Generation of hyperchaos from the Chen–Lee system via sinusoidal perturbation

A system with more than one positive Lyapunov exponent can be classified as a hyperchaotic system. In this study, a sinusoidal perturbation was designed for generating hyperchaos from the Chen–Lee chaotic system. The hyperchaos was identified by the existence of two positive Lyapunov exponents and bifurcation diagrams. The system is hyperchaotic in several different regions of the parameters c, ε, and ω. It was found that this method not only can enhance or suppress chaotic behavior, but also induces chaos in non-chaotic parameter ranges. In addition, two interesting dynamical behaviors, Hopf bifurcation and intermittency, were also found in this study.     

Polyplatinayne/polyoxometalate composite Langmuir‐Blodgett films: Preparation,structural characterization,and potential optoelectronic applications

A new family of organometallic/inorganic composite Langmuir‐Blodgett (LB) films consisting of rigid‐rod polyplatinayne polymer ([Pt‐T(OMe‐Fl)T]_∞ or [Pt‐T(F‐Fl)T]_∞, where the triplet bonds are abbreviated by T, and fluorene ring by Fl) as the π‐conjugated organometallic molecule, polyoxometalate (POM, POM = K₃PMo₁₂O₄₀, H₃PW₁₂O₄₀, or H₆P₂W₁₈O₆₂) of the Keggin and Dawson structures as the inorganic component, and dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide (DODA) or a mixture of octadecanoic acid (OA) and docosanoic acid (DA) as the auxiliary film‐forming agent were prepared and characterized by π–A isotherms, UV–Vis absorption spectra, photoluminescence spectra, atomic force microscopy imaging, scanning tunneling microscopy, and low‐angle X‐ray diffraction. Our experimental results indicate that steady, even, and ordered Langmuir and LB films are formed in pure water and polyoxometalate subphases. It was shown that the POM molecules are probably embedded inside the polyplatinayne molecules in the LB film structure and they can quench the luminescence of the Pt polyyne. These Pt‐polyyne based LB films display interesting electric conductivity behavior. [Pt‐T(OMe‐Fl)T]_∞/DODA/HPW₁₂ monolayer film shows a good electrical conductivity, and the tunneling current amounts to ±100 nA when the voltage is set at ±8 V. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 3193–3206, 2008     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>-factors in regular graphs

Plesnik in 1972 proved that an （m - 1）-edge connected m-regular graph of even order has a 1-factor containing any given edge and has another 1-factor excluding any given m - 1 edges. Alder et al. in 1999 showed that if G is a regular （2n ＋ 1）-edge-connected bipartite graph, then G has a 1-factor containing any given edge and excluding any given matching of size n. In this paper we obtain some sufficient conditions related to the edge-connectivity for an n-regular graph to have a k-factor containing a set of edges and （or） excluding a set of edges, where 1 ≤ k ≤n/2. In particular, we generalize Plesnik＇s result and the results obtained by Liu et al. in 1998, and improve Katerinis＇ result obtained 1993. Furthermore, we show that the results in this paper are the best possible.     

A sodium ion selective optode based on fluorescein octadecyl ether octadecyl ester and application in beverage and urine assay

A fast responsive sodium ion selective fluorescent optode membrane mounted on an optical fiber has been developed. The sensing membrane contained fluorescein octadecyl ether octadecyl ester (FODEE), potassium tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl) borate (KTpClPB) and a calix[4]arene tetraester in a plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix. It exhibited a reversible response to Na⁺ in 0.5 mol/l of HCl in the concentration range of 1.0×10⁻⁶ to 0.1 mol/l. The selectivity, response time, reproducibility and lifetime of the optode membrane were discussed. The practical use of this sensor was demonstrated by real sample analysis in complex sample solutions such as beverage and urine samples.     

Effect of cellulose–lignin interactions on char structural changes during fast pyrolysis at 100–350 °C

This study investigates the cellulose–lignin interactions during fast pyrolysis at 100–350 °C for better understanding fundamental pyrolysis mechanism of lignocellulosic biomass. The results show that co-pyrolysis of cellulose and lignin (with a mass ratio of 1:1) at temperatures < 300 °C leads to a char yield lower than the calculated char yield based on the addition of individual cellulose and lignin pyrolysis. The difference between the experimental and calculated char yields increases with temperature, from ～2% 150 °C to ～6% at 250 °C. Such differences in char yields provide direct evidences on the existence of cellulose–lignin interactions during co-pyrolysis of cellulose and lignin. At temperatures below 300 °C, the reductions in both lignin functional groups and sugar structures within the char indicate that co-pyrolysis of cellulose and lignin enhances the release of volatiles from both cellulose and lignin. Such an observation could be attributed to two possible reasons: (1) the stabilization of lignin-derived reactive species by cellulose-derived reaction intermediates as hydrogen donors, and (2) the thermal ejection of cellulose-derived species due to micro-explosion of liquid intermediates from lignin. In contrast, at temperatures ≥ 300 °C, co-pyrolysis of cellulose and lignin increases char yields, i.e., with the difference between the experimental and calculated char yields increasing from ～1% at 300 °C to ～8% at 350 °C. The results indicate that the cellulose-derived volatiles are difficult to diffuse through the lignin-derived liquid intermediates into the vapor phase, leading to increased char formation from co-pyrolysis of cellulose and lignin as temperature increases. Such an observation is further supported by the increased retention of cellulose functional groups in the char from co-pyrolysis of cellulose and lignin.     

Obtaining the shear stress shear rate relationship and yield stress of liquid foods from Couette viscometry data

A method based on Tikhonov regularisation is used to convert the Couette viscometry data of a number of liquid foods into shear stress vs shear rate relationships. For liquid foods that have a yield stress and if the viscometry data cover the appropriate range of shear stress, Tikhonov regularisation is used to compute simultaneously the yield stress. The versatility of Tikhonov regularisation is demonstrated by applying it to process data from wide as well as narrow gap Couette viscometers. The results generated by Tikhonov regularisation are compared against that obtained by methods currently employed by rheologists.     

Effects of carbon nanotubes on dynamic mechanical property,thermal property,and crystal structure of poly(L‐lactic acid)

Effects of carbon nanotubes (CNT) on the dynamic mechanical property, thermal property, and crystal structure of poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) were investigated. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) found that CNT via grafting modification with PLLA (CNT‐g‐PLLA) could result in effective reinforcing effects. Tan δ of DMA found that CNT‐g‐PLLA was compatible with the PLLA matrix, giving a single T_g of the composite with a higher CNT‐g‐PLLA loading giving a higher T_g of the composite. Wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) data demonstrated that CNT could assist the disorder‐to‐order (α′‐to‐α) transition in PLLA crystals but did not lead to a more compact chain packing of the crystal lattice in PLLA composites than in pure PLLA. The equilibrium melting temperature (T) obtained from Hoffman‐Weeks plots were found to increase with increasing CNT‐g‐PLLA content. Small angle X‐ray scattering data revealed that thicknesses of crystal layer and amorphous layer of PLLA both decreased with increasing CNT contents. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 145–152, 2010     

Consensus model for identification of novel PI3K inhibitors in large chemical library

Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) inhibitors have treatment potential for cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic inflammation and asthma. A consensus model consisting of three base classifiers (AODE, kNN, and SVM) trained with 1,283 positive compounds (PI3K inhibitors), 16 negative compounds (PI3K non-inhibitors) and 64,078 generated putative negatives was developed for predicting compounds with PI3K inhibitory activity of IC₅₀ ≤ 10 μM. The consensus model has an estimated false positive rate of 0.75%. Nine novel potential inhibitors were identified using the consensus model and several of these contain structural features that are consistent with those found to be important for PI3K inhibitory activities. An advantage of the current model is that it does not require knowledge of 3D structural information of the various PI3K isoforms, which is not readily available for all isoforms.     

Functionalized Alkynylplatinum(II) Polypyridyl Complexes for Use as Sensitizers in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

A series of platinum(II) alkynyl‐based sensitizers has been synthesized and found to show light‐to‐electricity conversion properties. These dyes were developed as sensitizers for the application in nanocrystalline TiO₂ dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Their photophysical and electrochemical properties were studied. The excited‐state property was probed using nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, which showed the formation of a charge‐separated state that arises from the intramolecular photoinduced charge transfer from the platinum(II) alkynylbithienylbenzothiadiazole moiety (donor) to the polypyridyl ligand (acceptor). A lifetime of 3.4 μs was observed for the charge‐separated state. A dye‐sensitized solar cell based on one of the complexes showed a short‐circuit photocurrent of 7.12 mA cm^?2, an open circuit voltage of 780 mV, and a fill factor of 0.65, thus giving an overall power conversion efficiency of 3.6 %.