Spherically symmetric, self-similar spacetimes

In this paper, we show that self-similarity with respect to the existence of a (purely radial) homothetic Killing vector field for spherically symmetric spacetimes implies the separability of the spacetime metric in terms of the co-moving coordinates (and vice versa) and that the metric is, uniquely, the one recently reported in (Class. Quantam Grav. 18: 2147–2162; 2001). This spacetime, in general, has non-vanishing energy flux and shear. An interesting feature of this spacetime, in contrast to other self-similar spherically symmetric spacetimes (not reducible to our form) is that it has an arbitrary radial distribution of matter.     

Kinetics and mechanism of oxidation of benzoic acid hydrazide by bromate catalyzed by octamolybdomanganate(II)

Oxidation of benzoic acid hydrazide by bromate in the presence of octamolybdomanganate(II), [Mn^IIMo₈O₂₇]⁴⁻, was studied in hydrochloric acid medium. The mechanism of the reaction involves oxidation of the catalyst to [Mn^IVMo₈O₂₇]²⁻ by bromate which then forms a complex with the unoxidized catalyst. Both the complex and [Mn^IVMo₈O₂₇]²⁻ react with the substrate in rate-determining steps to generate an intermediate acyl diimide, RCONNH. The reaction of water with the diimide then leads to the formation of benzoic acid and nitrogen as products through an NH–NH intermediate. There was no formation of free radical, indicating the involvement of only two-electron transfer steps in the mechanism. The order of more than unity in catalyst concentration is due to the formation of complex between the catalyst and the oxidized form of the catalyst. A rate law explaining all the kinetic results has been derived and verified. The effects of ionic strength and solvent polarity have also been studied, and the thermodynamic parameters were determined. A less solvated transition state as a result of interaction between the complex and oxidized form of the catalyst satisfactorily explains all the effects observed. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Transition metal-free Suzuki type cross-coupling reaction for the synthesis of dissymmetric ketones

A simple, efficient and metal-free route for the synthesis of dissymmetric ketones through Suzuki type cross-coupling reaction has been established. This strategy signifies an attractive, cost-effective and operationally convenient tool for the synthesis of a wide range of dissymmetric ketones. Although conventional routes for the synthesis of ketones have been widely used, the potential challenge with these methods is functional group tolerance. The reported metal-free method represents a reaction with moderate functional group tolerance. The procedure is operationally convenient and shows broad substrate scope with good to excellent product yields.     

Viscous flow in a mixed compression intake

Numerical simulation of the flow in a two‐dimensional mixed compression intake is carried out by solving unsteady viscous compressible equations using a stabilized finite element method. The effect of bleed in starting/unstarting of the intake and controlling the buzz instability is investigated in detail. Higher bleed leads to an increase in the ability of the intake to sustain larger back‐pressure for stable operation. The amount of bleed and its location is varied to understand its effect on the performance of the intake. Two kinds of unsteady oscillations are observed: ‘little’ and ‘big’ buzz. The frequency of the both kinds of buzz oscillations is found to be super‐harmonic of the fundamental acoustic frequency of intake modeled as an open‐closed organ pipe. The frequency as well as amplitudes of the big buzz cycles is larger than those of the little buzz. The little‐ and big‐buzz are found to occur for low‐ and high‐subcritical state of the intake and are very similar to Ferri and Dailey criteria, respectively. Buzz is eliminated when relatively high bleed is implemented, both, upstream and downstream of the throat. The effect of rate of change of back‐pressure on the start/unstart of the intake is investigated. Two situations are considered. The first case is that of an intake where the back‐pressure remains below the critical value. It is found that the intake remains started if the change in back‐pressure is gradual. However, it unstarts if the back‐pressure is changed relatively rapidly. The second set of simulations is an attempt to model the situation where the back‐pressure at the exit of the intake exceeds the critical value and a logic is incorporated in the feed back loop of the fuel modulation to start the intake. Low rate of change of pressure is unsuccessful in starting the intake. Relatively high rates result in either a quick starting of the intake or a slow unstart. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel piezoelectric immunosensor for the detection of malarial Plasmodium falciparum histidine rich protein-2 antigen

A novel piezoelectric (PZ) immunosensor for the direct detection of malarial Plasmodium falciparum histidine rich protein-2 (PfHRP-2) antigen was developed. The mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thioctic acid and 1-dodecanethiol were formed on gold surface of quartz crystal. Cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and surface Raman spectroscopy techniques were used to characterize the mixed SAMs. The rabbit anti-PfHRP-2 antibodies were coupled on mixed SAM modified gold surface of quartz crystal via NHS/EDC activation method. The PZ immunosensor was applied to detect PfHRP-2 in the linear range of 15-60 ng/ml with a detection limit of 12 ng/ml. It was also found that even after 14 days of storage, 50% of the activity still remained. Clinical human serum samples were tested with this method, and the results were in agreement with those obtained from commercially available ICT kit (NOW^® Malaria).     

Assessment of Physical Process Conditions for Enhanced Production of Novel Glutaminase-Free L-Asparaginase from <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Pectobacterium carotovorum</Emphasis> MTCC 1428

Statistically based experimental design was applied to maximize the production of glutaminase-free L-asparaginase from Pectobacterium carotovorum MTCC 1428. The effect of physical process parameters (initial pH of the medium, temperature, rpm of the shaking incubator, and inoculum size) on the production of L-asparaginase from P. carotovorum MTCC 1428 was studied using central composite design technique. The individual optimum levels of initial pH of the medium, temperature, rpm of shaking incubator, and inoculum size were found to be 6.90, 29.8 °C, 157 rpm, and 2.61% (v/v), respectively, for the production of L-asparaginase. After physical process parameters optimization, the production and productivity of L-asparaginase was enhanced by 26.39% (specific activity) and 10.19%, respectively. Maximization of L-asparaginase production was achieved at 12 h under optimal levels of physical process parameters in shake flask level.     

New Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) homoleptic complexes with 6-chloro-5-7-dimethyl-4oxo-4H-chromene-3-carbaldehydes and its heteroleptic complexes with quinoline-8 ol: synthesis,characterization and antimicrobial activity

Research on Chemical Intermediates - In the present study, the synthesis of ligand 6-chloro-5-7-dimethyl-4oxo-4H-chromene-3-carbaldehydes by three steps from the substituted phenol. The formed...     

Syringic Acid Ameliorates Cardiac,Hepatic, Renal and Neuronal Damage Induced by Chronic Hyperglycaemia in Wistar Rats: A Behavioural,Biochemical and Histological Analysis

This study investigated the effects of syringic acid (SA) on renal, cardiac, hepatic, and neuronal diabetic complications in streptozotocin-induced neonatal (nSTZ) diabetic rats. STZ (110 mg/kg i.p) was injected into Wistar rat neonates as a split dose (second and third postnatal day). Diabetes mellitus was diagnosed in adults by measuring fasting blood glucose levels, urine volume, and food and water intake. The treatment of SA (25 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg p.o) was given from the 8th to 18th postnatal week. To assess the development of diabetic complications and the effect of therapy, biochemical indicators in serum and behavioural parameters were recorded at specific intervals during the study period. SA (25 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg p.o) treatment reduced hyperglycaemia, polydipsia, polyphagia, polyuria, relative organ weight, cardiac hypertrophic indices, inflammatory markers, cell injury markers, glycated haemoglobin, histopathological score, and oxidative stress, and increased Na/K ATPase activity. These findings suggest that SA might significantly alleviate diabetic complications and/or renal, neuronal, cardiac, and hepatic damage in nSTZ diabetic rats.     

Example of indeterminacy in classical dynamics

The case of a particle moving along a nonsmooth constraint under the action of uniform gravity is presented as an example of indeterminancy in a classical situation. The indeterminacy arises from certain initial conditions having nonunique solutions and is due to the failure of the Lipschitz condition at the corresponding points in the phase space of the equation of motion.