Residue level and dissipation pattern of lepimectin in shallots using high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detection

Lepimectin, as an emulsifiable concentrate, was sprayed on shallots at the recommended dose rate (10 mL/20 L) to determine its residue levels, dissipation pattern, pre‐harvest residue limits (PHRLs), and health risk. Samples were randomly collected over 10 days, extracted with acetonitrile, purified using an amino solid‐phase extraction (NH₂‐SPE) cartridge and analyzed using a high‐performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array detection method. Field‐incurred samples were confirmed using ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The linearity was excellent, with a determination coefficient (R²) of ≥0.9991. The recoveries at two spiking levels (0.2 and 1.0 mg/kg) ranged from 84.49 to 87.64% with relative standard deviations of ≤7.04%. The developed method was applied to field samples grown in separate greenhouses, one located in Naju and one in Muan, in the Republic of Korea. The dissipation pattern was described by first‐order kinetics with half‐lives of 1.9 (Naju) and 1.7 days (Muan). The PHRL curves indicated that, if the lepimectin residues are <0.18 (Naju) and <0.13 mg/kg (Muan) 5 days before harvest, the residue levels will be lower than the maximum residue limit (0.05 mg/kg) upon harvesting. The risk assessment data indicated that lepimectin is safe for use in the cultivation of shallots, with no risk of detrimental effects to the consumer.     

High pressure studies on the electrical resistivity of Ge–Te–Tl glasses

The variation of electrical resistivity in the system of glasses Ge₁₇Te_83?xTl_x, with (1≤x≤13), has been studied as a function of high pressure for pressures up to 10 GPa. It is found that the normalized electrical resistivity decreases continuously with the increase in pressure and shows a sudden drop at a particular pressure (transition pressure), indicating the presence of a transition from semiconductor to near-metallic at these pressures which are in the range 3.0–5.0 GPa. This transition pressure is seen to decrease with the increase in the percentage content of thallium due to increasing metallicity of the thallium. The transition is reversible under application of pressure and X-ray diffraction of samples recovered after pressurization show that they remain amorphous after undergoing a pressurization decompression cycle.     

Shape dependent energy optimization in quantum dots

In this paper, we investigate a minimization problem related to the principal eigenvalue of the Schrödinger operator. The optimized solution can be applied to design new electronic and photonic devices based on the quantum dots.     

Optical properties of conjugated polymer: review of its change mechanism for ionizing radiation sensor

A review on the change mechanism of conjugated polymer upon radiation exposure is presented. The change mechanism is mainly focused on the polymer's optical properties instead of its electrical properties. This research explores the effect of ionizing radiation on the optical change of conjugated polymer. This study also reviewed the possibility of using conjugated polymer as a radiation sensor vis‐à‐vis radiation type and the optical response. From material point of view, topochemical reaction, conjugation length and the degree of anisotropy of the conjugated polymer itself were identified as factors affecting the polymer's optical properties. These factors are tunable to meet a required optical degree, thus making the observation using the optical properties of a conjugated polymer possible for a radiation sensing tool. Based on the review, alteration of the factors and its mechanism of change occurs at macromolecular level. Therefore, a material at its smallest size down to a single molecule could be possible for the indication of radiation. Thus, radiation sensor made of nano or micro colloidal conjugated polymer deserves attention for future development. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Elementary matrix reduction over certain rings

We explore elementary matrix reduction over certain rings characterized by properties related to stable range. Let R be a commutative ring. We call R locally stable if aR+bR = R??x∈R such that R∕(a+bx)R has stable range 1. We study locally stable rings and prove that every locally stable Bézout ring is an elementary divisor ring. Many known results on domains are thereby generalized.     

Synthesis,biological evaluation,quantitative-SAR and docking studies of novel chalcone derivatives as antibacterial and antioxidant agents

In the present study, a series of chalcone derivatives including 17 new compounds were synthesised; their antibacterial activities against eleven bacteria, and their free radical-scavenging activities using DPPH were evaluated. All compounds showed significant antibacterial activities against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In particular, compound IIIf strongly inhibited Staphylococcus aureus (JMC 2151) and Enterococcus faecalis (CARS 2011-012) with MIC values of 6.25 µg mL^?1 and 12.5 µg mL^?1, respectively, which are comparable to that of the standard antibiotic, nalidixic acid. Compound IIIg also inhibited S. aureus with a MIC value similar to that of nalidixic acid (6.25 µg mL^?1). Furthermore, like nalidixic acid (MIC value of 25 µg mL^?1), compounds IIIa, IIIc and IIId inhibited Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 43256) with MIC values of 25 µg mL^?1, 12.5 µg mL^?1 and 25 µg mL^?1, respectively. Quantitative structure-activity relationship (Q-SAR) studies using physicochemical calculations indicated that the antibacterial activities of chalcone derivatives correlated well with predicted physicochemical parameters (logP and PSA). Docking simulation by positioning the most active compound IIIf in the active site of the penicillin-binding protein (PBP-1b) of S. aureus was performed to explore the feasible binding mode. Furthermore, most of the compounds synthesised exhibited significant DPPH radical-scavenging activity, although compounds IIc and IIIc exhibited the greatest antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ values of 1.68 µM and 1.44 µM, respectively, comparable to that of the standard antioxidant, ascorbic acid (1.03 µM).     

Interaction of the Amphiphilic Drug Amitriptyline Hydrochloride with Gemini and Conventional Surfactants: A Physicochemical Approach

Pyrene fluorescence measurements were carried out on various binary mixtures of the antidepressant amphiphilic drug amitriptyline hydrochloride (AMT) with conventional (TTAB and CTAB) and gemini surfactants (14-4-14 and 16-4-16). In all cases mixed micellar aggregates were formed and the mixed critical micelle concentration (cmc) of various mixtures was computed from the I ₁/I ₃ versus total surfactant concentration plots. In the region where mixed micelles are formed, the interaction of the amphiphlic drug and four surfactants showed synergistic behavior. The results were analyzed using an interaction parameter, β, which characterize the interaction in the mixed micelle and is introduced by a regular solution theory. The β values are negative in all binary mixtures, and their magnitudes increase with increasing hydrophobicity of the amphiphile. The micellar mole fraction of AMT in the mixed micelle (x ₁) and in the ideal sate (x _ideal) were evaluated and their values (x ₁ > x _ideal) suggest that the contribution of the AMT component is greater in binary mixtures as compared to that in the ideal state. Activity coefficients (f ₁ and f ₂) and excess Gibbs energy (G _ex) were also calculated. The values of micelle aggregation numbers (N _agg) and various other parameters like the Stern–Volmer constant (K _sv), micropolarity and dielectric constant of mixed systems have also been evaluated from the ratios of respective peak intensities (I ₁/I ₃ or I ₀/I ₁).