Simultaneous off-shell excitation of He 23 S by an electron and one or more photons

We report data on the excitation of the 2³ S metastable state in helium by electrons in the presence of an intense laser field. The metastable signal is detected when the electron energy is insufficient to excite this state by itself. The additional energy comes from a pulsed CO₂ laser developing peak intensities in the interaction region in the 10⁸ W× cm^?2 range and requires the absorption of one or more photons. This process involves the active participation of all three bodies: the electron, the photon and the target atom. These data represent the first observation of this process when more than one photon is required.     

Effect of conformational changes on a one-electron reduction process: evidence of a one-electron P-P bond formation in a bis(phosphinine)

EPR spectra show that one-electron reduction of bis(3-phenyl-6,6-(trimethylsilyl)phosphinine-2-yl)dimethylsilane (1) on an alkali mirror leads to a radical anion that is localized on a single phosphinine ring, whereas the radical anion formed from the same reaction in the presence of cryptand or from an electron transfer with sodium naphthalenide is delocalized on the two phosphinine rings. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that in the last species the unpaired electron is mainly confined in a loose P-P bond (3.479 A), which results from the overlap of two phosphorus p orbitals. In contrast, as attested by X-ray spectroscopy, the P-P distance in neutral 1 is large (5.8 A). As shown by crystal structure analysis, addition of a second electron leads to the formation of a classical P-P single bond (P-P 2.389 A). Spectral modifications induced by the presence of cryptand or by a change in the reaction temperature are consistent with the formation of a tight ion pair that stabilizes the radical structure localized on a single phosphinine ring. It is suggested that the structure of this pair hinders internal rotation around the C-Si bonds and prevents 1 from adopting a conformation that shortens the intramolecular P-P distance. The ability of the phosphinine radical anion to reversibly form weak P-P bonds with neutral phosphinines in the absence of steric hindrance is confirmed by EPR spectra obtained for 2,6-bis(trimethylsilyl)-3-phenylphosphinine (2). Moreover, as shown by NMR spectroscopy, in this system, which contains only one phosphinine ring, further reduction leads to an intermolecular reaction with the formation of a classical P-P bond.     

Four cyclo­alkane­spiro‐4′‐imidazolidine‐2′,5′‐dithiones

The crystal structures of four cyclo­alkane­spiro‐4′‐imidazolidine‐2′,5′‐dithiones, namely cyclo­pentane­spiro‐4′‐imidazolidine‐2′,5′‐dithione {systematic name: 1,3‐diaza­spiro­[4.4]­nonane‐2,4‐dithione}, C₇H₁₀N₂S₂, cyclo­hexane­spiro‐4′‐imidazolidine‐2′,5′‐dithione {systematic name: 1,3‐diaza­spiro­[4.5]decane‐2,4‐dithione}, C₈H₁₂N₂S₂, cyclo­heptane­spiro‐4′‐imidazolidine‐2′,5′‐dithione {systematic name: 1,3‐diaza­spiro­[4.6]undecane‐2,4‐dithione}, C₉H₁₄N₂S₂, and cyclo­octane­spiro‐4′‐imidazolidine‐2′,5′‐dithione {systematic name: 1,3‐di­aza­spiro­[4.7]dodecane‐2,4‐dithione}, C₁₀H₁₆N₂S₂, have been determined. The three‐dimensional packing in all of the structures is based on closely similar chains, in which hydantoin moieties are linked through N—H⋯S hydrogen bonding. The size of the cyclo­alkane moiety influences the degree of its deformation. In the cyclo­octane compound, the cyclo­octane ring assumes both boat–chair and boat–boat conformations.     

Perfluoro compounds as blood substitutes.

Inconceivable as it is, it has been proved that animals can survive after having had their blood massively or even totally replaced by emulsions of perfluorinated compounds in salines. “Bloodles” rats charged with an emulsion of perfluorotri-n-butylamine survived a five hour period in an atmosphere containing 50% oxygen and 50% carbon monoxide, i.e. in conditions where the transport of oxygen by the red cells is entirely blocked. This review discusses: (1) the experiments which have demonstrated the capability of blood substitutes based on perfluorinated compounds to sustain life; (2) the characteristics and preparation of the relevant perfluoro compounds and the production and handling of their emulsions; (3) their “physiology”, i.e. toxicity, life-span in the blood-stream, effect on the organs and their functions, and excretion properties. Obstacles remaining to be overcome in order to provide a safe blood substitute for medical practice include the availability of numerous series of well-defined pure and inert perfluorinated chemicals, the production of stable emulsions, the optimization of fluid balance, and the attainment of reasonable excretion rates. The accent is placed upon the role of the chemist in the progress of this research.     

Chemical reactivity of analogous technetium(V) and rhenium(V) dioxo complexes

All complexes of the series [MO₂L₂]⁺ (M=Tc, Re; L=ethylenediamine (en), 1,3-diaminopropane (1,3-dap)) have been synthesized and their chemical reactivities investigated. The following properties were studied: stability of the aqueous solutions at different pH values, substitution kinetics, lipophilicity and protein binding. The complexes show very similar reactivity in aqueous solution. From a radiopharmaceutical point of view, no significant difference in their in vivo behavior is expected.     

Express detection of nonylphenol in water samples by fluorescence polarization immunoassay

The development of express method for detection of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) such as alkylphenols is required for ecological monitoring. Several attempts have been made to produce antibodies against 4-nonylphenol (NP) in recent years. This work describes the production of new antibodies against NP and also summarizes the characterization of antibodies obtained earlier. Three approaches used to produce alkylphenol-specific antibodies are compared; these are based on: 1. omega-(4-hydroxyphenyl)nonanoic or omega-(4-hydroxyphenyl)heptanoic acid NP derivatives designed to mimic the linear NP isomer; 2. 4-aminophenol, which potentially mimics various substituted phenolic compounds with different side-chain structures at position 4 of the benzene ring; and 3. a mixture of branched NP isomers, conjugated to the carrier protein via a benzene ring by the Mannich reaction, and expected to be the closest mimic of NP structure by preserving its natural alkyl moiety.Fluorescence polarization immunoassays based on different combinations of antibody and labeled antigen for screening detection of NP were developed and structural aspects of assay sensitivity and specificity were investigated. The assays based on the antisera raised against omega-(4-hydroxyphenyl)nonanoic acid and NP conjugate via Mannich reaction are capable of express detection of NP with detection limit of 7 microg mL(-1 )and assay dynamic range of 18-300 microg mL(-1).     

Thermal denaturation of some proteins and its effect on their electrospray mass spectrat

The effects of beat on the electrospray mass spectra of eight globular proteins in solution were studied. These ranged from hardly noticeable to a dramatic shift in the mass spectrometric profile and a concomitant increase in ion abundance. This change is believed to be the result of thermal denaturation of the protein species in solution resulting in a transition from a more compact to a less compact conformation. We accounted for this transition by means of a recently proposed model based on aqueous solution acid/base equilibria. For cytochrome c, profiles calculated by means of this model agree well with experimental data. The ΔH of the denaturation reaction of cytochrome c in aqueous solution containing 0.2% acetic acid was calculated from experimental data to be 103.8 ± 9.2 kJ mol^?1, in good agreement with previous measurements.     

Tetrathiafulvalene crowns: redox-switchable ligands

A series of redox-responsive ligands that associate the electroactive tetrathiafulvalene core with polyether subunits of various lengths has been synthesized. X-ray structures are provided for each of the free ligands. The requisite structural criteria for reaching switchable ligands are satisfied for the largest macrocycles, that is, planarity of the 1,1',3,3'-tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) pi system and correctly oriented coordinating atoms. The ability of these ligands to recognize various metal cations as a function of the cavity size has been investigated by various techniques (LSIMS, 1H NMR, and UV/Vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry). These systems exhibit an unprecedented high coordination ability among TTF crown ethers. Their switchable ligating properties have been confirmed by cyclic voltammetry, and metal-cation complexation has been illustrated by X-ray structures of three of the corresponding metal complexes (Pb2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+). Solid-state structures of these complexes display original packing modes with channel-like arrangements.     

Quantifying uncertainty with ensembles of surrogates for blackbox optimization

Blackbox optimization tackles problems where the functions are expensive to evaluate and where no analytical information is available. In this context, a tried and tested technique is to build surrogates of the objective and the constraints in order to conduct the optimization at a cheaper computational cost. This work introduces an extension to a specific type of surrogates: ensembles of surrogates, enabling them to quantify the uncertainty on the predictions they produce. The resulting extended ensembles of surrogates behave as stochastic models and allow the use of efficient Bayesian optimization tools. The method is incorporated in the search step of the mesh adaptive direct search (MADS) algorithm to improve the exploration of the search space. Computational experiments are conducted on seven analytical problems, two multi-disciplinary optimization problems and two simulation problems. The results show that the proposed approach solves expensive simulation-based problems at a greater precision and with a lower computational effort than stochastic models.