Rapid computer simulation of ESR spectra. Conventional ESR of axially symmetric 14N-nitroxide spin labels

A computer algorithm is presented for the simulation of the effect of molecular tumbling on ESR spectra, and is applied to simulation of the conventional ESR signal (the absorption signal detected at the first harmonic of the modulation frequency and in-phase with the modulation frequency, in the limit of low microwave and modulation power) of axially symmetric ¹⁴N-nitroxide spin labels. The algorithm is extremely fast and is economical in terms of computer memory requirements.     

On locally optimal nonparametric tests

Summary There is an abundancy of problems in which no parametric model realistically describes the situation and in which, accordingly, we have to resort to nonparametric methods. As the numerical problems connected with nonparametric tests are becoming less and less important, rank tests, permutation tests and the like are becoming more and more part of the standard armatory of applied statisticians. The lack of tabulated critical values, for instance, should no longer be a serious objection against the use of permutation tests in practice; cf. Edgington (1987).The rationale underlying permutation and rank tests has been outlined in quite a number of text books and papers; cf. Fraser (1957), Lehmann (1959), Hájek-Sidák (1967) or Witting (1970). Roughly speaking, permutation tests are constructibel if the data can be condensed by means of a sufficient and complete statistic allowing for the proper kind of conditioning. Rank tests arise if the underlying problem is invariant with respect to (w.r.t.) a large group of transformations which leads to a maximal invariant statistic consisting of (signed) ranks.Most practical nonparametric problems, however, are too complex to be tractable by just one of those approaches. Many of them, however, can be handled by a combination of both techniques. In this paper we outline the logic underlying that combined reduction method and apply it to construct locally most powerful tests. Moreover, we discuss what we label Hoeffding's transfer problem, i.e. the uniformity aspect of locally most powerful tests with respect to the starting point at the boundary. We are concentrating on the discussion of the nonparametric two-sample location and scale problem. Further important problems are mentioned in Section III.This is a written account of an invited lecture delivered by the third author on occasion of the 14th Symposium über Operations Research, Ulm, September 6–8, 1989.     

Ein Algorithmus zur Lösung eines Verteilungsproblems

Zusammenfassung Bei der Lastverteilung eines Elektrizitätsversorgungsunternehmens besteht die Möglichkeit, durch eine Tonfrequenzrundsteueranlage die Last optimal aufzuteilen. Eine Zielsetzung besteht darin, durch Zu- und Wegschalten von Verbrauchergruppen die Lastspitze möglichst klein zu halten. Dabei muß allerdings jedem Verbraucher in einem gewissen Zeitraum eine gewisse Einschaltdauer garantiert sein. Der zur Lösung herangezogene Algorithmus basiert im wesentlichen auf dem Prinzip der dynamischen Optimierung und der Idee von Branch- and-Bound-Verfahren.

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Summary One aim of electric load management is to keep load peaks low by switching on and off water heaters of different groups of customers. There is a restriction that those heaters have to be switched on within a certain period of time for some fixed time. The optimal switching strategy for this distribution problem is computed using dynamic programming and the idea of branch and bound methods.

     

A diatropic ring current in a fluorofullerene trannulene

Ipsocentric current-density maps for a fluorofullerene derivative, C60F15H3, modelling the addition pattern of the experimentally characterised C60F15[CBr(CO2Et)2]3 which contains an [18]trans-annulene system, reveal a diamagnetic ring current dominated by the contribution of the four HOMO electrons, as in a classical (4n + 2) aromatic annulene.     

DNA TURNOVER IN BUFFER-HELD ESCHERICHIA COLI AND ITS EFFECT ON REPAIR OF UV DAMAGE

Abstract— Continuous DNA degradation and resynthesis, without a net change in cellular DNA content, were observed in buffer-held, non-irradiated E. coli B/r. This constant DNA turnover probably involves most of the genome and reflects random sites of DNA repair due to the polA-dependent excision-resynthesis repair pathway. Under these non-growth conditions, it appears that at any given time there is a minimum of one repair site per 6.5 × 10⁶ daltons DNA, each of which is at least 160 nucleotides long.
While the amount of DNA degradation is not influenced by prior exposure to UV radiation, the synthetic activity decreases with increasing UV fluence. We suggest that when sites of DNA turnover occur opposite to cyclobutyl dipyrimidines in UV-irradiated cells, repair of the latter damage can be prevented. This implies that both beneficial and deleterious processes take place in irradiated buffer-held cells, and that cell survival depends on the delicate balance between DNA turnover and repair of UV-damage. Based on these findings, we propose a model to explain the limited repair observed during post-irradiation liquid-holding and to account for the large difference in cell survival between irradiation at low fluence rates (fluence-rate dependent recovery) and at high fluence rates followed by liquid-holding (liquid-holding recovery).     

Low-Cost Potentiometric Sensor for Chloride Measurement in Continuous Industrial Process Control

Recently, the new updates in legislation about drinking water control and human health have increased the demand for novel electrochemical low-cost sensors, such as potentiometric ones. Nowadays, the determination of chloride ion in aqueous solutions has attracted great attention in several fields, from industrial processes to drinking water control. Indeed, chloride plays a crucial role in corrosion, also influencing the final taste of beverages, especially coffee. The main goal is to obtain devices suitable for continuous and real-time analysis. For these reasons, we investigated the possibility to develop an easy, low-cost potentiometric chloride sensor, able to perform analysis in aqueous mediums for long immersion time and reducing the need of periodic calibration. We realized a chloride ion selective electrode made of Ag/AgCl sintered pellet and we tested its response in model solutions compatible with drinking water. The sensor was able to produce a stable, reproducible, and accurate quantification of chloride in 900 s, without the need for a preliminary calibration test. This opens the route to potential applications of this sensor in continuous, in situ, and real time measurement of chloride ions in industrial processes, with a reduced need for periodic maintenance.     

A compact UHV package for microfabricated ion-trap arrays with direct electronic air-side access

We have demonstrated a new apparatus for operating microfabricated ion-trap arrays in a compact ultra-high-vacuum setup with excellent optical and electrical access. The approach uses conventional components, materials and techniques in a unique fashion. The microtrap chip is mounted on a modified ceramic leadless chip carrier, the conductors of which serve as the vacuum feedthrough. The chip carrier is indium-sealed to stainless-steel components to form vacuum seals, resulting in short electrical path lengths of ≤20 mm from the trap electrodes under vacuum to air side. The feedthrough contains conductors for the radio-frequency trap drive, as well as 42 conductors for DC electrodes. Vacuum pressures of ～1 × 10^?11 mbar are achieved, and ions have been confined and laser cooled in a microtrap chip. The apparatus enables accurate measurements of radio-frequency voltage amplitudes on the trap electrodes, yielding an excellent agreement between measured and modelled trap efficiencies. This feature is of significant use in establishing initial operation of new devices. The principle of the connectivity scheme presented here is applicable to larger ceramic chip carriers containing many more conductors.