Barrier-free intermolecular proton transfer in the uracil-glycine complex induced by excess electron attachment

The photoelectron spectra (PES) of anions of uracil-glycine and uracil-phenylalanine complexes reveal broad features with maxima at 1.8 and 2.0 eV. The results of ab initio density functional B3LYP and second order M?ller-Plesset theory calculations indicate that the excess electron occupies a π^* orbital localized on uracil. The excess electron attachment to the complex can induce a barrier-free proton transfer (BFPT) from the carboxylic group of glycine to the O8 atom of uracil. As a result, the four most stable structures of the anion of uracil-glycine complex can be characterized as the neutral radical of hydrogenated uracil solvated by the anion of deprotonated glycine. The similarity between the PES spectra for the uracil complexes with glycine and phenylalanine suggests that the BFPT is also operative in the case of the latter anionic species. The BFPT to the O8 atom of uracil may be related to the damage of nucleic acid bases by low energy electrons because the O8 atom is involved in a hydrogen bond with adenine in the standard Watson-Crick pairing scheme. Received 6 April 2002 Published online 13 September 2002     

Renormalization of the two-photon vacuum polarization and the self energy vacuum polarization for a tightly bound electron

The renormalization method of Bogoljubov-Parasiuk-Hepp-Zimmermann (BPHZ) is used in order to derive the renormalized energy shift due to the gauge invariant K?llén-Sabry diagram of the two-photon vacuum polarization (VPVP) as well as the self energy vacuum polarization S(VP)E beyond the Uehling approximation. It is outlined, that no outer renormalization is required for the two-photon vacuum polarization and that only the inner renormalization has to be accomplished. It is shown that the so-called nongauge invariant spurious term is absent for a wide class of vacuum polarization (VP) diagrams if one applies the widely used spherical expansion of bound and free-electron propagator. This simplifies significantly calculations in bound state quantum electrodynamics. As one result of our paper the use of the BPHZ-approach in bound state QED is established. Received 28 September 2001     

Spontaneous formation of a system of highly ordered germanium nanoislands upon epitaxial deposition on profiled (111) silicon substrates under electromigration conditions

Atomic-force microscopy was used to study the surface topography of SiGe structures grown by epitaxial deposition of Ge on profiled Si(111) substrates under electromigration conditions. Systems of highly ordered germanium nanosized islands with dimensions of 10–20 nm and a density of 6×10¹⁰ cm^?2 were obtained. It is shown that the geometrical parameters of self-organizing nanoislands can be controlled by a proper choice of the growth and postgrowth annealing conditions for these structures.     

INVESTIGATION OF AUTOMOTIVE CREEP GROAN NOISE WITH A DISTRIBUTED-SOURCE EXCITATION TECHNIQUE

Creep groan is a high-intensity, low-frequency noise and vibration problem that affects road vehicles at very low speeds. It usually persists for short periods of time, but a “skilled” driver can deliberately make it last several seconds by tuning the force exerted on the brake pedal. The original cause is considered to be a self-induced vibration of the brake components, due to the friction material characteristics that make the system prone to a stick-slip behaviour. No clear evidence upon the creep groan and how it is perceived inside the passenger cockpit has yet been analyzed in the literature and no formal methods are yet available for its analysis. The present study focuses on the transmission of the vibration from the brake component regions to the ears of the vehicle occupants. Characterization of the calliper acceleration and noise inside the cockpit are described for a test vehicle. Distributed-source noise excitation via the standard vehicle hi-fi system is proposed as a practical but less rigorous particular application of the exact reciprocity method. Virtual groan (in which sound power is delivered by means of a loudspeaker) dismisses the airbone path and shows that the phenomenon is structure-borne. On the examined vehicle, front brakes contribute more strongly than rear. Groan frequency close to cavity acoustic resonance constitutes the worst case scenario, and has to be avoided.     

Variant superfield representations

We discuss some variant superfield representations which can arise by the replacement of some of the usual fields in a multiplet with p-form gauge fields.     

Transfructosylation of rebaudioside A (a sweet glycoside of Stevia leaves) with Microbacterium beta-fructofuranosidase.

It was found that a beta-fructofuranosidase produced by Microbacterium sp. H-1 has potent trans-beta-fructofuranosylation activity from sucrose (donor). By means of this enzyme system, rebaudioside A (RA), the second major sweet steviol glycoside of the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana, was subjected to transfructosylation, affording a mono-beta-fructofuranosylated product (RA-F) in a high yield. The structure of RA-F was elucidated as beta-D-fructofuranosyl-(2----6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester of steviol-13-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1----2)]- [beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1----3)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside. Some improvement in the quality of sweetness was observed for RA-F.     

Wave propagation through a high-velocity elastic layer

We consider theoretical seismographs of a wave field passing through an elastic layer with high propagation velocity. We note the presence of a low-frequency part of the seismogram for longitudinal waves. It is shown that the propagation time of low-frequency vibrations is equal to that of longitudinal disturbances screened by the layer.Translated from Zapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov Leningradskogo Otdeleniya Matematicheskogo Instituta im. V. A. Steklova, AN SSSR, Vol. 173, pp. 134–141, 1988.     

To the description of hadron mass spectrum in the nonrelativistic quark potential model

The comparison of different confinement models of hadrons in non-relativistic quark potential model with the use of hyperspherical functions is carried out in the present work. Numerical values of the masses of non-strange (the lightest) hadrons belonging to the meson octet and baryon decuplet are obtained in this model. The best values of masses are obtained with the potential which incorporates the quasi-relativistic one-gluon exchange and the confinement termAr ⁿ withn=2/3. The natural appearance of the Yukawa-type potential in this model is also discussed.     

Conformally symmetric anisotropic magnetospheres in general relativity

A class of exact analytical solutions of Einstein-Maxwell equations is obtained for static spheres of Maugin's anisotropic magnetofluid where the space-time geometry is assumed to admit a nonstatic conformai symmetry. These solutions are found by utilizing special physical considerations.