Construction of nonanuclear supramolecular structures from simple modular units

A porphyrazine based supramolecule with a nonanuclear structure has been prepared by the ready coordination of pyridine donor sites in octakis(4-pyridoxyethylthio)porphyrazinatomagnesium with vanadyl bis(acetylacetonate) and characterized by EPR spectroscopy.     

Strong visible PL from the nc-Si thin film by Ni silicide mediated crystallization

We studied the growth of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) thin film exhibiting a strong room temperature photoluminescence (PL) at 1.81–2.003 eV. The amorphous silicon was crystallized by Ni silicide mediated crystallization (Ni SMC) and then Secco-etched to exhibit the PL. The PL peak energy and intensity increase with increasing the metal density on the a-Si because of the reduction in the grain size down to 2 nm. The photoluminescence energy and peak intensity depend strongly on the Secco etch time because the grain size is reduced by etching the grain boundaries.     

Quantum Nonlocality of Photon Pairs in Interference in a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer

Nonlocal character of entangled photon pairs generated in spontaneous parametric downconversion is demonstrated. One photon from a pair propagates through a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and is detected in coincidence-count measurement with its twin. Width of the coincidence-count interference pattern (measured for various values of path difference in the Mach-Zehnder interferometer) depends on spectral width of the twin as a result of entanglement of photons in a pair. The experimental setup is analyzed for a Gaussian spectral filter and a Fabry-Perot resonator. It is shown that nonlocal interference is much stronger for cw pumping in comparison with femtosecond pulsed pumping for values of parameters commonly used in spontaneous parametric downconversion experiments.     

Ionic liquid-regulated sulfamic acid: chemoselective catalyst for the transesterification of β-ketoesters

1-Propyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C₃MIm]Cl) ionic liquid and sulfamic acid (NH₂SO₃H), as a synergetic catalytic medium, were used for the transesterification of acetoacetate with alcohols of different structures. It shows the good ability for the chemoselective transesterificatin of β-ketoesters and maintains its catalytic activity in the reuse.     

Fluorimetric determination of the levels of urinary neopterin and serum thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in the nonagenarians

Twelve self-sustaining nonagenarians, 10 women and two men, aged 94+/-3 years, and eight institutionalised nonagenarians, eight women, aged 91+/-1 year as well as 11 control subjects, seven women and four men, aged 84+/-5 years entered the study. Urinary neopterin, an indicator of systemic immune activation, and serum thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), a marker of lipoperoxidation, were determined initially, and collection of the blood and urine samples was repeated at 3-month interval. Neopterin was measured in the urine specimens by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. A C(18) reversed-phase column 3.3x150 mm, 5 mum-diameter packing Separon SGX was used. Potassium phosphate buffer (15 mmol l(-1), pH 6.4) at flow rate of 0.8 ml min(-1) was used as mobile phase. After centrifugation (5 min, 1300xg) and diluting 100 mul of urine specimens with 1.0 ml of mobile phase containing 2 g of disodium-EDTA per litre, a 20 mul sample was injected on a column. Neopterin was identified by its native fluorescence (353 nm excitation, 438 nm emission). Creatinine was determined by Jaffé kinetic reaction after dilution of sample 1:50 (v/v). The concentration of neopterin in urine was expressed as neopterin/creatinine ratio (mumol mol(-1) creatinine). TBARS were determined spectrofluorometrically using LS-5 spectrofluorimeter (excitation wavelength 528 nm, emission wavelength 558 nm) after extraction with n-butanol treatment with thiobarbituric acid. The significance of differences between nonagenarians and control group was examined by ANOVA-Kruskal-Wallis tests, using statistical software NCSS 6.0.21 (Kaysville, UT, 1996). The decision on significance was based on P=0.05. Urinary neopterin was significantly higher in institutionalised compared to self-sustaining subjects and controls (625+/-565 vs. 203+/-63 mumol mol(-1) creatinine, and 198+/-128 mumol mol(-1) creatinine, respectively, P=0.006). The serum TBARS were higher in both groups of nonagenarians (3.23+/-1.16 mumol l(-1) and 2.69+/-0.39 vs. 2.12+/-0.83 mumol l(-1) for the self-sustaining, institutionalised and controls, respectively, P=0.023). We conclude that the fluorimetric determinations of urinary neopterin and serum TBARS can be useful for the monitoring health status in the elderly patients.     

Contractibility of Efficient Frontier of Simply Shaded Sets

In finite dimensional Euclidean space, we prove the contractibility of the efficient frontier of simply shaded sets. This work extends the result of Peleg [7], which confirms the contractibility of the efficient frontier in the convex case.     

Fracture strength of class II slot cavities restored with polymerizable restorative materials

This study compared the fracture strength of Class II slot cavities restored with polymerizable restorative materials. Sixty, caries-free, posterior teeth were divided into five groups of 12 teeth. The Class II slot cavities were prepared. The teeth were restored with two packable composites (Filtek P60, Surefil), a microhybrid composite (Filtek Z250)and two ormocer (Definite, Admira). The restorations were then subjected to fracture resistance tests. The marginal ridges of the restorations were loaded at an angle of 13.5° to the long axis of the tooth in an Universal Testing Machine until failure. Analysis of mean forces indicated that, Filtek P60, Surefil and Filtek Z250 exhibited better performance than Definite and Admira. The tested resin composites differed in their mechanical properties. This study suggested that fracture behavior were highly influenced by the filler system. Overall, Filtek P60, Surefil, Filtek Z250, demonstrated good fracture resistance. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

R-Matrices for Leibniz Algebras

Leibniz agebras are a generalization of Lie algebras, where no symmetry properties of the bracket are required. In this Letter we introduce a notion of R-matrices for this structure and the related Yang–Baxter equations, and discuss some of their basic properties.     

丝瓜种子萌芽及子叶生长过程中谷氨酰胺合成酶同工酶的变化

测定了丝瓜种子萌芽及子叶不同生长阶段的谷氨酰胺合成酶(GS)的活性及其同工酶的变化．除了发育上的变化外，光和外源氮对GS活性及其同工酶影响也是显著的．无论外源氮(N)是否存在，GS活性在种子萌芽和子叶生长初期是逐渐升高的，于第6天达到最大，其后活性逐步降低．在光照下，外源氮对GS1诱导作用大于GS2；在无氮下，光对GS2的刺激大于GS1；在暗处，外源氮对GS1和GS2两者都有诱导作用．