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.     

QN-spaces, wQN-spaces and covering properties

The main results of the paper are as follows: covering characterizations of wQN-spaces, covering characterizations of QN-spaces and a theorem saying that Cp(X) has the Arkhangel'ski?ˇ property (α₁) provided that X is a QN-space. The latter statement solves a problem posed by M. Scheepers [M. Scheepers, Cp(X) and Arhangel'ski?ˇ's αi-spaces, Topology Appl. 89 (1998) 265-275] and for Tychonoff spaces was independently proved by M. Sakai [M. Sakai, The sequence selection properties of Cp(X), Preprint, April 25, 2006]. As the most interesting result we consider the equivalence that a normal topological space X is a wQN-space if and only if X has the property S₁(Γshr,Γ). Moreover we show that X is a QN-space if and only if Cp(X) has the property (α₀), and for perfectly normal spaces, if and only if X has the covering property (β₃).     

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.     

External influence on magnetic properties of Fe-based nanocrystalline alloys

Amorphous and nanocrystalline ribbons of NANOPERM, FINEMET and HITPERM were studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS) after the influence of external factors: different annealing atmospheres, tensile stress and several kinds of corrosion. MS is a suitable tool for such studies because the spectral parameters are very sensitive to changes in the vicinity of the probe — ⁵⁷Fe nuclei. The most sensitive parameters were hyperfine magnetic field in crystalline component, average hyperfine field in amorphous component and direction of net magnetic moments. Influence of external factors modified also the structure of the alloys, i.e. new or modified phases were identified by MS phase analysis.     

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.     

Investigation of the Separation of Higher Fatty Acid Methyl Esters by Reversed-Phase HPTLC

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - Separations of eight methyl esters of higher fatty acids on RP-18 stationary phase with methanol—water and...     

In vitro screening of the action of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on hypochlorous acid-induced hyaluronan degradation

The antioxidative effect of two non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was studied in vitro by measuring the kinetics of degradation of high-molecular weight hyaluronan (HA) in a system comprising hypochlorous acid + CuCl₂ + ascorbic acid using a Brookfield rotational viscometer equipped with a Teflon cup and spindle of coaxial cylindrical geometry. The changes in HA chemical structure were investigated by chemiluminometry. When sodium naproxen was added to the system during a running degradative process its inhibitory effect was clearly shown. The inhibition was dependent on the drug concentration. However, when this drug was added to the system before the initiation of HA degradation, no inhibition was seen even at the highest drug concentration tested. The inhibitory effect of acetylsalicylic acid was achieved with a relatively low concentration of the drug and was independent of the experimental model used.     

A model for dynamic relaxations in amorphous polymers. I. Conceptual framework,formal implementation of simplest version,and application to poly(ester carbonates)

A new model for the dynamic relaxations occurring below the glass transition temperature in amorphous polymers is introduced. This model combines ideas from theoretical solidstate physics, thermodynamics, and statistical mechanics. Formal analogies are made between the dynamic relaxations and phase transitions. The concepts of percolation theory are briefly discussed. The molecular level motions which might be giving rise to each dynamic relaxation are incorporated within this framework. The simplest version of the model is then formally implemented within the context of bisphenol-A polycarbonate (BPAPC) and its poly (ester carbonates) (PEC). The following results are calculated: (1) Characteristic temperatures (T_c) for BPAPC, similar to γ₁, and γ₂ relaxation temperatures observed by dynamic mechanical spectroscopy (DMS) at commonly used measurement frequencies. (2) T_c for the β₂ relaxation in tetrabromo-BPAPC much higher than the T_c in BPAPC. (3) A slow and monotonic increase in both the intensity and the T_cof the γ₂ relaxation with an increasing fraction of terephthalate comonomer in PEC copolymers. It is hoped that this model, which is admittedly tentative at this time, will be useful as a working hypothesis. The next paper of this series will provide extensions and generalizations of the model, and its application to the poly (alkyl methacrylates).