Structure of an <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-heptane/toluene flame: Molecular beam mass spectrometry and computer simulation investigations

Molecular beam mass spectrometry was used to measure mole fraction profiles of the reactants, major reaction products and intermediates, including precursors of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in a premixed fuel-rich (equivalence ratio of 1.75) n-heptane/toluene/O₂/Ar flame stabilized on a flat burner at atmospheric pressure. The ratio of the liquid volumes in the n-heptane/toluene mixture was 7: 3. The chemical structure of the flame was modeled using a detailed mechanism of chemical reactions tested against experimental data of other authors on n-heptane/toluene flames and comprising the reactions of formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The mechanism was extended with cross-reactions involving derivatives of n-heptane and toluene. Overall, the new experimental data are in satisfactory agreement with the numerical simulation results; however, there are differences between the measured and calculated mole fraction profiles of some species. Analysis shows that in the n-heptane/toluene flame, the main reactions leading to the formation of low-aromatic compounds (benzene and phenyl) are reactions typical of the pure toluene flame.     

Synthesis,Biochemistry, and Computational Studies of Brominated Thienyl Chalcones: A New Class of Reversible MAO‐B Inhibitors

A series of (2E)‐1‐(5‐bromothiophen‐2‐yl)‐3‐(para‐substituted phenyl)prop‐2‐en‐1‐ones ( TB1 – TB11 ) was synthesized and tested for inhibitory activity toward human monoamine oxidase (hMAO). All compounds were found to be competitive, selective, and reversible toward hMAO‐B except (2E)‐1‐(5‐bromothiophen‐2‐yl)‐3‐(4‐nitrophenyl)prop‐2‐en‐1‐one ( TB7 ) and (2E)‐1‐(5‐bromothiophen‐2‐yl)‐3‐(4‐chlorophenyl)prop‐2‐en‐1‐one ( TB8 ), which were selective inhibitors of hMAO‐A. The most potent compound, (2E)‐1‐(5‐bromothiophen‐2‐yl)‐3‐[4‐(dimethylamino)phenyl]prop‐2‐en‐1‐one ( TB5 ), showed the best inhibitory activity and higher selectivity toward hMAO‐B, with K_i and SI values of 0.11±0.01 μm and 13.18, respectively. PAMPA assays for all compounds were carried out in order to evaluate the capacity of the compounds to cross the blood–brain barrier. Moreover, the most potent MAO‐B inhibitor, TB5 , was found to be nontoxic at 5 and 25 μm , with 95.75 and 84.59 % viability among cells, respectively. Molecular docking simulations were carried out to understand the crucial interactions responsible for selectivity and potency.     

Minimizing photodecomposition of flavin adenine dinucleotide fluorescence by the use of pulsed LEDs

Dynamic alterations in flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) fluorescence permit insight into energy metabolism‐dependent changes of intramitochondrial redox potential. Monitoring FAD fluorescence in living tissue is impeded by photobleaching, restricting the length of microfluorimetric recordings. In addition, photodecomposition of these essential electron carriers negatively interferes with energy metabolism and viability of the biological specimen. Taking advantage of pulsed LED illumination, here we determined the optimal excitation settings giving the largest fluorescence yield with the lowest photobleaching and interference with metabolism in hippocampal brain slices. The effects of FAD bleaching on energy metabolism and viability were studied by monitoring tissue pO₂, field potentials and changes in extracellular potassium concentration ([K⁺]_o). Photobleaching with continuous illumination consisted of an initial exponential decrease followed by a nearly linear decay. The exponential decay was significantly decelerated with pulsed illumination. Pulse length of 5 ms was sufficient to reach a fluorescence output comparable to continuous illumination, whereas further increasing duration increased photobleaching. Similarly, photobleaching increased with shortening of the interpulse interval. Photobleaching was partially reversible indicating the existence of a transient nonfluorescent flavin derivative. Pulsed illumination decreased FAD photodecomposition, improved slice viability and reproducibility of stimulus‐induced FAD, field potential, [K⁺]_o and pO₂ changes as compared to continuous illumination.     

Preparation and characterization of polyelectrolyte complex of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-trimethyl chitosan/gellan gum: evaluation for controlled release of ketoprofen

N,N,N-Trimethyl chitosan, a highly water soluble derivative of chitosan, has been made by reductive methylation of chitosan by a three-step process reported in literature. A novel polyelectrolyte complex of this derivative with gellan gum has been made by mixing the aqueous solutions of the two polymers. The complex was characterized by FTIR, TGA, DSC and SEM techniques. Maximum yield of the complex was obtained at pH 2.0 with a gellan gum:trimethylchitosan ratio of 3:1. The swelling study indicated pH responsiveness of the polyelectrolyte complex sample, with higher swelling under neutral or slightly basic conditions. In vitro studies on the release of the drug ketoprofen from the polyelectrolyte complex matrix were conducted in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. The results indicated release of 85–90 % of the entrapped drug in the media of pH 6.8 and 7.4 and less than 7 % release in the medium of pH 1.2. The kinetic analysis indicated the drug release to be a first-order process. The mechanism of water transport and drug diffusion is shown to be of Fickian type. The results prove the suitability of the polyelectrolyte complex as a matrix material for delivery of drugs with short half life such as ketoprofen in the slow release mode.     

Anisotropy of the electric transport properties of decagonal Al–Cu–Co(Fe) quasicrystals

The method of growth from a melt solution was used to obtain iron-alloyed (0.08 at %) Al–Cu–Co single crystals with a decagonal symmetry. The temperature dependences of the electrical resistivity in magnetic fields of 0–18 T were measured using samples oriented in the periodic direction (ρ_p(T)) and in the quasi-periodic plane (ρ_q(T)). A strong anisotropy of the resistivity was observed; the ρ_p(T) curve is linear, whereas the ρ_q(T) curve is approximated well by a second-order polynomial. A strong anisotropy of the magnetoresistance was also observed; a positive magnetoresistance Δρ/ρ ~ 10^–3 for the current flowing in the quasiperiodic plane; and a weak (close to zero) negative magnetoresistance for the current flowing along the periodic direction.     

A comparative study of thermal and hydraulic autofrettage

Thermal autofrettage is a potential process to generate beneficial compressive residual stresses at and around the inner wall of a thickwalled cylinder for increasing its pressure carrying capacity. Due to its simplicity and inexpensive arrangement, it can compete with the conventional hydraulic autofrettage process. In this work, a comparative study of the thermal autofrettage and the hydraulic autofrettage is carried out. As the thermal autofrettage does not require hydraulic power pack, the process is more economical than the hydraulic autofrettage. The thermal autofrettage process is also studied for the thick-walled cylindrical vessels subjected to high thermal gradient with or without pressure and is compared with the hydraulic autofrettage. Comparison shows that for cylinders subjected to high thermal gradient without pressure, the thermal autofrettage is superior to the hydraulic autofrettage.     

Simulating sympathetic detonation using the hydrodynamic models and constitutive equations

A Sympathetic detonation (SD) is a detonation of an explosive charge by a nearby explosion. Most of times it is unintended while the impact of blast fragments or strong shock waves from the initiating donor explosive is the cause of SD. We investigate the SD of a cylindrical explosive charge (64 % RDX, 20 % Al, 16 % HTPB) contained in a steel casing. The constitutive relations for high explosive are obtained from a thermo-chemical code that provides the size effect data without the rate stick data typically used for building the rate law and equation of state. A full size SD test of eight pallet-packaged artillery shells is performed that provides the pressure data while the hydrodynamic model with proper constitutive relations for reactive materials and the fragmentation model for steel casing is conducted to replicate the experimental findings. The work presents a novel effort to accurately model and reproduce the sympathetic detonation event with a reduced experimental effort.