Mode-locked fiber laser frequency-controlled with an intracavity electro-optic modulator

We demonstrate a mode-locked, erbium-doped fiber laser with its repetition frequency synchronized to a second fiber laser via an intracavity electro-optic modulator (EOM). With servo control from the EOM (bandwidth approximately 230 kHz) and a slower speed intracavity piezoelectric transducer (resonance at approximately 20 kHz), we demonstrate stabilization of the repetition frequency with an in-loop rms timing jitter of 10 fs, integrated over a bandwidth from 1 Hz to 100 kHz. This represents what is to our knowledge the first time an EOM has been introduced inside a mode-locked laser cavity for fast servo action and the lowest timing jitter reported for a mode-locked fiber laser.     

Chaotic cluster itinerancy and hierarchical cluster trees in electrochemical experiments

Experiments on an array of 64 globally coupled chaotic electrochemical oscillators were carried out. The array is heterogeneous due to small variations in the properties of the electrodes and there is also a small amount of noise. Over some ranges of the coupling parameter, dynamical clustering was observed. The precision-dependent cluster configuration is analyzed using hierarchical cluster trees. The cluster configurations varied with time: spontaneous changes of number of clusters and their configurations were detected. Simple transitions occurred with the switch of a single element or groups of elements. During more complicated transitions subclusters were exchanged among clusters but original cluster configurations were revisited. At weaker coupling the system itinerated among lower-dimensional quasistationary chaotic two-cluster states and higher-dimensional states with many clusters. In this region the transitions showed characteristics of on-off intermittency.     

[Sm(NO3)3(TPTZ)(H2O)]·2H2O [TPTZ is 2,4,6‐tris(2‐pyridyl)‐1,3,5‐triazine]

The title compound, aqua­tris­(nitrato)[2,4,6‐tris(2‐pyridyl)‐1,3,5‐triazine]samarium dihydrate, [Sm(NO₃)₃­(C₁₈H₁₂N₆)­(H₂O)]·­2H₂O, was prepared from Sm(NO₃)₃·6H₂O and 2,4,6‐tris(2‐pyridyl)‐1,3,5‐triazine. The metal atom is ten‐coordinate being bonded to the terdentate TPTZ ligand, three bidentate nitrates and a water mol­ecule.     

Why are alkane eliminations from ionized alkanes so abundant?

Eliminations of alkanes consisting of the side chain plus a hydrogen from ionized alkylcycloalkanes are unusually abundant among such processes. For example, ethane is eliminated from ionized ethylcyclopentane more than 10 times more often than it is from its acyclic isomers. To explore why, we characterized the eliminations of ethane from ionized ethylcyclopentane and of butane, 2-methylpropane, and cyclohexane from isomeric butylcyclohexane ions. We hypothesized that one reason these alkane eliminations are particularly favored is that the partners in the complex do not readily escape from reactive configurations. Supporting this, hydrogens are transferred to butyl partners from around cyclohexyl rings, demonstrating that the partners in cycloalkyl-containing complexes do react with each other through several configurations. A very prominent cyclohexane elimination from ionized tert-butylcyclohexane demonstrates that alkane elimination is abundant no matter which partner in the intermediate ion-neutral complex bears the charge. C₄H₈ ⁺ is the dominant dissociation product of ionized tert-butylcyclohexane, even though the formation of the cyclohexene ion plus 2-methylpro-pane is thermochemically favored, a highly unusual ordering among mass spectral fragmentations. This is attributed to H-atom transfer from a tret-butyl ion to a cyclohexyl radical being preferred over transfer of hydride in the opposite direction. The effect of energy on the magnitude of alkane eliminations and the associated simple dissociations was elucidated utilizing photoionization mass spectrometry. Appearance energies show that forces of attraction between the partners are less than 30 kJ mol^?1, no stronger than when both partners are acyclic. However, the shapes of photoionization efficiency curves demonstrate that these alkane eliminations are significant over a wide energy range, in contrast to most other alkane eliminations. Thus, ionized cycloalkanes generate unusually stable ion-neutral complexes; this is probably the reason alkane eliminations through them are so abundant. Alkane eliminations from acyclic alkane ions are also very abundant, suggesting that ion-neutral complexes formed from alkylcycloalkane and alkane ions have a common feature which makes energy relatively ineffective in driving the partners apart.     

Hydrophilic sulfonated bis-1,2,4-triazine ligands are highly effective reagents for separating actinides(iii) from lanthanides(iii) via selective formation of aqueous actinide complexes

We report the first examples of hydrophilic 6,6′-bis(1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)-2,2′-bipyridine (BTBP) and 2,9-bis(1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline (BTPhen) ligands, and their applications as actinide(iii) selective aqueous complexing agents. The combination of a hydrophobic diamide ligand in the organic phase and a hydrophilic tetrasulfonated bis-triazine ligand in the aqueous phase is able to separate Am(iii) from Eu(iii) by selective Am(iii) complex formation across a range of nitric acid concentrations with very high selectivities, and without the use of buffers. In contrast, disulfonated bis-triazine ligands are unable to separate Am(iii) from Eu(iii) in this system. The greater ability of the tetrasulfonated ligands to retain Am(iii) selectively in the aqueous phase than the corresponding disulfonated ligands appears to be due to the higher aqueous solubilities of the complexes of the tetrasulfonated ligands with Am(iii). The selectivities for Am(iii) complexation observed with hydrophilic tetrasulfonated bis-triazine ligands are in many cases far higher than those found with the polyaminocarboxylate ligands previously used as actinide-selective complexing agents, and are comparable to those found with the parent hydrophobic bis-triazine ligands. Thus we demonstrate a feasible alternative method to separate actinides from lanthanides than the widely studied approach of selective actinide extraction with hydrophobic bis-1,2,4-triazine ligands such as CyMe₄-BTBP and CyMe₄-BTPhen.     

STRUCTURE-ACTIVITY STUDIES OF PHOTOACTIVATED ANTIVIRAL AND CYTOTOXIC TRICYCLIC THIOPHENES

The photoactivated antiviral and cytotoxic activities of the naturally occurring thiophene, alpha-terthienyl (1), and 15 synthetic analogues were evaluated against murine cytomegalovirus and Sindbis virus, and murine mastocytoma cells. After irradiation with near UV light, alpha-terthienyl and most of its analogues had significant toxicity, with minimum inhibitory concentrations in the range of 0.02-40 microM. In the absence of near UV irradiation, only one analogue had antiviral activity and five were cytotoxic. The most active analogues were those containing carboxylic acid, hydroxyl, or cyano substituents. Quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis of thiophene phototoxicity suggested that the rate of singlet oxygen production is the primary determinant of antiviral and cytotoxic activities. For phototoxicity against murine cytomegalovirus, a significant role for hydrophobicity was also demonstrated. Tricyclic thiophenes show significant potential for photochemotherapy of viral infections and cancer, and further evaluation in animal models is recommended.     

Determination of dietary fibre as non-starch polysaccharides by gas-liquid chromatography.

An improved method is described for the measurement of total, soluble and insoluble dietary fibre as non-starch polysaccharides (NSP). An established procedure is modified to allow more rapid removal of starch and hydrolysis of NSP. In its present form the procedure is simpler and more robust than those previously published. In the modified method starch is removed enzymically within 50 min and NSP is precipitated with ethanol and then hydrolysed by treatment with sulfuric acid for 2 h. The constituent sugars can in turn be measured by gas-liquid chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography or more rapidly by colorimetry. The improved procedure described here for the removal of starch and hydrolysis of NSP applies to all three techniques, but only the method for measurement of sugars by gas-liquid chromatography is described here in full.     

Elimination of methane from protonated acetaldehyde: The Ab initio transition state

The transition state (TS) for loss of CH₄ from protonated acetaldehyde has been located at the second-order Moller-Plesset (MP2)/6-31G(d,p) level of theory. The activation energy is predicted to be 263.9 kJ/mol starting from the more stable form (methyl and hydrogen E) and 261.6 kJ/mol starting from the less stable form (methyl and hydrogen Z) that is required for reaction. The products (methane and the formyl ion) are predicted to lie 136.6 kJ/mol below the TS for their formation. MP2 methods underestimate the heats of formation of both the TS and the reaction products by about 40 kJ/mol when compared with experiment. Restricted Hartree-Fock (RHF) calculations give much more accurate relative energies. The MP2 TS leads directly to fragmentation and is described as a protonation of the methyl group by the acidic proton on oxygen. Under RHF theory the reaction is stepwise. An RHF TS similar to the MP2 TS leads to a nonclassical intermediate (which is stable at this level of theory) that has one of the C---H bonds protonated. This mechanism (protonation of an alkyl group) appears to be a general one for high energy 1,2 eliminations from organic cations. (J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 1994, 5, 1102-1106)     

1-AMINO-1-ARYL- AND 1-AMINO-1-HETEROARYL-METHANEPHOSPHONIC ACIDS AND THEIR N-BENZHYDRYL–PROTECTED DIETHYL ESTERS: PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION

n-Benzhydryl-protected diethyl[3.3pc] esters of 1-amino-1-aryl- (phenyl, cumyl, p-dimethylaminophenyl, piperonyl, 1′-naphthyl, 9′-anthryl, 1′-pyrenyl) and 1-amino-1-heteroaryl- (furyl, 2′-thienyl, 3′-thienyl, 2′-pyrrolyl)-methanephosphonic acids, prepared by the addition of diethyl phosphite to the corresponding benzhydryl imines, have been isolated, purified, and characterized. The presence of chiral α -carbon and prochiral phosphorus in these esters gives rise to complicated features in their NMR spectra, which are discussed. Hydrolysis of the crude 1-aryl compounds in situ gave modest yields of the corresponding aminophosphonic acids (except for 1′-pyrenyl). Of the 1-heteroaryl derivatives, only the 2′-thienyl compound gave the expected aminophosphonic acid; in other cases, alternative[-18pc] modes of decomposition may occur under hydrolytic conditions. NMR and mass spectral data are given for all products.     

Identification of Acepromazine and Its Metabolites in Horse Plasma and Urine by LC–MS/MS and Accurate Mass Measurement

Acepromazine maleate (Sedalin^?) was administered orally to six thoroughbred horses at a dose of 0.15?mg?kg^?1. Urine and blood samples were collected up to 412?h post-administration. Plasma and urine were hydrolysed; plasma samples were then processed using liquid–liquid extraction and urine samples using solid-phase extraction. A sensitive tandem mass spectrometric method was developed in this study, achieving a lower limit of quantification for acepromazine of 10?pg?mL^?1 in plasma and 100?pg?mL^?1 in urine. Acepromazine, hydroxyethylpromazine, hydroxyacepromazine, hydroxyethylpromazine sulphoxide, hydroxyethylhydroxypromazine, dihydroxyacepromazine and dihydroxyhydroxyethylpromazine were detected in the post-administration samples. The parent drug and its metabolites were identified using a combination of UPLC–MS/MS and accurate mass measurement. Separation of the structural isomers hydroxyethylpromazine sulphoxide and hydroxyethylhydroxypromazine was another significant outcome of this work and demonstrated the advantages to be gained from investing in chromatographic method development.