Fluorescent tricyclic β-azavinamidine–BF2 complexes

Boron trifluoride reacted with dipyrid-2-ylamine 6 , its N-methyl and 6,6′-dimethyl derivatives 8 and 10 , and 3,3′,5,5′-tetraphenyl-6-azapyrromethene 13 to give fluorescent β-azavinamidine (1,3,5-triazapenta-1,3-diene) dyes: 10-azapyridomethene–BF₂ complex 5 (λ_f 422 nm, λ_las 426 nm), its quaternary 10-methyl tetrafluoroborate and 4,6-dimethyl derivatives 9 (λ_f 362 nm) and 11 (λ_f 416 nm), and 1,3,5,7-tetraphenyl-8-azapyrromethene–BF₂ complex 17 (λ_f 696 nm). Treating 3,3′,4,4′-tetraphenyl-5,5′,6-trimethylpyrromethene (prepared in situ from ethyl 3,4-diphenyl-5-methylpyrrole-2-carboxylate in a reaction with acetyl chloride) with boron trifluoride gave 1,2,6,7-tetraphenyl-3,5,8-trimethylpyrromethene–BF₂ complex 21 . Absorption for the vinamidine chromophore differed from that for the β-azavinamidine chromophore by a hypsochromic shift of 86 nm in a comparison of pyridomethene–BF₂ complex 3 with its 10-aza derivative 5 and by a bathochromic shift of 105 nm in a comparison of the pyrromethene–BF₂ complex 20 with the 8-azapyrromethene–BF₂ complex 17 .     

A parallel-plate rheometer for the measurement of steady-state and transient rheological properties

A parallel-plate rheometer (PPR) has been constructed for use with the Materials Test System (MTS) for the measurement of fast transient and steady-state responses of polymeric liquids. This particular combination exploits the versatility and capability of the MTS programmable drive system, while the design of the PPR ensures the ideal simple shearing configuration. Instrument compliance, material inertia and mechanical lag in both the input and output components of the system are minimal, thus avoiding defects of most existing rheometers. Reproducible data on a 20% polyisobutylene-in-decalin solution have been obtained for various complicated flow programs. This test system is thus suitable for extensive rheological characterization of complex viscous liquids.     

Studies on the Formosan Soft Corals I-Cytotoxic Cembrane Diterpenes from Sarcophyton Trocheliophorum

Two cytotoxic cembranoid diterpenes, (+)-isosarcophytoxide (1) and ( + )-isosarcophine (2), were isolated from the soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum by cytotoxicity-guided fractionation. These two compounds demonstrated potent cytotoxicity against P-388 and HL-60 cells.     

Coupled Ag nanocrystal-based transparent mesh electrodes for transparent and flexible electro-magnetic interference shielding films

In this study, we developed a fabrication method of conductive and transparent Ag mesh electrodes on flexible polymer film at temperatures lower than 100?°C. Random patterned Ag mesh film was fabricated on a flexible PET substrate over 15?×?15?cm² by a self-assembly process. It became conductive by a coupling process at low temperatures. The coupled Ag mesh film showed more than 88% transmittance in visible wavelength and less than 8.2?Ω?sq^?1 in sheet resistance with figure of merit (FoM) value of 350. This transparent flexible EMI shield film fabricated with a coupled Ag mesh pattern showed high EM shielding effectiveness of ?23?dB?at 1.5–10?GHz frequency with a high transparency of 88%.     

Search for quadrupole strength in the electroexcitation of the delta+(1232)

High-precision 1H(e,e'p)pi(0) measurements at Q2 = 0.126 (GeV/c)2 are reported, which allow the determination of quadrupole amplitudes in the gamma*N-->Delta transition; they simultaneously test the reliability of electroproduction models. The derived quadrupole-to-dipole ( I = 3/2) amplitude ratios, R(SM) = (-6.5+/-0.2(stat+sys)+/-2.5(mod))% and R(EM) = (-2.1+/-0.2(stat+sys)+/-2.0(mod))%, are dominated by model error. Previous R(SM) and R(EM) results should be reconsidered after the model uncertainties associated with the method of their extraction are taken into account.     

Computation of the steady state distribution for multi-server retrial queues with phase type service process

We consider a multi-server retrial queueing system with the Batch Markovian Arrival Process and phase type service time distribution. Such a general queueing system suits for modeling and decision making in many real life objects including modern wireless communication networks. Behavior of such a system is described by the level dependent multi-dimensional Markov chain. Blocks of the generator of this chain, which is the block structured matrix of infinite size, can have large size if the number of servers is large and distribution of service time is not exponential. Due to this fact, the existing in literature algorithms allow to compute key performance measures of such a system only for a small number of servers. Here we describe the algorithm that allows to compute the stationary distribution of the system for larger number of servers and numerically illustrate its advantage. Importance of taking into account correlation in the arrival process is numerically demonstrated.     

Evidence of high harmonics from echo-enabled harmonic generation for seeding x-ray free electron lasers

Echo-enabled harmonic generation free electron lasers hold great promise for the generation of fully coherent radiation in x-ray wavelengths. Here we report the first evidence of high harmonics from the echo-enabled harmonic generation technique in the realistic scenario where the laser energy modulation is comparable to the beam slice energy spread. In this experiment, coherent radiation at the seventh harmonic of the second seed laser is generated when the energy modulation amplitude is about 2-3 times the slice energy spread. The experiment confirms the underlying physics of echo-enabled harmonic generation and may have a strong impact on emerging seeded x-ray free electron lasers that are capable of generating laserlike x rays which will advance many areas of science.     

Pyrromethene–BF2 complexes as laser dyes:1.

Condensations between 3-X-2,4-dimethylpyrroles (X = H, CH₃, C₂H₅, and CO₂C₂H₅) and acyl chlorides gave derivatives of 3,5,3′,5′-tetramethylpyrromethene (isolated as their hydrochloride salts): 6-methyl, 6-ethyl, 4,4′,6-trimethyl, 4,4′-diethyl-6-methyl, and 4,4′-dicarboethoxy-6-ethyl derivatives for conversion on treatment with boron trifluoride to 1,3,5,7-tetramethylpyrromethene–BF₂ complex (TMP–BF₂) and its 8-methyl (PMP–BF₂), 8-ethyl, 2,6,8-trimethyl (HMP–BF₂),2,6,-diethyl-8-methyl (PMDEP–BF₂), and 2,6-dicarboethoxy-8-ethyl derivatives. Chlorosulfonation converted, 1,3,5,7,8-pentamethylpyrromethene–BF₂ complex to its 2,6-disulfonic acid isolated as the lithium, sodium (PMPDS–BF₂), potassium, rubidium, cesium, ammonium, and tetramethylammonium disulfonate salts and the methyl disulfonate ester. Sodium 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-8-ethylpyrromethene-2,6-disulfonate–BF₂ complex was obtained from the 8-ethyl derivative of TMP–BF₂. Nitration and bromination converted PMP–BF₂ to its 2,6-dinitro-(PMDNP–BF₂) and 2,6-dibromo- derivatives. The time required for loss of fluorescence by irradiation from a sunlamp showed the following order for P–BF₂ compounds (10⁻³ to 10⁻⁴ M) in ethanol: PMPDS–BF₂, 7 weeks; PMP–BF₂, 5 days; PMDNP–BF₂, 72 h; HMP–BF₂, 70 h; and PMDEP–BF₂, 65 h. Under similar irradiation PMPDS–BF₂ in water lost fluorescence after 55 h. The dibromo derivative was inactive, but each of the other pyrromethene–BF₂ complexes under flashlamp excitation showed broadband laser activity in the region λ 530–580 nm. In methanol PMPDS–BF₂ was six times more resistant to degradation by flashlamp pulses than was observed for Rhodamine-6G (R-6G). An improvement (up to 66%) in the laser power efficiency of PMPDS–BF₂ (10⁻⁴ M in methanol) in the presence of caffeine (a filter for light <300 nm) was dependent on flashlamp pulse width (2.0 to 7.0 μsec).