One-Pot Multicomponent Synthesis of Pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine-6-one Derivatives

An environmentally benign, simple, and efficient procedure has been developed for the one-pot multicomponent synthesis of pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine-6-one derivatives by the reaction of the variety of aryl-aldehydes, 5-methyl-2-phenyl-2,4-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one, and urea in the presence of catalytic amount of poly(N-vinylpyridinium) hydrogen sulfate in glycerol. The present method affords non-toxic and non-corrosive medium, short reaction times, high yield of the products, mild reaction conditions as well as simple experimental and isolation procedures. The catalyst can be recycled by simple filtration and reused without any significant reduction in its activity.     

Influence of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on the Performance of Poly(Azomethine-Ether) Composite Materials

The present work is aimed to fabricate a new set of composite materials containing conducting poly(azomethine-ether) reinforced with single-walled carbon nanotubes in the form of single-walled carbon nanotube/poly(azomethine-ether)_1–5 for excellent enhanced thermal as well as conducting behavior of poly(azomethine-ether). Single-walled carbon nanotubes of variable loading have been embedded into conducting poly(azomethine-ether) using in situ polymerization technique. Before attempting the polymerization, 1,3-thiazole established poly(azomethine-ether) and its conformable monomers have been prepared and their chemical structures have been correlated by spectral analyses. Furthermore, η_inh and M_w values for poly(azomethine-ether) were found 0.89?dL?g^?1 and 39723.6, respectively. The fabricated single-walled carbon nanotube/poly(azomethine-ether)_1–5 composites were specified and characterized by wide-angle X-ray diffraction patterns, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal behavior, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy characterization techniques. A perfect indicative response for this composite material was estimated by Fourier transform infrared spectra and X-ray diffraction as well. Both techniques displayed all intensive characteristic peaks regarding single-walled carbon nanotubes and poly(azomethine-ether) in the spectra or diffraction pattern for single-walled carbon nanotube/poly(azomethine-ether)_1–5. The role of single-walled carbon nanotubes on the performance of poly(azomethine-ether) was considerably examined. Single-walled carbon nanotube/poly(azomethine-ether)_1–5 showed relatively higher thermal stability. Single-walled carbon nanotube/poly(azomethine-ether)₁ displayed the lowest final composite degradation temperature value (552°C), whereas single-walled carbon nanotube/poly(azomethine-ether)₅ displayed the highest value (621°C). T₁₀ and T₂₅ values showed a gradual temperature increased while single-walled carbon nanotubes increased. Single-walled carbon nanotube/poly(azomethine-ether)₁ showed the lowest thermal stability and single-walled carbon nanotube/poly(azomethine-ether)₅ showed the highest thermal stability between all fabricated products. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy images showed a prominent increase in single-walled carbon nanotubes diameters (40–60?nm). The conductivity values were significantly increased while single-walled carbon nanotubes content was increased and reached to the semiconductors. ε′ values were also increased in both single-walled carbon nanotube/poly(azomethine-ether)_4,5 which have higher single-walled carbon nanotubes content.     

Cognitive Bidirectional Buffer-Aided DF Relay Networks: Protocol design and Power Allocation

In this paper, we consider bidirectional decode-and-forward buffer-aided relay selection and transmission power allocation schemes for underlay cognitive radio relay networks. First, a low complexity delay-constrained bidirectional relaying protocol is proposed. The proposed protocol maximizes the single-hop normalized sum of the primary network (PN) and secondary network (SN) rates and controls the maximum packet delay caused by physical layer buffering at relays. Second, optimal transmission power expressions that maximize the single-hop normalized sum rate are derived for each possible transmission mode. Simulation results are provided to evaluate the performance of the proposed relaying protocol and transmission power allocation scheme and compare their performance with that of the optimal scenario. Additionally, the impacts of several system parameters including maximum buffer size, interference threshold, maximum packet delay and number of relays on the network performance are also investigated. The results reveal that the proposed bidirectional relaying protocol and antenna transmission power allocation schemes introduce a satisfactory performance with much lower complexity compared to the optimal relay selection and power allocation schemes and provide an application dependent delay-controlling mechanism. It is also found that the network performance degrades as the delay constraint is more restricted until it matches the performance of conventional unbuffered relaying with delay constraints of three. Additionally, findings show that using buffer-aided relaying significantly enhances the SN performance while slightly weakens the performance of the PN.     

Novel Approach for Modeling Wireless Fading Channels Using a Finite State Markov Chain

Empirical modeling of wireless fading channels using common schemes such as autoregression and the finite state Markov chain (FSMC) is investigated. The conceptual background of both channel structures and the establishment of their mutual dependence in a confined manner are presented. The novel contribution lies in the proposal of a new approach for deriving the state transition probabilities borrowed from economic disciplines, which has not been studied so far with respect to the modeling of FSMC wireless fading channels. The proposed approach is based on equal portioning of the received signal‐to‐noise ratio, realized by using an alternative probability construction that was initially highlighted by Tauchen. The associated statistical procedure shows that a first‐order FSMC with a limited number of channel states can satisfactorily approximate fading. The computational overheads of the proposed technique are analyzed and proven to be less demanding compared to the conventional FSMC approach based on the level crossing rate. Simulations confirm the analytical results and promising performance of the new channel model based on the Tauchen approach without extra complexity costs.     

Design of a Temporal Learning Chip for Signal Generation and Classification

The design and analog VLSI implementation of a recurrent neural network with integrated temporal learning is presented. The learning algorithm is forward in time, and is implemented strictly as instantaneous, local weight updates. PSpice simulations of networks with 4 to 6 neurons demonstrate robust learning of trajectory generation and classification tasks. A scalable 2-D VLSI architecture is described and a prototupe 4-neuron recurrent neural network with learning has subsequently been fabricated in MOSIS TinyChip 2 micron technology. Experimental results of the chip validate the learning performance with convergence in the millisecond range. Specific experimental results of learning circular and figure-8 dynamic trajectories are included.     

Study of dielectric properties of particulate blends

The effect of the addition of high abrasion furnace (HAF) black on the dielectric properties of poly (ethylene‐propylene‐diene monomer) EPDM, polyethylene (PE) blend using both sulphur and peroxide vulcanizing systems was studied. It was observed that the increase in the permittivity is more pronounced with HAF black in the case of sulphur system than for the peroxide one. Many theories have been tested to calculate the effective permittivity of these particulate blends. The observed values of the permittivities are in close agreement with those calculated by Tsangaris's model, taking into account the variation of the aspect ratio (a/b) of the HAF black with the volume fraction of the HAF black in the matrix and type of the vulcanizing system. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 1816–1821, 2000     

Flow Stress-Strain Rate Behavior of Ti-3Al-2.5V Alloy at Low Temperatures in the Superplastic Range

Flow stress-strain rate behavior of Ti-3Al-2.5V, an α + β titanium alloy was studied at 750 and 800 °C by using the method of crosshead speed cycling. The alloy was found to exhibit superplasticity at these temperatures on the basis of complete flow stress, strain rate and strain rate sensitivity data. Strain-induced softening was observed in the alloy to a small extent at 750 °C and was thought to be related to the grain refinement occurring in both α- and β-phases during the initial stages of deformation. However, at 800 °C the effect was seen only under increasing strain-rate conditions. Flow stress versus strain rate curves generally exhibited only region II which corresponded to low- and intermediate-strain rates and region III corresponding to high-strain rates.     

Vanadia-based coatings of self-repairing functionality for advanced magnesium Elektron ZE41 Mg–Zn–rare earth alloy

A smart vanadia protective coating of self-repairing functionality that has proven to provide superior corrosion resistance for several magnesium and aluminum alloys has successfully been designed by our group. A newly developed series of magnesium alloys, namely ZE41 alloy, has recently been proposed for automotive, electronics and aerospace applications. The advanced ZE41 alloy possesses very low density, high specific strength, and good castability and weldability characteristics compared to aluminum and steel based alloys. However, the corrosion resistance of ZE41 alloy in the presence of corrosive chloride environment is relatively low. The possibility of utilizing such coatings to add self-repairing functionalities to ZE41 alloy was discussed in this paper. The electrochemical corrosion behavior of the vanadia coatings over ZE41 alloy was investigated in 3.5% NaCl solution using EIS, linear polarization and cyclic voltammetry techniques. The optimum conditions for obtaining protective vanadia coatings of self-repairing abilities and improved localized corrosion resistance were determined. Surface examination of the coatings was investigated using SEM-EDS and macroscopic imaging.     

Strength and Fracture Behavior of Ultrathin Pt Wires

Ultrathin metallic wires having defects may show much lower strength compared to the strength of the wire material. To characterize ultrathin Pt wires having the nominal diameter of 625 nm, tensile test of the wires was performed by developing a testing platform and a gripping technology. Fracture stress determined by the tensile test showed much higher value compared with that of bulk Pt. However, the fracture stress of some of the wires was lower than the yield stress of the wire determined by the bending test. From the observation of the fracture surfaces, it was found that the lower fracture stress of the wires was due to the defects in the wires and such wires showed brittle fracture behavior.