Self-broadening in the fundamental bands of HF and HCl

Self-broadened lineshapes in the fundamental bands of HF and HCl have been measured with a high-resolution difference-frequency laser spectrometer. Self-induced broadenings, shifts, and collisional narrowings have been extracted by least-squares fitting several collisional profiles to the spectra. At low pressures, the collisional narrowing effect causes deviations of the lineshapes from the Voigt profile having a Doppler-fixed Gaussian component, and yields a measure of the diffusion constants of the molecules.     

On robust cross-validation for nonparametric smoothing

An essential problem in nonparametric smoothing of noisy data is a proper choice of the bandwidth or window width, which depends on a smoothing parameter $k$ . One way to choose $k$ based on the data is leave-one-out-cross-validation. The selection of the cross-validation criterion is similarly important as the choice of the smoother. Especially, when outliers are present, robust cross-validation criteria are needed. So far little is known about the behaviour of robust cross-validated smoothers in the presence of discontinuities in the regression function. We combine different smoothing procedures based on local constant fits with each of several cross-validation criteria. These combinations are compared in a simulation study under a broad variety of data situations with outliers and abrupt jumps. There is not a single overall best cross-validation criterion, but we find Boente-cross-validation to perform well in case of large percentages of outliers and the Tukey-criterion in case of data situations with jumps, even if the data are contaminated with outliers.     

Determination of N-acetylator phenotype using caffeine as a probe compound: a comparison of high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis methods.

A test for determining N-acetylator metabolic phenotype has been developed using caffeine as a probe drug. A spot sample of urine is taken, and the unextracted urine is then analysed by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography. Phenotype is determined from the peak-area ratio of urinary 5-acetylamino-6-formylamino-3-methyluracil to 1-methylxanthine. Phenotype assignments using this method were compared with those made using a standard high-performance liquid chromatography assay, with good agreement between the two methods. The advantage of the capillary electrophoresis analysis is that no sample extraction is necessary, resulting in a total analysis time of around 20 min, and removing a potential source of error.     

Tunable diode laser studies of the reaction of Cl atoms with CH3CHO

The reaction Cl + CH₃CHO → HCl + CH₃CO (1) was studied using flash photo‐lysis / tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy to monitor the production of HCl. The rate coefficient, k₁, was measured to be (7.5 ± 0.8) × 10⁻¹¹ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ at 298 K. HCl (v = 0) and HCl^† (v = 1) were measured directly in this study and the yields of HCl (v = 0, 1, >1) for the reaction of Cl with CH₃CHO were determined to be 0.44 ± 0.15, 0.56 ± 0.15, and <0.04, respectively. The rate coefficient for the quenching of HCl^† (v = 1) by CH₃CHO was k_17e = (4.8 ± 1.2) × 10⁻¹¹ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 31: 766–775, 1999     

Development of a tunable mid-IR difference frequency laser source for highly sensitive airborne trace gas detection

The development of a compact tunable mid-IR laser system at 3.5 μm for quantitative airborne spectroscopic trace gas absorption measurements is reported. The mid-IR laser system is based on difference frequency generation (DFG) in periodically poled LiNbO₃ and utilizes optical fiber amplified near-IR diode and fiber lasers as pump sources operating at 1083 nm and 1562 nm, respectively. This paper describes the optical sensor architecture, performance characteristics of individual pump lasers and DFG, as well as its application to wavelength modulation spectroscopy employing an astigmatic Herriott multi-pass gas absorption cell. This compact system permits detection of formaldehyde with a minimal detectable concentration (1σ replicate precision) of 74 parts-per-trillion by volume (pptv) for 1 min of averaging time and was achieved using calibrated gas standards, zero air background and rapid dual-beam subtraction. This corresponds to a pathlength-normalized replicate fractional absorption sensitivity of 2.5×10^-10 cm^-1. Received: 29 April 2002 / Published online: 21 August 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-303/497-1492, E-mail: dr@ucar.edu     

ARC study of the oxygen Schumann-Runge system

Other investigations have shown that the Schumann-Runge system of oxygen is excited by an inverse predissociation mechanism, O + O→ O^*₂. Under the condition where this excitation mechanism dominates, there is some question as to whether the radiation yielded a true rotational/vibrational electronic band spectrum, as opposed to a recombination continuum. Furthermore, there is controversy as to whether the spectral intensity is that given by equilibrium theory. The present work utilized a 1 atm arc jet facility to heat air and O₂-noble gas mixtures to temperatures between 3000 and 3500°K. Both photographic and photoelectric spectra were recorded. In the latter case, wavelength scans from 2000 to 6000 Å were carried out with 5 Å resolution to obtain absolute intensity data. The spectra were found to have true rotational/vibrational electronic band structure, and were identified as the O₂ Schumann-Runge ssytem. Comparison with an equilibrium radiation model showed excellent agreement. A slight adjustment was made in the electronic transition moment for the NO(β) system as demanded by the air runs.     

Milling of Organic Solids in a Jet Mill. Part 2: Checking the Validity of the Predicted Rate of Breakage Function

The particle size distribution of fine chemicals in the solid state, like active pharmaceutical ingredients, is often a critical parameter. To achieve the desired particle size distribution, milling of such materials is usually the method of choice. Since these chemicals are often scarcely available, experimental optimization of milling is not possible. Therefore, a model to predict the milling conditions has been developed. The model estimates the rate of breakage function, and needs mechanical properties like hardness and yield strength as input to calculate the rate of breakage function. This paper attempts to check the validity of the model by a series of experiments. A comparison of the experimental results with the outcomes of the model using five different model compounds has been performed. It appears that the rate of breakage function can be estimated by: The model is able to rank the compounds by degree of fracture as an effect of milling. It was also possible to perform a quantitative prediction of the impact of milling pressure on the milling behavior. Finally, it appeared that the prediction of the large particles in the distribution was significantly better than small ones. Because the oversized material is usually the most critical parameter, the conclusion is that the model has acceptable practical applicability.     

Computational chemistry and molecular simulations of phosphoric acid

Quantum mechanics (QM) calculations, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the condensed‐phase optimized molecular potentials for atomistic simulation studies (COMPASS) force field, and the atom‐centered density matrix propagation (ADMP) approach have been used to investigate properties of phosphoric acid (PA). QM using B3LYP/6‐31++G(d,p) density functional theory were used to calculate gas‐phase proton affinities and interaction energies of PA and its derivatives. Detailed single coordinate driving, followed by quadratic synchronous transit optimization was used to determine energy barriers for different proton transfer (PT) pathways. Determined energy barrier heights in ascending order are (unit: kJ/mol): H₃O⁺→H₃PO₄ (0); H₄P₂O₇→H₃PO₄ (2.61); H₃PO₄→H₂PO (5.31); H₄PO→H₃PO₄ (～7.33); H₃PO₄→H₄P₂O₇/H₃PO₄→H₃PO₄ (15.99); H₄P₂O₇→H₂O (28.61); H₃PO₄→H₂O (47.14). The COMPASS force field was used to study condensed‐phase properties of PA. Good agreement between experimental data and MD results including density, radial distribution functions, and self‐diffusion coefficient at different temperatures provides validation of the COMPASS force field for PA. Finally, preliminary ADMP studies on a cluster of three PA molecules shows that the ADMP approach can reasonably describe the PT and self‐dissociation processes in PA. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011