Study of electronic X-rays emitted from pionic and muonic atoms

The electronic X-ray energies of muonic atoms were precisely measured. The atomic number (Z) dependence of the energy difference between electronic X-rays of muonic atoms and Z-1 atoms (energy shift) was systematically investigated. The energy shifts in the low-Z region were compared with those of the high-Z region that had been obtained experimentally and theoretically in previous work. An obvious difference between these two regions was found in the atomic-number dependence of the energy shift. We also compared the energy shifts of muonic atoms with those of pionic atoms.     

Azulene-substituted aromatic amines. synthesis and amphoteric redox behavior of N,N-Di(6-azulenyl)-p-toluidine and N,N,N',N'-tetra(6-azulenyl)-p-phenylenediamine and their derivatives

[reaction: see text] N,N-Di(6-azulenyl)-p-toluidine (1a) and N,N,N',N'-tetra(6-azulenyl)-p-phenylenediamine (2a) and their derivatives with 1,3-bis(ethoxycarbonyl) substituents on each 6-azulenyl group (1b and 2b) were prepared by Pd-catalyzed amine azulenylation and characterized as a study into new aromatic amines for multistage amphoteric redox materials. The redox behavior of each compound was characterized by cyclic voltammetry. These compounds undergo facile reduction to stable anion radicals and dianion diradicals owing to the resonance stabilization between the 6-azulenyl groups and exhibit electrochemical oxidation depending on the amine subunits. The ESR measurement of anion radicals and a dianion diradical generated by the electrochemical reduction of amine 1b and diamine 2b revealed that the unpaired electron of these radicals delocalizes over the entire azulene ring including the central nitrogen atoms. UV-vis spectral analysis of amines 1a,b and diamines 2a,b, taken during the electrochemical reduction, exhibited a gradual decrease of the absorption bands of the neutral species along with an increase of the new absorption maxima at 625, 605, 640, and 610 nm, respectively, with the development of well-defined isosbestic points at 502, 562, 478, and 545 nm, respectively. As indicated by a combined ESR and UV-vis spectral study, the species giving rise to the new absorption maxima are concluded to be the generation of anion radicals and dianion diradicals of aromatic amines and diamines with high thermodynamic stability.     

Development and application of parallel-plate avalanche counter for in-beam Mössbauer spectroscopy

For Mössbauer -rays in the in-beam Mössbauer experiments using various beams such as heavy ion, secondary short-lived isotope, and neutron beams, it is important to develop a detector. A parallel-plate avalanche counter (PPAC) is the most suitable gas counter for on-line measurements, because PPAC collects the internal conversion electrons emitted by the Mössbauer effect even under high -background. We evaluated the influences of the pressure and flow rate of the counter gas against the counting efficiency of PPAC, and determined the optimum conditions for use in the in-beam Mössbauer experiments.     

Synthesis of hepialone; principal component from male sex scales of hepialuscalifornicus (lepidoptera)

Racemic and optically active hepialone, a new sex-pheromonal component produced by the male moth, Hepialus californicus Bvd., was synthesized and thus confirmed the structure of the pheromone as (2R)-2,3-dihydro-2-ethyl-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one (1).     

Positive muons in condensed phase ammonia

The chemical behavior of positive muons in condensed phase ammonia has been investigated in order to elucidate the phase and temperature effects on the chemical and physical behavior of the muon and muonium formation in a simple binary compound. Diamagnetic muon yield (P_D) was constant at 0.67±0.01 in both solid and liquid above 125 K. Muonium formation in solids were observed above 100 K with slow muonium spin relaxation. In liquids, the muonium yield and its spin relaxation rate showed temperature dependence. Addition of metallic sodium increased P_D in liquids.     

Ligand effect on reversible conversion between copper(I) and bis(mu-oxo)dicopper(III) complex with a sterically hindered tetradentate tripodal ligand and monooxygenase activity of bis(mu-oxo)dicopper(III) complex

A new sterically hindered tetradentate tripodal ligand (Me2-etpy) and its labeled analogue having deuterated methylene groups (d4-Me2-etpy) were synthesized, where Me2-etpy is bis(6-methyl-2-pyridylmethyl)(2-pyridylethyl)amine. Copper(I) complexes [Cu(Me2-etpy or d4-Me2-etpy)]+ (1 and 1-d4, respectively) reacted with dioxygen at -80 degrees C in acetone to give bis(mu-oxo)dicopper(III) complexes [Cu2(O)2(Me2-etpy or d4-Me2-etpy)2](2+) (1-oxo and 1-d4-oxo, respectively), the latter of which was crystallographically characterized. Unlike a bis(mu-oxo)dicopper(III) complex with a closely related Me2-tpa ligand having a 2-pyridylmethyl pendant, 1-oxo possessing a 2-pyridylethyl pendant is not fully formed even under 1 atm of O2 at -80 degrees C and is very reactive toward the oxidation of the supporting ligand. Thermal decomposition of 1-oxo gave an N-dealkylated ligand in yield approximately 80% based on a dimer and a corresponding aldehyde. The deuterated ligand d4-Me2-etpy greatly stabilizes the bis(mu-oxo)dicopper(III) complex 1-d4-oxo, indicating that the rate determining step of the N-dealkylation is the C-H bond cleavage from the methylene group. The reversible conversion between 1-d4 and 1-d4-oxo in acetone is dependent on the temperature, and the thermodynamic parameters (DeltaH and DeltaS) of the equilibrium were determined to be -53 +/- 2 kJ mol(-1) and -187 +/- 10 J mol(-1) K(-1), respectively. The effect of the 2-pyridylethyl pendant in comparison with the 2-pyridylmethyl and 6-methyl-2-pyridylmethyl pendants on the physicochemical properties of the copper(I) and bis(mu-oxo)dicopper(III) species is discussed.     

Experimental considerations of myocardial single photon emission CT image with a cardiac phantom

We studied the quantity of thallium-201 myocardial single photon emission CT (SPECT) image with a cardiac phantom. The myocardial SPECT image is influenced by several causes, i.e., the absorption of gamma rays, collimator aperture, statistical noise and limited angle of rotation in data acquisition. The attenuation correction under the assumption of uniform distribution is not sufficient, so we have to consider the actual distribution of absorption. The effects of the nonuniform attenuation are most prominently appeared when we evaluate the quantity by the integral method. The aperture characteristics of a collimator are decided by the distance between the rotational center of the gamma camera and the collimator surface. Simultaneously scattered gamma rays affect the reconstructed image in the low frequency component, so the effective attenuation coefficient varies gradually. The statistical noise intermixed in the projection data generate artifacts like as lump-shaped pattern. The noise are clearly appeared in the spatial frequency upper than 0.25 cycle, so the low-pass filter are required with that of cut-off frequency. Moreover to enhance the details of the radionuclide distribution of cardiac muscle, the Wiener filter should be applied. The scan area also affects the appearance of the artifact in the myocardial SPECT image. The 180-degree scan usually generates false defects just nearby the center of reconstructed cross section. And the positions are changed with the conditions of gamma ray absorber and its relative position to the myocardial area. The 360-degree scan should be used from the standpoint of reconstructing more quantitative image.     

Highly sensitive method for the determination of 5-fluorouracil in biological samples in the presence of 2'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A highly sensitive and convenient gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) method is described for the determination of 5-fluorouracil in the presence of 2'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (which breaks down into 5-fluorouracil during ordinary GC derivatization) in biological samples such as plasma and urine. After extraction with ethyl acetate, 5-fluorouracil and 5-chlorouracil, the latter being used as an internal standard, were converted into their tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives by allowing the mixture to stand for 30 min at room temperature and were assayed by electron-impact ionization GC-MS. Under these conditions, 2'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine did not decompose or interfere with the determination of 5-fluorouracil. The assay method, including the extraction and tert.-butyldimethylsilyl derivatization of 5-fluorouracil, showed good linearity in the range 0-100 ng/ml for 5-fluorouracil in plasma (detection limit 0.5 ng/ml) and urine (detection limit 1 ng/ml). The usefulness of this method was demonstrated by determining plasma concentrations of 5-fluorouracil in rats treated intravenously with 5-fluorouracil and 2'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine.     

Multiple hydrogen bonding-based fluorescent imprinted polymers for cyclobarbital prepared with 2,6-bis(acrylamido)pyridine

A cyclobarbital-imprinted polymer was prepared using a fluorescent functional monomer, 2,6-bis(acrylamido)pyridine, and the polymer showed not only selective binding of cyclobarbital but also enhancement of fluorescence intensity, suggesting that the polymer could be utilized as a selective fluorescence probe.     

Crystal structure of mono[3-(2-imidazolylthio)]-altro-beta-cyclodextrin: elliptical distortion of the cavity and unique 'Yin-Yang' stacking

The title compound is elliptically distorted due to the unusual 1C4 geometry of the altrose portion. In packing, a unique fourfold helical structure is elaborated with head-to-head dimers as the repeating motif. The imidazolyl moieties mutually reside on each other's cavities thereby resembling the Yin-Yang type balancing of antagonisms.