Multiple vibrational excitations of H2O and D2O on Si(100)(2 × 1): A HREELS study

The HREELS (high-resolution electron energy-loss spectroscopy) spectra from H₂O and D₂O chemisorbed on the clean Si(100)(2 × 1) surface have been investigated in the energy region between about 500 and 1400 meV. For the first time, second overtones have been observed for a chemisorbed species. This observation is believed to be due to the enhancement of the O-H stretching fundamental and overtone modes because of the temporary formation of a negative ion that occurs when the incident electron is briefly trapped in a shape resonance. Additional multiple and combination modes are observed involving the resonance enhanced overtones as well as the fundamental modes. Furthermore, the dissociation energy of the hydroxyl group has been determined and found to be much larger than the actual energy needed to dissociate hydroxyl groups on the surface, indicating that the driving force for the observed atomic rearrangements is probably Si-O bond formation rather than O-H dissociation.     

Matchings in benzene chains

An explicit recurrence relation is derived for the matching polynomial of the general benzene chain B_n. A table is given for chains of length up to 6. Explicit formulae are then obtained for the first five coefficients of the matching polynomial of B_n. Finally, results are deduced for the number of perfect matchings and the number of matchings with two nodes.     

Accuracy and validity of stereology as a quantitative method for assessment of human temporal lobe volumes acquired by magnetic resonance imaging

The object of this study was to compare the accuracy and validity of stereology as a method for determining whole temporal lobe volume with the more established technique of semi-automated thresholding and tracing. Ten, fixed, post-mortem human brains, were imaged using a three dimensional (3D) acquisition protocol. The volume of the left temporal lobe, dissected from each brain, was determined by fluid displacement. Each volume was compared to measurements obtained from magnetic resonance images (MRI) of the post-mortem brain using each of the two segmentation methods. Post-acquisition processing was performed using MEASURE software. Three investigators performed each measurement three times using each method, yielding a total of 180 measurements. Stereology took, on average, half the time of thresholding/tracing. Using a clinically acceptable variation for 95% of repeat measures; both intra-observer and inter-observer variation were acceptable for each technique. However, validity, as demonstrated by graphs of agreement against water displacement showed that the "limits of agreement" using stereology were within the acceptable range, while those using the thresholding/tracing technique were not. Quantitative estimates of variation and a graphical representation of the limits of agreement show that stereology is at least as precise as the thresholding/tracing method but is superior in terms of speed and validity. This has broad implications for published estimates of brain region volumes in human diseases such as epilepsy, dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders.     

Partial molar volumes of organic compounds in water. III. Carbohydrates

Partial molar volumes in water at 25°C have been determined for a number of carbohydrates, including mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta-, and polysaccharides and their derivatives. The experimental values can be calculated from the van der Waals volumes of the molecules if account is taken of the shrinkage in volume caused by hydrogen-bonding of solvent molecules to the hydroxyl groups of the sugars.     

The interaction of oxygen and nitrogen with the niobium (100) surface: I. Morphology

Low energy electron diffraction has been used to investigate the reactions between nitrogen and oxygen and the (100) face of niobium. Several different oxygen containing surface structures were observed.