8-[(1E)-1-(2-Aminophenyl­iminio)eth­yl]-2-oxo-2H-chromen-7-olate

The title Schiff base, C17H14N2O3, exists as an NH tautomer with the H atom of the phenol group transferred to the imine N atom. The iminium H atom is involved in a strong intra­molecular N+—H⋯O− hydrogen bond to the phenolate O atom, forming an S(6) motif. In the crystal structure, N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds form a C(9) chain parallel to [100] and a C(11) chain parallel to [010], while C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds form a C(11) chain parallel to [010]. The combination of N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds generates R 4 3(30) rings parallel to the ab plan

An Architecture of IoT Service Delegation and Resource Allocation Based on Collaboration between Fog and Cloud Computing

Despite the wide utilization of cloud computing (e.g., services, applications, and resources), some of the services, applications, and smart devices are not able to fully benefit from this attractive cloud computing paradigm due to the following issues: (1) smart devices might be lacking in their capacity (e.g., processing, memory, storage, battery, and resource allocation), (2) they might be lacking in their network resources, and (3) the high network latency to centralized server in cloud might not be efficient for delay-sensitive application, services, and resource allocations requests. Fog computing is promising paradigm that can extend cloud resources to edge of network, solving the abovementioned issue. As a result, in this work, we propose an architecture of IoT service delegation and resource allocation based on collaboration between fog and cloud computing. We provide new algorithm that is decision rules of linearized decision tree based on three conditions (services size, completion time, and VMs capacity) for managing and delegating user request in order to balance workload. Moreover, we propose algorithm to allocate resources to meet service level agreement (SLA) and quality of services (QoS) as well as optimizing big data distribution in fog and cloud computing. Our simulation result shows that our proposed approach can efficiently balance workload, improve resource allocation efficiently, optimize big data distribution, and show better performance than other existing methods

Informal payments and intra-household allocation of resources for health care in Albania

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Informal payments for health care services can impose financial hardship on households. Many studies have found that the position within the household can influence the decision on how much is spent on each household member. This study analyses the intra-household differences in spending on informal payments for health care services by comparing the resources allocated between household heads, spouses and children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Pooled data from two cross sectional surveys, the Albanian Living Standard Measurement Survey 2002 and 2005, are used to analyse both the probability and the amount paid in inpatient and outpatient health care services. A generalised Hausman specification test is used to compare the coefficients of probit and OLS models for nuclear and extended households.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We find that due to the widespread informal payments there are no significant differences between households in the incidence of informal payments for households' members, but there are more differences in the amount paid informally. Results suggest that households strategically allocate their resources on health care by favouring individuals with higher earning potential who have invested more in human capital. Extended households pay higher amounts for spouses with higher education compared to nuclear households. On the other hand, nuclear households choose to pay higher amounts for children with a higher level of education compared to extended households.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The differences between households should be taken into account by public policies which should compensate this by redistribution mechanisms targeting disadvantaged groups. Governments should implement effective measures to deal with informal patient payments.</p> <p><b>JEL Codes: </b>I10, I19, D10</p

Synthesis and Characterization of CeO2-SiO2 Nanoparticles by Microwave-Assisted Irradiation Method for Photocatalytic Oxidation of Methylene Blue Dye

CeO2-SiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized for the first time by a facile microwave-assisted irradiation process. The effect of irradiation time of microwave was studied. The materials were characterized by N2 adsorption, XRD, UV-vis/DR, and TEM. All solids showed mesoporous textures with high surface areas, relatively small pore size diameters, and large pore volume. The X-ray diffraction results indicated that the as-synthesized nanoparticles exhibited cubic CeO2 without impurities and amorphous silica. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images revealed that the particle size of CeO2-SiO2 nanoparticles, which were prepared by microwave method for 30 min irradiation times, was around 8 nm. The photocatalytic activities were evaluated by the decomposition of methylene blue dye under UV light irradiations. The results showed that the irradiation under the microwave produced CeO2-SiO2 nanoparticles, which have the best crystallinity under a shorter irradiation time. This indicates that the introduction of the microwave really can save energy and time with faster kinetics of crystallization. The sample prepared by 30 min microwave irradiation time exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activity of CeO2-SiO2 nanoparticles, which were prepared by 30 min irradiation times was found to have better performance than commercial reference P25

Aggregation, Dissolution, and Transformation of Copper Nanoparticles in Natural Waters

Time-dependent aggregation, sedimentation, dissolution, and transformation of three copper-based engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) of varied properties were measured in eight natural and artificial waters. Nano-Cu and Cu­(OH)₂ aggregated rapidly to >10³ nm while the aggregate size of nano-CuO averaged between 250 and 400 nm. Aggregate size for both nano-Cu and nano-CuO showed a positive correlation with ionic strength with a few exceptions. Aggregate size did not correlate well with sedimentation rate, suggesting sedimentation was influenced by other factors. Controlling factors in sedimentation rates varied by particle: Cu­(OH)₂ particles remained stable in all waters but groundwater, nano-Cu was generally unstable except in waters with high organic content, and nano-CuO was stabilized by the presence of phosphate, which reversed surface charge polarity at concentrations as low as 0.1 mg PO₄^3– L^–1. Dissolution generally correlated with pH, although in saline waters, dissolved copper formed insoluble complexes. Nano-Cu was rapidly oxidized, resulting in dissolution immediately followed by the formation of precipitates. These results suggest factors including phosphate, carbonate, and ENM oxidation state may be key in determining Cu ENM behavior in natural waters