An improved synthesis of isonitrosoacetanilides

A novel two-step synthesis of isonitrosoacetanilides [2-(hydroxyimino)-N-phenylacetamides] has been developed, involving the initial acylation of aniline derivatives with 2,2-diacetoxyacetyl chloride, followed by reaction with hydroxylamine hydrochloride. The method works equally well with a variety of different aniline derivatives, including those with poor aqueous solubility and those containing electron rich ortho-substituents, neither of which react well under traditional conditions.     

Mineralogical analysis of auriferous ores from the El Diamante mine, Colombia

X-ray diffraction (XRD), Mössbauer spectrometry (MS), secondary ions mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and laser-ablation microprobe–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LAM–ICP–MS) were used to study mineral samples of Colombian auriferous ores collected from the “El Diamante” mine, located in the municipality of Guachavez-Nariño, in Colombia. The samples were prepared as polished thin sections and polished sections. From XRD data, quartz, sphalerite and pyrite were detected and their respective cell parameters were estimated. From MS analyses, pyrite, arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite were identified; their respective hyperfine parameters and respective texture were deduced. Multiple regions of approximately 200 × 200 μm in each sample were analyzed with SIMS; the occurrence of “invisible gold” associated mainly with pyrite and secondarily with arsenopyrite could thus be assigned. It was also found that pyrite is of the arsenious type. Spots from 30 to 40 μm in diameter were analyzed with LAM–ICP–MS for pyrite, arsenopyrite and sphalerite; Au is “homogeneously” distributed inside the structure of the arsenious pyrite and the arsenopyrite (not as inclusions); the chemical composition indicates similarities of this “invisible gold”, forming a solid solution with arsenious pyrite and arsenopyrite. One hundred nineteen and 62 ppm of ‘invisible gold’ was quantified in 21 spots analyzed on pyrite and in 14 spots on arsenopyrite, respectively.     

Incomplete data problems in X-ray computerized tomography

Summary In the present paper we study truncated projections for the fanbeam geometry in computerized tomography. First we derive consistency conditions for the divergent beam transform. Then we study a singular value decomposition for the case where only the interior rays in the fan are provided, as for example in region-of-interest tomography. We show that the high angular frequency components of the searched-for densities are well determined and we present reconstructions from real data where the missing information is approximated based on the singular value decomposition.The work of the authors was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft under grant Lo 310/2-4     

Braids on surfaces and finite type invariants

We prove that there is no functorial universal finite type invariant for braids in Σ×I if the genus of Σ is positive. To cite this article: P. Bellingeri, L. Funar, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 338 (2004).     

Consequence for Wavefunction Collapse Model of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Experiment

It is shown that data on the dissociation rate of deuterium obtained in an experiment at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory provides evidence that the Continuous Spontaneous Localization wavefunction collapse model should have mass–proportional coupling to be viable.     

Remarks on Mohrhoff's Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

In a recently proposed interpretation of quantum mechanics, U. Mohrhoff advocates original and thought-provoking views on space and time, the definition of macroscopic objects, and the meaning of probability statements. The interpretation also addresses a number of questions about factual events and the nature of reality. The purpose of this note is to examine several issues raised by Mohrhoff's interpretation, and to assess whether it helps providing solutions to the long-standing problems of quantum mechanics.     

Modules of piecewise polynomials and their freeness

Partially supported by NSF Grant DMS-9004123 and ARO through MSI Cornell (DAAG 29-85-C-0018)     

Orbits of arcs in PG(N,K) under projectivities

The symmetric group on k symbols is made to operate on a certain set of matrices in such a way that its orbits are in one-to-one correspondence with the orbits of the k-arcs of an N-dimensional projective space under the group of projectivities. This leads to a formula for the number of such orbits.     

Inhibition of the reduction of Cr(VI) at the magnetite–water interface by calcium carbonate coatings

The effect of calcium carbonate coatings on the reduction of aqueous chromate on the magnetite(1 1 1) surface has been investigated using a combination of synchrotron based X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, along with laboratory-based powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). CaCO₃ coatings (dominantly calcite with minor quantities of aragonite and vaterite) of thicknesses ranging from 10 Å to 20 m were grown on magnetite(1 1 1) surfaces by exposure to supersaturated aqueous solutions followed by evaporation of the solution—a process that mimics pore-water evaporation in vadose zones leading to the formation of caliche and calcium carbonate coatings on mineral grains. Coating thicknesses were determined from attenuation of the Fe 2p photoemission signal by the carbonate coating. For coatings less than 15 Å thick, Cr 2p photoemission and Cr L_II, L_III-edge XANES spectra show that chromate is reduced by the underlying magnetite surface; however, as the minimum coating thickness increases beyond 15 Å, the magnetite surface becomes passivated and further chromate reduction ceases. Our findings suggest that carbonate coatings on natural magnetite grains can significantly reduce or eliminate their ability to reduce Cr(VI), which is a toxic and highly mobile environmental contaminant.     

Nonstandard analysis and compact Abelian groups

Gor'kii. Translated fromSibirskii Matematicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 26–40, March–April 1991.