Monoamine oxidase inhibitory naphthoquinone and/or naphthalene dimers from Lemuni Hitam (Diospyros sp.), a Malaysian herbal medicine.

From the extract of a Malaysian herbal medicine, Lemuni Hitam (Diospyros sp.), which exhibited monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibition, three new naphthoquinone and/or naphthalene dimers (lemuninols A-C, 1-3) were isolated together with 4,6-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-2-methyl-naphthalene (8) and six known monomers (4-7, 9 and 10). The structures were determined by spectroscopic methods including 2D-NMR techniques. Among them, lemuninol A showed 45% inhibition of MAO (mouse liver) at 5.0 x 10(-6) g/ml, and lemuninols B and C and a naphthoquinone (9) indicated weak activity. Some related quinones were also tested for their MAO inhibitory activities.     

Numerical analysis of fatigue striations

A computational model was developed to numerically analyse fatigue striations. The inclined strip yield model with continuous distributions of infinitesimal dislocations was utilized to express the crack tip plasticity in this model. The fatigue crack tip blunting process was approximated by sequential activation of two slip lines under loading, and crack closure during unloading was taken into account. The plastic zone at a growing fatigue crack tip at the maximum load was independent of the crack growth up to ten cycles while the reversed plastic zone decreased in a size to one twentieth of that at the maximum load as the crack grew. The ratio of these plastic zone sizes and also the crack tip opening displacement were quite different from the simple prediction by J.R. Rice for a stationary crack. The computed striation spacings were compared with the observed ones and moderate agreement between them obtained.     

On the Threshold of Long-Range Magnetic Order: UNi2/3Rh1/3Al and UCoAl Study

We present a comparative study of magnetism in UCoAl and UNi_2/3Rh_1/3Al single crystals. UCoAl is commonly believed to be an itinerant 5 f-electron metamagnet with B _c < 1 T with uniaxial anisotropy. Pressure and alloying effects on the ground state point to competing ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions to be responsible for the non-magnetic ground state. UNi_2/3Rh_1/3Al is a solid solution between an antiferromagnet (UNiAl) and a ferromagnet (URhAl) and may have a similar underlying microscopic mechanism of the non-magnetic ground state. Possible analogies between the two compounds are discussed.     

Semi-micro liquid chromatography of aromatic amino acid metabolites using isocratic elution and column switching

The concentrations of catecholamine-related compounds in body fluids reflect sympathetic nerve functions. Measuring the enzyme activity of these metabolic pathways will improve diagnosis since a variety of symptoms are reported. An isocratic elution system with two column switching valves was developed using three types of semi-micro columns for fast chromatographic analysis of catecholamine related compounds. Columns are a pentyl-bonded phase, 50 x 2.1 mm i.d., a phenylhexyl-bonded phase, 100 x 2.1 mm i.d. and an octadecyl-bonded phase, 100 x 2.1 mm i.d. The separation of 20 standard compounds was achieved within 25 min using reversed-phase ion-pair liquid chromatography with an electrochemical detector. This new system was applied for analysis of catecholamine-related compounds in pig brain, since pigs are a widely used animal model for transgenic manipulation of neural genes, and MHPG (or VMA), DOPAC, DOPA, NE, EP, DA, 5HTP and 5HIAA were quantified.     

Single-shot measurement of carrier-envelope phase changes by spectral interferometry

We demonstrated single-shot measurements of spectral interference between a white-light continuum generated in a hollow-fiber and its second harmonic. The interference has information on the carrier-envelope phase of an input pulse to the fiber and the time delay of the blue wing of the continuum. By analyzing the observed spectral interference, we estimated shot-by-shot changes of the carrier-envelope phase. This method is useful for determining the carrier-envelope phase changes of a low-repetition-rate, high-intensity laser.     

Thermo-Optic Switch using Fluorinated Silicon Oxide and Organic Spin-on-Glass Films

A thermo-optic switch in a thin-film optical waveguide was investigated. Fluorinated silicon oxide (SiOF) and organic spin-on-glass (SOG) films were used as core-layer and clad-layer, respectively, in the waveguide structure. The SiOF films were formed at 23#x00B0;C by a liquid-phase deposition (LPD) technique using a supersaturated hydrofluosilicic acid (H₂SiF₆) aqueous solution. Thermal coefficients of the refractive indices for LPD-SiOF and organic SOG films formed on silicon (Si) substrates were #x2212;4.0 #x00D7; 10^#x2212;6/#x00B0;C, #x2212;60 #x00D7; 10^#x2212;6/#x00B0;C at the wavelength of 632.8 nm, respectively. A high extinction ratio of 15 dB was obtained for this switch at the applied voltage of 12.8 V.