A Novel Scheme for Calculating Pressure Fluctuations Used in Lagrangian-Eulerian Particulate Dispersion Codes

A novel scheme for pressure fluctuations in turbulent flows is developed. The pressure fluctuations are sensitive parameter in some of the fluid phenomena. In the computational methods and modeling turbulence flow, the pressure fluctuations are eliminated after averaging of the Navier-Stokes equations, and only average pressure could be calculated. In this research, the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are computed using SIMPLE method. The Reynolds stress transport model (RSTM) is used to determine the Reynolds stresses and the flow details. The velocity fluctuations are simulated using the Kraichnan model. The Poisson equation for the pressure fluctuations is obtained by taking the divergence of the incompressible momentum equation and algebraic operations, and this equation is numerically solved by finite difference method. The effects of Reynolds number on the pressure fluctuations are studied.     

Quantum chemical study of the nature of interactions between the boraphosphinine and alumaphosphinine with some of the mono- and divalent cations: cation–π or cation–lone pair?

Structural Chemistry - Quantum chemical study of the nature of interactions between the boraphosphinine (BP) and alumaphosphinine (AlP) with some of the alkali metal cations (Li+, Na+, K+) and...     

Synthesis of novel β-lactams bearing an anthraquinone moiety,and evaluation of their antimalarial activities

A novel series of β-lactams bearing an anthraquinone moiety have been synthesized from imines derived from anthraquinone-2-carbaldehyde and ketenes by a [2+2] cycloaddition reaction. The cycloadducts were fully characterized and evaluated for their antimalarial activities against Plasmodium falciparum K14 resistant strain and showed moderate to excellent EC₅₀ values varying from 9 to 50 μM.     

In vitro selection and characterization of deoxyribonucleic acid aptamers for digoxin

The low therapeutic index of digoxin necessitates careful monitoring of its serum levels. Most of digoxin immunoassays suffer from interferences with digoxin-like immunoreactive substances. Since aptamers have been shown to be highly specific for their targets, the aim of this study was to develop DNA aptamers for this widely used cardiac glycoside. Digoxin was coated onto the surface of streptavidin magnetic beads. DNA aptamers against digoxin were designed using Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential enrichment method (SELEX) by 11 iterative rounds of incubation of digoxin-coated streptavidin magnetic beads with synthetic DNA library, DNA elution, electrophoresis and PCR amplification. The PCR product was cloned and sequenced. Binding affinity was determined using digoxin–BSA conjugate, coated onto ELISA plate. Inhibitory effect of anti-digoxin aptamer was conducted using isolated guinea-pig atrium. Three aptamers (D1, D2 and D3) were identified. Binding studies of fluorescein-labeled truncated (without primer binding region) D1 and D2 and full length D1 anti-digoxin aptamers were performed and their corresponding dissociation constants values were 8.2 × 10⁻⁹, 44.0 × 10⁻⁹ and 17.8 × 10⁻⁹ M, respectively. This is comparable to what other workers have obtained for interaction of monoclonal antibodies raised against digoxin. There was little difference in binding affinity between full length and truncated anti-digoxin D1 aptamer. D1 anti-digoxin aptamer also inhibited the effects of digoxin on the isolated guinea-pig atrium. D1 anti-digoxin aptamer distinguished between digoxin and ouabain in both tissue study and binding experiments. Our finding indicated that D1 anti-digoxin aptamer can selectively bind to digoxin. Further studies might show its suitability for use in digoxin assays and as a therapeutic agent in life-threatening digoxin toxicity.     

Solid Phase Extraction and Simultaneous Spectrophotometric Determination of Trace Amounts of Copper and Iron Using Mixture of Ligands

 A novel sensitive and simple method for rapid and selective extraction, preconcentration and determination of iron (as its bathophenanthroline complex) and copper (as its neocuproine complex) using octadecyl silica cartridges and dual wavelength spectrophotometry is presented. The dual wavelength method (533 nm for the iron-bathophenanthroline and 454 nm for the copper-neocuproine as the analytical wavelength) is used to eliminate spectral interferences. Extraction efficiency and the influence of flow rates of sample solution and eluent, pH, amount of neocuproine, bathophenanthroline and hydroxylamine hydrochloride, type and least amount of eluent for elution of iron and copper complexes from cartridge, break-through volume and limit of detection are evaluated. The effects of various cationic and anionic interferences on percent recovery of iron and copper are also studied. Extraction efficiencies >95% are obtained by elution of cartridges with minimal amount of organic solvent. Iron and copper were determined in the range of 3–100 ng mL⁻¹. The limits of detection are 0.98 and 1.13 ng mL⁻¹ for iron and copper, respectively. The proposed method is applied successfully to the determination of both analytes in river, tap and well water samples. Author for correspondence. E-mail: yyamini@modares.ac.ir Received September 18, 2002; accepted December 12, 2002 Published online May 5, 2003     

Removal of divalent nickel cations from aqueous solution by multi-walled carbon nano tubes: equilibrium and kinetic processes

Release of heavy metals into water as a result of industrial activity may pose a serious threat to the environment. In this study, the potential of multi-walled carbon nano tubes (MWCNT) to remove Ni²⁺ cations from aqueous solutions was investigated in a batch reactor under different experimental conditions. The effects on the removal process of conditions such as initial concentration of Ni²⁺ ions, temperature, and adsorbent mass were investigated. Nickel uptake was quantitatively evaluated by use of the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin?CKaganer?CRadushkevich isotherm models. For 20?mg/L initial Ni²⁺ cation concentration, adsorption capacity increased from 8.12 to 11.75?mg/g when the temperature was increased from 25 to 65?°C, an indication of the endothermic nature of adsorption process. In addition, the adsorption equilibrium was well described by the Langmuir isotherm model; maximum adsorption capacity was 17.86?mg/g Ni²⁺ cations on HNO₃-treated MWCNT (t-MWCNT). The results obtained in this study show that adsorption of Ni²⁺ on t-MWCNT is a spontaneous and endothermic process. By use of second-order kinetic constants and the Arrhenius equation, the activation energy of adsorption (E _a) was determined as 5.56?kJ?mol^?1.     

Electrochemically controlled in-tube solid phase microextraction

We report a new in-tube solid phase microextraction approach named electrochemically controlled in-tube solid phase microextraction (EC in-tube SPME). This approach, which combined electrochemistry and in-tube SPME, led to decrease in total analysis time and increase in sensitivity. At first, pyrrole was elctropolymerized on the inner surface of a stainless steel tube. Then, the polypyrrole (PPy)-coated in-tube SPME was coupled on-line to liquid chromatography (HPLC) to achieve automated in-tube SPME–HPLC analysis. After the completion of EC-in-tube SPME–HPLC setup, the PPy-coated tube was used as working electrode for uptake of diclofenac as target analyte. Extraction ability of the tube in presence and in absence of applied electrical field was investigated. It was found that, under the same extraction conditions, the extraction efficiency could be greatly enhanced by using the constant potential. Important factors are also optimized. The detection limit (S/N = 3) and precision were 0.1 μg L⁻¹ and 4.4%, respectively.     

Solid Particle Distribution in Centrifugal Impeller Contactors

The recently developed centrifugal impeller is examined to investigate the solid–liquid mixing in a mechanically agitated contactor. Using the sample withdrawal method, the effects of impeller geometrical parameters, impeller rotational speed (200–700 rpm), solid particle size (500–1100 µm), and solid loading (2–10 vol%) on the degree of homogeneity are studied. The axial and the radial solid concentration profiles and the minimum impeller speed for the complete homogenization are also determined. In comparison with a widely used propeller impeller, considerably higher homogeneity values in lower impeller speeds are obtained (90% homogeneity against 16% homogeneity at 200 rpm at the same conditions). Having also lower power consumption makes this a superior impeller in solid–liquid mixing processes especially in shear-sensitive systems.      

Design,synthesis and antibacterial activity evaluation of novel 2-(4-((1-aryl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methoxy)phenyl)2-(2-oxoazetidin-1-yl)acetamide derivatives

In this paper, a novel series of 2-(4-((1-aryl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methoxy)phenyl)2-(2-oxoazetidin-1-yl)acetamide derivatives are synthesized in two steps. The first step involved Ugi multicomponent reaction of β-alanine, o-(propargyl)benzaldehyde and isocyanide derivatives. The product of this step, underwent a click 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with benzyl azide derivatives. The 2-(4-((1-aryl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methoxy)phenyl)2-(2-oxoazetidin-1-yl)acetamide product was characterized and their antibacterial activities were evaluated against various G-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and G-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) bacteria, using minimal inhibition concentration. The compounds showed very good antimicrobial activity and a number of products have been more active than ciprofloxacin.     

Ab initio study of aerogen-bonds between some heterocyclic compounds of benzene with the noble gas elements (Ne,Ar, and Kr)

Structural Chemistry - Ab initio calculations have been performed to study the complexes between the noble gas elements (Ae = Ne, Ar, Kr) with a series of benzene isoelectronic heterocyclic...