Efficacy of organophosphorus derivatives containing chalcones/chalcone semicarbazones against fungal pathogens of sugarcane

Ten newly synthesized organophosphorus derivatives containing substituted chalcones and substituted chalcone semicarbazones were tested for their antifungal efficacy against Colletotrichum falcatum, Fusarium oxysporum, Curvularia pallescens (all sugarcane pathogens). The O,O-diethylphosphate derivatives containing 2-chlorochalcone and 2-chlorochalcone semicarbazone exhibited 70-85% mycelial inhibition against all the test fungi at 1000 ppm. The screening results were correlated with structural features of the tested compounds.     

Characterization of axenic Pseudomonas fragi and Escherichia coli biofilms that inhibit corrosion of SAE 1018 steel

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of redesigning the education program from individual instructional sessions to a format where the majority of instruction was provided through small group classes. Patient outcomes of lifestyle changes as evidenced by weight loss, improved glycemic control, adoption of a consistent pattern of blood glucose monitoring, and increased physical activity were evaluated using a physician satisfaction survey and a patient satisfaction and lifestyle change survey. The findings indicate that the changes in the education program accommodated a variety of needs; facilitated cost-effectiveness; were convenient for the patients, educators, and physicians; and still promoted adaptive lifestyle changes in behavior leading to improved glycemic control, increased levels of physical activity, and weight loss in persons with type 2 diabetes.     

Theoretical Investigation of Some High‐Performance Novel Amine Azide Propellants

Monomethylhydrazine (MMH) is currently the most widely used hypergolic propellant, due to its high performance and low ignition delay. However, its toxicity is a major concern. The present work aims at developing high‐performance hypergolic fuels that are based on tertiary amine azide functionality. A number of potential amine azide candidates have been proposed, and some of their physical and chemical properties have been computed using state‐of‐the‐art molecular modeling techniques. Gas‐phase heats of formation have been calculated using the CBS‐QB3 method, and the first‐principle COSMO‐RS method has been used to compute heats of vaporization and vapor pressures. A density correlation, based on molecular‐volume calculation, has been established to predict the densities of the candidate molecules. Finally, the liquid‐phase heats of formation and densities have been used to predict the specific and density impulses of the proposed candidate molecules. The results show that many of the molecules proposed here have much higher density impulse than that of MMH, and may be considered for experimental studies.     

Wide‐band aperture array using a four‐channel manifold‐type planar multiplexer and digital 2‐D IIR filterbank

Emerging wide‐band communications and spectrum‐sensing systems demand support for multiple electronically scanned beams while maintaining a frequency independent, constant far‐field beam width. Realizing existing phased‐array technology on a digital scale is computationally intensive. Moreover, digitizing wide‐band signals at Nyquist rate requires complex high‐speed analog‐to‐digital converters (ADCs), which is challenging for real developments driven by the current ADC technology. A low‐complexity alternative proposed in this paper is the use of radio‐frequency (RF) channelizers for spectrum division followed by sub‐sampling of the RF sub‐bands, which results in extensive reduction of the necessary ADC operative frequency. The RF‐channelized array signals are directionally filtered using 2‐D digital filterbanks. This mixed‐domain RF/digital aperture array allows sub‐sampling, without utilizing multi‐rate 2‐D systolic arrays, which are difficult to realize in practice. Simulated examples showing 14–19 dB of rejection of wide‐band interference and noise for a processed bandwidth of 1.6 GHz are demonstrated. The sampling rate is 400 MHz. The proposed VLSI hardware uses a single‐phase clock signal of 400 MHz. Prototype hardware realizations and measurement using 65‐nm Xilinx field‐programmable gate arrays, as well as Cadence RTL synthesis results including gate counts, area‐time complexity, and dynamic power consumption for a 45‐nm CMOS circuit operating at B _DC = 1.1 V, are presented. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.