Synthesis,Spectroscopic Studies,and Crystal Structures of Phenylorganotin Derivatives with [Bis(2,6‐dimethylphenyl)amino]benzoic Acid: Novel Antituberculosis Agents

The novel triphenyl adduct of 2‐[(2,6‐dimethylphenyl)amino]benzoic acid (HDMPA; 1 ), i.e., [SnPh₃(DMPA)] ( 2 ), the dimeric tetraorganostannoxane [Ph₂(DMPA)SnOSn(DMPA)Ph₂]₂ ( 3 ), and the monomeric adduct [SnPh₂(DMPA)₂] ( 4 ), where DMPA is monodeprotonated HDMPA, have been prepared and structurally characterized by means of IR, ¹H‐NMR, and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy. The structures of 1 and 2 have been determined by X‐ray crystallography. Single‐crystal X‐ray‐diffraction analysis of 1 revealed that there are two molecules in the asymmetric unit, HD1 and HD2 , differing in conformation, both forming centrosymmetric dimers linked by H‐bonds between the carboxylic O‐atoms. X‐Ray analysis of 2 revealed a pentacoordinate structure containing Ph₃Sn coordinated to the carboxylato group. Significant C? H/π interactions and intramolecular H‐bonds stabilize the structures of 1 and 2 , which self‐assembled via C? H/π and π/π‐stacking interactions. The Ph₃Sn adduct 2 was found to be a promising antimycobacterial lead compound, displaying activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. The cytotoxiciy in the Vero cell line is also reported.     

The E3 architecture: enabling future cellular networks with cognitive and self‐x capabilities

Future mobile networks are expected to be complex heterogeneous systems. On the one hand this will enable users to take advantage of a number of different access technologies. On the other hand it will seriously affect network management procedures since more extensive operations and decisions will have to be dealt with. To tackle these challenges a number of new dynamic mechanisms need to be designed. It is imperative that certain network management tasks have to be performed without human intervention to reduce the OPEX costs and achieve faster responses in different events. To achieve this goal, the introduction of self‐x functionalities, combined with cognitive mechanisms and the ability to reconfigure network entities and terminals, is required. Moreover, the introduction of a new pilot channel needs to be considered to assist the terminals in selecting the most suitable radio access technology according to their requirements. We present the functional architecture of an evolved network that was designed in the context of the EU‐funded IP project ‘E³: End‐to‐End Efficiency’. This architecture aims to enhance existing procedures usually performed in traditional operation and maintenance systems (e.g. spectrum management, network planning, configuration actions). We explain the rationale of our design and provide specific examples to illustrate the role of the different functional entities and their interfaces. A considerable part of this architecture has recently been approved as a feasibility study by the ETSI Committee Reconfigurable Radio System. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of signalling loads in a cognitive network management architecture

Future networks will need to accommodate a significantly augmented user demand, mainly stemming from the wireless and mobile domains. In general, the emerging radio landscape will comprise multiple, collaborating radio access networks (RANs) able to operate a plethora of diverse radio access technologies (RATs), variant types of mobile terminals (MTs), with the ability to choose among various supported RANs/RATs and, in addition, both devices and networks with dynamic spectrum access capabilities that allow the sharing and/or optimization of spectrum usage among different systems. The above will stress network operators for developing mechanisms to confront the challenges and to leverage the opportunities posed by such a versatile radio environment. In particular, the situation calls for adaptive and flexible management paradigms that are able to dynamically manage network elements and terminals, thus ensuring the great availability and efficient usage of spectrum and other radio resources. Framed within the above, this paper considers a cognitive network management architecture, which is destined for optimized management of future wireless networks operating in versatile radio environments, and presents a performance evaluation methodology, which was set up for measuring the signalling loads that the operation of the architecture will bring to the managed network. The methodology is analytically described, and useful results with respect to the signalling load produced for management signalling purposes in an indicative scenario are presented and analysed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A survey of autonomic networking architectures: towards a Unified Management Framework

Academic and industrial research initiatives have sought to make fully autonomic networks a reality. Some of these initiatives pursued a holistic approach, while others focused on setting up functionalities for specific networking domains. These efforts did not succeed in being extensively deployed, because the goals of network operators were not satisfactorily met. These goals include unification of management operations, enablement of end‐to‐end management and enhancement of the overall system performance in a trusted way, while reducing management cost. In this paper, we analyse a set of existing autonomic management architectures and frameworks with respect to a selected set of criteria. We then identify missing parts and challenges and propose a framework to unify the most promising attributes towards a novel approach of realization of autonomic networking management. We call this proposal Unified Management Framework (UMF). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Digitally Reconstructed Porous Media: Transport and Sorption Properties

The basic aim of this work is to present a combination of techniques for the reconstruction of the porous structure and the study of transport properties in porous media. The disordered structure of porous systems like random sphere packing, Vycor glass and North Sea chalk, is represented by three-dimensional binary images. The random sphere pack is generated by a standard ballistic deposition procedure, while the chalk and the Vycor matrices by a stochastic reconstruction technique. The transport properties (Knudsen diffusivity, molecular diffusivity and permeability) of the resulting 3-dimensional binary domains are investigated through computer simulations. Furthermore, physically sound spatial distributions of two phases filling the pore space are determined by the use of a simulated annealing algorithm. The wetting and the non-wetting phases are initially randomly distributed in the pore space and trial-and-error swaps are performed in order to attain the global minimum of the total interfacial energy. The effective diffusivities of the resulting domains are then computed and a parametric study with respect to the pore volume fraction occupied by each phase is performed. Reasonable agreement with available data is obtained in the single- and multi-phase transport cases.     

Crystallographic report: Diphenylbis(Hpiroxicam)tin(IV), [Ph2Sn(Hpir)2]

The crystal structure of complex [Ph₂Sn(Hpir)₂ ·CH₃CN] shows for the first time chelation to a metal atom of piroxicam through the keto‐enolate oxygen atoms. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling language evolution: Aromanian,an endangered language in Greece

Time evolution of the relative density of speakers of an endangered language, Aromanian, which is spoken by a bilingual community in North-Western Greece, is approached theoretically by means of a two-state model and a three-state model. The same prestige and volatility parameters are used in these two models. Furthermore, a culture parameter and a second exponent are introduced in the three-state model. The parameters of each model are fitted to the current status of Aromanian, on the basis of field evidence collected by us, and the first findings about the risk of the language’s extinction are presented.     

Enhanced Thermocatalytic Activity of Porous Yellow ZnO Nanoflakes: Defect‐ and Morphology‐Induced Perspectives

Herein, we report a simple and effective strategy for the synthesis of yellow ZnO (Y‐ZnO) nanostructures with abundant oxygen vacancies on a large scale, through the sulfidation of ZnO followed by calcination. The developed strategy allows retention of the overall morphology of Y‐ZnO compared with pristine ZnO and the extent of oxygen vacancies can be tuned. The influence of oxygen deficiencies, the extent of defect sites, and the morphology of ZnO on its solution‐phase thermocatalytic activity has been evaluated in the synthesis of 5‐substituted‐1H‐tetrazoles with different nitriles and sodium azide. A reasonable enhancement in the reaction rate was achieved by using Y‐ZnO nanoflakes (Y‐ZnO NFs) as a catalyst in place of pristine ZnO NFs. The reaction was complete within 6 h at 110 °C with Y‐ZnO NFs, whereas it took 14 h at 120 °C with pristine ZnO NFs. The catalyst is easy to recycle without a significant loss in catalytic activity.     

An overview of frequency synthesizers for radars

The authors present an overview of frequency synthesizer techniques suitable for radar systems. Various synthesizer architectures and key synthesizer components are considered along with a discussion of advantages and disadvantages. Some architectures are hardware intensive and, because of their physical size, are more suitable for stationary or shipboard radars. Architectures requiring smaller volume are more suitable for airborne applications. Direct, phase-locked, and frequency-locked architectures are covered, including key building blocks and performance limitations. The direct digital synthesizer (DDS) architecture is considered briefly, as it is not yet widely used in radar systems. Finally, projections are made of advances in components that have a direct effect on frequency synthesis