Teachers in transition: Moving towards CAS-supported classrooms

In the near future many teachers may be required to incorporate CAS into their teaching practices. Based on classroom observations and interviews over two years, this paper reports how two teachers made the transition from using graphics calculators to CAS calculators while teaching differential calculus to upper secondary school students. Both teachers taught with CAS in ways that were consistent with their beliefs about learning and teaching. Over two years, the teachers' teaching approaches and purpose for use of technology were stable and seemed to be underpinned by their beliefs about learning. In contrast, both teachers made changes to the content they taught (and thus what they used technology for) in response to new institutional knowledge. Content choice seemed to be underpinned by the teachers' purpose for teaching. Other influences impacted on what the teachers taught and how they taught it: the teachers' content knowledge, their pedagogical content knowledge, and the lack of legitimacy of CAS as a tool for learning and during examinations in the trial school and wider educational community. The extent of differences noted between the responses of just two teachers indicates that there will be many responses to using CAS in classrooms, as teachers aim to achieve different learning goals and interpret their responsibilities to students in different ways.     

Aspects of stereochemistry—I Properties and reactions of some diols

The extent of intramolecular hydrogen-bonding, as determined by infra-red spectroscopy in the hydroxyl stretching region, in certain vicinal diols of cyclohexane, cyclopentane, tetrahydropyran and tetrahydrofuran and in related compounds provides evidence for the stabilities of different conformations. In certain compounds these stabilities can be affected by hydrogen bonding from a substituent hydroxyl group to a ring oxygen. Additional evidence is provided in the case of the tetrahydropyran diols by [M]_D values. The rate of reaction of the vicinal diols of these cyclic systems with glycol splitting reagents, and their zone electrophoretic mobility in an alkaline borate buffer is influenced by the presence of a ring oxygen.     

SSZ-53 and SSZ-59: two novel extra-large pore zeolites

The syntheses, structure solutions, and physicochemical and catalytic characterizations of the novel zeolites SSZ-53 and SSZ-59 are described. SSZ-53 and SSZ-59 were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions with the [1-(4-fluorophenyl)cyclopentylmethyl]trimethyl ammonium cation and 1-[1-(4-chlorophenyl)cyclopentylmethyl]-1-methyl azocanium cation, respectively, as structure-directing agents. The framework topology of SSZ-53 was solved with the FOCUS method, and the structure of SSZ-59 was determined by model building. Rietveld refinement of synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data confirms each proposed model. SSZ-53 and SSZ-59 each possess a one-dimensional channel system delimited by 14-membered rings. Results from transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, catalytic experiments (spaciousness index and constraint index tests), and argon and hydrocarbon adsorption experiments are consistent with the proposed structures.     

Reactions of sodium sulphide—I : With compounds containing hydroxyl groups

Aqueous solutions of sodium sulphide (ca 10%) reagent were reacted at 250° with compounds containing OH groups. This work was part of a programme designed to test the usefulness of the Na₂S solution degradation technique for determining the primary structure of humic acids. The compounds reacted here and the principal products detected (shown in brackets) were: cinnamyl alcohol (benzyl alcohol, benzoic acid, 3-phenylpropan-1-ol, 3-phenylpropionic acid), benzyl alcohol (little reaction), 3-phenylpropan-1-ol (little reaction), 1,2-dihydroxy-1-phenylethane (phenylacetic acid, acetophenone, 1-phenylethanol), catechol and hydroquinone (recovered starting compounds+ polymer products). Sodium hydroxide gave the same products with cinnamyl alcohol, but in different proportions. Possible mechanisms for these reactions are discussed.     

Chromatographic developments in low flow delivery for liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A method has been demonstrated for producing accurate, reproducible gradients at low microliter per minute flow-rates suitable for liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometric (LC-MS) applications using capillary chromatography columns. The technique employs a low-cost, well characterized balance-column flow-splitter which can be simply added to a high-performance LC-MS solvent delivery system. Performance of the pump for LC-MS techniques at higher flow-rates is preserved.     

FT-Raman spectroscopy of lichens on dolomitic rocks: an assessment of metal oxalate formation

The FT-Raman spectra of five epilithic lichen taxa growing on dolomite and magnesium-rich carbonate rocks have been analysed and interpreted for the key molecular marker bands associated with calcium oxalate monohydrate (whewellite), calcium oxalate dihydrate (weddelite) and magnesium oxalate dihydrate. From the results, it can be concluded that the biomineral product of lichen biodeterioration involves the calcareous part of the substratum only; no trace of magnesium oxalate has been found in the Raman spectra. Two of the species, Lecanora sulfurea and Aspicilia calcarea, produce calcium oxalate monohydrate exclusively, but Dirina massiliensis f. sorediata, D. massiliensis f. massiliensis and Tephromela atra produce significant quantities of the dihydrate. An explanation is advanced for the exclusive accumulation of calcium oxalate into the lichen thallus despite the significant presence of magnesium ions.     

Fluorocyclohexanes-III 1H:4H/2H- and 1H/2H:4H-nonafluorocyclohexane and derived compounds

Two nonafluorocyclohexanes of b.p. 92° and 101°, made by fluorination of benzene,¹ have each been dehydrofluorinated to give the same six unsaturated products. These were identified by oxidation and other studies as 3H:4H- and 4H:5H-octafluorocyclohexene, 1H-1:4-, 1H-1:3-, and 2H-1:3-heptafluorocyclohexadiene, and hexafluorobenzene,² thus indicating a 1H:2H:4H-structure for the saturated precursors. The stereochemistry of the adjacent> CHF groups was established by resolution, via the brucine salt, of the 3H:4H-hexafluoroadipic acid obtained by oxidation of the 4H:5H-mono-olefin, showing that the hydrogens were trans. The complete stereochemistry of the nonafluorides was suggested by the dehydrofluorinations and confirmed by further fluorination³ to give known decafluorocyclohexanes. Treatment of 4H/5H-octafluorocyclohexene with lithium aluminium hydride in diethyl ether gave 1H,4H/5H-heptafluorocyclohexene, a precursor of pentafluorobenzene.⁴     

The MPE/UCB far-infrared imaging Fabry-Perot interferometer (FIFI)

FIFI is an imaging spectrometer with two or three Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPI) in series for airborne astronomical observations in the far-infrared range (=40...200m). It employs 5×5 arrays of photoconducting detectors and offers spectral resolutions as small as 2km/s. Resolution and bandwidth can be set over a wide range to match a variety of astronomical sources. Cryogenic optics minimizes thermal background radiation and provides for in-flight step tunable spatial resolution. At 158 m wavelength the background-limited NEP is 3 × 10^-15W/Hz at 40 km/s resolution and with two FPI's; with three FPI's the expected NEP is 10^-15WHz at 5 km/s resolution.The frequency-chopping mode of the high-resolution Fabry-Perot allows for line detection in extended objects. Absolute internal flux calibration ensures adequate flat fielding of the array elements.     

pH tunable self-assembly of chicoric acid and their biocompatibility studies

We report for the first time, the pH tunable self-assembly of chicoric acid, an HIV-I integrase inhibitor, which displayed a remarkable tendency to self-assemble at room temperature into varying nano- and microstructures. Furthermore, those assemblies were then functionalised with gold (Au) nanoparticles. We then investigated the biocompatibility of the materials by conducting in vitro cell attachment and cytotoxicity studies using normal rat kidney cells. The studies revealed that the biomaterials were non-toxic and biocompatible, and showed considerable adhesion to the cells. These results suggest that the assemblies could potentially be used for a variety of applications, such as carriers for targeted drug delivery as well as optoelectronics and sensors. Furthermore, the formation of highly organised nano- and microstructures of medicinally significant phytohormones such as chicoric acid is of particular interest as it might help in further understanding the supramolecular assembly mechanism of higher organised biological structures for the development of building blocks for various device fabrications.