Positron lifetime study of several chiral materials in aqueous solution

The most obvious symmetry breaking in Nature is the left-right asymmetry of living beings: sugars and amino acids are almost exclusively represented by one of their stereoisomers (D-isomer for sugars and L-isomer for amino acids) at the expense of other possible isomers. In our experiment we studied the aqueous solutions of tartaric acid, alanine, and cysteine in the function of temperature by positron lifetime spectroscopy. The results were compared with those obtained in pure water under similar conditions. We always observed a sharp minimum of the positron lifetime at around 41 °C in water and in the solutions of the natural stereo-isomers. On the other hand, the same minimum occurred at considerably lower temperatures in the solutions of the unnatural isomers.     

Structural aspects and electronic absorption of the hydroxyphenanthroperylene quinones fringelit D,hypericin, and stentorin

Summary PPP type semiempirical quantum chemical calculations of absorption spectra were performed for hypericin, fringelit D, stentorin, and their respective conformers, tautomers, and deprotonated species. The results agree with the experimental absorption spectra of hypericin, stentorin, and fringelit D, their deprotonated species, and the polarized absorption spectra of an ,-long chain appended hypericin derivative embedded in stretched polyethylene.

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Strukturelle Aspekte und elektronische Absorptionseigenschaften der Hydroxyphenanthroperylenchinone Fringelit D, Hypericin und Stentorin

Zusammenfassung Semiempirische quantenchemische Rechnungen (PPP-Typ) der Absorptions-spektren von Hypericin, Fringelit D, Stentorin und ihrer Konformeren, Tautomeren und deren Deprotonierungsprodukten wurden durchgeführt. Die Resultate stehen in Einklang mit den experimentellen Absorptionsspektren von Hypericin, Fringelit D, Stentorin, ihrer Deprotonierungsprodukte und dem polarisierten Absorptionsspektrum eines in gestrecktem Polyethylen eingebetteten ,-substituierten Hypericinderivates.

     

Particle analysis of car exhaust by ETV-ICP-MS

Particulates of platinum group elements (Pt, Rh, Pd, Ir) emitted in automotive catalyst exhaust were measured down to the pg/m(3) level. Samples were taken from a standard type three-way catalyst equipped gasoline engine, running on a computer controlled dynamometer. Particulates in catalyzed car exhaust were sampled fractionated according to size by using the cascade impactor with separate targets mounted underneath each nozzle. The targets, small flat discs made of pure graphite, were subsequently analyzed by ETV-ICP-MS without any preparatory steps.     

On the cube problem of Las Vergnas

We prove a conjecture of Las Vergnas in dimensions d7: The matroid of the d-dimensional cube C ^d has a unique reorientation class. This extends a result of Las Vergnas, Roudneff and Salaün in dimension 4. Moreover, we determine the automorphism group G ^d of the matroid of the d-cube C ^d for arbitrary dimension d, and we discuss its relation to the Coxeter group of C ^d . We introduce matroid facets of the matroid of the d-cube in order to evaluate the order of G ^d . These matroid facets turn out to be arbitrary pairs of parallel subfacets of the cube. We show that the Euclidean automorphism group W ^d is a proper subgroup of the group G ^d of all matroid symmetries of the d-cube by describing genuine matroid symmetries for each Euclidean facet. A main theorem asserts that any one of these matroid symmetries together with the Euclidean Coxeter symmetries generate the full automorphism group G ^d . For the proof of Las Vergnas' conjecture we use essentially these symmetry results together with the fact that the reorientation class of an oriented matroid is determined by the labeled lower rank contractions of the oriented matroid. We also describe the Folkman-Lawrence representation of the vertex figure of the d-cube and a contraction of it. Finally, we apply our method of proof to show a result of Las Vergnas, Roudneff, and Salaün that the matroid of the 24-cell has a unique reorientation class, too.