Acoustical and elastic properties of transition metal nitrides

Elastic moduli of transition metal nitrides, TiN, ZrN and HfN, have been evaluated using electrostatic and Born repulsive potentials. Acoustical dissipation due to phonon-phonon (p-p) interaction, thermoelastic mechanism and dislocation damping due to screw and edge dislocations has been evaluated in the temperature range 50-500 K along the three crystallographic directions of propagation, viz. [1 0 0], [1 1 0] and [1 1 1] for longitudinal and shear modes. Grüneisen numbers, acoustic coupling constants and their ratios have been evaluated for the longitudinal and shear waves. Results are in good agreement with available data.     

Radiological and hydrological implications of dissolved radon in alluvial aquifers of western India

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - A study was undertaken to measure the dissolved radon (222Rn) concentration in parts of western India (Southwest Punjab) in order to evaluate its...     

Walking metals: catalytic difunctionalization of alkenes at nonclassical sites

Migration of metals along a carbon chain is triggered by two of the most common organometallic elementary steps – β-hydride (β-H) elimination and alkene hydrometallation. This process heralds a new future for creating bonds at carbon sites that fall outside the tenets of the conventional wisdom for reactivity and bond formation, and provides an opportunity to leverage β-H elimination to advance the very reaction of alkene difunctionalization it is intrinsically predestined to disrupt. Almost four decades since its genesis, the early adventure for alkene difunctionalization by metal migration was sporadic, and its later development went on a hiatus primarily due to original impetus on arresting β-H elimination for vicinal alkene difunctionalization. With the recent surge on alkene difunctionalization, efforts have been gradually shifting to harnessing the process of β-H elimination to difunctionalize alkenes at sites other than the classical vicinal carbons, termed henceforth nonclassical reaction sites for pedagogical simplicity. In this review article, we extricate and examine the origin and the development of such reactions over the years. This review covers a wide range of reactions for the difunctionalization of alkenes at geminal (1,1), allylic (1,3) and remote (1,n) carbon sites with a variety of coupling partners. These reactions have enabled engineering of complex molecular frameworks with the generation of new carbon–carbon (C–C)/C–C, C–C/C–heteroatom (halogens, O, N, B) and C–B/C–B bonds. The development of these unique transformations is also presented with mechanistic hypotheses and experimental evidences put forward by researchers. Judged by the number of reports emerging recently, it is now strikingly evident that the field of alkene difunctionalization by metal migration has begun to gain momentum, which holds a great future prospect to develop into a synthetic method of enormous potential.

Alkenes can be difunctionalized at unconventional carbon sites by the migration of transition metals through β-hydride elimination and hydrometallation steps.     

Innovation diffusion model with interactions and delays in adoption for two competitive products in two different patches

Ricerche di Matematica - The aim of the present paper, how the people behave towards the offer of two products in two different patches. In this work, an innovation diffusion model with...     

Highly Crystalline and Semiconducting Imine‐Based Two‐Dimensional Polymers Enabled by Interfacial Synthesis

Single‐layer and multi‐layer 2D polyimine films have been achieved through interfacial synthesis methods. However, it remains a great challenge to achieve the maximum degree of crystallinity in the 2D polyimines, which largely limits the long‐range transport properties. Here we employ a surfactant‐monolayer‐assisted interfacial synthesis (SMAIS) method for the successful preparation of porphyrin and triazine containing polyimine‐based 2D polymer (PI‐2DP) films with square and hexagonal lattices, respectively. The synthetic PI‐2DP films are featured with polycrystalline multilayers with tunable thickness from 6 to 200 nm and large crystalline domains (100–150 nm in size). Intrigued by high crystallinity and the presence of electroactive porphyrin moieties, the optoelectronic properties of PI‐2DP are investigated by time‐resolved terahertz spectroscopy. Typically, the porphyrin‐based PI‐2DP 1 film exhibits a p‐type semiconductor behavior with a band gap of 1.38 eV and hole mobility as high as 0.01 cm² V^?1 s^?1, superior to the previously reported polyimine based materials.     

Distribution of uranium in groundwaters of Bathinda and Mansa districts of Punjab,India: inferences from an isotope hydrochemical study

This paper presents the isotope hydrochemical results of groundwaters from southwest Punjab for assessing the uranium contamination and evaluating the factors leading to elevated uranium concentration. A total of 35 samples covering shallow and deep zones were collected for hydrochemistry and isotopes. Uranium concentration ranges between 2.3 and 357 µg L^?1 and 66% of the samples are contaminated. Both shallow and deep zones show U contamination but high incidences are noticed in shallow zone. Hydrochemical correlations infer geological sources rather than anthropogenic sources responsible for U contamination. Isotopically there is no clear distinction between high and low U groundwater.     

Policy analytics need more than a spreadsheet: a case study in funding formulae

This article presents two case studies, concerning the allocation of £Billions by a mechanism communicated via spreadsheet models. It argues that technical analytic skills as well as policy development skills are a vital component of governance. In the UK, Central Government uses funding formulae to distribute money to local service providers. One commonly stated goal of such formulae is equity of service provision. However, given the complexity of public services, together with variations in need, delivery style and the exercise of stakeholder judgement as to which needs should be met and how, such formulae frequently obscure the process by which equity has been taken into account. One policy ‘solution’ to managing such tensions is to seek ‘transparency’. With respect to funding formulae, this commonly involves publishing the underlying data and formulae in spreadsheets. This paper extends the argument that such ‘transparency’ requires an audience that understands the policy assumptions (and related conceptualisations), data sources, methodological approaches and interpretation of results. It demonstrates how the search for policy ‘transparency’ is also met by the technical quality assurance goals that the operational research community would recognise as best practice in the development both of software generally and spreadsheet models specifically. Illustrative examples of complex formulae acting to subvert equity are drawn from the English Fire and Rescue Service and Police Service allocation formulae. In the former, an increase in the amount of deprivation, as measured by one of six indicators, has the perverse effect of decreasing the financial allocation. In the latter, metropolitan areas such as London are found to gain most from the inclusion of variables measuring sparsity. The conclusion from these scenarios is that the steps needed to for technical quality assurance and policy transparency are mutually reinforcing goals, with policy analysts urged to make greater use of technical analytic skills in software development.     

EWG assisted nucleophilic fluorination using PPHF: a strategy for the synthesis of 1,2,2-triaryl-2-fluoroethanones

The nucleophilic fluorination of 1,2,2-triaryl-2-hydroxyethanones by fluoride ion has been carried out using pyridinium poly(hydrogen fluoride) (PPHF) to give 1,2,2-triaryl-2-fluoroethanones in fairly good yield. The presence of electron withdrawing group (EWG), such as -COAr at the carbon bearing hydroxyl group facilitates such nucleophilic fluorination. The intermediacy of bridged oxiranyl ion and α-ketocarbenium ion has been proposed for the formation of various α-fluoroketones and benzofuran derivatives respectively.