Distorted wave Born and three-body distorted wave Born approximation calculations of the fully differential cross section for electron-impact ionization of nitrogen molecules

Currently there are no reliable theoretical approaches for calculating fully differential cross sections (FDCSs) for low-energy electron-impact ionization of large molecules. We have recently proposed the orientation-averaged molecular orbital (OAMO) for calculating cross sections averaged over molecular orientations. In this paper, we use the OAMO to calculate distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) and molecular three-body distorted wave (M3DW) Born approximation FDCS for electron-impact ionization of the nitrogen molecule. Both coplanar symmetric and asymmetric FDCSs are investigated in the energy range of 35.6-400 eV. By comparing with the experimental data, we found that the M3DW is reasonably accurate in this energy range. We also found that the postcollision interaction plays a sufficiently important role and that the DWBA is not reliable.     

Constructing Penrose-like tilings with 7-fold symmetry

Penrose-like tilings with higher-order rotational symmetry are discussed. Two new examples of recursive rhombic tilings with 7-fold symmetry are derived. The entangled inflation/deflation rules cyclically permute the characteristic 7-fold patches and provide a possibility of expanding the tilings up to infinity without additional ad hoc rearrangements. The derived tilings are self-similar and fully coincide with themselves after inflations and deflations. The main structural motif is presented by repeatedly appearing seven-pointed stars surrounded by similar seven-pointed stars. Characteristic patches demonstrate mutual metamorphoses. The patches cyclically morph each into another while the tilings as a whole remain self-consistent. The results of the study can be used for the development of new artificial materials with heptagonal symmetry.

     

Dynamic acceleration effects in explosions of laser-irradiated heteronuclear clusters

Intense, femtosecond irradiation of atomic and molecular clusters can initiate Coulomb explosions, generating particle energies sufficient to drive nuclear fusion. Last and Jortner have proposed, based on particle dynamics simulations, that heteronuclear clusters with a mixture of heavy and light ions will not explode by the simple, equilibrium Coulomb model but that dynamic effects can lead to a boosting of energy of the lighter ejected ions [Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 033401 (2001)]. We present experimental confirmation of this theoretically predicted ion energy enhancement in methane clusters.     

Measurement of the angular momentum of a rotating bose-einstein condensate

We study the quadrupole oscillation of a Bose-Einstein condensate of 87Rb atoms confined in an axisymmetric magnetic trap, after it has been stirred by an auxiliary laser beam. The stirring may lead to the nucleation of one or more vortices, whose presence is revealed unambiguously by the precession of the axes of the quadrupolar mode. For a stirring frequency Omega below the single vortex nucleation threshold Omega(c), no measurable precession occurs. Just above Omega(c), the angular momentum deduced from the precession is approximately Planck's over 2pi. For stirring frequencies above Omega(c) the angular momentum is a smooth and increasing function of Omega, until an angular frequency is reached at which the vortex lattice disappears.     

Ligand and base additive effects on the reversibility of nucleophilic addition in palladium-catalyzed allylic aminations monitored by nucleophile crossover

A nucleophile crossover experiment was used to monitor the reversibility of nucleophilic addition of benzylamine to π-allylpalladium complexes. Dppe, dppp, dppb, and PHOX showed more crossover than PPh₃ and dppm in both DMF and dichloromethane. Crossover was inhibited by the addition of DBU or Cs₂CO₃, but much less elimination to diene side products was observed with Cs₂CO₃. Analysis of percent crossover vs. percent reaction completion using the PHOX ligand revealed that with added DBU or Cs₂CO₃ crossover only began occurring after 100% completion had been reached.     

Manipulating atomic fragmentation processes by controlling the projectile coherence

We have measured the scattering angle dependence of cross sections for ionization in p+H2 collisions for a fixed projectile energy loss. Depending on the projectile coherence, interference due to indistinguishable diffraction of the projectile from the two atomic centers was either present or absent in the data. This shows that, due to the fundamentals of quantum mechanics, the preparation of the beam must be included in theoretical calculations. The results have far-reaching implications on formal atomic scattering theory because this critical aspect has been overlooked for several decades.     

Simultaneous determination of soluble manganese(III), manganese(II) and total manganese in natural (pore)waters

A new spectrophotometric protocol was developed for the simultaneous determination of soluble Mn(III), Mn(II) and total Mn [sum of soluble Mn(III) and Mn(II)] in sediment porewaters using a water soluble meso-substituted porphyrin [α,β,γ,δ-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphine (T(4-CP)P)]. A simple kinetic rate model is used to quantify soluble Mn(II), Mn(III) and total Mn concentrations during a metal substitution reaction. Under optimized conditions, the method accurately determines soluble Mn(II) and Mn(III) within a concentration range of 100 nM-10 μM. The detection limit of total soluble Mn is 50 nM. Using this method, soluble Mn(II) and Mn(III) concentrations were determined in standard solutions within 0.4-2% of the known values and agreed closely with results of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric and voltammetric analyses. The procedure was successfully applied to determine soluble Mn(II), Mn(III) and total Mn in sediment porewaters of the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary. Mn(III) represented up to 85% of the total soluble Mn pool in surface sediments.     

AAK1 identified as an inhibitor of neuregulin-1/ErbB4-dependent neurotrophic factor signaling using integrative chemical genomics and proteomics

Target identification remains challenging for the field of chemical biology. We describe an integrative chemical genomic and proteomic approach combining the use of differentially active analogs of small molecule probes with stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture-mediated affinity enrichment, followed by subsequent testing of candidate targets using RNA interference-mediated gene silencing. We applied this approach to characterizing the natural product K252a and its ability to potentiate neuregulin-1 (Nrg1)/ErbB4 (v-erb-a erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene homolog 4)-dependent neurotrophic factor signaling and neuritogenesis. We show that AAK1 (adaptor-associated kinase 1) is a relevant target of K252a, and that the loss of?AAK1?alters ErbB4 trafficking and expression levels,?providing evidence for a previously unrecognized role for AAK1 in Nrg1-mediated neurotrophic?factor signaling. Similar strategies should lead to the discovery of novel targets for therapeutic development.