The oxidation state of tungsten in NaxWO3 bronzes as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The XPS spectrum of the 4f levels of W in Na_xWO₃ bronzes is explained by assuming the presence of three oxidation states (W⁶⁺, W⁵⁺ and W⁴⁺). Tetravalent tungsten is formed by dismutation of W⁵⁺. The partial reduction of W⁶⁺ and W⁵⁺. during the recording of XPS spectra is briefly considered.     

Diffraction dissociation of nuclei in 450 GeV/c proton-nucleus collisions

Diffractive dissociation of nuclei (Be, Al, W) in collisions with 450 GeV/c protons,pApX, has been measured with the HELIOS spectrometer at the CERN Super Proton synchrotron. The dependence of the single-diffraction cross-section on the nuclear massA can be parametrized as _SD mb×A ^0.35±0.02, showing the peripheral nature of the process. The differential cross-section d_SD=(3.8±0.3)mb ×A ^0.35±0.02, is exponential with the slope parameter, increasing from 6.2±0.4 (GeV/c)^–2 for beryllium to 7.9±0.5 (GeV/c)^–2 for tungsten. The slope parameter also increases with increasing massM _X of the diffractively produced state. The rapidity, multiplicity, and transverse-momentum distributions of the particles of the diffractively produced stateX show a longitudinal phase-space population and are remarkably insensitive to the nuclear mass. This, together with theA ^1/3 dependence of _SD, suggests that the dominant process of nuclear diffractive excitation is the dissociation of single nucleons.Deceased     

Ultrastructural Damages to H1N1 Influenza Virus Caused by Vapor Essential Oils

Influenza viruses are transmitted from human to human via airborne droplets and can be transferred through contaminated environmental surfaces. Some works have demonstrated the efficacy of essential oils (EOs) as antimicrobial and antiviral agents, but most of them examined the liquid phases, which are generally toxic for oral applications. In our study, we describe the antiviral activity of Citrus bergamia, Melaleuca alternifolia, Illicium verum and Eucalyptus globulus vapor EOs against influenza virus type A. In the vapor phase, C. bergamia and M. alternifolia strongly reduced viral cytopathic effect without exerting any cytotoxicity. The E. globulus vapor EO reduced viral infection by 78% with no cytotoxicity, while I. verum was not effective. Furthermore, we characterized the EOs and their vapor phase by the head-space gas chromatography–mass spectrometry technique, observing that the major component found in each liquid EO is the same one of the corresponding vapor phases, with the exception of M. alternifolia. To deepen the mechanism of action, the morphological integrity of virus particles was checked by negative staining transmission electron microscopy, showing that they interfere with the lipid bilayer of the viral envelope, leading to the decomposition of membranes. We speculated that the most abundant components of the vapor EOs might directly interfere with influenza virus envelope structures or mask viral structures important for early steps of viral infection.     

Fragmentation of the two-phonon γ-vibration in166Er

Two-phonon γ-vibrational states in¹⁶⁶Er have been populated using Coulomb excitation. The K^π=4⁺ component of the vibration appears to be fragmented over several states, whereas only one K^π=0⁺ state is observed.     

Fission and ternary cluster decay of hyper-deformed 56Ni

Coincidences between two heavy fragments have been measured from the fission of ⁵⁶Ni compound nuclei formed in the ³²S + ²⁴Mg reaction at E _lab( ^32S ) = 165.4 MeV. A unique experimental set-up consisting of two large-area position-sensitive (x, y) gas detector telescopes has been used allowing the complete determination of the observed fragments and their momentum vectors. In addition to binary fission events with subsequent particle evaporation, narrow out-of-plane correlations are observed for two fragments emitted in purely binary events and in events with a missing charge consisting of 2α - and 3α -particles (¹²C). These events are interpreted as ternary cluster decay from ⁵⁶Ni nuclei at high angular momenta through hyper-deformed shapes.     

First identification of excited states in 59Zn

Excited states in ⁵⁹Zn were observed for the first time following the fusion-evaporation reaction ²⁴Mg + ⁴⁰Ca at a beam energy of 60 MeV. The GASP array in conjunction with the ISIS Silicon ball and the NeutronRing allowed for the detection of γ-rays in coincidence with evaporated light particles. The mirror symmetry of ⁵⁹Zn and ⁵⁹Cu is discussed. Received: 28 May 2002 / Accepted: 10 July 2002 / Published online: 3 December 2002 RID="a" ID="a"Present address: Oliver Lodge Laboratory, University of Liverpool, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool, L69 7ZE, United Kingdom; e-mail: ca@ns.ph.liv.ac.uk. RID="b" ID="b"Present address: Physik-Departament, Technische Universit?t München, D-85748 Garching, Germany. Communicated by W. Henning     

Spatial trapping of short pulses in Ti-indiffused LiNbO(3) waveguides

We show numerically and experimentally that spatial trapping can be induced in quadratic media even if the pump pulse's duration is shorter than the group-delay mismatch between fundamental wave and second-harmonic components. The influence of phase mismatch and pulse power on the trapping effect is discussed. Spatial, temporal, and spectral behaviors that accompany self-trapped propagation are highlighted.