Spectral characteristics of 2-aminodiphenylamine in different solvents and at various pH values.

The absorption and fluorescence spectra of 2-aminodiphenylamine (2ADA) have been studied as a function of solvent polarity and acid concentration. Analysis of solvatochromic and prototropic shifts of 2ADA reveals: (i) the presence of intramolecular hydrogen bonding between imino and amino groups in the ground state, (ii) dual fluorescence (360 and 430 nm) of the monocation (2ADA+) formed by the protonation of amino group; and (iii) proton-induced quenching of the monocation (2ADA+) fluorescence. In the dual fluorescence of 2ADA+, the longer wavelength emission at 430 nm is found to be from the twisted form of the monocation. The rate constants of the proton-induced quenching of 2ADA+ are determined.     

Schur-type stability properties and complex diagonal scaling

We introduce new classes of n-by-n matrices with complex entries which can be scaled by a diagonal matrix with complex entries to be normal or Hermitian and study the Schur-type stability properties of these matrices.     

On the condensation of phenyl ethynyl ketone with cyclopentadiene—a reinvestigation

The earlier structural assignment as 1 for the product obtained by the condensation of phenyl ethynyl ketone with cyclopentadiene is now revised to the dimeric structure 5d.     

A model for the phonon frequency distribution function for crystalline polyethylene

A model for the phonon frequency distribution function of crystalline polyethylene has been developed considering the mass of the vibrating unit to be two methylene groups and distinguishing between the ‘hard’ longitudinal and transverse dispersive modes. It explains the temperature variation of specific heat of polyethylene and can be used for other studies.     

Synthesis of Hydroxy-Functional PMMA Macromonomers by Anionic Polymerization

Living anionic polymerization has been utilized to synthesize hydroxy end-functionalized PMMA macromonomers with styryl or allyl functionalities as the polymerizable end-groups. Protected hydroxy-functionalized alkyl lithium initiators have been used to initiate anionic polymerization of MMA. Subsequently the living chains with protected hydroxyl function have been terminated using 4-vinylbenzyl chloride (4-VBC) or allyl methacrylate (ALMA) to form α-hydroxy-ω-styryl and α-hydroxy-ω-allyl PMMA, respectively. These protected hydroxy-functionalized PMMA macromonomers have been characterized by GPC and ¹H-NMR. Termination using 4-VBC led to 50% functionalization, whereas that using allyl methacrylate led to 100% functionalization of the hydroxy-PMMA.     

Substituent effects on the binding of natural product anthocyanidin inhibitors to influenza neuraminidase with mass spectrometry

The binding of three closely related anthocyanins within the 430-cavity of influenza neuraminidase is studied using a combination of mass spectrometry and molecular docking. Despite their similar structures, which differ only in the number and position of the hydroxyl substituents on the phenyl group attached to the chromenylium ring, subtle differences in their binding characteristics are revealed by mass spectrometry and molecular docking that are in accord with their inhibitory properties by neuraminidase inhibition assays. The cyanidin and delphinidin, with the greatest number of hydroxyl groups, bind more strongly and are better inhibitors than pelargonidin that contains a lone hydroxyl group at the 4′ position. The study demonstrates, for the first time, the sensitivity of the mass spectrometry based approach for investigating the molecular basis and relative affinity of antiviral inhibitors, with subtly different structures, to their target protein. It has broader application for the screening of other protein interactions more generally with reasonable high-throughput.     

Unusual Excited State Characteristics of 6-aminobenzothiazole with β-cyclodextrin

The interaction between 6-aminobenzothiazole (6ABT) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CDx) has been investigated in solution and solid state. The stoichiometry and binding constants of the complex between 6ABT and β-CDx in solution have been determined by steady state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Fluorescence intensity of neutral form decreases during complexation which is contrary to the usual observation. This is explained by hydrogen bonding interaction between lone pair of nitrogen with OH groups of β-CDx. The FT-IR spectral study and SEM images of solid complex confirmed the formation of inclusion complex. Excited state acidity constants for 6ABT have been determined in aqueous and β-CDx medium and discussed.     

Predicted effects of sensorineural hearing loss on across-fiber envelope coding in the auditory nerve

Cross-channel envelope correlations are hypothesized to influence speech intelligibility, particularly in adverse conditions. Acoustic analyses suggest speech envelope correlations differ for syllabic and phonemic ranges of modulation frequency. The influence of cochlear filtering was examined here by predicting cross-channel envelope correlations in different speech modulation ranges for normal and impaired auditory-nerve (AN) responses. Neural cross-correlation coefficients quantified across-fiber envelope coding in syllabic (0-5 Hz), phonemic (5-64 Hz), and periodicity (64-300 Hz) modulation ranges. Spike trains were generated from a physiologically based AN model. Correlations were also computed using the model with selective hair-cell damage. Neural predictions revealed that envelope cross-correlation decreased with increased characteristic-frequency separation for all modulation ranges (with greater syllabic-envelope correlation than phonemic or periodicity). Syllabic envelope was highly correlated across many spectral channels, whereas phonemic and periodicity envelopes were correlated mainly between adjacent channels. Outer-hair-cell impairment increased the degree of cross-channel correlation for phonemic and periodicity ranges for speech in quiet and in noise, thereby reducing the number of independent neural information channels for envelope coding. In contrast, outer-hair-cell impairment was predicted to decrease cross-channel correlation for syllabic envelopes in noise, which may partially account for the reduced ability of hearing-impaired listeners to segregate speech in complex backgrounds.     

Identification of combustion mode under MILD conditions using Chemical Explosive Mode Analysis

Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) data of Moderate or Intense Low-oxygen Dilution (MILD) combustion are analysed to identify the contributions of the autoignition and flame modes. This is performed using an extended Chemical Explosive Mode Analysis (CEMA) which accounts for diffusion effects allowing it to discriminate between deflagration and autoignition. This analysis indicates that in premixed MILD combustion conditions, the main combustion mode is ignition for all dilution and turbulence levels and for the two reactant temperature conditions considered. In non-premixed conditions, the preponderance of the ignition mode was observed to depend on the axial location and mixture fraction stratification. With a large mixture fraction lengthscale, ignition is more preponderant in the early part of the domain while the deflagrative mode increases further downstream. On the other hand, when the mixture fraction lengthscale is small, sequential autoignition is observed. Finally, the various combustion modes are observed to correlate strongly with mixture fraction where lean mixtures are more likely to autoignite while stoichiometric and rich mixtures are more likely to react as deflagrative structures.