Theoretical analysis of a wheel driven root crop harvester

A prototype of a wheel driven trailer was developed to simulate a wheel driven trailed root crop harvester. The mobility of the prototype tractor-trailer system was improved by driving the trailer wheels by a mounted engine. A mathematical model to predict the mobility and the stability of the system was developed. The model was validated by field experiments conducted in plowed, rotary tilled and untilled fields. The model was found to predict performance with a high accuracy. Parameter studies were conducted to investigate the effects of several design parameters, such as the peripheral velocity ratio (R_s), the weight of the trailer (m₁), the trailer's C.G. location (L_L) and the height of a hitch point (h), on the mobility and the stability of the system.     

Triviality of Hierarchical Models with Small Negative φ4 Coupling in Four Dimensions

The Kadanoff-Wilson renormalization group (RG) for a class of hierarchical spin models including small negative φ⁴ terms in four dimensions are studied by using Gawędzki and Kupiainen's analysis. We prove triviality for the class, namely prove existence of critical trajectory that leads to the Gaussian fixed point.     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of cytotoxic anhydrosphingosine pachastrissamine by using [3.3] sigmatropic rearrangement of allyl cyanate

A new route for the synthesis of the cytotoxic anhydrosphingosine pachastrissamine has been developed. [3.3] Sigmatropic rearrangement of an allyl cyanate was employed to construct the allyl amine moiety in 2 from the chiral C-4 unit 3. Oxidative cleavage of the double bond in 2, followed by THF ring formation furnished the target pachastrissamine.     

Kinetics and mechanisms of OH‐initiated oxidation of small unsaturated alcohols

Smog chamber relative rate techniques were used to measure rate coefficients of (5.00 ± 0.54) × 10^?11, (5.87 ± 0.63) × 10^?11, and (6.49 ± 0.82) × 10^?11 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 in 700 Torr air at 296 ± 1 K for reactions of OH radicals with allyl alcohol, 1‐buten‐3‐ol, and 2‐methyl‐3‐buten‐2‐ol, respectively; the quoted uncertainties encompass the extremes of determinations using two different reference compounds. The OH‐initiated oxidation of allyl alcohol in the presence of NO_x gives glycolaldehyde in a molar yield of 0.85 ± 0.08; the quoted uncertainty is two standard deviations. Oxidation of 2‐methyl‐3‐buten‐2‐ol gives acetone and glycolaldehyde in molar yields of 0.66 ± 0.06 and 0.56 ± 0.05, respectively. The reaction of OH radicals with allyl alcohol, 1‐buten‐3‐ol, and 2‐methyl‐3‐buten‐2‐ol proceeds predominately via addition to the >C?CH₂ double bond with most of the addition occurring to the terminal carbon. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 42: 151–158, 2010     

QSNPlite, a software system for quantitative analysis of SNPs based on capillary array SSCP analysis

We present a newly developed software called "QSNPlite" that comprehensively interprets the data of SSCP and sequencing analyses obtained from capillary array electrophoresis systems used in the quantitative characterization of SNPs. QSNPlite assists in the genotyping of individuals with SNPs and in estimating the allele frequencies of SNPs using pooled DNA. We show that this estimation is accurate (mean absolute error, 1.4%) by comparing the results of the pooled analysis using QSNPlite with the true frequencies based on the allele counting after performing individual genotypings. The QSNPlite program runs on Windows XP and can be used to determine the allele frequencies of SNPs among a large number of individuals, such as in association studies of disease-responsible genes using the candidate gene approach.     

Facile Synthesis and Polymerization of 2,6‐Difluoro‐2′‐sulfobenzophenone for Aromatic Proton Conducting Ionomers with Pendant Sulfobenzoyl Groups

The lithium salt of 2,6‐difluoro‐2′‐sulfobenzophenone was conveniently synthesized in one‐pot by reacting 2,6‐difluorophenyllithium with 2‐sulfobenzoic acid cyclic anhydride in THF at −70 °C whereafter the product crystallized out of solution. A poly(arylene ether) and a poly(arylene sulfide) were prepared by polycondensation reactions to demonstrate the reactivity and efficacy of this new monomer to produce sulfonated high‐molecular weight aromatic polymers for fuel cell proton‐exchange membranes. This work demonstrated that organolithium chemistry may offer versatile and straightforward pathways to new functional monomers with fluorine atoms activated for nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions.

     

Convergence of random series and the rate of convergence of the strong law of large numbers in game-theoretic probability

We give a unified treatment of the convergence of random series and the rate of convergence of the strong law of large numbers in the framework of game-theoretic probability of Shafer and Vovk (2001) [24]. We consider games with the quadratic hedge as well as more general weaker hedges. The latter corresponds to the existence of an absolute moment of order smaller than 2 in the measure-theoretic framework. We prove some precise relations between the convergence of centered random series and the convergence of the series of prices of the hedges. When interpreted in the measure-theoretic framework, these results characterize the convergence of a martingale in terms of the convergence of the series of conditional absolute moments. In order to prove these results we derive some fundamental results on deterministic strategies of Reality, who is a player in a protocol of game-theoretic probability. It is of particular interest, since Reality’s strategies do not have any counterparts in the measure-theoretic framework, ant yet they can be used to prove results which can be interpreted in the measure-theoretic framework.     

A single-strand conformation polymorphism method for the large-scale analysis of mutations/polymorphisms using capillary array electrophoresis

We present a high-throughput single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) method, performed on a commercially available capillary array DNA sequencer. We tested various sieving matrices and electrophoretic conditions, using 51 DNA fragments which included 45 fragments carrying only one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), 4 fragments having two SNPs and 2 fragments with insertion or deletion. Resolution of alleles was improved by increasing concentrations of both sieving matrices and buffers, and all examined polymorphisms of DNA fragments were detected, most of them (45 fragments) as clearly split allele peaks in heterozygotes. Allele frequencies of SNPs can be estimated accurately by determining the relative amounts of alleles in pooled DNA. In this method, the turn-around time for the analysis of 96 samples is less than 3 h. These results demonstrate that capillary array-based SSCP is an efficient and accurate technique for the large-scale quantitative analysis of mutations/polymorphisms.     

A Rayleigh light scattering study on mixing states of 2-propanol-water binary mixtures widely used as mobile phase in separation

Rayleigh light scatterings of 2-propanol-water binary mixtures at 546 nm have been measured by using a conventional fluorophotometer at 25 degrees C. Mean square concentration fluctuations and Kirkwood-Buff parameters of the mixtures in a range of 2-propanol mole fraction of 0.0/=0.4. The usage of 2-propanol as organic modifier and its effects on CE and RPLC separations are also discussed in terms of microheterogeneity in the mobile phase.