Symmetry coordinates and group orbitals from basis functions

The gradients of the basis functions of group theory are vector-valued basis functions. When one of the components of such a gradient is evaluated at atomic positions, and the values are summed over a set of equivalent atoms, the result represents a symmetry coordinate and/or a group orbital.     

STUDIES ON THYMINE-DERIVED UV PHOTO-PRODUCTS IN DNA—II. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF DAMAGE CAUSED BY 254 NM IRRADIATION AND TRIPLET-STATE PHOTOSENSITIZATION

Abstract— From the rates of cyclobutyl dipyrimidine (Pyr < > Pyr) formation and the ratio of inactivation of transforming or phage DNA caused by direct (254 nm) or sensitized (1.0 M acetone, 313 nm; 0.02 M acetophenone, 334 nm) irradiation, we conclude that Thy < > Pyr and Cyt < > Pyr are equally lethal, and that they are repaired with equal efficiency by the host cell. Not all the damage formed by photosensitized irradlation can be photoenzymatically repaired, especially when acetone is the sensitizer. We found no compelling evidence for photosensitized interstrand cross-links or sensitizer-DNA addition products for the fluence range used in these studies (< 10⁶ Jm^-2); moreover, strand breakage can account for only a part of the non-photorepairable damage. We suggest that a fraction of the damage may be due to Pyr < > Pyr isomers other than the cis, syn type usually formed in native DNA by far-UV light.     

New limit on CPT violation

A search for antiproton decay has been made at the Fermilab Antiproton Accumulator. Limits are placed on fifteen antiproton decay modes. The results are used to place limits on the characteristic mass scale m(X) that could be associated with CPT violation accompanied by baryon number violation.     

Small-angle muon and bottom-quark production in p&pmacr; collisions at radicals = 1.8 TeV

This Letter describes a measurement of the muon cross section originating from b-quark decay in the forward rapidity range 2.4<| y(&mgr;)|<3.2 in p&pmacr; collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.8 TeV. The data used in this analysis were collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron. We find that next-to-leading-order QCD calculations underestimate b-quark production by a factor of 4 in the forward rapidity region.     

Static deflection measurements of cantilever arrays reveal polymer film expansion and contraction

An optical static method of detection is used to interpret surface stress induced bending related to cantilevers coated on one side with poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl butyral-co-vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate), and poly(vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate-co-2-hydroxypropyl acrylate), or respectively, PVA, PVB, and PVC, and exposed to various solvent vapors. Results indicate that the adsorption and surface interactions of the different solvent vapors that cause polymer swelling and shrinking lead to rearrangements, which have been shown to change the elastic properties of the polymer film, and subsequently, the spring constant of the polymer coated cantilever. Static deflection measurements allow the direction of cantilever bending to be determined, which adds a new dimension of usefulness for surface functionalized cantilevers as transducers in the development of novel microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).