Diborane as a reducing agent - VI the novel reduction of indole-1-carboxaldehydes to 1-methyl- indoles,di(indolyimethyl) ethers and indolylmethyl indolines

Reduction of the indole-1-carboxaldehydes ($\text{1a}$-$\text{1f}$) with borane /THF gives the 1-methylindoles ($\text{4}$) in 42-91-% yields together with the di(indolylmethyl)ethers ($\text{8}$), the indolyl-methyl indolines ($\text{7}$), the unsymmetric ether($\text{10}$) and the indolenine ($\text{11}$) as the minor products, except $\text{7a}$. This appears to be the first report on the formation of symmetric ethers in the borane/THF reduction of an oxygen function. The formation of $\text{7a}$ and $\text{7b}$ from $\text{1a}$ and $\text{1b}$ implies that electrophilic substitution takes place primarily at position 3 of 3-substituted indoles, $\text{1c - 1f}$ did not form the corresponding $\text{7}$ probably because of steric hindrance. These results are discussed in relation to the mechanisms of borane/THF reduction, origin of the different products and electrophilic substitution in 3-substituted indoles.     

A simple and rapid spectrophotometric method for determination of thiophanate-methyl in commercial formulations and its residues in foodstuffs

A new, simple, rapid, and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of thiophanate-methyl, based on its reaction with cobalt(II) in the presence of triethylamine, has been developed. The yellowish green color that develops instantaneously on mixing the fungicide with the reagents in dimethylformamide is stable for at least 2 h and has maximum absorbance at 360 nm. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of thiophanate-methyl in its commercial formulations and residues on grains and apples. A photometric titration procedure for formulation analysis of the fungicide has also been developed.     

Mechanical properties of oriented polyvinylchloride composites filled with ultrafine particles

The tensile stress-strain behaviour of undrawn and drawn polyvinylchloride (PVC) composites filled with ultrafine SiO₂ and micron sized glass particles were discussed as functions of filler content and size. For the undrawn PVC composites filled with ultrafine SiO₂ particles, Young's moduli, yield and breaking stresses increased with filler content and decreasing filler size. Whereas for the composites filled with micron sized glass particles, their Young's moduli slightly increased with filler content but both the yield and breaking stresses decreased. Oriented PVC composites were made by uniaxially drawing to × 2.5 at 100 °C. Anisotropic mechanical properties of oriented specimens were discussed in terms of compliance tensor and yield stress measured in the direction of 0°, 45° and 90° to the original stretching direction at room temperature. In the case of 70A SiO₂, all the compliance decreased with filler content, whereas those of 65μ glass, this relation was reversed. The yield stress of the oriented PVC composites showed filler size dependence similar to Young's moduli. The anisotropic yield stress of oriented PVC composites were reasonably analysed by Hill's yield criterion.     

Giant vesicles of a single-tailed chiral cationic surfactant, (1R,2S)-(-)-N-dodecyl-N-methylephedrinium bromide, in water

Self-assembly properties of a single-tailed chiral cationic surfactant, (1R,2S)-(-)-N-dodecyl-N-methylephedrinium bromide (DMEB), have been studied in water. The molecular self-assemblies of the amphiphile have been characterized by surface tension, fluorescence probes, light scattering, and microscopic techniques. The results have been compared with those of dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) surfactant. The critical aggregation concentration of DMEB was found to be much less than that of DTAB. Surface tension and fluorescence probe studies have suggested formation of micellar structures at low temperature (<28 degrees C) and spontaneous formation of giant vesicles in water above 28 degrees C. The mean size of the aggregates has been measured by a dynamic light scattering method. The micropolarity and microviscosity of the self-assemblies were determined by fluorescence probe technique. The (1)H NMR and FTIR spectra were recorded to elucidate the role of the hydrophobic head group towards the formation of bilayer structures. The phase transition temperatures of the vesicular aggregates were determined by measurement of fluorescence anisotropy at various temperatures.     

Resistivity control in the semiconductive region for carbon-black-filled polymer composites

It is known that the electrical volume resistivity of insulating polymers filled with conductive fillers, such as metal particles and/or carbon black (CB) particles, suddenly decreases at a certain content of the filler. Therefore, it is very difficult to control the resistivity in the semiconductive region for the CB-filled composites. We examined two effects to control the electrical volume resistivity in the semiconductive region for CB-filled polymer composites. One is the effect of fluorination of the CB surface on the percolation behavior using surface-fluorinated CB particles as a filler. The other is the effect of copolymerization of polyethylene (PE) with a vinyl acetate (VA) functional group on the percolation behavior using poly(ethylene-co-VA) (EVA) as a matrix. By immersion heat measurements, it was found that the London dispersive component turned out to be the predominant factor of the surface energy of fluorinated CBs. The London dispersive component of the surface energy significantly decreased, while the polar component slightly increased on increasing the fluorine content. The resistivity of fluorinated a CB-filled low-density PE composite showed that the percolation threshold increased, and the transition from the insulating state to the conductive state became sluggish, on increasing the fluorine content. In the case of using EVA as a matrix, on the other hand, the percolation curve was moderated with the increase in the VA content. Therefore, copolymerization of PE with VA is also suitable for the design of a semiconductive polymer composite as well as for fluorination of the CB surface. The total surface area per unit mass of dispersed CB particles in the EVA matrix estimated from small-angle X-ray scattering decreased with increasing CB content. Further, the decrease in the surface area is moderated with an increase in VA content. It was found that the difference in the percolation curve is due to the difference in the dispersive state of CB particles.     

Determination of trace elements in scalp hair of an elderly population by neutron activation analysis

Neutron activation analysis was applied to assess trace elements concentrations in head hair from healthy elderly people living in the São Paulo metropolitan area. Concentrations of As, Br, Ca, Cl, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, La, Mn, Na, Sb, Se and, Zn were determined. Comparisons were made between the results obtained for dyed and non-dyed hair as well as for hair from females and males of two different age groups. The results were also compared with range values established by clinical laboratories and published data.     

Numerical Evaluation of Dynamic Behavior of Ornstein–Uhlenbeck Processes Modified by Various Boundaries and its Application to Pricing Barrier Options

In financial engineering, one often encounters barrier options in which an action promised in the contract is taken if the underlying asset value becomes too high or too low. In order to compute the corresponding prices, it is necessary to capture the dynamic behavior of the associated stochastic process modified by boundaries. To the best knowledge of the authors, there is no algorithmic approach available to compute such prices repeatedly in a systematic manner. The purpose of this paper is to develop computational algorithms to capture the dynamic behavior of Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes modified by various boundaries based on the Ehrenfest approximation approach established in Sumita et al. (J Oper Res Soc Jpn 49:256–278, 2006). As an application, we evaluate the prices of up-and-out call options maturing at time τ _M with strike price K _S written on a discount bond maturing at time T, demonstrating the usefulness, speed and accuracy of the proposed computational algorithms.     

Analysis of channel and disk subsystems in computer systems

The information processing industry has shifted from the conventional mathematical computation to information management. Interactive use of a system with large data bases is now widespread, and the data base has become one of the key factors central to an overall system design. This, in turn, has prompted the development of new peripheral devices.The paper focuses on developing and analyzing stochastic models for disk storage systems. A general model is developed to describe the sequence of operations required for accessing a record on a disk. The model is then used to analyze how technological and architectural changes affect system performance. As concrete examples, performance comparison of IBM 3330 disk system with IBM 3380 disk system will be conducted. All analytical results are validated via simulation.Supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ECS-8404071.