Synthesis,spectral and redox properties of metal complexes of macrocyclic tetraaza chiral Schiff bases

New transition metal(II) coordination compounds of tetraaza macrocyclic chiral Schiff bases, derived from 2-hydroxybenzylideneacetylacetone or 4-hydroxybenzylideneacetylacetone and (1R, 2R)-(–)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane, have been prepared and characterised spectroscopically and electrochemically. E.p.r. spectral data for the Cu^II complexes reveal a strong metal-to-ligand -interaction in their square-planar configuration and the broadening of the g component is due to the strain created by 1R and 2R groups in the cyclohexane rings. The cyclic voltammetric (c.v.) data of the copper complexes show an unusual oxidation state of Cu^III, while Co^II complexes show a reversible Co^II/Co^III redox peak along with an additional peak in the negative potential region characteristic of reversibly bound oxygen. The c.v. results reveal that both Cu^II and Co^II complexes bind axially with added bases. The spectroscopic results reveal that copper, cobalt and nickel complexes are in square-planar geometry, whereas manganese is in octahedral geometry.     

Stochastic excitation and Hadamard correlation spectroscopy with bandwidth extension in RF FT-EPR

The application of correlation spectroscopy employing stochastic excitation and the Hadamard transform to time-domain Fourier transform electron paramagnetic resonance (FT-EPR) spectroscopy in the radiofrequency (RF) band is described. An existing, time-domain FT-EPR spectrometer system with a Larmor frequency (L(f)) of 300 MHz was used to develop this technique by incorporating a pseudo-random pulse sequence generator to output the maximum length binary sequence (MLBS, 10- and 11-bit). Software developed to control the EPR system setup, acquire the signals, and post process the data, is outlined. The software incorporates the Hadamard transform algorithm to perform the required cross-correlation of the acquired signal and the MLBS after stochastic excitation. To accommodate the EPR signals, bandwidth extension was accomplished by sampling at a rate many times faster than the RF pulse repetition rate, and subsequent digital signal processing of the data. The results of these experiments showed that there was a decrease in the total acquisition time, and an improved free induction decay (FID) signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio compared to the conventional coherent averaging approach. These techniques have the potential to reduce the RF pulse power to the levels used in continuous wave (CW) EPR while retaining the advantage of time-domain EPR methods. These methods have the potential to facilitate the progression to in vivo FT-EPR imaging of larger volumes.     

Polarized light propagation through tissue phantoms containing densely packed scatterers

We demonstrate that polarized light is maintained differently in densely packed versus dilute suspensions of polystyrene microspheres. The degrees of linear and circular polarization were measured versus scatterer concentration in aqueous suspensions of 0.48-, 0.99-, 2.092-, and 9.14-mum-diameter polystyrene microspheres. The results indicate that, for dilute suspensions of microspheres where independent scattering is assumed, the degrees of linear and circular polarization decrease as the scatterer concentration increases. For dense suspensions, however, the degree of polarization begins to increase as the scatterer concentration increases. The preferential propagation of linear over circular polarization states in dense suspensions is similar to results seen in biological tissue.     

Salting coefficients of fluorobenzoic acids

The Setschenow parameter and thermodynamic parameters of transfer of 2-, 3- and 4-fluorobenzoic acid from water to salt solution are reported. The data have been rationalized by considering the structure breaking effects of the ions of the salts, the localized hydrolysis model and the internal pressure theory.     

Vanadia impregnated iron-pillared montmorillonite for aniline methylation

Vanadia impregnated iron-pillared montmorillonites with different weight percentages of vanadia have been prepared. Subsequent characterization by XRD, FT-IR, surface area and pore volume measurements was carried out. Acidity was determined by three independent techniques namely thermogravimetric desorption of 2,6-dimethylpyridine, spectrophotometric monitoring of adsorption of perylene and temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia. Conversion of cumene in the vapor phase has been performed as a test reaction of acidity. Aniline methylation was carried out to check the catalytic efficiency of the solids. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A quantile based test for comparing cumulative incidence functions of competing risks models

In the present note, we develop a nonparametric testing procedure for testing equality of cumulative incidence functions of competing risks models using quantile functions. Asymptotic properties of the test statistic are discussed. Simulation studies and real data examples illustrate the practical utility of the procedure.     

On waiting time distributions for patterns in a sequence of multistate trials

In this paper, we consider the waiting time distributions for patterns in a sequence of multistate trials. A simple and general framework, using the Markov chain imbedding method, is developed to study the waiting time distributions of both simple and compound patterns. Algorithms for the computation of these are given. The general theory is employed for the investigation of some examples in order to illustrate the theoretical results.     

Strain-induced reversal of charge transfer in contact electrification

We have contact! Material strain can have a dominating effect on contact electrification. When a deflated (relaxed) balloon is rubbed against teflon, the teflon surface charges positively, but when the same balloon is inflated (strained), the teflon surface charges negatively. This result illustrates that material strain can control contact electrification and alter the driving force of some (yet unknown) charge-transfer species.     

New processable polyaromatic ether–keto-sulfones curable by Diels-Alder cycloaddition

New Processable polyaromatic ether-keto-sulfones were prepared from the acid chloride of bis-m-carboxyphenyl acetylene (XII), isophthaloyl chloride (XX), diphenyl ether (XVIII), and 4,4′-diphenoxydiphenyl sulfone (XIX) in a Friedel-Crafts-type polymerization. These polymers were cured by Diels-Alder cycloaddition with 1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadiene. The cured polymers showed an increase in T_g and in thermal and heat stabilities. The polymers form colorless, transparent, brittle films and can be cast into a glass fiber laminate. Both meta-and para-substituted acid chlorides of biscarboxyphenyl-1,3-butadiene yielded insoluble polymers under the same conditions but form processable polymers where combined with acetylene units in the polymer chain. Polymers that contained both acetylene and butadiene units were prepared but could not be cured by an intramolecular Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction.