Relationship of neural and otoacoustic emission thresholds during endocochlear potential development in the gerbil

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions and auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were measured in neonatal gerbils at three ages: at 15-16 days after birth (dab), near the onset of hearing when the endocochlear potential (EP) is known to be still immature; at 22 dab, when the EP first reaches mature levels; and at 30 dab. Comparing individual 15-16 dab animals to the 22 dab group, ABR threshold changes were typically larger than those for cubic distortion tone (CDT, 2f1-f2) emission thresholds which were, in turn, larger than those for the simple difference tone (DT, f2-f1). In contrast, from 22 to 30 dab there were no important changes in CDT or DT emission thresholds. Observed threshold-change relationships were very similar to those found in differential diagnosis investigations, where the EP was experimentally decreased using a chronic furosemide application. Therefore, most of the change in cochlear function over the two week period studied could be attributed to the maturation of EP during the first week. Model calculations further show that relative changes in CDT and DT emission thresholds are compatible with a movement of the operating point of the cochlear amplifier toward its symmetrical "central" point as the EP reaches mature levels.     

A two-way parabolic equation that accounts for multiple scattering

A two-way parabolic equation that accounts for multiple scattering is derived and tested. A range-dependent medium is divided into a sequence of range-independent regions. The field is decomposed into outgoing and incoming fields in each region. The conditions between vertical interfaces are implemented using rational approximations for the square root of an operator. Rational approximations are also used to relate fields between neighboring interfaces. An iteration scheme is used to solve for the outgoing and incoming fields at the vertical interfaces. The approach is useful for solving problems involving scattering from waveguide features and compact objects.     

Magic acid free generation of antiaromatic dications at room temperature

A new method for the generation of dicationic species via ionization of diols is described. The method makes use of milder reagents at room temperatures, an advantage over use of Magic Acid at -78 °C. A series of mono- and dications were synthesized successfully, including previously unattainable species.     

Early metal bis(phosphorus-stabilised)carbene chemistry

Since the discovery of covalently-bound mid- and late-transition metal carbenes there has been a spectacular explosion of interest in their chemistry, but their early metal counterparts have lagged behind. In recent years, bis(phosphorus-stabilised)carbenes have emerged as valuable ligands for metals across the periodic table, and their use has in particular greatly expanded covalently-bound early metal carbene chemistry. In this tutorial review we introduce the reader to bis(phosphorus-stabilised)carbenes, and cover general preparative methods, structure and bonding features, and emerging reactivity studies of early metal derivatives (groups 1-4 and the f-elements).     

Liquid triarylamines: the scope and limitations of Piers-Rubinsztajn conditions for obtaining triarylamine-siloxane hybrid materials

New liquid triarylamine-siloxane hybrid materials are produced using the Piers-Rubinsztajn reaction. Under mild conditions, liquid analogues of conventional and commonly crystalline triarylamines are easily synthesized from readily available or accessible intermediates. Using a diverse selection of triarylamines, we explored the effects of siloxane group and substitution pattern on the physical properties of these materials, and we have demonstrated that relatively large molecular liquids with desirable electrochemical properties can be produced. The interactions between the strongly Lewis acidic catalyst used for this transformation, tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane (BCF), and the Lewis basic triarylamine substrates were studied. Through UV-vis-NIR and (19)F NMR spectroscopy, we have proposed that the catalyst undergoes a reversible redox reaction with the substrates to produce a charge transfer complex. The formation of this charge transfer complex is sensitive to the oxidation potential of the triarylamine and can greatly affect the kinetics of the Piers-Rubinsztajn reaction.     

UV-activated photocatalyst films and inks for cleaning tarnished metals

A simple UV-activated, TiO(2)-based film or ink for removing thin oxide or sulfide layers from metal surfaces by reductive photocatalysis is described.     

Polarisable multipolar electrostatics from the machine learning method Kriging: an application to alanine

We present a polarisable multipolar interatomic electrostatic potential energy function for force fields and describe its application to the pilot molecule MeNH-Ala-COMe (AlaD). The total electrostatic energy associated with 1, 4 and higher interactions is partitioned into atomic contributions by application of quantum chemical topology (QCT). The exact atom–atom interaction is expressed in terms of atomic multipole moments. The machine learning method Kriging is used to model the dependence of these multipole moments on the conformation of the entire molecule. The resulting models are able to predict the QCT-partitioned multipole moments for arbitrary chemically relevant molecular geometries. The interaction energies between atoms are predicted for these geometries and compared to their true values. The computational expense of the procedure is compared to that of the point charge formalism.