Individually addressable recessed gold microelectrode arrays with monolayers of thio-cyclodextrin nanocavities

Four, individually addressable 30 microm diameter, e-beam deposited, gold microelectrodes recessed by 6 microm were suitably spaced on a single substrate to avoid diffusional overlap between each microelectrode. The single substrate device was functionalised with thiolated alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrin nanocavities without spacer groups to ensure close proximity of the cavities to the electrode surface. The microelectrodes were assessed in two stages. The e-beam deposited micron sized electrodes were characterized using models for recessed and inlaid microdisk electrodes. Subsequently, each individually addressable, atomically flat, micro-patterned gold electrode with thiolated CD ensembles was treated as a nanoporous electrode assembly. Theoretical and experimental results were compared using cyclic voltammetry. Atomic force microscopy was also used to characterise the modified microelectrodes. Comparisons were made with thiolated CDs deposited on macroelectrodes. This is the first report of the behaviour of immobilized CD nanocavities ensembles on atomically flat gold microelectrodes.     

A robust-adaptive fuzzy coverage control for robotic swarms

In this paper, a decentralized adaptive control scheme for multi-robot coverage is proposed. This control method is designed based on centroidal Voronoi configuration integrated with robust adaptive fuzzy control techniques. We consider simple single integrator mobile robots used for covering dynamical environments, where an adaptive fuzzy logic system is used to approximate the unknown parts of control law. A robust coverage criterion is used to attenuate the adaptive fuzzy approximation error and measurement noises to a prescribed level. Therefore, the robots motion is forced to obey solutions of a coverage optimization problem. The advantages of the proposed controller can be listed as robustness to external disturbances, computation uncertainties, and measurement noises, while applicability on dynamical environments. A Lyapunov-function based proof is given of robust stability, i.e. convergence to the optimal positions with bounded error. Finally, simulation results are demonstrated for a swarm coverage problem simultaneous with tracking mobile intruders.     

Exo/endo stereocontrolled synthesis of spiroindoloindolizidines by using classical and microwave conditions via the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction

Using both classical reflux and microwave-mediated conditions, a series of new spiroindoloindolizidines was synthesized by multicomponent 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides in unprecedented exo/endo stereocontrolled. Both conditions easily afforded two identical and separable exo/endo diastereomeric ratios of cycloadducts. However, the ratio of two diastereomeric products obtained from conventional conditions was reversed in all examined cases when the reactions were explored under microwave-mediated conditions. As expected, utilizing the microwave-assisted conditions produced higher yields and reaction rates compared to classical conditions. The structure and exact stereochemistry of synthesized cycloadducts were determined by applying various 2D-NMR spectroscopic techniques and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Finally, the mechanism of the reaction has been briefly investigated by using density functional theory (DFT) calculations.     

Synthesis,characterization and crystal structures of new Zinc(II) and Nickel(II) complexes containing morpholine moiety and their antibacterial studies

The ligand 1,2-dimorpholinoethane (DME) was used to prepare Zn(II) and Ni(II) complexes of the general formulation MLX₂ (L = DME, X = Cl or NO₃). Zinc(II) complex exhibits spectral properties indicative of a distorted tetrahedral geometry, with DME coordinating through two nitrogen atoms and two chlorides completing the tetrahedron. This is in contrast to the six-coordinated, distorted octahedral geometry exhibited by nickel(II) complex of DME when NO₃ was used as counter ions. The X-ray diffraction confirms the structures of two complexes and shows that the ligand coordinates through two nitrogen atoms while the two ether linkages are not involved in complexation, which would have been the case if the morpholine rings were in the boat form. The ligand and related complexes have antibacterial activity against the five Gram-positive bacteria: Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Bacillus cereus NRRL-B-3711, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 and Streptococcus pyogenes and also against the three Gram-negative bacteria: Escherichia coli ATCC 11230, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442 and Klebsiella pneumonia ATCC 70063. The results showed that in some cases the antibacterial activity of the complexes exceeded the one of sulfisoxazole used as a standard.     

Analysis of $$D_s D K^*$$ and $$D_s D^{*} K^*$$DsD∗K∗ vertices and branching ratio of $$B^+\rightarrow {K^*}^0 \pi ^+$$B+→K∗0π+

In this paper, the strong form factors and coupling constants of \(D_sDK^*\) and \(D_sD^*K^*\) vertices are investigated within the three-point QCD sum rules method with and without the \(SU_{f}(3)\) symmetry. In this calculation, the contributions of the quark–quark, quark–gluon, and gluon–gluon condensate corrections are considered. As an example of specific application of these coupling constants, the branching ratio of the hadronic decay \(B^+\rightarrow {K^*}^0 \pi ^+\) is analyzed based on the one-particle-exchange which is one of the phenomenological models. In this model, B decays into a \(D_s D^*\) intermediate state, and then these two particles exchange a \(D (D^*)\) producing the final \(K^*\) and \(\pi \) mesons. In order to compute the effect of these interactions, the \(D_s D K^*\) and \(D_s D^* K^*\) form factors are needed.     

Theoretical study of hybrid TEA–CO2 lasers

Temporal and spatial analysis of dynamics of hybrid transversely excited atmospheric pressure (TEA)–CO₂ lasers is studied using two different models with four and eight energy levels. These models are used for simulation of the laser and computing the output energy. Effects of several parameters such as input energies and gas mixture concentrations (especially presence of CO molecules) are also studied.     

Optimization of profenofos organophosphorus pesticide degradation by zero-valent bimetallic nanoparticles using response surface methodology

This study synthesized bimetallic Fe/Ni nanoparticles and used them for catalytic degradation of profenofos, an organophosphorus pesticide. This novel bimetallic catalyst (Fe/Ni) was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis spectroscopy (EDAX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The bimetallic nano-catalyst was prepared at diameters of 20–50 nm and was shown to effectively degrade profenofos. A three-factor central composite design combined with response surface methodology was used to maximize profenofos removal using the bimetallic system. A quadratic model was built to predict degradation efficiency. ANOVA was used to determine the significance of the variables and interactions between them. Good correlation between the experimental and predicted values was confirmed by the high F-value (16.38), very low P-value (<0.0001), non-significant lack of fit, an appropriate coefficient of determination (R² = 0.936) and adequate precision (14.75). The highest removal rate attained was 94.51%.     

The Processing of Pyrolysis Fuel Oil by Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Torch

In present paper, an atmospheric-pressure low-temperature plasma treatment of pyrolysis fuel oil (PFO) was investigated in dielectric barrier discharge plasma torch reactor. The effect of the applied voltage and the volume of feedstock, as the main parameters, on the cracking of PFO were studied. By increasing the applied voltage from 10 to 16 kV, the production rate of hydrocarbons containing methane, ethylene, acetylene, propane, propylene, and C₄ rise 18 times. In this case, the production rate of hydrogen increases by approximately 14 times and reaches 7.27 × 10^?3 mol/min for 16 kV. In the feedstock volume investigation, based on limitation of reactor volume, the production rate of hydrocarbons decreased from 0.44 × 10^?3 to 0.15 × 10^?3 mol/min by increasing volume of feedstock from 1 to 5 cc.