Total surface areas of Group IVA organometallic compounds: Predictors of toxicity to algae and bacteria

There is a high correlation between molecular surface area (TSA) of triorganotin and triorganolead compounds and their toxicity towards a bacterium (Escherichia coli) and an alga (Selenastrum capricornutum). Parallel attempts to correlate other Group IVA organometals incorporating silicon or germanium were unsuccessful. It was further demonstrated, however, that a high correlation was obtainable between certain series of compounds with the same organic substituent but different metal centers involving all Group IVA elements. In both instances, the inability to obtain a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) for all systems studied appears to be a function of the solubility of the compounds. While organotin TSA values have been found to correlate well with their toxicities toward various organisms, this study clearly suggests that this type of QSAR can be readily extended to include other organometal systems, provided that there is no solubility problem and the toxicity is a function of the hydrophobicity of the organometal compounds.     

Single-molecule single crystals

Various approaches to the preparation and verification of single-molecule single crystals are discussed for polyethylene and poly (oxyethylene). Analytic tools are electron microscopy, electron diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry. The main difficulty in producing a single-molecule single crystal is to keep crystals from joining during growth.     

Synthesis of 1-(3-alkyl-2,3-dideoxy-D-pentofuranosyl)uracils with potential anti-HIV activity.

1-(3-Alkyl-2,3-dideoxy-alpha,beta-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl)uracils and 1-(3-alkyl-2,3-dideoxy-alpha,beta-D-threo-pentofuranosyl)uracils have been prepared from (E)-4,5-di-O-acetyl-2,3-dideoxy-aldehydo-D-glycero-pent-2-enose by a Michael addition reaction of the appropriate organocopper reagent followed in subsequent order by glycosidation of the resulting 3-alkyl-4,5-diacetoxypentanal with methanolic hydrogen chloride, protection with p-methoxybenzoyl chloride, and trimethylsilyl triflate catalyzed coupling with 2,4-di-O-(trimethylsilyl)uracil. The nucleosides were deprotected by treatment with 33% methylamine in absolute ethanol and separated by reversed-phase HPLC.     

Special features of the radiative capture of ultracold neutrons by thin and thick layers of matter

The radiative capture of ultracold neutrons traversing thin and thick homogeneous layers of matter is analyzed. The applicability range of the formulas for the probabilities of reflection, transmission, and capture in thick layers (under certain conditions, they admit a simple interpretation—it is often quoted in the literature—that is based on the effective capture cross section, which is in inverse proportion to the velocity of a neutron in matter) is investigated, along with the conditions under which there arises the effective capture cross section.     

Spontaneous photorefractive effect in Sr1−x CaxTiO3 (x=0.014)

The temperature dependence of the principal values of the refractive index in Sr_1−x Ca_xTiO₃ (x=0.014) has been measured in the 17–275 K range under various conditions of sample illumination with 1.96 eV photons. The spontaneous photorefractive contribution δn ^ph to the temperature-induced variation of the refractive index of Sr_1−x Ca_xTiO₃, which appears after illumination of the sample in the ferrophase (transition temperature T _c=32 K) and persists in the paraphase under heating up to 150 K, has been separated. The photoinduced polarization has been estimated. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 711–713 (April 1997)     

Stability of translating solutions to mean curvature flow

We prove stability of rotationally symmetric translating solutions to mean curvature flow. For initial data that converge spatially at infinity to such a soliton, we obtain convergence for large times to that soliton without imposing any decay rates. The authors are members of SFB 647/B3 “Raum – Zeit – Materie: Singularity Structure, Long-time Behaviour and Dynamics of Solutions of Non-linear Evolution Equations”.     

Integrated Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Receivers

We overview recent achievements in the field of cryogenic submillimeter-wave receivers based on superconductor–insulator–superconductor (SIS) tunnel junctions. The main attention is paid to the novel superconducting integrated receivers (SIRs) with an on-chip superconducting local oscillator. The single-chip microcircuit of the receiver, which integrates a quantum mixer based on the nonlinearity of a quasi-particle current in the SIS junction, a planar superconducting receiving antenna, and a cryogenic local oscillator, is described. Being dc-powered only by batteries, such a microcircuit operates as a submillimeter-wave superheterodyne receiver without any additional microwave equipment. Such receivers are very attractive for radioastronomical research, space communication systems, and monitoring of the environment from satellites, balloons, and special aircraft. A breadboard of a superconducting spectrometer with a phase-locked flux-flow oscillator (FFO) has been developed and tested. A frequency resolution better than 10 kHz was reached at a frequency of 365 GHz. We describe a balloon-borne 500-650 GHz integrated spectrometer for oblique atmospheric sounding, developed for the international Terahertz Limb Sounder (TELIS) project. The first flight is scheduled for 2005.     

Third harmonics of cosmic ray intensity on quiet days at Deep River Neutron Monitoring Station

The cosmic ray (CR) intensity data recorded in Deep River Neutron Monitoring Station have been investigated on quietest days (QD) for third harmonics of daily variation during solar cycles 21 and 22. It has been observed that in spite of abrupt change in the amplitude and phase of tri-diurnal anisotropy in CR intensity, the amplitude is quite significant throughout the period of investigation with larger amplitude during the years 1980 and 1985. Thus, tri-diurnal anisotropy clearly shows 11-year variation at the mid latitude neutron monitoring station.      

Application of a Near-Optimal Reinforcement Learning Controller to a Robotics Problem in Manufacturing: A Hybrid Approach

Optimization theory provides a framework for determining the best decisions or actions with respect to some mathematical model of a process. This paper focuses on learning to act in a near-optimal manner through reinforcement learning for problems that either have no model or the model is too complex. One approach to solving this class of problems is via approximate dynamic programming. The application of these methods are established primarily for the case of discrete state and action spaces. In this paper we develop efficient methods of learning which act in complex systems with continuous state and action spaces. Monte-Carlo approaches are employed to estimate function values in an iterative, incremental procedure. Derivative-free line search methods are used to obtain a near-optimal action in the continuous action space for a discrete subset of the state space. This near-optimal control policy is then extended to the entire continuous state space via a fuzzy additive model. To compensate for approximation errors, a modified procedure for perturbing the generated control policy is developed. Convergence results under moderate assumptions and stopping criteria are established.     

Inhibition of the reduction of Cr(VI) at the magnetite–water interface by calcium carbonate coatings

The effect of calcium carbonate coatings on the reduction of aqueous chromate on the magnetite(1 1 1) surface has been investigated using a combination of synchrotron based X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, along with laboratory-based powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). CaCO₃ coatings (dominantly calcite with minor quantities of aragonite and vaterite) of thicknesses ranging from 10 Å to 20 m were grown on magnetite(1 1 1) surfaces by exposure to supersaturated aqueous solutions followed by evaporation of the solution—a process that mimics pore-water evaporation in vadose zones leading to the formation of caliche and calcium carbonate coatings on mineral grains. Coating thicknesses were determined from attenuation of the Fe 2p photoemission signal by the carbonate coating. For coatings less than 15 Å thick, Cr 2p photoemission and Cr L_II, L_III-edge XANES spectra show that chromate is reduced by the underlying magnetite surface; however, as the minimum coating thickness increases beyond 15 Å, the magnetite surface becomes passivated and further chromate reduction ceases. Our findings suggest that carbonate coatings on natural magnetite grains can significantly reduce or eliminate their ability to reduce Cr(VI), which is a toxic and highly mobile environmental contaminant.