Bullseye color schlieren flow visualization

In this variant of schlieren flow visualization a tricolored filter pattern made up of concentric rings is used instead of a knife edge at the cut-off plane. The method is particularly useful in combustion studies since it provides the range necessary to visualize flames while retaining the sensitivity necessary to detect fluid motion in the surrounding gasses. That utility is demonstrated in this paper in terms of basic principles and by application. Photographs presented include images of both premixed and diffusion flames in an unsteady swirling flow within a cylinder.     

Tunable Pentapeptide Self‐Assembled β‐Sheet Hydrogels

Oligopeptide‐based supramolecular hydrogels hold promise in a range of applications. The gelation of these systems is hard to control, with minor alterations in the peptide sequence significantly influencing the self‐assembly process. We explored three pentapeptide sequences with different charge distributions and discovered that they formed robust, pH‐responsive hydrogels. By altering the concentration and charge distribution of the peptide sequence, the stiffness of the hydrogels could be tuned across two orders of magnitude (2–200 kPa). Also, through reassembly of the β‐sheet interactions the hydrogels could self‐heal and they demonstrated shear‐thin behavior. Using spectroscopic and cryo‐imaging techniques, we investigated the relationship between peptide sequence and molecular structure, and how these influence the mechanical properties of the hydrogel. These pentapeptide hydrogels with tunable morphology and mechanical properties have promise in tissue engineering, injectable delivery vectors, and 3D printing applications.     

The CellCard System: a novel approach to assessing compound selectivity for lead prioritization of G protein-coupled receptors

Advances in high throughput screening technologies have led to the identification of many small molecules, "hits", with activities toward the target of interest. And, as the screening technologies become faster and more robust, the rate at which the molecules are identified continues to increase. This evolution of high throughput screening technologies has generated a significant strain on the laboratories involved with the downstream profiling of these hits using cell-based assays. The CellCard System, by enabling multiple targets and/or cell lines to be assayed simultaneously within a single well, provides a platform on which selectivity screening can be quickly and robustly performed. Here we describe two case studies using the beta-lactamase and beta-galactosidase reporter gene systems to characterize G protein-coupled receptor agonist activity. Using these examples we demonstrate how the implementation of this technology enables assay miniaturization without micro-fluidic devices as well as how the inclusion of intra-well controls can provide a means of data quality assessment within each well.     

The electrical double layer of carbon and graphite electrodes: Part V. Specific interactions with simple ions

The specific interaction of halide and alkali metal ions with carbon and graphite electrodes was investigated by monitoring the dimensional changes and the charging current during a linear potential scan. The potential of zero charge (pzc), as detected by a minimum in the length vs. potential curve, is shifted towards more negative values when a larger halide is the anion in a single electrolyte solution and as the solution concentration increases. This is interpreted in terms of increasing specific interactions. Alkali cations, on the other hand, do not exhibit any measurable effects of specific interaction,The differential capacity of both carbon and graphite increases due to specific interactions. However, the contribution to the capacity of the carbon is much larger than that for the graphite. This is interpreted on the basis of the much larger contribution of the edge planes in the carbon.     

High-efficiency surface-induced dissociation on a rhenium oxide surface

We report on the high-efficiency surface-induced dissociation of benzene and cyclohexane polyatomic ions after scattering from a rhenium oxide surface with a kinetic energy of 5–290 eV. Rhenium oxide was prepared by directly heating a rhenium metal foil, under 10^?5 mbar partial oxygen pressure, at about 1000 K. Rhenium oxide is characterized by a very high work function of 6.4 eV and thus minimizes ion reneutralization probabilities. The catalytic combustion of surface organic impurities with oxygen ensures good long-term stability. We found that the surface-induced dissociation ion current is 70 times larger on rhenium oxide than on bare rhenium or stainless steel. Absolute scattered ion yields of about 50% were measured. The implications of surface-induced dissociation on mass spectrometry in supersonic molecular beams are mentioned.     

Weakly coordinating anions: crystallographic and NQR studies of halogen-metal bonding in silver, thallium, sodium, and potassium halomethanesulfonates

35Cl, (79,81)Br, and (127)I NQR (nuclear quadrupole resonance) spectroscopy in conjunction with X-ray crystallography is potentially one of the best ways of characterizing secondary bonding of metal cations such as Ag(+) to halogen donor atoms on the surfaces of very weakly coordinating anions. We have determined the X-ray crystal structure of Ag(O(3)SCH(2)Cl) (a = 13.241(3) A; b = 7.544(2) A; c = 4.925(2) A; orthorhombic; space group Pnma; Z = 4) and compared it with the known structure of Ag(O(3)SCH(2)Br) (Charbonnier, F.; Faure, R.; Loiseleur, H. Acta Crystallogr., Sect. B 1978, 34, 3598-3601). The halogen atom in each is apical (three-coordinate), being weakly coordinated to two silver ions. (127)I NQR studies on Ag(O(3)SCH(2)I) show the expected NQR consequences of three-coordination of iodine: substantially reduced NQR frequencies nu(1) and nu(2) and a fairly small NQR asymmetry parameter eta. The reduction of the halogen NQR frequency of the coordinating halogen atom in Ag(O(3)SCH(2)X) becomes more substantial in the series X = Cl < Br < I, indicating that the coordination to Ag(+) strengthens in this series, as expected from hard-soft acid-base principles. The numbers of electrons donated by the organic iodine atom to Ag(+) have been estimated; these indicate that the bonding to the cation is weak but not insignificant. We have not found any evidence for the bonding of these organohalogen atoms to another soft-acid metal ion, thallium. A scheme for recycling of thallium halide wastes is included.     

A mild,rapid and convenient esterification of half esters of malonic acid

A new method for the esterification of half esters of malonic acid with chloroformates is described. The reaction proceeds $\text{via}$ the mixed anhydride followed by spontaneous decarboxylation.