Entrapment of pH Universal Indicator into Sol‐Gel Matrix

This study involves the behavior of universal indicator entrapped into the sol‐gel matrix. The encapsulation of universal indicator has been prepared by acid catalyzed sol‐gel reaction of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) in the presence of universal indicator to produce transparent monolithic silica doping with universal indicator. The immobilized universal indicator pH‐indicator shows behavior similar to its solution counterpart. The UV/VIS spectra indicate that the universal indicator retains its structure during the sol‐gel reactions in terms of response to pH. The universal indicator can be regarded as uniformly distributed in the sol‐gel matrix. The use of SDS surfactant has positive effects on the immobilized universal indicator monolithic disk due to homogenizing the polymerizing system. This observation has been confirmed using polarized microscopy.     

An improved capillary electrophoresis method for in vitro monitoring of the challenging early steps of Aβ1–42 peptide oligomerization: Application to anti‐Alzheimer's drug discovery

We report an improved CE method to monitor in vitro the self‐assembly of monomeric amyloid β‐peptide (42 amino acids amyloid β‐peptide, Aβ_1–42) and in particular the crucial early steps involved in the formation of the neurotoxic oligomers. In order to start the kinetics from the beginning, sample preparation was optimized to provide samples containing exclusively the monomeric form. The CE method was also improved using a dynamic coating and by reducing the separation distance. Using this method, the disappearance of the monomer as well as the progressive formation of four species during the self‐assembly process can now be monitored and quantified over time. The hydrodynamic radius of the species present at the initial kinetics step was estimated around 1.8 nm by Taylor dispersion analysis while SDS‐PAGE analyses showed the predominance of the monomer. These results confirmed that the Aβ_1–42 species present at this initial time was the monomer. Methylene blue, an anti‐Alzheimer disease candidate, was then evaluated. In spite of an oligomerization inhibition, the enhanced disappearance of the Aβ_1–42 monomer provoked by methylene blue was demonstrated for the first time. This method, allowing the monomeric and smallest oligomeric species to be monitored, represents a new accurate and precise way to evaluate compounds for drug discovery.     

1, 3-dipolar cycloaddition of C-phenyl carbamoyl-N-phenyl nitrone with some dialkyl-substituted 2-benzylidenecyclopropane-1,1-dicarboxylates: theoretical analysis of mechanism and regioselectivity

The regiochemistry of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of C-phenyl carbamoyl-N-phenyl nitrone with some dialkyl-substituted 2-benzylidenecyclopropane-1,1-dicarboxylates as dipolarophile was investigated using density functional theory-based reactivity indexes and activation energy calculations at B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. Analysis of the geometries and bond orders at the TS structures associated with the different reaction pathways shows that these 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions occur via an asynchronous concerted mechanism. Analysis of the local electrophilicity and nucleophilicity indexes based on Parr functions only for reaction between 1 + 2a and based on Fukui functions only for 1 + 2b gives correct regioselectivity. The theoretical results obtained in the work clearly predict the regiochemistry of the isolated cycloadducts and agree to experimental results.     

Efficient Catalytic and Thermal Syntheses of Novel Thiadiazole,Triazole, Benzothiazole,and Fused Quinazoline Derivatives

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - A thiourea derivative, 4-chloro-N-[(4-chlorophenyl)carbamothioyl]benzamide, was oxidized with iodine in acetic acid to give the corresponding disulfide,...     

Study of the usability of sinusoidal function heat flux based on enthalpy-porosity technique for PCM-related applications

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The present study summarizes a two-dimensional (2D) numerical simulation of a phase change material (PCM) melting/solidification processes in a square...     

Plastics as nuclear track detectors for thermal neutron dosimetry

An attempt is made to determine the response of CR-39 and cellulose nitrate plastic track detectors subjected to thermal neutrons. The α-particles are produced from (n, α) reactions in lithium tetraborate convertor placed in contact with different plastics and are recorded in the detectors. The corrected track density gives a fluence sensitivity and dose sensitivity of the order of 10^?4 tracks per neutron and 10² tracks/cm² mrem respectively. A linear relationship is observed between track density and neutron fluence.     

The structure and thermodynamics of binary microclusters: A Monte Carlo simulation

The Monte Carlo computer simulation technique of classical statistical mechanics is employed to determine the structure and thermodynamics of binary microclusters of Lennard-Jones atoms as a function of cluster size, composition and temperature. Further, amorphous microclusters are prepared by a Monte Carlo quench, and their structural properties are examined. The properties of interest include the internal energy, instantaneous “snapshot” pictures of the microcluster's atomic configuration, and the single-particle and pair distribution functions. The Lennard-Jones potential parameters are chosen to model Ar₁₃, Ar₇Kr₆, Ar₃₆Kr₁₉ and Ar₁₉Kr₃₆, as well as to crudely model the bimetallic clusters of Cu₁₉Ni₃₆, Cu₁₉Ru₃₆ and Cu₁₉Os₃₆. A large variety of interesting features associated with these systems are described.     

A new lot sizing and scheduling heuristic for multi-site biopharmaceutical production

Biopharmaceutical manufacturing requires high investments and long-term production planning. For large biopharmaceutical companies, planning typically involves multiple products and several production facilities. Production is usually done in batches with a substantial set-up cost and time for switching between products. The goal is to satisfy demand while minimising manufacturing, set-up and inventory costs. The resulting production planning problem is thus a variant of the capacitated lot-sizing and scheduling problem, and a complex combinatorial optimisation problem. Inspired by genetic algorithm approaches to job shop scheduling, this paper proposes a tailored construction heuristic that schedules demands of multiple products sequentially across several facilities to build a multi-year production plan (solution). The sequence in which the construction heuristic schedules the different demands is optimised by a genetic algorithm. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach on a biopharmaceutical lot sizing problem and compare it with a mathematical programming model from the literature. We show that the genetic algorithm can outperform the mathematical programming model for certain scenarios because the discretisation of time in mathematical programming artificially restricts the solution space.     

Zero-Divisor Graphs for Group Rings

Let R be a commutative ring with 1 ≠ 0, G be a nontrivial finite group, and let Z(R) be the set of zero divisors of R. The zero-divisor graph of R is defined as the graph Γ(R) whose vertex set is Z(R)* = Z(R)?{0} and two distinct vertices a and b are adjacent if and only if ab = 0. In this paper, we investigate the interplay between the ring-theoretic properties of group rings RG and the graph-theoretic properties of Γ(RG). We characterize finite commutative group rings RG for which either diam(Γ(RG)) ≤2 or gr(Γ(RG)) ≥4. Also, we investigate the isomorphism problem for zero-divisor graphs of group rings. First, we show that the rank and the cardinality of a finite abelian p-group are determined by the zero-divisor graph of its modular group ring. With the notion of zero-divisor graphs extended to noncommutative rings, it is also shown that two finite semisimple group rings are isomorphic if and only if their zero-divisor graphs are isomorphic. Finally, we show that finite noncommutative reversible group rings are determined by their zero-divisor graphs.     

Spin coupling and magnetic field effects on the finite-size free energy and its non-extensivity for 1-D Ising model with nearest and next-nearest neighbor interactions in nanosystem

The effects of second-neighbor spin coupling interactions and a magnetic field are investigated on the free energies of a finite-size 1-D Ising model. For both ferromagnetic of nearest neighbor (NN) and next-nearest neighbor (NNN) spin coupling interactions, the finite-size free energy first increases and then approaches a constant value for any size of the spin chain. In contrast, when NNN and NN spin coupling interactions are antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic, respectively, the finite-size free energy gradually decreases by increasing the competition factor and eventually vanishes for large values of it. When a magnetic field is applied, the finite-size free energy decreases with respect to the case of zero magnetic fields for both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin coupling interactions. Deviation of free energy per size for finite-size systems relative to the infinite system increases when the spin coupling interactions as well as the f parameter (the ratio of the magnetic field to NN spin coupling interaction) increase.