Cycloartanes, protolimonoids, a pregnane and a new ergostane from Trichilia reticulata

The new ergostane steroid ergosta-5,24(24')-diene-3beta,4beta,22R-triol (1), a pregnane, (E)-volkendusin, characterised as the diacetate (3), cycloartanes 4-6 and protolimonoids 7-9 were obtained from the leaves and twigs of Trichilia reticulata.     

Hydrogen abstraction from ionic liquids by benzophenone triplet excited states

The activation energy for hydrogen abstraction from imidazolium-based ionic liquids is significantly higher than that observed in conventional solvents.     

Observation of B --> K(+/-) pi(0) and B --> (K)0 pi(0), and evidence for B --> pi(+)pi(-)

We have studied charmless hadronic decays of B mesons into two-body final states with kaons and pions and observe three new processes with the following branching fractions: beta(B-->pi(+)pi(-)) = (4.3(+1. 6)(-1.4)+/-0.5)x10(-6), beta(B-->K(0)pi(0)) = (14.6(+5.9+2.4)(-5.1-3. 3))x10(-6), and beta(B-->K(+)/-pi(0)) = (11.6(+3.0+1.4)(-2.7-1.3))x10(-6). We also update our previous measurements for the decays B-->K(+)/-pi(-/+) and B+/--->K(0)pi(+/-).     

Observation of new states decaying into Lambda+(c)pi(-)pi(+)

Using 13.7 fb(-1) of data recorded by the CLEO detector at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring, we investigate the spectrum of charmed baryons which decay into Lambda+(c)pi(-)pi(+) and are more massive than the Lambda+(c)(2625) baryon. We find evidence for two new states: one is broad and has an invariant mass roughly 480 MeV above that of the Lambda+(c) baryon; the other is narrow with an invariant mass of 596+/-1+/-2 MeV above the Lambda+(c) mass.     

Rapid near-infrared Raman spectroscopy system for real-time in vivo skin measurements

A rapid dispersive-type near-infrared (NIR) Raman spectroscopy system and a Raman probe were developed to facilitate real-time, noninvasive, in vivo human skin measurements. Spectrograph image aberration was corrected by a parabolic-line fiber array, permitting complete CCD vertical binning, thereby yielding a 3.3-16-fold improvement in signal-to-noise ratio. Good quality in vivo cutaneous NIR Raman spectra free of interference from fiber fluorescence and silica Raman scattering can be acquired in less than 1 s, which greatly facilitates practical noninvasive tissue characterization and clinical diagnosis.     

A New Boundary Element Method for the Biharmonic Equation with Dirichlet Boundary Conditions

We consider a scalar boundary integral formulation for the biharmonic equation based on the Almansi representation. This formulation was derived by the first author in an earlier paper. Our aim here is to prove the ellipticity of the integral operator and hence establish convergence of and error bounds for Galerkin boundary element methods. The theory applies both in two and three dimensions, but only for star-shaped domains. Numerical results in two dimensions confirm our analysis.     

A collision cross-section database of singly-charged peptide ions

A database of ion-neutral collision cross-sections for singly-charged peptide ions is presented. The peptides included in the database were generated by enzymatic digestion of known proteins using three different enzymes, resulting in peptides that differ in terms of amino acid composition as well as N-terminal and C-terminal residues. The ion-neutral collision cross-sections were measured using ion mobility (IM) spectrometry that is directly coupled to a time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer. The ions were formed by a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) ion source operated at pressures (He bath gas) of 2 to 3 torr. The majority (63%) of the peptide ion collision cross-sections correlate well with structures that are best described as charge-solvated globules, but a significant number of the peptide ions exhibit collision cross-sections that are significantly larger or smaller than the average, globular mobility-mass correlation. Of the peptide ions having larger than average collision cross-sections, approximately 71% are derived from trypsin digestion (C-terminal Arg or Lys residues) and most of the peptide ions that have smaller (than globular) collision cross-sections are derived from pepsin digestion (90%).     

Experimental and shell-model studies of the reactions 91Zr(d,p)92Zr and 90Zr(t,p)92Zr

The results of high-resolution studies of the ⁹¹Zr(d, p) reaction at E_d = 12 MeV and the ⁹⁰Zr(t, p) reaction at E_t = 11.85 MeV are presented. Absolute cross sections have been measured for both reactions and (d, p) spectroscopic factors determined. A comparison of these results with earlier data has been made, and although many of the previous assignments have been confirmed, many new features concerning the structure of ⁹²Zr have been discovered. Shell-model calculations have been performed for ⁹¹Zr and ⁹²Zr using a neutron space which includes the $\text{2}\text{d}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>5</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$, $\text{3}\text{s}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$, $\text{2}\text{d}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>3</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$, $\text{1}\text{g}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>7</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ and $\text{1}\text{h}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>11</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ orbits and a proton space comprising the $\text{1}\text{g}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>9</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ and $\text{2}\text{p}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ orbits. Realistic proton-neutron and neutron-neutron interactions based on the Sussex matrix elements were used in the calculations. Spectroscopic factors have been calculated for the ⁹⁰Zr(d, p) and ⁹¹Zr(d, p) reactions and cross sections calculated for the ⁹⁰Zr(t, p) reaction. In general, good agreement between the theoretical and the experimental results has been obtained.