Bringing the balance function into focus

Charge balance functions provide important insight concerning hadronization and charge transport in heavy ion collisions at RHIC. Unfortunately, this observable is clouded by several effects. One of these effects is resonance production. Here, we present a simple thermal model where resonance production is included via a Monte Carlo technique based on the canonical ensemble. Resonance production is not found to have a large effect on the width.     

Sol–Gel-Derived Corrosion-Protection Coatings

There is a current need for alternative coatings that can provide corrosion resistance to metals or alloy surfaces due to the environmental hazards posed by conventional coatings. Herein, we report on novel organically-modified sol–gel coatings for the protection of metal and alloy surfaces. The basic concept of chemical conversion of metal surfaces is based on deposition of a hydrophobic, nonporous sol–gel barrier layer for surface protection and corrosion prevention. The properties of these organosilica coatings can be tuned by varying the composition of precursors. The evaluation of hydrophobicity, adhesive strength, and anticorrosion properties of organically-modified sol–gel derived coatings suggests their potential utility as technologically-compatible alternatives to conventional coatings.     

Nanostructured Ion-Selective MCM-48 Membranes

Templated MCM-48 silica was prepared using CTAB as surfactant. The MCM-48 powders and thin films were characterized by different techniques. MCM-48 layers were deposited on macroporous α-alumina supports and silicon nitride microsieves. The water permeability of MCM-48 was compared with the permeability of conventional mesoporous γ-alumina membranes. The applicability of MCM-48 as ion-selective electric field-driven switchable interconnect for microfluidic devices was demonstrated.     

Navigating Schooled Numeracies: Explanations for Low Achievement,in Mathematics of UK Children From Low SES Background

The intention of the research reported here was to seek explanations for low achievement in school mathematics, as conventionally assessed, that derive from broad understandings of mathematics as social. Such a broad social perspective can provide explanations for low achievement, which could lead to different understandings and hence to different teaching approaches. This study centered on 5- to 8-year-old children from a White working-class area in England. Data were collected during visits to the children in school, in their homes, and in the broader community over a 3-year period. Parents, teachers, and other professionals in the broad school context were interviewed, and data were also collected from school documents and policy statements. Interpretations of these data in terms of ways of understanding children's achievements in school mathematics are put forward. The potential effects of these factors on low schooled numeracy attainment are discussed, together with some possible strategic implications for practice and policy.     

Hydroformylation in fluorous solvents

The hydroformylation of long chain alkenes under fluorous biphase conditions and in neat perfluorocarbon solvents is reviewed. Special emphasis is placed upon the authors' evaluation of the steric and electronic influence of perfluoroalkylation on catalyst activity, regioselectivity and retention in the fluorocarbon phase.     

Topologically knotted Lagrangians in simply connected four-manifolds

Vidussi was the first to construct knotted Lagrangian tori in simply connected four-dimensional manifolds. Fintushel and Stern introduced a second way to detect such knotting. This note demonstrates that similar examples may be distinguished by the fundamental group of the exterior.

     

Novel route to synthesis of allyl starch and biodegradable hydrogel by copolymerizing allyl‐modified starch with methacrylic acid and acrylamide

Maize starch was modified by allyl chloride adopting an interfacial reaction technique with cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide as a phase‐transfer catalyst and pyridine as an acid acceptor. The degree of substitution was determined from an increasing carbon content of the modified starch. The percentage of carbon and hydrogen of the allyl‐modified starch was estimated by elemental analysis (C, H, and N), and the product characterization was done through ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR analyses. The allyl‐modified starch was then copolymerized with methacrylic acid and a combination of methacrylic acid and acrylamide at 50 and 70 °C with potassium persulfate as an initiator. The copolymer thus formed swelled in distilled water after neutralization with sodium carbonate. The percentage of absorption capacity of the hydrogels was determined with distilled water and 0.9% NaCl solution. The highest percentage of absorption, 6500%, was achieved for the developed hydrogel containing allyl starch and acrylic monomer in a 1.7:1 w/w ratio and acrylic monomer, namely, methacrylic acid and acrylamide in a 3.2:1 w/w ratio. The study on biodegradability of the developed hydrogel showed that the hydrogel is degradable in the presence of diastase (amylase). © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1650–1658, 2003     

Hund’s Case (a)-case (b) transition in the singlet-triplet absorption spectrum of pyrazine in a supersonic jet

An analytic expression is derived for calculating the intensities of individual spin-rovibronic lines in the fully resolved gas phase electronic spectrum of a polyatomic molecule, in which one of the zero-order electronic states is a triplet state. The expression is employed to calculate the effect of fine structure splitting on the singlet-triplet absorption spectrum of pyrazine using the parameters available from experiment. A transition from Hund’s coupling Case (a) to Case (b) on going from low J to high J rotational levels is predicted to occur at a moderate resolution of a few hundred MHz. The effect is more pronounced in pyrazine-d ₄ and the pyrazine-argon van der Waals complex owing to their larger mass. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 63–90 (July 1998) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Reproduced here with stylistic changes by the Translation Editor.     

Minimal regular polygons serving as universal covers in R 2

A universal cover is a set K with the property that each set of unit diameter is a subset of a congruent copy of K. It is shown that the smallest regular n-gon, for fixed n 4, which serves as an universal cover in R ² is the smallest regular n-gon covering a Reuleaux triangle of unit width.