On the determination and construction of optimal row-column designs having unequal row and column sizes

In this paper we consider experimental situations requiring usage of a row-column design where v treatments are to be applied to experimental units arranged in b ₁ rows and b ₂ columns where row i has size k _1i , i=1,..., b ₁ and column j has size k _2j , j=1,..., b ₂. Conditions analogous to those given in Kunert (1983, Ann. Statis., 11, 247–257) and Cheng (1978, Ann. Statist., 6, 1262–1272) are given which can often be used to establish the optimality of a given row-column design from the optimality of an associated block design. In addition, sufficient conditions are derived which guarantee the existence of an optimal row-column design which can be constructed by appropriately arranging treatments within blocks of an optimal block design.Visiting from the Indian Statistical Institute.     

Electrical spin injection and threshold reduction in a semiconductor laser

A spin-polarized vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser is demonstrated with electrical spin injection from an Fe/Al0.1Ga0.9As Schottky tunnel barrier. Laser operation with a spin-polarized current results in a maximum threshold current reduction of 11% and degree of circular polarization of 23% at 50 K. A cavity spin polarization of 16.8% is estimated from spin-dependent rate equation analysis of the observed threshold reduction.     

Fibrillar Networks of Glycyrrhizic Acid for Hybrid Nanomaterials with Catalytic Features

Self‐assembly of the naturally occurring sweetening agent, glycyrrhizic acid (GA) in water is studied by small‐angle X‐ray scattering and microscopic techniques. Statistical analysis on atomic force microscopy images reveals the formation of ultralong GA fibrils with uniform thickness of 2.5 nm and right‐handed twist with a pitch of 9 nm, independently of GA concentration. Transparent nematic GA hydrogels are exploited to create functional hybrid materials. Two‐fold and three‐fold hybrids are developed by introducing graphene oxide (GO) and in situ‐synthesized gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in the hydrogel matrix for catalysis applications. In the presence of GO, the catalytic efficiency of Au NPs in the reduction of p‐nitrophenol to p‐aminophenol is enhanced by 2.5 times. Gold microplate single crystals are further synthesized in the GA hydrogel, expanding the scope of these hybrids and demonstrating their versatility in materials design.     

Extraordinary Changes in the Electronic Structure and Properties of CdS and ZnS by Anionic Substitution: Cosubstitution of P and Cl in Place of S

Unlike cation substitution, anion substitution in inorganic materials such as metal oxides and sulfides would be expected to bring about major changes in the electronic structure and properties. In order to explore this important aspect, we have carried out first‐principles DFT calculations to determine the effects of substitution of P and Cl on the properties of CdS and ZnS in hexagonal and cubic structures and show that a sub‐band of the trivalent phosphorus with strong bonding with the cation appears in the gap just above the valence band, causing a reduction in the gap and enhancement of dielectric properties. Experimentally, it has been possible to substitute P and Cl in hexagonal CdS and ZnS. The doping reduces the band gap significantly as predicted by theory. A similar decrease in the band gap is observed in N and F co‐substituted in cubic ZnS. Such anionic substitution helps to improve hydrogen evolution from CdS semiconductor structures and may give rise to other applications as well.     

New flavonoid glycosides and other chemical constituents from Clerodendrum phlomidis leaves: isolation and characterisation

Phytochemical investigation of the plant Clerodendrum phlomidis Linn. F. (Lamiaceae) has now led to the isolation of two new flavonoid glycosides (1, 2) together with six known compounds identified as pectolinaringenin (3), pectolinaringenin-7-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (4), 24β-ethylcholesta-5,22E,25-triene-3β-ol (5), 24β-ethylcholesta-5,22E,25-triene-3β-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), (2S,3S,4R,10E)-2-[(2′R)-2′-hydroxytetracosanoylamino]-10-octadecene-1,3,4-triol (7) and andrographolide (8) mainly by spectroscopic analysis. Compounds 4 and 6–8 are reported for the first time from C. phlomidis.     

Fe(iii) phytate metallogel as a prototype anhydrous,intermediate temperature proton conductor

A proton conducting metallogel [FNPA; ferric nitrate (FN)–phytic acid (PA)] is synthesized by immobilizing a protogenic ligand (phytic acid) using iron(iii) nitrate in DMF. The xerogel shows high proton conductivity of 2.4 × 10^–2 S cm^–1 at 120 °C, the best value known among all metal organic materials (MOMs). Marking the first such attempt in MOMs, an electrode made using the xerogel showed a power density of 0.94 mW cm^–2 at 0.6 V under dry fuel cell conditions.     

Polymer‐Chlorambucil Drug Conjugates: A Dynamic Platform of Anticancer Drug Delivery

Recently, polymer drug conjugates (PDCs) have attracted considerable attention in the treatment of cancer. In this work, a simple strategy has been developed to make PDCs of an antitumor alkylating agent, chlorambucil, using a biocompatible disulphide linker. Chlorambucil‐based chain transfer agent was used to prepare various homopolymers and block copolymers in a controlled fashion via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. Chlorambucil conjugated block copolymer, poly(polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether methacrylate)‐b‐poly(methyl methacrylate), formed nanoaggregates in aqueous solutions, which are characterized by dynamic light scattering and field emission‐scanning electron microscopy. Finally, the simplicity of the design is exemplified by performing a release study of chlorambucil under reducing condition by using D,L‐dithiothreitol.

     

A new method for exact solutions of variant types of time‐fractional Korteweg‐de Vries equations in shallow water waves

The current article devoted on the new method for finding the exact solutions of some time‐fractional Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) type equations appearing in shallow water waves. We employ the new method here for time‐fractional equations viz. time‐fractional KdV‐Burgers and KdV‐mKdV equations for finding the exact solutions. We use here the fractional complex transform accompanied by properties of local fractional calculus for reduction of fractional partial differential equations to ordinary differential equations. The obtained results are demonstrated by graphs for the new solutions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.