Experimental testing of the variable rotated elastic parabolic equation

A series of laboratory experiments was conducted to obtain high-quality data for acoustic propagation in shallow water waveguides with sloping elastic bottoms. Accurate modeling of transmission loss in these waveguides can be performed with the variable rotated parabolic equation method. Results from an earlier experiment with a flat or sloped slab of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) demonstrated the necessity of accounting for elasticity in the bottom and the ability of the model to produce benchmark-quality agreement with experimental data [J. M. Collis et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 122, 1987-1993 (2007)]. This paper presents results of a second experiment, using two PVC slabs joined at an angle to create a waveguide with variable bottom slope. Acoustic transmissions over the 100-300 kHz band were received on synthetic horizontal arrays for two source positions. The PVC slabs were oriented to produce three different simulated waveguides: flat bottom followed by downslope, upslope followed by flat bottom, and upslope followed by downslope. Parabolic equation solutions for treating variable slopes are benchmarked against the data.     

Unipancyclic matroids

Analogous to the concept of uniquely pancyclic graphs, we define a uniquely pancyclic (UPC) matroid of rank $r$ to be a (simple) rank-$r$ matroid containing exactly one circuit of each length $?$ for $3\le ?\le r+1$. Our discussion addresses the existence of graphic, binary, and transversal representations of UPC matroids. Using Shi’s results, which catalogued exactly seven non-isomorphic UPC graphs, we produce a nongraphic binary UPC matroid of rank 24. We consider properties of binary UPC matroids in general, and prove that all binary UPC matroids have a connectivity of $2$.     

Students' Attitudes Toward Science as Predictors of Gains on Student Content Knowledge: Benefits of an After‐School Program

High‐quality after‐school programs devoted to science have the potential to enhance students' science knowledge and attitudes, which may impact their decisions about pursuing science‐related careers. Because of the unique nature of these informal learning environments, an understanding of the relationships among aspects of students' content knowledge acquisition and attitudes toward science may aid in the development of effective science‐related interventions. We investigated the impact of a semester‐long after‐school intervention utilizing an inquiry‐based infectious diseases curriculum (designed for use after‐school) on 63 urban students' content knowledge and aspects of their attitudes toward science. Content knowledge increased 24.6% from pretest to posttest. Multiple regression analyses indicated suggested that the “self‐directed effort” subscale of the Simpson–Troost Attitude Questionnaire—Revised best predicted increases in students' science content knowledge. The construct “science is fun for me” served as a suppressor effect. These findings suggest that future after‐school programs focusing on aspects of attitudes toward science most closely associated with gains in content knowledge might improve students' enthusiasm and academic preparedness for additional science coursework by improving student attitudes toward their perceptions of their self‐directed effort.     

Yttrium‐86 Is a Positron Emitting Surrogate of Gadolinium for Noninvasive Quantification of Whole‐Body Distribution of Gadolinium‐Based Contrast Agents

Gadolinium‐based contrast agents (GBCAs) are used to provide diagnostic information in clinical magnetic resonance (MR) examinations. Gadolinium (Gd) has been detected in the brain, bone and skin of patients, months and years following GBCA administration, raising concerns about long term toxicity. Despite increased scrutiny, the concentration, chemical form and fate of the retained gadolinium species remain unknown. Importantly, the whole body biodistribution and organ clearance of GBCAs is poorly understood in humans. Gadolinium lacks suitable isotopes for nuclear imaging. We demonstrate that the yttrium‐86 isotope can be used as a gadolinium surrogate. We show that Gd and their analogous Y complexes have similar properties both in solution and in vivo, and that yttrium‐86 PET can be used to track the biodistribution of GBCAs over a two‐day period.     

Modelling U.S. monthly inflation in terms of a jointly seasonal and non‐seasonal long memory process

This article examines monthly U.S. inflation rates by means of fractionally integrated time series techniques. We use a procedure of Robinson (J Am Statist Assoc 1994; 89 :1420) that permits us to simultaneously test the degrees of integration at both the zero and the seasonal frequencies. The results show that long memory takes place at both frequencies, the orders of integration being in both cases higher than 0 but smaller than 0.5, implying stationarity but long memory behaviour. In addition, the root at the long run or zero frequency seems to play a much more important role than the seasonal one, with shocks affecting the latter component decaying faster than in the former case. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nickel(0)-catalyzed isomerization of an aryne complex: formation of a dinuclear Ni(I) complex via C-H rather than C-F bond activation

The reaction of the aryne complex (PEt3)2Ni(eta2-C6H2-4,5-F2) with a catalytic amount of Ni(PEt3)2 results in a dinuclear Ni(I) complex from the coupling of the isomer (PEt3)2Ni(eta2-C6H2-3,4-F2), obtained via rearrangement of the aromatic C-H bonds, which demonstrates that Ni(PEt3)2 is kinetically capable of C-H bond activation, even in the presence of C-F bonds. The intermediate [(PEt3)2Ni]2(mu-eta2:eta2-C6H2-4,5-F2) was isolated and crystallographically characterized; the mu-eta2:eta2-bonding mode observed is unprecedented in aryne chemistry.     

Formation of multimeric steroid metal adducts and implications for isomer mixture separation by traveling wave ion mobility spectrometry

Steroid analysis is essential to the fields of medicine and forensics, but such analyses can present some complex analytical challenges. While chromatographic methods require long acquisition times and often provide incomplete separation, ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) as coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) has demonstrated significant promise for the separation of steroids, particularly in concert with metal adduction and multimerization. In this study, traveling wave ion mobility spectrometry (TWIMS) was employed to separate multimer steroid metal adducts of isomers in mixtures. The results show the ability to separate steroid isomers with a decrease in resolution compared with single component standards because of the formation of heteromultimers. Additionally, ion‐neutral collision cross sections (CCS) of the species studied were measured in the mixtures and compared with CCSs obtained in single component standards. Good agreement between these values suggests that the CCS may aid in identification of unknowns. Furthermore, a complex mixture composed of five sets of steroid isomers were analyzed, and distinct features for each steroid component were identified. This study further demonstrated the potential of TWIMS‐MS methods for the rapid and isomer‐specific study of steroids in biological samples for use either in tandem with or without chromatographic separation.     

An improved synthesis of 2,3- and 3,4-unsaturated pyranosides: The use of microwave energy

Tipson-Cohen reactions of sugar derivatives containing contiguous sulfonyloxy groups have been studied in a microwave oven. Considerable rate increases and high yields of the unsaturated products have been observed.     

Selectivity effects and hydrocarbon-chain growth during Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

It is well known that if the formation of hydrocarbons during Fischer–Tropsch synthesis occurs via the condensation polymerization mechanism, there is little hope for selectivity enhancement in the desired range of products. Recent data on low surface area model catalysts, where readsorption is unlikely, have shown that at low conversions, the product distribution obeys the condensation polymerization mechanism and the distribution of products is shifted to lower-molecular-weight hydrocarbons. We have used a computer simulation of the growth of hydrocarbon chains to obtain a picture of the catalyst surface under synthesis conditions. Such an approach could prove useful in distinguishing between various theoretical models. We have applied the simulation to compare the changes in selectivity when readsorption occurs and when it does not. The dynamic behavior of the reacting system which is obtained from the computer results has shown that selectivity to lower-molecular-weight hydrocarbons is a stronger function of the extent of reaction than the incorporation of readsorption into the chain growth mechanism.     

Low-temperature studies of encapsulated proteins

Water-soluble proteins encapsulated within reverse micelles may be studied under a variety of conditions, including low temperature and a wide range of buffer conditions. Direct high-resolution detection of information relating to protein folding intermediates and pathways can be monitored by low-temperature solution NMR. Ubiquitin encapsulated within AOT reverse micelles was studied using multidimensional multinuclear solution NMR to determine the relationship between protein structure, temperature, and ionic strength. Ubiquitin resonances were monitored by 15N HSQC NMR experiments at varying temperatures and salt concentrations. Our results indicate that the structure of the encapsulated protein at low temperature experiences perturbation arising from two major influences, which are reverse micelle-protein interactions and low-temperature effects (e.g., cold denaturation). These two effects are impossible to distinguish under conditions of low ionic strength. Elevated concentrations of nondenaturing salt solutions defeat the effects of reverse micelle-protein interactions and reveal low-temperature protein unfolding. High ionic strength shielding stabilizes the reverse micelle at low temperatures, which reduces the electrostatic interaction between the protein and reverse micelle surfaces, allowing the phenomenon of cold denaturation to be explored.