Multi-elemental epithermal neutron activation analysis using an internal single comparator

Epithermal neutron activation analysis using an internal single comparator has been used for the analysis of Saudi Arabian iron ores. The concentration of thorium, barium, terbium, tantalum, cobalt, lanthanum and antimony was determined using iron in the ore as an internal comparator for all the elements. In case of antimony there was an agreement between this method and the conventional method indicating that the given method is accurate.     

Rotenoid and isoflavone metabolites from an antioxidant seed extract of Dalbergia lanceolaria subsp. paniculata (roxb.) thoth

Abstract

A new rotenoid named 12-O-methylrotenolol along with five known rotenoid and isoflavone metabolites were isolated from the seeds of Dalbergia lanceolaria subsp. paniculata, collected from Egypt. The structures of these compounds were identified by physical and spectroscopic data measurements ([α]_D, UV, 1D- and 2D-NMR and MS). The methanol extract of the seeds exhibited strong antioxidant activity with IC₅₀ value 0.7?µg/µl against DPPH radical, in respect to quercetin as antioxidant reference (IC₅₀ 1.5?μM), while the tested compounds from this extract showed weak activities with IC₅₀ values ranged from 19.6 to 33.0?µM.     

Novel syntheses of pyrrolone and pyrrolopyridine derivatives

4-Arylmethylene-2-phenyl-2-oxazolin-5-ones 1a , b reacted with some active methylene reagents to afford pyrrolidine-3,5-dione, pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine and pyrrolinone derivatives. The cinnamate ester, obtained from 1a and sodium ethoxide, could be converted into a pyrrolidinone derivative having an active methylene group. This compound coupled with diazonium salts to afford the corresponding azo coupling products.     

Nitriles in organic synthesis: A novel synthesis of benzo[h]pyrimidino[1,2-c]-pyridazinone and hydrazonobut-2-enonitrile derivatives

A new synthesis of benzo[h]pyrimidino[1,2-c]pyridazinones via coupling diazotised anthranilic acid with 1-phenylethylidenemalononitrile ( 1 ) is reported. Synthesis of new 1-antipyrin-4-yl and 1-pyrazol-5-ylpyridazine derivatives utilizing 1 as starting material is also described.     

Spectroscopic characterization of charge-transfer complexes of morpholine with chloranilic and picric acids in organic media: Crystal structure of bis(morpholinium 2,4,6-trinitrocyclohexanolate)

Electron donor–acceptor interaction of morpholine (morp) with chloranilic acid (cla) and picric acid (pa) as π-acceptors was investigated spectrophotometrically and found to form stable charge-transfer (CT) complexes (n–π*) of [(Hmorp)₂(cla)] and [(Hmorp)(pa)]₂. The donor site involved in CT interaction is morpholine nitrogen. These complexes are easily synthesized from the reaction of morp with cla and pa within MeOH and CHCl₃ solvents, respectively. ¹HNMR, IR, elemental analyses, and UV–vis techniques characterize the two morpholinium charge-transfer complexes. Benesi–Hildebrand and its modification methods were applied to the determination of association constant (K), molar extinction coefficient (?). The X-ray crystal structure was carried out for the interpretation the predict structure of the [(Hmorp)(pa)]₂ complex.     

Distortion Effects on Trojan Horse Applications

The widths of the spectator momentum distributions in several nuclei, which have been used as Trojan Horses, have been obtained as a function of the transferred momentum. Applications of Trojan Horse method will also be discussed.     

Multi-objectives Tabu Search based algorithm for progressive resource allocation

Military course of action planning involves time and space synchronization as well as resource and asset allocation. A mission could be seen as a defined set of logical ordered tasks with time and space constraints. The resources to task rules require that available assets should be allocated to each task. A combination of assets might be required to execute a given task. The couple (task, resources) constitutes an action. This problem is formulated as a multi-objectives scheduling and resource allocation problem. Any solution is assessed based on a number of conflicting and heterogeneous objectives. In fact, military planning officers should keep perfecting the plan based on the Commander’s criteria for success. The scheduling problem and resource allocation problem are considered as NP-Hard Problems [A. Guitouni, B. Urli, J.-M. Martel, Course of action planning: A project based modelling, Working Paper, Faculté des sciences de l’ administration, Université Laval, Québec, 2005]. This paper is concerned with the multi-objectives resource allocation problem. Our objective is to find adequate resource allocation for given courses of action schedule. To optimize this problem, this paper investigates non-exact solution methods, like meta-heuristic methods for finding potential efficient solutions. A progressive resource allocation methodology is proposed based on Tabu Search and multi-objectives concepts. This technique explores the search space so as to find a set of potential efficient solutions without aggregating the objectives into a single objective function. It is guided by the principle of maximizing the usage of any resource before considering a replacement resource. Thus, a given resource is allocated to the maximum number of tasks for a given courses of action schedule. A good allocation is a potential efficient solution. These solutions are retained by applying a combination of a dominance rule and a multi-criteria filtering method. The performance of the proposed Pareto-based approach is compared to two aggregation approaches: weighted-sum and the lexicographic techniques. The result shows that a Pareto-based approach is providing better solutions and allowing more flexibility to the decision-maker.     

Nanoscale characterization of different stiction mechanisms in electrostatically driven MEMS devices based on adhesion and friction measurements

In this work, for the first time different stiction mechanisms in electrostatic micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) switches were studied. In these devices stiction can be caused by two main mechanisms: dielectric charging and meniscus formation resulting from the adsorbed water film between the switch bridge and the dielectric layer. The effect of each mechanism and their interaction were investigated by measuring the adhesive and friction forces under different electrical stress conditions and relative humidity levels. An atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to perform force-distance and friction measurements on the nanoscale. A novel technique was proposed to measure the induced surface potential over the dielectric surface and was used to explain the obtained adhesive and friction results. The evolution of adhesive force with time was monitored in order to study the charging/discharging processes in the dielectric film. The assessment methodology is employed for application in RF-MEMS switches and could be extended to other electrostatic MEMS devices. The study provides an in-depth understanding of different stiction mechanisms, and explanation for the literature reported device level measurements for electrostatic capacitive MEMS switches.     

An angle-of-incidence tunable,SiO2-Si (film-substrate) reflection retarder for the UV mercury line λ=2537Å

We present an optimum design of a SiO₂-Si film-substrate single-reflection, angle-of-incidence tunable retarder for the UV spectral line λ=2537 Å. Small changes in film thickness around the optimum value do not significantly affect the device performance. The same applies to small shifts of the wavelength of operation, neglecting the effect of dispersion.