Synthesis of PhTAD-substituted dihydropyrrole derivatives via stereospecific C–H amination

Research on Chemical Intermediates - Stereospecific α-amination has been accomplished via addition of N-phenyltriazolinedione (PhTAD) to the allylic position of dihydropyrroles. The aim of...     

Tsallis, Rényi and nonextensive Gaussian entropy derived from the respective multinomial coefficients

We explore the generalization of the ordinary multinomial coefficient, based on the deformed q-multiplication and q-division. Aim of this study is to construct the appropriate multinomial coefficients, from which one can obtain the Tsallis, Rényi and nonextensive Gaussian entropy, respectively. We show that for all three above entropies there are two possible ways to define the generalized multinomial coefficient. Its consequence is discussed.     

Direct synthesis of amphiphilic block copolymers, consisting of poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(sodium styrene sulfonate) blocks through atom transfer radical polymerization

Amphiphilic block copolymers of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and sodium styrene sulfonate (SSNa) were successfully synthesized via direct atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of SSNa. First, poly(sodium styrene sulfonate) (PSSNa) or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) macroinitiators were prepared using proper ATRP systems for each case. In some cases, functional initiators, which allow further reactions, were used. The macroinitiators were characterized and further used to synthesize PSSNa/PMMA block copolymers, by using proper solvent combinations, such as N,N-dimethylformamide/water or methanol/water at appropriate volume ratios, in order to ensure solubility of the synthesized amphiphilic copolymers. The molecular weight of the copolymers was determined by gel permeation chromatography, using water as eluent. By using a combination of analytical techniques like ¹H NMR, FTIR and thermogravimetry, the chemical structure and the actual copolymer composition were determined. Since, the block copolymers were soluble in water, forming hydrophilic/hydrophobic domains in aqueous solution, their micellization behavior was further studied by pyrene fluorescence probing.     

Canonical equilibrium distribution derived from Helmholtz potential

Plastino and Curado [A. Plastino, E.M.F. Curado, Phys. Rev. E 72 (2005) 047103] recently determined the equilibrium probability distribution for the canonical ensemble using only phenomenological thermodynamical laws as an alternative to the entropy maximization procedure of Jaynes. In the current paper we present another alternative derivation of the canonical equilibrium probability distribution, which is based on the definition of the Helmholtz free energy (and its being constant at the equilibrium) and the assumption of the uniqueness of the equilibrium probability distribution. Noting that this particular derivation is applicable for all trace-form entropies, we also apply it to the Tsallis entropy, showing that the Tsallis entropy yields genuine inverse power laws.     

Elimination of motion and pulsation artifacts using BLADE sequences in knee MR imaging

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of proton density (PD)-BLADE sequences in reducing or even eliminating motion and pulsatile flow artifacts in knee magnetic resonance imaging examinations. Eighty consecutive patients, who had been routinely scanned for knee examination, participated in the study. The following pairs of sequences with and without BLADE were compared: (a) PD turbo spin echo (TSE) sagittal (SAG) fat saturation (FS) in 35 patients, (b) PD TSE coronal (COR) FS in 19 patients, (c) T2 TSE axial in 13 patients and (d) PD TSE SAG in 13 patients. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed based on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and relative contrast (ReCon) measures of normal anatomic structures. The qualitative analysis was performed by experienced radiologists. Also, the presence of image motion and pulsation artifacts was evaluated. Based on the results of the SNR, CRN and ReCon for the different sequences and anatomical structures, the BLADE sequences were significantly superior in 19 cases, whereas the corresponding conventional sequences were significantly superior in only 6 cases. BLADE sequences eliminated motion artifacts in all the cases. However, motion artifacts were shown in (a) six PD TSE SAG FS, (b) three PD TSE COR FS, (c) three PD TSE SAG and (d) two T2 TSE axial conventional sequences. In our results, it was found that, in PD FS sequences (sagittal and coronal), the differences between the BLADE and conventional sequences regarding the elimination of motion and pulsatile flow artifacts were statistically significant. In all the comparisons, the PD FS BLADE sequences (coronal and sagittal) were significantly superior to the corresponding conventional sequences regarding the classification of their image quality. In conclusion, this technique appears to be capable to potentially eliminate motion and pulsatile flow artifacts in MR images.