TEM investigations on PECVD-titanium carbide layers

TiC_x-PECVD-layers were characterized by TEM. EDX analysis and electron diffraction. TiC_x-layers deposited using benzene showed a columnar structure, at which the column size decreases with rising excess carbon content. TiC_x-layers deposited using n-heptane presented a lamellar structure, at which the lamellar thickness diminishes with an increasing excess carbon content. In dependence on the layer thickness a periodic progress of the element contents was observed, at which a maximum for Ti and Cl correlates with a minimum for C. It was found that the incorporated chlorine is bonded to titanium. The lattice parameter depends on the chlorine content. Using TiCl₄/H₂/Ar-gas mixtures without any hydrocarbon, layers containing TiH₂ are formed.     

Absorptive corrections to structure functions at small-x

The role of corrections due to the interactions between different branches of parton (gluon) cascades is studied. It is shown that at HERA energies these interactions increase the absorptive (two-Pomeron cut) contributions by about 60 to 80% compared with the Gribov-Levin-Ryskin equation.This work was supported, in part, by a Soros Foundation Grant awarded by the American Physical Society     

Structure and Magnetic Properties of Ce3Ge0.66In4.34 and Ce11Ge4.74In5.26

New indides Ce₃Ge_0.66In_4.34 and Ce₁₁Ge_4.74In_5.26 were synthesized from the elements by arc‐melting and subsequent annealing at 870 K. Single crystals were grown through special annealing procedures in sealed tantalum tubes in a high‐frequency furnace. Both compounds were investigated on the basis of X‐ray powder and single crystal data: I4/mcm, La₃GeIn₄ type, a = 848.8(1), c = 1192.0(2) pm, Z = 4, wR2 = 0.0453, 499 F² values, 17 variables for Ce₃Ge_0.66In_4.34 and I4/mmm, Sm₁₁Ge₄In₆ type (ordered version of the Ho₁₁Ge₁₀ type), a = 1199.3(2), c = 1662.0(3) pm, wR2 = 0.0507, 1217 F² values, 41 variables for Ce₁₁Ge_4.74In_5.26. The Ce₃Ge_0.66In_4.34 structure shows a mixed Ge/In occupancy on the 4c Wyckoff position. This site is octahedrally coordinated by cerium atoms. These octahedra share all edges, leading to a three‐dimensional network. The latter is penetrated by a two‐dimensional indium substructure which consists of flattened tetrahedra at In–In distances of 291 and 300 pm. The Ce₁₁Ge_4.74In_5.26 structure contains three crystallographically independent germanium sites. The latter are coordinated by eight or nine cerium neighbors. These CN8 and CN9 polyhedra are condensed to a complex network which is penetrated by a three‐dimensional indium network with In–In distances of 301–314 pm. The 16m site shows a mixed In/Ge occupancy. Chemical bonding in both compounds is dominated by the p elements. Both ternaries studied exhibit localized magnetism due to the presence of Ce³⁺ ions. The compound Ce₃GeIn₄ remains paramagnetic down to 1.72 K, whereas Ce₁₁Ge₄In₆ orders ferromagnetically at T_C = 7.5 K.     

GnRH binding RNA and DNA Spiegelmers: a novel approach toward GnRH antagonism

Mirror-image oligonucleotide ligands (Spiegelmers) that bind to the pharmacologically relevant target gonadotropin-releasing hormone I (GnRH) with high affinity and high specificity have been identified using the Spiegelmer technology. GnRH is a decapeptide that plays an important role in mammalian reproduction and sexual maturation and is associated with several benign and malignant diseases. First, aptamers that bind to D-GnRH with dissociation constants of 50-100 nM were isolated out of RNA and DNA libraries. The respective enantiomers of the DNA and RNA aptamers were synthesized, and their binding to L-GnRH was shown. These Spiegelmers bind to L-GnRH with similar affinity to that of the corresponding aptamers that bind to D-GnRH. We further demonstrated dose-dependent inhibition of GnRH-induced Ca(2+) release in Chinese hamster ovary cells that were stably transfected with the human GnRH receptor.     

ansa-Metallocene derivatives XXXIII. 2-Dimethylamino-substituted bis-indenyl zirconium dichloride complexes with and without a dimethylsilyl bridge: syntheses, crystal structures and properties in propene polymerization catalysis

Bis(2-N,N-dimethylamino-indenyl) zirconium dichloride, (2-(CH₃)₂N-C₉H₆)₂ZrCl₂, and dimethylsilyl-bridged bis(2-N,N-dimethylamino-indenyl) zirconium dichloride, (CH₃)₂Si(2-(CH₃)₂N-C₉H₅)₂ZrCl₂, were prepared by reaction of the corresponding ligand lithium salts with ZrCl₄ in toluene. Diffractometric structure determinations reveal C₂-symmetric complex geometries for both complexes. An increased electron density at the Zr center of the dimethylamino-substituted complexes is indicated by reduction potentials which are 0.3–0.4 V more negative than those of their unsubstituted analogs. When activated with methyl aluminoxane in toluene solution, (CH₃)₂Si(2-(CH₃)₂N-C₉H₅)₂ZrCl₂ catalyzes the polymerization of propene to polymers with a microstructure comparable with that of polymers produced with other Me₂Si-bridged bis(indenyl)ZrCl₂ complexes, but with a substantially increased fraction of i-propyl end groups derived from alkyl exchange between Zr-polymer and Al---Me species.