The Effect of Catalogue Lead Time on Medium-Term Earthquake Forecasting with Application to New Zealand Data

‘Every Earthquake a Precursor According to Scale’ (EEPAS) is a catalogue-based model to forecast earthquakes within the coming months, years and decades, depending on magnitude. EEPAS has been shown to perform well in seismically active regions like New Zealand (NZ). It is based on the observation that seismicity increases prior to major earthquakes. This increase follows predictive scaling relations. For larger target earthquakes, the precursor time is longer and precursory seismicity may have occurred prior to the start of the catalogue. Here, we derive a formula for the completeness of precursory earthquake contributions to a target earthquake as a function of its magnitude and lead time, where the lead time is the length of time from the start of the catalogue to its time of occurrence. We develop two new versions of EEPAS and apply them to NZ data. The Fixed Lead time EEPAS (FLEEPAS) model is used to examine the effect of the lead time on forecasting, and the Fixed Lead time Compensated EEPAS (FLCEEPAS) model compensates for incompleteness of precursory earthquake contributions. FLEEPAS reveals a space-time trade-off of precursory seismicity that requires further investigation. Both models improve forecasting performance at short lead times, although the improvement is achieved in different ways.     

BF3‐grafted Fe3O4@Sucrose nanoparticles as a highly‐efficient acid catalyst for syntheses of Dihydroquinazolinones (DHQZs) and Bis 3‐Indolyl Methanes (BIMs)

Current paper represents immobilization of sucrose on the Fe₃O₄ core and grafting of boron trifluoride (BF₃) onto the new surface. The catalytic activity of these nanoparticles was tested in syntheses of Dihydroquinazolinones (DHQZs) and Bis (3‐Indolyl) Methanes (BIMs) as two fruitful pharmaceutical structures. Acidic capacity, FT‐IR, XRD, VSM, TGA and SEM–EDX tests are carried out on such novel nanoparticles (NPs). Catalyst has shown more acidic capacity per one gram of NPs than sulfonated homologue which was reported previously.     

Synthesis and characterization of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite and its catalytic behavior towards synthesis of 3,4‐disubstituted isoxazole‐5(4H)‐ones in water

In the present work, the nanocrystalline particles of hydroxyapatite (HAp) using an easy alkoxide‐based sol–gel technique including triethyl phosphate [PO (OC₂H₅)₃] and Ca (NO₃)₂·4H₂O as P and Ca precursors have been synthesized. The sample characterization was performed by X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform‐infrared analysis, scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis (thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis), and elemental analysis of energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis. It is interesting that single phase of HAp was obtained at a low firing temperature of 500 ° C. Modified Scherrer equation as the Williamson?Hall method was applied for the measurement of crystallite size distributions and micro‐strain of the sample. The determined crystallite size by complementary technique of transmission electron microscopy has good consistency with those obtained from the Scherrer formula. Moreover, we reported the one‐pot synthesis of 3,4‐disubstituted isoxazole‐5(4H)‐ones through the aqueous solution reaction of three components of ethyl acetoacetate, hydroxylamine hydrochloride and various aromatic aldehydes at room temperature. This protocol offers several advantages, including a simple work‐up procedure, very short reaction times (under 25 min), in accordance with the principles of green chemistry, recyclability, excellent yields (87–98%) and environmentally friendly.     

Thiol-Capped Gold Nanoparticle Biosensors for Rapid and Sensitive Visual Colorimetric Detection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Klebsiella pneumoniae</Emphasis>

In the last few years, gold nanoparticle biosensors have been developed for rapid, precise, easy and inexpensive with high specificity and sensitivity detection of human, plant and animal pathogens. Klebsiella pneumoniae serotype K2 is one of the common gram-negative pathogens with high prevalence. Therefore, it is essential to provide the effective and exclusive method to detect the bacteria. Klebsiella pneumoniae serotype K2 strain ATCC9997 genomic DNA was applied to establish the detection protocol either with thiol-capped oligonucleotide probes and gold nanoparticles or polymerase chain reaction based on K2A gene sequence. In the presence of the genomic DNA and oligonucleotide probes, a change in the color of gold nanoparticles and maximum changes in wavelength at 550-650 nm was achieved. In addition, the result showed specificity of 15?×?10⁵ CFU/mL and 9 pg/μL by gold nanoparticles probes. The lower limit of detection obtained by PCR method was 1 pg/μL. Moreover, results demonstrated a great specificity of the designed primers and probes for colorimetric detection assay and PCR. Colorimetric detection using gold nanoparticle probe with advantages such as the lower time required for detection and no need for expensive detection instrumentation compared to the biochemical and molecular methods could be introduced for rapid, accurate detection of the bacteria.     

Nanoparticle using parallel split rings and implementation of chain for creating Fano resonance with polarization independence for energy harvesting in mid-infrared

In optical devices, the polarization of the incident wave affects the Nano particle characteristics. Therefore, designing a polarization-independent device is significant in the process of designing optical structures. On the other hand, the concept of Fano resonance and dark mode has been utilized for achieving more energy enhancement. In this paper, we have developed a symmetrical Nano antenna by employing Fano resonance, which is independent of the incident wave polarization. The proposed Nano antenna is modified in mid infrared regime for biosensing and energy harvesting applications. The designed metamaterial antenna is made by Nano split ring resonators with etched capacitive gaps, which are utilized for concentrating energy. The introduced Nano antenna has a bright and dark mode with a weak enhancement of electric field. The effect of the incident wave polarization is investigated at wave incident angles between 0° and 45° to illustrate the independency of the polarization due to the symmetrical shape of the Nano antenna. In order to trigger the dark mode and enhance the electric field, a Nano chain is incorporated in the final structure. This arrangement has led to increasing of electric field drastically. Furthermore, the figure of merit has been calculated as an advantageous factor in sensing the surrounding materials with various refractive indices. Our findings illustrated that the chain arrangement has caused a peak in the linear form of the extinction cross section of the Nano antenna. This in turn has resulted in the appearance of Fano resonance with no impact on the resonance frequency that has been originally adjusted by capacitive gaps and inductive strips.     

Effect of polyaniline as a surface modifier of TiO2 nanoparticles on the properties of polyvinyl chloride/TiO2 nanocomposites

Surface of TiO2 nanoparticles was modified with the in situ chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline. Polyaniline modified TiO2 nanoparticles (PANI-TiO2 ) were characterized with the FT-IR, XRD, SEM and TEM techniques. Results confirmed that PANI was grafted successfully on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles, therefore agglomeration of nanoparticles decreased dramatically. Polyvinyl chloride nanocomposites filled with 1 wt% 5 wt% of PANI-TiO2 and TiO2 nanoparticles were prepared via the solution blending method. PVC nanocomposites were analyzed with FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TG/DTA, DSC and tensile test techniques. Effect of PANI as surface modifier of nanoparticles was discussed according to the final properties of PVC nanocomposites. Results demonstrated that deposition of PANI on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles improved the interfacial adhesion between the constituents of nanocomposites, which resulted in better dispersion of nanoparticles in the PVC matrix. Also PVC/PANI-TiO2 nanocomposites showed higher thermal resistance, tensile strength and Young’s modulus compared to those of unfilled PVC and PVC/TiO2 nanocomposites.     

Electro-oxidation of paracetamol in the presence of malononitrile: Application for green,efficient, none-catalyst,simple and one-pot electro-synthesis of new paracetamols

Electrochemical oxidation of paracetamol has been studied in the presence of malononitrile as a nucleophile in a phosphate buffer solution (0.15 mol/L, pH 7), using cyclic voltammetric techniques. The results indicated that the N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone-imine derived from paracetamol participates in a 1,4-Michael-type addition reaction with the malononitrile to form the corresponding paracetamol derivatives (6a, 7a). The present study has led to the development of a simple, green, non-catalyst and one-pot electrochemical method with high atom economy under mild conditions.     

Nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes with an asymmetric bidentate Schiff-base ligand derived from furfurylamine

New asymmetric bidentate Schiff-base ligand (5-bromo-2-hydroxybenzyl-2-furylmethyl)imine, (HL), and its nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes with the general composition ML₂ [M = Ni (1) and Cu (2)], were prepared. The ligand and the metal complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, and UV–Vis spectroscopy. In addition, ¹H-NMR and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) were employed for characterization of ligand and metal complexes, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the ligand and metal complexes revealed the thermal stability and decomposition pattern of the species.     

Optimization of Formulation and Process Variables for the Preparation of Novel Doxorubicin-Loaded Sonosensitive Nanodroplets

In the present study the effect of process (homogenization speed) and formulation (polymer concentration, surfactant concentration, drug amount, perfluorohexane volume fraction and co-surfactant inclusion) variables on particle size, entrapment efficiency, and drug release kinetics of doxorubicin-loaded alginate stabilized perfluorohexane nanodroplets were evaluated. Particle size and doxorubicin entrapment efficiency were highly affected by formulation and process variables. In vitro release profile of doxorubicin from all formulations was an apparently biphasic release process and 7–13 % of drug released from nanodroplets after 24 h incubation in PBS, pH 7.4, depending on the nanodroplets composition but ultrasound exposure for 10 min resulted in triggered release of 85.95 % of doxorubicin fromoptimal formulation (G). The inclusion of Span 60 (0.15 %), Poloxamer 188 (0.15 %) as co-surfactants reduced the particle size of nanodroplets from 51.8 to 42.3 and 35.6 nm, respectively. The entrapment efficiency decreased for span 60, while it did not changed in the case of Poloxamer 188. Comparison of drug release kinetics demonstrated that drug release was delayed for both Span 60 and Poloxamer 188. Thus, it was concluded that the particle size, entrapment efficiency and the doxorubicin release kinetics could easily be adjusted by taking advantage of process and formulation variables.