Fluorine incorporation in silica glass by the MCVD process: Study of fluorine incorporation zone,evaluation of optical properties and structure of the glass

A theoretical approach was made to find out a complete fluorine incorporation zone on a ternary diagram which serves as a useful graphical representation to select the flows of the supplied reagents for incorporation of the suitable amount of fluorine into cladding glass of optical fiber preform made by the MCVD process using CCl₂F₂ as a source of fluorine under oxygen abundance, oxygen deficiency and intermediate oxygen state conditions. The possible mechanism for incorporation of fluorine into cladding glass of optical fiber is also evaluated on the basis of the thermodynamical data. The fluorine incorporation mechanism in silica glass by the MCVD process is found to be dependent on the CCl₂F₂/SiCl₄ ratio in the input gas mixture. Fluorine doping is found to be effective for removing the strained Si–O–Si bonds, which govern the optical transparency in deep ultra-violet (DUV) and vacuum ultra-violet (VUV) regions. The maximum refractive index depression of ?0.5 × 10^?3 is obtained with incorporation of fluorine into silica cladding glass by the MCVD process using CCl₂F₂ as a dopant precursor with suitable flow of SiCl₄ vapor along with O₂ through backward deposition pass. The structure of fluorine doped silica glass preform samples containing 1.70–1.79 mol% fluorine incorporated by the MCVD process based on the analyses of ¹⁹F MAS spectra done by high-resolution ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy reveal the presence of two distinct types of fluorine environments. The majority of the fluorine environments are formed in SiO_1.5F polyhedral and less abundant species is observed to be highly unusual, yielding a fivefold coordinated silicon of the type SiO₂F polyhedral which become increased with increasing the fluorine content.     

A bio-mechanical model for coupling cell contractility with focal adhesion formation

Focal adhesions (FAs) are large, multi-protein complexes that provide a mechanical link between the cytoskeletal contractile machinery and the extracellular matrix. They exhibit mechanosensitive properties; they self-assemble upon application of pulling forces and dissociate when these forces are decreased. We rationalize this mechano-sensitivity from thermodynamic considerations and develop a continuum framework in which the cytoskeletal contractile forces generated by stress fibers drive the assembly of the FA multi-protein complexes. The FA model has three essential features: (i) the low and high affinity integrins co-exist in thermodynamic equilibrium, (ii) the low affinity integrins within the plasma membrane are mobile, and (iii) the contractile forces generated by the stress fibers are in mechanical equilibrium and change the free energies of the integrins. A general two-dimensional framework is presented and the essential features of the model illustrated using one-dimensional examples. Consistent with observations, the coupled stress fiber and FA model predict that (a) the FAs concentrate around the periphery of the cell; (b) the fraction of the cell covered by FAs increases with decreasing cell size while the total FA intensity increases with increasing cell size; and (c) the FA intensity decreases substantially when cell contractility is curtailed.     

Lattice instability in Hf1-x Ta x V2 compounds

The temperature dependence of the electric quadrupole interaction frequency _l ^o , experienced by the¹⁸¹Ta probe occupying Hf site in the compounds Hf_1-xTa_xV₂ has been measured for x=0.06, 0.10 and 0.20 in the temperature region between 8.5 K to 296 K. The measurements show lattice transformation in all the three compounds below 120 K.     

Superpositions of chiral states in the presence of electric dipole, magnetic dipole, and electric quadrupole interactions

This paper is a straightforward generalization of Maierle-Harris proposal regarding parity implications on the superpositions of chiral states of a molecule. It is shown that the inclusion of electric quadrupole and magnetic dipole interactions removes several of restrictions on the preparation of superpositions of mid R:L and mid R:R states of a chiral molecule. It is also found that the dephasing of mid R:L and mid R:R superpositions, due to the spontaneous emission from the chiral molecule, has opposing contributions from electric quadrupole-magnetic dipole and electric dipole interactions.     

Thiourea to bicyclic scaffolds: highly regio- and stereoselective routes to dithiazolopyrimidines

Microwave-activated solvent-free Michael addition of 3-imino-1,4,2-dithiazoles to 4-arylidene-5(4H)-oxazolones furnished isolable adducts regio- and diastereoselectively, which underwent ring transformation to yield the target dithiazolopyrimidines. Alternatively, the similar conjugate addition of methanesulfinylmethylisothioureas to 4-arylidene-5(4H)-oxazolones diastereoselectively afforded Michael adducts, which underwent ring transformation followed by heterocyclization via deoxygenative demethylation with thionyl chloride to yield the same products dithiazolopyrimidines regio- and diastereoselectively.     

Electronic detection of the enzymatic degradation of starch

[reaction: see text] The enzymatic degradation of starch can be monitored electronically using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as semiconducting probes in field-effect transistors (FETs). Incubation of these devices in aqueous buffer solutions of amyloglucosidase (AMG) results in the removal of the starch from both the silicon surfaces and the side walls of the SWNTs in the FETs, as evidenced by direct imaging and electronic measurements.     

Isomerization of 1,2-diiodoethylene in a laser-induced chemical reaction of I2 + C2H2

A laser-induced chemical reaction of I₂ + C₂H₂ has been studied and the formation of cis and tians isomers of 1,2-diiodoethylene has been observed. The ratio of the two isomers of 1,2-diodoethylene changes markedly upon changing the laser wavelengths of excitation of the I₂ molecule     

Effect of disorder on relaxation in the one-dimensional Glauber model

We study the long-time relaxation of magnetization in a disordered linear chain of Ising spins from an initially aligned state. The coupling constants are ferromagnetic and nearest-neighbor only, taking valuesJ ₀ andJ ₁ with probabilitiesp and 1–p, respectively. The time evolution of the system is governed by the Glauber master equation. It is shown that for large timest, the magnetizationM(t) varies as [exp(–₀ t](t), where ₀ is a function of the stronger bond strengthJ ₀ only, and (t) decreases slower than an exponential. For very long times, we find that ln (t) varies as –t ^1/3. For low enough temperatures, there is an intermediate time regime when ln (t) varies as –t ^1/2. The results can be extended to more general probability distributions of ferromagnetic coupling constants, assuming thatM(t) can only increase if any bond in the chain is strengthened. If the coupling constants have a continuous distribution in which the probability density varies as a power law near some maximum valueJ ₀, we find that ln (t) varies as –t ^1/3(lnt)^2/3 for large times.