Cycle and circle tests of balance in gain graphs: Forbidden minors and their groups

We examine two criteria for balance of a gain graph, one based on binary cycles and one on circles. The graphs for which each criterion is valid depend on the set of allowed gain groups. The binary cycle test is invalid, except for forests, if any possible gain group has an element of odd order. Assuming all groups are allowed, or all abelian groups, or merely the cyclic group of order 3, we characterize, both constructively and by forbidden minors, the graphs for which the circle test is valid. It turns out that these three classes of groups have the same set of forbidden minors. The exact reason for the importance of the ternary cyclic group is not clear. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory     

Facile one-pot synthesis of BINOL- and H8-BINOL-based aryl phosphites and their use in palladium catalysed asymmetric allylation

Novel P-monodentate aryl phosphite ligands have been synthesised in one step from (R)-BINOL, (R)-H₈-BINOL and (R)-H₈-3,3′-dibromo-BINOL. With the new aryl phosphites, up to 86% ee was observed in the asymmetric Pd-catalysed amination of 1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate with sodium diformylamide. In the enantioselective alkylation of 1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate with dimethyl malonate, up to 97% enantioselectivity was achieved.     

Longitudinal (1)H relaxation optimization in TROSY NMR spectroscopy

A general method to enhance the sensitivity of the multidimensional NMR experiments performed at high-polarizing magnetic field via the significant reduction of the longitudinal proton relaxation times is described. The method is based on the use of two vast pools of "thermal bath" 1H spins residing on hydrogens covalently attached to carbon and oxygen atoms in 13C,15N labeled and fully protonated or fractionally deuterated proteins to uniformly enhance longitudinal relaxation of the 1HN spins and concomitantly the sensitivity of multipulse NMR experiments. The proposed longitudinal relaxation optimization is implemented in the 2D [15N,1H]-LTROSY, 2D [15N,1H]-LHSQC and 3D LTROSY-HNCA experiments yielding the factor 2-2.5 increase of the maximal signal-to-noise ratio per unit time at 600 MHz. At 900 MHz, the predicted decrease of the 1HN longitudinal relaxation times can be as large as one order of magnitude, making the proposed method an important tool for protein NMR at high magnetic fields.     

Hydrogen‐bonded frameworks of bis(2‐carboxypyridinium) hexafluorosilicate and bis(2‐carboxyquinolinium) hexafluorosilicate dihydrate

In bis(2‐carboxypyridinium) hexafluorosilicate, 2C₆H₆NO₂⁺·SiF₆²⁻, (I), and bis(2‐carboxyquinolinium) hexafluorosilicate dihydrate, 2C₁₀H₈NO₂⁺·SiF₆²⁻·2H₂O, (II), the Si atoms of the anions reside on crystallographic centres of inversion. Primary inter‐ion interactions in (I) occur via strong N—H...F and O—H...F hydrogen bonds, generating corrugated layers incorporating [SiF₆]²⁻ anions as four‐connected net nodes and organic cations as simple links in between. In (II), a set of strong N—H...F, O—H...O and O—H...F hydrogen bonds, involving water molecules, gives a three‐dimensional heterocoordinated rutile‐like framework that integrates [SiF₆]²⁻ anions as six‐connected and water molecules as three‐connected nodes. The carboxyl groups of the cation are hydrogen bonded to the water molecule [O...O = 2.5533 (13) Å], while the N—H group supports direct bonding to the anion [N...F = 2.7061 (12) Å].     

Transition metal clusters and supported species with metal-carbon bonds from first-principles quantum chemistry

We discuss the impact of density functional electronic structure calculations for understanding the organometallic chemistry of transition metal (TM) surface complexes and clusters. Examples will cover three types of systems, mainly of interest in the context of heterogeneous catalysis: (i) supported carbonyl complexes of rhenium on MgO and of rhodium in zeolites, (ii) TM clusters with CO ligands and adsorbates, and (iii) metal clusters exhibiting chemical bonds with atomic carbon. The first group of case studies promotes the concept that surface groups of oxide supports are bonded to TM complexes in the same way as common (poly-dentate) ligands are bonded in coordination compounds. The second group of examples demonstrates various “ligand effects” of TM clusters. Finally, we illustrate how carbido centers stabilize TM clusters and modify the propensity for adsorption at the surface of such clusters.     

Annihilation of ultra low energy antiprotons

The p interaction at ultra low energies is considered taking into account the Coulomb interaction. It is shown that Coulomb effects dramatically modify the usual behaviour of the annihilation cross section. A possibility to extract the scattering length from experimental data is discussed.     

Photoacoustic Doppler effect from flowing small light-absorbing particles

From the flow of a suspension of micrometer-scale carbon particles, the photoacoustic Doppler shift is observed. As predicted theoretically, the observed Doppler shift equals half of that in Doppler ultrasound and does not depend on the direction of laser illumination. This new physical phenomenon provides a basis for developing photoacoustic Doppler flowmetry, which can potentially be used for detecting fluid flow in optically scattering media and especially low-speed blood flow of relatively deep microcirculation in biological tissue.     

In vivo label-free photoacoustic microscopy of cell nuclei by excitation of DNA and RNA

Imaging of cell nuclei plays a critical role in cancer diagnosis and prognosis. To image noninvasively cell nuclei in vivo without staining, we developed UV photoacoustic microscopy (UV-PAM), in which 266 nm wavelength UV light excites unlabeled DNA and RNA in cell nuclei to produce photoacoustic waves. We applied UV-PAM to ex vivo imaging of cell nuclei in a mouse lip and a mouse small intestine and to in vivo imaging of the cell nuclei in the mouse skin. The UV-PAM images of unstained cell nuclei match the optical micrographs of the histologically stained cell nuclei. Given intrinsic optical contrast and high spatial resolution, in vivo label-free UV-PAM has potential for unique biological and clinical application.