Reduction of 4-arylidene-1,3-(2H,4H)isoquinolinediones

Catalytic hydrogenation of some 4-arylidene-1,3-(2H,4H)isoquinolinediones (1) afforded the corresponding 4-arylmethyl-1,3-(2H,4H)isoquinolinediones (2) , but reduction of 1 by sodium borohydride gave 4-arylmethyl-1(2H)isoquinolones (isocarbostyrils, 3). Compounds of type 1 studied had aryl substituents phenyl, 3,4-dimethoxyphenyl, 3,4-methyleneoxyphenyl and 2-furyl. In one example of sodium borohydride reduction of an N-methylisoquinolinedione derivative (1) the heterocylic ring was opened, and 2-(1-hydroxymethyl-2-phenylethenyl)-N-methylbenzamide (4) was obtained from 4-benzylidene-2-methyl-1,3-(2H,4H)isoquinolinedione.     

On the possible temperatures of a dynamical system

A simpleC*-algebra and a continuous one-parameter automorphism group are constructed such that the set of inverse temperatures at which there exist equilibrium states (i.e., KMS states, or, for =±, ground or ceiling states) is an arbitrary closed subset of IR{±}.With partial support of the National Science Foundation     

A refinement of Simon's correlation inequality

A general formulation is given of Simon's Ising model inequality: whereB is any set of spins separating from . We show that _b can be replaced by _{b A} whereA is the spin system insideB containing . An advantage of this is that a finite algorithm can be given to compute the transition temperature to any desired accuracy. The analogous inequality for plane rotors is shown to hold if a certain conjecture can be proved. This conjecture is indeed verified in the simplest case, and leads to an upper bound on the critical temperature. (The conjecture has been proved in general by Rivasseau. See notes added in proof.)Work partially supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant PHY-7825390 A01     

Correlation of antioxidant depletion and mechanical performance during thermal degradation of an HTPB elastomer

Thermal degradation studies of a stabilized HTPB based elastomer were conducted at temperatures from 50 °C to 110 °C. The concentration of extractable antioxidant (AO2246) in the polymer was quantified via AO extraction and a gas chromatography-based method using internal standards. The decrease in extractable AO levels as a function of time and temperature was evaluated and correlated with mechanical property changes. Most importantly, AO depletion features were found to be temperature dependent. At elevated temperatures (>80 °C) extractable AO levels decreased rapidly and faster than the concurrent loss in mechanical properties. While extractable AO concentrations decrease quickly, the material is able to maintain some useful mechanical properties, perhaps via non-extractable or grafted AO species formed during degradation providing additional protection. At lower aging temperatures extractable or free AO levels decreased more slowly than the mechanical properties. Therefore, for condition monitoring purposes a universal correlation between AO levels and aging state or material condition could not be established. Most importantly, however, loss of mechanical properties and oxidative degradation is observed at lower temperatures despite significant levels of free antioxidant in the material. The antioxidant appears to be limited in its effectiveness to completely prevent degradation reactions, or only fractions of the total AO available are actually involved in the inhibition process.     

Microfluidic devices for energy conversion: planar integration and performance of a passive, fully immersed H2-O2 fuel cell

We describe the fabrication and performance of a passive, microfluidics-based H2-O2 microfluidic fuel cell using thin film Pt electrodes embedded in a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) device. The electrode array is fully immersed in a liquid electrolyte confined inside the microchannel network, which serves also as a thin gas-permeable membrane through which the reactants are fed to the electrodes. The cell operates at room temperature with a maximum power density of around 700 microW/cm(2), while its performance, as recorded by monitoring the corresponding polarization curves and the power density plots, is affected by the pH of the electrolyte, its concentration, the surface area of the Pt electrodes, and the thickness of the PDMS membrane. The best results were obtained in basic solutions using electrochemically roughened Pt electrodes, the roughness factor, R(f), of which was around 90 relative to a smooth Pt film. In addition, the operating lifetime of the fuel cell was found to be longer for the one using higher surface area electrodes.     

In search of covalently bound tetra- and penta-oxygen species: a photoelectron spectroscopic and Ab initio investigation of MO4- and MO5- (M = Li,Na, K,Cs)

Although neutral and ionic O4(0/-/+) species have been observed experimentally and considered for energetic materials, O4(2-) and O5(2-) dianions have not yet been explored. O4(2-) is valent isoelectronic to the well-known ClO3- and SO3(2-) anions, and O5(2-) is valent isoelectronic to ClO4- and SO4(2-). All are stable, common anions in solutions and inorganic salts. In this article, we explore the possibility of making covalently bound O4(2-) and O5(2-) species stabilized in the forms of M+O4(2-) and M+O5(2-) (M = Li, Na, K, Cs) in the gas phase. Laser vaporization experiments using M-containing targets and an O2-seeded carrier gas yielded very intense mass peaks corresponding to MO4- and MO5-. To elucidate the structure and bonding of the newly observed MO4- and MO5- species, we measured their photoelectron spectra and then compared them with ab initio calculations and the spectra of ClO3-, Na+SO3(2-), ClO4-, and Na+SO4(2-). Careful analyses of the experimental and ab initio results showed, however, that the observed species are of the forms, O2-M+O2- and O2-M+O3-. The more interesting M+O4(2-) and M+O5(2-) species were found to be higher-energy isomers, but they are true minima on the potential energy surfaces, which suggests that it might be possible to synthesize bulk materials containing covalently bound tetra- and pentatomic oxygen building blocks.     

Evaluation of an immunobiosensor for the on-site testing of veterinary drug residues at an abattoir. Screening for sulfamethazine in pigs

A study was conducted to determine the feasibility of performing "on-site" screening for sulfamethazine (SMT), at an abattoir, using a rapid immunobiosensor method. This involved transfer of the biosensor technology and an assay developed in the laboratory, to the cold, humid conditions of a modern pig-processing factory. A pre-determined threshold limit of 0.4 microgram ml-1 SMT in bile was used to identify the likelihood that corresponding tissue samples contained SMT concentrations in excess of the European maximum permissible residue limit of 0.1 mg kg-1. Bile samples containing SMT concentrations above the threshold limit were deemed positive and the corresponding kidney and muscle samples were sent to the laboratory for HPLC analysis. The robustness of the biosensor instrumentation in the harsh operating conditions was monitored throughout the project. The performance of the assay, on-site, was assessed by the regular inclusion of QA samples and by the submission of control 'SMT-positive' pigs to the abattoir. Sampling procedures, identification and traceability were also under scrutiny. During the project, 337 (9.35%) of the total kill were tested for SMT residues, representing 75% of all producers submitting pigs for slaughter. Twelve animals, including the ten controls, gave positive bile results. HPLC analysis confirmed SMT residues in all 12 kidneys (11 in excess of the permissible level). Ten muscle samples also contained violative SMT levels. Throughout the project, the biosensor performed reliably, with no adverse reaction of any mechanical or electrical components. The SMT assay also performed reliably. This is the first report of a biosensor being used for 'on-site' drug screening.     

Automated screening of urine samples for carbohydrates, organic and amino acids after treatment with urease

Eighty-five clinical urine samples and nineteen urine samples previously found by other laboratories to suggest genetic metabolic defects were prepared for trimethylsilylation by treatment with urease, followed by azeotropic dehydration. The "Target Analyte Search" program provided with the VG Trio 2 gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer required 6 min to quantify 103 compounds relative to endogenous urinary creatinine. This technique has been used to confirm diagnoses including cystinuria, lysinuria, medium-chain acyldehydrogenase deficiency, ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency, aspartylglucosaminuria, methylmalonic, propionic and glutaric acidurias.     

Existence for the Cahn-Hilliard phase separation model with a nondifferentiable energy

Summary The Cahn-Hilliard model for phase separation in a binary alloy leads to the equations (I) u_t=w, (II) w= (u)– u with an associated energy functional F(u)=f [(u)+ +¦u¦²/2] dx. In this paper we discuss the existence theory for initial bounday value problems arising from modifications to the Cahn-Hilliard model due to the addition of the non-differentiable term ¦u¦dx to the energy F(u).