A novel supramolecular assembly of 3,5-dinitro-4-methylbenzoic acid and trans-1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethene

A novel organic assembly, formed between 3,5-dinitro-4-methylbenzoic acid and trans-1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethene under hydrothermal conditions in the presence of Pr(III) and a layered structure obtained by direct co-crystallization of the reactants at ambient conditions is reported. The structures of the complexes were established, unambiguously, by single crystal X-ray diffraction methods.     

Thermal degradation behavior of radiation synthesized polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) studies were carried out on gamma radiation synthesized polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDADMAC). The polymer was found to undergo thermal degradation in two stages. The first stage showed a weight loss of 33% and the second stage showed a weight loss of 67%. The DSC thermogram shows two endothermic peaks corresponding to the two stages in the TG thermogram and the experimental enthalpy change associated with the first and second stages were 650 J g⁻¹ and 129.5 J g⁻¹, respectively. The nth-order kinetic parameters (order of the reaction, activation energy and the pre-exponential factor) were determined from a single dynamic DSC or thermogravimetric (TG) thermogram by the method of least square. Theoretical TG/differential thermogravimetric (DTG) and DSC thermograms derived from the calculated kinetic parameters were in good agreement with the experimental ones at the heating rate employed. However, the kinetic parameters determined using TG and DSC were different. This leads to the conclusion that the degradation mechanism could be complicated and may consists of a number of parallel or consecutive reactions. The glass transition temperature (T_g) of the polymer was found to be around 150 °C depending on the test method employed.     

Production and Purification of Pectinase from Bacillus subtilis 15A-B92 and Its Biotechnological Applications

Enzymes that degrade pectin are called pectinases. Pectinases of microbial origin are used in juice clarification as the process is cost-effective. This study screened a pectinase-producing bacterium isolated from soil and identified as Bacillus subtilis 15A B-92 based on the 16S rRNA molecular technique. The purified pectinase from the isolate showed 99.6 U/mg specific activity and 11.6-fold purity. The molecular weight of the purified bacterial pectinase was 14.41 ± 1 kD. Optimum pectinase activity was found at pH 4.5 and 50 °C, and the enzyme was 100% stable for 3.5 h in these conditions. No enzymatic inhibition or activation effect was seen with Fe²⁺, Ca²⁺, or Mg²⁺. However, a slight inhibition was seen with Cu²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Zn²⁺. Tween 20 and 80 slightly inhibited the pectinase, whereas iodoacetic acid (IAA), ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA), urea, and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) showed potent inhibition. The bacterial pectinase degraded citrus pectin (100%); however, it was inactive in the presence of galactose. With citrus pectin as the substrate, the Km and Vmax were calculated as 1.72 mg/mL and 1609 U/g, respectively. The high affinity of pectinase for its substrate makes the process cost-effective when utilized in food industries. The obtained pectinase was able to clarify orange and apple juices, justifying its application in the food industry.     

A validated HPLC‐PDA method for identification and quantification of two bioactive alkaloids,ephedrine and cryptolepine,in different Sida species

A simple, rapid, accurate and reproducible reverse‐phase HPLC method has been developed for the identification and quantification of two alkaloids ephedrine and cryptolepine in different extracts of Sida species using photodiode array detection. Baseline separation of the two alkaloids was achieved on a Waters RP‐18 X‐terra column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) using a solvent system consisting of a mixture of water containing 0.1% Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and acetonitrile in a gradient elution mode with detection at 210 and 280 nm for ephedrine and cryptolepine, respectively. The calibration curves were linear in a concentration range of 10–250 µg/mL for both the alkaloids with correlation coefficient values >0.99. The limits of detection and quantification for ephedrine and cryptolepine were 5 and 10 µg/mL and 2.5 and 5 µg/mL, respectively. Relative standard deviation values for intra‐day and inter‐day precision were 1.22 and 1.04% for ephedrine and 1.71 and 2.06% for cryptolepine, respectively. Analytical recovery ranged from 92.46 to 103.95%. The developed HPLC method was applied to identify and quantify ephedrine and cryptolepine in different extracts of Sida species. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Finite Larmor radius effect on thermosolutal instability of a plasma in porous medium

The thermosolutal instability of a plasma in porous medium is considered in the presence of finite Larmor radius effect. The finite Larmor radius, stable solute gradient and magnetic field introduce oscillatory modes in the systems which were nonexistent in their absence. For stationary convection, the finite Larmor radius and stable solute gradient have stabilizing effects on the thermosolutal instability in porous medium. In presence of finite Larmor radius effect, the medium permeability has a destabilizing (or stabilizing) effect and the magnetic field has a stabilizing (or destabilizing) effect under certain condition whereas in the absence of finite Larmor radius effect, the medium permeability and the magnetic field have destabilizing and stabilizing effects, respectively, on thermosolutal instability of a plasma in porous medium. The sufficient conditions for nonexistence of overstability are obtained.The financial assistance to Mr. Sunil in the form of Senior Research Fellowship of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi is gratefully acknowledged.     

Gold‐Nanoparticle‐Decorated Boron Nitride Nanosheets: Structure and Optical Properties

Synergetic cooperation of individual components of the nanocomposites (NCs) is responsible for their novel properties that lead to various technological applications. A simple chemical process depicting the deposition of functionalized gold nanoparticles on the surface of boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) in solution is reported. The structure, chemical composition, and optical properties of nanosheets are systematically studied. The deposition of Au nanoparticles on BNNS (BNNS_Au) results in plasmonic band modulation, thus altering the optoelectronic properties of BNNSs. The intense surface plasmon absorption band of BNNS_Au is narrowed and red‐shifted relative to the absorption band of as synthesized monometallic BNNSs. The observations reflect the strong interfacial interaction between BNNS and Au nanoparticles. This approach constitutes a basis for a simple process leading to the preparation of functionalized BNNSs and their utilization as nanoscale templates for assembly and integration with other nanoscale materials for futuristic optoelectronic devices.     

Pressure dependence electrical resistivity in DVT grown molybdenum dichalcogenides

Abstract

Single crystals of MoS _x Se_2?x (x=0, 1, 2) have been grown by direct vapour transport method. Pressure-dependent d.c. electrical resistivity measurements have been carried out on the grown crystals to check the possibility of phase transition up to 8 GPa. However, no such transition is observed in the present case but a decrease in resistivity is found with increase in pressure. The observed results have been analysed and discussed on the basis of band structure.     

LES of spatially developing turbulent boundary layer over a concave surface

We revisit the problem of a spatially developing turbulent boundary layer over a concave surface. Unlike previous investigations, we simulate the combined effects of streamline curvature as well as curvature-induced pressure gradients on the turbulence. Our focus is on investigating the response of the turbulent boundary layer to the sudden onset of curvature and the destabilising influence of concave surface in the presence of pressure gradients. This is of interest for evaluating the turbulence closure models. At the beginning of the curve, the momentum thickness Reynolds number is 1520 and the ratio of the boundary layer thickness to the radius of curvature is δ₀/R = 0.055. The radial profiles of the mean velocity and turbulence statistics at different locations along the concave surface are presented. Our recently proposed curvature-corrected Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model is assessed in an a posteriori sense and the improvements obtained over the base model are reported. From the large Eddy simulation (LES) results, it was found that the maximum influence of concave curvature is on the wall-normal component of the Reynolds stress. The budgets of wall-normal Reynolds stress also confirmed this observation. At the onset of curvature, the effect of adverse pressure gradient is found to be predominant. This decreases the skin friction levels below that in the flat section.