Phonon dynamics of glassy copper alloys

The well recognized model potential is used to investigate the phonon properties for five glassy Copper alloys viz. Cu₅₇Zr₄₃, Cu₆₀W₄₀, Cu₃₃Y₆₇, Cu₄₃Ti₅₇ and Cu₆₆Ti₃₄. The thermodynamic and elastic properties are also computed from the elastic limits of the phonon dispersion curves (PDC). Three theoretical approaches given by Hubbard-Beeby (HB), Takeno-Goda (TG) and Bhatia-Singh (BS) are used in the present study to compute the PDC. Five local field correction functions proposed by Hartree (H), Taylor (T), Ichimaru-Utsumi (IU), Farid et al. (F) and Sarkar et al. (S) are employed to see the effect of exchange and correlation in the aforesaid properties.     

Isolation and Characterization of Pseudomonas sp. STM 997 from Soil Sample having Potentiality to Degrade 3,6-Dimethyl-1-keto-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrocarbazole: A Novel Approach

A pure colony of a bacterium from contaminated soil was isolated by exploiting 3,6-dimethyl-1-keto-1,2,3,4?Ctetrahydrocarbazole, a novel carbazole derivative, having indole moiety as well as 3-methyl functionality both in aromatic and hydro-aromatic moiety, as a sole source of carbon and energy. Taxonomical studies, biochemical analysis, and 16S rDNA sequence analysis indicated that the isolated strain has close similarity with Pseudomonas sp. Thin-layer chromatography followed by HPLC and mass spectroscopic study indicates that the isolated Pseudomonas sp. STM 997 degrades 3,6-dimethyl-1-keto-1,2,3,4?Ctetrahydrocarbazole, and this strain may be useful in the bioremediation of environments contaminated by the compounds containing carbazole moiety with methyl substituents at various reactive sites. This study also provides an evidence in favor of the suggested biodegradation of 3-methylcarbazole to carbazole in plants.     

Transient phoretic migration of a permselective colloidal particle

We quantify the phoretic migration of a spherical cation-permselective colloidal particle immersed in a binary electrolyte under a time-dependent electric field. We invoke the thin-Debye-layer approximation, where the size of ionic Debye layer enveloping the particle is much smaller than the particle radius. The imposed electric field generates ion concentration gradients, or concentration polarization, in the bulk (electroneutral) electrolyte outside the Debye layer. The bulk ion concentration polarization--and consequently the particle's phoretic velocity--evolves on the time scale for ion diffusion around the particle, which can be on the order of milliseconds for typical colloidal dimensions. Notably, concentration polarization arises here solely due to the permselectivity of the particle; it does not require non-uniform ionic transport in the Debye layer (i.e., surface conduction). Thus, the phoretic transport of a permselective particle is significantly different to that of a inert, dielectric particle, since surface conduction is necessary to achieve bulk concentration polarization in the (more commonly studied) latter case. Calculations are presented for a permselective particle under oscillatory (ac) and suddenly applied electric fields. In the former case, the particle velocity possesses frequency-dependent components in phase and out of phase with the driving field; in the latter case, the particle approaches its terminal velocity with a long-time (algebraic) tail.     

Quantum dynamics of Br + HD reaction

In this article we report the results of three-dimensional time-dependent quantum wavepacket calculations carried out for the Br + HD( v = 0, j = 0) reaction in the collision energy range 0.0-1.2 eV. An accurate potential energy surface computed by Kurosaki was used for the dynamical calculations. Both reactive channels, BrH + D and BrD + H, show vibrational enhancement of the reaction cross sections. For the three initial vibrational states considered, the production of BrD channel dominates over that of BrH for the considered collision energy range. The two arrangement channels exhibit different initial rotational state dependence. The cross section for the formation of BrD is almost independent of j whereas the same for the formation of BrH increases with increase in j. A comparison with the results on an e-LEPS surface shows that the two surfaces behave very differently with respect to the cross section for the initial rotational states.     

Diastereoselective addition of planar N-heterocycles to vinyl sulfone-modified carbohydrates: a new route to isonucleosides

Michael-type addition reactions of planar N-heterocycles at the C-2 positions of vinyl sulfone-modified carbohydrates provide an efficient and general route for the carbon-N-heterocycle bond formation. Therefore, the addition pattern of planar heterocycles, such as imidazole, triazole, thymine, and adenine to 3-C-phenylsulfonyl-hex-2-enopyranosides (1α/1β) and 3-C-p-toluenesulfonyl-pent-2-enofuranosides (2α/2β) was studied for developing a general methodology for the synthesis of new classes of isonucleosides possessing a carbon-N-heterocycle linkage at C-2 positions of furanosyl and pyranosyl sugars. To a great extent, the anomeric configurations of the starting vinyl sulfones play crucial roles in deciding the diastereoselectivity of addition of heterocycles. However, the trityl protected 3-C-p-toluenesulfonyl-hex-2-enopyranosides (33α/33β) were judged to be more practical starting materials for desulfonylation and deprotection for the synthesis of a new class of thymine and adenine deoxyisonucleosides.     

Superconducting State Parameters of NbxTayMoz Superconductors

We present screening dependence theoretical investigations of the superconducting state parameters, i.e. electron-phonon coupling strength λ, Coulomb pseudopotential μ＊, transition temperature TC, isotope effect exponent α, and effective interaction strength N0V, of some BMG superconductors, namely Nb0.45Ta0.45Mo0.10, Nb0.30Ta0.40Mo0.30, Nb0.40Ta0.30Mo0.30, Nb0.30Ta0.30Mo0.40 and Nb0.15Ta0.15Mo0.70 by employing the well-known empty core model potential of Ashcroft for the first time. Five local field correction functions proposed by Hartree, Taylor, Ichimaru-Utsumi, Farid et al. and Sarkar et al. are used in the present investigation to study the screening influence on the aforesaid superconducting properties. The transition temperature TC obtained from the H-local field correction function is found to be in an excellent agreement with the available theoretical data. Also, the present results are found to be in qualitative agreement with other such earlier reported data, which confirms the superconducting phase in the superconductors.     

Rapid label-free visual assay for the detection and quantification of viral RNA using peptide nucleic acid (PNA) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)

A rapid label-free visual assay for the detection of viral RNA using peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) is presented in this study. Diagnosis is a crucial step for the molecular surveillance of diseases, and a rapid visual test with high specificity could play a vital role in the management of viral diseases. In this assay, the specific agglomerative behavior of PNA with gold nanoparticles was manipulated by its complementation with viral RNA. The assay was able to detect 5–10 ng of viral RNA from various biological samples, such as allantoic fluids, cell culture fluids and vaccines, in 100 μl of test solution. The developed assay was more sensitive than a hemagglutination (HA) test, a routine platform test for the detection of Newcastle disease virus (NDV), and the developed assay was able to visually detect NDV with as little as 0.25 HA units of virus. In terms of the specificity, the test could discriminate single nucleotide differences in the target RNA and hence could provide visual viral genotyping/pathotyping. This observation was confirmed by pathotyping different known isolates of NDV. Further, the PNA-induced colorimetric changes in the presence of the target RNA at different RNA to PNA ratios yielded a standard curve with a linear coefficient of R² = 0.990, which was comparable to the value of R² = 0.995 from real-time PCR experiments with the same viral RNA. Therefore, the viral RNA in a given samples could be quantified using a simple visual spectrophotometer available in any clinical laboratory. This assay may find application in diagnostic assays for other RNA viruses, which are well known to undergo mutations, thus presenting challenges for their molecular surveillance, genotyping and quantification.     

Efficiently accounting for ion correlations in electrokinetic nanofluidic devices using density functional theory

The electrokinetic behavior of nanofluidic devices is dominated by the electrical double layers at the device walls. Therefore, accurate, predictive models of double layers are essential for device design and optimization. In this paper, we demonstrate that density functional theory (DFT) of electrolytes is an accurate and computationally efficient method for computing finite ion size effects and the resulting ion-ion correlations that are neglected in classical double layer theories such as Poisson-Boltzmann. Because DFT is derived from liquid-theory thermodynamic principles, it is ideal for nanofluidic systems with small spatial dimensions, high surface charge densities, high ion concentrations, and/or large ions. Ion-ion correlations are expected to be important in these regimes, leading to nonlinear phenomena such as charge inversion, wherein more counterions adsorb at the wall than is necessary to neutralize its surface charge, leading to a second layer of co-ions. We show that DFT, unlike other theories that do not include ion-ion correlations, can predict charge inversion and other nonlinear phenomena that lead to qualitatively different current densities and ion velocities for both pressure-driven and electro-osmotic flows. We therefore propose that DFT can be a valuable modeling and design tool for nanofluidic devices as they become smaller and more highly charged.     

Development of Divide‐and‐Conquer Density‐Functional Tight‐Binding Method for Theoretical Research on Li‐Ion Battery

The density‐functional tight‐binding (DFTB) method is one of the useful quantum chemical methods, which provides a good balance between accuracy and computational efficiency. In this account, we reviewed the basis of the DFTB method, the linear‐scaling divide‐and‐conquer (DC) technique, as well as the parameterization process. We also provide some refinement, modifications, and extension of the existing parameters that can be applicable for lithium‐ion battery systems. The diffusion constants of common electrolyte molecules and LiTFSA salt in solution have been estimated using DC‐DFTB molecular dynamics simulation with our new parameters. The resulting diffusion constants have good agreement to the experimental diffusion constants.     

Inhibitive effect of chloroquine towards corrosion of mild steel in hydrochloric acid solution

Corrosion inhibition of mild steel (MS) by chloroquine (CQ) in 1 M HCl was investigated using weight loss, polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and quantum chemical techniques. The inhibitor showed 99 % inhibition efficiency at concentration of 3.1 × 10^?4 M. Polarization studies showed that CQ is a mixed-type inhibitor. Adsorption of inhibitor molecules on the MS surface showed Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Thermodynamic parameters led to the conclusion that adsorption is predominantly chemisorption. Quantum chemical calculations were carried out to investigate the corrosion-inhibiting property of CQ. Various parameters such as energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), softness of molecule, Mullikan charges on various atoms and number of electrons transferred from inhibitor molecule to metal were calculated and correlated with the inhibiting property of CQ.