Synthesis of new allenic prostanoids

New allenic prostanoids 5c, d, 7,9c, and 15b have been prepared by total synthesis. In each case a cuprate-propargylic acetate reaction was used as the key step.     

Solid state reaction crystallization and amorphization on thin film Fe-Zr multilayers

We study in this paper the thin multilayered film of the system Fe _x Zr_1-x using conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) as well as Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS). The solid state reaction (SSR) at 500°C for thex=0.33 andx=0.67 concentrations produces crystalline and amorphous phases. For the concentrationx=0.50 only an amorphous phase is obtained. For reactions at 700°C, besides Fe-Zr phases, another one is observed in the CEMS spectrum. This phase may be associated with some FeSi compound since the RBS profile shows the presence of Si at the surface.This work was supported by CNPq, FINEP and FAPERGS.     

Einstein gravitation from scalar nonsingular sources alone

In the light of Einstein's equations a system only containing two scalar fields is considered: One is of long range and attractive, the other is of short range and repulsive. The sources of these fields are taken to be nonsingular and spherically symmetric. All components of the energy-momentum tensor are continuous. A static solution of the equations is obtained in the weak-field approximation. The source of the gravitational field shows a finite concentration on the center of symmetry and dilutes monotonically to zero outwards. A Schwarzschild-type gravitation is found at infinity.     

The nonlinear optimization problem in heat conduction

In this paper we study the existence and geometric properties of an optimal configuration to a nonlinear optimization problem in heat conduction. The quantity to be minimized is , where D is a fixed domain. A nonconstant temperature distribution is prescribed on and a volume constraint on the set where the temperature is positive is imposed. Among other regularity properties of an optimal configuration, we prove analyticity of the free boundary.Received: 6 October 2004, Accepted: 19 October 2004, Published online: 22 December 2004     

Chromotropic acid-functionalized polyurethane foam: A new sorbent for on-line preconcentration and determination of cobalt and nickel in lettuce samples

A chromotropic acid-functionalized polyurethane foam has been developed for use in an on-line preconcentration system for cobalt and nickel determination. The packing material was prepared by covalent coupling of chromotropic acid with the polyurethane foam through an azo group. Co and Ni ions were sorbed in the mini-column, from which they could be eluted directly to the nebulizer-burner system of a flame atomic absorption spectrometer. Elution of cobalt and nickel from the mini-column can be accomplished with 0.50 and 0.75 M HCl solutions, respectively. The enrichment factors obtained were 22 (Co) and 27 (Ni), for 60 s preconcentration time, and 57 (Co) and 59 (Ni), if a preconcentration time of 180 s was used. Under the optimum conditions, the proposed procedure allowed the determination of metals with detection limits of 0.43 (cobalt) and 0.52 microg/L (nickel), respectively, on using preconcentration periods of 180 s. The accuracy of the developed procedure was evaluated by analysis of the certified reference materials NIST 1515 Apple Leaves and NIST 1570a Spinach Leaves. The method was applied to the analysis of lettuce samples. The contents of cobalt in the samples analyzed varied from 0.75 to 0.98 microg/g. Nickel was not detected in the lettuce samples.     

Infrared study of the acidic and basic forms of betaxolol

Betaxolol and its respective hydrochloride salt were studied in solution by computational calculations and infrared spectroscopy. The solution molecular conformations were taken to be the same as those exhibited by the compounds in the solid state given by X-ray diffraction and calculated after full geometry optimization by ab initio Hartree-Fock methods using the 6-31G(d) basis set. Infrared spectra of carbon tetrachloride solutions provide valuable information on the structure of the compounds in non-polar solvents at different concentrations.     

Synthesis and structural characterization of 1- and 2-substituted indazoles: ester and carboxylic acid derivatives

A series of indazoles substituted at the N-1 and N-2 positions with ester-containing side chains -(CH2)(n)CO2R of different lengths (n = 0-6, 9, 10) are described.Nucleophilic substitution reactions on halo esters (X(CH2)(n)CO2R) by 1H-indazole inalkaline solution lead to mixtures of N-1 and N-2 isomers, in which the N-1 isomer predominates. Basic hydrolysis of the ester derivatives allowed the synthesis of the corresponding indazole carboxylic acids. All compounds were fully characterised by multinuclear NMR and IR spectroscopies, MS spectrometry and elemental analysis; the NMR spectroscopic data were used for structural assignment of the N-1 and N-2 isomers.The molecular structure of indazol-2-yl-acetic acid (5b) was determined by X-ray diffraction, which shows a supramolecular architecture involving O2-H...N1 intermolecular hydrogen bonds.     

Critical exponents for Fréedericskz transition in nematics between concentric cylinders

The equilibrium tilt angle profile in a cell limited by two concentric cylinders filled with nematic liquid crystals is determined for strong homeotropic anchoring at the surfaces. The anchoring condition is such that the nematic director is perpendicular to the cylinder axes and a radial nonuniform electric field is applied to investigate a Fréedericksz transition. The distortions induced by the field remain in the plane perpendicular to the cylinder axes, and a threshold field is analytically determined indicating a transition from a pure splay to a splay-bend conformation of the director. It is shown that this transition can be induced by the thickness of the region between the two cylinders, and can be detected even in the absence of an external field. If the maximum value of the tilt angle is assumed as an order parameter, its behavior near to the transition can be used to obtain the critical exponent, which is the same as the one obtained in the mean field approximation. These results are indications that nontrivial consequences may occur when complex fluids are subject to non-planar geometries.     

Nematics in Hybrid Cylindrical Cells

A hybrid (weak-strong anchoring) cylindrical cell with antagonistic boundary conditions (planar–homeotropic) at the outer confining surface and at a central coaxial cylindrical core and filled with nematic liquid crystals is investigated by means of the Elastic Theory and Monte Carlo Simulations. The director orientation profile on the surface characterized by weak anchoring is built as a function of the extrapolation length and other relevant parameters. By considering the angle on the surface as an order parameter, a transition in the orientation is found when the extrapolation length becomes smaller than a critical value and the orientation of the surface with strong anchoring is dominant. The order parameter critical exponent is numerically calculated, and the mean field value (β≈1/2) is found in all cases. These transitions are essentially confirmed by Monte Carlo simulations even if some numerical discrepancies are found. The analysis show similarities between planar and cylindrical geometries, but non-usual consequences are found more easily in the latter one.