Nickel(II) complexes of oligopeptides containing aspartyl and glutamyl residues. Potentiometric and spectroscopic studies

Nickel(II) complexes of di-, tri- and tetra-peptides built up from Asp and/or Glu residues have been studied by potentiometric, UV–Vis and circular dichroism spectroscopic methods. The stoichiometry of the complexes are the same as in the case of common oligopeptides, but the presence of the side chain carboxylate groups results in differences in their stabilities and coordination modes. The presence of the β-carboxylate groups increases the metal binding affinity of the peptides in all cases. This is due to the coordination of the first, second and third aspartic acid residue in the case of the NiL, NiH₋₁L and NiH₋₂L complexes, respectively. The high negative charge of Asp₄ suppresses the metal ion coordination of the third amide function, therefore the NiH₋₃L complex does not form with this tetra-peptide. In the case of peptides containing glutamic acid, no stability enhancement appears because there is only a weak interaction between the nickel(II) ion and the γ-carboxylate group, which is not able to compensate the disfavoured effect of the increasing negative charge of the complexes.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of thermodynamics,elastic constants and solid solution strengths for Mg-Gd alloys

The thermal and mechanical properties of Mg-Gd intermetallics MgGd, MgGd₂ and MgGd₃ are studied using a modified analytical embedded atom method. Calculated results agree well with the available experimental data and other theoretical results. The results on the elastic constants suggest that thermal softening behavior is observed as the temperature increases and the bulk moduli of ordered phases are larger than that of elemental Mg above 300 K. The heat capacities of MgGd, Mg₂Gd and Mg₃Gd are 22.91, 23.04 and 23.09 J mol K^-1, respectively, at 300 K. Furthermore, the addition of Gd gives rise to an increase of c/a. With the same content of Gd, the ratio c/a remains unchanged with increasing temperature, whereas this phenomenon does not occur in pure Mg, which indicates that the temperature-independent c/a restrains the occurrence of non-basal slip and twinning. Hence the addition of Gd can enhance the strength of Mg, in good agreement with experimental observation.     

Due-date assignment and maintenance activity scheduling problem

In the scheduling problem addressed in this note we have to determine: (i) the job sequence, (ii) the (common) due-date, and (iii) the location of a rate modifying (maintenance) activity. Jobs scheduled before (after) the due-date are penalized according to their earliness (tardiness) value. The processing time of a job scheduled after the maintenance activity decreases by a job-dependent factor. The objective is minimum total earliness, tardiness and due-date cost. We introduce a polynomial (O(n⁴)) solution for the problem.     

A thermodynamic framework for a mixture of two liquids

In this study, we extend a thermodynamic framework that has been used with some success for describing the response of a variety of single constituent continua. Using the thermodynamic framework, we obtain a model for the mixture of two compressible fluids that has a much simpler structure than the model obtained earlier within the context of mixture theory. We also investigate the response of a mixture of two fluids that is constrained to have a constant volume, using the same thermodynamic framework.     

Rate of Convergence of Generalized Hermite–Padé Approximants of Nikishin Systems

We study the rate of convergence of interpolating simultaneous rational approximations with partially prescribed poles to so-called Nikishin systems of functions. To this end, a vector equilibrium problem in the presence of a vector external field is solved which is used to describe the asymptotic behavior of the corresponding second-type functions which appear.     

克里奇中间体CH2OO与CF3CF=CF2反应的动力学研究

本文使用OH激光诱导荧光方法研究了结构最简单的克里奇中间体CH₂OO和CF₃CF=CF₂的反应动力学. 在压强为10 Torr条件下，测量了温度在283，298，308和318 K的反应速率常数，分别为(1.45±0.14)×10^-13，(1.18±0.11)×10^-13，(1.11±0.08)×10^-13和(1.04±0.08)×10^-13 cm³·molecule^-1·s^-1. 根据阿伦尼乌斯方程，获得该反应的活化能为(-1.66±0.21) kcal/mol. 在6.3∽70 torr压力范围内，未观察到该反应的速率常数存在压力相关.     

Physical characterization of some complexes of organic nitrogen donor compounds

The stability constants of the complexes of cyanopyridine and aminoantipyrine with some divalent transition metal chlorides were determined at different temperatures. The thermodynamic parameters were calculated; the obtained data reveal that the complexation is an endothermic process. Also it was found that the type of bonding between the ligands and the corresponding metal ion is mainly ionic in nature. The stoichiometry of the formed complexes was found to be M:L and M:2L. The structure of some prepared complexes was confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR spectra as well as elemental analysis. Thermal stability was studied using TGA technique.     

Non-linear elastic behavior of light fibrous materials

Light fibrous materials composed of elastic fibers display a non-linear elastic behavior, where the non-linearity is due to the increase in the number of contacts between fibers under compression. Testing glass wool under compression up to 95% shows such a strongly non-linear behavior. A model is proposed to account for the divergence of the compressive stress as the strain approaches a threshold compression , with . Quantitative analysis of the experimental data on glass wool is fully consistent with this result. Received 2 February 1999