Synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of a novel Cu(II) complex with the mixed ligands 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid and 2-aminopyridine

A novel bridged binuclear Cu(II) complex with mixed ligands, di-μ-(2-aminopyridine(N,N′))-bis[(2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate)aquacopper(II)] tetrahydrate, formulated as [Cu(μ-ap)(dipic)(H₂O)]₂·4H₂O (1) (dipic = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate, ap = 2-aminopyridine), has been synthesized and characterized by elemental, spectral (IR and UV–Vis.), thermal analysis, magnetic measurements and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The central Cu(II) ion resides on a centre of symmetry in a distorted square-pyramid coordination environment comprising of two N atoms, one from dipic and one from the ap ring, two carboxylate O atoms from dipic, and one O atom from water. Intermolecular N–HO and O–HO hydrogen bonds and π–π stacking interactions seem to be effective in the stabilization of the crystal structure. The free ligands and the complex were also evaluated for their antimicrobial and radical scavenging activities (DPPH = 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl hydrate) using in vitro microdilution methods. Antimicrobial screening of the free ligands and their complex showed that the free ligands and the complex possess antifungal activity against Candida sp.     

Neural networks approach for determining total claim amounts in insurance

In this study, we present an approach based on neural networks, as an alternative to the ordinary least squares method, to describe the relation between the dependent and independent variables. It has been suggested to construct a model to describe the relation between dependent and independent variables as an alternative to the ordinary least squares method. A new model, which contains the month and number of payments, is proposed based on real data to determine total claim amounts in insurance as an alternative to the model suggested by Rousseeuw et al. (1984) [Rousseeuw, P., Daniels, B., Leroy, A., 1984. Applying robust regression to insurance. Insurance: Math. Econom. 3, 67–72] in view of an insurer.     

Designing chaotic S-boxes based on time-delay chaotic system

S-box structures used in the encryption architecture are of great importance for constructing powerful block encryption systems, which hold an important place in modern cryptology. The design of S-boxes with sound cryptographic characteristics is of utmost importance for constructing powerful encryption systems. In this study, an S-box design algorithm based on time-delay chaotic systems is proposed. The proposed algorithm is considered relative to other algorithms in the literature as more useful according to such criteria as simplicity and efficient implementation. Theoretical analysis and computer simulations demonstrated that the proposed algorithm meets all the performance requirements for the S-box design criteria, and also verified the efficient and practical structure of the algorithm.     

Computational Studies on the Ground State Tautomer,Hydrogen Conformations and Vibrational Spectroscopic Analysis of Antitumor Agents:3-Deazauracil and 6-Azauracil

The ground state hydrogen conformations and vibrational analysis of 3-deazauracil (3DAU) and 6-azauracil (6AU) tautomers (4-enol and 2,4-diol forms) have been calculated using ab initio Hartree-Fock (HF) and density functional theory (B3LYP) methods with 6-311++G(d,p) basis set level. The calculations have shown that the most probably preferential tautomer of 3DAU and 6AU are the 4-enol form, which gives best fit to the corresponding experimental data. The ground state conformer of the 2,4-diol form has two O-H bonds which are oriented externally and internally (to the N-H bond). The vibrational analyses of the ground state conformer of each tautomeric form of 3DAU and 6AU were done and their optimized geometry parameters (bond lengths and bond angles) were given. Furthermore, from the correlations values it was concluded that the B3LYP method is superior to the HF method for both the vibrational frequencies and the geometric parameters.     

Efficiency analysis of organic Rankine cycle with internal heat exchanger using neural network

In this study, artificial neural network (ANN) has been used for efficiency analysis of the organic Rankine cycle with internal heat exchanger (IHEORC) using refrigerants R410a, R407c which do not damage to ozone layer. It is well known that the evaporator temperature, condenser temperature, subcooling temperature and superheating temperature affect the thermal efficiency of IHEORC. In this study, thermal efficiency is estimated depending on the above temperatures. The results of ANN are compared with actual results. The coefficient of determination values obtained when the test set were used to the networks were 0.99946 and 0.999943 for the R410a and R407c respectively which is very satisfactory.     

Fully automated cellular-resolution vertebrate screening platform with parallel animal processing

The zebrafish larva is an optically-transparent vertebrate model with complex organs that is widely used to study genetics, developmental biology, and to model various human diseases. In this article, we present a set of novel technologies that significantly increase the throughput and capabilities of our previously described vertebrate automated screening technology (VAST). We developed a robust multi-thread system that can simultaneously process multiple animals. System throughput is limited only by the image acquisition speed rather than by the fluidic or mechanical processes. We developed image recognition algorithms that fully automate manipulation of animals, including orienting and positioning regions of interest within the microscope's field of view. We also identified the optimal capillary materials for high-resolution, distortion-free, low-background imaging of zebrafish larvae.     

MR susceptibility artifact due to occupational cause: an unusual case

Susceptibility artefact is one of the magnetic resonance artefacts. It may occur due to ferromagnetic foreign bodies.We present an unusual artefact due to occupational reason.     

A switch based on self-assembled thymine

The DNA base thymine is deposited at 100?K on Cu(111) and investigated and manipulated by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy at 5?K. At submonolayer coverage paired rows are observed. At monolayer coverage a hexagonal commensurate self-assembled layer with the methyl group pointing away from the surface forms. A reversible local manipulation of molecules within the self-assembled layer is demonstrated. This manipulation is interpreted as an out-of-plane relaxation of molecules within the layer induced by the change of the adsorption geometry of individual molecules between two meta-stable orientations. A positive field of 2-4?V leads to this local change in the molecular arrangement, while a field larger than 4?V restores the original geometry.     

Preparation of bow tie–type methacrylated poly(caprolactone‐co‐lactic acid) scaffolds: effect of collagen modification on cell growth

A branched methacrylated poly(caprolactone‐co‐lactic acid) and methacrylated poly(tetramethylene ether glycol) (PTMG‐IEM) resins were synthesized. ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐FTIR) spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography confirmed the chemical structures of copolymers. The photoinitiated polymerization of formulation composed of various amounts of methacrylated poly(caprolactone‐co‐lactic acid), PTMG‐IEM, poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, water, and photoinitiator were performed. The curing reactions were followed by photo‐DSC (Differential scanning calorimetry). Gel fraction was calculated from the insoluble part and found as ≥93%. Swelling and contact angles were measured, and all increased with the increasing amount of PTMG‐IEM in network formulations. In vitro degradation studies were performed at 37 °C in phosphate‐buffered saline (pH 7.4). Collagen‐modified polymers were also prepared and introduced as a bioactive moiety to modify the polymer to enhance cell affinity. To compare the cell adhesion affinity to the polymer with and without collagen, cell growth experiments were performed. The results showed that collagen improves the cell adhesion onto the polymer surface. With the increasing amount of collagen, cell viability increases 86% (ECV304, p < 0.05) and 83% (3 T3, p < 0.05). Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Positive evolution families solving nonautonomous difference equations

We study nonautonomous linear difference equations via the corresponding abstract Cauchy problem. The domains of the associated operators are time dependent and do not contain a common core, so we have to prove wellposedness by a direct approach. In the periodic case we then investigate the asymptotics (in different topologies) of the corresponding evolution families using the Perron?CFrobenius theory for positive matrices combined with spectral decomposition methods. Finally, we show how flows in time-dependent networks can be treated within this framework.