Reaction of naphthalene‐2,3‐dicarbaldehyde with cyanide; A unique oxidative condensation product

Naphthalene‐2,3‐dicarbaldehyde (NDA), a reagent used for the fluorescent detection of amino acids in the presence of cyanide, self‐condenses in the presence of cyanide ion and methanol at room temperature to yield a unique crystalline product 2, 15‐hydroxybenzo[g]benzo[6,7]isochromeno[4,3‐c]isochromen‐7(15H)‐one. The product is proposed to result from facile air oxidation of NDA to a methyl ester in combination with benzoin condensation. Product 2 does not to form in the absence of air. The gHMBC spectrum of 2 distinguishes it from a possible alternative isomeric condensation product.     

A coupling cutting stock-lot sizing problem in the paper industry

An important production programming problem arises in paper industries coupling multiple machine scheduling with cutting stocks. Concerning machine scheduling: how can the production of the quantity of large rolls of paper of different types be determined. These rolls are cut to meet demand of items. Scheduling that minimizes setups and production costs may produce rolls which may increase waste in the cutting process. On the other hand, the best number of rolls in the point of view of minimizing waste may lead to high setup costs. In this paper, coupled modeling and heuristic methods are proposed. Computational experiments are presented.     

Advances in pulsed-laser atom probe: instrument and specimen design for optimum performance.

The performance of the pulsed-laser atom probe can be limited by both instrument and specimen factors. The experiments described in this article were designed to identify these factors so as to provide direction for further instrument and specimen development. Good agreement between voltage-pulsed and laser-pulsed data is found when the effective pulse fraction is less than 0.2 for pulsed-laser mode. Under the conditions reported in this article, the thermal tails of the peaks in the mass spectra did not show any significant change when produced with either a 10-ps or a 120-fs pulsed-laser source. Mass resolving power generally improves as the laser spot size and laser wavelength are decreased and as the specimen tip radius, specimen taper angle, and thermal diffusivity of the specimen material are increased. However, it is shown that two of the materials used in this study, aluminum and stainless steel, depend on these factors differently. A one-dimensional heat flow model is explored to explain these differences. The model correctly predicts the behavior of the aluminum samples, but breaks down for the stainless steel samples when the tip radius is large. A more accurate three-dimensional model is needed to overcome these discrepancies.     

Synthesis and characterization of surrogate nuclear explosion debris: urban glass matrix

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - We report a study of a fast radiochemical method to determine the activity of 131I via the radiochemical recovery obtained with a 129I tracer....     

Novel liquid crystalline organic semiconducting oligomers incorporating N-heterocyclic carbazole moieties for fluorescent OLEDs

A novel class of nematic liquid crystalline organic semiconducting oligomers incorporating N-heterocyclic carbazole moieties has been synthesised using simple and highly efficient reaction pathways. The electroluminescent colour of these novel oligomers can be varied in a controlled manner by molecular design. The values of the ionisation potential and the electron affinity of these electroluminescent oligomers can also be matched by structural design to the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) energy level of the electron-blocking layer and the Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) energy level of electron-transporting layer in the Organic light emitting diodes to create low charge-injection barriers for electrons and holes, respectively leading to electroluminescence with an efficacy up to 4.1 cd A^?1.     

Formation of catalytic silver nanoparticles supported on branched polyethyleneimine derivatives

A new and straightforward method for screening highly catalytically active silver nanoparticle-polymer composites derived from branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) is reported. The one-step systematic derivatization of the PEI scaffold with alkyl (butyl or octyl) and ethanolic groups led to a structural diversity correlated to the stabilization of silver nanoparticles and catalysis. Analysis of PEI derivative libraries identified a silver nanoparticle-polymer composite that was able to efficiently catalyze the p-nitrophenol reduction by NaBH(4) in water with a rate constant normalized to the surface area of the nanoparticles per unit volume (k(1)) of 0.57 s(-1) m(-2) L. Carried out in the presence of excess NaBH(4), the catalytic reaction was observed to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics and the apparent rate constant was linearly dependent on the total surface area of the silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs), indicating that catalysis takes place on the surface of the nanoparticles. All reaction kinetics presented induction periods, which were dependent on the concentration of substrates, the total surface of the nanoparticles, and the polymer composition. All data indicated that this induction time is related to the resistance to substrate diffusion through the polymer support. Hydrophobic effects are also assumed to play an important role in the catalysis, through an increase in the local substrate concentration.     

Evaluation of the effects of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus on inoculated citrus plants using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and chemometrics tools

This study investigated the organic and inorganic constituents of healthy leaves and Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas)-inoculated leaves of citrus plants. The bacteria CLas are one of the causal agents of citrus greening (or Huanglongbing) and its effect on citrus leaves was investigated using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) combined with chemometrics. The information obtained from the LIBS spectra profiles with chemometrics analysis was promising for the construction of predictive models to identify healthy and infected plants. The major, macro- and microconstituents were relevant for differentiation of the sample conditions. The models were then applied to different inoculation times (from 1 to 8 months). The models were effective in the classification of 82-97% of the diseased samples with a 95% significance level. The novelty of this method was in the fingerprinting of healthy and diseased plants based on their organic and inorganic contents.     

Synthesis and evaluation of fully (5-amidoisophthalic acid)-functionalised polyacrylamides as selective inhibitors of the beta crystal polymorph of l-glutamic acid

Poly-N-5-acrylamidoisophthalic acid (4), poly-N-(5-(N′-(3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)carbamoyl)pentyl)acrylamide (10a) and poly-N-(11-(N′-(3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)carbamoyl)undecyl)acrylamide (10b) were prepared and assessed as polymorph-selective crystallization inhibitors of the stable β form of l-glutamic acid. Polymerization was carried out as the final step in the preparation of 10a and 10b to ensure the preparation of fully functionalized polymers. Polymers 4, 10a and 10b were effective as complete inhibitors of the stable β form of l-glutamic acid in quantities of 0.5% w/w or greater, whereas the corresponding ‘monomeric’ additives 2 and 11 required quantities of 3% or greater to completely inhibit the β form, demonstrating a cooperative binding effect by the polymeric additives. Within the series of polymers 4, 10a and 10b, polymer 10a, which features a short tethering chain, was the most effective.