Preparation of vinylphenols from 2- and 4-hydroxybenzaldehydes

A straightforward, high-yielding procedure has been developed for the manufacture of substituted vinylphenols from 2- and 4-hydroxybenzaldehydes utilising classical Knoevenagel condensation reaction conditions.     

Computer Theorem Proving in Mathematics

We give an overview of issues surrounding computer-verified theorem proving in the standard pure-mathematical context. This includes the basic reasons why it should be interesting to pure mathematicians, some history, natural desiderata for a useful system, viewpoints on what kind of logic to use, a short explanation of how things work, an overview of different options for encoding sets, and perspectives on future developments.     

Experimental determination of the impulse response of cascade arcsusing a correlation technique

Low-current cascade arcs are one of the simplest configurations for investigating the behaviour of low-temperature arcs. In cascade experiments, arc conditions may be strictly controlled, in which case the results become reproducible, allowing detailed measurements of high resolution to be made. The response of cascade arcs to a small change in the current gives insights into the physical processes taking place in an arc, such as ionization/recombination, diffusion and energy transfer between the electrons and the heavy particles. In this work, a new method of measuring time constants is described, in which correlation techniques utilising a pseudo-random binary sequence are employed to deduce the impulse response of the arc. This type of experiment provides a useful check on the validity of the collision models used for the reaction processes in the arc plasma and it is planned to investigate other gases in the future. In this paper, the experimental arrangement and the data analysis are discussed and experimental results are presented     

Comparison of simulations and data from a seismo-acoustic tank experiment

A tank experiment was carried out to investigate underwater sound propagation over an elastic bottom in flat and sloping configurations. The purpose of the experiment was to evaluate range-dependent propagation models with high-quality experimental data. The sea floor was modeled as an elastic medium by a polyvinyl chloride slab. The relatively high rigidity of the slab requires accounting for shear waves in this environment. Acoustic measurements were obtained along virtual arrays in the water column using a robotic apparatus. Elastic parabolic equation solutions are in excellent agreement with data.     

Alpha decay of 109I and its implications for the proton decay of 105Sb and the astrophysical rapid proton-capture process

An alpha-decay branch of (1.4+/-0.4) x 10(-4) has been discovered in the decay of 109I, which predominantly decays via proton emission. The measured Q(alpha) value of 3918+/-21 keV allows the indirect determination of the Q value for proton emission from 105Sb of 356+/-22 keV, which is approximately of 130 keV more bound than previously reported. This result is relevant for the astrophysical rapid proton-capture process, which would terminate in the 105Sn(p,gamma)106Sb(p,gamma)107Te(alpha decay)103Sn cycle at the densities expected in explosive hydrogen burning scenarios, unless unusually strong pairing effects result in a 103Sn(p,gamma)104Sb(p,gamma)105Te(alpha decay)101Sn) cycle.     

Nongenetic reprogramming of a fungal highly reducing polyketide synthase

The biosynthesis of the fungal metabolite tenellin from Beauveria bassiana CBS110.25 was investigated in the presence of the epigenetic modifiers 5-azacytidine and suberoyl bis-hydroxamic acid and under conditions where individual genes from the tenellin biosynthetic gene cluster were silenced. Numerous new compounds were synthesized, indicating that the normal predominant biosynthesis of tenellin is just one outcome out of a diverse array of possible products. The structures of the products reveal key clues about the programming selectivities of the tenellin polyketide synthase.     

Corrections to Lee's visibility polygon algorithm

We present a modification and extension of the (linear time) visibility polygon algorithm of Lee. The algorithm computes the visibility polygon of a simple polygon from a viewpoint that is either interior to the polygon, or in its blocked exterior (the cases of viewpoints on the boundary or in the free exterior being simple extensions of the interior case). We show by example that the original algorithm by Lee, and a more complex algorithm by El Gindy and Avis, can fail for polygons that wind sufficiently. We present a second version of the algorithm, which does not extend to the blocked exterior case.This work was partially supported by grants from the Central Research Fund of the University of Alberta and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.