Existence results for periodic solutions of integro-dynamic equations on time scales

Using the topological degree method and Schaefer’s fixed point theorem, we deduce the existence of periodic solutions of nonlinear system of integro-dynamic equations on periodic time scales. Furthermore, we provide several applications to scalar equations, in which we develop a time scale analog of Lyapunov’s direct method and prove an analog of Sobolev’s inequality on time scales to arrive at a priori bound on all periodic solutions. Therefore, we improve and generalize the corresponding results in Burton et al. (Ann Mat Pura Appl 161:271–283, 1992)      

A multilevel finite volume method with multiscale-based grid adaptation for steady compressible flows

An implicit multilevel finite volume solver on adaptively refined quadtree meshes is presented for the solution of steady state flow problems. The nonlinear problem arising from the implicit time discretization is solved by an adaptive FAS multigrid method. Local grid adaptation is performed by means of a multiscale-based strategy. For this purpose data of the flow field are decomposed into coarse grid information and a sequence of detail coefficients that describe the difference between two refinement levels and reveal insight into the local regularity behavior of the solution. Here wavelet techniques are employed for the multiscale analysis. The key idea of the present work is to use the transfer operators of the multiscale analysis for the prolongation and restriction operator in the FAS cycle. The efficiency of the solver is investigated by means of an inviscid 2D flow over a bump.     

Galacto-configured aminocyclitol phytoceramides are potent in vivo invariant natural killer T cell stimulators

A new class of α-galactosylceramide (αGC) nonglycosidic analogues bearing galacto-configured aminocyclitols as sugar surrogates have been obtained. The aminocyclohexane having a hydroxyl substitution pattern similar to an α-galactoside is efficiently obtained by a sequence involving Evans aldol reaction and ring-closing metathesis with a Grubbs catalyst to give a key intermediate cyclohexene, which has been converted in galacto-aminocyclohexanes that are linked through a secondary amine to a phytoceramide lipid having a cerotyl N-acyl group. Natural Killer T (NKT) cellular assays have resulted in the identification of an active compound, HS161, which has been found to promote NKT cell expansion in vitro in a similar fashion but more weakly than αGC. This compound stimulates the release of Interferon-γ (IFNγ) and Interleukin-4 (IL-4) in iNKT cell culture but with lower potency than αGC. The activation of Invariant Natural Killer T (iNKT) cells by this compound has been confirmed in flow cytometry experiments. Remarkably, when tested in mice, HS161 selectively induces a very strong production of IFN-γ indicative of a potent Th1 cytokine profile. Overall, these data confirm the agonist activity of αGC lipid analogues having charged amino-substituted polar heads and their capacity to modulate the response arising from iNKT cell activation in vivo.     

CO2 deactivation of supported amines: does the nature of amine matter?

Adsorption of CO(2) was investigated on a series of primary, secondary, and tertiary monoamine-grafted pore-expanded mesoporous MCM-41 silicas, referred to as pMONO, sMONO, and tMONO, respectively. The pMONO adsorbent showed the highest CO(2) adsorption capacity, followed by sMONO, whereas tMONO exhibited hardly any CO(2) uptake. As for the stability in the presence of dry CO(2), we showed in a previous contribution [J. Am. Chem. Soc.2010, 132, 6312-6314] that amine-supported materials deactivate in the presence of dry CO(2) via the formation of urea linkages. Here, we showed that only primary amines suffered extensive loss in CO(2) uptake, whereas secondary and tertiary amines were stable even at temperature as high as 200 °C. The difference in the stability of primary vs secondary and tertiary amines was associated with the occurrence of isocyanate as intermediate species toward the formation of urea groups, since only primary amines can be precursors to isocyanate in the presence of CO(2). However, using a grafted propyldiethylenetriamine containing both primary and secondary amines, we demonstrated that while primary amines gave rise to isocyanate, the latter can react with either primary or secondary amines to generate di- and trisubstituted ureas, leading to deactivation of secondary amines as well.     

Microwave assisted synthesis of some new thiazolopyrimidine, thiazolodipyrimidine and thiazolopyrimidothiazolopyrimidine derivatives with potential antioxidant and antimicrobial activity

Biginelli reaction of ethyl acetoacetate, thiourea and the appropriate aromatic aldehyde was used to produce ethyl 4-aryl-6-methyl-2-thioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-pyrimidine-5-carboxylates, that reacted with bromomalononitrile to give ethyl 3-amino-5-aryl-2-cyano-7-methyl-5H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine-6-carboxylates rather than the isomeric 7H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidines. Thiazolopyrimidine derivatives reacted with carbon disulphide to yield ethyl 9-aryl-7-methyl-2,4-dithioxo-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-thiazolo[3,2-a:4,5-d']dipyrimidine-8-carboxylates, that reacted with phenacyl bromide to produce ethyl 8-methyl-10-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-substituted-5-thioxo-2(un)subatituted-10H-thiazolo[3',2':1',2']pyrimido[4',5':4,5]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine-9-carboxylates. The aforementioned reactions were carried out using both conventional chemical methods and with the assistance of microwave irradaition. Comparison between both methods showed that the microwave assisted method is preferable because of the time reduction and yield improvements achieved. The new compounds were tested for their biological activity as antioxidants, antibacterial or antifungal agents. Some of the new compounds were found to have moderate to good antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.     

Effect of Epoxidation of Diene Component of SBS Block Copolymer on Morphology and Mechanical Properties

In this work, the polybutadiene (PB) block of an asymmetric lamellae forming polystyrene/polybutadiene based triblock copolymer was epoxidized to different extent in order to study its effect on morphology and mechanical behaviour of the copolymer. The products were analyzed by means of different microscopic techniques, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and microhardness measurements. It was found that the microphase separation behavior and hence the mechanical properties of the materials were drastically altered through epoxidation of the diene block of the styrene/diene triblock copolymer. With the increase in the extent of epoxidation the lamellar structure changed to distorted lamellae and then to disordered domains. Consequently, inhomogeneous mechanical performance of the samples was observed at higher degree of chemical modification.     

A Mössbauer spectroscopy investigation of SrFe1−xScxO3−δ perovskites

Polycrystalline samples of oxygen deficient perovskites SrFe_1?xSc_xO_3?δ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) have been synthesized by direct solid state reactions. Each compound has been stabilized with two different oxygen stoichiometries. The structural study shows, firstly, the good cationic homogeneity of the samples and, secondly, that the Sc and Fe atoms are randomly distributed over the same crystallographic site, whatever the scandium content. This implies that no anionic order is possible. A detailed Mossbauer spectroscopy study clearly shows that the substitution of scandium for iron involves an oxygen content decrease which decreases the tetravalent iron content until its total disappearance for x = 0.5. The evolutions of the isomer shift, the quadrupolar splitting and the relative intensity versus the Sc³⁺ content are depicted in the present paper.     

The oxygen deficient cubic perovskite SrFe1−xScxO3−δ (x ≤ 0.5; 0.1 ≤ δ ≤ 0.5): Structural features and physical properties

Solid state synthesis method has been used to stabilize oxygen deficient perovskite phases SrFe_1?xSc_xO_3?δ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5). The good homogeneity of samples is confirmed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis performed with a transmission electronic microscope (TEM). By combining X-ray and electronic diffraction (ED), it is demonstrated that the cationic substitution on the B site of the perovskite induces a decrease of the oxygen content but without inducing long range ordering phenomenon. On this basis, X-ray patterns of compounds were indexed in the cubic Pm3m space group. The oxidation states of iron evidenced by Mössbauer spectroscopy, are in good agreement with the oxygen stoichiometries determined by cerimetric titration. In the SrFe_1?xSc_xO_3?δ series, the Fe³⁺/Fe⁴⁺ origin of the electronic conductivity is clearly evidenced. The limit compound SrFe_0.5Sc_0.5O_2.5 is highly resistive and characterized by a cluster glass-like behaviour. Finally, negative magnetoresistivity properties are revealed for the x = 0.1 and x = 0.2 samples, reaching ?10% around the magnetic transition temperature in a 7T magnetic field.     

Triamine-grafted pore-expanded mesoporous silica for CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> capture: Effect of moisture and adsorbent regeneration strategies

Adsorption of carbon dioxide (CO₂) was investigated on triamine-grafted, pore-expanded MCM-41 mesoporous silica (TRI-PE-MCM-41). Measurements of adsorption capacity using mass spectrometry showed an enhanced CO₂ adsorption capacity in humid streams compared to dry CO₂. This was corroborated with breakthrough experiments, which also showed that TRI-PE-MCM-41 offered a practically infinite selectivity towards CO₂ over nitrogen. Cyclic measurements of pure CO₂ and CO₂:N₂ = 10:90 mixture using different regeneration modes showed that amine-grafted PE-MCM-41 is particularly suitable for CO₂ removal using temperature swing adsorption (TSA) at adsorption temperatures higher than ambient, while temperature-vacuum swing adsorption (TVSA) may be attractive at ambient temperature.