The importance of glyceraldehyde radiolysis in chemical evolution

Studies in chemical evolution are intended to demonstrate how compounds of biological importance are generated from substances that could have been found in abiotic conditions on the primitive Earth or in extraterrestrial environments. In this context, the aim of the present work was to examine the behavior of dl-glyceraldehyde in both aqueous solution and solid samples under gamma irradiation. We irradiated dl-glyceraldehyde at different doses and temperatures with a gamma source; even at low doses and temperature (77 K), free radicals were detected. Among the products formed were ethylene glycol and glycolaldehyde. Some sugar-like compounds were also detected.

     

Activation of molecular oxygen in trifluoroacetic acid

The interaction of molecular oxygen with aqueous trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) led to an increase in pH. This effect was explained by a decrease in the concentration of the protonated CF₃CO₂H₂⁺ and H₃O⁺ species after oxygen was fed in the reactor. Quantum-chemical calculations show that a radical pair can be formed in an activation-free exothermal reaction involving the radical residue of the acid, the CF₃CO₂H₂⁺...³O₂...CF₃CO₂⁻ peroxide radical, and the acid molecule in the CF₃C₂^·...HOO^· collision complex. It was assumed that the activation of molecular oxygen in aqueous TFA solutions, providing the activity of the system in oxidations of various organic and inorganic substrates, is related to the formation of peroxide radicals in them.     

Modeling of the mechanism for the acidolysis of epichlorohydrin by aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids catalyzed by amines

A model was constructed for the mechanism of the reaction of aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids with epichlorohydrin catalyzed by tertiary amines. A mechanism for the catalysis of the transfer of the anion of the nucleophilic reagent by an ion pair was proposed taking account of the kinetic data and selected chemical and mathematical models.     

Fixation of micelle structure by monomer polymerization: Hydrodynamic properties of polymerized micelles

Polymerized and nonpolymerized micelles of N-acryloyl-11-aminoundecanoic acid and its sodium salt in water and dimethylformamide are studied by viscometry, isothermal diffusion, and dynamic light scattering. It is revealed that the hydrodynamic sizes of polymerized micelles (PMs) obtained via polymerization of the surfactants in aqueous solutions at low concentrations of the latter are significantly larger than those of the starting surfactant micelles. In dimethylformamide, as the surfactant concentration at which the synthesis is carried out is increased, the hydrodynamic size of PMs, which is calculated in terms of the cylindrical particle model, rises from 25 to 220 nm. The formation of additional internal crosslinks reduces the equilibrium rigidity of the PM chains by a factor of 1.5–2.     

Self-organization of sulfopolystyrene ionomers with ionic SO<Subscript>3</Subscript>Li groups in carbon tetrachloride

Association of short-chain sulfopolystyrene ionomers containing 5.2 mol % ionic SO₃Li groups in carbon tetrachloride was studied by cold neutron scattering.     

Surfactant properties of alternating amphiphilic copolymers of N-vinylpyrrolidone and 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropyl α-fluoroacrylate

The colloidal-chemical properties of alternating copolymers of N-vinylpyrrolidone with 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropyl α-fluoroacrylate were studied by the method of Langmuir film balance.     

Approximate algorithms for the competitive facility location problem

We consider the competitive facility location problem in which two competing sides (the Leader and the Follower) open in succession their facilities, and each consumer chooses one of the open facilities basing on its own preferences. The problem amounts to choosing the Leader’s facility locations so that to obtain maximal profit taking into account the subsequent facility location by the Follower who also aims to obtain maximal profit. We state the problem as a two-level integer programming problem. A method is proposed for calculating an upper bound for the maximal profit of the Leader. The corresponding algorithm amounts to constructing the classical maximum facility location problem and finding an optimal solution to it. Simultaneously with calculating an upper bound we construct an initial approximate solution to the competitive facility location problem. We propose some local search algorithms for improving the initial approximate solutions. We include the results of some simulations with the proposed algorithms, which enable us to estimate the precision of the resulting approximate solutions and give a comparative estimate for the quality of the algorithms under consideration for constructing the approximate solutions to the problem.     

Strong field localization in subwavelength metal-dielectric optical waveguides

Detailed calculations of eigenmodes of waveguiding structures made of silver and glass and containing coaxial cables with a nanoscale cross section of different configurations are conducted. In particular, the study focuses on optical coaxial waveguides with the core made in the form of a thin metallic cylinder filled with a dielectric. We show that these waveguides support relatively low-loss propagation of radiation that is strongly localized in the central region, has phase velocity approaching the speed of light and predominant electric-field orientation (dipole type). Optical characteristics of such waveguides are compared with those of coaxial-type waveguides containing a continuous central filament made of metal and with a multilayer structure. Using numeric modeling, we established that the proposed type of the waveguide enables the transmission of an optical image with relatively low losses with a submicron resolution over a distance considerably longer than its cross section. A typical propagation length in the waveguides based on silver and glass with the refractive index of about 1.5 at a wavelength of 500 nm is about 1700 nm.     

Manifestation of outgoing resonance in stokes and anti-stokes spectra of ZnTe and ZnMgTe quantum wires

The spectra of resonant light scattering by ZnTe quantum wires have been measured at excitation energies of 2.18–2.72 eV. The quantum wires have been grown on Si(100) and GaAs(100) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The effect of outgoing resonance with the electron transition energy E ₀ on the intensity of phonon lines of the Stokes spectrum and on the intensity ratio of the Stokes and anti-Stokes spectral lines has been studied. The energy E ₀ has been determined in ZnTe and ZnMgTe quantum wires from the edge luminescence spectra.     

Correlation of electrical, magnetic, and thermal properties of the La0.85Ag0.15MnO3 manganite near the phase transition temperature

The correlation between electrical, magnetic, and lattice properties of manganites has been studied by analyzing the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of the La_0.85Ag_0.15MnO₃ manganite. The results have been discussed within the model of a phase-separated manganite in terms of the percolation theory. It has been shown that, from analyzing the temperature and magnetic field dependences of the electrical resistivity, it is possible to predict the behavior of the magnetization and specific heat, as well as the change of magnetic entropy near the phase transition temperature, and that the obtained agreement with experimental data for this analysis is quite reasonable.