Role of Bismuth incorporation on the structural and optical properties in BixIn35-xSe65 thin films for photonic applications

The present paper investigated the influence of Bi concentration on the structural, linear, and non-linear optical properties of thermally evaporated Bi_xIn_35-xSe₆₅ (x = 0, 5, 7, 10, 15 at %) thin films. The structural analysis by the XRD measurements showed the crystalline nature at 7 and 15% Bi while the other concentrations showed amorphous nature. The corresponding bonding change was analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. The optical study by UV-Vis spectroscopy showed the decrease in transmittance and an increase in absorbance property. The linear optical parameters such as absorption coefficient, extinction coefficient, optical density increased while skin depth decreased with Bi additives. The direct, as well as the indirect optical bandgap, decreased along with the decrease in the Tauc parameter. The variation is well explained on the basis of density of defect states by the Mott and Davis model. The non-linear refractive index and non-linear susceptibility increased significantly with Bi % which is good for non-linear optical applications. The static linear refractive index as calculated by the Dimirov and Sakha empirical relation showed an incremental behavior with Bi% concentration and satisfied Moss's rule. The surface structure and elemental concentration were analyzed by FESEM and EDX analysis. The result of the above investigation suggests that these materials can be used as an absorbing layer for several optoelectronic and photonic applications.     

Synthesis of Carboxamide-Containing Tranylcypromine Analogues as LSD1 (KDM1A) Inhibitors Targeting Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1A) oxidatively removes methyl groups from histone proteins, and its aberrant activity has been correlated with cancers including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We report a novel series of tranylcypromine analogues with a carboxamide at the 4-position of the aryl ring. These compounds, such as 5 a and 5 b with benzyl and phenethylamide substituents, respectively, had potent sub-micromolar IC₅₀ values for the inhibition of LSD1 as well as cell proliferation in a panel of AML cell lines. The dose-dependent increase in cellular expression levels of H3K4me2, CD86, CD11b and CD14 supported a mechanism involving LSD1 inhibition. The tert-butyl and ethyl carbamate derivatives of these tranylcypromines, although inactive in LSD1 inhibition, were of similar potency in cell-based assays with a more rapid onset of action. This suggests that carbamates can act as metabolically labile tranylcypromine prodrugs with superior pharmacokinetics.     

Studies on isomeric effects of 2- and 4-Mercapto pyridine as dopants in polymer electrolyte in dye-sensitized solar cells

In this present work, isomers like 2- and 4-Mercapto pyridine were used as dopants (additives) in Poly (ethylene oxide) based polymer electrolyte and their effects in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSC) have been investigated. Due to the coordinating and plasticizing effects of Mercapto pyridine, enhanced ionic conductivity and reduced crystallinity of PEO polymer electrolyte accompanied by a better penetration of the same into the dye coated nanocrystalline TiO₂ in order to have better performances were achieved. The 2-Mercapto pyridine doped PEO (E) shows comparatively better performance than 4-Mercapto pyridine doped one (F), is due to the fact that the π-electron donicity of 2-Mercapto pyridine is greater. These results suggests that the electron donating capacity of 2-Mercapto pyridine and 4-Mercapto pyridine would influence the interaction of nanocrystalline TiO₂ electrode and I⁻/I₃⁻ redox couple leading to radical changes in the cell performance.     

ON RUPTURE OF A THINNING FILM OF NON-NEWTONIAN POWER LAW LIQUID†

A linear stability analysis of a thinning film of non-Newtonian power law liquid has been employed to predict the critical thickness of rupture of films with immobile interfaces experiencing only van der Waals interactions. The assumption of immobile interfaces makes the above analysis equally applicable to the stability of foam as well as emulsion thin films. Psuedoplastic liquid thin films are found to be significantly less stable than Newtonian films. Power law liquid thin films are more stable for liquids with larger values of power law exponents and larger values of consistency indices. The critical thickness of film rupture is very sensitive to the power law exponent. As expected, the critical thickness of film rupture increases for stronger van der Walls interactions as well as for smaller surface tensions, these effects being more pronounced for psuedoplastic liquid films than their Newtonian counterparts.     

Synthesis and characterization of lithium holmium silicate solid electrolyte for high temperature lithium batteries

A new Li-ion conducting holmium based solid electrolyte by the sol–gel method was synthesized. The synthesis was carried out at low temperature compared to conventional methods by which lanthanoid silicates are synthesized. The formation temperature of the compound was found through differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis (DTA-TG). The sintered samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ac impedance spectroscopy. The temperature dependence of conductivity was analysed. The experimental results show that the formation temperature of the lithium holmium silicate was found to be above 500 °C. Highest conductivity obtained was in the order of 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ at 750 °C.     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(arylene ether) containing cyanate ester networks

A series of bisphenols containing ether linkage were prepared from halo phenol/dihalo compound and dihydroxy compounds in the presence of K₂CO₃. The bisphenols were transformed to cyanate esters by treatment with cyanogen bromide using triethyl amine catalyst. The structure of all the five bisphenols and the cyanate esters were structurally confirmed by FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR spectral methods and elemental analysis. The cyanate esters were cured at 100 °C (30 min) → 150 °C (30 min) → 200 °C (60 min) → 250 °C (3 hr). The thermal properties of the cured resins were studied by DSC and TGA. DSC analysis shows that these cyanate esters exhibit T _g in the range of 203–234 °C. The CE(c) has the highest glass transition temperature. The cyanate ester CE(e) shows the lowest T _g which is due to its asymmetric structure. The initial degradation temperature of the cured resins was found to be in the range of 324–336 °C. The Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) value, determined by Van Krevelen’s equation, is in the range of 35.5–38.7.     

Adsorption of chromium (VI) on functionalized and non-functionalized carbon nanotubes

We did a comparative study on the adsorption capacity of Cr (VI) between functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and non-functionalized CNTs. The statistical analysis reveals that the optimum conditions for the highest removal of Cr (VI) are at pH 9, with dosage 0.1 gram, agitation speed and time of 120 rpm and 120 minutes, respectively. For the initial concentration of 1.0 mg/l, the removal efficiency of Cr (VI) using functionalized CNTs was 87.6% and 83% of non-functionalized CNTs. The maximum adsorption capacities of functionalized and non-functionalized CNTs were 2.517 and 2.49 mg/g, respectively. Langmuir and Freundlich models were adopted to study the adsorption isotherm, which provided a K _L and K _F value of 1.217 L/mg and 18.14 mg^1?n L ⁿ /g functionalized CNT, while 2.365 L/mg and 2.307 mg^1?n L ⁿ /g for non-functionalized CNTs. This result proves that functionalized CNTs are a better adsorbent with a higher adsorption capacity compared with the non-functionalized CNTs.     

Comparison of shell theories in the analysis of cylindrical shells with discontinuity in the thickness

Cylindrical shells with discontinuity in the thickness and that are subjected to axisymmetric loading have been analysed. Two types of finite elements are used: the first is based on thin shell theory and the second on thick shell theory. The loadings considered are a uniform internal pressure and a circular ring load at the mid-section. The effect of these loads for various end conditions and various step-ratios in the thickness have been analysed. Numerical results are presented and compared for both the theories. It has been shown that the transverse normal stress acting along the thickness direction is not negligible compared to other stresses at places of discontinuity either in the thickness or in the loading. The weight of the shell is kept constant for various step-ratios.     

Scalar memory references in pipelined multiprocessors: aperformance study

Interleaved memories are essential in pipelined computers to attain high memory bandwidth. As a memory bank is accessed, a reservation is placed on the bank for the duration of the memory cycle, which is often considerably longer than the processor cycle time. This additional parameter, namely, the bank reservation time or the bank busy time, adds to the complexity of the memory model. For Markov models, exact solutions are not feasible even without this additional parameter due to the very large state space of the Markov chain. The authors develop a Markov model which explicitly tracks the bank reservation time. Because only one processor and the requested bank are modeled, the transition probabilities are not known and have to be approximated. The performance predicted by the model is in close agreement with simulation results