F-TRIA01: A Fast Bipolar Transimpedance Amplifier

This paper describes a new transimpedance amplifier for fast current pulses delivered by high energy particle detectors. The choice of a bipolar technology allowed a 100 low input impedance and a rise time down to 1 nS. The fully differential current mode architecture provides an excellent linearity and a large versatility as for its transimpedance, bandwidth and power consumption.     

Hardness and Fracture Toughness of Solid Solutions of Mg2Si and Mg2Sn

Semiconductors - Thermoelectric material development typically aims at maximizing produced electrical power and efficiency of energy conversion, even though sometimes, this means adding expensive...     

Role of Stone–Wales defects on the functionalization of (8,0) single wall carbon nanotubes by the amine group: Ab initio study

Using first-principle calculations, we have investigated the chemical functionalization of (8,0) zigzag single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) by the amine group on Stone–Wales (SW) defects. The binding of NH₂ with the defective (8,0) nanotube was explored and the preferential grafting sites have been identified. On the other hand, the modifications induced by SW defect and functional groups in the structural and electronic properties of (8,0) SWNT have also been investigated. The role of SW defects in the chemical reactivity of carbon nanotubes was well identified.     

The anodic reactivity of 4,4′-dimethoxychalcone: a synthetic and mechanistic investigation

The anodic oxidation of the 4,4′-dimethoxychalcone (DMC) was investigated by different electrochemical methods at a platinum working electrode and in acetonitrile as a solvent. The DMC exhibited a single irreversible anodic peak around 1.6 V versus Ag/AgCl. On the time scale of cyclic voltammetry experiments, the highly reactive radical cation issued from the first electron transfer underwent a second order rate-limiting reaction. The potential imposed electrolyses of DMC led to the formation of a semi-conducting oligomer with 40 % yield. Using different physico-chemicals methods, the structural study confirmed the formation of an o-phenylenevinylene oligomer. The values of the corresponding optical and electrochemical band gaps were calculated to be 3.15 and 2.86 eV, respectively. Finally, a mechanism for the DMC electro-oligomerization was proposed on the basis of the obtained results.     

A novel fully integrated device dedicated to ECG signal measurement

This paper describes two novel fully integrated circuits implemented in standard 0.35 μm CMOS technology dedicated to ECG signal measurement. Many specific problems related to this kind of signal are discussed. Pertinent solutions, such as high pass filtering, offset cancellation, common mode rejection, low pass filtering and capacitive coupling between different stages are proposed.     

Electrophilic reactivities of 7-L-4-nitrobenzofurazans in σ-complexation processes: Kinetic studies and structure–reactivity relationships

The second-order rate constants (k) for reaction of 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzofurazan 1 and 7-methoxy-4-nitrobenzofurazan 2 with a series of nitroalkyl anions and several of para-substituted phenoxide anions in aqueous solution at 20 °C have been reported. On the basis of the linear novel approach recently designed by Mayr and coworkers, the electrophilicity parameters E at the C-5 position of the two nitrobenzofurazans 1 and 2 have been quantified and ranked on the comprehensive electrophilicity scale. Mayr's approach was found to correctly predict the rate constants for the addition of phenoxide anions at the C-5 position of 1 and 2 witting a factor of <2. Analysis of the kinetic measurements using Brønsted's model shows that β_nuc values remain remarkably constant for changes in the nature of the substituent and that the σ-complexation process is associated with high Marcus intrinsic barriers. In addition, satisfactory correlations between the log k_exp (k_exp values measured in this work for reactions of benzofurazans 1 and 2 with a series of phenoxide anions in aqueous solution at 20 °C) and log k_calcd (k_calcd values calculated from equation 1 using the electrophilicity parameters E of benzofurazans 1 and 2 and the previously published nucleophilicity parameters N and s_N of the phenoxide anions) with a slope very close to unity have been obtained and discussed.     

HESI-MS/MS Analysis of Phenolic Compounds from Calendula aegyptiaca Fruits Extracts and Evaluation of Their Antioxidant Activities

Considering medicinal plants as an inexhaustible source of active ingredients that may be easily isolated using simple and inexpensive techniques, phytotherapy is becoming increasingly popular. Various experimental approaches and analytical methods have been used to demonstrate that the genus Calendula (Asteraceae) has a particular richness in active ingredients, especially phenolic compounds, which justifies the growing interest in scientific studies on this genus’ species. From a chemical and biological viewpoint, Calendula aegyptiaca is a little-studied plant. For the first time, high-performance liquid chromatography combined with negative electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-HESI-MS) was used to analyze methanolic extracts of Calendula aegyptiaca (C. aegyptiaca) fruits. Thirty-five molecules were identified. Flavonoids (47.87%), phenolic acids (5.18%), and saponins (6.47%) formed the majority of these chemicals. Rutin, caffeic acid hexoside, and Soyasaponin βg’ were the most abundant molecules in the fruit methanolic extract, accounting for 17.49% of total flavonoids, 2.32 % of total phenolic acids, and 0.95% of total saponins, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the fruit extracts of C. aegyptiaca was investigated using FRAP, TAC, and DPPH as well as flavonoids and total phenols content. Because the phenolic components were more extractable using polar solvents, the antioxidant activity of the methanolic extract was found to be higher than that of the dichloromethane and hexane extracts. The IC50 value for DPPH of methanolic extract was found to be 0.041 mg·mL⁻¹. Our findings showed that C. aegyptiaca is an important source of physiologically active compounds.     

Contacting Cu Electrodes to Mg2Si0.3Sn0.7: Direct vs. Indirect Resistive Heating

Semiconductors - Mg2(Si,Sn)-based thermoelectric materials have been gaining interest in the past years due to their attractive properties. In this work, we present the outcome of using two...     

SNAr reactions of substituted pyridines with secondary amines in aqueous solution: Kinetic and reactivity indices in density functional theory

A kinetic study is reported for the reactions of 2-methoxy-3-nitropyridine 1a and 2-methoxy-5-nitropyridine 1b with three secondary amines 2a–c (morpholine, piperidine, and pyrrolidine) in aqueous solution at 20°C. The Brønsted-type plots are linear with β_nuc = 0.52 and 0.55 for pyridines 1a and 1b , respectively, indicating that the reaction proceeds through a S_NAr mechanism in which the first step is the rate-determining step. Additional theoretical calculations using the DFT/B3LYP method confirm that the C-2 carbon being the most electrophilic center for the both pyridines 1a and 1b . The second-order rate constants have been used to evaluate the electrophilicity parameters E of 1a and 1b according to the linear free energy relationship log k (20°C) = s_N (N + E). The E parameters thus derived are compared with the electrophilic reactivities of a large variety of anisoles. The validity of these E values has been satisfactorily verified by comparison of calculated and experimental second-order rate constants for the reactions of pyridines 1a and 1b with anion of ethyl benzylacetate.     

On the almost periodic solutions of Lattices equations

By using the Ekeland variational principle and the calculus of variations in mean, we study the existence of almost periodic solutions of a class of advanced-retarded differential equation. We show that under some hypothesis, for any given almost periodic forcing term can be ‘perturbed’ so that the corresponding forced equation admits an almost periodic solution.