Strong Bragg gratings photoinduced by 633-nm illumination in evaporated As2Se3 thin films

Bragg gratings are used in several photonic devices to reflect, and thus to isolate, specific wavelengths of light. Gratings can be photoinduced in chalcogenide glasses by illumination of bandgap light in an interference pattern. We used holographic interferometry to create Bragg gratings in amorphous As2Se3 thin films with a period of 0.56 microm by illumination with 633-nm light. The quality of the gratings was tested in real time, and refractive-index modulations as high as 0.037 were measured. These gratings were found to be stable over a period of several months if they were kept in the dark.     

Theoretical study of indirect excitons’ lifetime in coupled AlGaN/GaN quantum wells in the presence of an electrostatic trap

The lifetime of electrostatically trapped indirect excitons in a field-effect structure based on coupled AlGaN/GaN quantum wells has been theoretically studied. Within the plane of a double quantum well, indirect excitons are trapped between the surfaces of the AlGaN/GaN heterostructures and a semitransparent metallic top gate. The trapping mechanism has been assumed to be a combination of the quantum confined Stark effect and local field enhancement. In order to study the trapped exciton lifetime, the binding energy of indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells is calculated by finite difference method in the presence of an electric field. Thus, the lifetime of trapped excitons is computed as a function of well width, AlGaN barrier width, the position of double quantum well in the device and applied voltage.     

Silica Gel Supported Ferric Perchlorate: A New and Efficient Reagent for One Pot Synthesis of Amides from Benzylic Alcohols

Benzylic alcohols react efficiently with nitriles in the presence of silica gel supported ferric perchlorate to produce amides in high yields.     

Chemometric approach in optimization of micellar liquid chromatographic separation of some halogenated phenols

Simultaneous optimization of separation quality and analysis time of the micellar liquid chromatography of nine chlorophenol isomers was investigated. The effect on retention of three experimental parameters was studied using multivariate analysis. The factors studied were the concentration of sodium dodecyl sulfate, propanol content and pH of the mobile phase. The experiments were performed according to the face-centred cube central composite design and the inverse form of the experimental retention times for analytes were fitted to the polynomial models. The results of the analysis of variance showed that the models obtained explain greater than 99% of the variance observed in the chromatograms. Good predictive ability of the models was verified as high values of the statistics R² and F were obtained for the linear relationship between predicted cross-validated and experimental values of the dependent variable. The study showed that the use of Pareto-optimality method, an approach from multi-criteria decision-making, allows the selection of the best possible combinations of separation and analysis time in micellar liquid chromatography of chlorophenols.     

In Vitro Evaluation of Zn–Norfloxacin Complex as a Potent Cytotoxic and Antibacterial Agent, Proposed Model for DNA Binding

A tetrahedral Zn(II) complex with the second generation fluoroquinolone, norfloxacin, was prepared and characterized (NOR–Zn complex, NZC). The antibacterial efficiency of the NZC was tested on two Gram-positive and four Gram-negative bacteria by minimum inhibitory concentration method. The cytotoxic potential of NZC on MDA (human breast adenocarcinoma), Caco-2 (human colon adenocarcinoma), and Hela (human cervix carcinoma) cell lines was studied. The DNA interaction property of the NZC has been investigated using UV–vis, fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared, as well as cyclic voltammetry methods. Intrinsic binding constant (K _b ), thermodynamic, and other spectroscopic and voltammetric data indicate that the NZC has more affinity for DNA than for norfloxacin and interacted with DNA via two modes: electrostatic and outside hydrogen binding. The proposed DNA binding mode supports the large enhancement in the cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity of NZC.     

AN ACTION SPECTRUM FOR LETHAL PHOTOSENSITIZATION OF Candida albicans BY 8-MOP AFTER LOW-DOSE BROAD-BAND UV-A IRRADIATION; AN ACTION SPECTRUM FOR 8-MOP 4′,5′- MONOADDUCTS?

An action spectrum was obtained for lethal photosensitization of Candida albicans that had been pre-irradiated with a sub-lethal low dose of broad-band UV-A after incubation with 8-methoxypsoralen and then washed to remove any non-photobound 8-methoxypsoralen. The resultant spectrum with a peak in the 320-335 nm region was similar to that obtained by a conventional method (single irradiation only) and also to the absorption spectrum of the 4',5'-monoadduct. These data support the hypothesis that the chromophore for lethal photosensitization by 8-methoxypsoralen is the 8-methoxypsoralen/DNA 4',5'-monoadduct rather than 8-methoxypsoralen itself.     

Comparison of Two Stability-Indicating Chromatographic Methods for the Determination of Mirabegron in Presence of Its Degradation Product

Mirabegron is a novel β₃-adrenoceptor agonist containing an amide group. It was subjected to stress conditions of acidic and alkaline hydrolyses. The hydrolytic degradation product was isolated and its structure was confirmed using mass and IR spectrometry. Two stability-indicating chromatographic methods have been proposed for the determination of mirabegron. TLC method was applied using silica gel as stationary phase and chloroform–methanol–ammonia (9.0:1.0:0.1 by volume) as the mobile phase, and chromatograms were scanned at 250 nm. Accurate determination of the drug was achieved over the concentration range of 2–12 μg per band. In addition, an isocratic HPLC method was developed on Agilent C18 column (150 mm × 4.5 mm I.D., particle size 5 µm) using ethanol-phosphate buffer pH 2.5 (30:70, by volume) as a mobile phase with flow rate of 1 mL min^?1.The intact drug was detected at 250 nm with running time less than 5 min. Mirabegron was determined accurately in a concentration range of 1–25 µg mL^?1. The proposed chromatographic methods were applied successfully for the assay of mirabegron in pharmaceutical dosage form and both methods were validated as per the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines and statistically compared with a reported gradient HPLC method.     

Ionic Liquid Based Ultrasound-Assisted Emulsification Microextraction for Preconcentration of Phenol Using Central Composite Design

In this work, phenol reacted with 4-aminoantipyrine (4-AAP) reagent in presence of potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) and then was extracted using ultrasound-assisted emulsification microextraction via 1-hexyl-3-methyl imidazolium hexafluorophosphate as an environmentally friendly solvent. Effects of the main experimental variables were investigated and optimized by central composite design. Under the optimum conditions (pH 9.5, 100 mg/L 4-AAP, 100 μL of ionic liquid as extraction solvent, 0.2 g/L K₃Fe(CN)₆ and 0.2 M NH₄Cl) the dynamic linear range, limit of detection and relative standard deviation were obtained as 0.2?25 μg/L, 0.07 μg/L and 2.6%, respectively. Finally, the applicability of the proposed ultrasoundassisted emulsification microextraction was examined and very good results were obtained. The results confirmed the applicability of the proposed method as a versatile, low cost and sensitive preconcentration method for determination of very low concentrations of phenol in aqueous solutions.     

Stabilization of active fault‐tolerant control systems by uncertain nonhomogeneous markovian jump models

This article investigates the stabilization and control problems for a general active fault‐tolerant control system (AFTCS) in a stochastic framework. The novelty of the research lies in utilizing uncertain nonhomogeneous Markovian structures to take account for the imperfect fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) algorithms of the AFTCS. The underlying AFTCS is supposed to be modeled by two random processes of Markov type; one characterizing the system fault process and the other describing the FDD process. It is assumed that the FDD algorithm is imperfect and provides inaccurate Markovian parameters for the FDD process. Specifically, it provides uncertain transition rates (TRs); the TRs that lie in an interval without any particular structures. This framework is more consistent with real‐world applications to accommodate different types of faults. It is more general than the previously developed AFTCSs because of eliminating the need for an accurate estimation of the fault process. To solve the stabilizability and the controller design problems of this AFTCS, the whole system is viewed as an uncertain nonhomogeneous Markovian jump linear system (NHMJLS) with time‐varying and uncertain specifications. Based on the multiple and stochastic Lyapunov function for the NHMJLS, first a sufficient condition is obtained to analyze the system stabilizability and then, the controller gains are synthesized. Unlike the previous fault‐tolerant controllers, the proposed robust controller only needs to access the FDD process, besides it is easily obtainable through the existing optimization techniques. It is successfully tested on a practical inverted pendulum controlled by a fault‐prone DC motor. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 21: 318–329, 2016     

LMI‐based criterion for the robust guaranteed cost control of uncertain switched neutral systems with time‐varying mixed delays and nonlinear perturbations by dynamic output feedback

This article reports on an investigation into robust guaranteed cost control (GCC) for uncertain switched neutral systems (USNSs) with interval time‐varying mixed delays and nonlinear perturbations via dynamic output feedback. Delay‐dependent sufficient conditions are suggested to guarantee the robust exponential stability and to obtain robust GCC for USNSs using the average dwell time approach and the piecewise Lyapunov function technique in terms of a set of linear matrix inequalities. The problem of uncertainty in the system model is solved by deploying the Yakubovich lemma. Lastly, two examples (i.e., a numerical example and the water‐quality dynamic model for the Nile River) are given to verify the efficiency of the propounded theories. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 21: 555–578, 2016