Improved synthesis of N-alkyl substituted dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]pyrroles

A new, convergent and improved synthetic method to prepare N-alkyl substituted dithienopyrroles is described. The procedure consists of a Pd-catalyzed amination of 3,3′-dibromo-2,2′-bithiophene. The reaction conditions were optimized, which makes this method applicable to prepare these molecules easily in high yields and on a large scale.     

Regioregular Poly[3‐(4‐alkoxyphenyl)thiophene]s: Evidence for a Two‐Step Aggregation Process

Summary: A chiral, regioregular poly[3‐(4‐alkoxyphenyl)thiophene] has been prepared and studied. Films prepared by fast evaporation of the solvent, consist of random‐coils, while films prepared by slow evaporation are composed of chirally aggregated, coplanar strands. Heat treatment transforms the random‐coils into aggregated films via an intermediate state, which was characterized as chiral, coplanar, unaggregated polymer strands.

Overview of the possible aggregation processes.     

Synthesis and nonlinear optical properties of high glass transition poly(maleimide-4-phenylstyrene)s

Nonlinear optical polymers with high T_g were prepared by polymer analogous reaction of maleic anhydride copolymers with aminoalkyl-functionalized azo chromophores. Poled films of the polymers show a good nonlinear optical response that is stable at temperatures up to 125°C.     

CFD modelling and wind tunnel validation of airflow through plant canopies using 3D canopy architecture

The efficiency of pesticide application to agricultural fields and the resulting environmental contamination highly depend on atmospheric airflow. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of airflow within plant canopies using 3D canopy architecture was developed to understand the effect of the canopy to airflow. The model average air velocity was validated using experimental results in a wind tunnel with two artificial model trees of 24 cm height. Mean air velocities and their root mean square (RMS) values were measured on a vertical plane upstream and downstream sides of the trees in the tunnel using 2D hotwire anemometer after imposing a uniform air velocity of 10 m s^?1 at the inlet. 3D virtual canopy geometries of the artificial trees were modelled and introduced into a computational fluid domain whereby airflow through the trees was simulated using Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations and k-ε turbulence model. There was good agreement of the average longitudinal velocity, U between the measurements and the simulation results with relative errors less than 2% for upstream and 8% for downstream sides of the trees. The accuracy of the model prediction for turbulence kinetic energy k and turbulence intensity I was acceptable within the tree height when using a roughness length (y₀ = 0.02 mm) for the surface roughness of the tree branches and by applying a source model in a porous sub-domain created around the trees. The approach was applied for full scale orchard trees in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and was compared with previous approaches and works. The simulation in the ABL was made using two groups of full scale orchard trees; short (h = 3 m) with wider branching and long (h = 4 m) with narrow branching. This comparison showed good qualitative agreements on the vertical profiles of U with small local differences as expected due to the spatial disparities in tree architecture. This work was able to show airflow within and above the canopy in 3D in more details.     

Bioconcentration of zinc and its effect on the biochemical constituents of the gill tissues of Labeo rohita: An FT-IR study

In the present work, an attempt has been made to assess the bioconcentration and distribution of zinc on the selected organs of Labeo rohita and to study the effect of zinc exposure on the biochemical constitutions of gill tissues of L. rohita by using FT-IR Spectroscopy. The concentration pattern in the organs reveals that the liver is the prime site of metal binding and muscle accumulates least metal concentration. The accumulation profile is in the order: liver > gill > kidney > brain > bone > muscle. It has also been observed that the administration of chelating agent d-Penicillamine (DPA) reduces the zinc concentration in all tissues more effectively than the administration of the chelating agent Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic acid. The FT-IR spectra reveal that zinc exposure causes significant changes in the biochemical constitutions of the gill tissues. It causes an alteration in the protein secondary structures by decreasing the α-helix and increasing the β-sheet contents. Further, it has been observed that the administration of chelating agent DPA improves the protein and lipid contents in the gill tissues compared to zinc exposed tissues. This result shows that DPA is the effective chelator of zinc in reducing the body burden of L. rohita fingerlings. In conclusion, the findings of the current study suggest that zinc exposure causes significant changes in both lipids and proteins of the gill tissues, and changes the protein profile in favour of β-sheet structure.     

Arsenic-Induced Biochemical Changes in Labeo rohita Kidney: An FTIR Study

ABSTRACT

Arsenic is a toxic heavy metal that occurs naturally in water, soil, and air. It is widespread in the environment as a consequence of both anthropogenic and natural processes. In the current study, an attempt has been made to analyze the arsenic-induced molecular changes in macromolecular components like proteins and lipids in the kidney tissues of edible fish Labeo rohita using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The FTIR spectrum of kidney tissue is quite complex and contains several bands arising from the contribution of different functional groups. The detailed spectral analyses were performed in three distinct wave number regions, namely 3600–3050 cm^?1, 3050–2800 cm^?1, and 1800–800 cm^?1. The current study shows that the kidney tissues are more vulnerable to arsenic intoxication. FTIR spectra reveal significant differences in both absorbance intensities and areas between control and arsenic-intoxicated kidney tissues; this result indicates that arsenic intoxication induces significant alteration on the major biochemical constituents such as lipids and proteins and leads to compositional and structural changes in kidney tissues at the molecular level. The current study confirms that FTIR spectroscopy can be successfully applied to toxicologic and biological studies.     

Vibrational spectroscopy of structural defects in oligothiophenes

Vibrational spectra of oligothiophenes with structural defects are calculated within the density-functional-theory methodology. The effects of the defective αβ linkages on the infrared (IR) and Raman spectra are characterized from calculations of all isomers up to the hexamer. The signatures of αβ linked monomers can be found in IR spectra from broken symmetry arguments which result in absorptions localized in the defective region. The positions of the absorption peaks in the Raman spectra seem to be unaffected by the presence of such defects; however, strong reductions in the intensities are observed because of the shortening of the conjugation length.     

Nonlinear optical properties of polymers and thin polymer films

An introduction to nonlinear optics (NLO) and the major challenges in the field of NLO-properties of polymeric materials, is given in this paper. Methods for the investigation of nonlinear optical properties of [4-(2-methacryloxyethyl)methylamino]-4′-cyanoazobenzene copolymers with methyl methacrylate (MMA) are demonstrated: Electric Field Induced Second Harmonic Generation (EFISHG), Hyper Rayleigh Scattering (HRS), Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) in floating monolayers and SHG in poled polymer films. An example of phase-transition analysis by SHG is given.