Decay of proton-rich nuclei between 39Ti and 49Ni

Decay studies of very neutron-deficient nuclei ranging from ³⁹Ti to ⁴⁹Ni have been performed during a projectile fragmentation experiment at the GANIL/LISE3 separator. For all nuclei studied in this work, ^{39, 40}Ti, ^{42, 43}Cr, ⁴⁶Mn, ^{45, 46, 47}Fe and ⁴⁹Ni, half-lives and decay spectra have been measured. In a few cases, γ coincidence measurements helped to successfully identify the initial and final states of transitions. In these cases, partial decay scheme are proposed. For the most exotic isotopes, ³⁹Ti, ⁴²Cr, ⁴⁵Fe and ⁴⁹Ni, which are candidates for two-proton radioactivity from the ground state, no clear evidence of this process is seen in our spectra and we conclude rather on a delayed particle decay. Received: 26 July 2000 / Accepted: 20 December 2000     

Study of 19Na at SPIRAL

The excitation function for the elastic-scattering reaction p( ¹⁸Ne, p) ¹⁸Ne was measured with the first radioactive beam from the SPIRAL facility at the GANIL laboratory and with a solid cryogenic hydrogen target. Several broad resonances have been observed, corresponding to new excited states in the unbound nucleus ¹⁹Na. In addition, two-proton emission events have been identified and are discussed.     

Modulation of humoral immune response to oral BCG vaccination by Mycobacterium bovis BCG Moreau Rio de Janeiro (RDJ) in healthy adults

We hypothesize that the energy strategy of a cell is a key factor for determining how, or if, the immune system interacts with that cell. Cells have a limited number of metabolic states, in part, depending on the type of fuels the cell consumes. Cellular fuels include glucose (carbohydrates), lipids (fats), and proteins. We propose that the cell's ability to switch to, and efficiently use, fat for fuel confers immune privilege. Additionally, because uncoupling proteins are involved in the fat burning process and reportedly in protection from free radicals, we hypothesize that uncoupling proteins play an important role in immune privilege. Thus, changes in metabolism (caused by oxidative stresses, fuel availability, age, hormones, radiation, or drugs) will dictate and initiate changes in immune recognition and in the nature of the immune response. This has profound implications for controlling the symptoms of autoimmune diseases, for preventing graft rejection, and for targeting tumor cells for destruction.     

Compositional dependence of the electrical conductivity of vanadium phosphate glass

The bulk resistivities of vanadium phosphate glasses in the compositional range from 65 to 85 mole % V₂O₅ were measured and fitted as a function of composition to the equation for conductivity as proposed by Mott and later modified by Sayer and Mansingh for n, the number of unoccupied mearest sites surrounding the final hopping site of the small polaron. The fit to the experimental data was found to be best if the number n is chosen to be proportional to the total number of V⁵⁺ sites in the glass. Also n is found to be non-integer and can be regarded as the effective number of unoccupied sites surrounding the final site in the sense of eqn (24) developed in this paper. Values for n ranged from 0.2 to 5 for different compositions of the glass. A model for the structure of vanadium phosphate glass is proposed to explain the data.     

Bifunctional Lewis acid-nucleophile-based asymmetric catalysis: mechanistic evidence for imine activation working in tandem with chiral enolate formation in the synthesis of beta-lactams

We report a mechanistically based study of bifunctional catalyst systems in which chiral nucleophiles work in conjunction with Lewis acids to produce beta-lactams in high chemical yield, diastereoselectivity, and enantioselectivity. Chiral cinchona alkaloid derivatives work best when paired with Lewis acids based on Al(III), Zn(II), Sc(III), and, most notably, In(III). Homogeneous bifunctional catalysts, in which the catalyst contains both Lewis acidic and Lewis basic sites, were also studied in detail. Mechanistic evidence allows us to conclude that the chiral nucleophiles form zwitterionic enolates that react with metal-coordinated imines. Alternative scenarios, which postulated metal-bound enolates, were disfavored on the basis of our observations.     

THREE-DIMENSIONAL NUMERICAL LOCALIZATION OF IMPERFECTIONS BASED ON A LIMIT MODEL IN ELECTRIC FIELD AND A LIMIT PERTURBATION MODEL

From a limit model in electric field obtained by letting the frequency vanish in the time-harmonic Maxwell equations, we consider a limit perturbation model in the tangential boundary trace of the curl of the electric field for localizing numerically certain small electromagnetic inhomogeneities, in a three-dimensional bounded domain. We introduce here two localization procedures resulting from the combination of this limit perturbation model with each of the following inversion processes： the Current Projection method and an Inverse Fourier method. Each localization procedure uses, as data, a finite number of boundary measurements, and is employed in the single inhomogeneity case; only the one based on an Inverse Fourier method is required in the multiple inhomogeneities case. Our localization approach is numerically suitable for the context of inhomogeneities that are not purely electric. We compare the numerical results obtained from the two localization procedures in the single inhomogeneity configuration, and describe, in various settings of multiple inhomogeneities, the results provided by the procedure based on an Inverse Fourier method.     

Efficient synthesis of [3H]-sanglifehrin A via selective oxidation/reduction of alcohols at C31 and C35

[Reaction: see text]. Sanglifehrin A is a novel complex natural product showing strong immunosuppressive activity and remarkably high affinity for cyclophilin A. To assess its pharmacokinetic properties in vivo, an efficient synthetic route was developed to introduce a tritium label in position C35 of sangliferin A via an oxidation/reduction strategy. The synthetic approach is particularly attractive, because the C35-oxo intermediate 7 is available in good yield on large scale and the reducing agent, lithium tri-sec-butylborotritide, is readily available. An attempt to apply a similar strategy to the alcohol in position C31 led primarily to C31-epi-hydroxy sanglifehrin A under a variety of conditions.