On identical nature of the superconductivity mechanisms in 30 K and 90 K superconductors

A systematic study of Zn substitution in both lanthanum and yttrium-based oxide superconductors withT _cof 30 K and 90 K has been carried out simultaneously under identical conditions. Contrary to the general belief, the results indicate that the mechanism responsible for superconductivity in 30 K compounds is unlikely to be radically different from that of the 90 K compounds.     

Singularities in Gaussian random fields

This paper studies a class of Gaussian random fields defined on lattices that arise in pattern analysis. Phase transitions are shown to exist at a critical temperature for these Gaussian random fields. These are established by showing discontinuous behavior for certain field random variables as the lattice size increases to infinity. The discontinuities in the statistical behavior of these random variables occur because the growth rates of the eigenvalues of the inverse of the variance-covariance matrix at the critical temperature are different from the growth rates at noncritical temperatures. It is also shown that the limiting specific heat has a phase transition with a power law behavior. The critical temperature occurs at the end point of the available values of temperature. Thus, although the critical behavior is not extreme, caution should be exercised when using such models near critical temperatures.Research supported by AFOSR Grant No. 91-0048 and by USARO Grant No. DAAL03-90-G-0103.     

Facile synthesis of N-aryl pyrroles via Cu(II)-mediated cross coupling of electron deficient pyrroles and arylboronic acids

N-Arylation of electron-deficient pyrroles has been achieved by cross-coupling with arylboronic acids at room temperature in the presence of stoichiometric amounts of copper(II) acetate. The generality of this reaction has been established with variously substituted pyrroles as well as boronic acids. A key intermediate in the synthesis of a matrix metalloprotease inhibitor has been achieved using this methodology.     

Regio- and chemoselective catalytic transfer hydrogenation of aromatic nitro and carbonyl as well as reductive cleavage of azo compounds over novel mesoporous NiMCM-41 molecular sieves

[reaction: see text] [corrected] Regio- and chemoselective reduction of nitroarenes and carbonyl compounds and reductive cleavage of azo compounds, including bulkier molecules, was achieved by the catalytic transfer hydrogenation method (CTH) using a novel nickel-containing mesoporous silicate (NiMCM-41) molecular sieve catalyst. In addition, the catalyst was also found to behave as a truly heterogeneous catalyst as the yield was practically unaffected.     

Transport phenomena in a partially lonized Lorentzian magnetoplasma

Some transport coefficients are evaluated for a homogeneous, partially ionized Lorentzian plasma in the presence of a uniform external magnetic field. The electronion collisions are taken into account by means of the modified Fokker-Planck equation and the electron-neutral collision frequency, ν_en is taken as velocity (ω) dependent or velocity independent, depending on the energy range under consideration. The variation of the transport coefficients with magnetic field is determined for ν_en ∝ ω^s (s being a positive or negative integer) and one finds that qualitatively this behavior does not change by changing either the collision frequency or the velocity dependence of the collision frequency; however for weak magnetic fields the magnitudes of these transport coefficients increase with the decrease in ν_en or s, whereas for strong magnetic fields the transverse components of the transport coefficients decrease and the Hall components tend to saturate with the decrease of either the collision frequency or s.     

Conjugate 18 cm OH satellite lines at a cosmological distance

We have detected the two 18 cm OH satellite lines from the z approximately 0.247 source PKS1413+135, the 1720 MHz line in emission and the 1612 MHz line in absorption. The 1720 MHz luminosity is L(OH) approximately 354L (center dot in circle), more than an order of magnitude larger than that of any other known 1720 MHz maser. The profiles of the two satellite lines are conjugate, implying that they arise in the same gas. This allows us to test for any changes in the values of fundamental constants without being affected by systematic uncertainties arising from relative motions between the gas clouds in which the different lines arise. Our data constrain changes in G identical with g(p)[alpha(2)/y](1.849), where y identical with m(e)/m(p); we find DeltaG/G=2.2+/-3.8 x 10(-5), consistent with no changes in alpha, g(p), and y.     

UHV-HREM and diffraction of surfaces

Characterization of the structure of surfaces is very important in order to develop a fundamental understanding of the electronic, mechanical and chemical properties of a material. While transmission electron microscopy imaging (TEM) and diffraction (TED) techniques are capable of providing surface structural information at the atomic level, such data would be suspect if obtained under conventional vacuum conditions (10^-6–10^-8 Torr). Ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions are imperative during both preparation and observation of clean surfaces/interfaces. Conventional TEM techniques are very powerful for UHV-TEM investigations; however, the marriage of surface science and conventional TEM to yield an UHV-TEM is a complex task. These complexities and some of the results obtained using UHV-TEM and UHV-TED techniques for surfaces i.e. solid-vacuum interfaces will be illustrated.     

Chemo- and regioselective reduction of nitroarenes, carbonyls and azo dyes over nickel-incorporated hexagonal mesoporous aluminophosphate molecular sieves

Nickel-incorporated hexagonal mesoporous aluminophosphate (NiHMA) molecular sieves were found to be highly efficient heterogeneous catalysts for the chemo- and regioselective reduction of nitroarenes and carbonyl compounds as well as the reductive cleavage of azo functions, including bulkier substrates, by the hydrogen transfer method.     

A validated HPTLC method for determination of trans-caryophyllene from polyherbal formulations

Formulations of traditional medicines are usually made up of a complex mixture of herbs. However, effective quality control methods in order to select materials of the right quality are lacking. 'Amukkara choornam' is a polyherbal Siddha formulation used for gastritis, spleen enlargement, leucorrhoea, hiccups, anaemia, tuberculosis and kappa diseases. Trans-caryophyllene is an important constituent present in the ingredients of this formulation. In a literature survey, it was found that there is no such method for the quantification of trans-caryophyllene except gas chromatography or gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). So, a high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method was developed and validated for the quantification of trans-caryophyllene in amukkara choornam. Pre-coated silica gel 60F-254 plates (10 × 10 cm2) were used for the analysis. The solvent system consisted of toluene-ethyl acetatate (9 : 3, v/v), and trans-caryophyllene was detected at 260 nm. The developed method was validated for linearity (R2 = 0.9996 ± 0.0034), limit of detection (LOD) (0.101 ng), limit of quantification (LOQ) (0.639 ng), accuracy (% recovery = 97.19 ± 1.204), and precision (CV < 5%, for both intra-day and inter-day precisions). The levels of trans-caryophyllene were found to be 3.5-4.10 μg per gram of herbal products.     

An efficient and chemoselective Cbz-protection of amines using silica-sulfuric acid at room temperature

A simple, facile, and chemoselective N-benzyloxycarbonylation of amines using silica-sulfuric acid that proceeds under solvent-free conditions at room temperature has been achieved. These reactions are applicable to a wide variety of primary (aliphatic and cyclic) secondary amines, amino alcohols, and heterocyclic amines.