Permutation Cellular Automata

Permutation cellular automata are cellular automata defined by using finite maximal prefix codes. The overall dynamics of onesided and twosided permutation cellular automata is studied. For some classes of permutation cellular automata including the class of those defined by using finite maximal bifix codes, the overall dynamics is completely or partially described in terms of the codes used to define them.     

Isomerism and decoherence

In the present paper we address the problem of optical isomerism embodied in the socalled “Hund’s paradox”, which points to the difficulty to account for chirality by means of quantum mechanics. In particular, we explain the answer to the problem proposed by the theory of decoherence. The purpose of this article is to challenge this answer on the basis of a conceptual analysis of the phenomenon of decoherence, that reveals the limitations of the theory of decoherence to solve the difficulties posed by optical isomerism and, in general, by quantum measurement.     

Supercritical fluid extraction of atrazine and its metabolites from soil

Soxhlet (methanol) and SFE extraction with carbon dioxide in the presence of modifiers at different temperatures (100–200°C) for the extraction of atrazine and its main metabolites from a soil sample were compared. The most effective extraction conditions for both atrazine and its metabolites (i.e. deethylatrazine and deisopropylatrazine) were Co₂ modified with 20% molar methanol-trifluoroacetic acid (MeOH-TFA) (TFA 0.65M in MeOH) at 100°C, leading to an extraction efficiency comparable with that of Soxhlet extraction with MeOH for atrazine and ca. 20% higher for its main metabolites. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of SFE was lower than that obtained by Soxhlet extraction, probably because of less interference in the cGC-NPD determination. All the other modifiers evaluated (acetone, triethylamine, and methanol) were less effective than MeOH-TFA for the extraction of atrazine and its metabolites from a soil sample, even at high molar concentrations (20%) and use of higher extraction temperatures (200°C). These results indicate the importance of matrix effects and the need of the selection of an appropriate modifier in order to obtain quantitative extractions by SFE.     

Non-aqueous fluorimetric determination of scandium in silicate rocks

A method for the fluorimetric determination of scandium with 1,2,7-trihydroxyanthraquinone in dimethylformamide medium is described. The calibration graphs obtained by the normal, synchronous, and synchronous first and second derivative techniques are linear between 12 and 225 ng/ml, and the detection limit is 2 ng/ml. The method is applied to the determination of Sc(III) in two simulated and two naturally occurring rocks.     

Effect of chemical modifications on the electronic structure of poly(3‐hexylthiophene)

The widespread use of poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) in the active layers of organic solar cells indicates that it possesses chemical stability and solubility suitable for such an application. However, it would be desirable to have a material that can maintain these properties but with a smaller bandgap, which would lead to more efficient energy harvesting of the solar spectrum. Fifteen P3HT derivatives were studied using the Density Functional Theory. The conclusion is that it is possible to obtain compounds with significantly smaller bandgaps and with solubility and stability similar to that of P3HT, mostly through the binding of oxygen atoms or conjugated organic groups to the thiophenic ring. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys., 2013     

Hilbert spaces expanded with a unitary operator

We study Hilbert spaces expanded with a unitary operator with a countable spectrum. We show that the theory of such a structure is ω ‐stable and admits quantifier elimination. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Lippia origanoides chemotype differentiation based on essential oil GC‐MS and principal component analysis

Chromatographic (GC/flame ionization detection, GC/MS) and statistical analyses were applied to the study of essential oils and extracts obtained from flowers, leaves, and stems of Lippia origanoides plants, growing wild in different Colombian regions. Retention indices, mass spectra, and standard substances were used in the identification of 139 substances detected in these essential oils and extracts. Principal component analysis allowed L. origanoides classification into three chemotypes, characterized according to their essential oil major components. α‐ and β‐phellandrenes, p‐cymene, and limonene distinguished chemotype A; carvacrol and thymol were the distinctive major components of chemotypes B and C, respectively. Pinocembrin (5,7‐dihydroxyflavanone) was found in L. origanoides chemotype A supercritical fluid (CO₂) extract at a concentration of 0.83±0.03 mg/g of dry plant material, which makes this plant an interesting source of an important bioactive flavanone with diverse potential applications in cosmetic, food, and pharmaceutical products.     

Linear End‐On Coordination Modes of CO2

The second case of linear end‐on and evidence for an unprecedented bridging end‐on coordination mode of CO₂ have been discovered for vanadium aryloxide complexes of the tetradentate ligand system (ONNO)^2? (ONNO=2,4‐Me₂‐2‐(OH) C₆H₂CH₂]₂N(CH₂)₂NMe₂). The reaction of divalent (ONNO)V^II (TMEDA) with CO₂ and under the appropriate reaction conditions affords the trivalent (ONNO)V^III(OH)(η¹‐CO₂) resulting from an intermediate CO₂ deoxygenation pathway followed by H‐atom abstraction from the aromatic solvent, and CO₂ fixation. In contrast, the reduction of trivalent (ONNO)V^IIICl(THF) with K, followed by exposure to CO₂ in ethereal solvent, afforded the dinuclear [(ONNO)V^II]₂ (μ_,η¹‐CO₂).