β-Alanine and its derivatives are important starting materials for the preparation of peptides or compounds with biological activity. In this work, the authors are presenting a new approach for the synthesis of N-alkyl-β-amino acids and N-alkyl-β-amino esters using dendrimeric intermediates in a one-pot reaction, with friendly reaction conditions. Dendrimeric compounds, with a pentaerythritol core, were easy prepared and used to obtain the β-amino acid derivatives and β-amino esters with good yields. This paper presents the first reaction where dendrimers are used for synthesizing organic compounds. Spectroscopic characterization by 1H- and 13C-NMR of dendrimers and final products is also presented.

Solution-processed metal oxide electronics on flexible substrates can enable applications from military to health care. Due to limited thermal budgets and mismatched coefficients of thermal expansion between oxides and substrates, achieving good performance in solution-processed oxide films remains a challenge. Additionally, the use of traditional photolithographic processes is incompatible with low-cost, high-throughput roll-to-roll processing. Here, we demonstrate solution-deposited oxide thin film transistors (TFTs) on a shape memory polymer substrate, which offers unique control of final device shape and modulus. The key enabling step is the exposure of the precursor film to UV-ozone through a shadow mask to perform patterning and photochemical conversion simultaneously. These TFTs exhibit mobility up to 160 cm2/(V s), subthreshold swing as low as 110 mV/dec, and threshold voltage between −2 and 0 V, while maintaining compatibility with a flexible form factor at processing temperatures below 250 °C.

We study relations between transitivity, mixing and periodic points on dendrites. We prove that, when there is a point with dense orbit which is a cutpoint, periodic points are dense and there is a terminal periodic decomposition. We also show that it is possible that all periodic points except one (and points with dense orbit) are contained in the (dense) set of endpoints. It is also possible that a dynamical system is transitive but there is a unique periodic point which, in fact, is the unique fixed point. We also prove that on almost meshed continua (a class of continua containing topological graphs and dendrites with closed or countable set of endpoints), periodic points are dense if and only if they are dense for the map induced on the hyperspace of all non-empty compact subsets.

This article outlines the use of quenching dilatometry in phase transformation kinetics research in steels under continuous cooling conditions. For this purpose, the phase transformation behavior of a hot-rolled heat treatable steel was investigated over the cooling rate range of 0.1 to 200 °C/s. The start and finish points of the austenite transformation were identified from the dilatometric curves and then the continuous cooling transformation (CCT) diagrams were constructed. The experimental CCT diagrams were verified by microstructural characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Vickers micro-hardness. In general, results revealed that the quenching dilatometry technique is a powerful tool for the characterization and study of solid-solid phase transformations in steels. For cooling rates between 200 and 25 °C/s the final microstructure consists on plate-like martensite with the highest hardness values. By contrast, a mixture of phases of ferrite, bainite and pearlite predominated for slower cooling rates (10-0.1 °C/s).

The introduction of European heraldry in the Americas created a special class of material culture and iconography that circulated widely on coins, paper, architecture, and textiles. More interestingly, its appropriation and use by indigenous communities has not received proper archaeological attention. In this paper I analyze the adoption of royal Spanish heraldry by Nahua political systems (altepetl) during the Colonial period, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. My primary goal is to understand the context, meaning, and social practices for three late colonial banners from eastern Guerrero—the Lienzos de Chiepetlan IV, V, and VI. I argue that these three banners can be treated as moveable pieces of a complex heraldic ensemble to form the full ornamented coat of arms of the Spanish king. These three banners permit us to compare and contrast indigenous narratives of allegiance and resistance to Spanish imperialism.

Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Thin-Film Transistors (TFTs) using Aluminum (Al) and Aluminum-doped zinc Oxide (AZO) as Source-Drain (S-D) contacts are reported. The fabrication process was carried out using five photolithography steps with a maximum processing temperature of 100 °C, which makes the process compatible with flexible/transparent applications. The AZO and ZnO films were deposited using Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD). Aluminum was deposited using ebeam. The devices showed mobilities >10 cm2/V-s, threshold voltage in the range of 7 V and On/Off current ratios >105. The resistance analysis showed that AZO is a better contact with lower contact resistance as identified in the TFTs. The AZO and ZnO stacks characterized by UV-V shows an optical transmission >80 %.

The Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri Kuwayama is a destructive insect pest in citriculture, because it is an efficient vector of the proteobacteria ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (Las), ‘Ca. L. africanus’ (Laf) and ‘Ca. L. americanus’ (Lam). These bacteria cause the ‘huanglongbing’ disease or ‘greening’ or ‘yellow dragon’ disease. The disease kills the plant and reduces fruit production. This insect pest is susceptible to entomopathogenic fungi, and we report the use of different strains of Metarhizium anisopliae, Cordyceps bassiana and Isaria fumosorosea against the nymphs and adults of D. citri under field conditions. The fungi were applied four times using a concentration of 2 × 1013 conidia/ha with a time interval of 15 days between applications. The percentage of control of Cb 108, Ma 65, Ma 14 and Ifr 4 was 60, 50, 40 and 35% in nymphs, and 50, 50, 42 and 22% in adults, respectively. Metarhizium anisopliae, C. bassiana and I. fumosorosea applied on Persian lime groves are more effective in reducing higher density of nymphs than adults of D. citri.

This paper reports the synthesis and characterization of the ZrO2:Co nanosystem, by incorporation of Co nanoparticles (CoNP) into tetragonal and monoclinic zirconia. ZrO2 was synthesized by a sol-gel process, while cobalt nanoparticles were obtained through a colloidal method by chemical reduction of a metal precursor. CoNP were incorporated by two different approaches: during the synthesis of the ZrO2 and by classical impregnation of CoNP on zirconium oxide. The size of Cobalt nanoparticles was controlled through the concentration of reducing agent (NaBH4) and passivanting agent (1-dodecanethiol). According to SEM and TEM analysis, the diameter of the zirconium oxide particles depends on the CoNP concentration added; the particle size for pure zirconia treated at 500°C is 200 nm and 180 nm for ZrO2:Co. X-Ray diffraction showed presence of the tetragonal and monoclinic zirconia, but the abundance of each one depends on the Co nanoparticles and thermally treatment.

Zirconia nanopowders doped with different concentrations of Eu were prepared by the solgel method followed by a thermal treatment at 500°C. Morphological and crystallographic characteristics were studied by scanning electron microscopy, X-Ray diffraction and UV spectroscopoy. Results showed a modification of the size of nanopowder particles when the concentration of Eu is increased from 0.0 to 4.0 wt%. Also, at lower concentration of Eu the tetragonal ZrO2 is the most abundant phase while high concentrations of Eu lead to the formation of the monoclinic phase. The UV spectroscopy of ZrO2 samples shows two main absorption peaks at 228 and 214 nm. The novel characteristics of the ZrO2 nanopowders doped with Eu allow us to propose them for use as solar UV radiation detectors.