Synthesis of Iron Oxide@Pt Core-Shell Nanoparticles for Reductive Conversion of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and Antibacterial Studies.

Herein, we report the facile synthesis of Iron oxide@Pt core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) by facile two step synthesis process. The first step follows the growth of iron oxide nanoparticle by thermal decomposition process while the second step deals with the formation of iron oxide@Pt core-shell nanoparticles by the chemical reduction method. The synthesized core-shell nanoparticles were characterized by several techniques and used for the catalytic reductive translation of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) in the presence of formic acid by a UV-vis spectrophotometer. The UV photo-spectrometer analysis confirmed the conversion efficiency from 12% to as high as 98.8% at the end of 30 minutes. Thus, the presence of Iron oxide @Pt core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) can be effectively used as a catalyst for the reducion of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) ions. Additionally, antibacterial studies were performed for the prepared core-shell nanoparticles against two bacterial strains, i.e., gram (+ve) Staphylococcus Aureus (S. Aureus) and gram (-ve) Escherichia Coli (E. Coli).

An Interaction Between the Effects of Bilingualism and Cross-linguistic Similarity in Balanced and Unbalanced Bilingual Adults' L2 Mandarin Word-Reading Production.

We conducted three experiments investigating in more detail the interaction between the two effects of bilingualism and L1-L2 similarity in the speech performance of balanced and unbalanced bilinguals. In Experiment 1, L1 Mandarin monolinguals and two groups of Hakka and Minnan balanced bilinguals (Hakka: more similar to Mandarin) performed a non-contextual single-character reading task in Mandarin, which required more inhibitory control. The two bilingual groups outperformed the monolinguals, regardless of their L1 background. However, the bilingual advantage was not found in a contextual multi-word task (Experiment 2), but instead the effect of cross-linguistic similarity emerged. Furthermore, in Experiment 3, the Hakka unbalanced bilinguals showed an advantage in the non-contextual task, while their Minnan counterparts did not, and the impact of L1-L2 similarity emerged in both tasks. These results unveiled the way the two effects dynamically interplayed depending on the task contexts and the relative degrees of using L1 and L2.

Nanocrystals of Zeolite ZSM-5 as Catalysts for the Liquid Phase Benzylation of Anisole with Benzyl Alcohol.

The current paper reports the application of nanocrystalline form of zeolite ZSM-5 in lieu of Friedel Crafts catalysts in the benzylation of anisole using benzyl alcohol. There are many problems associated with the use and disposal of conventional catalysts due to their toxicity, corrosiveness and non-recyclability. Nanocrystalline zeolites can be a less polluting alternative to the conventional Friedel Crafts catalysts. Nanocrystalline ZSM-5 was synthesized by a facile method and was characterized using SEM, XRD and FTIR. The prepared nanocrystalline zeolite was then evaluated for its efficiency and selectivity in liquid phase benzylation of anisole. Optimum conditions of reaction time, temperature, quantity of catalyst and mole ratio of reactants were obtained. Kinetic studies were done to propose a mechanistic model for the catalyzed reaction. Results of this study suggest that the synthesized nanocrystals of zeolites are efficient, selective, stable, consistent and reusable catalysts. This catalyst thus holds the possibility of being a better alternative to homogeneous catalysts, from environmental and economic perspectives.

Effects of bilingualism and trilingualism in L2 production: evidence from errors and self-repairs in early balanced bilingual and trilingual adults.

Through analyzing response latencies, errors, and self-repairs in Mandarin, this investigation explores how monolingual, bilingual, and trilingual adults process their speech production differently using cognitive control mechanisms. In this study we conducted two experiments involving speech production in Mandarin. In the two experiments, 81 adults participated and were categorized into three groups: Mandarin monolingual, Hakka-Mandarin bilingual, and Hakka-Mandarin-Minnan trilingual. In Experiment 1 (unpreprogrammed task), each subject read 250 targets that were presented on a computer screen, one at a time, using E-prime; in Experiment 2 (preprogrammed task), each subject read 466 targets printed on A4 paper. Experiment 1 showed that bilinguals and trilinguals outperformed monolinguals in every aspect examined in this research, revealing the presence of bilingual and trilingual advantages in inhibitory control. Interestingly, in Experiment 2, we found a more complex pattern of results: a trilingual advantage in attentional control occurred during L2 production in terms of the number of errors and error correction; however, the bilingual group did not maintain this advantage in the task requiring attentional control. These experimental results revealed that the differences between the language groups became clearer when the inhibitory control demands increased and that compared with the trilingual advantage, the bilingual advantage in inhibitory control emerged in more limited contexts.

The emergence of an unmarkedness effect in Mandarin speech errors: nasals in a coda position.

This study aims to explore how the markedness effect shapes Mandarin slips of the tongue with respect to nasals in syllable-final positions. Data were collected via natural speech and elicitation tasks from 35 participants' reading of 346 test items. Three hundred and eight slips in Mandarin from natural data and 360 slips from elicited data were investigated. This study shows that there exists a strong preference for unmarked coronal nasals over marked dorsal nasals in the syllable-final position in both spontaneous and elicited Mandarin slips. This tendency toward the unmarked [n] reveals that the influence of the unmarkedness effect is present in the coda position in Mandarin slips. Interestingly, this tendency is inconsistent with that found in a previous study by Wan of Mandarin slips in the onset position, which shows a tendency for coronals to be replaced by other sounds. This suggests an onset-coda distinction occurring in Mandarin speech errors, which implies that the markedness effect works differently in distinct syllable positions. More precisely, the unmarkedness effect emerges in the coda position in Mandarin slips, leading to the occurrence of unmarked segments, whereas it submerges in the onset position, resulting in marked segments.

Azido-[1,2-bis-(diphenyl-phosphan-yl)ethane-κP,P'](η-inden-yl)ruthenium(II).

Facile ligand substitution is observed when the ruthenium chloride complex [Ru(η(5)-C(9)H(7))Cl(dppe)] (dppe is diphenylphosphanyl ethane) is treated with NaN(3) in refluxing ethanol, yielding the title compound, [Ru(η(5)-C(9)H(7))(N(3))(dppe)] or [Ru(C(9)H(7))(N(3))(C(26)H(24)P(2))]. The Ru(II) atom has a typical piano-stool coordination. The Ru-P bond lengths are 2.284 (2) and 2.235 (2) Å. NMR and MS analyses are in agreement with the structure of the title compound.