Alkylated sugar amino acids: a new entry toward highly functionalized dipeptide isosters

[reaction: see text] Novel highly functionalized dipeptide isosters are synthesized via a diastereoselective alkyl/arylation protocol of a glucose-derived (R)-tert-butanesulfinylimine. One of these novel sugar amino acid derivatives, a D-Ala-Ser/Thr isostere, was applied in a peptide synthesis protocol to afford a cyclic tetramer.     

Alternating layer and island growth of Pb on Si by spontaneous quantum phase separation

Real-time in situ x-ray studies of continuous Pb deposition on Si(111)-(7x7) at 180 K reveal an unusual growth behavior. A wetting layer forms first to cover the entire surface. Then islands of a fairly uniform height of about five monolayers form on top of the wetting layer and grow to fill the surface. The growth then switches to a layer-by-layer mode upon further deposition. This behavior of alternating layer and island growth can be attributed to spontaneous quantum phase separation based on a first-principles calculation of the system energy.     

Synthesis of bridged sugar amino acids: a new entry into conformationally locked δ- and ε-amino acids

The synthesis of three methylene bridged sugar amino acids is described. Key transformations in the synthetic strategy are a CO-insertion on fully protected ribose, an aldol condensation with formaldehyde and an oxetane forming cyclisation step. A novel Leu-enkephalin analogue containing the δ-SAA 1 was prepared using standard solution phase peptide chemistry.     

Cholinesterase sensors based on screen-printed electrodes for detection of organophosphorus and carbamic pesticides

Cholinesterase sensors based on screen-printed electrodes modified with polyaniline, 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ), and Prussian blue have been developed and tested for detection of anticholinesterase pesticides in aqueous solution and in spiked grape juice. The influence of enzyme source and detection mode on biosensor performance was explored. It was shown that modification of the electrodes results in significant improvement of their analytical characteristics for pesticide determination. Thus, the slopes of the calibration curves obtained with modified electrodes were increased twofold and the detection limits of the pesticides were reduced by factors of 1.6 to 1.8 in comparison with the use of unmodified transducers. The biosensors developed make it possible to detect down to 2×10^–8 mol L^–1 chloropyrifos-methyl, 5×10^–8 mol L^–1 coumaphos, and 8×10^–9 mol L^–1 carbofuran in aqueous solution and grape juice. The optimal conditions for grape juice pretreatment were determined to diminish interference from the sample matrix.Abbreviations ChE Cholinesterase - TCNQ 7,7,8,8-Tetracyanoquinodimethane - ChO Choline oxidase - AChE Acetylcholinesterase - BChE Butyrylcholinesterase - BSA Bovine serum albumin - 2-PAM 2-Pyridine aldoxime methiodide     

Tomography of dispersive media

When waves propagate through layered structures, the phase velocity is frequency dependent (dispersive). If one wants to reconstruct the velocity variations in this medium, conventional traveltime-based tomographic methods cannot be used, since each frequency component has a different traveltime. A tomographic method is presented for reconstructing the phase velocity of guided waves in laterally varying media. The dispersive character of guided waves is explicitly accounted for by using a phase-based error criterium instead of "picked" traveltimes. Phase velocity and source waveform can be reconstructed to within a few percent, and the algorithm is shown to be robust in the presence of interference noise. When applied to seismic field data, the reconstructed phase velocity field correlates well with the topography of the area.     

Structure determination of the two-domain ( 1x4) anatase TiO2(001) surface

The reconstructed anatase TiO2(001) surface has been investigated by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and angle-resolved mass spectroscopy of recoiled ions (AR-MSRI). Prior investigations have observed or considered only a (1x1) unreconstructed termination for this surface with no detailed structural analysis. Our LEED results indicate a previously unobserved two-domain (1x4) reconstruction after sputtering and annealing the (1x1) surface. The XPS data for this reconstruction indicate the presence of only Ti4+. Simulations of the AR-MSRI experimental data indicate a best fit for a microfaceted surface, revealing both (103) and (1;03) surface planes.     

High-resolution diffusion imaging using phase-corrected segmented echo-planar imaging

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed with a high-resolution segmented echo-planar imaging technique, which provided images with substantially less susceptibility artifacts than images obtained with single-shot echo-planar imaging (EPI). Diffusion imaging performed with any multishot pulse sequence is inherently sensitive to motion artifacts and in order to reduce motion artifacts, the presented method utilizes navigator echo phase corrections, performed after a one-dimensional Fourier transform along the frequency-encoding direction. Navigator echo phases were fitted to a straight line prior to phase correction to avoid errors from internal motion. In vivo imaging was performed using electro cardiographic (ECG) triggering. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were calculated on a pixel-by-pixel basis using up to seven diffusion sensitivities, ranging from b = 0 to 1129 x 10(6) s/m(2).     

Intense picosecond X-Ray pulses from laser plasmas by use of nanostructured "Velvet" targets

We describe the optical, radiative, and laser-plasma physics of a new type of nanostructured surface especially promising as a very high absorption target for high-peak-power subpicosecond laser-matter interaction. This oriented-nanowire material, irradiated by 1 ps pulses at intensities up to 10(17) W cm(-2), produces picosecond soft x-ray pulses 50x more efficiently than do solid targets. We compare this to "smoke" or metallic clusters, and solid nanogroove-grating surfaces; the "metal-velvet" targets combine the high yield of smoke targets with the brief emission of grating surfaces.     

Precise positioning of carbon nanotubes by ac dielectrophoresis using floating posts

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been precisely aligned and positioned in device architectures using ac dielectrophoresis by patterning floating metal posts or strips within the electrode gaps. These structures perturb the electric field, causing local enhancements in the field intensity, as seen in simulation, that guide the nanotubes along a predictable path in given directions, in zigzag patterns, or as single or a sequence of tubes along a series of posts. This method enables the assembly of SWNTs in complex multi-electrode geometries, when specifying the electrode voltages is not sufficient to direct the desired assembly. The device characteristics of the dielectrophoretically-aligned SWNTs are discussed. PACS 61.46.Fg; 73.63.-b; 87.15.Tt