Four‐dimensional couplings among BF and matter theories from BRST cohomology

The local and manifestly covariant Lagrangian interactions in four spacetime dimensions that can be added to a “free” model that describes a generic matter theory and an abelian BF theory are constructed by means of deforming the solution to the master equation on behalf of specific cohomological techniques.     

The reaction NN→NNπ in effective field theory

A consistent counting scheme is presented that allows to study the reactions NN → NNπ within an effective field theory. Within this scheme the chiral expansion is shown to converge contrary to claims in the literature.     

Promiscuity in Antibody Catalysis: Esterolytic Activity of the Decarboxylase 21D8

The high structural similarity of decarboxylase antibody 21D8 and esterase antibody 48G7 suggests that 21D8 might also possess hydrolytic activity. Kinetic investigations show that 21D8 does promote the selective hydrolysis of methyl 4‐nitrophenyl carbonate and sodium 4‐(acetoxy)benzenesulfonate with catalytic proficiencies (k_cat/K_m)/k_un of ca. 10⁵ M ^?1. The ability of 21D8 to accelerate a reaction for which it was not developed suggests that certain antibody scaffolds are intrinsically predisposed toward catalysis, a property that can be enhanced and refined during affinity maturation in response to a transition‐state analog. At the same time, however, the restricted structural diversity of the immune system may ultimately limit the catalytic efficiency that can be achieved.     

On similarity and scaling of the radiative transfer equation

The present paper shows how the well-known similarity and scaling concepts are properties of the radiative transfer equation and not specifically of the degree of anisotropy of the phase function. It is shown that the key assumption regarding the angular dependence of the radiative field is essential in determining both the value for the parameter used to scale the radiative transfer, as well as the number of streams used in calculating the radiances for various atmospheric problems. Simulations performed on realistic type of cirrus clouds, characterized by strongly anisotropic functions, demonstrates the superior computational advantage for accurately simulating radiances. A new approach for determining the scaling parameter is introduced.     

Conductance of a multiterminal ballistic wire

JETP Letters - An experimental study of the two-, three-, and four-terminal resistance of a ballistic wire is carried out. The wire is fabricated on the basis of high-mobility 2D electron gas in an...     

Role of water vapor and CO2 in the paleoclimatic fluctuations along northwestern and southern Syria, and the adjacent Mediterranean Sea

Microscopic petrified grains were collected from a mafic–ultramafic pipe, NE of Dreikeesh, NW Syria. The grains were identified as anthers/gynoecia in herb/grass flowers. Three of the grains showed evidence of magnetism, two slowly dissolved in concentrated HCl, and three microprobed grains showed a montmorillonitic composition. Iron originating from pyroxene was oxidized to magnetite. Released silica formed the mineral suite agate–chalcedony–opal. Warm/cold paleoclimatic fluctuations, occurring during late Pliocene–Holocene, depended on water vapor, CO₂ production, and cinders in the atmosphere. Most of these were associated with changing volcanic/tectonic events. Fluctuations were controlled by heat reflected from the Earth's surface being absorbed by water vapor and CO₂, which both re-reflected the heat back to the surface, thus, raising the temperature. This cycle was repeated several times during late Pliocene–Holocene.     

Kinetic evidence of a common mechanism in the oxidations of diethyl sulfide by dichromates and halochromates of heterocyclic bases

The oxidations of diethyl sulfide by potassium dichromate, pyridinium dichromate, quinolinium dichromate, imidazolium dichromate, nicotinium dichromate, isonicotinium dichromate, pyridinium fluorochromate, quinolinium fluorochromate, imidazolium fluorochromate, pyridinium chlorochromate, quinolinium chlorochromate, and pyridinium bromochromate follow identical kinetic orders—first‐order each with respect to the chromium(VI) reagents, sulfide and hydrogen ion, and moderately inhibited by manganese(II) ion. The energy of activation varies linearly with the logarithm of frequency factor and so does the enthalpy of activation with the entropy of activation. Also, the activation free energies do not differ significantly. The dichromates and halochromates of heterocyclic bases oxidize diethyl sulfide via a common mechanism. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 35: 1–8, 2003     

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.