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The Estrada topological index EE, based on the eigenvalues of the adjacency matrix, is degenerate for cospectral graphs. By additionally considering the eigenvectors, two new topological indices are devised (RV_a and RV_b), which have reduced degeneracy for alkanes or cyclic graphs. Index RV_a shows similarity to EE in ordering of alkanes with 8 to 10 carbon atoms, whereas index RV_b is more similar to the average distance-based connectivity (Balaban index J). Inter-correlations between these four topological indices are discussed, indicating which factors have predominant influence.

Diamondoids are hydrocarbons having a carbon scaffold comprised from polymer-like composites of adamantane cages. The present paper describes computed total energies and "SWB-tension" energies (often referred to as "strain" energies) for species having $n$ adamantane or diamantane units sharing pairwise: one carbon atom (spiro-[n]adamantane or spiro-[$n$]diamantane); one C-C bond (one-bond-sharing-[$n$]adamantane or one-bond-sharing-[$n$]diamantane); or one chair-shaped hexagon of carbon atoms (1234-helical-cata-[$n$]diamantanes). Each of the five investigated polymer-like types is considered either as an acyclic or a cyclic chain of adamantane- or diamantane-unit cages. With increasing $n$ values, SWB-tension energies for acyclic aggregates are found to increase linearly, while the net SWB-tension energies of cyclic aggregates often go thru a minimum at a suitable value of $n$. In all five cases, a limiting common energy per unit ($E/n$ ) is found to be approached by both cyclic and acyclic chains as $n\to \infty $, as revealed from plots of $E/n$ versus $1/n$ for acyclic chains and of $E/n$ versus $1/n^2$ for cyclic chains., Comment: submitted to Int J. Quantum Chemistry

Fingerprints of antiaromaticity in the negative ion (Li$_3$Al$_4$)$^-$, this species being realizable via a laser vaporization technique, are revealed by means of an \emph{ab initio} quantum-chemical investigation. First, the ground-state equilibrium geometry of this ion is predicted. Also, for the corresponding inhomogeneous electron liquid, the characteristics of the HOMO are studied, both for the square and the rectangular Al$_4$ geometry in two low-lying isomers of the negative ion. There is no particular sensitivity to the change in geometry of the Al$_4$ configuration. Therefore, we have calculated theoretically chemical shifts (NICS), which contain remarkable fingerprints of antiaromaticity. As to future directions, some comments are added in relation to the Shannon entropy., Comment: Phys. Chem. Liquids (to appear in vol. 52, 2014)

Presented 9-month-old infants with slides of drawings of pigs and rabbits, and tested the relative success of two auditory accompaniments in facilitating subsequent categorization of the slides. Found that infants paid more attention to presentations when they were accompanied by sound (words or tones) rather than musical tones, and paid more attention to novelty when accompanied by words. (EAJ)

While 18 5-month-old infants viewed photographic slides of faces posed in happy, neutral, or angry expressions, a brief acoustic noise burst was presented to elicit the blink component of human startle. It was found that blink size was augmented during the viewing of angry expressions and reduced during viewing of happy expressions. (MDM)