Thermodynamically guided nonequilibrium Monte Carlo method for generating realistic shear flows in polymeric systems

A thermodynamically guided atomistic Monte Carlo methodology is presented for simulating systems beyond equilibrium by expanding the statistical ensemble to include a tensorial variable accounting for the overall structure of the system subjected to flow. For a given shear rate, the corresponding tensorial conjugate field is determined iteratively through independent nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. Test simulations for the effect of flow on the conformation of a C50H102 polyethylene liquid show that the two methods (expanded Monte Carlo and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics) provide identical results.     

Structural Distinction of Diacyl-, Alkylacyl,and Alk-1-Enylacyl Glycerophosphocholines as [M – 15]– Ions by Multiple-Stage Linear Ion-Trap Mass Spectrometry with Electrospray Ionization

We describe a linear ion-trap (LIT) multiple-stage (MSⁿ) mass spectrometric approach towards differentiation of alkylacyl, alk-1-enylacyl- and diacyl-glycerophoscholines (PCs) as the [M – 15]^– ions desorbed by electrospray ionization (ESI) in the negative-ion mode. The MS⁴ mass spectra of the [M – 15 – R₂′CH = CO]^– ions originated from the three PC subfamilies are readily distinguishable, resulting in unambiguous distinction of the lipid classes. This method is applied to two alkyl ether rich PC mixtures isolated from murine bone marrow neutrophils and kidney, respectively, to explore its utility in the characterization of complex PC mixture of biological origin, resulting in the realization of the detailed structures of the PC species, including various classes and many minor isobaric isomers.

Essential Role of the N- and C-terminals of Laccase from Pleurotus florida on the Laccase Activity and Stability

POXA1b is the most thermostable laccase isoenzyme from Pleurotus ostreatus. POXA1b is remarkably stable at alkaline pH (the t_1/2 at pH 10 was 30 days), and its C-terminal affects its catalytic and stability properties. We cloned POXA1c from P. florida, which showed 99 % identity with POXA1b. POXA1c was functionally expressed in Pichia pastoris. The functions of the N and C termini of POXA1c were investigated using site-directed mutagenesis. Compared with POXA1c, the N-terminal R5V site effectively increased the specific activities for 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and guaiacol by 2- and 3.5-fold, respectively. A C-terminal truncated mutant, POXA1c△13, also increased the specific activities for ABTS and guaiacol by 2.3- and 3.4-fold, respectively. A double mutant, POXA1cΔ13-R5V, combined the R5V and △13 effects. The specific activity of this double mutant for ABTS was 1,321 U/mg, which indicated a 4-fold increase compared with the wild type. The role of residue V5 on laccase catalytic properties was also observed for laccases from Trametes versicolor and Rigidoporus lignosus. The specific activities of the V5R of the laccases from T. versicolor and R. lignosus were half of that of the wild type. The pH and thermal stability analysis of POXA1c and its mutants showed that the enzymes were remarkably stable because they showed 63 % residual activity after incubation for 108 h at 30 °C over a pH range of 4.5 to 9.0. Similar results were observed for POXA1cΔ13-R5V. POXA1cΔ13-R5V can be widely used in industrial biotechnology because of its excellent catalytic properties.     

Isoflavonoid glycosides from the rhizomes of Iris germanica

Four isoflavone glycosides were isolated from the rhizomes of Iris germanica. Compounds 1 and 2 are new, while compounds 3 and 4 are known isoflavone glycosides. These compounds were identified as iriskashmirianin 4'-O-beta-D-glucoside (1), nigricin 4'-O-beta-D-glucoside (2), irilone 4'-O-beta-D-glucoside (3) and iridin (4). Their structures were determined with the help of spectroscopic methods.     

Extension of the A1Σ+-X1Σ+ system of7LiH near the dissociation limit

The absorption spectra of⁷LiH have been photographed in the 3,500?2,900 Å region using the second order of a 3.4 M Ebert spectrograph. Observations comprise previously observedA ¹ Σ ⁺-X ¹ Σ ⁺ transitions and several new vibrational bands of this system near the ionisation limit. Rotational and vibrational analysis of these bands (16≦V′≦20) have been carried out and the rotational constants for the upper states have been determined.     

Analysis of multiparticle production data on proton-nucleus collisions using a new variable

Multiparticle production data on proton-nucleus collisions have been analyzed taking the number of ‘created’ charged particles instead of the observed number of shower particles as the variable. The mean normalized multiplicity,R _A , has been found to be independent of energy in the energy range (7–8000) GeV and its mass number dependence has been obtained. The modified analysis introduces some more regularities in the experimental results onp-nucleus collisions like the invariance with respect to energy of the relationshipR _A = α + βN _h and the KNO-like scaling of the multiplicity distributions of the created charged particles. The functional form of the scaling function has been calculated.     

Cold atoms in non-Abelian gauge potentials: from the Hofstadter "moth" to lattice gauge theory

We demonstrate how to create artificial external non-Abelian gauge potentials acting on cold atoms in optical lattices. The method employs atoms with k internal states, and laser assisted state sensitive tunneling, described by unitary k x k matrices. The single-particle dynamics in the case of intense U2 vector potentials lead to a generalized Hofstadter butterfly spectrum which shows a complex mothlike structure. We discuss the possibility to realize non-Abelian interferometry (Aharonov-Bohm effect) and to study many-body dynamics of ultracold matter in external lattice gauge fields.     

Five new peltogynoids from underground parts of Iris bungei: a Mongolian medicinal plant

Five new peltogynoids, irisoids A-E (1-5), have been isolated from the underground parts of Iris bungei. The structures of the new compounds were established on the basis of spectroscopic methods and were found to be 1,8,10-trihydroxy-9-methoxy-[1]benzopyrano-[3,2-c][2]-benzopyran-7(5H)-one (1), 1,8-dihydroxy-9,10-dimethoxy-[1]benzopyrano-[3,2-c][2]-benzopyran-7(5H)-one (2), 1,10-dihydroxy-8,9-dimethoxy-[1]benzopyrano-13,2-c][2]-benzopyran-7(5H)-one (3), 1,8-dihydroxy-9,10-methylenedioxy-[1]benzopyrano-[3,2-c][2]-benzopyran-7(5H)-one (4), and 1,8,11-trihydroxy-9,10-methylenedioxy-[1]benzopyrano-[3,2-c][2]-benzopyran-7(5H)-one (5). The structure of irisoid B (2) was established unambiguously by X-ray diffraction study.     

New Linear Codes Over \mathbb{F}_3 and \mathbb{F}_5 and Improvements on Bounds

One of the most important problems of coding theory is to constructcodes with best possible minimum distances. In this paper, we generalize the method introduced by [8] and obtain new codes which improve the best known minimum distance bounds of some linear codes. We have found a new linear ternary code and 8 new linear codes over with improved minimumdistances. First we introduce a generalized version of Gray map,then we give definition of quasi cyclic codes and introduce nearlyquasi cyclic codes. Next, we give the parameters of new codeswith their generator matrices. Finally, we have included twotables which give Hamming weight enumerators of these new codes.     

Optimal strategies for sending information through A quantum channel

Quantum states can be used to encode the information contained in a direction, i.e., in a unit vector. We present the best encoding procedure when the quantum state is made up of N spins (qubits). We find that the quality of this optimal procedure, which we quantify in terms of the fidelity, depends solely on the dimension of the encoding space. We also investigate the use of spatial rotations on a quantum state, which provide a natural and less demanding encoding. In this case we prove that the fidelity is directly related to the largest zeros of the Legendre and Jacobi polynomials. We also discuss our results in terms of the information gain.