Control of chaos in atomic force microscopes using delayed feedback based on entropy minimization

Active chaos control of a tapping mode atomic force microscope (AFM) model via delayed feedback method is presented. The feedback gain is obtained and adapted according to a minimum entropy (ME) algorithm. In this method, stabilizing an unstable fixed point of the system Poincare map is achieved by minimizing the entropy of points distribution on the Poincare section. Simulation results show the feasibility of the proposed method in applying the delayed feedback technique for chaos control of an AFM system.     

Mathematical study of a bacteria–fish model with level of infection structure

In this paper, we propose a mathematical model to study a bacteria–fish system, based upon the interactions between Clostridium botulinum and tilapia, Oerochromis mossambicus. The fish population is divided into susceptible and infected, and the infected fish population is considered structured by the level of infection. The model is thus a system with the infected fish equation being an evolution equation, while those corresponding to the susceptible fish and bacteria in water are ordinary differential equations. The model is firstly transformed into a system with distributed delay for susceptible fish and bacteria and, further, under some assumptions, into a system with discrete delay. The study of this system gives us some results concerning the existence, uniqueness, positivity and boundedness of solutions; we also discuss the existence and stability of its equilibrium points, including conditions for the appearance of Hopf bifurcation. The theoretical results are illustrated by some numerical simulations.     

Three-dimensional opal-like silica foams

The synthesis of novel meso-/macroporous SiO2 monoliths by combining a nano-building-blocks-based approach with the confined geometry of a tailored air-liquid foam structure is described. The resulting macrostructure in which ordered close-packed colloidal silica nanoparticles constitute the monolith's scaffolds very closely resembles the tailored periodic air-liquid foam template. The void spaces between adjacent particles create textural mesoporosity; therefore, the as-prepared silica networks are characterized by hierarchical porosity at the macroscopic and mesoscopic length scales. The fine-tuning of both the liquid foam's fraction and the bubble size allows a rational design over the macroscopic cell morphologies (shape, Plateau border's length, and width). Striking results of this approach are the weak shrinkage of the as-synthesized opal-like scaffolds during the thermally induced sintering process and, in contrast with previous studies, the formation of closed-cell structures. Particle organization and the foam film surface roughness are investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), showing the influence of the liquid flow, within the foams' Plateau borders and films, on the final assemblies.     

Influence of urea additives on micellar morphology/protein conformation

The present study highlights the fact that the effect of additives (urea, monomethylurea, thiourea) on the supramolecular assemblies and proteins is strikingly similar. To investigate the effect, a viscometeric study on sphere-to-rod transition (s-->r) was undertaken in a system (3.5% tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide+0.05 M NaBr + 1-pentanol [P.M. Lindemuth, G.L. Bertand, J. Phys. Chem. 97 (1993) 7769]) in the presence and absence of the said additives. [1-pentanol] needed for s-->r (i.e. [1-pentanol]s-->r) was determined from the relative viscosity versus [1-pentanol] profiles. It was observed that the additives preponed as well as postponed s-->r depending upon their nature and concentrations. These effects are explained in terms of increased polarity of the medium and the adsorption ability of urea/monomethylurea on the charged surfactant monomers of the micelle. In case of thiourea, postponement of s-->r was observed throughout which is attributed to its structure. To derive an analogy between micelles and proteins the additive-induced conformational changes of the protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA) was taken to monitor secondary structural changes and tryptophanyl fluorescence. A marked increase in secondary structure (far-UVCD) and increased tryptophanyl fluorescence with a marked blue shift in lambdamax was observed in presence of low concentrations of urea or alkylurea. This indicates that a more compact environment is created in presence of these additives, if added judiciously. Addition of thiourea to BSA caused a marked quenching without any significant change in lambdamax. The large decrease in tryptophanyl emission in presence of low thiourea concentrations seems to be specific and related to thiourea structure as no corresponding changes were observed in urea/alkylurea. All these effects pertaining to protein behavior fall in line with that of morphological observations on the present as well as surfactant systems studied earlier [S. Kumar, N. Parveen, Kabir-ud-Din, J. Phys. Chem. B 108 (2004) 9588].     

Ion sampling effects under conditions of total solvent consumption

The motivation of this work was to study some of the properties of nanoelectrospray operation under conditions where the entire sprayed liquid is vaporized and inhaled into the vacuum system. Under these conditions the desolvation requirements, sampling efficiency, concentration versus mass sensitivity, and molar response characteristics of various compounds were studied. The combined efficiency of ion production from solution and transfer into the vacuum system, referred to as sampling efficiency, is presented under various inlet conditions including different flow rates, solution compositions, and compound types. Under ideal solvent conditions the results for favorable compounds show sampling efficiencies of 70-85% at flows in the range of 50-500 nL/min. Efficiencies were lower for aqueous samples and compounds of different structures gave different molar response factors under these high sampling efficiency conditions. The relative molar response factors are presented in terms of those observed with higher flow rate sources which operate at significantly lower sampling efficiencies. In all cases, operating in this flow regime, the ion count rate was directly proportional to the absolute mass of analyte molecules entering the source. The experimental source used to carry out these studies included gas nebulization to stabilize the electrospray process, a heated laminar flow chamber to enhance desolvation and ion production, and various atmosphere-to-vacuum aperture diameters to maximize ion transfer.     

Application of inorganic oxidants to the spectrophotometric determination of ribavirin in bulk and capsules

Eight spectrophotometric methods for determination of ribavirin have been developed and validated. These methods were based on the oxidation of the drug by different inorganic oxidants: ceric ammonium sulfate, potassium permanganate, ammonium molybdate, ammonium metavanidate, chromium trioxide, potassium dichromate, potassium iodate, and potassium periodate. The oxidation reactions were performed in perchloric acid medium for ceric ammonium sulfate and in sulfuric acid medium for the other reagents. With ceric ammonium sulfate and potassium permanganate, the concentration of ribavirin in its samples was determined by measuring the decrease in the absorption intensity of the colored reagents at 315 and 525 nm, respectively. With the other reagents, the concentration of ribavirin was determined by measuring the intensity of the developed colored reaction products at the wavelengths of maximum absorbance: 675, 780, 595, 595, 475, and 475 nm for reactions with ammonium molybdate, ammonium metavanidate, chromium trioxide, potassium dichromate, potassium iodate, and potassium periodate, respectively. Different variables affecting the reaction conditions were carefully studied and optimized. Under the optimum conditions, linear relationships with good correlation coefficients (0.9984-0.9998) were found between the absorbance readings and the concentrations of ribavirin in the range of 4-1400 microg/mL. The molar absorptivities were correlated with the oxidation potential of the oxidants used. The precision of the methods were satisfactory; the values of relative standard deviation did not exceed 1.64%. The proposed methods were successfully applied to the analysis of ribavirin in pure drug material and capsules with good accuracy and precision; the recovery values were 99.2-101.2 +/- 0.48-1.30%. The results obtained using the proposed spectrophotometric methods were comparable with those obtained with the official method stated in the United States Pharmacopeia.     

1,3,4‐Thiadiazole, 1,3,4‐thiadiazine, 1,3,6‐thiadiazepane and quinoxaline derivatives from symmetrical hydrazine‐1,2‐dicarbothioamide as well as N,N″‐ethane‐1,2‐diylbis(thiourea) derivatives

Reactions of N,N′‐disubstituted hydrazine‐1,2‐carbothioamides 8a‐c and substituted N,N″‐ethane‐1,2‐diylbis(thioureas) 9a‐c with 2,3,5,6‐tetrachloro‐1,4‐benzoquinone (chloranil, 10a ) and 2,3,5,6‐tetrabromo‐1,4‐benzoquinone (bromanil, 10b ) to form N,N′‐disubstituted 1,3,4‐thiadiazole‐2,5‐diamines 11a‐c , substituted 3‐amino‐6,7‐dichloro‐2,3‐dihydro‐1H‐4,2,1‐benzothiadiazine‐5,8‐diones 12a‐c , 2,3,7,8‐tetrahalothianthrene‐1,4,6,9‐tetrones 13a,b , substituted 5,6,8‐trihalo‐7‐oxo‐3,7‐dihydroquinoxaline‐2H‐carbothioamides 14a‐c, 15a‐c and 7‐substituted imino‐1,3,6‐thiadiazepane‐2‐thiones 16a‐c are reported.     

Spectral regression and correlation coefficients of some benzaldimines and salicylaldimines in different solvents

Sixteen Schiff bases obtained from the condensation of benzaldehyde or salicylaldehyde with various amines (aniline, 4-carboxyaniline, phenylhydrazine, 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, ethylenediamine, hydrazine, o-phenylenediamine and 2,6-pyridinediamine) are studied with UV-vis spectroscopy to observe the effect of solvents, substituents and other structural factors on the spectra. The bands involving different electronic transitions are interpreted. Computerized analysis and multiple regression techniques were applied to calculate the regression and correlation coefficients based on the equation that relates peak position lambda(max) to the solvent parameters that depend on the H-bonding ability, refractive index and dielectric constant of solvents.     

Antioxidant activity of two wild edible mushrooms (Morchella vulgaris and Morchella esculanta) from North Turkey

The ethanol extracts of Morchella vulgaris (EEMV) and Morchella esculanta (EEME) were analysed for their antioxidant activities in different systems including reducing power, free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, total antioxidant activity, and metal chelating activity. EEMV and EEME had similar reducing power, free radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, and metal chelating activity at concentrations of 50, 100, and 150 microg/mL. These various antioxidant activities were compared to standard antioxidants such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and alpha-tocopherol. The percent inhibition of different concentrations of EEMV on peroxidation in the linoleic acid system was 85 and 87 % respectively, which was greater than that of 100 and 250 microg/mL of alpha-tocopherol (50 and 77%, respectively) and similar to 250 microg/mL of BHA (85, 87%, respectively). The percent inhibition of different concentrations of EEME on peroxidation in the linoleic acid system was 80 and 87 % respectively, which was greater than that of 100 and 250 microg/mL of alpha-tocopherol (50, 77%) and similar to 250 microg/mL BHA (87%). On the other hand, the percent inhibition of 100 and 250 microg/mL of BHT was 97 and 99%, respectively. In addition, the total phenolic compounds in EEMV and EEME were determined as gallic acid equivalents.     

Anion complexation by calix[3]thieno[1]pyrrole: the medium effect

The interaction of calix[3]thieno[1]pyrrole, 1, and halide and dihydrogen phosphate anions in a variety of solvents (acetonitrile, propylene carbonate, N,N-dimethylformamide, and dimethyl sulfoxide) has been investigated through 1H NMR, conductance measurements, and titration calorimetry. 1H NMR measurements reveal the sites of interaction of the ligand with the anions in CD3CN while the composition of the complex was determined through conductance measurements. A quantitative assessment of anion-ligand interactions is provided. Thus the thermodynamics of complexation of 1 with halide and dihydrogen phosphate anions in dipolar aprotic media at 298.15 K is reported. These data are interpreted in terms of the thermodynamics of transfer of reactants and product from a reference solvent (acetonitrile) to other solvents. The crucial role played by the solvent on the ability of the ligand to interact with anions and on the composition of the complex is demonstrated.