SE‐30 Graphite Composite Electrode: An Alternative for the Development of Electrochemical Biosensors

A new graphite composite electrode was constructed by mixing graphite powder with chromatography stationary phase, SE‐30, as the binder. The electrochemical behavior of the new electrode has been evaluated and compared with that of traditional carbon paste electrode (CPE). The proposed electrode provides a remarkable increase in the rate of electron transfer of biomolecules such as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), cysteine, ascorbic acid and catechol and shows a low surface fouling effects. The electrode shows highly promising results when used as an amperometic sensor for biocompounds such as NADH.     

Recent progress of isocyanide-based multicomponent reactions in Iran

The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the contributions and recent advances made by Iranian scientists in the field of isocyanide-based reactions between 1999 and 2009. With over 100 publications during this period, Iranians are responsible for approximately 10% of all publications in the world involving isocyanide-based multicomponent reactions (IMCRs). Some important aspects of these IMCRs include the execution of reactions in green reaction mediums like water or ethanol, high atom economies, mild reaction conditions, high yields, and catalyst-free processes. On the other hand, in most of these reactions, new classes of heterocyclic compounds with potential biological and medicinal activities have been reported.     

Generation of near-infrared frequency combs from a MgF₂ whispering gallery mode resonator

We report on generation of a 20 nm wide, 35 GHz repetition rate optical frequency comb in a magnesium fluoride whispering gallery mode resonator pumped with 2 mW of 1543 nm light. The high efficiency of comb generation is associated with the small anomalous group velocity dispersion of the resonator. Growth dynamics of the comb is studied and compared with earlier theoretical predictions.     

Parametric oscillations in a whispering gallery resonator

We demonstrate strongly nondegenerate optical continuous-wave parametric oscillations in crystalline whispering gallery mode resonators fabricated from LiNbO3. The required phase matching is achieved by geometrical confinement of the modes in the resonator.     

Ultralow-threshold Raman lasing with CaF2 resonators

We demonstrate efficient Raman lasing with CaF2 whispering-gallery-mode resonators. Continuous-wave emission threshold is shown to be possible below 1 microW with a 5mm cavity, which is to our knowledge orders of magnitude lower than in any other Raman source. Low-threshold lasing is made possible by the ultrahigh optical quality factor of the cavity, of the order of Q=5x10(10). Stokes components of up to the fifth order were observed at a pump power of 160 microW, and up to the eighth order at 1 mW. A lasing threshold of 15 microW was also observed in a 100 microm CaF2 microcavity. Potential applications are discussed.     

A multistep collocation method for solving advection equations with delay

Advection equations with delay are appeared in the modeling of the dynamics of structured cell populations. In this article, we construct an efficient two-dimensional multistep collocation method for the numerical solution of a class of advection equations with delay. Equations with aftereffect and equations with both aftereffect and retardation of a state variable are considered. Computability of the algorithm and convergence properties of the proposed numerical method are analyzed for solutions in appropriate Sobolev spaces, and it is shown that the proposed scheme enjoys the spectral accuracy. Numerical examples are given and comparison with other existing methods in the literature is made to demonstrate the efficiency, superiority and high accuracy of the presented method.     

Enabling arbitrary wavelength frequency combs on chip

A necessary condition for generation of bright soliton Kerr frequency combs in microresonators is to achieve anomalous group velocity dispersion (GVD) for the resonator modes. This condition is hard to implement in the visible as well as ultraviolet since the majority of optical materials are characterized with large normal GVD in these wavelength regions. We overcome this challenge by borrowing ideas from strongly dispersive coupled systems in solid state physics and optics. We show that photonic compound ring resonators can possess large anomalous GVD at any desirable wavelength, even if each individual resonator is characterized with normal GVD. Based on this concept, we design a mode‐locked frequency comb with thin‐film silicon nitride compound ring resonators in the vicinity of the rubidium D₁ line (794.6 nm) and propose to use this optical comb as a flywheel for chip‐scale optical clocks.

     

Corrosion and biological behavior of nanostructured 316L stainless steel processed by severe plastic deformation

Nanostructured metals have different mechanical, chemical, and physical behaviors in comparison with the microstructured ones. Numerous research studies demonstrated that the biological behavior of nanostructured metallic implants was improved significantly. Concerning the nanostructured metals, decreasing the corrosion rate and the releasing of hazardous ions from metallic implants, and thus increasing the biocompatibility of implants are due to improving the native oxide layer. In the present study, nanostructured 316L stainless steel (biomedical grade) was manufactured via equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) method. To do so, the 316L stainless steel (SS) was exposed to the ECAP operation for eight passes. The impact of the ECAP process on corrosion behavior of SS samples was evaluated through performing the electrochemical polarization corrosion tests in Ringer's solution. Scanning electron microscopy was employed to study the surface morphology of common SS and ECAPed SS sample after the electrochemical polarization tests. Moreover, the biological behavior of the samples was evaluated via cell culture using fibroblast cells. The corrosion test results revealed a substantial decrease of corrosion rate from 3.12 (coarse‐grained sample) to 0.42 μA cm^?2 (for nanostructured). Furthermore, the cell proliferation in the interface of nanostructured sample and cell culture medium enhanced dramatically compared with the coarse‐grained one. The much better biological behavior of nanostructured SS sample in comparison with the coarse‐grained one is mostly due to the significant decrease of corrosion rate on the surface of SS samples, and the presence of much more chrome oxide on the surface of SS sample. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

1,3-Dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin as an efficient homogeneous catalyst for synthesis of benzoxazoles, benzimidazoles, and oxazolo[4,5-b]pyridines

Abstract  

A simple and highly efficient method for synthesis of benzoxazoles, benzimidazoles, and oxazolo[4,5-b]pyridines is described. Condensation of orthoesters with o-substituted anilines or 2-amino-3-hydroxypyridine was performed in the presence of catalytic amounts of commercially available, inexpensive, and moisture-stable 1,3-dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin under solvent-free conditions. The corresponding heterocycles were obtained in good to excellent yields. The main advantages of the present procedure are mild reaction conditions, short reaction times, high yields of products, easy work-up, and absence of solvent.     

Bifurcation analysis on a generalized recurrent neural network with two interconnected three-neuron components

A class of recurrent neural networks is constructed by generalizing a specific class of n-neuron networks. It is shown that the newly constructed network experiences generic pitchfork and Hopf codimension one bifurcations. It is also proved that the emergence of generic Bogdanov–Takens, pitchfork–Hopf and Hopf–Hopf codimension two, and the degenerate Bogdanov–Takens bifurcation points in the parameter space is possible due to the intersections of codimension one bifurcation curves. The occurrence of bifurcations of higher codimensions significantly increases the capability of the newly constructed recurrent neural network to learn broader families of periodic signals.