of oil is above 1.47, this region the LPG does not show enough sensitivity, a nanolayer of an organic material was coated onto the fiber. Using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique the response of LPG is modified according to the refractive index and thickness of the film. The deposition of the film modifies the rates effective modes of cladding, thus improving the response of the changes in the refractive index of the external media higher than that the refractive index of the cladding (n = 1.457).     

Periodic window arising in the parameter space of an impact oscillator

In the bi-dimensional parameter space of an impact-pair system, shrimp-shaped periodic windows are embedded in chaotic regions. We show that a weak periodic forcing generates new periodic windows near the unperturbed one with its shape and periodicity. Thus, the new periodic windows are parameter range extensions for which the controlled periodic oscillations substitute the chaotic oscillations. We identify periodic and chaotic attractors by their largest Lyapunov exponents.     

Luminescence-Based Optical Fiber Chemical Sensors

A scheme for the simultaneous determination of temperature and analyte concentration for application in luminescence-based chemical sensors is proposed. This scheme is applied to an optical oxygen sensor, which is based on the quenching of the fluorescence of a ruthenium complex. Temperature measurement is performed using the excitation radiation and an absorption long-pass filter. Preliminary results are presented that show the viability of an oxygen measurement that is independent of temperature and optical power level. The possibility of self-referenced temperature measurements with semiconductor nanoparticles is also investigated. In order to optimize the sensor design, several different optical fiber probe geometries for oxygen sensing are tested and compared, including different methods of coupling radiation into the optical fiber system. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyacrylamide membranes are tested as supports for sensor immobilization in fiber-optical pH sensing devices in aqueous solution. Some results are presented that show the feasibility of using fiber-optical pH indicators for remote monitoring.