Vibrational spectra and ab initio computations of sarcosinium oxalate monohydrate

Single crystals of sarcosinium oxalate monohydrate (SOM) are grown by the slow-evaporation technique at ambient temperature, and vibrational spectroscopic analysis is carried out using NIR-FT Raman, FT-IR, and SERS spectra. The normal mode frequencies and corresponding vibrational analysis of SOM are examined theoretically using the Gaussian’98 set of quantum chemical codes. The two bands present in the SOM ν C=O region, clearly observed in the Raman spectrum, are assigned to “free” and “bonded” carbonyl groups with the hydrogen atom. Vibrational analysis indicates the presence of C-H—O hydrogen bonding interaction producing a blueshift of the C-H stretching frequency.     

Estimates from Below for the Spectral Function and for the Remainder in Local Weyl’s Law

We obtain asymptotic lower bounds for the spectral function of the Laplacian and for the remainder in local Weyl’s law on manifolds. In the negatively curved case, thermodynamic formalism is applied to improve the estimates. Key ingredients of the proof include the wave equation parametrix, a pretrace formula and the Dirichlet box principle. Our results develop and extend the unpublished thesis of A. Karnaukh [Ka]. The first author was supported by NSERC, FQRNT, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship and Dawson Fellowship. The second author was supported by NSERC and FQRNT. Received: April 2006 Revision: October 2006 Accepted: October 2006     

A Mössbauer spectroscopic study of cobalt-iron molybdates

Fe _x Co_1–x MoO₄ compounds prepared by coprecipitation were studied by XRD, electrical conductivity and mainly by absorption and emission Mössbauer spectroscopy. FeMoO₄ and CoMoO₄ samples were shown to contain Fe³⁺ and Co³⁺, respectively, in solid solution. Three kinds of Fe _x Co_1–x MoO₄ solids can be described. Forx0.16: one has a -Co(Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺)MoO₄ solid solution. For 0.17x0.25: one has the same solid solution with its surface rich in Fe³⁺. Forx0.26: one has the same solid solution with only bulk Fe³⁺, and ferric molybdate. Studies of reduction by hydrogen and of catalytic reaction of mechanical mixtures of CoMoO₄ and ferric molybdate support these statements.     

The effect of carbon nanotubes on epoxy matrix nanocomposites

The paper concerns thermal properties of epoxy/nanotubes composites for aircraft application. In this work, influence of carbon nanotubes on thermal stability, thermal conductivity, and crosslinking density of epoxy matrix was determined. Three kinds of nanotubes were used: non-modified with 1- and 1.5-μm length, and 1-μm length modified with amino groups. Scanning electron microscopy observations were done for examining dispersion of nanotubes in the epoxy matrix. Glass transition temperature (T _g) was readout from differential scanning calorimetry. From dynamic mechanical analysis, crosslinking density was calculated for epoxy and its composites. Also, thermogravimetric analysis was done to determine influence of nanotubes addition on thermal stability and decomposition process of composites. Activation energy was calculated from TGA curves by Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method. Thermal diffusivity was also measured. SEM images proved the uniform dispersion of carbon nanotubes without any agglomerates. It was found that nanotubes modified with amino groups lead to the increase of epoxy matrix crosslinking density. The significant increase in T _g was also observed. On the other hand, addition of carbon nanotubes leads to the decrease of thermal stability of polymer due to the increase of thermal diffusivity.     

Regioselective synthesis of 2-unsubstituted 1-aryl-4- and 1-aryl-5-acylimidazoles

An efficient and simple method for the synthesis of 2-unsubstituted 1-aryl-4- and 1-aryl-5-acylimidazoles has been developed. It consists in the condensation of α-diketone monooximes with aromatic amines and formaldehyde on the presence of boron trifluoride etherate, leading to the formation of stable boron trifluoride complexes of N-oxides. Further reduction of these complexes led to the corresponding imidazoles. This method permits broad variations of substituents in the aryl part of these compounds.     

Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria from Conjunctival Flora in an Eye Infection Prone Breed (Saint Bernard)

The conjunctival bacterial resident and opportunistic flora of dogs may represent a major source of dissemination of pathogens throughout the environment or to other animals and humans. Nevertheless, contamination with bacteria from external sources is common. In this context, the study of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pattern may represent an indicator of multidrug resistant (MDR) strains exchange. The present study was focused on a single predisposed breed—Saint Bernard. The evaluated animals were healthy, but about half had a history of ocular disease/treatment. The swabs collected from conjunctival sacs were evaluated by conventional microbiological cultivation and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). The most prevalent Gram-positive was Staphylococcus spp.; regardless of the history, while Gram-negative was Pseudomonas spp.; exclusively from dogs with a history of ocular disease/treatment. Other identified genera were represented by Bacillus, Streptococcus, Trueperella, Aeromonas and Neisseria. The obtained results suggest a possible association between the presence of mixed flora and a history of ocular disease/treatment. A high AMR was generally observed (90%) in all isolates, especially for kanamycin, doxycycline, chloramphenicol and penicillin. MDR was recorded in Staphylococcus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. This result together with a well-known zoonotic potential may suggest an exchange of these strains within animal human populations and the environment.     

Explicit Constructions of Universal R-Trees and Asymptotic Geometry of Hyperbolic Spaces

This paper presents explicit constructions of universal R-treesas certain spaces of functions, and also proves that a -universal R-tree can be isometricallyembedded at infinity into a complete simply connected manifoldof negative curvature, or into a non-abelian free group. Incontrast to asymptotic cone constructions, asymptotic spacesare built without using the axiom of choice. 2000 MathematicsSubject Classification L53C23, 20F67.