Cosmic dust and our origins

The small solid particles in the space between the stars provide the surfaces for the production of many simple and complex molecules. Processes involving the effects of ultraviolet irradiation of the thin (hundredth micron) mantles are shown to produce a wide range of molecules and ions also seen in comets. Some of the more complex ones inferred from laboratory experiments are expected to play an important role in the origin of life. An outline of the chemical evolution of interstellar dust as observed and as studied in the laboratory is presented. Observations of comets are shown to provide substantial evidence for their being fluffy aggregates of interstellar dust as it was in the protosolar nebula, i.e. the interstellar cloud which collapsed to form the solar system. The theory that comets may have brought the progenitors of life to the earth is summarized.     

N-Bromoamides as versatile catalysts for aziridination of olefins using chloramine-T

N-Bromoamides catalyze effectively the aziridination of electron-deficient as well as electron-rich olefins using chloramine-T (N-chloro-N-sodio-p-toluenesulfonamide) as a nitrogen source under ambient conditions to afford the corresponding aziridines in good to excellent yields.     

Book Reviews

Unsigned book reviews are by the Book Review Editor.     

A proof of Howard’s conjecture in homogeneous parallel shear flows

A rigorous mathematical proof of Howard's conjecture which states that the growth rate of an arbitrary unstable wave must approach zero, as the wave length decreases to zero, in the linear instability of nonviscous homogeneous parallel shear flows, is presented here for the first time under the restriction of the boundedness of the second derivative of the basic velocity field with respect to the vertical coordinate in the concerned flow domain.     

Baseline studies of radon/thoron concentration levels in and around the Lambapur and Peddagattu areas in Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, India

Studies conducted by Atomic Minerals Directorate of Exploration and Research (AMD) of Hyderabad, India had established the presence of higher concentrations of uranium in Lambapur and Peddagattu areas of Nalgonda district, AP, India and it was estimated that it could be a viable source for commercial extraction. The envisaged extraction process involves dispersion of radioactive particulate matter into atmosphere. Environmental radioactive studies in and around proposed mining areas at this point of time will be extremely useful for establishing base line data before a large scale uranium extraction process comes into existence. To this end, Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors were installed to evaluate indoor radon and thoron concentration levels in the dwellings of the area. The geometric means of radon and thoron concentration levels were found to be (7.1±0.2)×10¹ and (6.7±0.3)×10¹ Bq/m³, respectively. Simultaneously, natural background radiation measurements were also made and these levels are found to vary from 770 to 3995 μGy/y in the spatial distribution.     

A simple and sensitive analytical method for the determination of antimony in environmental and biological samples.

The results of a study and application of leucocrystal violet for the determination of antimony in parts per million levels is described here. The proposed method is based on the reaction of antimony(III) with acidified potassium iodate to liberate iodine. The liberated iodine selectively oxidizes leucocrystal violet to crystal violet dye. The formed dye shows maximum absorbance at 590 nm. The color system obeys Beer's law in the concentration range from 0.4 - 3.6 microg antimony per 25 ml of final solution. The molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity were found to be 7.32 x 10(5) l mol(-1) cm(-1) and 0.0016 microg cm(-2), respectively. All variables were studied in order to optimize the reaction. The proposed method is satisfactorily applicable for the analysis of antimony in various environmental and biological samples. The method is simple, highly sensitive, accurate and reliable.     

A two-stage nonlinear cochlear model possesses automatic gain control

A model of the cochlea is explored using as stimuli two simultaneously presented sinusoids of equal amplitude. The model consists of two stages: a linear bandpass filter, followed by a reservoir-type representation of the hair-cell/nerve-fiber complex. Fast Fourier transforms of the model's output were computed. While the amplitudes of the individual response components were strongly nonlinear functions of intensity, the ratio of the magnitudes of the response components at the frequencies of the two stimulating sinusoids was found to be nearly equal, over a wide intensity range, to the ratio of the amplitudes which those stimulating sinusoids possessed at the output of the filter. Thus the reservoir stage exerts "automatic gain control".     

Relative energies of substituted benzene valence isomers

Ab initio calculations employing the STO-3G basis set are used to obtain the relative energies of the benzene valence isomers and some selected monosubstituted derivatives. We find that 3,3'-bicyclopropenyl, the least stable of the five (CH)₆ examined, is slightly more stable in the anti conformation than the gauche (Φ = 45°) conformation in agreement with experiment. Substituents are calculated to produce significant changes in the relative energies of the benzene valence isomers. The ground-state isomerization of 1-Dewar benzeneearbinyl cation to benzyl cation is more exothermic than the aromatization of Dewar benzene, but is, in contrast to the latter, symmetry-allowed.     

Preparation and analysis of oligonucleotides containing the c4'-oxidized abasic site and related mechanistic probes

The C4'-oxidized abasic site (C4-AP) is produced by a variety of DNA damaging agents. This alkali labile lesion can exist in up to four diastereomeric cyclic forms, in addition to the acyclic keto-aldehyde. Synthetic oligonucleotides containing the lesion were prepared from a stable photochemical precursor. Chemical integrity of the lesion containing oligonucleotides was probed using phosphodiesterase lability. Analysis of the 3',5'-phosphate diester of the monomeric lesion released from single diastereomers of photolabile precursors by 1H NMR indicates that isomerization of the hemiacetal and/or hemiketal is rapid. The syntheses and characterization of oligonucleotides containing configurationally stable analogues of C4-AP, which serve as mechanistic probes for deciphering the structural basis of the biochemical and biological effects of the C4'-oxidized abasic lesion, are also described.