Structure and Stability of (NG)nCN3Be3+ Clusters and Comparison with (NG)BeY0/+

The noble gas binding ability of CN₃Be₃⁺ clusters was assessed both by ab intio and density functional studies. The global minimum structure of the CN₃Be₃⁺ cluster binds with four noble‐gas (NG) atoms, in which the Be atoms are acting as active centers. The electron transfer from the noble gas to the Be atom plays a key role in binding. The dissociation energy of the Be? NG bond gradually increases from He to Rn, maintaining the periodic trend. The HOMO–LUMO gap, an indicator for stability, gives additional insight into these NG‐bound clusters. The temperature at which the NG‐binding process is thermodynamically feasible was identified. In addition, we investigated the stability of two new neutral NG compounds, (NG)BeSe and (NG)BeTe, and found them to be suitable candidates to be detected experimentally such as (NG)BeO and (NG)BeS. The dissociation energies of the Be? NG bond in monocationic analogues of (NG)BeY (Y=O, S, Se, Te) were found to be larger than in the corresponding neutral counter‐parts. Finally, the higher the positive charge on the Be atoms, the higher the dissociation energy for the Be? NG bond becomes.     

Correlated algebraic-geometric codes: Improved list decoding over bounded alphabets

We define a new family of error-correcting codes based on algebraic curves over finite fields, and develop efficient list decoding algorithms for them. Our codes extend the class of algebraic-geometric (AG) codes via a (nonobvious) generalization of the approach in the recent breakthrough work of Parvaresh and Vardy (2005).

Our work shows that the PV framework applies to fairly general settings by elucidating the key algebraic concepts underlying it. Also, more importantly, AG codes of arbitrary block length exist over fixed alphabets , thus enabling us to establish new trade-offs between the list decoding radius and rate over a bounded alphabet size.

The work of Parvaresh and Vardy (2005) was extended in Guruswami and Rudra (2006) to give explicit codes that achieve the list decoding capacity (optimal trade-off between rate and fraction of errors corrected) over large alphabets. A similar extension of this work along the lines of Guruswami and Rudra could have substantial impact. Indeed, it could give better trade-offs than currently known over a fixed alphabet (say, ), which in turn, upon concatenation with a fixed, well-understood binary code, could take us closer to the list decoding capacity for binary codes. This may also be a promising way to address the significant complexity drawback of the result of Guruswami and Rudra, and to enable approaching capacity with bounded list size independent of the block length (the list size and decoding complexity in their work are both where is the distance to capacity).

Similar to algorithms for AG codes from Guruswami and Sudan (1999) and (2001), our encoding/decoding algorithms run in polynomial time assuming a natural polynomial-size representation of the code. For codes based on a specific ``optimal' algebraic curve, we also present an expected polynomial time algorithm to construct the requisite representation. This in turn fills an important void in the literature by presenting an efficient construction of the representation often assumed in the list decoding algorithms for AG codes.

     

Combination therapeutic effect of cisplatin along with Solanum trilobatum on benzo(a)pyrene induced experimental lung carcinogenesis

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the world and is notoriously difficult to treat effectively. In the present study, male Swiss albino mice were divided into five groups of six animals each: group I animals received corn oil orally and served as a control; group II cancer-induced animals received benzo(a)pyrene (B[a]P) (50 mg kg(-1) bodyweight dissolved in corn oil, orally) twice weekly for four successive weeks; group III cancer-bearing animals (after 12 weeks of induction) were treated with cisplatin (6 mg kg(-1) bodyweight, i.p.) once weekly for 4 weeks; group IV cancer-bearing animals were treated with cisplatin along with Solanum trilobatum (300 mg kg(-1) bodyweight) orally once weekly for 4 weeks; and group V animals constituted the drug control treated with cisplatin along with S. trilobatum. The serum, lung and liver were investigated biochemically for aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, 5'-nucleotidase, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and protein-bound carbohydrate components (hexose, hexosamine and sialic acid). These enzyme activities were increased significantly in cancer-bearing animals compared with control animals. The elevation of these in cancer-bearing animals was indicative of the persistent deteriorating effect of B[a]P in cancer-bearing animals. Our data suggest that cisplatin, administered with S. trilobatum, may extend its chemotherapeutic effect through modulating protein-bound carbohydrate levels and marker enzymes, as they are indicators of cancer. The combination of cisplatin with S. trilobatum could effectively treat the B[a]P-induced lung cancer in mice by offering protection from reactive oxygen species damage and also by suppressing cell proliferation.     

Separation of Am(III) from nitric acid medium by phosphonium ionic liquid–hydroxyacetamide mixture

A strongly hydrophobic phosphonium ionic liquid, trihexyltet radecylphosphonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ([P₆₆₆₁₄][NTf₂]) was employed as the diluent for the extraction behavior of Am(III) using N,N-dihexyl-2-hydroxyacetamide(DHHy) as extractant. The extractibility of americium(III) in [P₆₆₆₁₄][NTf₂] phase was measured as a function of various parameters such as aqueous phase acidity (0.1–8 M), extractant concentration (0.01–0.15 M), equilibration time (5–120 min) and temperature (298–333 K). The extraction performance observed in DHHy/[P₆₆₆₁₄][NTf₂] was compared with those observed in N,N-dihexyloctamide (DHOA) in [P₆₆₆₁₄][NTf₂] and DHHy in other diluents such as [C₄mim][NTf₂] and n-dodecane. The effect of temperature on D _Am(III) in ionic liquid system and recovery of Am(III) from the loaded phase were ascertained in detail.     

Ionic liquid modified silica gel for the sorption of americium(III) and europium(III) from dilute nitric acid medium

The imidazolium bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate moiety was chemically attached on silica gel by chemical modification. The resulting product ([SG-Im]⁺ [DEHP]^?) was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and elemental analysis. The sorption behavior of Am(III) and Eu(III) on [SG-Im]⁺ [DEHP]^? was studied from dilute nitric acid medium for the separation of Am(III) and Eu(III) from aqueous waste. The effect of time, concentrations of nitric acid and europium in aqueous phase on the distribution coefficient (K _d) was studied. The study indicated the possibility of using modified silica for the separation of Eu(III) from Am(III) with high separation factors (>50 at 0.1 M HNO₃).     

TiO2 nanoparticles/poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) bionanocomposite films for packaging applications

In this present study, biodegradable PBAT nanocomposites containing different weight percentages (1, 3, 5, 7, and 10% w/w) of TiO₂ nanoparticles were prepared by using solvent casting technique, chloroform as a solvent. The microstructure and morphology of the as‐synthesized poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) (PBAT)/TiO₂ nanocomposite films were characterized by Fourier‐transform infrared, X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscope. The thermal degradation of PBAT composites was studied by using thermogravimetric analysis. The mechanical strength of the films was improved by increasing TiO₂ concentration. Tensile strength increased from 32.60 to 63.26 MPa, respectively. Barrier properties of the PBAT/TiO₂ nanocomposites were investigated by using an oxygen permeability tester. The oxygen permeability (oxygen transmission rate) decreased with increasing the TiO₂ nanoparticle concentrations. The PBAT/TiO₂ nanocomposite films showed profound antimicrobial activity against both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative foodborne pathogenic bacteria, namely, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, to understand to the zone of inhibition. These results indicated that filler–polymer interaction is important and the role of the TiO₂ as a reinforcement in the nanocomposites was evident. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and luminescent properties of cis bis-N-heterocyclic carbene platinum(II) bis-arylacetylide complexes

A series of luminescent N-heterocyclic carbene platinum(II) complexes, [(pmim)Pt(C≡C-R)(2)] (R = C(6)H(5) (2), C(6)H(4)OMe (3), C(6)H(2)(OMe)(3) (4), C(6)H(4)NMe(2) (5), C(4)H(3)S (6), C(6)H(4)C≡CC(6)H(5) (7), 1-pyrenyl (8), and C(6)H(4)F (9)), were successfully synthesized using the precursor (pmim)PtI(2), 1 (pmim = 1,1'-dipentyl-3,3'-methylene-diimidazoline-2,2'-diylidene). The X-ray crystal structures of 1, 4, 5, and 7 have been determined. These complexes showed long-lived emission in solution at room temperature. The emission origin of the complexes is tentatively assigned to be from triplet states of predominantly intraligand (IL) character with some mixing of metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) character. TD-DFT and DFT calculations have been performed on most of the complexes to ascertain the nature of the excited state. Changes in the alkynyl ligands lead to a change in the absorption and emission maxima seen for these complexes in a potentially predictable way.     

Effective Detection of Phenylalanine Using Pyridine Based Sensor

Journal of Fluorescence - Pyridine based organic molecule as probe has been synthesized for the detection of phenylalanine (PA) biomarker. The synthesized probe is characterized by 1H and 13C NMR...     

Evaluation of long chain monoamide extractants for the reprocessing of U–Pu–Zr metallic fuel solution

Long chain monoamide extractants, N,N-di-decyloctanamide(DDOA), N,N-di-hexyldecanamide(DHDA), N,N-di-2-ethylhexyloctanamide(D2EHOA) and N,N-dihexyl-2-ethylhexanamide(DH2EHA) were synthesized and studied for the recovery of U(VI), Pu(IV) and Zr(IV) from a simulated dissolver solution of un-irradiated U–Zr metallic fuel. The results were compared with the results of N,N-dihexyloctanamide(DHOA) and tri-n-butylphosphate(TBP) under similar conditions. Solvent extraction studies were carried out for comparing the extraction behavior of U(VI), Pu(IV) and Zr(IV) in monoamide extractants with TBP system. The influence of length and branching of alkyl chains on either side of the amidic group on the extraction efficiency, third phase behaviour and metal ion selectivity in long chain monoamides has been discussed based on the results of above studies.