Structures and stability of Al<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Bold">7</Emphasis></Subscript>C and Al<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Bold">7</Emphasis></Subscript>N clusters

We report results of the atomic and electronic structures of Al₇C cluster using ab initio molecular dynamics with ultrasoft pseudopotentials and generalized gradient approximation. The lowest energy structure is found to be the one in which carbon atom occupies an interstitial position in Al₇ cluster. The electronic structure shows that the recent observation [Chem. Phys. Lett. 316, 31 (2000)] of magic behavior of Al₇C^- cluster is due to a large highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) gap which makes Al₇C^- chemically inert. These results have further led us to the finding of a new neutral magic cluster Al₇N which has the same number of valence electrons as in Al₇C^- and a large HOMO-LUMO gap of 1.99 eV. Further, calculations have been carried out on (Al₇N)₂ to study interaction between magic clusters. Received 28 July 2001     

Binding position of azathioprine with bovine serum albumin determined by measuring nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation time.

The interaction between azathioprine (AZ) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) is mainly due to hydrophobic binding according to the dependence of the binding constant on the ionic strength obtained by equilibrium dialysis. The binding constant and partition coefficient of AZ were smaller than those of warfarin, phenylbutazone and ibuprofen. Little variation in the proton chemical shift of AZ was observed whether there was an absence or presence of BSA (7.25 x 10(-5) M). The spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) of AZ decreased in the presence of BSA to 6-22%. The spin-spin relaxation rate (1/T2) of AZ increased 16-24 times for the methyl group and the imidazole ring and 8-13 times for the purine ring in the presence of BSA. The ratio of the spin-spin relaxation rate of the free AZ to the bound AZ ((1/T2)b/(1/T2)f) of the methyl group and the imidazole ring was 2-3 times larger than that of the purine ring. The binding of AZ to BSA was concluded to be mainly at the methyl group on the imidazole ring of AZ.     

Molecular dynamics simulation of processing using AFM pin tool

A three-dimensional molecular dynamics (MD) model is utilized to investigate the effect of tool geometry on the deformation process of the workpiece and the nature of deformation process at the atomic-scale. Results show that different states exist between the atomic force microscope (AFM) pin tool and the workpiece surface, i.e. the non-wear state, the ploughing state, the state in which ploughing is dominant and the state in which cutting plays a key role. A relationship between the deformation process of the workpiece and the potential energy variation is presented. The potential energy variation of atoms in different deformed regions in the workpiece such as plastically deformed region, elastically deformed region and the mixed deformation region is different. The features of variations of potential energy are discussed.     

Khillah extract as inhibitor for acid corrosion of SX 316 steel

The inhibitive effect of the extract of khillah (Ammi visnaga) seeds, on the corrosion of SX 316 steel in HCl solution was determined using weight loss measurements as well as potentiostatic technique. It was found that the presence of the extract reduces markedly the corrosion rate of steel in the acid solution. The inhibition efficiency increases as the extract concentration is increased. The inhibitive effect of khillah extract was discussed on the basis of adsorption of its components on the metal surface. Negative values were calculated for the energy of adsorption indicating the spontaneity of the adsorption process. The formation of insoluble complexes as a result of interaction between iron cations and khellin, which present in the extract, was also discussed.     

Wavelength and power monitoring of DWDM systems using scanning F–P filter calibrated with a F–P laser

A novel technique to overcome the long-term drift and hysteresis of a scanning Fabry–Perot filter was developed and applied to wavelength and power monitoring of DWDM system. By using the comb peaks generated by a temperature-stabilized, near threshold-biased Fabry–Perot diode laser as wavelength reference for the scanning Fabry–Perot filter, wavelength and power measurement accuracy of better than ±10 pm and 0.2 dB, respectively, were achieved.     

Structural evolution in amorphous silicon and germanium thin films.

The structural evolution in amorphous silicon and germanium thin films has been investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) in conjunction with autocorrelation function (ACF) analysis. The results established that the structure of as-deposited semiconductor films is of a high density of nanocrystallites embedded in the amorphous matrix. In addition, from ACF analysis, the structure of a-Ge is more ordered than that of a-Si. The density of embedded nanocrystallites in amorphous films was found to diminish with annealing temperature first, then to increase. The conclusions also corroborate well with the results of diminished medium-range order in annealed amorphous films determined previously by a variable coherence microscopy method.     

Structural-acoustic coupling effect on the nonlinear natural frequency of a rectangular box with one flexible plate

The nonlinear natural frequency of a rectangular box, which consists of one flexible plate and five rigid plates, is studied in this paper. The flexible plate is assumed to vibrate like a simple piston. The behavior of the structural-acoustic coupling between the flexible plate and the air cavity is analyzed by using the proposed finite element modal method. The system finite element equation is reduced and expressed in terms of the modal coordinates with small degrees of freedom by using the proposed reduction method. The system nonlinear stiffness matrix representing the large amplitude vibration can be transformed to be a constant modal matrix. The natural frequencies are determined by using the harmonic balance method to solve the eigenvalue equations of the structural-acoustic system. The effect of the cavity depth on the natural frequencies and convergence studies are discussed in detail.     

Potential formation and high density plasma production on the tandem mirror GAMMA 10

GAMMA 10 experiments have advanced in high density experiments after the last EPS Workshop where we reported high density plasma production by using an ion cyclotron range of frequency heating at a high harmonic frequency and neutral beam injection in the central cell. Recently a high density plasma was obtained with much improved reproducibility than before and without degradation of diamagnetic signal. The high density plasma was attained by adjusting the spacing of the conducting plates installed in the anchor transition regions. Dependencies of particle confinement time, ion energy confinement time and plasma confining potential on plasma density were obtained for the first time in the high density region. Presented at 5th Workshop “Role of Electric Fields in Plasma Confinement and Exhaust”, Montreus, Switzerland, June 23–24, 2002.     

ON GROUP VELOCITY OF ELASTIC WAVES, IN AN ANISOTROPIC PLATE

A proof is offered for the equivalence of the group velocity and the energy velocity for elastic waves in a free anisotropic homogenous plate. The proof is valid in the case where the group velocity may be negative while the wave number is positive.     

Studies on antiatherosclerotic agents. Synthesis of 5-substituted derivatives of 7-ethoxycarbonyl-6,8-dimethyl-1(2H)-phthalazinone.off.

Several 5-substituted derivatives of 7-ethoxycarbonyl-6,8-dimethyl-1(2H)- phthalazinone were prepared by means of nitration, reductive amination, and diazonium decomposition. The substituents introduced included NO2, NH2, F, Cl, CN. Among the derivatives, the fluorine compound was obtained only in poor yield because intramolecular cyclization occurred predominantly.