Synthesis of Iridium Oxide Nanotubes by Electrodeposition into Polycarbonate Template: Fabrication of Chromium(III) and Arsenic(III) Electrochemical Sensor

For the first time iridium oxide (IrO₂) nanotubes are synthesized by electrodeposition in a polycarbonate (PC) template. Potential cycling (90 cycles) between 0.0 and 0.9 V is used for the preparation of IrO_x nanotubes onto the PC template with a pore diameter of 100 nm. Field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images show, that IrO₂ nanotubes with uniform diameters of 110±10 nm and an estimated length of 1–3 µm are formed. The electrochemical properties and the electrocatalytic activity of a glassy carbon‐IrO_x nanotube modified electrode toward Cr³⁺ and As³⁺ oxidation are investigated. Finally, the modified electrode is used for micromolar detection of the proposed analytes using differential pulse voltammetry.     

Pseuduvarines A and B, two new cytotoxic dioxoaporphine alkaloids from Pseuduvaria rugosa

Pseuduvarines A (1) and B (2), two new dioxoaporphine alkaloids with an amino moiety, were isolated from the stem bark of Pseuduvaria rugosa and their structures were elucidated by combination of 2D-NMR spectroscopic analysis. Pseuduvarines A (1) and B (2) showed cytotoxicity against MCF7, HepG2, and HL-60 (1: IC??, 0.9, 21.7, and >50.0 μM, respectively, 2: IC?? >50.0, 15.7, and 12.4 μM, respectively).     

A new approach to the exact and approximate anharmonic vibrational partition function of diatomic and polyatomic molecules utilizing Morse and Rosen–Morse oscillators

Exact closed forms of the equilibrium partition functions in terms Jacobi elliptic functions are derived for a particle in a box and Rosen–Morse (Poschl–Teller) oscillator (perfect for modeling bending vibrational modes). An exact form of the equilibrium partition function of Morse oscillator is reported. Three other approximate forms of Morse partition function are presented. Having an exact closed‐form for the vibrational partition function can be very helpful in evaluating thermodynamic state functions, e.g., entropy, internal energy, enthalpy, and heat capacity. Moreover, the herein presented closed forms of the vibrational partition function can be used for obtaining spectroscopic and dynamical information through evaluating the two‐ and four‐point dipole moment time correlation functions in anharmonic media. Finally, a closed exact form of the rotational partition function of a particle on a ring in terms of the first kind of complete elliptic integral is derived. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Rational redesign of Candida antarctica lipase B for the ring opening polymerization of D,D-lactide

Based on molecular modelling, the enzyme Candida antarctica lipase B was redesigned as a catalyst for the ring opening polymerization of D,D-lactide. Two mutants with 90-fold increased activity as compared to the wild-type enzyme were created. In a preparative synthesis of poly(D,D-lactide) the mutants greatly improved the rate and the degree of polymerization.     

The use of umbelliferone in the synthesis of new heterocyclic compounds

New coumarin derivatives, namely 7-[(5-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)methoxy]-2H-chromen-2-one, 5-[(2-oxo-2H-chromen-7-yloxy)methyl]-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2(3H)-one, 2-[2-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-7-yloxy)acetyl]-N-phenylhydrazinecarbothioamide, 7-[(5-(phenylamino)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)methoxy]-2H-chromen-2-one and 7-[(5-mercapto-4-phenyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methoxy]-2H-chromen-2-one were prepared starting from the natural compound umbelliferone. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized by elemental analysis and spectral studies (IR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR).     

Computational approach for a pair of bubble coalescence process

The coalescence of bubbles has great value in mineral recovery and oil industry. In this paper, two co-axial bubbles rising in a cylinder is modelled to study the coalescence of bubbles for four computational experimental test cases. The Reynolds’ (Re) number is chosen in between 8.50 and 10, Bond number, Bo ∼4.25-50, Morton number, M 0.0125-14.7. The viscosity ratio (μ_r) and density ratio (ρ_r) of liquid to bubble are kept constant (100 and 850 respectively). It was found that the Bo number has significant effect on the coalescence process for constant Re, μ_r and ρ_r. The bubble-bubble distance over time was validated against published experimental data. The results show that VOF approach can be used to model these phenomena accurately. The surface tension was changed to alter the Bo and density of the fluids to alter the Re and M, keeping the μ_r and ρ_r the same. It was found that for lower Bo, the bubble coalesce is slower and the pocket at the lower part of the leading bubble is less concave (towards downward) which is supported by the experimental data.     

On the stability of the solitary waves to the rotation Benjamin‐Ono equation

In this paper, we study several aspects of solitary wave solutions of the rotation Benjamin‐Ono equation. By solving a minimization problem on the line, we construct a family of even travelling waves ψ_c,γ. We then prove the uniqueness of even ground states associated with large speed and their orbital stability. Note that this improves the results in Esfahani and Levandosky, where only the stability of the set of ground states is proven.     

Effect of NH4I and I2 concentration on agar gel polymer electrolyte properties for a dye-sensitized solar cell

Gel polymer electrolytes were prepared using agar polymer host, NH₄I, and I₂ salts. The sample of agar paste with 1.0 M of NH₄I and 0.2 μM of I₂ exhibits the highest conductivity and lowest viscosity values at room temperature of (2.64?±?0.19)?×?10^?3?S?cm^?1 and 1.17?±?0.29 Pa?s, respectively. All of the gel polymer electrolytes display Arrhenian behavior, and the optimum agar paste gave the lowest activation energy of 0.25 eV. It also had a good physical appearance compared with the other samples. This gel polymer electrolyte had a good potential and was applicable to a role as electrolyte in ITO-ZnO (N719 dye)/agar paste?+?1.0 M NH₄I?+?0.2 μM I₂/Au-Pd-ITO dye-sensitized solar cell.     

Convergence Dynamics of Delayed Hopfield-Type Neural Networks Under Almost Periodic Stimuli

Convergence dynamics of Hopfield-type neural networks subjected to almost periodic external stimuli are investigated. In this article, we assume that the network parameters vary almost periodically with time and we incorporate variable delays in the processing part of the network architectures. By employing Halanay inequalities, we obtain delay independent sufficient conditions for the networks to converge exponentially toward encoded patterns associated with the external stimuli. The networks are guaranteed to have exponentially hetero-associative stable encoding of the external stimuli.     

Microchip electrophoresis for specific gene detection of the pathogenic bacteria V. cholerae by circle-to-circle amplification.

We have developed a new method for a fast and precise analysis of circle-to-circle amplification (C2CA) product for specific gene detection by microchip electrophoresis. In this method, we have added a new enzymatic step to the C2CA reaction, which could be carried out isothermally at 37 degrees C. Compared to the original single-stranded DNA, the double-stranded DNA that is produced by this enzymatic reaction is more reliable for analysis by microchip electrophoresis. C2CA product was detected within 55 s with high reproducibility by this method which was successfully applied to the detection of 10-ng genomic DNA of the pathogenic bacteria Vibrio. cholerae within 110 s. Purification was found to be an indispensable step for the analysis of the C2CA product of genomic DNA samples.