Gonyol: Methionine-induced sulfonium accumulation in a dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polyedra

Gonyol, 3S-5-dimethylsulfonio-3-hydroxylpentanoate, was isolated from a dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polyedra cultured in a medium containing methionine and the structure was elucidated by spectroscopic method and confirmed by chemical synthesis. Gonyol was shown to be biogenetically derived from methionine and acetic acid.     

Finding dolomitic melnoite diatreme at Badou in the Laiwu–Zibo area,Shandong province,China

We found a highly dolomitic lamprophyre diatreme at Badou, Shandong province, China for the first time. Although a number of silicate-rich carbonatite and glimmerite dikes and sheets were found around Badou, no alkaline rock–carbonatite plutonic complex exists nearby. Dolomitic lamprophyre diatreme that is not related with plutonic complex is not known yet either, and this is the first report of such an unusual occurrence. We report the whole-rock major and trace element chemistries of the lamprophyric rocks. The rocks consist of dominant dolomite with associated phlogopite, clinopyroxene, olivine, apatite and carry a number of xenoliths. Judging from all the geochemical and mineralogical data, the rock from Badou pipe should belong to the group of ultramafic lamprophyre and, more strictly, it should be called melnoite defined by Mitchell (1994).1) This finding should contribute to the understanding of the origin of carbonatite magma and the relationships between carbonatite and silicate magmas.     

Fabrication of long-period optical fiber gratings by use of ion implantation

We report the fabrication of long-period optical fiber gratings by use of a refractive-index increase induced by ion implantation. Helium ions were implanted in an optical fiber core through a metal mask that had a 170-microm -pitch grating with spacing of 60 microm . We obtained a wavelength-dependent effective transmission loss by use of the grating.     

Charge-stripping system for 238U ion beam with recirculating He gas

Recent developments in a charge-stripping system employing high-flow rate He gas circulation (~200 L/min) for ²³⁸U³⁵⁺ beams injected at 10.8 MeV/u are reported. He gas is confined in a target section and is separated from a vacuum duct using five-stage differentially-pumped sections. To minimize the gas leakage rate via beam apertures, a high-performance differential pumping was required. To avoid huge gas consumption, a clean gas recycling with high-flow rate was simultaneously required. To realize these, we developed multi-stage mechanical booster pump array. The recycling rate of He gas was achieved as more than 99 %. The system performance has been checked with the present maximum beam current up to 13 eμA (~1 kW beam power).