Optical microscopy, DSC and X-ray diffraction studies in binary mixtures of 4-pentyloxy-4'-cyanobiphenyl with three 4,4'-di(alkoxy)azoxybenzenes

A large number of binary mixtures of 4-pentyloxy-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5OCB) and 4,4'-di(alkoxy)azoxybenzenes (nOAB) with n = 5, 6 and 7 have been studied by optical microscopy, DSC and X-ray diffraction methods. Over a wide concentration range the smectic A (SmA) phase is induced and the nematic (N) phase of the parent compounds is absent. Instead of the tilted smectic C phase of 7OAB an orthogonal SmA phase is observed when only 12% of the host molecules are replaced by 5OCB molecules. Moreover, in some mixtures the thermal stability of the induced SmA phase is found to be more than 1.6 times the stability of the mesophses in the pure compounds. The N-isotropic or Sm-I transition temperatures slowly increases with increasing concentrations, reaching a maximum at x _5OCB = 0.50 and then falling quite rapidly. In all the mixtures the enthalpy changes at the N-I transitions follow the simple additivity rule. In no mixture, except mixture C2, could the SmA-N transition be detected by DSC, although in all the mixtures the ratio T _NA/T _NI is found to be more than 0.95, which is in contradiction to McMillan's theory. Average intermolecular distances are found to have a minimum value near the equimolar concentration. From the concentration dependence of the smectic layer spacings it also appears that in all the mixtures the smectic A_d phase evolves from the smectic A₁ phase with increasing concentrations.     

Energy relaxation method for chemical non‐equilibrium flow computations

In this paper, an algorithm for chemical non‐equilibrium hypersonic flow is developed based on the concept of energy relaxation method (ERM). The new system of equations obtained are studied using finite volume method with Harten–Lax–van Leer scheme for contact (HLLC). The original HLLC method is modified here to account for additional species and split energy equations. Higher order spatial accuracy is achieved using MUSCL reconstruction of the flow variables with van Albada limiter. The thermal equilibrium is considered for the analysis and the species data are generated using polynomial correlations. The single temperature model of Dunn and Kang is used for chemical relaxation. The computed results for a flow field over a hemispherical cylinder at Mach number of 16.34 obtained using the present solver are found to be promising and computationally (25%) more efficient. The present solver captures physically correct solution as the entropy conditions are satisfied automatically during the computations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Luminescence characteristics and X‐ray crystal structure of [Cd(bipy)3][PF6]2 (bipy = 2,2′‐bipyridine)

The photoluminescence characteristics of the [Cd(bipy)₃][PF₆]₂ complex are reported. A moderately large quantum yield (φ) of 1.07 × 10^?2 is exhibited in acetonitrile solution at 298 K. Crystallography shows the dication to have a distorted octahedral geometry and the crystal structure to be stabilized by C? H···π and C? H···F interactions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exact results for spin dynamics and fractionalization in the Kitaev Model

We present certain exact analytical results for dynamical spin correlation functions in the Kitaev Model. It is the first result of its kind in nontrivial quantum spin models. The result is also novel: in spite of the presence of gapless propagating Majorana fermion excitations, dynamical two spin correlation functions are identically zero beyond nearest neighbor separation. This shows existence of a gapless but short range spin liquid. An unusual, all energy scale fractionalization of a spin-flip quanta, into two infinitely massive pi fluxes and a dynamical Majorana fermion, is shown to occur. As the Kitaev Model exemplifies topological quantum computation, our result presents new insights into qubit dynamics and generation of topological excitations.     

Regeneration of Dioscorea floribunda plants from cryopreserved encapsulated shoot tips: effect of plant growth regulators

The encapsulation-dehydration protocol for the cryopreservation of in vitro shoot tips of Dioscorea floribunda was optimized. Maximum survival of 87% was obtained when overnight pretreatment with 0.3 M sucrose was followed by encapsulation, preculture in 0.75 M sucrose for 4 d, dehydration in a laminar air flow for 5.5 h, quenching in liquid nitrogen and thawing at 40 degrees C. During recovery growth, 29% shoot formation was obtained when cryopreserved shoot tips were initially cultured for 25 d on a medium with 1.5 mg per liter (-1) BAP, 0.2 mg per liter(-1) NAA and 0.2 mg per liter(-1) GA3 followed by culturing for 15 d on a medium with reduced BAP (1 mg per liter(-1)) but increased NAA (0.5 mg per liter(-1)) and GA3 (0.3 mg per liter(-1)). Finally, transfer on to a medium with further reduced doses of BAP (0.05 mg per liter(-1)) and NAA (0.15 mg per liter(-1)) but without GA3 stimulated production of fully grown plantlets. All plants regenerated without callus formation. Modification of post-thaw culture media with plant growth regulators was essential for regrowth of shoot tips to plantlets.     

A note on the diffraction of an obliquely incident surface wave by a partially immersed fixed vertical barrier

The problem of the diffraction of surface waves, obliquely incident on a partially immersed fixed vertical barrier in deep water, is solved approximately by reducing it to the solution of an integral equation, for small angle of incidence of the incident wave. The corrections to the reflection and transmission coefficients over their normal incidence values for small angle of incidence are obtained and presented graphically for some intermediate values of wave numbers.     

Zwitterionic structures of selenocysteine-containing dipeptides and their interactions with Cu(II) ions

The molecular structures of a series of selenocysteine-containing dipeptides in their zwitterionic forms were studied using the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level in the aqueous phase. The B3LYP and BH and HLYP functionals in combination with 6-311++G(d,p) and LANL2DZ basis sets were used to investigate the effects of metal coordination on the structural and molecular properties of the dipeptides by complexing them with bivalent copper ions. The results from this DFT study provide valuable insights into the interaction enthalpies (metal ion-binding affinities) and free energies, the influence of the C-terminal moiety on the backbone structural features, the existence of various types of intramolecular H-bond interactions, harmonic vibrational frequencies, along with various other electronic properties pertaining to the zwitterions of the dipeptide molecules as well as their metallic complexes. Metal coordination via the carboxylate groups tends to enhance the planarity of the amide planes. The participations of the N- and C-terminal side-chain moieties in metal-binding markedly enhance the thermodynamic stability of the metalated dipeptides. The theoretical λ_maxvalues, calculated using the TD/DFT level for all the systems, well represent the occurrence of d-d transitions in the Cu-dipeptide complexes.     

Stability-indicating RP-HPLC method for simultaneous quantitation of tramadol and aceclofenac in presence of their major degradation products: Method development and validation

Primary objective of this study was to develop a stability-indicating reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for simultaneous quantitation of tramadol and aceclofenac in presence of their degradation products. The drugs were subjected to various International Conference on Harmonization recommended stress conditions, such as acid hydrolysis, alkaline hydrolysis, peroxide oxidation, thermolysis, and photolysis. The major degradation products got well resoluted from the analytes in HPLC analysis with a mobile phase composed of a mixture of 0.01?M ammonium acetate buffer (pH 6.5) and acetonitrile (65:35, v/v) through a Phenomenex Gemini C18 (250?mm?×?4.6?mm, 5?µm particle size) column. The method was linear over a range of 15–60?µg/mL for tramadol and 40–160?µg/mL for aceclofenac concentration. The analytes were detected at a wavelength of 270?nm. The method was validated and found to be specific, accurate, precise, stable, and robust for its intended use. The method can be recommended for its future use in routine quality control, accelerated and real-time stability analysis of the formulations containing tramadol and aceclofenac combination.     

Similarity of L-fuzzy Relations Based on L-topologies Induced by L-fuzzy Rough Approximation Operators

This paper proposes similarity of L-fuzzy relations based on L-topologies induced by L-fuzzy rough approximation operators. First, the notion L-fuzzy rough set is generalized and the relationship between generalized L-fuzzy rough sets and L-topologies on an arbitrary universe is investigated. It shows that Alexandrov L-topologies can be induced by L-fuzzy relations without any preconditions. Second, the concept of similarity of L-fuzzy relations is introduced and variations of an L-fuzzy relation are investigated. Third, algebraic structures on similarity of L-fuzzy relations are obtained. Finally, we prove that the subset of the transitive L-fuzzy relations similar to a fixed L-fuzzy relation is a complete distributive lattice.