Synthesis and biological testing of aminoxyls designed for long-term retention by living cells

Owing to recent advances in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) imaging methodologies, it is now potentially possible to track and image, in real time in vivo, cells that had been tagged with aminoxyl spin probes. We had previously reported that living cells can accumulate 3-carboxy-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-pyrrolidinyloxyl [1] to high (millimolar) intracellular concentrations through passive incubation with the corresponding acetoxymethyl (AM) ester [2]. In the present study, we show that under physiological conditions aminoxyl [1] is rapidly extruded by cells through an organic anion transport mechanism, resulting in an intracellular exponential lifetime (t(1/e) or tau) of just 9.84 min at 37 degree C. Through successive rational structural modifications, we arrived at (2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidin-1-oxyl-3-ylmethyl)amine-N,N-diacetic acid [10], which can still be accumulated by cells to high intracellular concentrations, but which, with an intracellular exponential lifetime of tau]= 114 min, is well retained by cells for long periods of time, where one expects 14% retention even after 5 h. These results suggest that it should be feasible to use EPR imaging to perform in vivo tracking of populations of cells that have accumulated high intracellular levels of aminoxyls.     

A Compton-vetoed germanium detector with increased sensitivity at low energies

The difficulty to directly detect plutonium in spent nuclear fuel due to the high Compton background of the fission products motivates the design of a gamma detector with improved sensitivity at low energies. We have built such a detector by operating a thin high-purity Ge detector with a large scintillator Compton veto directly behind it. The Ge detector is thin to absorb just the low-energy Pu radiation of interest while minimizing Compton scattering of high-energy radiation from the fission products. The subsequent scintillator is large so that forward-scattered photons from the Ge detector interact in it at least once to provide an anti-coincidence veto for the Ge detector. For highest sensitivity, additional material in the line of sight is minimized, the radioactive sample is kept thin, and its radiation is collimated. We will discuss the instrument design, and demonstrate the feasibility of the approach with a prototype that employs two large CsI scintillator vetoes. Initial spectra of a thin Cs-137 calibration source show a background suppression of a factor of ~2.5 at ~100 keV, limited by an unexpectedly thick 4 mm dead layer in the Ge detector.     

碱金属钾对Ni基催化剂纤维素水蒸气气化活性的影响

采用两段式催化气化方式研究了生物质热解气化过程中碱金属的挥发对Ni基催化剂活性的影响。实验结果表明,负载K盐的纤维素水蒸气催化气化过程中,K挥发后会在催化剂表面沉积,而少量K的存在和表面沉积不但能够提高镍基催化剂的抗积炭能力,而且有助于提高其催化活性,产生更多的氢气。然而纤维素中K的浓度过大,将会抑制Ni基催化剂的效果;K在催化剂上的沉积随催化剂循环次数的增加而增加,K的含量愈高,对催化剂的抑制效果愈明显,从而缩短了催化剂的使用寿命。     

Spins and parities of low-lying states in 79Kr from the 78Kr(d,p)79Kr reaction

The structure of Kr has been investigated via the ⁷⁸Kr($\text{d}$, p)⁷⁹ Kr reaction using an isotopically enriched gas target and an 11.0 MeV vector-polarized deuteron beam. Differential cross sections, σ, and vector analyzing powers, A_y, have been measured from 25° to 95° for 10 proton groups below 2.5 MeV excitation energy. Comparisons of these distributions to DWBA calculations and empirical shapes were made to extract spectroscopic factors and values of spin and parity for these states.     

Metal-salen-base-pair complexes inside DNA: complexation overrides sequence information

Two isomeric salicylic aldehyde nucleobases have been prepared and incorporated into various DNA duplexes. Reaction with ethylenediamine leads to formation of the well-known salen ligand inside the DNA double helix. Addition of transition-metal ions such as Cu(2+), Mn(2+), Ni(2+), Fe(2+), or VO(2+) results in the formation of metal-salen-base-pair complexes, which were studied by using UV and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. HPLC and ESI mass spectrometric measurements reveal an unusually high stability of the DNA-metal system. These metal-salen complexes act as interstrand cross-links and thereby lead to a strong stabilization of the DNA duplexes, as studied by thermal de- and renaturing experiments. Complex formation is strong enough to override sequence information even when the preorganization of the ligand precursors is unfavorable and the DNA duplex is distorted by the metal complexation. Furthermore, melting-point studies show that the salen complex derived from ligand 2 fits better into the DNA duplex, in accordance with results obtained from the crystal structure of the corresponding copper-salen complex 8.     

用于 EAST 上低杂波平行波数测量的磁探针设计与测试

针对EAST上2.45GHz低杂波，完成了低杂波平行波数测量磁探针的设计、仿真与测试。利用有限元仿真软件COMSOL Multiphysics 5.2对磁探针尺寸进行仿真优化，确定了单匝环、矩形缝以及陶瓷片厚度等影响磁探针耦合性能的关键尺寸。测试结果表明，该磁探针对2.45GHz低杂波有良好的耦合性能和鉴别波极化的能力，与仿真结果一致。研究结果为EAST装置上低杂波平行波数测量诊断系统的建立提供重要的参考依据，从而为进一步开展高密度低杂波电流驱动实验研究提供必要的实验数据。     

Spins and parities of low-lying states in 81Kr from the 80kr(d̄, p)81kr reaction and implications for a 81Br solar neutrino detector

The structure of ⁸¹Kr has been investigated via the ⁸⁰Kr(d?, p)⁸¹Kr reaction using an 11.0 MeV vector-polarized deuteron beam. Differential cross sections σ and vector analyzing powers A_y have been measured from 20° to 90° for 17 excited states below 3.0 MeV excitation energy. Comparisons of these distributions to DWBA calculations and empirical shapes were made to extract spectroscopic factors and values of spin and parity for these states. The significance of these measurements to the design of a bromine solar neutrino detector is discussed.     

Competitive inhibition ELISA for quantification of Ara h 1 and Ara h 2, the major allergens of peanuts

Allergies to peanuts are becoming an increasingly important health problem as a result of the persistence and severity of the reaction in allergic individuals. Because no treatment currently is available, avoidance is the only option for peanut-allergic individuals. Avoidance of an abundant and often disguised food such as peanuts, however, is very difficult; therefore, competitive inhibition ELISAs were developed to detect and quantitate each of the major peanut allergens, Ara h 1 and Ara h 2. Under optimal conditions for each assay, the sensitivity of the Ara h 1 and Ara h 2 detection assays were 12 and 0.5 ng/mL, respectively. These assays were primarily devised to effectively compare the levels of Ara h 1 and Ara h 2 in a wide variety of peanuts or peanut products but can also be used to identify cross-reactive antigens. The method is simple and rapid, requiring only one allergen-specific antibody and, therefore, could be adapted specifically to detect the presence of these individual allergens in different foods.