Rate Enhancement Effects in the Dabco Catalysed Synthesis of Hydroxyalkenoate Esters

Marked acceleration of the catalytic coupling of aldehydes with methyl acrylate is achieved by varying either the aldehyde or the catalytic system. Rapid and efficient formation of heterocyclic derivatives with significant synthetic potential is described.     

A new strategy to characterize the extent of reaction of thermoset elastomers

A new method for determining the extent of reaction of thermoset elastomers was developed based on equilibrium swelling and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The extent of reaction was defined based on the molecular weight between crosslinks (M_c) of a polymer sample in relation to M_c at the onset of gelation and at complete reaction. The molecular weight between crosslinks was measured using equilibrium swelling, whereas rheology and DMA were used to determine the exact point of gelation and reaction completion, respectively. The extent of reaction of poly(1,8‐octanediol‐co‐citrate) at various polymerization conditions was investigated and this method was used to study the relationship between mechanical properties, molecular weight between crosslinks, and extent of reaction. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1318–1328, 2008     

NMSSM and seesaw physics at LHC

We consider extensions of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric model (NMSSM) in which the observed neutrino masses are described in terms of effective dimension six (or seven) rather than dimension five operators. All such operators respect the discrete symmetries of the model. The new particles associated with the double (or triple) seesaw mechanism can have sizable couplings to the known leptons, even with a TeV seesaw scale. In the latter case some of these new short-lived particles could be produced and detected at the LHC.     

Assessment of antioxidant activities of three wild medicinal plants from Bahrain

This study reports the antioxidant properties of three wild medicinal plants from Bahrain, namely Aizoon canariense L., Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav., and Emex spinosus (L.) Campdera. Antioxidant and antiradical activities of dried materials of these plants were investigated using FRAP, DPPH and ABTS assays. Total phenolics, free phenolics and total flavonoids were also determined. E. spinosus was ranked by the assays as the plant possessing the highest antioxidant and antiradical activities with an average FRAP value of 1.84 mmol/g and IC₅₀ of 10.7 and 7.75 mg/ml for DPPH and ABTS assays, respectively. A. tenuifolius ranked second with a mean FRAP value of 0.69, IC₅₀ DPPH of 1.72 and ABTS of 0.36. A. canariense possessed the lowest activities with a mean FRAP value of 0.6, and averaged IC₅₀ of 103.8 and ABTS of 14.6. E. spinosus possessed the highest content of free phenolics (mg/100 g) (64.64) followed by A. tenuifolius (45.21) and A. canariense (32.23). E. spinosus also exhibited the highest total flavonoids with an average 82.71 mg/100 g followed by A. canariense (55.92) and A. tenuifolius (49.10). The studied medicinal plants possess considerable antioxidant activities and may contribute to the well-being of individuals who consume them.     

Induced-gravity GUT-scale Higgs inflation in supergravity

Models of induced-gravity inflation are formulated within Supergravity employing as inflaton the Higgs field which leads to a spontaneous breaking of a \(U(1)_{B-L}\) symmetry at \(M_\mathrm{GUT}=2\cdot 10^{16}~{\mathrm{GeV}}\). We use a renormalizable superpotential, fixed by a U(1) R symmetry, and Kähler potentials which exhibit a quadratic non-minimal coupling to gravity with or without an independent kinetic mixing in the inflaton sector. In both cases we find inflationary solutions of Starobinsky type whereas in the latter case, others (more marginal) which resemble those of linear inflation arise too. In all cases the inflaton mass is predicted to be of the order of \(10^{13}~{\mathrm{GeV}}\). Extending the superpotential of the model with suitable terms, we show how the MSSM \(\mu \) parameter can be generated. Also, non-thermal leptogenesis can be successfully realized, provided that the gravitino is heavier than about \(10~{\mathrm{TeV}}\).     

Inverse seesaw in NMSSM and 126 GeV Higgs boson

We consider extensions of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric model (NMSSM) in which the observed neutrino masses are generated through a TeV scale inverse seesaw mechanism. The new particles associated with this mechanism can have sizable couplings to the Higgs field which can yield a large contribution to the mass of the lightest CP-even Higgs boson. With this new contribution, a 126 GeV Higgs is possible along with order of 200 GeV masses for the stop quarks for a broad range of tan β. The Higgs production and decay in the diphoton channel can be enhanced due to this new contribution. It is also possible to solve the little hierarchy problem in this model without invoking a maximal value for the NMSSM trilinear coupling and without severe restrictions on the value of tan β.     

Indoor radon monitoring in some buildings surrounding the national Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) project at upper Siang in Arunachal Pradesh, India

In the present study measurement of radon and its progeny concentration has been undertaken in the buildings constructed in the surroundings of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC). LR-115 Type-II solid state nuclear track detectors fixed on a thick flat card were exposed in bare mode. Track etch technique has been used to estimate the radon concentration in the rooms of some buildings. Annual effective dose has been calculated from the radon concentration to carry out the assessment of the variability of expected radon exposure of the population due to radon and its progeny. The radon levels in these dwellings vary from 9±4 to 472±28 Bq m⁻³ with an average value of 158±14.9 Bq m⁻³ whereas annual effective dose varies from 0.1±0.04 to 7±0.4 mSv y⁻¹ with an average value of 2.3±0.2 mSv y⁻¹. These values are below the recommended action levels.     

Bernstein functions, complete hyperexpansivity and subnormality—I

Special classes of functions on the classical semigroupN of non-negative integers, as defined using the classical backward and forward difference operators, get associated in a natural way with special classes of bounded linear operators on Hilbert spaces. In particular, the class of completely monotone functions, which is a subclass of the class of positive definite functions ofN, gets associated with subnormal operators, and the class of completely alternating functions, which is a subclass of the class of negative definite functions onN, with completely hyper-expansive operators. The interplay between the theories of completely monotone and completely alternating functions has previously been exploited to unravel some interesting connections between subnormals and completely hyperexpansive operators. For example, it is known that a completely hyperexpansive weighted shift with the weight sequence {_n}(n0) (of positive reals) gives rise to a subnormal weighted shift whose weight sequence is {1/_n}(n0). The present paper discovers some new connections between the two classes of operators by building upon some well-known results in the literature that relate positive and negative definite functions on cartesian products of arbitrary sets using Bernstein functions. In particular, it is observed that the weight sequence of a completely hyperexpansive weighted shift with the weight sequence {_n}(n0) (of positive reals) gives rise to a subnormal weighted shift whose weight sequence is {_n+1/_n}(n0). It is also established that the weight sequence of any completely hyperexpansive weighted shift is a Hausdorff moment sequence. Further, the connection of Bernstein functions with Stieltjes functions and generalizations thereof is exploited to link certain classes of subnormal weighted shifts to completely hyperexpansive ones.