Ultralow emittance, multi-MeV proton beams from a laser virtual-cathode plasma accelerator

The laminarity of high-current multi-MeV proton beams produced by irradiating thin metallic foils with ultraintense lasers has been measured. For proton energies >10 MeV, the transverse and longitudinal emittance are, respectively, <0.004 mm mrad and <10(-4) eV s, i.e., at least 100-fold and may be as much as 10(4)-fold better than conventional accelerator beams. The fast acceleration being electrostatic from an initially cold surface, only collisions with the accelerating fast electrons appear to limit the beam laminarity. The ion beam source size is measured to be <15 microm (FWHM) for proton energies >10 MeV.     

Solid-state NMR characterisation of the thermal transformation of a Hungarian white illite

(1)H, (27)Al, (29)Si and (39)K solid-state NMR are reported from a Hungarian illite 2:1 clay for samples heated up 1600 degrees C. This single-phase sample has a small amount of aluminium substitution in the silica layer and very low iron-content ( approximately 0.4wt%). Thermal analysis shows several events that can be related to features in the NMR spectra, and hence changes in the atomic scale structure. As dehydroxylation occurs there is increasing AlO(4) and AlO(5)-contents. The silica and gibbsite layers become increasingly separated as the dehydroxylation progresses. Between 900 and 1000 degrees C the silica layer forms a potassium aluminosilicate glass. The gibbsite-layer forms spinel/gamma-Al(2)O(3) and some aluminium-rich mullite. Then on heating to 1600 degrees C changes in the (29)Si and (27)Al MAS NMR spectra are consistent with the aluminosilicate glass increasing its aluminium-content, the amount of mullite increasing probably with its silicon-content also increasing, and some alpha-Al(2)O(3) forming.     

Nucleophilic SN2 displacements on penicillin-6- and cephalosporin-7- triflates; 6β-iodopenicillanic acid,a new β-lactamase inhibitor

Triflate or nonaflate esters of alkyl 6α (or β) hydroxypenicillanates are substituted (with inversion) by the soft nucleophiles iodide, bromide, chloride, azide, arylselenoxide,¹ thiocyanate, thiols, and thiolacids; carbon nucleophiles fail. Methoxide (hard) attacks the lactam bond, opening both rings to give a known¹¹ 1,4 thiazine. Iodide substitutes 7α-trifloxycephalosporins, giving 7β-iodocephalosporins.     

The incompatibility of individualism and ordinalism

A formal proof is offered of the fact that Individualism and Ordinalism imply the controversial condition A3 used by Kemp and Ng (1976) to show the non-existence of an individualistic social welfare function based only on ordinal preferences but objected to by Samuelson (1977) as unreasonable. Mayston's argument against our definition of ordinality is refuted; his notion of ‘true ordinality’ involves elements of cardinality and/or goes against individualism.     

The mass spectra of some triterpenoid dehydration products

The mass spectra of ten dehydration and solvolysis products obtained from β-amyrin and glycyrrhetic acid were studied. With the exception of those resulting from ‘backbone’ rearrangement, they exhibited conventional fragmentation due to the ring C chromophore, like the parent alcohols. Only those products with a contracted ring A suffered loss of an isopropyl radical. In the latter type, special fragmentation features were exhibited by the isopropylcyclopentene and by the isopropylidene products. These differences enabled the assignment of probable structures for two unknown derivatives.     

Consistent helicities from CD and template t/c data for N-templated polyalanines: progress toward resolution of the alanine helicity problem

The helicity reporting parameters t/c and [theta](222) have been measured at 2, 25, and 60 degrees C in water for the solubilized polyalanine series Ac-Hel-A(n)-(t)LInp(2)K(4)W-NH(2) of length 4 < or = n < or = 14 that bears the helix-initiating and monitoring N-cap Ac-Hel and the spaced solubilizer (t)LInp(2)K(4)W-NH(2) as a C-cap. Correlation of t/c with length shows that the helical propensity for n < or = 6 is ca. 1.0, consistent with our early reports, but that a dramatic increase in temperature dependence and helical propensity occurs for n > or = 8. A model based on hydrogen-bonding cooperativity is proposed to explain this finding, and both t/c and [theta](222) are modeled successfully by length-dependent alanine propensities at 2 degrees C of 1.03 for n = 6, 1.15, for 7 < or = n < or = 9 and 1.26 for n > or = 10. The implications of these results for the energetics of helix formation by alanine-rich peptide sequences are discussed.