On the Width of the K-Absorption Edge of Cobalt

Marshall McLuhan, pioneer of modern media studies, wrote his Ph.D. thesis on the Elizabethan writer Thomas Nashe and the history of the classical trivium. This essay shows how McLuhan’s early exposure to Nashe influenced his later work on speech, print, and modern media. It argues that Nashe’s use of print to re-create oral conditions and his invention of personae drawn from fairground and marketplace helped shape McLuhan’s response to media and popular culture. Rhodes goes on to argue that it was Nashe’s attack on Ramus, to which McLuhan gave particular emphasis, that was the source of the idea that print promotes linear thinking and closure at the expense of the very different qualities associated with oral culture. He ends by countering some of the charges made against McLuhan that he sentimentalizes the oral by using it to represent an ideal of human wholeness

Truncated Harmonic Osillator and Parasupersymmetric Quantum Mechanics

We discuss in detail the parasupersymmetric quantum mechanics of arbitrary order where the parasupersymmetry is between the normal bosons and those corresponding to the truncated harmonic oscillator. We show that even though the parasusy algebra is different from that of the usual parasusy quantum mechanics, still the consequences of the two are identical. We further show that the parasupersymmetric quantum mechanics of arbitrary order p can also be rewritten in terms of p supercharges (i.e. all of which obey $Q_i^{2} = 0$). However, the Hamiltonian cannot be expressed in a simple form in terms of the p supercharges except in a special case. A model of conformal parasupersymmetry is also discussed and it is shown that in this case, the p supercharges, the p conformal supercharges along with Hamiltonian H, conformal generator K and dilatation generator D form a closed algebra.Comment: 9 page

Computer simulation study of the subquadratic quantum number dependence of vibrational overtone dephasing: comparison with the mode-coupling theory predictions

Experimental studies have demonstrated that the vibrational dephasing of overtones do not always follow the quadratic quantum number (n) dependence predicted by the Kubo-Oxtoby theory of vibrational line shapes. While the reason for this failure of the theory is not quite clear yet, a recent theory suggested that the pronounced Gaussian time dependence of the frequency-modulation time-correlation function (tcf) could be a possible reason [Gayathri et al., J. Chem. Phys., 107, 10381 (1997)]. The theoretical study was based on a mode coupling theory calculation of the force-force time-correlation function that is required in the calculation of the frequency-modulation tcf. In order to test this and other predictions of the above study, detailed computer simulations of two neat liquids have been carried out. The systems studied are N-N stretch in liquid N2 and the C-I stretch in CH3I. It is found that although the frequency-modulation time-correlation function is largely Gaussian in both the cases, the overtone dephasing remains largely quadratic in n for N2. For methyl iodide, on the other hand, a pronounced sub-quadratic n dependence has been observed. Both the theory and the computer simulations suggest that this nonquadratic dependence can be expected when not only the decay of the frequency time-correlation function is Gaussian but the time scale of decay of the frequency-modulation tcf is comparable to that of the normal coordinate. The latter can happen when the following conditions are satisfied. First, the frequency of the normal mode should not be too large. Second, the mean-square fluctuation of the frequency-modulation and the anharmonicity coefficient of vibration should be large. It is found that both for N2 and CH3I, the resonant energy transfer between different molecules is significant. The effect of rotational-vibrational coupling, on the other hand, is found to be negligible for the systems studied

Towards Understanding the Structure, Dynamics and Bio-activity of Diabetic Drug Metformin

Small molecules are often found to exhibit extraordinarily diverse biological activities. Metformin is one of them. It is widely used as anti-diabetic drug for type-two diabetes. In addition to that, metformin hydrochloride shows anti-tumour activities and increases the survival rate of patients suffering from certain types of cancer namely colorectal, breast, pancreas and prostate cancer. However, theoretical studies of structure and dynamics of metformin have not yet been fully explored. In this work, we investigate the characteristic structural and dynamical features of three mono-protonated forms of metformin hydrochloride with the help of experiments, quantum chemical calculations and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. We validate our force field by comparing simulation results to that of the experimental findings. Nevertheless, we discover that the non-planar tautomeric form is the most stable. Metformin forms strong hydrogen bonds with surrounding water molecules and its solvation dynamics show unique features. Because of an extended positive charge distribution, metformin possesses features of being a permanent cationic partner toward several targets. We study its interaction and binding ability with DNA using UV spectroscopy, circular dichroism, fluorimetry and metadynamics simulation. We find a non-intercalating mode of interaction. Metformin feasibly forms a minor/major groove-bound state within a few tens of nanoseconds, preferably with AT rich domains. A significant decrease in the free-energy of binding is observed when it binds to a minor groove of DNA.Comment: 60 pages, 24 figure

Competing PT potentials and re-entrant PT symmetric phase for a particle in a box

We investigate the effects of competition between two complex, $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric potentials on the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric phase of a "particle in a box". These potentials, given by $V_Z(x)=iZ\mathrm{sign}(x)$ and $V_\xi(x)=i\xi[\delta(x-a)-\delta(x+a)]$, represent long-range and localized gain/loss regions respectively. We obtain the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric phase in the $(Z,\xi)$ plane, and find that for locations $\pm a$ near the edge of the box, the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric phase is strengthened by additional losses to the loss region. We also predict that a broken $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry will be restored by increasing the strength $\xi$ of the localized potential. By comparing the results for this problem and its lattice counterpart, we show that a robust $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric phase in the continuum is consistent with the fragile phase on the lattice. Our results demonstrate that systems with multiple, $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric potentials show unique, unexpected properties.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure