On the Exceptional Zeros of Rankin–Selberg L-Functions

The main objects of study in this article are two classes of Rankin–Selberg L-functions, namely L(s,f×g) and L(s, sym²(g)× sym²(g)), where f,g are newforms, holomorphic or of Maass type, on the upper half plane, and sym²(g) denotes the symmetric square lift of g to GL(3). We prove that in general, i.e., when these L-functions are not divisible by L-functions of quadratic characters (such divisibility happening rarely), they do not admit any LandauSiegel zeros. Such zeros, which are real and close to s=1, are highly mysterious and are not expected to occur. There are corollaries of our result, one of them being a strong lower bound for special value at s=1, which is of interest both geometrically and analytically. One also gets this way a good bound onthe norm of sym²(g).     

Quadratic transformations of the sixth Painlevé equation with application to algebraic solutions

In 1991, one of the authors showed the existence of quadratic transformations between the Painlevé VI equations with local monodromy differences (1/2, a, b, ±1/2) and (a, a, b, b). In the present paper we give concise forms of these transformations. They are related to the quadratic transformations obtained by Manin and Ramani–Grammaticos–Tamizhmani via Okamoto transformations. To avoid cumbersome expressions with differentiation, we use contiguous relations instead of the Okamoto transformations. The 1991 transformation is particularly important as it can be realized as a quadratic‐pull back transformation of isomonodromic Fuchsian equations. The new formulas are illustrated by derivation of explicit expressions for several complicated algebraic Painlevé VI functions. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The preparation and structure of 1,4,5,6,7,7-hexachloro-2-endo-ferrocenylhydroxymethyl-3-endo-hydroxymethyl-5-norbornene

The crystal structure of a novel ferrocene derivative with potential flame-retardant/smoke-suppressant activity, 1,4,5,6,7,7-hexachloro-2-endo-ferrocenyl-hydroxymethyl-3-endo-hydroxymethyl-5-norbornene, has been determined. Some of the carbon–carbon bonds within the chlorendic residue are unusually long, and there is no interaction between the hydroxyl groups and the iron atom. There is evidence of intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the two hydroxyl groups.     

Activity of TiO2 deposited by the CVD method on ammoxidized surface of a carbonaceous material in hydrogenation of styrene

Hydrogenation of styrene has been applied as a test reaction to study the catalytic activity of TiO₂ deposited by the CVD (chemical vapour deposition) method on the surface of a carbonaceous material enriched in nitrogen (C_N).     

Validating DEA as a ranking tool: An application of DEA to assess performance in higher education

There is a general interest in ranking schemes applied to complex entities described by multiple attributes. Published rankings for universities are in great demand but are also highly controversial. We compare two classification and ranking schemes involving universities; one from a published report, ‘Top American Research Universities’ by the University of Florida's TheCenter and the other using DEA. Both approaches use the same data and model. We compare the two methods and discover important equivalences. We conclude that the critical aspect in classification and ranking is the model. This suggests that DEA is a suitable tool for these types of studies.     

A Study on Stripping Voltammetric Determination of Osmium(IV) at a Carbon Paste Electrode Modified In Situ with Cationic Surfactants

This article deals with the development of a method for the determination of osmium at a carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with cationic surfactants of the quaternary ammonium salt type; namely, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and 1‐(ethoxycarbonyl)‐pentadecyltrimethyl‐ammonium bromide (Septonex); both being added in situ and serving for preconcentration of osmium via its hexachloroosmate(IV) anion. The proper electrochemical detection was performed by cathodic scanning in the differential pulse voltammetric mode. Optimization studies concerning important experimental parameters also included a specially performed potentiometric titration, helping to define the actual stoichiometry for the ion‐pairing process, the main principle and driving force of the accumulation step. In a chloride/acetate buffer based supporting medium and with Septonex as the modifier of choice, the reduction signal for osmium was found to be proportional to the Os(IV) concentration in a range from 5×10^?9 to 5×10^?7 mol L^?1 with a limit of detection close to 5×10^?9 mol L^?1 (with preconcentration for 60 s). The method capable to determine Os(IV) in the presence of both Pt(IV) and Ir(III) was tested on model solutions as well as with real sample of industrial waste water (spiked with the analyte); both yielding the recovery rates within 88–99%.     

Synthesis and light emitting properties of polyacetylenes having pendent fluorene groups

Five novel fluorene‐containing polymers, poly[(9,9‐dimethylfluoren‐2‐yl)acetylene] ( PFA1 ), poly[(1‐pentyl‐2‐(9,9‐dimethylfluoren‐2‐yl)acetylene) ( PFA2 ), poly[1‐decyl‐2‐(9,9‐dimethylfluoren‐2‐yl)acetylene] ( PFA3 ), poly[1‐phenyl‐2‐(9,9‐dimethylfluoren‐2‐yl)acetylene] ( PFA4 ), and poly[1‐(3,4‐difluorophenyl)‐2‐(9,9‐dimethylfluoren‐2‐yl)acetylene] ( PFA5 ) were synthesized by the polymerization of the corresponding fluorene‐substituted acetylenic monomers ( M1–M5), using WCl₆, MoCl_5, and TaCl₅ as catalysts and n‐Bu₄Sn as a cocatalyst. The synthesized polymers were thermally stable and readily soluble in common organic solvents. The degradation temperatures for a 5% weight loss of the polymers were ∼352–503 °C under nitrogen. PFA1–PFA5 show emission peaks from 402 to 590 nm. Besides, their electroluminescent properties were studied in heterostructure light‐emitting diodes (LEDs), using PFA2–PFA5 as an emitting layer. The PFA5 device revealed an orange‐red emission peak at 602 nm with a maximum luminescence of 923 cd/m² at 8 V. A device with the ITO/PEDOT/ a mixture of PFA2 (98 wt %) and PFA5 (2 wt %)/Ca/Al showed near white emission. Its maximum luminance and current efficiency are 450 cd/m² at 15 V and 1.3 cd/A, respectively. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 519–531, 2006     

Graft polymerization of vinyl monomers inside macroporous polyacrylamide gel,cryogel, in aqueous and aqueous‐organic media initiated by diperiodatocuprate(III) complexes

Graft polymerization initiated by diperiodatocuprate(III) complex (Cu(III)) initiator was found to be an effective and convenient method for graft polymerization of vinyl monomers onto macroporous polyacrylamide gels, the so‐called cryogels (pAAm‐cryogels). The effect of time, temperature, monomer and initiator concentration during the graft polymerization in aqueous and aqueous‐organic media was studied. The graft polymerization of water‐soluble monomers as [2‐(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]‐trimethylammonium chloride, 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate, N‐isopropylacrylamide, and N,N‐dimethylacrylamide proceeds with higher grafting yield in aqueous medium, as compared with that in aqueous‐organic media. Graft polymerization in aqueous‐organic media such as water–DMSO solutions allows grafting of water‐insoluble monomers such as glycidyl methacrylate and N‐tert‐butylacrylamide with high grafting degrees of 100 and 410%, respectively. It was found that the deposition of initiator on the pore surface of cryogels promoted graft polymerization by facilitating the formation of the redox couple Cu(III)‐acrylamide group. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1952–1963, 2006     

Stereocontrol of diene polymers by topochemical polymerization of substituted benzyl muconates and their crystallization properties

We report the stereocontrol of diene polymers by the topochemical polymerization of alkoxy-substituted benzyl muconates in the solid state. A monomer stacking structure is controlled by the weak intermolecular interactions in the monomer crystals, depending on the structure and position of the alkoxy-substituent. The translational and alternating types of molecular stacking structures in a column provide diisotactic and disyndiotactic polymers, respectively, by the solid-state polymerization under UV and γ-ray irradiation. On the other hand, the meso and racemo structures of the resulting polymers are determined by the molecular symmetry of the used muconate monomers. The various substituted benzyl ester polymers are transformed into the same ethyl ester polymers with the four types of tacticities. The structure and crystallization behavior of the substituted benzyl ester polymers as well as the ethyl ester polymers have been revealed in detail. We clarify the effects of the tacticity on the crystallization property of the stereoregular polymuconates. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 4952–4965, 2006