The synthesis of [2], [3] and [4]rotaxanes and semirotaxanes

The cucurbituril-catalysed synthesis of [2], [3] and [4]semirotaxanes allows access to regioselectively pure, 1,3-disubstituted mono-, bis- and tris-triazoles in high yield after dethreading.     

Anti-Self-Dual Instantons with Lagrangian Boundary Conditions II: Bubbling

We study bubbling phenomena of anti-self-dual instantons on where Σ is a closed Riemann surface. The instantons satisfy a global Lagrangian boundary condition on each boundary slice . The main results establish the energy quantization and removal of singularities near such boundary slices. This completes the analytic foundations for the definition of a new instanton Floer homology for 3-manifolds with boundary. In the interior case, for anti-self-instantons on our methods provide a new approach to the removable singularity theorem by Sibner-Sibner for codimension 2 singularities with a holonomy condition.     

Anti-Self-Dual Instantons with Lagrangian Boundary Conditions I: Elliptic Theory

We study nonlocal Lagrangian boundary conditions for anti-self-dual instantons on 4-manifolds with a space-time splitting of the boundary. We establish the basic regularity and compactness properties (assuming L^p-bounds on the curvature for p>2) as well as the Fredholm theory in a compact model case. The motivation for studying this boundary value problem lies in the construction of an instanton Floer homology for 3-manifolds with boundary. The present paper is part of a program proposed by Salamon for the proof of the Atiyah-Floer conjecture for homology-3-spheres.Acknowledgement I would like to thank Dietmar Salamon for his constant help and encouragement in pursuing this project. Part of this research was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.     

Four-color fluorescence correlation spectroscopy realized in a grating-based detection platform

We have developed a filterless multicolor detection unit for fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). This grating-based setup is continuously tunable for multicolor separation and is thus a powerful alternative to the classical cascade of dichroic mirrors and filters. Our tailored platform allows for accommodation of up to 15 detection channels covering the entire visible spectral range. As a proof of principle, we successfully demonstrate simultaneous FCS of four distinct fluorescent quantum dot species being mixed in aqueous solution. Grating-based detection allows for spectral high-resolution FCS in a stable and compact setup and is a feasible tool for quantitative investigation of complexbiomolecular dynamics on a single molecule level.     

Regulation of stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 after central and peripheral nerve lesions

Background  

Interruption of mature axons activates a cascade of events in neuronal cell bodies which leads to various outcomes from functional regeneration in the PNS to the failure of any significant regeneration in the CNS. One factor which seems to play an important role in the molecular programs after axotomy is the stearoyl Coenzyme A-desaturase-1 (SCD-1). This enzyme is needed for the conversion of stearate into oleate. Beside its role in membrane synthesis, oleate could act as a neurotrophic factor, involved in signal transduction pathways via activation of protein kinases C.     

Searches for B0 decays to combinations of two charmless isoscalar mesons

We search for B meson decays into two-body combinations of eta, eta', omega, and phi mesons from 89 x 10(6) BB pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e+e- collider at SLAC. We find the branching fraction B(B0-->etaomega)=(4.0(+1.3)(-1.2)+/-0.4)x10(-6) with a significance of 4.3 sigma. For the other decay modes we set the following 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions, in units of 10(-6): B(B0-->etaeta)<2.8, B(B0-->etaeta')<4.6, B(B0-->eta'eta')<10, B(B0-->eta'omega)<2.8, B(B0-->etaphi)<1.0, B(B0-->eta'phi)<4.5, and B(B0-->phiphi)<1.5.