Polarized Lidar Reflectance Measurements of Vegetation at Near-Infrared and Green Wavelengths

There is growing interest in the use of lidar for remote sensing of vegetation owing to the emergence of reliable and rugged lasers and highly sensitive detectors. Lidar remote sensing has a distinct advantage over conventional techniques in vegetation remote sensing due to its capability for three-dimensional characterization of vegetative targets. The Multiwavelength Airborne Polarimetric Lidar (MAPL) system was developed primarily for vegetation remote sensing applications from an airborne platform of up to 1,000 -m altitude. The lidar system has full waveform capture and polarimetric measurement capability at two wavelengths in the near-infrared (1064 nm) and the green (532 nm) spectral regions. This study presents preliminary ground-based lidar reflectance measurements on a variety of deciduous and coniferous trees under fully foliated conditions with a view towards tree species discrimination. Variations in the reflectance characteristics of selected deciduous trees under unfoliated and fully foliated conditions were also investigated. Our study reveals distinct differences in the reflectance characteristics of various trees.     

Radiation induced synthesis and swelling characterization of thermo-responsive N-isopropylacrylamide-co-ionic hydrogels

Two-component thermo-responsive hydrogels poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride (NIPA-co-VBT) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-p-sodium styrene sulphonate (NIPA-co-SSS) were prepared by using high energy gamma radiation. The gels were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and sol-gel analysis. The presence of ionic monomers in NIPA leads to lower gel content. Introduction of ionic components in the matrix enhanced swelling extent but caused slower volume transition. The swelling studies in alcohol indicated that swelling extent was function of polarity of the swelling medium and all gels followed the order water > methanol > ethanol > iso-propanol. In mixed co-solvents (water-alcohol), they exhibit complex reentrant behavior. The co-polymer gels containing VBT swelled faster and to higher extent than those containing SSS. The dynamic swelling studies indicated that diffusion of water in PNIPA gel shifts from Fickian for PNIPA to anomalous for NIPA-co-ionic gels also the mean swelling time (MST) decreases for gels containing ionic monomers.     

A simple, rapid and efficient protocol for the synthesis of methylthiomethyl esters under Swern oxidation conditions

A rapid, mild and high yielding method for the synthesis of methylthiomethyl esters is reported from the corresponding aliphatic, aromatic and unsaturated carboxylic acids under Swern oxidation conditions using dimethylsulfoxide, oxalyl chloride and triethylamine at low temperature.     

Asymmetric synthesis of 4,4-disubstituted-2-imidazoli-dinones: potent NK1 antagonists

[structure: see text] A highly efficient and practical synthesis of 4,4-Disubstituted-2-Imidazolidinones utilizing a "self-reproduction of the center of chirality" strategy is described.     

Thermodynamics of alpha-Cyclodextrin-p-Nitrophenyl Glycoside Complexes. A Simple System To Understand the Energetics of Carbohydrate Interactions in Water

Thermodynamic studies of the binding of a series of p-nitrophenyl glycosides (PNPGly) of varying stereochemistry to alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-CD) were performed at three different temperatures (25, 35, and 42 degrees C) using a microcalorimetric technique. The system p-nitrophenol (PNP) at pH = 3 and alpha-CD was also studied for the sake of comparison. All these complexes were found to be enthalpy driven with a favorable enthalpic term clearly dominant over an unfavorable entropic term. A clear enthalpy-entropy compensation effect was observed at all the temperatures, with a slope close to unity (alpha = 1.02) and an intercept TDeltaS degrees (o) = 2.91 kcal mol(-)(1). This thermodynamic pattern is in agreement with those usually found for lectin-carbohydrate associations and for the binding processes of several host-guest systems. This pattern is explained in terms of the contribution of primarily two driving forces: the van der Waals interactions between the host and the guest, and the solvation/desolvation processes which accompany the association reaction. The presence of the carbohydrate molecule in the PNP ring causes a slight destabilization of the complex at 25 degrees C with respect to the alpha-CD-PNP (pH = 3) complex, although a different behavior has been observed depending on the axial/equatorial configuration of the glycoside and the temperature. This behavior is modulated by the stereochemistry of the glycoside. Differences were observed between the deoxy-derivatives (LAra and LFuc) and those derivatives with a hydroxymethyl group (Glc, Gal, Man). DeltaC(p) degrees values were obtained from the dependency of DeltaH degrees on temperature (=( partial differentialDeltaH degrees / partial differentialT)(p)). These values are small and negative except for alphaMan complex. For the latter complex, discrepancy between the calorimetric and the calculated van't Hoff enthalpies was observed. Parallels are drawn between the thermodynamics of our model and those proposed for carbohydrate-protein associations.     

Heterocyclic nitrogen base adducts of nickel(II)–di(2,4-dibromophenyl)carbazonate

The title complex was prepared and characterized by elemental and spectral analyses. The formation constants of various heterocyclic nitrogen base adducts with the Ni^II–di(2,4-dibromophenyl)carbazonate have been determined in a monophase by spectrophotometry at 25 ± 0.1 °C. The monodenatate and bidentate bases form penta- and hexa-coordinated adducts respectively with 1:1 stoichiometry for the metal chelate-base, whereas the unsaturated monodentate bases form hexa-coordinated adducts with 1:2 stoichiometry. The behaviour of saturated heterocyclic bases such as pyrrolidine, piperidine, hexamethyleneimine and morpholine towards the metal chelate has been studied, and the results are discussed in terms of steric hindrance, basicity and ring structure.     

Cu(I)-mediated deoxygenation of N-oxides to amines

A mild and highly efficient deoxygenation of variety of N-oxides using an inexpensive CuX, or a CuX-Zn or CuX-Al couple is described.     

An efficient synthesis of 2-(1-methyl-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridin-3-yl)morpholine: a potent M1 selective muscarinic agonist

2-(1-Methyl-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridin-3-yl)morpholine is useful for synthesizing potent antimicrobials including the arecoline derivatives, phendimetrazine and polygonapholine and was synthesised in nine steps with an overall yield of 36%. Bromination of 3-acetylpyridine and dehydration of a diol with cyclization were pivotal to the success of the strategy.