Zur Kenntnis von 1,2,3,4-Tetraoxybenzolderivaten

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Whole-body vibration and ergonomic study of US railroad locomotives

US locomotive operators have exposure to multi-axis whole-body vibration (WBV) and shocks while seated. This study assessed operator-related and ergonomic seating design factors that may have confounding or mitigating influence on WBV exposure and its effects. Vibration exposure was measured according to international guidelines (ISO 2631-1; 1997); ergonomic work place factors and vibration effects were studied with a cross-sectional survey instrument distributed to a randomly selected group of railroad engineers (n=2546) and a control group; and during vehicle inspections. The survey response rate was 47% for the RR engineers (n=1195) and 41% for the controls (n=323). Results of the mean basic vibration measurements were for the x, y, z-direction and vector sum 0.14, 0.22, 0.28 and 0.49 m/s² respectively; almost all crest factors (CF), MTVV and VDV values were above the critical ratios given in ISO 2631-1. The prevalence of serious neck and lower back disorders among locomotive engineers was found to be nearly double that of the sedentary control group without such exposure. Railroad engineers rated their seats mostly unacceptable regarding different adjustment and comfort aspects (3.02-3.51; scale 1=excellent to 4=unacceptable), while the control group rated their chairs more favorably (1.96-3.44). Existing cab and seat design in locomotives can result in prolonged forced awkward spinal posture of the operator combined with WBV exposure. In a logistic regression analysis, time at work being bothered by vibration (h/day) was significantly associated with an increased risk of low back pain, shoulder and neck pain, and sciatic pain among railroad engineers. Customized vibration attenuation seats and improved cab design of the locomotive controls should be further investigated.     

Output power enhancement of 100% for quaternary GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb semiconductor disc lasers grown with a sequential growth scheme

Molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth and lasing operation of quaternary GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb-based optically-pumped vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSEL) emitting at a wavelength of 2.0 μm are reported. MBE growth of such structures is particularly challenging as it requires, apart from the large total thickness of the epitaxial layer stack of 10–12 μm a change of group-III fluxes for the growth of AlAsSb and low Al-content AlGaAsSb. Two different growth schemes are compared. The first one is the conventional growth procedure in which the wafer remains in the growth chamber and the growth is interrupted at the interfaces before and after the active region to adjust the group-III cell temperatures for different flux settings. At the interfaces where the growth had to be interrupted, secondary-ion mass-spectrometry revealed the unintentional incorporation of In at a concentration equivalent to 1–2 monolayers. Here we introduce a new growth procedure—the sequential growth scheme where each section of the VECSEL is grown separately, and after the growth of a section, the sample is taken out of the growth chamber and stored in the buffer chamber while the group-III cell temperatures are adjusted. After the new group-III fluxes have been stabilized, the wafer is transferred back into the growth chamber and the next section of the laser is grown. This way the unintentional incorporation of In at interfaces between different sections of the VECSEL structure can be avoided. A comparison of nominally identical VECSEL structures grown within the same growth campaign using the two different growth procedures reveals an increase of the maximum output power of nearly 100% for a 2.0 μm emitting VECSEL structure grown with the sequential growth scheme accompanied by an improvement of the optical-to-optical power conversion efficiency from 14.4% to 21.5%.     

2 μm semiconductor disk laser with a heterodyne linewidth below 10 kHz

We demonstrate a 2 μm semiconductor disk laser emitting in a single longitudinal mode with a linewidth in the <10 kHz range. A heterodyne detection scheme was used for precise linewidth measurements. In these experiments, the output beams of two identical laser cavities were superposed in order to generate a beat note signal on a photodiode. In the absence of active frequency stabilization, a linewidth of 45 kHz was measured at an output power of 100 mW. When using a frequency stabilization consisting of a feedback loop with a Fabry-Perot interferometer as wavelength reference, the linewidth could be further reduced to 9 kHz.     

Tandem mass spectrometric fragmentation patterns of known and new steviol glycosides with structure proposals

Stevia rebaudiana contains several steviol glycosides that have a sweet flavor. They are up to 450 times sweeter than sucrose, but some have an undesirable aftertaste. Up to 2010, ten different steviol glycosides have been described from the leaves or purified extracts of S. rebaudiana. In this paper, the tandem mass spectrometric fragmentation patterns of these ten compounds are compiled, along with a scheme for structural elucidation. This scheme is then applied to 12 steviol glycosides that have not yet been described. The proposed structures of five steviol glycosides have been confirmed by other authors.     

On the way to biodegradable poly(hydroxy butyrate) from propylene oxide and carbon monoxide via β-butyrolactone: Multisite catalysis with newly designed chiral indole-imino chromium(III) complexes

Enantioenriched poly(hydroxy butyrate) (PHB) is a biodegradable polyester of significant commercial interest as an environmentally benign substitute of commodity polyolefines. We report on the design and development of new chiral indole-based ligand families and on their chromium(III) complexes as enantioselective catalysts for the conversion of propylene oxide and carbon monoxide to enantioenriched β-butyrolactone, the key monomer for the production of PHB by ring-opening polymerization. The enantioselective carbonylation catalysts are based on new chiral tri- and tetradentate [N₂O] and [N₄] chromium(III) complexes containing chiral indolaldimine ligand scaffolds. The conceptual design of these ligands is inspired by Jacobsen’s salicylaldimine lead structure; the key difference is an exchange of the salicyl-O-donor against an indole-N-donor, allowing additional structural diversity and stereoelectronic tuning by the indole substitution pattern. Synthetically, chiral indolealdimines are easily accessible from 7-formylindoles by standard Schiff base condensation with chiral amine building blocks; the 7-formylindoles in turn are synthesized from the corresponding 7-bromoindoles by the Rapoport synthesis, and the starting 7-bromoindoles are accessible from 2-bromoaniline by the classical Fischer indole synthesis. Three generations of chiral [N₂O] and [N₄] chromium(III) catalysts have been developed and evaluated in the enantioselective carbonylation of racemic propylene oxide with carbon monoxide using tetracarbonylcobaltate as the nucleophilic reagent for the insertion of carbon monoxide into the activated propylene oxide/chiral Lewis acid complex. The best catalyst out of 10 candidates showed at a temperature of 80 °C an activity of 37% conversion, 100% chemoselectivity, and 19% stereoselectivity.