Decorated star-triangle relations and exact integrability of the one-dimensional Hubbard model

The exact integrability of the one-dimensional Hubbard model is demonstrated with the help of a novel set of triangle relations, the decorated star-triangle relations. The covering two-dimensional statistical mechanical model obeys the star-triangle or Yang-Baxter relation. A conjecture is presented for the eigenvalues of the transfer matrix.     

Measuring Peak Capacity of Reversed-Phase Columns for Small Molecule Compounds Under Gradient Elution

The conventional approach to the measurement of peak capacity of reserved-phase columns under gradient elution assumes that all peaks have constant peak width, but this assumption can lead to inaccurate measurement of peak capacity. An integration approach employing a series of alkylphenones as model compounds was employed to more accurately measure the peak capacity for small molecule compounds under gradient elution. The base peak width of alkylphenones was plotted against retention time and a peak width function over retention time was established by polynomial regression. The peak capacity was then calculated by integrating the inverse of the peak width function over a gradient window. Compared to the conventional method, the integration method is not based on the assumption of equal peak width, thus providing a more accurate measurement of the peak capacity of reserved-phase columns, especially shorter ones packed with sub-2 μm particles under gradient elution.     

Penalized Fast Subset Scanning

We present the penalized fast subset scan (PFSS), a new and general framework for scalable and accurate pattern detection. PFSS enables exact and efficient identification of the most anomalous subsets of the data, as measured by a likelihood ratio scan statistic. However, PFSS also allows incorporation of prior information about each data element’s probability of inclusion, which was not previously possible within the subset scan framework. PFSS builds on two main results: first, we prove that a large class of likelihood ratio statistics satisfy a property that allows additional, element-specific penalty terms to be included while maintaining efficient computation. Second, we prove that the penalized statistic can be maximized exactly by evaluating only O(N) subsets. As a concrete example of the PFSS framework, we incorporate “soft” constraints on spatial proximity into the spatial event detection task, enabling more accurate detection of irregularly shaped spatial clusters of varying sparsity. To do so, we develop a distance-based penalty function that rewards spatial compactness and penalizes spatially dispersed clusters. This approach was evaluated on the task of detecting simulated anthrax bio-attacks, using real-world Emergency Department data from a major U.S. city. PFSS demonstrated increased detection power and spatial accuracy as compared to competing methods while maintaining efficient computation.     

Synthesis and antimicrobial activities of some novel substituted 2-imidazolyl-N-(4-oxo-quinazolin-3(4H)-yl)-acetamides

Several substituted-quinazolin-3(4H)-ones 8-11ad were synthesized by condensation of 2-chloro-N-(4-oxo-substituted-quinazolin-3(4H)-yl)-acetamides with various substituted imidazoles through one pot reaction. Elemental analysis, IR, (1)H-NMR and mass spectral data confirmed the structure of the newly synthesized compounds. Synthesized quinazolin-4-one derivatives were investigated for their antitubercular, antibacterial and antifungal activities. Some of the tested compounds showed good antitubercular activity. None of the synthesized compounds showed significant antibacterial and antifungal activity.     

Highly Selective and Sensitive Aggregation-Induced Emission of Fluorescein-Coated Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

We report the synthesis, characterization, and photophysical properties of novel metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) coated with specially designed fluorescein substituents which are capped with electron-withdrawing groups. The fluorescein-coated nanoparticles were synthesized in excellent yields, and their structures were confirmed using various advanced spectroscopic, instrumental, and surface analysis techniques, revealing the formation of the target functionalized nanoparticles (FNPs) which show superior chemical and thermal stabilities. In addition, the photophysical properties of the FNPs were examined using UV-visible absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. These latter techniques disclosed aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties for most of the target FNPs, namely those which are soluble in common organic solvents at selective concentration ranges of water fractions in the solvent mixture.     

Indole-fused spirochromenes as potential anti-tubercular agents: design,synthesis and in vitro evaluation

Molecular Diversity - As part of an ongoing effort to develop new anti-tubercular agents, a series of novel indole-fused spirochromene hybrids (7a–l) were efficiently synthesized in excellent...     

Biofilm inhibition and antimicrobial action of lipopeptide biosurfactant produced by heavy metal tolerant strain Bacillus cereus NK1

Biosurfactants are worthful microbial amphiphilic molecules with efficient surface-active and biological properties applicable to several industries and processes. Among them lipopeptides represent a class of microbial surfactants with increasing scientific, therapeutic and biotechnological interests. A heavy metal tolerant Bacillus strain has been isolated and the biofilm inhibition and antimicrobial activity of biosurfactant produced by the strain have been studied. Biosurfactant production was confirmed by the conventional screening methods including hemolytic activity, drop collapsing test, oil displacement test, emulsification and lipase production assays. The biosurfactant produced by this strain was a lipopeptide and exhibited strong surface activity. The biosurfactant has been characterized using FTIR, TLC and HPLC. The minimum active dose of this biosurfactant when compared with the other chemical surfactants was found as 0.150±0.06 μg. The critical micelle concentration was found to be 45 mg/l. The biosurfactant was found to be stable and active over a wide range of pH, temperature and NaCl concentration. It was also able to emulsify a wide range of hydrocarbons and oils thereby extending its application for the bioremediation of oil contaminated sites. The biosurfactant exhibited significant reduction in biofilm formation by pathogens and showed potent antimicrobial activity against various gram positive, gram negative bacteria and fungi. Agar diffusion assay for heavy metal resistance showed that the isolate was resistant to ferrous, lead and zinc. Considering the biofilm inhibition and antimicrobial property of biosurfactant, it can be utilized as a potential therapeutic molecule for numerous microbial infections. The heavy metal resistance of the strain can also be harnessed as an invaluable biological tool for in situ bioremediation.     

ZnO based thermopower wave sources

Exothermic chemical reactions of nitrocellulose are coupled onto thermoelectric zinc oxide (ZnO) layers to generate self-propagating thermopower waves resulting in highly oscillatory voltage output of the order of 500 mV. The peak specific power obtained from ZnO based sources is approximately 0.5 kW kg(-1).     

Effect of annealing on TiO2 nanoparticles

TiO₂ nanoparticles have been prepared by simple chemical precipitation method and annealed at different temperatures. The as-prepared TiO₂ are amorphous, and they transform into anatase phase on annealing at 450 °C, and rutile phase on annealing at 900 °C. The X-ray diffraction results showed that TiO₂ nanoparticles with grain size in the range of 21–24 nm for anatase phase and 69–74 nm for rutile phase have been obtained. FESEM images show the formation of TiO₂ nanoparticles with small size in structure. The FTIR and Raman spectra exhibited peaks corresponding to the anatase and rutile structure phases of TiO₂. Optical absorption studies reveal that the absorption edge shifts towards longer wavelength (red shift) with increase of annealing temperature.