Cross-aldol reaction of 3-acetyl-2H-chromen-2-one by using Amberlyst 26A as catalyst

Synthesis of a series of 3-acetylcoumarin-derived chalcones (1a–16a) was catalyzed with Amberlyst 26A in ethanol. Using reusable Amberlyst 26A and biobased solvent ethanol make this method highly ecofriendly and simple. Amberlyst 26A was found to be a highly effective catalyst for cross aldol reaction. The results shown that the method is operationally simple to implement with a wide scope of substrates.     

Investigation of DTS effect on r.f. magnetron sputtered ZnO thin films

The aim of this study depends on understanding the effect of target‐to‐substrate distance (D_TS) on ZnO thin films deposited by r.f. magnetron sputtering on to glass substrates at room temperature conditions. The D_TS was changed from 35 mm to 65 mm with steps of 5 mm at 165 W and 0.2 Pa. The deposition rate of the films were ranged from 76 Ǻ / min to 146 Ǻ / min, while 10^‐3 Ω.cm was obtained as the resistivity value with the help of four point probe technique. The structural investigations were carried out by using both the x‐ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. According to XRD observations, the films were (002) oriented. Surface behaviour of the ZnO films was examined with atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The root mean square (RMS) values were varied from 4.6 nm to 22.8 nm. Also, optical properties were obtained from UV–visible spectrophotometer and the transmittances as around 80 %. At 45 mm D_TS value, the minimum resistivity measured as 9 × 10^{− 4} Ω.cm with 76 Ǻ / min deposition rate. The RMS was obtained as 4.9 nm and transmission was measured as 85.30 %, while band gap was 3.45 eV.     

Effects of Tonsillectomy on Speech Spectrum

Changes in the speech spectrum of vowels and consonants before and after tonsillectomy were investigated to find out the impact of the operation on speech quality. Speech recordings obtained from patients were analyzed using the Kay Elemetrics, Multi-Dimensional Voice Processing (MDVP Advanced) software. Examination of the time-course changes after the operation revealed that certain speech parameters changed. These changes were mainly F3 (formant center frequency) and B3 (formant bandwidth) for the vowel /o/ and a slight decrease in B1 and B2 for the vowel /a/. The noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR) also decreased slightly, suggesting less nasalized vowels. It was also observed that the fricative, glottal consonant /h/ has been affected. The larger the tonsil had been, the more changes were seen in the speech spectrum. The changes in the speech characteristics (except F3 and B3 for the vowel /o/) tended to recover, suggesting an involvement of auditory feedback and/or replacement of a new soft tissue with the tonsils. Although the changes were minimal and, therefore, have little effect on the extracted acoustic parameters, they cannot be disregarded for those relying on their voice for professional reasons, that is, singers, professional speakers, and so forth.     

A novel amperometric glucose biosensor based on poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-(3-thienylmethylmethacrylate))

Two novel glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme electrodes based on the copolymer of glycidyl methacrylate with 3-thienylmethyl methacrylate (poly(GMA-co-MTM)) with and without polypyrrole (PPyr) coating were prepared and employed in the amperometric determination of glucose levels. The effect of PPyr coating on the electrode properties was investigated in detail. Cyclic voltammetry studies showed that electrical conductivity of electrode B with PPyr coating (poly(GMA-co-MTM)/GOx/PPyr) was substantially higher than that of electrode A (poly(GMA-co-MTM)/GOx). On the other hand, electrode A showed better results in terms of sensitivity (10 nA/mM), limit of detection (50.2 μM), and response time (5 s). Electrodes A and B gave linear responses to the glucose concentrations in the range of 2–20 and 2–14 mM, respectively. The ranges of linearity for both enzyme electrodes are sufficient for the determination of physiological glucose concentrations in human blood. Moreover, PPyr coating of electrode B did not result in further stabilization of the enzyme electrode.     

Influence of γ-irradiation on the optical and electrical properties of Se(0.85) Te(0.15) films

Abstract

Se_(0.85) Te_(0.15) films were prepared by thermal evaporation under vacuum on glass substrate. The optical and electrical properties of as deposited and irradiated Se_(0.85) Te_(0.15) films with different γ-doses are reported.

The optical constants (absorption coefficient (α), extinction coefficient (k), refractive index (n) and dielectric constants (?, ?) of unirradiated and irradiated films were calculated. The value of allowed direct optical energy gap of Se_(0.85) Te_(0.15) films increased from 1.47 eV. to 1.72 eV. with increasing the γ-doses to 2.5 Mrad. The irradiated films have lower resistivity than those as deposited films (unirradiated). The activation energy (ΔE) increases from 0.72 eV. to 0.86 eV. with increasing γ-doses to 2.5 Mrad.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance,infrared, and electrical conductivity studies of γ-ray irradiated Li2SO4-K2SO4 mixed system

Abstract

Electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of 7-irradiated Li:₂SO₄-K₂SO₄ mixed system are measured at X-band and 300 K. Two types of centers, A and B, identified as LiOH⁺ ₂ and SO^? ₃ are studied. The EPR spectrum of LiOH⁺ ₂ has a well-resolved hyperfine structure. The effective g-value and the hyperfine structure constant of it are calculated. On the other hand, the SO^? ₃ center is characterized by an intense isotropic signal at a g-value ≈ 2. 0035. Mechanisms of center formation are proposed. Infrared transmittance spectra were recorded for unirradiated and γ-ray irradiated samples. A decrease in the transmittance spectra was observed after irradiation. The ionic conductivity, σ, has been measured for the Li₂SO₄-K₂SO₄ system before and after irradiation in the temperature range 30–400°C. The activation energy was found to be 1. 1 eV. A considerable decrease in the conductivity value accompanied by an increase in the activation energy was observed after γ-irradiation.     

Micellization behaviour and thermodynamic parameters of 12-2-12 gemini surfactant in (water + organic solvent) mixtures

The effect of organic solvents on micellization behaviour and thermodynamic parameters of a cationic gemini (dimeric) surfactant, C₁₂H₂₅(CH₃)₂N⁺–(CH₂)₂–N⁺(CH₃)₂C₁₂H₂₅·2Br^?, (12-2-12) was studied in aqueous solutions over the range of T = (293.15 to 323.15) K using the conductometric technique. Ethylene glycol (EG), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and 1,4-dioxan (DO) were used as organic solvents with three different contents. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) and the degree of counter ion dissociation (α) of micelles in the water and in the (water + organic solvent) mixtures including 10%, 20%, and 30% solvent contents were determined. The standard Gibbs free energy $(\mathrm{\Delta }{G}_{\text{m}}^{°})$, enthalpy $(\mathrm{\Delta }{H}_{\text{m}}^{°})$ and entropy $(\mathrm{\Delta }{S}_{\text{m}}^{°})$ of micellization were estimated from the temperature dependence of the cmc values. It was observed that the critical micelle concentration of the gemini surfactant and the degree of counter ion dissociation of the micelle increased as the volume percentage of organic solvent, and temperature increased. The standard Gibbs free energy of micellization was found to be less negative with the increase in the organic solvent content and temperature.     

Neonaucline, a new indole alkaloid from the leaves of Ochreinauclea maingayii (Hook. f.) Ridsd. (Rubiaceae)

A new indole alkaloid; neonaucline (1), along with six known compounds-Cadamine (2), naucledine (3), harmane, benzamide, cinnamide and blumenol A-were isolated from the leaves of Ochreinauclea maingayii (Rubiaceae). In addition to that of compound 1, (13)C-NMR data of cadamine (2) and naucledine (3) were also reported. Structural elucidations of these alkaloids were performed using spectroscopic methods especially 1D- and 2D-NMR, IR, UV and LCMS-IT-TOF. The excellent vasorelaxant activity on isolated rat aorta was observed for the alkaloids 1-3 after injection of each sample at 1 × 10(-5) M.