5-(1,3-Dithiolo[4,5-d][1,3]dithiol-2-yl­idene)-1,3-dithiolo[4,5-c][1,2,5]thia­diazole: an unsymmetrical tetra­thia­fulvalene with fused 1,2,5-thia­diazole and 1,3-dithiole rings

The title unsymmetrical tetra­thia­fulvalene (TTF), C7H2N2S7, contains fused 1,2,5-thia­diazole and 1,3-dithiole rings and is a component mol­ecule for conducting organic solids. The TTF mol­ecule is disordered crystallographically over two orientations related by an inversion center, where each site is half-occupied. The mol­ecule is almost planar with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.096 Å. In the crystal structure, mol­ecules are linked by short inter­molecular S⋯S inter­actions [3.47 (2), 3.507 (8) and 3.517 (13) Å]

Studies on the oxidation of hexamethylbenzene 2: Preparation of dimethylpyromellitic acid

Hexamethylbenzene (HMB) was difficult to be oxidized with an alkaline potassium permanganate solution, since HMB was insoluble in an aqueous alkaline solution. But, when HMB was warmed with 50% nitric acid for a short time, and then treated with aqueous potassium permanganate, the reaction occurred readily and dimethylpyromellitic acid was obtained. When HMB was warmed with 50% nitric acid for 1 to 2 minutes, a yellow material was produced, which was soluble in hot aqueous potassium hydroxide, though free from carboxylic acids. It contained a little amount of bis-(nitromethyl)prehnitene and several unknown compounds. Further, the heat stability of polyimide prepared by the reaction of tetramethyldimethylpyromellitate with 4,4 prime-diaminodiphenylmethane turned out to be nearly equal to that of polyimide prepared from tetramethylpyromellitate

Studies on the oxidation of hexamethylbenzene 1: Oxidation of hexamethylbenzene with nitric acid

The oxidative reaction of hexamethylbenzene (HMB) with nitric acid was studied, and the hitherto unknown polymethylbenzenepolycarboxylic acids were isolated: tetramethylphthalic anhydride, tetramethylisophthalic acid, 1,3,5-, 1,2,4- and 1,2,3-trimethylbenzenetricarboxylic acids. When HMB was warmed with 50% nitric acid at about 80 C, tetramethylphthalic anhydride and tetramethylisophthalic acid were initially produced. The continued reaction led to the production of trimethylbenzenetricarboxylic acids, but only slight amounts of dimethylbenzenetetracarboxylic acids were detected in the reaction mixture. Whereas tetramethylphthalic anydride and tetramethylisophthalic acid were obtained, pentamethylbenzoic acid, a possible precursor of them, was scarcely produced. On the other hand, a yellow material extracted with ether from the initial reaction mixture contained bis-(nitromethyl)prehnitene (CH3)4C6(CH2NO2)2, which was easily converted into the phthalic anhydride

Proper-time Resolution Function for Measurement of Time Evolution of B Mesons at the KEK B-Factory

The proper-time resolution function for the measurement of the time evolution of B mesons with the Belle detector at KEKB is studied in detail. The obtained resolution function is applied to the measurement of B meson lifetimes, the B0-B0bar oscillation frequency and time-dependent CP asymmetries.Comment: 25 pages, 18 figures, to be published in NIM A, replaced with revised versio

Optimal Monetary Policy during Endogenous Housing-Market Boom-Bust Cycles

This paper uses a small-open economy model for the Canadian economy to examine the optimal Taylor-type monetary policy rule that stabilizes output and inflation in an environment where endogenous boom-bust cycles in house prices can occur. The model shows that boom-bust cycles in house prices emerge when credit-constrained mortgage borrowers expect that future house prices will rise and this expectation is neither shared by savers nor realized ex-post. These boom-bust cycles replicate the stylized features of housing-market boom-bust cycles in industrialized countries. In an environment where mortgage borrowers are occasionally over-optimistic, the central bank should be less responsive to inflation, more responsive to output, and slower to adjust the nominal policy interest rate. This optimal monetary policy rule dampens endogenous boom-bust cycles in house prices, but prolongs inflation target horizons due to weak policy reactions to inflation fluctuations after fundamental shocks.Credit and credit aggregates; Financial stability; Inflation targets

Heterogeneous Beliefs and Housing-Market Boom-Bust Cycles in a Small Open Economy

This paper introduces heterogeneous beliefs among households in a small open economy model for the Canadian economy. The model suggests that simultaneous boom-bust cycles in house prices, output, investment, consumption and hours worked emerge when credit-constrained mortgage borrowers expect that future house prices will rise and this expectation is neither shared by savers nor realized ex-post. With sticky prices and a standard monetary policy rule, the model shows that the nominal policy interest rate and the CPI inflation rate decline during housing booms and rise as house prices fall. These results replicate the stylized features of housing-market boom-bust cycles in industrialized countries. Policy experiments demonstrate that stronger policy responses to inflation amplify housing-market boom-bust cycles. Also, higher loan-to-value ratios amplify housing-market boom-bust cycles by encouraging speculative housing investments by mortgage borrowers during housing booms and increasing liquidation of housing collateral during housing busts.Credit and credit aggregates; Financial stability; Inflation targets

Liquidity Transformation and Bank Capital Requirements

This paper presents a dynamic general equilibrium model where asymmetric information about asset quality leads to asset illiquidity. Banking arises endogenously in this environment as banks can pool illiquid assets to average out their idiosyncratic qualities and issue liquid liabilities backed by pooled assets whose total quality is public information. Moreover, the liquidity mismatch in banks' balance sheets leads to endogenous bank capital (outside equity) requirements for preventing bank runs. The model indicates that banking has both positive and negative effects on long-run economic growth and that business-cycle dynamics of asset prices, asset illiquidity and bank capital requirements are interconnected.Financial stability; Financial system regulation and policies

PHYSICS EDUCATION AT AN EVENING COURSE OF A JAPANESE UNIVERSITY

The evening undergraduate course of Tokyo University of Science (TUS) accepts 360 students every year. A predecessor school of this course was established in 1881, thus, the evening course has a 137-year history. Furthermore, this is the only evening school at the Faculty of Science in a Japanese university at present. Although the evening course has provided an opportunity for higher education in the natural sciences for citizens who graduated from high school, new demands for lifelong education in the evening course have now appeared. This paper statistically summarizes the present situation of science education in the evening course, and then discusses the future of the evening course