Upper limit for thermal direct photon production in heavy-ion collisions at 60 and 200A·GeV

The production of direct photons has been investigated in reactions ofp and¹⁶O projectiles at 60 and 200A·GeV with C and Au nuclei. Photon and ⁰ spectra have been measured in the pseudorapidity range 1.52.1 for the transverse momentum region 0.4 GeV/cp _T 2.8 GeV/c employing the lead-glass spectrometer SAPHIR. An upper limit of 15% at the 90% confidence level for the direct photon signal relative to the neutral pion production is obtained from the comparison of measured photon spectra with Monte Carlo simulations of the hadronic background based on the reconstructed yield of ⁰ and mesons. Consequences for a possible phase transition to a quark-gluon plasma are discussed.     

Solvothermal syntheses of Cu3P via reactions of amorphous red phosphorus with a variety of copper sources

Polycrystalline Cu₃P was successfully prepared under a wide variety of solvothermal conditions. The reaction of red phosphorus with several copper sources (copper metal, copper (I) iodide, copper (I) chloride and copper (II) chloride) at 150-200 °C for 1-2 days in water produced Cu₃P. Products were examined with powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Thermal analyses and optical spectroscopy were also performed. A detailed list of reaction conditions, products and impurity phases (where applicable) are reported.     

Synthesis, characterization and electrochemistry of diruthenium complexes linked by aryl acetylide bridges

The reactions between Ru₂(ap)₄Cl and the appropriate lithiated aryl acetylene resulted in the complexes Ru₂(ap)₄(CC4-C₆H₄CCX) with X as SiMe₃ (1), H (2) and Ru₂(ap)₄ (3), 1,3-[Ru₂(ap)₄(CC)]₂(C₆H₄) (4), 1,3-[{Ru₂(ap)₄(CC)}₂]C₆H₃5-CCH (5) and 1-[Ru₂(ap)₄(CC)]C₆H₃3,5-(CCH)₂ (6), where ap is 2-anilinopyridinate. The spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of the new complexes have been assessed. Complexes 3, 4 and 6 display two-electron oxidation and reductions, implying the absence of any significant electronic interaction between the two Ru₂(ap)₄ units in these complexes.     

Chemistry of polybutadiene—iron carbonyl systems

The treatment of polybutadienes with iron carbonyls results in formation of polymers containing tricarbonyl(conjugated diene)iron units [C₈H₁₂Fe(CO)₃] and also results in geometrical isomerization of free double bonds. Heating of the iron carbonyl-containing polymers gives ferromagnetic products with enhanced thermal stability. The incorporation of iron carbonyl groups into the polymer is favored by basic solvents and high temperatures, the geometrical isomerization by acidic solvents and low temperatures. Steric factors are powerful in determining the rate of isomerization.     

Continuous sample deposition from reversed-phase liquid chromatography to tracks on a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization precoated target for the analysis of protein digests

Peptide mass fingerprinting by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-mass spectrometry (MS) is one of the standard high-throughput methods for protein identification today. Traditionally this method has been based on spotting peptide mixtures onto MALDI targets. While this method works well for more abundant proteins, low-abundance proteins mixed with high-abundance proteins tend to go undetected due to ion suppression effects, instrumental dynamic range limitations and chemical noise interference. We present an alternative approach where liquid chromatography (LC) effluent is continuously collected as linear tracks on a MALDI target. In this manner the chromatographic separation is spatially preserved on the target, which enables generation of off-line LC-MS and LC-MS/MS data by MALDI. LC-MALDI sample collection provides improved sensitivity and dynamic range, spatial resolution of peptides along the sample track, and permits peptide mass mapping of low-abundance proteins in mixtures containing high-abundance proteins. In this work, standard and ribosomal protein digests are resolved and captured using LC-MALDI sample collection and analyzed by MALDI-TOF-MS.     

Enumeration of total yeasts and molds in foods by the SimPlate Yeast and Mold-Color Indicator method and conventional culture methods: collaborative study

The relative effectiveness of the SimPlate Yeast and Mold-Color Indicator method (Y&M-CI) was compared to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) method and the proposed International Organization for Standardization (ISO) method, ISO/CD 21527, for enumerating yeasts and molds in foods. Test portions were prepared and incubated according to the conditions stated in both the BAM and ISO methods. Six food types were analyzed: frozen corn dogs, nut meats, frozen fruits, cake mix, cereal, and fresh cheese. Nut meats, frozen fruits, and fresh cheese were naturally contaminated. All other foods were artificially contaminated with either a yeast or mold. Seventeen laboratories throughout North America and Europe participated in the study. Three method comparisons were conducted. In general, there was <0.3 mean log count difference in recovery between the SimPlate method and the 2 corresponding reference methods. Moreover, mean log counts between the 2 reference methods were also very similar. The repeatability (Sr) and reproducibility (SR) standard deviations were comparable between the 3 method comparisons. These results indicate that the BAM method and the SimPlate method are equivalent for enumerating yeast and mold populations in foods. Similarly, the SimPlate method is comparable to the proposed ISO method when test portions are prepared and incubated as defined in the proposed ISO method.     

Limiting behavior of asymptotically flat gravitational fields

Couch and Torrence suggest that the vacuum Einstein equations admit a larger class of asymptotically flat solutions than those exhibiting the peeling property. Starting with the assumption that , (d/dr) and (/x ^A ) , wherex ^A (A = 2, 3) are angular coordinates, they show that , where ₁ 2 and ₁<₀; , where ₂ 1 and ₁< ₁; and ₄ and ₃ peel as they would under the stronger peeling conditions. The Winicour-Tamburino energy-momentun and angular momentum integrals for these solutions, in general, diverge. In fact, since Couch and Torrence determine only the radial dependence of the solution, it is not clear that the solutions are well defined. We find that the stronger assumption , (d/dr) , and (/x ^A ) does result in well-defined solutions for which both the energy-momentum and angular momentum intergrals are not only finite but result in the same expressions as are obtained for peeling space-times. This assumption appears to be the minimal assumption that is necessary for investigating outgoing radiation at null infinity.In part based on a dissertation by Stephanie Novak and submitted to Syracuse University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Ph.D. degree.     

Zur Röntgenbeugung an kleinen kohärenten Kristallbereichen

Relations for the angle intervals of incident and reflected X-rays in the case of diffraction have been derived for coherent single crystals of very small dimensions. For thin layers using kinematical theory of diffraction one gets explicite expressions which can also be deduced as limiting case from the relations of dynamical theory. In this case the behaviour of the rays is entirely analogous to their behaviour at diffraction by large perfect single crystals. For an isometric small crystal the quantitative connections are dependent on the concrete experimental arrangement. The principal possibilities for measuring these angle intervals of diffraction by diffractometry are considered and compared with regard to their information contents. For some practically important examples applying diffractometric investigations, the consequences are discussed resulting when considering the coherence length contributions. The possibility is evaluated to determine such a contribution experimentally by registering the rocking curve at constant angle 2⊖.     

Separation of Natural Food Pigments in Saponified and Un-Saponified Paprika Oleoresin by Ultra High Performance Supercritical Fluid Chromatography (UHPSFC)

The natural pigments in paprika were rapidly and efficiently separated by ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography. The separation of both un-saponified and saponified mixtures of paprika oleoresin were optimized, with run times of 10.6 min. Three different C18 columns, a cyano, silica and diol column, all 3 × 100 mm, with 1.8 μm particles were compared. The best separation for the un-saponified sample was found with an SB-C18 column, while the saponified samples were best separated on a bare silica, RX-Sil column. A SB-CN column allowed near optimum separation of both the unsaponified, and saponified samples, with similar run times. The best mobile phase was carbon dioxide (CO₂) modified with isopropyl alcohol (IPA), with a composition gradient. Fingerprints of several commercial pepper products indicated that one appeared to be colored with artificial dyes, while the color of a chili powder may have been enhanced with a paprika extract. Spectra, using CO₂ with IPA as modifier, produced a single maximum at 453 nm, which appears to represent up to a 30 nm solvatochromic shift from the maxima in most organic solvents. Acetonitrile (ACN) as modifier produced spectra with two maxima and a similar solvatochromic shift. These results appear to be the first on saponified paprika oleoresin samples using SFC. It is also the first detailed report on the separation of un-saponified samples. The results are up to six times faster than comparable results by HPLC. It appears that SFC is a viable, superior alternative to HPLC for the analysis of this important commercial product, without using ACN, or chlorinated solvents.

     

Testing the reliability of non-LTE spectroscopic models for complex ions

Collisional-radiative atomic models are widely used to help diagnose experimental plasma conditions through fitting and interpreting measured spectra. Here we present the results of a code comparison in which a variety of models determined plasma temperatures and densities by finding the best fit to an experimental L-shell Kr spectrum from a well characterized, but not benchmarked, laser plasma. While variations in diagnostic strategies and qualities of fit were significant, the results generally confirmed the typically quoted uncertainties for such diagnostics of ±20% in electron temperature and factors of about two in density. The comparison also highlighted some model features important for spectroscopic diagnostics: fine structure was required to match line positions and relative intensities within each charge state and for density diagnostics based on emission from metastable states; an extensive configuration set was required to fit the wings of satellite features and to reliably diagnose the temperature through the inferred charge state distribution; and the inclusion of self-consistent opacity effects was an important factor in the quality of the fit.