WITCH: A Penning Trap Retardation Spectrometer Combination for Precision Studies of the Weak Interaction

We present data from three seasons of experimental field work designed to recreate ancient Andean coastal ceramic firing techniques. Based on the recent discovery of two different archaeological ceramic production sites in the La Leche river valley of northern coastal Peru, the opportunity arose to apply Mössbauer spectroscopy and other analytical methods to reconstruct ancient firing procedures. Two sets of firings took place in 1993 and 1997 in Batán Grande using a partially restored Formative kiln from about 800 BC, local hardwood and cow dung as fuel. A third experiment followed in 2000 after the discovery of a Middle Sicán ceramics workshop in use between ca. AD 950 and 1050 at Huaca Sialupe, where an exact replica of an ancient kiln was built from local clay, and fired with local wood and cow dung. Additionally, inverted urns found at Huaca Sialupe were tested for their potential use as furnaces for metal working. Mössbauer spectroscopy was used to compare the physical and chemical state of specimens produced in the field experiments with ancient ceramics and with specimens produced in controlled laboratory experiments.     

Enhancement of the emission yield of silicon nanocrystals in silica due to surface passivation

The ability of surface passivation to enhance the photoluminescence (PL) emission of Si nanocrystals in SiO₂ has been investigated. Silicon precipitation in implanted samples takes place in a time scale of few minutes at 1100°C. For longer annealing at the same temperature, the PL intensity of the Si nanocrystals increases and eventually reaches saturation, while it correlates inversely with the amount of Si dangling bonds at the Si–SiO₂ interface (P_b centers), as measured by electron spin resonance. This combined behavior is independent on the silica matrix properties, implantation profiles and annealing atmosphere and duration. The observation that the light emission enhancement is directly related to the annealing of P_b centers is confirmed by treatment in forming gas. This mild hydrogenation at much lower temperature (450°C) leads to a complete passivation of the P_b defects, increasing at the same time the PL yield and the lifetime.     

Synthesis of Protein A Conjugates with Silver Nanoparticles

The single-stage synthesis of the conjugates of protein A with silver nanoparticles is performed. The dependence of the dispersity of the prepared sols on the composition of reaction mixture is investigated by optical spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The relative stability of the obtained preparations with respect to the coagulation by NaCl is estimated.     

Baseline studies of radon/thoron concentration levels in and around the Lambapur and Peddagattu areas in Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, India

Studies conducted by Atomic Minerals Directorate of Exploration and Research (AMD) of Hyderabad, India had established the presence of higher concentrations of uranium in Lambapur and Peddagattu areas of Nalgonda district, AP, India and it was estimated that it could be a viable source for commercial extraction. The envisaged extraction process involves dispersion of radioactive particulate matter into atmosphere. Environmental radioactive studies in and around proposed mining areas at this point of time will be extremely useful for establishing base line data before a large scale uranium extraction process comes into existence. To this end, Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors were installed to evaluate indoor radon and thoron concentration levels in the dwellings of the area. The geometric means of radon and thoron concentration levels were found to be (7.1±0.2)×10¹ and (6.7±0.3)×10¹ Bq/m³, respectively. Simultaneously, natural background radiation measurements were also made and these levels are found to vary from 770 to 3995 μGy/y in the spatial distribution.     

Quantum-Chemical Study of the Profiles of Reactions that Form Pyrrole Anion N-Adducts with CS<Subscript>2</Subscript> and CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

The profiles of reactions leading to pyrrole anion N-adducts with CO₂ and CS₂ have been studied by the ab initio (RHF/6-31+G*, MP2/6-31+G*) and density functional (B3LYP/6-31+G*) methods. Addition of the pyrrole anion to the carbon disulfide molecule is accompanied by the appearance of a minimum corresponding to a pre-reaction complex. The transformation of the complex to the N-pyrrolyldithiocarboxylate anion occurs via a low activation barrier, which is due to repolarization of the C=S bonds. The profile of the reaction leading to the pyrrole anion N-adduct with CO₂ does not contain any intermediate stationary points throughout the whole route from reagents to products.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by V. B. Kobychev, N. M. Vitkovskaya, I. L. Zaitseva, and B. A. Trofimov__________Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 45, No. 6, pp. 990–993, November–December, 2004.     

Spectroscopic investigation of the Dergaon meteorite with reference to 10 μm and 20 μm bands

Analysis of a part of the meteorite which fell at Dergaon (India) on March 2, 16.40 local time (2001) is presented with the help of FTIR, absorption and atomic spectra. The FTIR spectrum exhibits prominent absorption bands in the region 800–1100 cm⁻¹, originating from the valence vibration of SiO⁴, a basic component of the silicate lattice.     

Crystallographic report: Crystal structure of 1‐bromo‐1′‐[(2S)‐N‐(1‐hydroxy‐3‐methylbutane‐2‐yl)]‐ferroceneamide

For the unsymmetrical title compound, 1‐bromo‐1′‐[(2S)‐N‐(1‐hydroxy‐3‐methylbutane‐2‐yl)]‐ferroceneamide, two independent molecules were found in the asymmetric unit. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.