A new benzofuran derivative from the leaves of Ficus pumila L.

A new benzofuran derivative, pumiloside (1), together with seven known flavonoid glycosides, afzelin (2), astragalin (3), quercitrin (4), isoquercitrin (5), kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside (6), rutin (7) and kaempferol 3-O-sophoroside (8) were isolated from the leaves of Ficus pumila. Their structures were established by spectroscopic data and comparison with the literature values.     

DENSITY ESTIMATES FOR SOLUTIONS OF STOCHASTIC FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

In this article, we investigate the density of the solution to a class of stochastic functional differential equations by means of Malliavin calculus. Our aim is to provide upper and lower Gaussian estimates for the density.     

Versatile preparation of poly(1,4‐phenylenevinylene‐co‐1,4‐phenylene‐1,2‐ethanediyl) by CVD polymerization of p‐(methoxymethyl)benzyl chloride

It was demonstrated that a series of copolymers consisting of 1,4‐phenylenevinylene (PV) and 1,4‐phenylene‐1,2‐ethanediyl (PE) units could be prepared from a single monomer, p‐(methoxymethyl)benzyl chloride, via the chemical vapor deposition polymerization (CVDP) method. The composition of the copolymers could be varied simply by altering the monomer activation temperature. The higher the temperature, the lower the content of the PV unit. The photo (PL)‐ and electroluminescence (EL) properties of the copolymers that revealed a blueshift when compared with PPV strongly depend on the amount of the PE units incorporated. The external quantum efficiencies of the electroluminescence devices having the configuration of ITO/PEDOT‐PSS/copolymer/Al‐Li were higher than that of PPV, which can be ascribed to the improved confinement of excitons. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 742–751, 2005     

Four-band quantum well infrared photodetector array

A four-band quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) focal plane array (FPA) has been demonstrated by stacking different multi-quantum well structures, which are sensitive in 4–5.5, 8.5–10, 10–12, and 13–15.5 μm infrared bands. This 640 × 514 format FPA consists of four 640 × 128 pixel areas which are capable of acquiring images in these infrared bands. In this application, instead of quarter wevelength groove depth grating reflectors, three-quarter wavelength groove depth reflectors were used to couple radiation to each QWIP layer. This technique allows us to optimize the light coupling to each QWIP stack at corresponding pixels while keeping the pixel (or mesa) height at the same level, which will be essential for indium bump-bonding with the multiplexer. In addition to light coupling, these gratings serve as a contact to the active stack while shorting the unwanted stacks. Flexible QWIP design parameters, such as well width, barrier thickness, doping density, and the number of periods, were cleverly exploited to optimize the performance of each detector while accommodating requirements set by the deep groove light coupling gratings. For imaging, detector array is operated at temperature T=45 K, and each detector shows a very high D^*>1×10¹¹ cm  /W for 300 K background with f/2 optics. This initial array gave excellent images with 99.9% of the pixels working, demonstrating the high yield of GaAs technology.     

Pesticide residue analysis of a dietary ingredient by gas chromatography/selected-ion monitoring mass spectrometry using neutral alumina solid-phase extraction cleanup

A sample cleanup procedure has been developed to remove coextractives that interfere with pesticide residue analysis of a dietary ingredient (Product B), an extract consisting of Scutellaria baicalensis and Acacia catechu. Samples were extracted using 1% acetic acid in acetonitrile, followed by solid-phase extraction and analysis by capillary gas chromatography with mass spectrometry in the selective-ion monitoring mode. Neutral alumina (alumina N) was found to be the most effective sorbent to remove coextractives from Product B; other materials that were tested but failed to remove interference were graphitized carbon black/primary-secondary amine (PSA), octadecylsilane (C18), Florisil, Oasis MCX, and strong anion exchange-PSA. The method was specifically developed for Product B, which was spiked with 41 organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides, and resulted in the recovery of 80 to 120% at U.S. Pharmacopeia limits (0.06 to 4 microg/g) for the majority of the pesticides.     

New Polyenes from the Marine-Derived Fungus Talaromyces cyanescens with Anti-Neuroinflammatory and Cytotoxic Activities

Three new polyene compounds, talacyanols A–C (1–3), along with two known compounds, ramulosin (4) and eurothiocin A (5), were isolated from the marine fungus Talaromyces cyanescens derived from a seaweed Caulerpa sp. Structures of 1–5 were established by one-dimensional and two-dimensional (1D/2D) NMR, HR-ESIMS, and the modified Mosher’s methods, as well as comparison with previously reported literature data. All the compounds (1–5) were tested for their in vitro cytotoxic and anti-neuroinflammatory activities. Among them, 1 showed moderate cytotoxic activity against a panel of cancer cell lines (HCT-15, NUGC-3, NCI-H23, ACHN, PC-3, and MDA-MB-231) with GI₅₀ values ranging from 44.4 to 91.6 μM, whereas compounds 2 and 5 exhibited anti-neuroinflammatory effect without cytotoxicity against all the tested cell lines.     

Aromatic Gain in a Supramolecular Polymer

The synergy of aromatic gain and hydrogen bonding in a supramolecular polymer is explored. Partially aromatic bis(squaramide) bolaamphiphiles were designed to self‐assemble through a combination of hydrophobic, hydrogen‐bonding, and aromatic effects into stiff, high‐aspect‐ratio fibers. UV and IR spectroscopy show electron delocalization and geometric changes within the squaramide ring indicative of strong hydrogen bonding and aromatic gain of the monomer units. The aromatic contribution to the interaction energy was further supported computationally by nucleus‐independent chemical shift (NICS) and harmonic oscillator model of aromaticity (HOMA) indices, demonstrating greater aromatic character upon polymerization: at least 30 % in a pentamer. The aromatic gain–hydrogen bonding synergy results in a significant increase in thermodynamic stability and a striking difference in aggregate morphology of the bis(squaramide) bolamphiphile compared to isosteres that cannot engage in this effect.     

A model for high temperature creep of single crystal superalloys based on nonlocal damage and viscoplastic material behavior

A model for high temperature creep of single crystal superalloys is developed, which includes constitutive laws for nonlocal damage and viscoplasticity. It is based on a variational formulation, employing potentials for free energy, and dissipation originating from plasticity and damage. Evolution equations for plastic strain and damage variables are derived from the well-established minimum principle for the dissipation potential. The model is capable of describing the different stages of creep in a unified way. Plastic deformation in superalloys incorporates the evolution of dislocation densities of the different phases present. It results in a time dependence of the creep rate in primary and secondary creep. Tertiary creep is taken into account by introducing local and nonlocal damage. Herein, the nonlocal one is included in order to model strain localization as well as to remove mesh dependence of finite element calculations. Numerical results and comparisons with experimental data of the single crystal superalloy LEK94 are shown.     

Enhancement of electrical stability of a-IGZO TFTs by improving the surface morphology and packing density of active channel

a-IGZO films were deposited on Si substrates by d.c sputtering technique with various working power densities (p_d) in the range of 0.74–2.22 W/cm². The correlation between material properties and their effects on electrical stability of a-IGZO thin-film transistor (TFTs) was studied as a function of p_d. At a p_d of 1.72 W/cm² a-IGZO film had smoothest surface roughness (0.309 nm) with In-rich and Ga-poor cation compositions as a channel. This structurally ordered TFTs exhibited a high field effect mobility of 9.14 cm²/Vs, a sub-threshold swing (S.S.) of 0.566 V/dec, and an on–off ratio of 10⁷. Additionally, the V_th shift in hysteresis loop is almost eliminated. It was shown that the densification of the a-IGZO film resulted in the reduction of its interface trap density (1.83 × 10¹² cm^?2), which contributes for the improvement in the electrical and thermal stability.