Sorption of divalent metal ions on CrPO4

The divalent metal ion sorption (Cu(2+), Cd(2+), Ni(2+), and Pb(2+)) on chromium phosphate (CrPO(4)) was studied as a function of pH, temperature, and concentration of metal ions. The sorption of metal ions is observed to increase with the increase in pH, temperature, and concentration of metal ions in solution. The mechanism of sorption is found to be the exchange of the hydrolyzed metal cations with the protons from solid at high temperature. The sorption at low temperature is found to be accompanied by the precipitation of the corresponding metal phosphates such as Pb(3)(PO(4))(2).     

Calculation of enthalpies of hydrogenation of hydrocarbons

Sets of hydrogen molecule equivalents have been developed which permit the calculation of hydrogenation of different types of carbon-carbon bonds from ab initio total energies (3-21G and 6-31G* basis sets, and, to a more limited extent, for MP2/6-31G* data) of reactants and products. The calculated enthalpies of hydrogenation are in good agreement with experiment for unstrained molecules, with average errors on the order of 2 kcal/mol. The 6-31G* equivalents allow the enthalpies for strained molecules to be calculated accurately, but the 3-21G equivalents do not. The equivalents for both basis sets have been tested by calculating the enthalpies of hydrogenation of carbon-carbon bonds in nitrogen- and oxygen-containing organic molecules, free radicals, and classical carbocations. The results are in good agreement with experiment in most cases.     

Synthesis of 2-ferrocenylidene-4-cyclopentene-1,3-diones

A squarate-based synthesis of 2-ferrocenylidene-4-cyclopentene-1,3-diones is described. When refluxed in dioxane at 100 °C, heated with silica gel as a solvent free grinded solid mixture at 125 °C or stirred with silica gel in ethyl acetate at room temperature, 4-ferrocenylethynyl-4-hydroxy-2-cyclobutenones, prepared from ethynylferrocene and 3-cyclobutene-1,2-diones, afforded 2-ferrocenylidene-4-cyclopentene-1,3-diones as the major or single product of the reaction. In some cases, ferrocenyl quinones also resulted from these reactions as the minor products. The major or exclusive formation of 2-ferrocenylidene-4-cyclopentene-1,3-diones is attributed to the radical-stabilizing ability of the ferrocenyl group.     

The Synthesis of Novel Methotrexate-like Compounds

Summary. Methotrexate (MTX) is a folate antagonist used in treatment of several chronic inflammatory and neoplastic conditions. In this study, new MTX-like compounds that may-be potential anticancer agents were synthesized and their structures were determined by IR, UV, GC-MS, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR spectra. Also, in this study, a series structurally related to MTX or folate analogous compounds were evaluated whether they have inhibitory properties on the dihydrofolate reductase activity (DHFR).     

Synthesis and Antibacterial Activity of Some Substituted 3-(Aryl)- and 3-(Heteroaryl)indoles

Summary. A synthesis of 3-(4-methoxycarbonyl-2,6-dinitrophenyl)indole, its 2,6-diamino analog, and 3-(2-amino-4-trifluoromethyl-6-nitrophenyl)indole is described. 4-(Trifluoromethyl)phenyl derivatives exhibit higher antibacterial potency than the former 4-(methoxycarbonyl)phenyl homologs, while 3-(4-trifluoromethyl-2-nitrophenyl)indole was the most active agent in the series, with MIC ≈ 7 μg/cm³ against E. coli and S. aureus.     

Perfluoroalkylated eight- and nine-membered benzoheterocycles from F-2-methyl-2-pentene

The reactions of $\text{F}$-2-methyl-2-pentene (1) with several $\text{ortho}$- difunctional benzenes afforded eight- and nine-membered benzoheterocyclic compounds carrying perfluoroalkyl groups. Salicylic acid, salicylaldehyde, and their methyl or chloro derivatives reacted in triethylamine-acetonitrile system giving perfluoroalkylated 2H,6H-1,5-benzodioxocin-2,6-dione (8) and 4H,6H-1,5-benzodioxocin (9) compounds respectively, while phthalyl alcohol and o-hydroxyphenethyl alcohol in triethylamine-diethyl ether system gave perfluoroalkylated 1H,3H,7H-2,6- and 4H,6H,7H-1,5-benzodioxonin compounds, (10) and (11). o-Aminobenzyl alcohol and (1) in diethyl ether afforded a perfluoroalkylated benzoxazocinobenzoxazocinone compound (15).     

Factorial design in the optimization of preconcentration procedure for lead determination by FAAS

The present paper proposes a preconcentration procedure for lead determination using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). It is based on lead(II) ions extraction as brilliant cresyl blue (BCB) complex and its sorption onto Diaion HP-2MG, a methacrylic ester copolymer. The optimization step was carried out using factorial design and the variables studied were pH, shaking time and reagent concentration. In the established experimental conditions, lead can be determinate with a limit of detection of 3.7 μg L⁻¹ lead (N = 20) and a relative standard deviation of 7% for a lead concentration of 100 μg L⁻¹. The accuracy was confirmed by analysis of a certified reference material, the stream sediment furnished by National Research Centre for Certified Reference Materials (NRCCRM), China (GBW 07310). Effect of other ions in the procedure proposed was also studied. The method was applied for lead determination in real samples of water, tea, soil and dust. Tests of addition/recovery in the experiments for lead determination in water samples revealed that the proposed procedure could be applied satisfactorily for analysis of these samples.     

Exogenous Application of Green Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) to Improve the Germination,Physiochemical, and Yield Parameters of Wheat Plants under Salinity Stress

Agriculture is the backbone of every developing country. Among various crops, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) belongs to the family Poaceae and is the most important staple food crop of various countries. Different biotic (viruses, bacteria and fungi) and abiotic stresses (water logging, drought and salinity) adversely affect the qualitative and quantitative attributes of wheat. Among these stresses, salinity stress is a very important limiting factor affecting the morphological, physiological, biochemical attributes and grain yield of wheat. This research work was carried out to evaluate the influence of phytosynthesized TiO₂ NPs on the germination, physiochemical, and yield attributes of wheat varieties in response to salinity. TiO₂ NPs were synthesized using TiO₂ salt and a Buddleja asiatica plant extract as a reducing and capping agent. Various concentrations of TiO₂ nanoparticles (20, 40, 60 and 80 mg/L) and salt solutions (NaCl) (100 and 150 mM) were used. A total of 20 mg/L and 40 mg/L improve germination attributes, osmotic and water potential, carotenoid, total phenolic, and flavonoid content, soluble sugar and proteins, proline and amino acid content, superoxide dismutase activity, and reduce malondialdhehyde (MDA) content at both levels of salinity. These two concentrations also improved the yield attributes of wheat varieties at both salinity levels. The best results were observed at 40 mg/L of TiO₂ NPs at both salinity levels. However, the highest concentrations (60 and 80 mg/L) of TiO₂ NPs showed negative effects on germination, physiochemical and yield characteristics and causes stress in both wheat varieties under control irrigation conditions and salinity stress. Therefore, in conclusion, the findings of this research are that the foliar application of TiO₂ NPs can help to improve tolerance against salinity stress in plants.     

Melting heat transfer in the stagnation‐point flow of an upper‐convected Maxwell (UCM) fluid past a stretching sheet

The steady laminar boundary layer flow and heat transfer past a stretching sheet arre considered. Upper‐convected Maxwell (UCM) fluid is treated as a rheological model. The resulting nonlinear differential system is solved by homotopy analysis method (HAM). The influence of melting parameter (M), Prandtl number (Pr), Deborah number (β) and stretching ratio (A = a/c) on the velocity and temperature profiles is thoroughly examined. It is noticed that fields are effected appreciably with the variation of parameters. Furthermore, it is seen that the local Nusselt number is a decreasing function of melting parameter. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Approximation of transformation media-based reshaping action by genetic optimization

The aim of this paper is to study the laser-induced backside wet cleaning techniques for glass substrates. Two kinds of laser cleaning techniques are proposed in this study. The first involves applying an Nd:YAG laser to the backside of the substrate which is submerged in water. A metal plate is placed below the glass substrate. Most of the laser energy will be absorbed by the metal plate. The metal then vaporizes the water and generates a turbulent bubble flow. The bubble flow removes the alumina particles from the surface of the glass substrate. The second involves using a CO₂ laser to generate turbulent bubble flow to remove the particles. Both methods were successfully demonstrated for the removal of submicron particles of 0.5 μm in size. The phenomena of bubble generation and diffusion are presented in the paper. Because the laser is applied to the backside of the substrate, the damage due to the laser heat can be significantly reduced. The quality and efficient of the backside processing is better than those of the front side processing. The proposed techniques have great potential to provide an improved solution for glass cleaning.