An alternative method for plotting dispersion curves

Solving the frequency equation and plotting the dispersion curves in problems of wave propagation in cylinders and plates, particularly when the material is anisotropic, are complicated tasks. The traditional numerical methods are usually based on determination of the zeros of the frequency equation by using an iterative find-root algorithm. In this paper, an alternative method is proposed which extracts the solution of the frequency equation in the form of dispersion curves from the three-dimensional illustration of the frequency equation. For this purpose, a three-dimensional representation of the real roots of the frequency equation is first plotted. The dispersion curves, which are the numerical solutions of the frequency equation, are then obtained by a suitable cut in the velocity-frequency plane. The advantages of this method include simplicity, high speed, low possibility of numerical error, and presentation of the results in a graphical form that promotes ease of interpretation. This method is not directly applicable to problems which incorporate high damping or leaky waves. However, if the damping is not very high, it could be a good estimate of the true dispersion curves.     

Guest Binding Drives Reversible Atropisomerism in Cavitand Hosts

Guest‐love‐ometer : The equilibrium inside–outside atropisomeric ratio of ortho‐substituted phenyl cavitands shows a strong solvent dependence. The competition between the ortho‐substituent and the solvent guest for the bowl cavity leads to a sensitive system for the measurement of relative guest binding affinities.

     

Conjugate and cut loci of a two-sphere of revolution with application to optimal control

The objective of this article is to present a sharp result to determine when the cut locus for a class of metrics on a two-sphere of revolution is reduced to a single branch. This work is motivated by optimal control problems in space and quantum dynamics and gives global optimal results in orbital transfer and for Lindblad equations in quantum control.     

Electronic transport between Au surface and scanning tunnelling microscope tip via a multipodal cyclodextrin host–metallo‐guest supramolecular system

An elementary supramolecular conducting system was constructed using a novel (±)‐thioctic acid‐functionalized β‐cyclodextrin host deposited on a gold (Au) surface and an iridium‐bearing guest molecule with biphenyl tails to insert specifically into the cyclodextrin cavity. The resulting supramolecular system was used to investigate remote electron communication between the flat Au surface and the platinum (Pt)/iridium (Ir) tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope. The morphology of the surfaces after successive deposition of host molecules followed by guest molecules was investigated. Formation of features of 2 nm size was shown on the Au surface functionalised with the supramolecular system. I–V spectroscopic analysis of the tunnelling current through this supramolecular layer revealed the relation between the effective barrier height and tunnelling distance. Thus, in the supramolecular host–metallo‐guest system, a small increase of conductance is observed, compared to the layer without the guest. This can be attributed to the presence of the Ir‐guest, which eventually creates intermediate energy states between the Au substrate and the Pt/Ir tip. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Do Charge State Signatures Guarantee Protein Conformations?

The extent to which proteins in the gas phase retain their condensed-phase structure is a hotly debated issue. Closely related to this is the degree to which the observed charge state reflects protein conformation. Evidence from electron capture dissociation, hydrogen/deuterium exchange, ion mobility, and molecular dynamics shows clearly that there is often a strong correlation between the degree of folding and charge state, with the most compact conformations observed for the lowest charge states. In this article, we address recent controversies surrounding the relationship between charge states and folding, focussing also on the manipulation of charge in solution and its effect on conformation. 'Supercharging' reagents that have been used to effect change in charge state can promote unfolding in the electrospray droplet. However for several protein complexes, supercharging does not appear to perturb the structure in that unfolding is not detected. Consequently, a higher charge state does not necessarily imply unfolding. Whilst the effect of charge manipulation on conformation remains controversial, there is strong evidence that a folded, compact state of a protein can survive in the gas phase, at least on a millisecond timescale. The exact nature of the side-chain packing and secondary structural elements in these compact states, however, remains elusive and prompts further research.     

Tris(2,2′‐bipyridyl‐N,N′)­iron(II) diperchlorate

The title compound, [Fe(C₁₀H₈N₂)₃](ClO₄)₂, is isomorphous with the Zn^II and Ru^II analogues. A twofold axis passes through the metal atom and the midpoint of the C—C bond joining the two pyridine rings of one of the bi­pyridyl ligands.     

Photo- and Electrochemical Dual-Responsive Iridium Probe for Saccharide Detection

Dual detection systems are of interest for rapid, accurate data collection in sensing systems and in vitro testing. We introduce an Ir^III complex with a boronic acid receptor site attached to the 2-phenylpyridine ligand as an ideal probe with photo- and electrochemical signals that is sensitive to monosaccharide binding in aqueous solution. The complex displays orange luminescence at 618 nm, which is reduced by 70 and 40 % upon binding of fructose and glucose, respectively. The electro-chemiluminescent signal of the complex also shows a direct response to monosaccharide binding. The Ir^III complex shows the same response upon incorporation into hydrogel matrices as in solution, thus demonstrating the potential of its integration into a device, as a nontoxic, simple-to-use tool to observe sugar binding over physiologically relevant pH ranges and saccharide concentrations. Moreover, the complex's luminescence is responsive to monosaccharide presence in cancer cells.     

Latent variable modelling of price‐change in 295 manufacturing industries

In contrast to traditional regression analysis, latent variable modelling (LVM) can explicitly differentiate between measurement errors and other random disturbances in the specification and estimation of econometric models. This paper argues that LVM could be a promising approach to test economic theories because applied research in business and economics is based on statistical information, which is frequently inaccurately measured. Considering the theory of industry‐price determination, where the price variables involved are known to include a large measurement error, a latent variable, structural‐equations model is constructed and applied to data on 7381 product categories classified into 295 manufacturing industries of the USA economy. The obtained estimates, compared and evaluated against a traditional regression model fitted to the same data, show the advantages of the LVM analytical framework, which could lead a long drawn‐out conflict between empirical results and theory to a satisfactory reconciliation. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Q-switching of a diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser using a quadrupole electro-optic deflector

4 laser and this produced 1.5-ns pulses of 7 kW peak power at a repetition rate of 20 kHz. Received: 11 May 1998