Brillouin scattering in the nematic and isotropic phases of a liquid crystal

Brillouin scattering is the liquid crystal 5CB has been measured and the hypersonic speed and attenuation determined. At the nematic-isotropic transition a small discontinuity in the hypersonic speed is found. The results are compared with available ultrasonic data.     

An Asymptotic Version of the Multigraph 1‐Factorization Conjecture

We give a self‐contained proof that for all positive integers r and all , there is an integer such that for all any regular multigraph of order 2n with multiplicity at most r and degree at least is 1‐factorizable. This generalizes results of Perkovi? and Reed (Discrete Math 165/166 (1997), 567–578) and Plantholt and Tipnis (J London Math Soc 44 (1991), 393–400).     

An X-ray Crystallographic Study of the Related Triazenes, 1,4-Di[(<Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis>)-2-(2-nitrophenyl)-1-diazenyl]piperazine and Methyl 4-{(E)-2-(4-methylpiperazino)-1-diazenyl}benzoate

Abstract The crystal structures of methyl 4-{(E)-2-(4-methylpiperazino)-1-diazenyl}benzoate (2a) and 1,4-di[(E)-2-(2-nitrophenyl)-1-diazenyl]piperazine (3a) have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The bis-triazene (3a) adopts an unusual pseudo-boat conformation in the piperazine ring, with a dihedral angle of 52.20(0.06)° between the two planes defined within the piperazine ring. The crystal structures of 2a and 3a are compared with the structure of the triazene (4) and the closely related bis-triazene (5). The piperazine ring of 2a adopts a typical chair conformation, whereas the piperazine ring of 3a adopts an unusual boat conformation. Crystal data: 2a C₁₃H₁₈N₄O₂, monoclinic, space group P2₁ /n, a = 13.849(3) ?, b = 6.577(1) ?, c = 14.904(3) ?, α = 90°, β = 96.098(3)°, γ = 90° and V = 1,349.8(4) ?³, for Z = 4. 3a C₁₆H₁₆N₈O₄, triclinic, space group P-1, a = 7.6066(6) ?, b = 8.3741(7) ?, c = 14.507(1) ?, α = 78.673(1)°, β = 81.877(1)°, γ = 73.445(1)° and V = 865.0(1) ?³, for Z = 2. Index abstract The crystal structures of methyl 4-{(E)-2-(4-methylpiperazino)-1-diazenyl}benzoate (2a) and 1,4-di[(E)-2-(2-nitrophenyl)-1-diazenyl]piperazine (3a) have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.     

Glass transition,thermal expansion and relaxation in B2O3 glass measured by time-resolved X-ray diffraction

In situ heating experiments using high-energy, high-intensity synchrotron radiation, can be successfully designed to study structural evolution with temperature of glassy materials. Coherent diffraction from glassy materials forms a succession of halos or diffraction maxima in reciprocal space and the variation with temperature, of the wave-vector Q_max or angular position of the first diffracted intensity I(Q_max) maximum below T_g can be used to determine the iso-structural volume expansion. In the present work we have obtained synchrotron X-ray diffraction patterns in transmission during in situ heating of a B₂O₃ glass. Samples were obtained by melting the B₂O₃ glass rods which were then air-cooled or liquid nitrogen-cooled. The evolution with temperature (and time) of the position of the first diffraction maximum of the diffraction pattern accurately reflected the thermal expansion coefficient and the relaxation behavior of the B₂O₃ glass. Such results allowed determination by diffraction of the glass transition temperature, T_g, at 580 K, as well as information on the structural relaxation during thermal annealing. The total volume changes due to relaxation were measured to be about 1.5 vol.% and 2.5 vol.%, for the air-cooled and the liquid nitrogen-cooled B₂O₃ glass, respectively.     

Crystal structures of two 1,2-bis-(1-aryl-3-methyltriazene-3-yl-)ethanes with aryl substituents of opposite polarity

The crystal and molecular structure of 1,2-bis-{1-(2-cyanophenyl)-3-methyltriazen-3-yl-}ethane (1) and 1,2-bis-{1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-3-methyltriazen-3-yl-}ethane (2) have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Bis-triazene (1) exists as the staggered conformation in the solid state, with an anti-anti configuration around the N2–N3 bond of the triazene units, whereas 2 assumes a gauche conformation with the syn-syn configuration in the triazene units. Crystal data: 1 C₁₈H₁₈N₈, triclinic, space group P –1, a = 6.108(2), b = 8.118(3), c = 9.600(4)Å, = 101.37(7)°, = 96.47(7)°, = 102.71(5)°, V = 449.1(3)ų, Z = 2; 2 C₁₈H₂₄N₆O₂, monoclinic, space group P 2₁/n, a = 13.119(5), b = 7.745(2), c = 19.201(2)Å, = 96.47(7)°, V = 1910.3(9)ų, Z = 4.     

Sulfur based self-assembled monolayers (SAM’s) on piezoelectric crystals for immunosensor development

Self-assembled monolayers (SAM’s) of different thiols and sulfides with various structures were tested. They were investigated as a method to covalently bind antibodies to the surface of piezoelectric crystals. A capture assay using a Mouse IgG test system was performed. All tests were performed in solution. The reduction in frequency observed as binding occurred was monitored in real time. The SAM’s were activated with 1-ethyl-3-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide (NHS) prior to antibody immobilisation. Ethanolamine was used to block any available activated sizes after antibody immobilisation. The potential of this technique for immunosensor development is demonstrated. Received: 19 January 1999 / Revised: 1 March 1999 / Accepted: 4 March 1999     

Reduction potential tuning of the blue copper center in Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin by the axial methionine as probed by unnatural amino acids

The conserved axial ligand methionine 121 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin (Az) has been replaced by isostructural unnatural amino acid analogues, oxomethionine (OxM), difluoromethionine (DFM), trifluoromethionine (TFM), selenomethionine (SeM), and norleucine (Nle) using expressed protein ligation. The replacements resulted in < 6 nm shifts in the S(Cys)-Cu charge transfer (CT) band in the electronic absorption spectra and < 8 gauss changes in the copper hyperfine coupling constants (AII) in the X-band electron paramagnetic resonance spectra, suggesting that isostructural replacement of Met resulted in minimal structural perturbation of the copper center. The slight blue shifts of the CT band follow the trend of stronger electronegativity of the ligands. This trend is supported by 19F NMR studies of the fluorinated methionine analogues. However, the order of AII differs, suggesting additional factors influencing AII. In contrast to the small changes in the UV-vis and EPR spectra, a large variation of > 227 mV in reduction potential was observed for the series of variants reported here. Additionally, a linear correlation was established between the reduction potentials and hydrophobicity of the variants. Extension of this analysis to other type 1 copper-containing proteins reveals a linear correlation between change in hydrophobicity and change in reduction potential, independent of the protein scaffold, experimental conditions, measurement techniques, and steric modifications. This analysis has also revealed for the first time high and low potential states for type 1 centers, and the difference may be attributable to destabilization of the protein fold by disruption of hydrophobic or hydrogen bonding interactions that stabilize the type 1 center.     

Do Reuss and Voigt bounds really bound in high-pressure rheology experiments?

Energy dispersive synchrotron x-ray diffraction is carried out to measure differential lattice strains in polycrystalline Fe(2)SiO(4) (fayalite) and MgO samples using a multi-element solid state detector during high-pressure deformation. The theory of elastic modelling with Reuss (iso-stress) and Voigt (iso-strain) bounds is used to evaluate the aggregate stress and weight parameter, α (0≤α≤1), of the two bounds. Results under the elastic assumption quantitatively demonstrate that a highly stressed sample in high-pressure experiments reasonably approximates to an iso-stress state. However, when the sample is plastically deformed, the Reuss and Voigt bounds are no longer valid (α becomes beyond 1). Instead, if plastic slip systems of the sample are known (e.g.?in the case of MgO), the aggregate property can be modelled using a visco-plastic self-consistent theory.     

Effect of particle size distribution on particle based composite anode models

Particle based models of composite anodes are useful tools for exploring the behavior of SOFC systems. As part of our efforts to develop models for understanding fuel cells, we have been building models of Ni-YSZ composite anodes using experimentally measured particle size distributions. The objectives of this study were to characterize the percolation threshold and conductivity of these models in comparison to simpler mono dispersed and biphasic particle size distributions from the literature. We found that the average values for the onset of percolation and the measured conductivity of the models with experimentally measured particle size distributions are similar to those for the simple distributions and the experimentally measured distributions. For all of the configurations evaluated, the onset of percolation in the Nickel phase occurred at a solid fraction of Nickel between 20% and 25%. This corresponded almost exactly to the point at which the coordination number between Nickel phase particles reached 2.2. The significant finding was that the variation in the value for the conductivity, as measured by the standard deviation of the results, was several orders of magnitude higher than for the simpler systems. We explored the validity of our assumptions, specifically the assumption of random particle placement, by building a particle model directly from FIB-SEM data. In this reconstruction, it was clear that the location of particles was not random. Particles of the same type and size had much likelihood of contact higher than would indicated by random location.     

A solution method for the sub-surface stresses and local deflection of a semi-infinite inhomogeneous elastic medium

This paper proposes analytical Fourier series solutions (based on the Airy stress function) for the local deflection and subsurface stress field of a two-dimensional graded elastic solid loaded by a pre-determined pressure distribution. We present a selection of numerical results for a simple sinusoidal pressure which indicates how the inhomogeneity of the solid affects its behaviour. The model is then adapted and used to derive an iterative algorithm which may be used to solve for the contact half width and pressure induced from contact with a rigid punch. Finally, the contact of a rigid cylindrical stamp is studied and our results compared to those predicted by Hertzian theory. It is found that solids with a slowly varying elastic modulus produce results in good agreement with those of Hertz whilst more quickly varying elastic moduli which correspond to solids that become stiffer below the surface give rise to larger maximum pressures and stresses whilst the contact pressure is found to act over a smaller area.