10-GHz Optical Comb in L-Band Region With Brillouin/Erbium-Doped Fibre Laser

A multiwavelength Brillouin/erbium fibre laser (BEFL) which operates in the long wavelength (L-band) region is demonstrated for potential applications in an L-band wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) communication system. The laser configuration consists of a long erbium-doped fibre to enable L-band amplification where two 3-dB couplers take a portion of the generated BEFL signal and re-inject it into the single mode fibre to seed a cascaded BEFL line in the same direction as the first BEFL line. A stable and strong laser comb of up to five lines with 10-GHz spacing has been obtained with a Brillouin pump (BP) of 9.2 mW and a 980 nm pump of 92 mW. The BEFL has shown a broad tuning range with a tuning characteristic for line #1 which is flat over a range greater than 9.9 nm.     

trans‐Diaquabis(3‐hydroxybenzoato‐κO1)bis(nicotinamide‐κN1)copper(II)

The title compound, [Cu(C₇H₅O₃)₂(C₆H₆N₂O)₂(H₂O)₂], is a two‐dimensional hydrogen‐bonded supramolecular complex. The Cu^II ion resides on a centre of symmetry and is in an octahedral coordination environment comprising two pyridine N atoms, two carboxylate O atoms and two O atoms from water molecules. Intermolecular N—H...O and O—H...O hydrogen bonds produce R₂²(4), R₂²(8) and R₂²(15) rings which lead to one‐dimensional polymeric chains. An extensive two‐dimensional network of N—H...O and O—H...O hydrogen bonds and C—H...π interactions are responsible for crystal stabilization.     

The maximum number of columns in supersaturated designs with

Cheng and Tang [Biometrika, 88 (2001), pp. 1169–1174] derived an upper bound on the maximum number of columns that can be accommodated in a two‐symbol supersaturated design (SSD) for a given number of rows () and a maximum in absolute value correlation between any two columns (). In particular, they proved that for (mod ) and . However, the only known SSD satisfying this upper bound is when . By utilizing a computer search, we prove that for , and . These results are obtained by proving the nonexistence of certain resolvable incomplete blocks designs. The combinatorial properties of the RIBDs are used to reduce the search space. Our results improve the lower bound for SSDs with rows and columns, for , and . Finally, we show that a skew‐type Hadamard matrix of order can be used to construct an SSD with rows and columns that proves . Hence, we establish for and for all (mod ) such that . Our result also implies that when is a prime power and (mod ). We conjecture that for all and (mod ), where is the maximum number of equiangular lines in with pairwise angle .     

An examination of tissue engineered scaffolds in a bioreactor

Replacement tissues, designed to fill in articular cartilage defects, should exhibit the same properties as the native material. The aim of this study is to foster the understanding of, firstly, the mechanical behavior of the material itself and, secondly, the influence of cultivation parameters on cell seeded implants as well as on cell migration into acellular implants. In this study, acellular cartilage replacement material is theoretically, numerically and experimentally investigated regarding its viscoelastic properties, where a phenomenological model for practical applications is developed. Furthermore, remodeling and cell migration are investigated. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Evaluation of 500 keV proton irradiation of bilayer graphene on SiC by the use of SRIM code, a Monte Carlo simulation method for stopping and range of ions in matter

Graphene is experienced its golden age in the world of nanotechnology. Despite the fact that it takes key roles in the very complex areas, it is a simple two-dimensional material which is formed by only carbon atoms with a honeycomb form on especially another material. Graphene monolayer is usually supported by a known SiC substrate. SiC is a valuable material for both electronics and nuclear researches because of the excellent shielding and conduction properties. We simulated 500 keV proton irradiation effects on bilayer graphene on SiC by SRIM code in this paper. SRIM is a very detailed code capable of modeling ranging from very thick materials to single layer structures. This code is based on sending ions with specific energy to a target material. We presented damages and displacements caused by 500 keV protons to bilayer graphene/SiC target in the view of promising face of space and solar cell technology.     

Zwitterionic amino acids as precursors for nonmetal cation pentaborate salts

Nonmetal cation (NMC) pentaborate structures were synthesized using the amino acid molecules as cations precursors. Chemical composition analysis, infrared spectroscopy, mass analysis, boron nuclear magnetic resonance, and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA/DTA) methods were used for structural characterization. The hydrogen storage efficiency of molecules was also determined experimentally. The recorded infrared spectra support the structural similarities of the molecules. Stretchings of pentaborate rings and characteristic peaks of amino acids were detected in infrared spectra. When the thermal analysis curves were recorded, it was found that the structures showed similar decomposition steps. Due to the result of thermal decay, glassy boron oxide (B₂O₃) formation was observed as the final decomposition products of all molecules. Peaks associated with boric acid, triborate, and pentaborate were observed in the ¹¹B spectra of these salts. Powder X-ray diffraction spectroscopy supports the presence of BO₃ and BO₄⁻ groups regarding the presence of pentaborate rings. It also indicates the high crystallinity of the structures. The molecular cavities detected by brunauer–emmett–teller analysis were found to be 3.586, 1.922, 1.673, and 1.923 g/cm³. Low-molecular cavities can be attributed to the high hydrogen-bonding capacity of the structures. The hydrogen capture efficiency of the pentaborate salts was found to be in the range of 0.039-0.     

Preparation and antimicrobial properties of LL‐37 peptide immobilized lignin/caprolactone polymer film

The use of biopolymers has gained priority in tissue engineering and biotechnology, both as dressing material and for enhancing treatment efficiency. There is a demand for new biopolymers designed with protease inhibitors and antimicrobials. LL‐37 is an important antimicrobial peptide in human skin and exhibits a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, and viral pathogens. Using lignin which is an abundant carbohydrate polymer in nature and a polyacrylic acid, we prepared a lignin/caprolactone biodegradable film by plastifying caprolactone and polyacyrlic acid. Lignin/caprolactone biodegradable film was activated with CDI and then immobilized LL‐37 peptide. The structure was elucidated in terms of its functional groups by attenuated total reflectance‐fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐FTIR), and the morphology of the lignin/caprolactone biodegradable film was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) before and after the immobilization process. The amount of LL‐37 immobilized was determined by ELISA method. It was found that 97% of LL‐37 peptide was successfully immobilized onto the lignin/caprolactone biodegradable film. Antimicrobial activity was determined in the lignin/caprolactone biodegradable film samples by quantitative antimicrobial activity method. According to the results, LL‐37 immobilized lignin/caprolactone biodegradable film samples were effective on test organisms; Gram‐positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram‐negative Escherichia coli. In bio‐compatibility assays, the ability to support tissue cell integration was detected by using 3 T3 mouse fibroblasts. Samples were examined under transverse microscope, non‐immobilized sample showed a huge cellular death, whereas LL‐37 immobilized lignin/caprolactone biodegradable film had identical cellular growth with the control group. This dual functional lignin/caprolactone biodegradable film with enhanced antibacterial properties and increased tissue cell compatibility may be used to design new materials for various types of biological applications.     

Effective synthesis of bicyclodienes via palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation and ruthenium-catalyzed cycloisomerization

[n.3.0]Bicycles (n = 3–6) can be synthesized using palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation followed by ruthenium-catalyzed cycloisomerization. New types of triarylphosphino-1,2-diaminooxazoline ligands show the same high levels of enantioselectivity observed with Trost ligand when employed in Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation reactions. The enyne products of these allylic alkylation reactions were further elaborated using a Ru-catalyzed redox isomerization process, for which a mechanism is proposed.     

Development of a solid‐phase microextraction LC–MS/MS method for determination of oxidative stress biomarkers in biofluids

Recently the connection between oxidative stress and various diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer's, attracts notice as a pathway suitable for diagnostic purposes. 8‐Oxo‐deoxyguanosine and 8‐oxo‐deoxyadenosine produced from the interaction of reactive oxygen species with DNA become prominent as biomarkers. Several methods have been developed for their determination in biofluids, including solid‐phase extraction and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. However, still, there is a need for reliable and fast analytical methods. In this context, solid‐phase microextraction offers many advantages such as flexibility in geometry and applicable sample volume, as well as high adaptability to high‐throughput sampling. In this study, a solid‐phase microextraction method was developed for the determination of 8‐oxo‐deoxyguanosine and 8‐oxo‐deoxyadenosine in biofluids. The extractive phase of solid‐phase microextraction consisted of hydrophilic–lipophilic balanced polymeric particles. In order to develop a solid‐phase microextraction method suitable for the determination of the analytes in saliva and urine, several parameters, including desorption solvent, desorption time, sample pH, and ionic strength, were scrutinized. Analytical figures of merit indicated that the developed method provides reasonable interday and intraday precisions (<15% in both biofluids) with acceptable accuracy. The method provides a limit of quantification for both biomarkers at 5.0 and 10.0 ng/mL levels in saliva and urine matrices, respectively.     

Synthesis, structural, spectroscopic characterization, and structural comparison of 3-hydroxybenzoate and nicotinamide/N,N-diethylnicotinamide mixed ligand complexes with Zn(II)

The mixed-ligand 3-hydroxybenzoic acid complex of Zn(II) with nicotinamide and N,N-diethylnicotinamide were synthesized and characterized (colorless single crystals, [Zn(3-hba)₂(H₂O)₂(na)₂] and [Zn(3-hba)₂(H₂O)₂(dena)₂]). The chemical, FT-IR, thermal, mass spectral analyses, and X-ray data results revealed that both of the compounds contain two water molecules, two 3-hydroxybenzoate (3-hba) and two nicotinamide (na) or two N,N-diethylnicotinamide (dena) ligands per formula unit. 3-hba and na or dena ligands bind to the Zn(II) ion monodentately through their acidic oxygen and pyridinic nitrogen atoms, respectively. The coordination of metal atoms are completed by two molecules of aqua ligands. The charge balance of complexes is accommodated by two molecules of 3-hba ions. The unit cell has two molecules coordination molecules and each of them was as settled to four surfaces of unit cell cage in na complex. There is one mole molecule that was occupied to center of unit cell cage in dena complex. The two dimensional network structure of the complex is like a hexagonal for na and square plane for dena complexes. The thermal decomposition takes place in three steps; first, dehydration of the two aqua ligands, second, elimination of the two nicotinamide ligands, finally, burning of the two benzoate ion ligands.