Spectral and thermal studies of new Co(II) and Ni(II) hexaaza and octaaza macrocyclic complexes

The macrocyclic complexes of Co(II) and Ni(II) having chloride or thiocyanate ions in the axial position have been synthesized and characterized. These complexes are synthesised by the template condensation of o-phenylenediamine or 2,3-butanedionedihydrazone with the appropriate aldehydes in NH₄OH solution in the presence of the metal ions, Co(II) and Ni(II). The complexes were characterized by spectroscopic methods (IR, UV-Vis and ESR) and magnetic measurements as well as thermal analysis (TG and DTA). The results obtained are commensurate with the proposed formulae. Spectral studies indicate that these complexes have an octahedral structure. From conductivity measurements the complexes are non-electrolytes. The kinetic of the thermal decomposition of the complexes was studied and the thermodynamic parameters are reported.     

Theoretical studies and antibacterial activity for Schiff base complexes

New ligand 4‐((2‐Hydroxy1‐naphthyl) methylene amino)‐1.5‐dimethyl‐2‐phenyl‐1H‐pyrazol‐3(2H)‐one (HL) was synthesized from the reaction of 2‐hydroxy‐1‐naphthaldehyde and 4‐aminophenaz one. A complexes of this ligand [VO(II)(HL)(SO₄)], [Pt(IV)(L)Cl₃], [Re(V)(L)Cl₃]Cl, and [M(II)(L)Cl] (M═Pd(II), Ni(II), Cu(II)) were synthesized. The resulted compounds were characterized by IR, NMR (¹H and ¹³C), mass spectrometry, element analysis, and UV‐Vis spectroscopy. Additionally, the spectroscopic studies revealed octahedral geometries for the Re(V), Pt(IV) complexes, and square pyramidal for VO(II), square planar for Pd(II) complex, and tetrahedral for the Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes. Thermodynamic parameters (ΔE^*, ΔH^*, ΔS^*, ΔG^*, and K) were calculated using from the TGA curve Coats‐Red fern method. Therefore, hyper Chem‐8 program has been used to predict structural geometries of compounds in the gas phase. Finally, the synthesized Schiff base and its metal complexes were screened for their biological activity against bacterial species, 2 Gram‐positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and 2 Gram‐negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa).     

Experimental and theoretical study of the reaction of the ethynyl radical with nitrous oxide, C2H + N2O

We investigated the rate constants and reaction mechanism of the gas phase reaction between the ethynyl radical and nitrous oxide (C(2)H + N(2)O) using both experimental methods and electronic structure calculations. A pulsed-laser photolysis/chemiluminescence technique was used to determine the absolute rate coefficient over the temperature range 570 K to 836 K. In this experimental temperature range, the measured temperature dependence of the overall rate constants can be expressed as: k(T) (C(2)H + N(2)O) = 2.93 × 10(-11) exp((-4000 ± 1100) K/T) cm(3) s(-1) (95% statistical confidence). Portions of the C(2)H + N(2)O potential energy surface (PES), containing low-energy pathways, were constructed using the composite G3B3 method. A multi-step reaction route leading to the products HCCO + N(2) is clearly preferred. The high selectivity between product channels favouring N(2) formation occurs very early. The pathway corresponds to the addition of the terminal C atom of C(2)H to the terminal N atom of N(2)O. Refined calculations using the coupled-cluster theory whose electronic energies were extrapolated to the complete basis set limit CCSD(T)/CBS led to an energy barrier of 6.0 kcal mol(-1) for the entrance channel. The overall rate constant was also determined by application of transition-state theory and Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) statistical analyses to the PES. The computed rate constants have similar temperature dependence to the experimental values, though were somewhat lower.     

Synthesis,structural, spectroscopic,biological and catalytic activity of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes of benzilic hydrazide (BH)

Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) chloro complexes of benzilic hydrazide (BH) have been synthesized. Also, reaction of the ligand (BH) with several copper(II) salts, including NO₃ ^?, AcO^?, and SO₄ ^? afforded metal complexes of the general formula [CuLX(H₂O) _n ]·nH₂O, where X is the anion and n = 0, 1 or 2. The newly synthesized complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, mass spectra, molar conductance, UV–vis, IR spectra, magnetic moment, and thermal analysis (TG/DTG). The physico-chemical studies support that the ligand acts as monobasic bidentate towards metal ion through the carbonyl and hydroxyl oxygen atoms. The spectral data revealed that the geometrical structure of the complexes is square planar for Cu (II) complexes and tetrahedral for Co(II) and Ni(II) complexes. Structural parameters of the ligand and its complexes have been calculated. The ligand and its metal complexes are screened for their antimicrobial activity. The catalytic activities of the metal chelates have been studied towards the oxidative decolorization of AB25, IC and AB92 dyes using H₂O₂. The catalytic activity is strongly dependent on the type of the metal ion and the anion of Cu(II) complexes.     

Composites of polyaniline and lead dioxide: preparation,characterization, and catalytic activity

This paper is devoted to the preparation of polyaniline/lead dioxide composites (PANI/PbO₂) via chemical oxidation of aniline in H₂SO₄ medium using β-PbO₂ as an oxidant. The parameters affecting the polymerization reaction are considered. These parameters are [aniline], amount of β-PbO₂, stirring time, and different acids. The prepared composites were characterized by SEM, FT-IR, XRD, TGA, DTA, and elemental analysis. From XRD and FT-IR spectra, it was concluded that high molecular weight polymer could be obtained with high aniline concentration, high amount of β-PbO₂, increasing polymerization time and polymerization of ANI at lower temperatures. Thermogravimetric study exhibited that the composite prepared using high amount of β-PbO₂ has a higher thermal stability. The application of the composites in the oxidative degradation of Alizarin yellow G and Acid alizarin violet N dyes exhibited good catalytic activity in presence of H₂O₂ as an oxidant. The reactions followed first-order kinetics and the rate constants were determined.     

Geometry and violent events in turbulent pair dispersion

The statistics of Lagrangian pair dispersion in a homogeneous isotropic flow is investigated by means of direct numerical simulations. The focus is on deviations from the Richardson eddy-diffusivity model and in particular on the strong fluctuations experienced by tracers. Evidence is obtained that the distribution of distances attains an almost self-similar regime characterized by a very weak intermittency. The timescale of convergence to this behavior is found to be given by the kinetic energy dissipation time measured at the scale of the initial separation. Conversely the velocity differences between tracers are displaying a strongly anomalous behavior whose scaling properties are very close to that of Lagrangian structure functions. These violent fluctuations are interpreted geometrically and are shown to be responsible for a long-term memory of the initial separation. Despite this strong intermittency, it is found that the mixed moment defined by the ratio between the cube of the longitudinal velocity difference and the distance attains a statistically stationary regime on very short timescales. These results are brought together to address the question of violent events in the distribution of distances. It is found that distances much larger than the average are reached by pairs that have always separated faster since the initial time. They contribute a stretched exponential behavior in the large-value tail of the inter-tracer distance probability distribution. At large times this tail is found to be closer to a pure exponential than to the form obtained from the Richardson diffusive approach. At the same time, the distance distribution displays a time-dependent power-law behavior at very small values, which is interpreted in terms of fractal geometry. It is argued and demonstrated numerically that the exponent converges to one at large time, again in conflict with Richardson’s distribution.     

An Electric Fish-Based Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm for Feature Selection

With the widespread use of intelligent information systems, a massive amount of data with lots of irrelevant, noisy, and redundant features are collected; moreover, many features should be handled. Therefore, introducing an efficient feature selection (FS) approach becomes a challenging aim. In the recent decade, various artificial methods and swarm models inspired by biological and social systems have been proposed to solve different problems, including FS. Thus, in this paper, an innovative approach is proposed based on a hybrid integration between two intelligent algorithms, Electric fish optimization (EFO) and the arithmetic optimization algorithm (AOA), to boost the exploration stage of EFO to process the high dimensional FS problems with a remarkable convergence speed. The proposed EFOAOA is examined with eighteen datasets for different real-life applications. The EFOAOA results are compared with a set of recent state-of-the-art optimizers using a set of statistical metrics and the Friedman test. The comparisons show the positive impact of integrating the AOA operator in the EFO, as the proposed EFOAOA can identify the most important features with high accuracy and efficiency. Compared to the other FS methods whereas, it got the lowest features number and the highest accuracy in 50% and 67% of the datasets, respectively.     

Auto-Bäcklund transformation and similarity reductions to the variable coefficients variant Boussinesq system

Based on the closed connections among the homogeneous balance (HB) method, Weiss-Tabor-Carneval (WTC) method and Clarkson-Kruskal (CK) method, we study Bäcklund transformation and similarity reductions of the variable coefficients variant Boussinesq system. In the meantime, new exact solutions also are found.     

Ameliorating the Adverse Effects of Tomato mosaic tobamovirus Infecting Tomato Plants in Egypt by Boosting Immunity in Tomato Plants Using Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV) is one of the economically damageable Tobamovirus infecting the tomato in Egypt that has caused significant losses. It is therefore of great interest to trigger systemic resistance to ToMV. In this endeavor, we aimed to explore the capacity of ZnO-NPs (zinc oxide nanoparticles) to trigger tomato plant resistance against ToMV. Effects of ZnO-NPs on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) growth indices and antioxidant defense system activity under ToMV stress were investigated. Noticeably that treatment with ZnO-NPs showed remarkably increased growth indices, photosynthetic attributes, and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants compared to the challenge control. Interestingly, oxidative damage caused by ToMV was reduced by reducing malondialdehyde, H₂O₂, and O₂ levels. Overall, ZnO-NPs offer a safe and economic antiviral agent against ToMV.