THE NATURE OF ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT-INDUCED STRAND BREAKAGE IN DNA CONTAINING BROMOURACIL

Abstract— Single-strand breaks are produced in the phosphodiester backbone of ultraviolet-light-irradiated 5–bromodeoxyuridine-containing DNA (BU-DNA) after treatment with alkali. No radiation dependent breakage is observed in thymine-containing DNA (thy-DNA). The relative yields of breaks terminated by 5'-hydroxyl and 5'-phosphate groups was determined by measuring the rate of phosphorylation achieved with polynucleotide kinase in BU-DNA single strands before and after treatment with alkaline phosphatase. The ratio of 5'-phosphate to 5' hydroxyl groups ranged from 2.3 to 2.9 in different experiments. When cysteamine was present during irradiation no new end groups were produced.
In order to identify the nucleoside(s) at the 5'-termini, phosphate groups were removed with alkaline phosphatase and the 5'-hydroxyl groups were phosphorylated with polynucleotide kinase. Electrophoresis of enzymatic digests showed a single ³²P-labeled component migrating more rapidly than any of the four usual 5'-mononucleotides. Upon column chromatography this component resolved into a major peak coincident with 5'-dUMP and a lesser unidentified constituent. No 5'-dBUM³²P was observed among these nucleotides.     

Non‐homogeneous infinitely many sites discrete‐time model with exact coalescent

Kingman's coalescent is among the most fertile concepts in mathematical population genetics. However, it only approximates the exact coalescent process associated with the Wright–Fisher model, in which the ancestry of a sample does not have to be a binary tree. The distinction between the approximate and exact coalescent becomes important when population size is small and time has to be measured in discrete units (generations). In the present paper, we explore the exact coalescent, with mutations following the infinitely many sites model. The methods used involve random point processes and generating functionals. This allows obtaining joint distributions of segregating sites in arbitrary intervals or collections of intervals, and generally in arbitrary Borel subsets of two or more chromosomes. Using this framework it is possible to find the moments of the numbers of segregating sites on pairs of chromosomes, as well as the moments of the average of the number of pairwise differences, in the form that is more general than usually. In addition, we demonstrate limit properties of the first two moments under a range of demographic scenarios, including different patterns of population growth. This latter part complements results obtained earlier for Kingman's coalescent. Finally, we discuss various applications, including the analysis of fluctuation experiments, from which mutation rates of biological cells can be inferred. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controlled transport and focusing of laser-accelerated protons with miniature magnetic devices

This Letter demonstrates the transporting and focusing of laser-accelerated 14 MeV protons by permanent magnet miniature quadrupole lenses providing field gradients of up to 500 T/m. The approach is highly reproducible and predictable, leading to a focal spot of (286 x 173) microm full width at half maximum 50 cm behind the source. It decouples the relativistic laser-proton acceleration from the beam transport, paving the way to optimize both separately. The collimation and the subsequent energy selection obtained are perfectly applicable for upcoming high-energy, high-repetition rate laser systems.     

Simultaneous spatial and temporal walk-off compensation in frequency-doubling femtosecond pulses in beta-BaB(2)O(4)

We experimentally demonstrate the benefits of simultaneous compensation of spatial and temporal walk-off in frequency doubling of 800-nm 250-fs pulses, using three active and two compensating beta-BaB(2)O(4) crystals. The compensating crystals reverse both birefringent and group-velocity walk-off, resulting in a factor-of-4.5 improvement in doubling efficiency relative to one of the active crystals while maintaining the short pulse duration and the symmetric spatial profile that are characteristic of the single crystal.     

Polymerizable derivatives of long-chain fatty acids. IV. Vinyl esters

Contrary to some published reports, the vinyl esters of saturated fatty acids polymerize readily and rapidly. Vinyl oleate, when present in excess of 5%, and oxygen exert marked retarding effects. Techniques are described for the free-radical-initiated polymerization of the vinyl esters of caprylic, capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic, and stearic acids in bulk, dispersion, solution, and emulsion. Some data are given for polymerization in the presence of chain-transfer agents, such as carbon tetrachloride, dodecylmercaptan, and ethylbenzene. Conditions are reported for obtaining degrees of polymerization from about 2 (when chain-transfer agents are employed) to 10,000 (weight average). The weight average degree of polymerization increases markedly as the conversion increases, particularly above 80%. Even up to extremely high conversions, soluble polymers are obtained in most cases. Solubility characteristics, transition point data, molecular weights (osmometric and light-scattering), and isolation and purification techniques are also reported.     

Effect of molecular and lattice structure on hydrogen transfer in molecular crystals of diamino-dinitroethylene and triamino-trinitrobenzene

We have studied the intra- and intermolecular hydrogen transfer in a crystalline 1,1-diamino-2,2-dinitroethylene (DADNE) and 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) by means of an embedded cluster method and density functional theory (DFT). We found that, even though both of these materials have similar amino- and nitro- functional groups and layered crystalline structures, there are important differences in the mechanisms of hydrogen transfer. In particular, our calculations suggest that the proton migration from an amino-group to a nitro-group of the same molecule is a feasible process in TATB but not in DADNE. At the same time, we have found that no intermolecular hydrogen transfer occurs in either molecular crystal. These results imply that the activation of the decomposition reactions proceeds via different paths in these two materials.     

Melting Point and Composition Distribution of Polyolefins by Fractionation

The fractionation technique described in this paper was used to characterize the melting-point, monomer, and blocking distributions for polymers and copolymers. It is different from the molecular-weight fractionation technique in that the fractions are obtained by using a single solvent to extract the solid polymer below its melting point at stepwise-increasing temperatures. The reproducibility of this technique is excellent, and the technique is sufficient to distinguish pellet-to-pellet variation in a commercially available polypropylene. It was used to show the influence of preparation variables on the melting-point distributions of polyethylene and polypropylene and on the monomer and blocking distribution of copolymers, and to distinguish copolymers from blends.     

An introduction to mathematical physiology and biology

Book Review

An introduction to mathematical physiology and biologyJ. Mazumdar: Cambridge University Press, 1989, xi + 208pp., £27.50 (hardback), £9.95 (paperback)     

THE AVAILABILITY OF SOLAR RADIATION BELOW 290 nm AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN PHOTOMODIFICATION OF POLYMERS

Abstract— On a percentage basis, ozone is a very minor component of the atmosphere; at STP it would make a layer only about 2 mm thick. On almost every other basis (biological, meteorological, paleontological, photochemical, etc.) it is a major component, due mainly to the tremendous reduction in solar ultraviolet flux which it causes in the 220–290 nm region. Since no data are available for Λ < 285 nm, a rational basis for estimating the flux reaching the earth's surface in this region is discussed. Variations in ozone concentration are of great importance, and it is possible to have more radiation with Λ < 270 nm fall on a surface in one extreme day than in several years of typical days. Often, persons involved in studies of polymer degradation by sunlight mention that a negligible fraction (1 ppm) of the radiant flux reaching the earth's surface is associated with wavelengths below 290 nm and infer that studies at shorter wavelengths will not be of much practical value. Such inferences are questionable for at least two reasons. (1) The quantum flux density below 290 nm is about 10¹⁶ photons cm^-2 month^-1, so that considerable long-term damage is possible since most of the flux will be absorbed in a layer only a few microns thick. (2) Even if solar radiation below 290 nm were completely absent, the existence of correlations between absorption peaks in the near ultraviolet and visible, and in the infrared with ionization potentials typically 6–12 eV or 200-100 nm) is evidence that we may expect studies in the ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) to provide important clues to the problem of improving the resistance of polymers to sunlight.