Self-organized ZnAl2O4 nanostructures grown on -sapphire

Self-organized ZnAl₂O₄ nanostructures with the appearance (in SEM) of high aspect ratio horizontal nanowires are grown on uncatalysed c-sapphire by vapour phase transport. The nanostructures grow as three equivalent crystallographic variants on c-sapphire. Raman and cathodoluminescence spectroscopy confirm that the nanostructures are not ZnO and TEM shows that they are the cubic spinel, zinc aluminate, ZnAl₂O₄, formed by the reaction of Zn and O with the sapphire substrate.     

Working group report: Neutrino and astroparticle physics

This is the report of neutrino and astroparticle physics working group at WHEPP-7. Discussions and work on CP violation in long baseline neutrino experiments, ultra high energy neutrinos, supernova neutrinos and water Cerenkov detectors are discussed.     

Spectral distributions in nuclei: General principles and applications

The subject of spectral distribution methods where one derives and applies the locally smoothed forms of observables in nuclei is briefly reviewed. It is well understood that the local forms (with respect to energy) of the level density function, expectation values and strength densities are Gaussian, linear (or ratio of Gaussians) and a bivariate Gaussian respectively. To accomodate symmetries in the above forms, one has to deal with multivariate distributions in general; for example the angular-momentum (J) decomposition leads to a bivariate Gaussian form for the level density. These results extend to indefinitely large spaces by method of partitioning and they generate convolution forms. The origin of these remarkable spectral properties is discussed and shell model examples are given to substantiate their applicability to nuclear systems. Spectral distribution theory is a practical, usable theory because the smoothed forms are defined in terms of traces of low particle-rank operators, and the trace information propagates. Finally we discuss the application of the spectral methods for a wide range of nuclear problems; these include binding energies, orbit occupancies, electromagnetic andβ-decay sum rule quantities, analysis of operators, symmetry breaking, numerical level densities, and determination of bounds on time-reversal non-invariant part of nucleon-nucleon interaction.     

Flicker noise in degenerately doped Si single crystals near the metal-insulator transition

In this paper we report some of the important results of experimental investigations of the flicker noise near the metal-insulator (MI) transition in doped silicon single crystals. This is the first comprehensive work to study low-frequency noise in heavily doped Si over an extensive temperature range (2 K<T<500 K). The measurements of conductance fluctuations (flicker noise) were carried out in the frequency range 10⁻²<f<4 × 10¹ Hz in single crystalline Si across the MI transition by doping with phosphorous and boron. The magnitude of noise in heavily doped Si is much larger than that seen in lightly doped Si over the whole temperature range. The extensive temperature range covered allowed us to detect two distinct noise mechanisms. At low temperatures (T<100 K) universal conductance fluctuations (UCF) dominate and the spectral dependence of the noise is determined by dephasing the electron from defects with two-levels (TLS). At higher temperatures (T>200 K) the noise arises from activated defect dynamics. As the MI transition is approached, the 1/f spectral power, typical of the metallic regime, gets modified by the presence of discrete Lorentzians which arise from generation-recombination process which is the characteristic of a semiconductor.     

Unusual monodentate binding mode of 2,2'-dipyridylamine (L) in isomeric trans-(acac)2RuII(L)2, trans-[(acac)2RuIII(L)2]ClO4, and cis-(acac)2RuII(L)2 (acac = acetylacetonate). synthesis, structures, and spectroscopic, electrochemical, and magnetic aspects

The reaction of cis-Ru(acac)2(CH3CN)2 (acac = acetylacetonate) with 2,2'-dipyridylamine (L) in ethanolic medium resulted in facile one-pot synthesis of stable [(acac)2RuIII(L)]ClO4 ([1]ClO4), trans-[(acac)2RuII(L)2] (2), trans-[(acac)2RuIII)L)2]ClO4 ([2]ClO4), and cis-[(acac)2RuII(L)2] (3). The bivalent congener 1 was generated via electrochemical reduction of [1]ClO4. Although in [1]+ the dipyridylamine ligand (L) is bonded to the metal ion in usual bidentate fashion, in 2/[2]+ and 3, the unusual monodentate binding mode of L has been preferentially stabilized. Moreover, in 2/[2]+ and 3, two such monodentate L's have been oriented in the trans- and cis-configurations, respectively. The binding mode of L and the isomeric geometries of the complexes were established by their single-crystal X-ray structures. The redox stability of the Ru(II) state follows the order 1 < 2 < 3. In contrast to the magnetic moment obtained for [1]ClO4, mu = 1.84 muB at 298 K, typical for low-spin Ru(III) species, the compound [2]ClO4 exhibited an anomalous magnetic moment of 2.71 muB at 300 K in the solid state. The variable-temperature magnetic measurements showed a pronounced decrease of the magnetic moment with the temperature, and that dropped to 1.59 muB at 3 K. The experimental data can be fitted satisfactorily using eq 2 that considered nonquenched spin-orbit coupling and Weiss constant in addition to the temperature-independent paramagnetism. [1]ClO4 and [2]ClO4 displayed rhombic and axial EPR spectra, respectively, in both the solid and the solution states at 77 K.     

An evaluation of exogenous application of protoporphyrin IX and its dimethyl ester as a photodynamic diagnostic agent in poorly differentiated human nasopharyngeal carcinoma

5-Aminolevulinic acid and its esterified analogues have been under much investigation to enhance the endogenous production of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) in tumor cells. However, in this work, we studied the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of exogenously administered PpIX and its esterified analogue, PpIX dimethyl ester (PME), in poorly differentiated human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC/CNE-2) as a photodynamic diagnostic (PDD) agent. NPC/CNE-2 at its earliest time, 1 h after incubation with PME in in vitro studies, has exhibited 64% (P <0.01) higher tumor to normal cell (T/N) fluorescence ratio than with PpIX. In an in vivo mouse xenograft model, comparable photosensitizer concentration in tumor after intravenous administration was observed at 1-3 h time points, but at 9 h, PME had 31% (P=0.05) greater concentration in tumor compared with PpIX. In addition, by constituting PME and PpIX in different topical gel composites, of which, PME gel composition of 8:2 Plasdone and Gantrez resulted in the highest T/N ratio at 6 h after application (34%; P <0.05) in comparison with other gel composites. Evaluation of PME and PpIX constituted in the delivery vehicles investigated showed comparable selectivity for tumor at 1-3 h, thus neither photosensitizer is more efficient than the other for PDD at the early time points; however, beyond 6 h, PME had higher selectivity for tumor compared with PpIX. Thus, further investigation is warranted to improve the drug delivery vehicle for greater tumor selectivity at a shorter incubation time.     

Chain-transfer constant of fluoroalcohols

Chain transfer constants of some fluoroalcohols [HCF₂(CF₂)_n?1CH₂OH, n = 2, 4, 6] in the catalyzed polymerization of vinyl acetate, styrene, acrylonitrile, and methyl methacrylate at 60°C have been evaluated by a method based on degree of polymerization. Since fluoroalcohols are normally nonsolvents for polymers, a homogeneous reaction phase is maintained by carrying out the polymerization in benzene (except in case of acrylonitrile, where no solvent was used). The transfer constants vary, depending on the reactivity as well as the polarity of the radicals, in the following order: vinyl acetate > styrene > methyl methacrylate > acrylonitrile. Of the three fluoroalcohols studied, the transfer constants increase with the increasing value of n. The results have been interpreted in terms of polar structure contribution in the transition state of the transfer reactions.     

Effect of electrode membrane surface ratio and thickness on lead electrode potential

Summary The lead ion selective electrode (ISE) consisting of PbS-Ag₂S is normally used with a membrane surface of outer layer areaA _o) and inner layer area (A _i) at unity (A _o=A _i). Partial covering of one surface area with an insulating material and keeping the other surface layer intact resulted in different ratios of membrane surface areas exposed to lead solutions. The potential linearly increased with increasing theA _o/A _i ratio and decreased with decreasing theA _o/A _i ratio. The lead ISE potential increased linearly with increasing the membrane thickness, but which required much longer time for a stable potential.

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Wirkung von Oberflächenverhältnis und Dicke der Elektrodenmembran auf das Potential einer Bleielektrode

Zusammenfassung Die aus PbS-Ag₂S bestehende spezifische Bleiionen-Elektrode wird üblicherweise mit einem Oberflächenverhältnis der Außenfläche (A _o) und der Innenfläche (A _i) mitA _o=A _i verwendet. Durch teilweise Abdeckung einer Oberfläche mit isolierendem Material, ohne daß die andere Oberfläche verändert wird, ergaben sich verschiedene Verhältnisse der mit der Bleilösung in Berührung stehenden Oberflächen. Mit dem VerhältnisA _o/A _i stieg das Potential linear an bzw. es fiel mit diesem Verhältnis ab. Das Potential der spezifischen Bleielektrode stieg mit der Dicke der Membran, stabilisierte sich aber wesentlich langsamer.