A Titration Microcalorimetric Study of the Effects of Halide Counterions on Vesicle-Forming Aggregation in Aqueous Solution of Branched-Chain Alkylpyridinium Surfactants

Titration microcalorimetry is used to study the influences of iodide, bromide, and chloride counterions on the aggregation of vesicle-forming 1-methyl-4-(2-pentylheptyl)pyridinium halide surfactants. Formation of vesicles by these surfactants was characterised using transmission electron microscopy. When the counterion is changed at 303 K through the series iodide, bromide, to chloride, the critical vesicular concentration (cvc) increases and the enthalpy of vesicle formation changes from exo- to endothermic. With increase in temperature to 333 K, vesicle formation becomes strongly exothermic. Increasing the temperature leads to a decrease in enthalpy and entropy of vesicle formation for all three surfactants. However the standard Gibbs energy for vesicle formation is, perhaps surprisingly, largely unaffected by an increase in temperature, as a consequence of a compensating change in both standard entropy and standard enthalpy of vesicle formation. Interestingly, standard isobaric heat capacities of vesicle formation are negative, large in magnitude but not strikingly dependent on the counterion. We conclude that the driving force for vesicle formation can be understood in terms of overlap of the thermally labile hydrophobic hydration shells of the alkyl chains. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Selective tryptophan modification with rhodium carbenoids in aqueous solution

A new transition metal-based reaction has been developed for the selective modification of tryptophan residues on protein substrates. After activation of vinyl-substituted diazo compounds by Rh2(OAc)4, the resulting metallocarbenoid intermediates were found to modify indoles in aqueous media despite competing reactions with water. Both N- and 2-substituted indole products were observed in the reaction. Following initial small-molecule studies, the reaction was performed on two protein substrates. Both myoglobin and subtilisin Carlsberg were modified readily in aqueous solution, and the tryptophan selectivity of the reactions was confirmed through MS analyses of trypsin digest fragments. It was also demonstrated that myoblobin concentrations as low as 10 muM still led to appreciable levels of modification. Reconstitution experiments confirmed that myoglobin retained its ability to bind heme following modification.     

Effects of Adsorbed Polyaniline on Redox Process on MoO3 Surface

The effects exhibited by adsorbed conducting polyaniline on the redox process on a molybdenum oxide surface were studied. Thermogravimetric results indicate a 4% polyaniline deposition. Cyclic voltammograms of the adsorbed polymer on MoO3 show that polyaniline exerts remarkable effects on the molybdenum blue oxidation-reduction process, with oxidation and reduction potentials of 0.33 and 0.18 V, respectively. This effect strongly enhances the electrode response, and can be used as an important tool in qualitative and/or quantitative determinations of molybdenum in solution as well as in any substrate. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.     

Analysis of the quantum numbers J(PC) of the X(3872) particle

We present an analysis of angular distributions and correlations of the X(3872) particle in the exclusive decay mode X(3872)-->J/psipi+ pi- with J/psi-->mu+ mu-. We use 780 pb-1 of data from pp[over ] collisions at sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We derive constraints on spin, parity, and charge conjugation parity of the X(3872) particle by comparing measured angular distributions of the decay products with predictions for different J(PC) hypotheses. The assignments J(PC)=1++ and 2-+ are the only ones consistent with the data.     

Measurement of the top-quark mass in all-hadronic decays in pp collisions at CDF II

We present a measurement of the top-quark mass Mtop in the all-hadronic decay channel tt-->W+bW-b-->q1q2bq3q4b. The analysis is performed using 310 pb-1 of sqrt[s]=1.96 TeV pp[over ] collisions collected with the CDF II detector using a multijet trigger. The mass measurement is based on an event-by-event likelihood which depends on both the sample purity and the value of the top-quark mass, using 90 possible jet-to-parton assignments in the six-jet final state. The joint likelihood of 290 selected events yields a value of Mtop=177.1+/-4.9(stat)+/-4.7(syst) GeV/c2.     

Search for new heavy particles in the WZ0 final state in pp collisions at square root[s] = 1.8 TeV

We present the first general search for new heavy particles, X, which decay via X --> WZ0 --> e(nu)+jj as a function of M(X) and Gamma(X) in pp collisions at square root[s] = 1.8 TeV. No evidence is found for production of X in 110 pb(-1) of data collected by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. General cross section limits are set at the 95% C.L. as a function of mass and width of the new particle. The results are further interpreted as mass limits on the production of new heavy charged vector bosons which decay via W' --> WZ0 in an extended gauge model as a function of the width, Gamma(W'), and mixing factor between the W' and the standard model W bosons.     

Measurement of charged-particle multiplicities in gluon and quark jets in pp collisions at square root of s = 1.8 TeV

We report the first largely model independent measurement of charged particle multiplicities in quark and gluon jets, Nq and Ng, produced at the Fermilab Tevatron in pp collisions with a center-of-mass energy of 1.8 TeV and recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. The measurements are made for jets with average energies of 41 and 53 GeV by counting charged particle tracks in cones with opening angles of theta(c) = 0.28, 0.36, and 0.47 rad around the jet axis. The corresponding jet hardness Q = Ejet theta c varies in the range from 12 to 25 GeV. At Q = 19.2 GeV, the ratio of multiplicities r = Ng/Nq is found to be 1.64+/-0.17, where statistical and systematic uncertainties are added in quadrature. The results are in agreement with resummed perturbative QCD calculations.     

Search for [corrected] B0(s) --> mu+ mu- and B0(d) [corrected] --> mu + mu- decays in pp collisions with CDF II

We report on a search for B0(s) --> mu+ mu- and B0(d) --> mu + mu- decays in pp collisions at square root(s) = 1.96 TeV using 364 pb(-1) of data collected by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. After applying all selection requirements, we observe no candidates inside the B0(s) or B0(d) mass windows. The resulting upper limits on the branching fractions are B(B0(s) --> mu+ mu-) < 1.5 x 10(-7) and B(B0(d) --> mu+ mu-) < 3.9 x 10(-8) at 90% confidence level.     

Search for long-lived doubly charged Higgs bosons in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV

We present a search for long-lived doubly charged Higgs bosons (H(+/- +/-)), with signatures of high ionization energy loss and muonlike penetration. We use 292 pb(-1) of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. Observing no evidence of long-lived doubly charged particle production, we exclude H(+/- +/-)(L) and H(+/- +/-)(R) bosons with masses below 133 GeV/c(2) and 109 GeV/c(2), respectively. In the degenerate case we exclude H(+/- +/-) mass below 146 GeV/c(2). All limits are quoted at the 95% confidence level.     

Search for doubly charged Higgs bosons decaying to dileptons in pp collisions at square root of s=1.96 TeV

We present the results of a search for doubly charged Higgs bosons (H+/-+/-) decaying to dileptons (ll(')) using approximately 240 pb(-1) of pp collision data collected by the CDF II experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron. In our search region, given by same-sign ll(') mass m(ll('))>80 GeV/c(2) (100 GeV/c(2) for ee channel), we observe no evidence for H+/-+/- production. We set limits on sigma(pp -->H++H---->l(+)l('+)l(-)l('-)) as a function of the mass of the H+/-+/- and the chirality of its couplings. Assuming exclusive same-sign dilepton decays, we derive lower mass limits on H(+/-+/-)(L) of 133, 136, and 115 GeV/c(2) in the ee, mumu, and emu channels, respectively, and a lower mass limit of 113 GeV/c(2) on H(+/-+/-)(R) in the mumu channel, all at the 95% confidence level.