Quantum Conservative Gates for Finite-Valued Logics

We introduce some conservative gates for finite-valued logics which are able to realize all the main connectives of the many-valued logics of ?ukasiewicz, the MV-algebras of Chang and Brower–Zadeh algebras. After a brief exposition of the motivations for this work, the gates are defined and their properties are explored. Finally, a possible quantum realization of them is proposed, using three techniques: a “brute force” method--an extension of the Conditional Quantum Control argument, and a new technique which we call the Constants Method. For all these techniques, the unitary operator which describes the gate is a sum of local operators.     

Longitudinally detected electron spin resonance: Recent developments

Multiple-quantum spectroscopies are reviewed in the frame of electron paramagnetic resonance. Some properties of different nonlinear techniques are discussed for both transverse and longitudinal detection. The connections of effects recently presented with the procedure of longitudinal detection of electron paramagnetic resonance (LODESR) in presence of double transverse irradiation are stressed. Peculiarities of LODESR spectroscopy and its capabilities in facing problems related to relaxations in presence of very slow dynamic processes are evidentiated. Recent results show the vitality of the LODESR technique, that in the future could be applied to new fields, owing to experimental updating.     

Signatures of the fast dynamics in glassy polystyrene: first evidence by high-field electron paramagnetic resonance of molecular guests

The reorientation of one small paramagnetic molecule (spin probe) in glassy polystyrene (PS) is studied by high-field electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy at two different Larmor frequencies (190 and 285 GHz). Two different regimes separated by a crossover region are evidenced. Below 180 K the rotational times are nearly temperature independent with no apparent distribution. In the temperature range of 180-220 K a large increase of the rotational mobility is observed with the widening of the distribution of correlation times which exhibits two components: (i) a deltalike, temperature-independent component representing the fraction of spin probes w which persist in the low-temperature dynamics; (ii) a strongly temperature-dependent component, to be described by a power distribution, representing the fraction of spin probes 1-w undergoing activated motion over an exponential distribution of barrier heights g(E). Above 180 K a steep decrease of w is evidenced. The shape and the width of g(E) do not differ from the reported ones for PS within the errors. For the first time the large increase of the rotational mobility of the spin probe at 180 K is ascribed to the onset of the fast dynamics detected by neutron scattering at T(f)=175+/-25 K.     

Bovine serum albumin (BSA) plays a role in the size of SDS micelle-like aggregates at the saturation binding: the ionic strength effect

The influence of ionic strength on the complexes formed by natural bovine serum albumin (BSA), pH 5.4 (near the isoelectric point), and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in aqueous buffered (sodium acetate) solution was investigated by using surface tension, fluorescence and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques. Ionic strength was varied by changing sodium acetate buffer concentration from 0.020 to 0.5 M. Surface tension revealed that SDS:BSA saturation binding occurs at psp = 42 +/- 2 mM, independent of the solution ionic strength. Further, SAXS curves are consistent with the necklace and bead model, where micelle-like aggregates are randomly distributed along the partial unfolded protein. Micelle-like aggregates grow from small spheres at 10 mM SDS to small ellipsoids (upsilon = 1.3 , ratio between the largest and the shortest axes) near psp, in good agreement with micellar aggregation numbers obtained by fluorescence, independent of salt concentration. Protein-bound micelles stop growing above psp and further SDS addition induces free-micelle formation.     

Reaction products of W(CO)(6) with formamidines; electronic structure of a W(2)(mu-CO)(2) core with unsymmetric bridging carbonyls

Reactions of W(CO)(6) with formamidines contrast with those of Mo(CO)(6) and Cr(CO)(6) in that the former do not yield quadruply bonded dimetal species. From the reaction of W(CO)(6) with HDAniF (HDAniF = N,N'-di-p-anisylformamidine), several new ditungsten carbonyl compounds (W(2)(mu-CO)(2)(mu-DAniF)(2)(eta(2)-DAniF)(2) (1), W(2)(mu-CO)(2)(mu-DAniF)(2)(eta(2)-DAniF)(eta(2)-CH(2)DAniF) (2), and W(2)(mu-CO)(mu-CNC(6)H(4)OCH(3))(mu-DAniF)(2)(eta(2)-DAniF)(2) (3)) have been isolated and fully characterized. In 2, CH(2)DAniF represents a DAniF ligand in which a methylene group has been added to one of the nitrogen atoms. This ligand binds to the tungsten atom using a nitrogen and a carbon atom. Compound 1 has a tungsten-tungsten bond distance of 2.476(1) A and a planar W(2)(mu-CO)(2) core structure which has C(2)(h)() symmetry with short and long W-C bond distances (1.99(1) and 2.28(1) A, respectively). DFT calculations on a model of 1 indicate that (a) the C(2)(h)() instead of D(2)(h)() symmetry of the ditungsten core may be attributed to W --> CO pi back-bonding interactions and (b) the bond between the tungsten atoms may be formulated as a double bond. The new tetragonal paddlewheel compound W(2)(DAniF)(4) (4) and the edge-sharing bioctahedron W(2)(mu-O)(mu-NC(6)H(3)Cl(2))(mu-D(Cl)PhF)(2)(eta(2)-D(Cl)PhF)(2) (5) (D(Cl)PhF = N,N'-di-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)formamidinate) have also been prepared.     

New structural motifs in the aggregation of neutral gold(I) complexes: structures and luminescence from (alkyl isocyanide)AuCN

The preparation and X-ray crystal structures of (CyNC)Au(I)CN, (n-BuNC)Au(I)CN, and (i-PrNC)Au(I)CN.0.5CH(2)Cl(2) are reported and compared with those of (MeNC)Au(I)CN and (t-BuNC)Au(I)CN, which were previously described. These linear molecules are all organized through aurophilic interactions into three structural classes: simple chains ((CyNC)Au(I)CN and (t-BuNC)Au(I)CN), side-by-side chains in which two strands make Au...Au contact with each other ((n-BuNC)Au(I)CN), and nets in which multiple aurophilic interactions produce layers of gold(I) centers ((i-PrNC)Au(I)CN and (MeNC)Au(I)CN). All of these five solids dissolve to produce colorless, nonluminescent solutions with similar UV/vis spectra. However, each of the solids displays a unique luminescence with emission maxima occurring in the range 371-430 nm.     

Ab initio molecular modeling of 13C NMR chemical shifts of polymers. 1. Ethylene–norbornene copolymers

Cycloolefin copolymers (COC) have recently raised much interest because of their excellent thermal and optical properties, largely determined by the chain composition and stereochemistry. Previous force‐field computations allowed us to define the main conformational characteristics of ethylene–norbornene (E–N) copolymers and to contribute to the elucidation of their microstructure on the basis of empirical relationships between conformation and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) chemical shifts. A thorough test of ab initio ¹³C chemical shifts computations [gauge‐invariant atomic orbitals (GIAO)] on known cases shows that the agreement with experimental data is quite good, especially with the MPW1PW91 density functional theory (DFT), using the 6‐311+G(2d,p) basis set on properly energy‐minimized structures. We applied this method on proper model compounds to confirm the signal assignment of the spectra of E–N copolymers in the presence of norbornene microblocks, where strong effects arising from ring distortions are expected to occur. The results nicely confirm the latest assignment of norbornene signals belonging to ENNE sequences. This shows the great potentialities of GIAO/DFT computations with regard to complex spectra interpretation and polymer microstructural investigations. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2002     

Remarkable variations in the luminescence of frozen solutions of [Au[C(NHMe)(2)](2)](PF(6)) x 0.5(acetone). Structural and spectroscopic studies of the effects of anions and solvents on Gold(I) carbene complexes

The unusual luminescence behavior of the two-coordinate gold(I) carbene complex, [Au[C(NHMe)(2)](2)](PF(6)) x 0.5(acetone), is reported. Upon freezing in a liquid N(2) bath, the colorless, nonluminescent solutions of [Au[C(NHMe)(2)](2)](PF(6)) x 0.5(acetone) become intensely luminescent. Strikingly, the colors of the emission differ in different solvents and appear only after the solvent has frozen. Solid [Au[C(NHMe)(2)](2)](PF(6)) x 0.5(acetone) is also luminescent, and the luminescence is attributed to the formation of extended chains of gold(I) centers that are connected through aurophilic attractions. Crystallographic studies of [Au[C(NHMe)(2)](2)](PF(6)) x 0.5(acetone) and [Au[C(NHMe)(2)](2)](BF(4)), which is also luminescent, reveal that both involve extended chains of cations and that the anions are hydrogen bonded to the cations through cation N-H groups. However, these chains differ in the Au...Au separations in each and in the carbene ligand orientations. In contrast, [Au[C(NMe(2))(NHMe)](2)](PF(6)) forms a colorless, nonluminescent solid, and in that solid there are no Au...Au interactions, a factor which supports the contention that aggregated species are responsible for the luminescence of [Au[C(NHMe)(2)](2)](PF(6)) x 0.5(acetone) in the solid state and in frozen solutions.     

A systematic study of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) interactions by surface tension and small angle X-ray scattering

Classical parameters obtained from surface tension technique coupled to small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements gave support to investigate conformational changes in the bovine serum albumin (BSA)-sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) complexes, as well as the size of the micelle-like clusters distributed along the polypeptide chain. The studied systems were composed of 1 wt% of BSA in the absence and presence of increasing SDS molar concentration up to 80 mM, under experimental conditions of low ionic strength and pH 5.40. At SDS concentrations below the critical aggregation concentration (cac) of 2.2 mM, SAXS results indicate that the detergent does not modify the native protein conformation. However, the beginning of protein unfolding, evidenced by SAXS through an increase in the values of radius of gyration Rg and protein maximum dimension Dmax, is coincident with the onset of SDS cooperative binding to BSA identified by the first breakpoint in the surface tension-SDS profile. Further SDS addition leads to the formation of micelle-like aggregates randomly distributed along the unfolded polypeptide chain, consistent to a necklace and bead model. The SAXS data also demonstrate that the SDS micelles grow in size up to 50 mM detergent. At 50 mM surfactant, the micelles stop growing. This concentration is near the BSA saturation binding by SDS measured by dialyzes and indicated by the second breakpoint in surface tension-SDS profile. The SAXS and surface tension data are also consistent with the formation of free micelles in equilibrium with BSA-SDS complexes for surfactant amount above the saturation.