Vanadium 7,7,8,8-tetracyano-p-quinodimethane (V[TCNQ]2)-based magnets

A new family of molecule-based magnets of general formula V[TCNQR(2)](2).zCH(2)Cl(2) has been synthesized and characterized (TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyano-p-quinodimethane; R = H, Br, Me, Et, i-Pr, OMe, OEt, and OPh). In addition, solid solutions of V[TCNQ](x)()[TCNQ(OEt)(2)](2)(-)(x)().zCH(2)Cl(2) composition have been prepared. Except R = Br, magnetic ordering was observed for all materials, with T(c) values between 7.5 K (R = Me) and 106 K (R = OEt), with R = H at 52 K. The substitution of electron-donating OMe and OEt groups for H in TCNQ increased T(c), whereas the substitution of less electron-donating alkyl groups (with respect to alkoxy groups) decreased T(c). The results of MO calculations indicate that neither the spin nor charge densities of the disubstituted TCNQs are sufficiently different to explain the wide range of critical temperatures. Although the structures of the amorphous materials are not known, it is proposed that the oxygen atom of the [TCNQR(2)](*)(-) acceptor (R = OMe and OEt) and the V(II) interact to form a seven-membered ring. This interaction could stabilize the structure and enhance the magnetic coupling, leading to an increased T(c). The magnetic properties of V[TCNQ](x)()[TCNQ(OEt)(2)](2)(-)(x)().zCH(2)Cl(2) deviated from the expected linear relationship with respect to x, exhibiting magnetic behavior more characteristic of a step function in a plot of T(c) versus x.     

Quantitative Resonance Raman Spectroscopy

Abstract

Determination of organic species at low concentration levels, particularly the simultaneous determination of a number of related compounds, challenges the ingenuity of the analyst. Measurements for nonvolatile and thermally labile compounds in the complex materials derived from the environment and living systems are especially difficult, and existing techniques aremostly ill-suited to this task. Resonance Raman spectroscopy provides an appropriate basis for such analyses.     

Estimates for the principal spectrum point for certain time-dependent parabolic operators

Non-autonomous parabolic equations are discussed. The periodic case is considered first and an estimate for the principal periodic-parabolic eigenvalue is obtained by relating the original problem to the elliptic one obtained by time-averaging. It is then shown that an analogous bound may be obtained for the principal spectrum point in the almost periodic case. These results have applications to the stability of nonlinear systems and hence, for example, to permanence for biological systems.     

Magnetically ordered (Tc= 200 K) bis(tetracyanopyrazine)vanadium, V[TCNP]2.yCH2Cl2

A new organic-based magnet, V[TCNP]2.yCH2Cl2 (TCNP = tetracyanopyrazine), has been synthesized, and its magnetic properties have been examined. The amorphous nature of V[TCNP]2.yCH2Cl2 makes it difficult to determine the structure of the material; however, ac and dc magnetic measurements indicate that it is a ferrimagnet below 200 K with a small coercive field of 8 Oe at 5 K.     

Optical emission spectroscopy with a microwave-induced plasma in a sealed microtube

A microwave system is used to induce a plasma inside a sealed microtube containing a sample or standard, and the emission from the analyte is measured. The detection limits are about 4 ng for S, Cl and Br, and 100 ng for Cd and Sn, in approximately 30-mul samples. Both gaseous and liquid samples can be analysed.     

Effects of low-pass filtering on the intelligibility of speech in quiet for people with and without dead regions at high frequencies

A dead region is a region of the cochlea where there are no functioning inner hair cells (IHCs) and/or neurons; it can be characterized in terms of the characteristic frequencies of the IHCs bordering that region. We examined the effect of high-frequency amplification on speech perception for subjects with high-frequency hearing loss with and without dead regions. The limits of any dead regions were defined by measuring psychophysical tuning curves and were confirmed using the TEN test described in Moore et al. [Br. J. Audiol. 34, 205-224 (2000)]. The speech stimuli were vowel-consonant-vowel (VCV) nonsense syllables, using one of three vowels (/i/, /a/, and /u/) and 21 different consonants. In a baseline condition, subjects were tested using broadband stimuli with a nominal input level of 65 dB SPL. Prior to presentation via Sennheiser HD580 earphones, the stimuli were subjected to the frequency-gain characteristic prescribed by the "Cambridge" formula, which is intended to give speech at 65 dB SPL the same overall loudness as for a normal listener, and to make the average loudness of the speech the same for each critical band over the frequency range important for speech intelligibility (in a listener without a dead region). The stimuli for all other conditions were initially subjected to this same frequency-gain characteristic. Then, the speech was low-pass filtered with various cutoff frequencies. For subjects without dead regions, performance generally improved progressively with increasing cutoff frequency. This indicates that they benefited from high-frequency information. For subjects with dead regions, two patterns of performance were observed. For most subjects, performance improved with increasing cutoff frequency until the cutoff frequency was somewhat above the estimated edge frequency of the dead region, but hardly changed with further increases. For a few subjects, performance initially improved with increasing cutoff frequency and then worsened with further increases, although the worsening was significant only for one subject. The results have important implications for the fitting of hearing aids.