Stability of isooctane mixtures with 3-pentanone or biacetyl as fluorescence tracers in combustion experiments

Evidence is presented in the literature that common fluorescence tracer/fuel mixtures used in engine experiments, 3-pentanone/isooctane and biacetyl/isooctane, may decompose during extended use and storage. Investigations presented here show that preferential evaporation of the tracer and not chemical decomposition is responsible for observed decreases in fluorescence signal strength in these experiments.     

Development of Novel Indole-Based Bifunctional Aldose Reductase Inhibitors/Antioxidants as Promising Drugs for the Treatment of Diabetic Complications

Aldose reductase (AR, ALR2), the first enzyme of the polyol pathway, is implicated in the pathophysiology of diabetic complications. Aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs) thus present a promising therapeutic approach to treat a wide array of diabetic complications. Moreover, a therapeutic potential of ARIs in the treatment of chronic inflammation-related pathologies and several genetic metabolic disorders has been recently indicated. Substituted indoles are an interesting group of compounds with a plethora of biological activities. This article reviews a series of indole-based bifunctional aldose reductase inhibitors/antioxidants (ARIs/AOs) developed during recent years. Experimental results obtained in in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models of diabetic complications are presented. Structure–activity relationships with respect to carboxymethyl pharmacophore regioisomerization and core scaffold modification are discussed along with the criteria of ‘drug-likeness”. Novel promising structures of putative multifunctional ARIs/AOs are designed.     

Tungsten silicide formation by XeCl excimer-laser irradiation of W/Si samples

We report a study of the formation of tungsten silicide at the W-Si interface, induced by multipulse (up to 300 shots) XeCl excimer-laser irradiation of W(150 nm)/Si and W(500 nm)/Si samples. Laser fluences ranging from 0.6 to 1.8 J/cm² were used. After laser treatment the samples were examined by different diagnostic techniques: Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, X-ray scattering, resistometry, and surface profilometry. Numerical computations of the evolution and depth profiles of the temperature in the samples as a consequence of a single 30 ns laser pulse were performed as well. The results indicate that it is possible to obtain a tungsten silicide layer at the W-Si interface at quite low fluences. The layer thickness increases with the number of laser pulses. Complete reaction of the 150 nm thick W film with silicon was obtained at the fluence of 1.2 J/cm² between 30 and 100 laser pulses and at 1.5 J/cm² after 30 laser pulses. The sheet resistance of these silicides was 5–10 . At the used fluences for the 500 nm thick W film only the onset of silicide synthesis at the W-Si interface was observed.     

Optimization of NRZ Data Transmission at 10 Gbit/s over G.652 Without In-Line DFAs

Performance limits of NRZ data transmission at 10 Gbit/s over standard single mode fiber (SSMF, G.652) without the deployment of in-line erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) are evaluated by means of numerical simulation. The fiber system was modeled using the standard split-step Fourier algorithm for the solution of nonlinear Schroedinger equation. The effect of group velocity dispersion (GVD) compensation scheme, degree of GVD compensation of the SSMF, and input optical powers to SSMF and to the dispersion compensating fiber (DCF) have been investigated with the aim to maximize the distance between transmitter and receiver. We have found that a post-compensation scheme performs better than the pre-compensation scheme and that, by careful selection of input powers and degree of GVD compensation, it should be possible to keep the bit-error-ratio (BER) below 10 upper index = 15 for an SSMF length of 270 km.