Mathematics achievement and interest in mathematics from a differential perspective

In this article, we present results of an empirical study with 500 German students of grades 7 and 8. The study focussed on students' mathematics achievement and their interest in mathematics as well as on the relation between these two constructs. In particular, the results show that the development of an individual student's achievement between grade 7 and grade 8 depends on the achievement level of the specific classroom and therefore on the specific mathematics instruction Interest in mathematics could be regarded a predictor for mathematics achievement Moreover, our findings suggest that the students show hardly any fear of mathematics independent of their achievement level.     

Indole and Isatin Oximes: Synthesis, Reactions, and Biological Activity. (Review)

Data on methods for the production of isatin and indole aldoximes, ketoximes, and amidoximes and their reactions are reviewed. Individual syntheses of new heterocycles from indole and isatin oximes are discussed. The principal results from investigation of the biological activity of derivatives of the oximes are also presented.     

Modified Coumarins. 9. Synthesis of Amino-Acid Derivatives of 3-(2,3,5-Trimethyl-7-oxofuro[3,2-g]chromen-6-yl)propanoic Acid

Furocoumarins modified by amino acids were prepared by condensation of the N-hydroxysuccinimide ester of 3-(2,3,5-trimethyl-7-oxofuro[3,2-g]chromen-6-yl)propanoic acid with amino acids.     

Radial and angular correlation in heliumlike ions

In the framework of nonrelativistic variational formalism a new type of basis set is proposed, to estimate separately the effect of radial and angular correlations on the ground‐state energy for helium isoelectronic sequence H^? to Ar¹⁶⁺. Effect of radial correlation is incorporated by using multiexponential functions arising from product basis sets suitably formed out of Slater‐type one‐particle orbitals. The angular correlation can be switched on by incorporating an expansion in terms of basis involving interparticle coordinates. With a set of six‐term Slater‐type one‐particle basis and five‐term interparticle expansion, the ground‐state energy of helium is estimated as ?2.9037236 (a.u.) compared with the multiterm variational estimates ?2.9037244 (a.u.) due to Pekeris and Thakkar and Smith and Drake. Matrix elements of different operators in the ground state have been calculated and found to be in good agreement with available accurate results. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2003     

On a new calcium vanadate: synthesis, structure and Li insertion behavior

A synthetic form of the mineral hewettite was prepared via a new route in aqueous medium, starting either from the crystalline compound Li_1.1V₃O₈, or from its amorphous precursor. The anhydrous, crystalline derivative Ca_0.5V₃O₈ was obtained by heating the synthetic hewettite at 250°C under dynamic vacuum. The diffraction studies show that the 2D structure of Ca_0.5V₃O₈ involves the same V₃O₈ layers as in the hewettite or in Li_1+αV₃O₈. The stacking of the layers is similar to that in the metahewettite. A structural model is proposed, where the Ca²⁺ ions occupy octahedral sites in the interlayer space. The electrochemical behavior of Ca_0.5V₃O₈ vs. lithium insertion is presented. It is original and reveals particularly good performances in terms of stability during cycling at C/5 rate. The homologues obtained with Mg or Ba, instead of Ca, are briefly presented.     

Structure and Structural Nonrigidity of Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin Radical Cations

Ab initio calculations showed that the tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin radical cations (TCDD RCs) with a planar structure have two steady states with asymmetric dioxin cycles. The activation barriers between these states are up to 2 kcal/mole, so that the RCs may be regarded as being structurally nonrigid within the dioxin cycle. The 2,3,7,8-TCDD RC is more stable than the 1,4,6,9-TCDD RC, the energy difference being 5.2 kcal/mole. The adiabatic ionization potential of 2,3,7,8-TCDD (7.54 eV) is 0.1 eV smaller than the corresponding potential of 1,4,6,9-TCDD. These factors account for the increased hemoproteide affinity and hence increased biological activity of 2,3,7,8-TCDD.     

The synthesis of 6-trifluoroethyl-l-lysine: a method to introduce functionality at C-6 of l-lysine

Described is a method of introducing trifluoroalkyl groups at C-6 of lysine. This chemistry has the potential to introduce a variety of functionality at C-6 of lysine.     

Inhomogeneous Voter Models in One Dimension

We establish conditions for survival and extinction of types of one-dimensional voter models, and show that increasing the flip rates at a finite number of sites typically does not affect survival, unless the flipping mechanism is altered. We provide an example of a modified voter model that does not survive but can be made to survive simply by altering the flip mechanism at one site. We also show that a rather general class of such models have clustering behavior.