Widrow-cellular neural network and optoelectronic implementation

A new type of optoelectronic cellular neural network has been developed by providing the capability of coefficients adjusment of cellular neural network (CNN) using Widrow based perceptron learning algorithm. The new supervised cellular neural network is called Widrow-CNN. Despite the unsupervised CNN, the proposed learning algorithm allows to use the Widrow-CNN for various image processing applications easily. Also, the capability of CNN for image processing and feature extraction has been improved using basic joint transform correlation architecture. This hardware application presents high speed processing capability compared to digital applications. The optoelectronic Widrow-CNN has been tested for classic CNN feature extraction problems. It yields the best results even in case of hard feature extraction problems such as diagonal line detection and vertical line determination.     

Effect of surfactants on the voltammetric response and determination of an antihypertensive drug

The effect of adding surface-active agents to electrolytes containing terazosin, an antihypertensive drug, on the voltammetric response of glassy carbon electrode was studied. The current signal due to the oxidation process was a function of the amount of terazosin, pH of the medium, type of surfactant, and accumulation time at the electrode surface. Two surfactants were used, an anionic type, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and a cationic type, cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). Addition of SDS to the terazosin-containing electrolyte was found to enhance the oxidation current signal while CTAB showed an opposite effect. Beside the interfacial interaction of the surfactant with the electrode surface in reference to the bias applied potential and the charge of surfactant, terazosin-surfactant interaction in the electrolytic solution was found to be critical to the magnitude of current signal. Addition of SDS to terazosin-containing buffer solution resulted in a decrease in the drug absorption spectrum both in the ultra-violet and visible (UV-vis) regions. Moreover, NMR measurements showed considerable chemical shifts for the aromatic protons of the quinazolinyl moiety of the terazosin in presence of SDS. The affected aromatic protons are positioned next to the interacting protonated amino-group of the terazosin with the charged sulfonate-group of SDS. On the other hand, addition of CTAB did not cause noticeable changes both to the UV-vis and NMR spectra of the drug. The use of SDS in the electrochemical determination of terazosin using linear sweep voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry at solid glassy carbon electrode enhanced the detection limit from 6.00 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ in absence of surfactant to 4.58 × 10⁻⁹ mol L⁻¹ when present. The validity of using this method in the determination of drug active ingredient in urine samples and tablet formulations was also demonstrated.     

Photon interaction studies using 241Am γ-rays

We have carried out some photon interaction measurements using 59.54 keV γ-rays from a ²⁴¹Am source. These include γ attenuation studies as well as photoelectric absorption studies in various samples. The attenuation studies have been made using leaf and wood samples, samples like sand, sugar etc., which contain particles of varying sizes as well as pellets and aqueous solutions of rare earth compounds. In the case of the leaf and wood samples, we have used the γ-ray attenuation technique for the determination of the water content in fresh and dried samples. The variation of the attenuation coefficient with particle size has been investigated for sand and sugar samples. The attenuation studies as well as the photoelectric studies in the case of rare earth elements have been carried out on samples containing such elements whose K-absorption edge energies lie below and close to the γ-energy used. Suitable compounds of the rare earth elements have been chosen as mixture absorbers in these investigations. A narrow beam good geometry set-up was used for the attenuation measurements. A well-shielded scattering geometry was used for the photoelectric measurements. The mixture rule was invoked to extract the values of the mass attenuation coefficients for the elements from those of the corresponding compounds. The results are consistent with theoretical values derived from the XCOM package.     

Partial Least-Squares Study of the Effects of Organic Modifier and Physicochemical Properties on the Retention of Some Thiazoles

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - Reversed-phase (RP) HPTLC with aqueous ammonia-organic modifier (acetonitrile, dioxane, acetone) mobile phases has been used to...     

Study of the Retention Behavior of Newly Synthesized s-Triazine Derivatives in RP TLC Systems,and the Lipophilicity of the Compounds

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - The chromatographic behavior of nine newly synthesized s-tri-azines has been studied by thin-layer chromatography on C18/UV254...     

Electrochemical synthesis, characterization and some properties of a polymer derived from thioflavin S

Polymeric films derived from thioflavin S were electrosynthesized on mild steel and silver electrodes in sulfuric acid and lithium perchlorate-containing aqueous solutions. The introduction of thioflavin S in an acidic solution protected the surface of steel from corrosion. The electrochemical behavior of the steel coated with a layer of poly(thioflavin) was examined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The films exhibited a capacitive behavior and were semi-conductive in nature. Infra red reflectance measurements of the polymer films at the steel surface showed that the polymer structure retained the aromatic structure of the benzene and thiazole rings with the distinction of a nitrogen quinone vibrational band. Surface morphology of the polymer film was examined with scanning electron microscopy. The films are yellow, compact and dense when electrochemically formed onto steel surfaces when compared to a blue rather porous when formed onto silver electrode. The mechanism of electropolymerization of thioflavin is given and found similar to that of aniline with the possibility of metal chelation with the sulfur and/or nitrogen in the thiazole ring.