Chemical tuning by 5-Methyl and N-Methyl-substitution in heptanuclear complexes effects multistability investigated by Mössbauer spectroscopy

The precursors [Fe^(III)(^N???R???L)Cl] (^N???R???LH₂=N,N′-bis(2′-hydroxy- 5′-methyl-benzyliden)-1,7-diamino-4-R-4-azaheptane, R ?=? H, methyl(Me)) are high-spin (S?=?5/2) complexes. The Lewis-acidic precursors are combined with Lewis- Base-bridging-units [M(CN) _x ] ^y??? (M = Fe^(II), Ru^(II), Co^(III)) to form heptanuclear star-shaped [M{CN-Fe^(III)(^N???R???L)} _x ]Cl _y molecular switches. The star-shaped compounds are high-spin systems at room temperature. On cooling to 20 K some of the compounds exhibit multistability, i.e. several iron(III) centers within a molecule switch to the low-spin state as shown by Mössbauer spectroscopy.     

Bis(dichlorosilyl)methylamine – Synthesis,Crystal Structure,and Conformational Analysis in the Gas Phase

A straightforward preparation has been found for bis(dichlorosilyl)methylamine, (SiHCl₂)₂NMe ( 1 ), involving reaction between H₂NMe and an excess of SiHCl₃, dissolved either in pentane or THF at 253 K. 1 and a side‐product, 1,3,5‐trichloro‐2,4,6‐trimethylcyclotrisilazane, (–SiHCl–NMe–)₃ ( 2 ), were identified by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry and ¹H‐NMR‐spectroscopy. Some physical, NMR‐ and IR spectroscopical properties of 1 were determined. The molecular and crystal structure of 1 was investigated by single crystal X‐ray diffraction. Selected structural parameters: r(Si–N) 169.7(5), r(Si–Cl) 203.1(2)–204.4(2), r(C–N) 150.0(8) pm; a(SiNSi) 123.6(3), a(SiNC) 118.3(4)/118.0(4)°. Ab initio force field data and infrared intensities were calculated for four conformers of 1 . Comparison of the observed and calculated IR spectra favours the two structures found ab initio provided that their actual abundancies are different from those calculated.     

MPKin-YSTR: Interpretation of Y chromosome STR haplotypes for missing persons cases

Y chromosome Short Tandem Repeat (STR) haplotypes have been used in assisting forensic investigations primarily for identification and male lineage determination. The current SWGDAM interpretation guidelines for Y-STR typing provide helpful guidance on those purposes but do not address the issue of kinship analysis with Y-STR haplotypes. Because of the high mutation rate of Y-STRs, there are complex missing person cases in which inconsistent Y-STR haplotypes between true paternal lineage relatives will arise and cases with two or more male references in the same lineage and yet differ in their haplotypes. Therefore, more useful methods are needed for interpreting the Y-STR haplotype data. Computational methods and interpretation guidelines have been developed specifically addressing this issue, either using a mismatch-based counting method or a pedigree likelihood ratio method. In this study, a software program, MPKin-YSTR, was developed by implementing those more sophisticated methods. This software should be able to improve the interpretation of complex cases with Y-STR haplotype evidence. Thus, more biological evidence will be interpreted, which in turn will result in more investigation leads to help solve crimes.     

Colloidlike behaviour of a polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-co-propylene) diblock copolymer dissolved in n-decane investigated by pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance

The self-diffusion of a polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-co-propylene) diblock copolymer dissolved in a preferential solvent for the aliphatic block, n-decane, was investigated by pulsed field gradient NMR. The diblock copolymer forms micelles in solution, the structure of the solid polymer being preserved in the native solution because the polystyrene is in the glassy state. The equilibrium state is attained upon heating which again freezes in upon cooling to room temperature. The hydrodynamic radius of the micelles decreases by about 50% during this heating–cooling process. The concentration dependence of the self-diffusivity shows typical colloidlike behaviour, and it can be described by a Vogel–Fulcher–Tammann-like equation. No indications of crystallization at higher concentrations are observed in the micellar solution because the micellar sizes are slightly polydisperse. The self-diffusivity was measured up to the glasslike state, where in-cage- diffusion and dynamic heterogeneities could be detected. Received: 14 April 1999 Accepted in revised form: 14 June 1999     

Partially Coherent Waves in Nonlinear Periodic Lattices

We study the propagation of partially coherent (random-phase) waves in nonlinear periodic lattices. The dynamics in these systems is governed by the threefold interplay between the nonlinearity, the lattice properties, and the statistical (coherence) properties of the waves. Such dynamic interplay is reflected in the characteristic properties of nonlinear wave phenomena (e.g., solitons) in these systems. While the propagation of partially coherent waves in nonlinear periodic systems is a universal problem, we analyze it in the context of nonlinear photonic lattices, where recent experiments have proven their existence.     

Bs,d→ππ,πK,KK: status and prospects

Several years ago, it was pointed out that the U-spin-related decays B_d→π⁺π^-, B_s→K⁺K^- and B_d→π^∓K^±, B_s→π^±K^∓ offer interesting strategies for the extraction of the angle γ of the unitarity triangle. Using the first results from the Tevatron on the B_s decays and the B-factory data on B_u,d modes, we compare the determinations of γ from both strategies, study the sensitivity on U-spin-breaking effects, discuss the resolution of discrete ambiguities, predict observables that were not yet measured but will be accessible at LHCb, explore the extraction of the width difference ΔΓ_s from untagged B_s→K⁺K^- rates, and address the impact of new physics. The data for the B_d→π⁺π^-, B_s→K⁺K^- system favour the BaBar measurement of direct CP violation in B_d→π⁺π^-, which will be used in the numerical analysis and result in a fortunate situation, yielding γ=(66.6^+4.3+4.0 _-5.0-3.0)^°, where the latter errors correspond to a generous estimate of U-spin-breaking effects. On the other hand, the B_d→π^∓K^±, B_s→π^±K^∓ analysis leaves us with 26°≤γ≤70°, and points to a value of the B_s→π^±K^∓ branching ratio that is larger than the current Tevatron result. An important further step will be the measurement of mixing-induced CP violation in B_s→K⁺K^-, which will also allow us to extract the B⁰ _s–B̄⁰ _s mixing phase unambiguously with the help of B_s→J/ψφ at the LHC. Finally, the measurement of direct CP violation in B_s→K⁺K^- will make the full exploitation of the physics potential of the B_s,d→ππ,πK,KK modes possible.