Reflection and transmission of plane acoustic waves in an infinite annular duct with a finite gap on the inner wall

The diffraction of acoustic waves by an infinitely long annular duct having a finite gap on the inner wall is investigated rigorously. The related boundary‐value problem is formulated into a modified Wiener–Hopf equation, which is then reduced to a pair of simultaneous Fredholm integral equations of the second kind. At the end of the analysis, numerical results illustrating the effects of the width of the coaxial cylindrical waveguide and the gap length on the diffraction phenomenon are presented. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dual Split Quaternions and Screw Motion in 3-Dimensional Lorentzian Space

In this paper we obtain screw axis of a displacement in \mathbb L³{{\mathbb L}^3}. Then by using the L-screw axis, L-Rodrigues equation for a spatial displacement is obtained in the space \mathbb L³{{\mathbb L}^3}. Moreover, the components of a dual split quaternion are obtained by replacing the L-Euler parameters with their split dual versions.     

MR signal change in venous thrombus relates organizing process and thrombolytic response in rabbit

Venous thrombus is subsequently organized and replaced by fibrous connective tissue. However, the sequential changes in venous thrombi are not reliably detected by current noninvasive diagnostic techniques. The purpose of this study is to reveal whether magnetic resonance (MR) can detect venous thrombus, define thrombus age and predict thrombolytic responses. Thrombus in the rabbit jugular vein was imaged with a 1.5-T MR system at 4 h and at 1, 2 and 4 weeks using three-dimensional (3D) fast asymmetric spin echo T2-weighted (T2W) and 3D-gradient echo T1-weighted (T1W) sequences. The jugular veins were histologically assessed at each time point. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was also performed in vivo before and 30 min after tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) administration. The thrombi in MRI were comparable in size to histological sections. The signal intensity (SI) of thrombi at 4 h was heterogeneously high or low on T2W or T1W images, respectively. The SI of thrombi on T2W images decreased time-dependently, but increased on T1W images at 1 and 2 weeks. Morphological analysis showed time-dependent decreases in erythrocyte, platelet and fibrin areas and time-dependent increases in smooth muscle cell, macrophage, collagen and iron areas. The t-PA administration significantly decreased thrombus volume at 4 h but not at 1, 2 and 4 weeks. Venous thrombosis can be reliably and noninvasively detected by MRI. Measurement of SI might support assessments of thrombus age and thrombolytic response.     

Selective recognition of americium by peptide-based reagents

The separation of lanthanides from minor actinides such as americium and curium is an important step during the recycling process in the treatment of nuclear waste. However, the similar chemistry and ionic size of lanthanide and actinide ions make the separation challenging. Here, we report that a peptide-based reagent can selectively bind trivalent actinides over trivalent lanthanides by means of introducing soft-donor atoms into a peptide known as a lanthanide-binding tag (LBT). Fluorescence spectroscopy has been used to measure the dissociation constant of each metal/peptide complex. A 10-fold selectivity was obtained for Am(3+) over the similarly sized lanthanide cation, Nd(3+), when the asparagine on the fifth position of a LBT was mutated to a cysteine and further functionalized by a pyridine moiety.     

Iron-catalyzed oxidative coupling of alkylamides with arenes through oxidation of alkylamides followed by Friedel-Crafts alkylation

FeCl(3) in combination with t-BuOOt-Bu as an oxidant was found to be an efficient catalyst for oxidation of alkylamides to α-(tert-butoxy)alkylamides. FeCl(2) and CuCl showed, respectively, almost the same and slightly lower activities compared with FeCl(3) in the tert-butoxylation of N-phenylpyrrolidone (1a), whereas no tert-butoxylated product was obtained by use of Fe(OTf)(3), RuCl(3), or Zr(OTf)(4). FeCl(3) was found to be effective also as a catalyst for the Friedel-Crafts alkylation with thus obtained α-(tert-butoxy)alkylamides. The Friedel-Crafts alkylation proceeded smoothly also in the presence of a catalytic amount of Fe(OTf)(3), RuCl(3), or Zr(OTf)(4). In contrast, FeCl(2) and CuCl, which showed certain activity toward the tert-butoxylation, failed to promote the Friedel-Crafts alkylation. Among the transition metal complexes thus far examined, only FeCl(3) showed high catalytic activities for both the oxidation and the Friedel-Crafts alkylation. The bifunctionality of FeCl(3) was utilized for the oxidative coupling of alkylamides with arenes through a tandem reaction consisting of oxidation of alkylamides to α-(tert-butoxy)alkylamides and the following Friedel-Crafts alkylation. The FeCl(3)-catalyzed oxidative coupling is applicable to a wide variety of alkylamides and arenes, though a combination of FeCl(3) with Fe(OTf)(3) was found to be effective for the reaction of arenes with low nucleophilicity. A Fe(II)-Fe(III) catalytic cycle is concerned with the tert-butoxylation, whereas a Fe(III) complex as a Lewis acid catalyzes the Friedel-Crafts alkylation.     

New layered cobalt oxyfluoride, Sr2CoO3F

The first Ruddlesden-Popper type layered cobalt oxyfluoride, Sr(2)CoO(3)F, has been synthesized under a pressure of 6 GPa at 1700 °C and shown to adopt a K(2)NiF(4)-type structure with distorted square pyramidal coordination around Co and with O/F disorder at the apical sites.     

Thermal analysis of two series <Emphasis Type="Italic">mono</Emphasis>- and <Emphasis Type="Italic">di</Emphasis>-azocalix[4]arene derivatives

In the present study, thermal decomposition of mono- and di-azocalix[4]arene derivatives (A1–A8 and B1–B8) was investigated by means of thermogravimetry (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG). The exclusion of methanol, hydrolysis of benzoyl ester and methyl ketone groups in lower rim, and decomposition of azo groups in upper rim have occurred during thermal analysis, consecutively. The thermal decomposition degrees amount of volatile pyrolysis products were determined in air atmosphere using TG, DTA and DTG curves. In conclusion, the thermal analyses of azocalix[4]arenes demonstrated that its stability depends on the substituted groups and their positions in the calix[4]arene structure.     

Origin of lyotropic liquid crystalline mesophase formation and liquid crystalline to mesostructured solid transformation in the metal nitrate salt-surfactant systems

The zinc nitrate salt acts as a solvent in the ZnX-C(12)EO(10) (ZnX is [Zn(H(2)O)(6)](NO(3))(2) and C(12)EO(10) is C(12)H(25)(OCH(2)CH(2))(10)OH) lyotropic liquid crystalline (LLC) mesophase with a drastic dropping on the melting point of ZnX. The salt-surfactant LLC mesophase is stable down to -52 °C and undergoes a phase change into a solid mesostructured salt upon cooling below -52 °C; no phase separation is observed down to -190 °C. The ZnX-C(12)EO(10) mesophase displays a usual phase behavior with an increasing concentration of the solvent (ZnX) in the media with an order of bicontinuous cubic(V(1))-2D hexagonal(H(1))--a mixture of 2D hexagonal and micelle cubic(H(1) + I)-micelle cubic(I)-micelle(L(1)) phases. The phase behaviors, specifically at low temperatures, and the first phase diagram of the ZnX-C(12)EO(10) system was investigated using polarized optical microscopy (POM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and Raman techniques and conductivity measurements.     

Controlling the growth of particle size and size distribution of silica nanoparticles by the thin film structure

Nanostructured silicondioxide thin films were prepared by sol–gel spin coating technique. The SiO₂ films were made using a conventional mixture of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), deionized water and ethanol with various NH₃/TEOS ratios. The nanostructured silica films were made using a mixture of the SiO₂ sol and regular SiO₂ sol to control the enlargement of the particles inside the films. The structural, morphological and optical characterizations of the as-deposited and annealed films were carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, NKD spectrophotometer and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy. The transmittance data of the infrared spectra of the films were recorded using an FT-IR Spectrometer. The XRD studies showed that as-deposited films were amorphous and the formation of the alfa-cristobalite phase of the silica film was investigated at annealing temperature close to 1,100 °C. Optical properties of the transmittance spectra in the s and p-polarization modes were collected. Refractive indices and extinction coefficients were determined with respect to the NH₃/TEOS ratios in the compositions of the films. Optical cut-off wavelength values were investigated from the extrapolation of the absorbance spectra which was estimated from the UV–vis spectroscopy measurements. A red shift in the absorption threshold indicated that the size of silica nanoparticles was increased by an increase in the NH₃/TEOS volume ratio from 1:64 to 1:8.