Structure and bonding of lanthanide dinitrogen complexes,Ln(N2)1-8

Lanthanide dinitrogen complexes, Ln(N₂) _x (x = 1-8), were investigated by Density Functional Theory computations using the B3LYP exchange-correlation functional in conjunction with quasirelativistic pseudopotentials for Ln. After a recent study on the lanthanum complexes (A. Kovács, Structural Chemistry 2018 , 29, 1825), the present study aimed to probe the changes upon variously filled 4f subshells of Ln on the structures, stabilities, and bonding properties in related complexes of Nd, Ho, and Lu. The bonding properties were assessed on the basis of natural atomic charges, Ln valence orbital populations, and analysis of bonding molecular orbitals.     

A covering construction for packing disjoint copies of the Hoffman‐Singleton graph into K50

In this note we show how coverings induced by voltage assignments can be used to produce packings of disjoint copies of the Hoffman‐Singleton graph into K₅₀. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 11: 408–412, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/jcd.10049     

Total synthesis of (3S,4S,2′S)- and (3R,4R,2′S)-viridiofungin A triester

The total synthesis of an alkylcitrate secondary metabolite from the fungi Trichoderma viride is described. An ester dienolate [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement and a S. Julia-Kocienski olefination served as key C/C-connecting transformations. The highly convergent synthesis consists of a longest linear sequence of 17 steps.     

Quantification of trace elements in human serum fractions by liquid chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

On‐line coupling of LC and ICP‐MS has been used for fractionation and detection of species of Cu, Fe, I, Se and Zn in human serum. It has been shown that anion exchange chromatography provided better separation capability (both intra‐ and inter‐element) than size‐exclusion chromatography. The mobile phases for ion exchange chromatography consisted of Tris–HNO₃ buffer and ammonium salt (nitrate, acetate or formate). Formate was found to be the best mobile phase counter ion, enabling good chromatographic separation, and is acceptable for mass spectrometry too. The quantitative evaluation of element concentrations adhering to individual fractions was performed by the peak area normalization method. The repeatability of results ranged from 3 to 15% (depending on the element concentration level) and represented the main part of the result uncertainty. The accuracy of Cu and Zn fraction determinations was confirmed by comparison with the isotope dilution technique. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Physics, mind, society: Back and forth

The life course of the physicist and biologist George Feher may be seen as an epitome of science of the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Feher, a native of Slovakia, barely escaped Nazism and communism and became a scientist in the USA. The Nazi concentration camps and the communist gulags have become a symbol of the 20th century. This symbol stands here to pose a question: How the two totalitarian systems, fraught with irrationality, may have arisen and thrived in parallel with an unprecedented expansion of science, the paragon of rationalism? The question has become even more urgent in the 21st century. The Ground Zero, an empty spot left after the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001, has become the symbol of the entrance of humankind into the new millennium. We can do much, but we understand too little about who we are and what we are doing — this is a message that the two symbols convey about the precarious stage of our evolution. The second message concerns the role of artifacts, specifically scientific instruments, in the advancement of science. Human cultural evolution has been steadily progressing, in a form of a ratchet, only because artifacts have been continually evolving. Contrary to the common Popperian wisdom, the demarcation in science may not consist in the amenability to theoretical falsification, but rather in the amenability to instrumental grasping. Scientific instruments have empowered humans for impressive feats of manipulation with Nature and themselves. Knowledge arising in the course of autonomous evolution of artifacts may surpass the horizon of human understanding and grasping. New knowledge may still be power, but no longer the power of humans. We may need a revision of some fundamental ideas of European thought. Our understanding of the human mind may entirely reshape our comprehension of the nature of physical knowledge, and vice versa.     

Properties of (InGa)As/GaAs QW (λ ≈ 1.2 µm) facet-coated edge emitting diode laser

In this paper, we report on the design and optical properties of laser diodes with an emission wave-length of ～1170 nm based on an (InGa)As/GaAs double quantum well active layer. The back and front facet of the laser diodes were coated with SiO_x dielectric films that influence the output optical power by enhancing or lowering the facet reflectivity. The measurements show improvement of the facet-coated laser diode properties in the threshold-current-density reduction along with light output power enhancement. Furthermore, a narrow far field pattern and high side mode suppression have been observed.