Small-angle muon and bottom-quark production in p&pmacr; collisions at radicals = 1.8 TeV

This Letter describes a measurement of the muon cross section originating from b-quark decay in the forward rapidity range 2.4<| y(&mgr;)|<3.2 in p&pmacr; collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.8 TeV. The data used in this analysis were collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron. We find that next-to-leading-order QCD calculations underestimate b-quark production by a factor of 4 in the forward rapidity region.     

Periodic Solutions for p-Laplacian Neutral Functional Differential Equation with a Deviating Argument

In this paper, by using the continuation theorem of coincidence degree theory and some analysis methods, we study a kind of periodic solutions to p-Laplacian neutral functional differential equation with a deviating argument,some new results on the existence of periodic solutions is obtained.     

Static deflection measurements of cantilever arrays reveal polymer film expansion and contraction

An optical static method of detection is used to interpret surface stress induced bending related to cantilevers coated on one side with poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl butyral-co-vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate), and poly(vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate-co-2-hydroxypropyl acrylate), or respectively, PVA, PVB, and PVC, and exposed to various solvent vapors. Results indicate that the adsorption and surface interactions of the different solvent vapors that cause polymer swelling and shrinking lead to rearrangements, which have been shown to change the elastic properties of the polymer film, and subsequently, the spring constant of the polymer coated cantilever. Static deflection measurements allow the direction of cantilever bending to be determined, which adds a new dimension of usefulness for surface functionalized cantilevers as transducers in the development of novel microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).     

Studies on the Middle-phase Microemulsion of Lauric-N-methylglucamide

The phase behaviour of the middle-phase microemulsion for the quaternary system lauric-N-methylglucamide （MEGA-12）/n-butanollalkane/water has been studied with Winsor type, δ-γ, fishlike and novel ε-β fishlike phase diagrams. A series of phase inversions Winsor I （2）→Ⅲ（3）→Ⅱ （ 2 ） were observed for the three kinds of phase diagrams. The phase types, the phase volumes and the range of alcohol concentrations from the beginning to the end of the middle-phase microemulsion were obtained from Winsor phase diagram. From δ-γ, fishlike phase diagram, the physicochemical parameters, such as the mass fraction of n-butanol in the hydrophile-lipophile balanced inteffacial layer, A^s, the coordinates of the start and end points of the middle-phase microemulsion, and the solubilities of MEGA-12 and n-butanol in alkane phase were calculated. The novel ε-β fishlike phase diagram was also presented. From this kind of diagram, the above experimental phenomena were observed and the physicochemical parameters were calculated precisely. The novel fishlike phase diagram has advantages over the Winsor and δ-γ fishlike phase diagrams in the evaluation of the solubilization power of the microemulsion and calculation of the related physicochemical parameters.     

N-picolinamides as ligands for Ullmann-type homocoupling reactions

The use of N-phenylpicolinamide (NPPA) as a ligand in Ullmann-type homocoupling reactions of aryl iodides and bromides in common solvents, such as DMF and MeCN has been successfully demonstrated at room temperature. In addition, this work provided the first example of the homocoupling of an aryl chloride at 82 °C, which is a relatively low temperature when compared to regular Ullmann reaction temperatures. Also, NPPA was successfully employed in base—and heat free Suzuki reactions, including electron rich and poor aryl halides with heteroarylboronic acids in moderate yields.     

A short enantioselective synthesis of N-Boc-(2R,3R)-3-methyl-3-hydroxypipecolic acid from geraniol

The asymmetric synthesis of (2R,3R)-3-methyl-3-hydroxypipecolic acid, a key intermediate in the synthesis of dual MMP-13/aggrecanase inhibitors, is described. The title compound is prepared in seven steps with an overall yield of 41% starting from geraniol. Key steps in the synthesis include Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation, which establishes the chiral centers, and a one-pot oxidative olefin cleavage/reductive amination sequence that closes the piperidine ring.     

OPC Lattices and Congruence Heredity

We prove that if is a finite algebra which satisfies a nontrivial idempotent Mal’cev condition, and if Con contains a copy of an order polynomially complete lattice other than , , or Con, then Con is not hereditary. Received March 7, 2006; accepted in final form December 5, 2006.     

"Tying up loose ends" – silicone surfactants as stabilizing agents for flexible polyurethane foam

This paper is a tribute to the work of Dr. Michael J. Owen and colleagues in revealing the mechanism of the silicone surfactant-driven stabilization of flexible polyurethane foam. This work, performed at Midland Silicones (acquired by Dow Corning Corporation in 1967), was the inspiration for a body of experimental and theoretical research performed by the present authors in the mid-1990's. For flexible polyurethane foam, the surfactant is necessary to stabilize the liquid foamy mass before it hardens into an elastomeric sponge. Owen and coworkers demonstrated that in order to stabilize the foam the surfactant must (1) significantly lower the equilibrium surface tension of the liquid, (2) exhibit a dynamic surface tension within a narrow range of values, and (3) have an appreciable but low surface viscosity. The recent work of the authors has both validated these observations and extended their scope. They have modeled the stabilization process and have found that stability is the result of a delicate interplay of surface viscosity and elasticity which are functions of both structure and excess surface concentration of the surfactant. This modeling work was validated experimentally by investigating the drainage of model polyurethane thin liquid films ("soap films") containing silicone surfactants. The seminal nature of the work done by Owen and coworkers was reinforced by the authors' discovery that many of the original conclusions were validated by the recent work.