The crystal and molecular structure of DI-trans-β-styrylmercury

The structure of di-trans-β-styrylmercury has been determined by single crystal X-ray methods from counter data. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pbcn with unit cell dimensions a 15.413(6), b 11.161(9), c 7.668(5) Å, V 1319(1) ų, D_calc 2.049 g/cm³, and Z = 4. The crystal was solved by conventional heavy atom techniques. The crystal consists of individual molecular units with the mercury atom located on a two fold axis of symmetry. The CHgC fragment is nearly linear with an angle of 178°. The β-styryl groups are oriented so that a dihedral angle of 66.8° is formed between the planes defined by HgC(1)C(2) and HgC(1)′C(2)′ fragments. The HgC bond distance is 2.07(4) Å.     

Liquid chromatographic determination of 4,4'-dinitrocarbanilide, the active component of the infertility agent nicarbazin, in chicken, duck, goose, and snake eggs

4,4'-Dinitrocarbanilide (DNC) was extracted from chicken, duck, goose, and snake eggs and isolated by reversed-phase liquid chromatography. DNC was detected by ultraviolet absorbance at 347 nm and quantitated by comparison with a calibration standard. Recoveries of DNC from fortified control chicken, duck, goose, and snake egg samples were determined for DNC levels of 0.16, 10, and 16 microg/g. The mean recoveries from chicken, duck, goose, and snake eggs were 92 +/- 4, 88 +/- 9, 87 +/- 7, and 95 +/- 6%, respectively. The method limits of detection for DNC in chicken, duck, goose, and snake eggs ranged from 0.015 to 0.035 microg/g. The reported method is much simpler than and equally efficient as previous methods developed for the determination of DNC residues in egg contents.     

The CeO(2)(+) Cation: Gas-Phase Reactivity and Electronic Structure

"Bare" CeO(2)(+) ions can be prepared in the gas phase by consecutive oxidation of Ce(+) with O(2) and NO(2). The ability to activate saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons is investigated by use of Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. In the reactions of CeO(2)(+) with linear and branched alkanes C-H bond activation is observed almost exclusively. In contrast, both oxygen-atom transfer and C-H bond activation processes occur when thermalized CeO(2)(+) cations react with simple alkenes and aromatic compounds. C-C bond activation is not observed at all. Insight into the structural and electronic properties of neutral CeO(2) and cationic CeO(2)(+) is provided by means of quasirelativistic density-functional and ab initio pseudopotential calculations. They reveal a (2)Sigma(u)(+) ground state for CeO(2)(+) which is best described as a linear cerium dioxide with a resonating pi bond. Finally, we discuss the influence of oxo ligands on the chemistry of the cationic CeO(n)()(+) (n = 0-2) species toward hydrocarbons.     

Constrained Lot-Sizes under Conditions of Inventory Growth

When average aggregate inventory levels are constrained to equal a constant level over time, optimal lot sizes can be identified which strike a balance between holding costs and set-up costs among items which form the aggregate. However, when it is desirable to change aggregate inventory levels over time, assumptions implicit in the traditional formulation are violated. The procedure proposed generates lot sizes which are consistent not only with the current average aggregate inventory level but also with its projected growth over the planning horizon. Comparison is made to lot sizes generated by the misapplication of traditional lot sizing methods to the inventory growth situation.     

Equilibrium polymerization in a solvent: Solution on the Bethe lattice

The lattice model for equilibrium polymerization in a solvent proposed by Wheeler and Pfeuty is solved exactly on a Bethe lattice (core of a Caylay tree) with general coordination numberq. Earlier mean-field results are reobtained in the limitq, but the phase diagrams show deviations from them for finiteq. Whenq=2, our results turn into the solution of the one-dimensional problem. Although the model is solved directly, without the use of the correspondence between the equilibrium polymerization model and the diluten0 model, we verified that the latter model may also be solved on the Bethe lattice, its solution being identical to the direct solution in all parameter space. As observed in earlier studies of the puren0 vector model, the free energy is not always convex. We obtain the region of negative susceptibility for our solution and compare this result with mean field and renormalization group (-expansion) calculations.     

Critical scaling for monodromy fields

The large scale asymptotics of the correlations for a family of two dimensional lattice field theories is calculated at the critical temperature.     

Ternary rare-earth alumo-silicides—single-crystal growth from Al flux, structural and physical properties

A number of rare-earth alumo-silicides (R-Al-Si) have been synthesized from the corresponding elements by high-temperature reactions, carried out in excess of aluminum to serve as a flux. Under these experimental conditions, large single crystals of all R-Al-Si ternary phases were readily produced. The crystal structures these ternaries adopt were studied by means of powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction and were classified as follows: (1) the early rare-earths (R=La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd) yield RAl_xSi_2−x, x∼1, non-stoichiometric ternary derivatives of the body-centered α-ThSi₂-type; (2) the late rare-earths (R=Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm) form stoichiometric R₂Al₃Si₂ compounds that crystallize in the C-centered monoclinic Y₂Al₃Si₂-type; (3) the divalent Eu and Yb produce EuAl₂Si₂ and YbAl₂Si₂ with the trigonal CaAl₂Si₂-type, whereas the last lanthanide element, Lu, forms LuAlSi with C-centered orthorhombic YAlGe-type. These structural trends are reviewed, and the evolution of the basic physical properties such as magnetism, heat capacity and electrical resistivity when moving across the series is described in detail.     

Stamp collapse in soft lithography

We have studied the so-called roof collapse in soft lithography. Roof collapse is due to the adhesion between the PDMS stamp and substrate, and it may affect the quality of soft lithography. Our analysis accounts for the interactions of multiple punches and the effect of elastic mismatch between the PDMS stamp and substrate. A scaling law among the stamp modulus, punch height and spacing, and work of adhesion between the stamp and substrate is established. Such a scaling law leads to a simple criterion against the unwanted roof collapse. The present study agrees well with the experimental data.