Investigation of the (n, γf) process on a235U nucleus

The fluctuations of uranium X-rays yield in coincidence with fission of the²³⁵U nucleus were observed at several neutron resonances. The results show the dependence ofK ₁ yield on fission width _f. This dependence is explained by the (n, f) process which is the result of competition between fission and -decay during the deexcitation of the²³⁶U compound nucleus. The mean width _f was determined to be equal to (2·1 _–1·7 ^+1·5 ) meV. The mean energy of prefission-rays was found to be (750 _–130 ⁺⁴⁰⁰ ) keV. It seems that the -transitions taking place before fission of the²³⁶U compound nucleus are mostly of the magnetic dipole.It is a great pleasure to express our gratitude to Yu. I. Kolgin for considerable help in all the experimental work, to L. B. Pikelner and Yu. P. Popov for many useful discussions, I. M. Salamatin, A. Mateeva for the programme supply of the experiment, to A. A. Bogdzel and V. G. Tishin for taking part in different steps of the work.     

Synthesis and structural studies of C-5 aryl- and C-6 alkyl-substituted pyrimidine derivatives

C-5 and C-6 disubstituted pyrimidine derivatives 2–7 were synthesized. Introduction of the aryl rings at C-5 of pyrimidine moiety in 5 and 6 was performed using palladium-catalyzed Stille cross-coupling reaction. The novel C-6 fluorophenylalkylated 5-phenylpyrimidine derivative (7) was prepared by lithiation of 5-phenylpyrimidine (6) and subsequent reaction of thus obtained organolithium intermediate with p-fluoroacetophenone. The structures of 3, 4 and 6 were determined by X-ray crystal structure analysis. Both methoxy groups in these structures adopt a synperiplanar conformation with respect to the N1 and N3 atoms of the pyrimidine ring. The molecules of 3 and 4 are linked through weak Br···Br interactions into zig-zag chains. The molecules of 6 are assembled into layers by one C–H···O hydrogen bond, C–H···π and aromatic π···π stacking interactions.     

Prompt gamma-ray emission from fission of239Pu by resonance neutrons I

Gamma-ray spectra from²³⁹Pu(n,f) reaction were measured with the gamma spectrometer on the pulsed reactor IBR-30. The fast 19-section ionization chamber with 1.6 g of²³⁹Pu targets was used. The fission gamma-rays within the 32 ns time window were measured using a Ge(Li) detector. Based on the measured gamma-ray spectrum in the (0.1–1.8) MeV interval, the total number of emitted-quanta-multiplicity N ^tot and total energy of -quanta per fission event, E ^tot , were calculated. The results were 7.0±0.6/fission and 6.8±0.5 MeV/fission respectively.This work is supported in part by the Grant Agency of the Slovak Academy of Science under grant GA-SAV 517/1992.     

Precise deuteron binding energy calculations

A new minimization approach to two-body binding energy calculation is suggested and applied to deuteron. The results of calculations with very high accuracy (at least 10 eV) for several nucleon--nucleon potentials are given. The suggestion to use new precise experimental values of deuteron binding energyE _D and calculated one as a constraint on N-N potentials follows from a study ofE _D sensitivity on the potential parameters.The authors are indebted to dr. E. Truhlik for a loan of initial version of DEUT code and useful discussions. The advices of dr. J. Piút are acknowledged. The presented work is based on thesis of P.K.     

Electron diffraction on graphite nanocrystals in the walls of carbon nanotubes

The structure and defects in the walls and cavities of carbon nanotubes were examined by electron diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and Raman spectroscopy. The predominating defects in the walls of the nanotubes are graphite nanocrystals having a preferential orientation in the direction of the nanotube axis, and another significant type of defects are particles of the catalyst in the nanotube cavities. In the cavities, also the presence of molybdenum was proved having its origin in the catalyst.     

Functionalization of cotton with poly-NiPAAm/chitosan microgel. Part I. Stimuli-responsive moisture management properties

Stimuli-responsive microgel, based on synthetic polymer (poly-NiPAAm) and biopolymer (chitosan), was incorporated onto cotton fabric surface by pad-dry-cure method using 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) as crosslinker. In order to assess the moisture management properties of cotton functionalized with responsive microgel, the effects of temperature, relative humidity and concentration of microgel on water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) and moisture content (MC) were quantified. Since the use of experimental design is considered as a highly attractive feature in dealing with experiments and variables of this nature, the effects were quantified by using a central composite design. The regression equations obtained from the statistical analysis allowed the prediction of WVTR and MC at different ambient conditions. Material properties such as crease recovery and whiteness were also measured. The results indicate that both relative humidity and temperature significantly influence studied responses (WVTR and MC), showing that good perspiration can be achieved at lower humidity levels and at higher temperatures. The observed phenomena are attributed to controlled expansion (or contraction) of the surface incorporated microgel, which acts as a sensor of temperature and as a valve to regulate the water vapour permeability of functionalized cotton.     

Identification of proteins interacting with ammodytoxins in Vipera ammodytes ammodytes venom by immuno-affinity chromatography

In order to perform their function, proteins frequently interact with other proteins. Various methods are used to reveal protein interacting partners, and affinity chromatography is one of them. Snake venom is composed mostly of proteins, and various protein complexes in the venom have been found to exhibit higher toxicity levels than respective components separately. Complexes can modulate envenomation activity of a venom and/or potentiate its effect. Our previous data indicate that the most toxic components of the Vipera ammodytes ammodytes (Vaa) venom isolated so far—ammodytoxins (Atxs)—are contributing to the venom’s toxicity only moderately; therefore, we aimed to explore whether they have some interacting partner(s) potentiating toxicity. For screening of possible interactions, immuno-affinity chromatography combined with identification by mass spectrometry was used. Various chemistries (epoxy, carbonyldiimidazole, ethylenediamine) as well as protein G functionality were used to immobilize antibodies on monolith support, a Convective Interaction Media disk. Monoliths have been demonstrated to better suit the separation of large biomolecules. Using such approach, several proteins were indicated as potential Atx-binding proteins. Among these, the interaction of Atxs with a Kunitz-type inhibitor was confirmed by far-Western dot-blot and surface plasmon resonance measurement. It can be concluded that affinity chromatography on monolithic columns combined with mass spectrometry identification is a successful approach for screening of protein interactions and it resulted with detection of the interaction of Atx with Kunitz-type inhibitor in Vaa venom for the first time.     

Methoxymethyl (MOM) group nitrogen protection of pyrimidines bearing C-6 acyclic side-chains

Novel N-methoxymethylated (MOM) pyrimidine (4-13) and pyrimidine-2,4-diones (15-17) nucleoside mimetics in which an isobutyl side-chain is attached at the C-6 position of the pyrimidine moiety were synthesized. Synthetic methods via O-persilylated or N-anionic uracil derivatives have been evaluated for the synthesis of N-1- and/or N-3-MOM pyrimidine derivatives with C-6 acyclic side-chains. A synthetic approach using an activated N-anionic pyrimidine derivative afforded the desired N,N-1,3-diMOM and N-1-MOM pyrimidines 4 and 5 in good yield. Introduction of fluorine into the side-chain was performed with DAST as the fluorinating reagent to give a N,N-1,3-diMOM pyrimidine 13 with a 1-fluoro-3-hydroxyisobutyl moiety at C-6. Conformational study of the monotritylated N-1-MOM pyrimidine 12 by the use of the NOE experiments revealed the predominant conformation of the compound to be one where the hydroxymethyl group in the C-6 side-chain is close to the N-1-MOM moiety, while the OMTr is in proximity to the CH(3)-5 group. Contrary to this no NOE enhancements between the N-1-MOM group and hydroxymethyl or fluoromethyl protons in 13 were observed, which suggested a nonrestricted rotation along the C-6 side-chain. Fluorinated N,N-1,3-diMOM pyrimidine 13 emerged as a model compound for development of tracer molecules for non-invasive imaging of gene expression using positron emission tomography (PET).     

Positron annihilation and relaxation dynamics from dielectric spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance: cis-trans-1,4-poly(butadiene)

We report a joint analysis of positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS), dielectric spectroscopy (BDS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) on cis-trans-1,4-poly(butadiene) (c-t-1,4-PBD). Phenomenological analysis of the orthopositronium lifetime τ(3)-T dependence by linear fitting reveals four characteristic PALS temperatures: T(b1)(G)=0.63T(g)(PALS), T(g)(PALS), T(b1)(L)=1.22T(g)(PALS), and T(b2)(L)=1.52T(g)(PALS). Slight bend effects in the glassy and supercooled liquid states are related to the fast or slow secondary β process, from neutron scattering, respectively, the latter being connected with the trans-isomers. In addition, the first bend effect in the supercooled liquid coincides with a deviation of the slow effective secondary β(eff) relaxation related to the cis-isomers from low-T Arrhenius behavior to non-Arrhenius one and correlates with the onset of the primary α process from BDS. The second plateau effect in the liquid state occurs when τ(3) becomes commensurable with the structural relaxation time τ(α)(T(b2)). It is also approximately related to its crossover from non-Arrhenius to Arrhenius regime in the combined BDS and NMR data. Finally, the combined BDS and NMR structural relaxation data, when analyzed in terms of the two-order parameter (TOP) model, suggest the influence of solidlike domains on both the annihilation behavior and the local and segmental chain mobility in the supercooled liquid. All these findings indicate the influence of the dynamic heterogeneity in both the primary and secondary relaxations due to the cis-trans isomerism in c-t-1,4-PBD and their impact into the PALS response.     

Positron annihilation response and broadband dielectric spectroscopy: Salol

A phenomenological analysis of the ortho-positronium (o-Ps) annihilation from positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) and the dynamics from broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) are reported on a small molecular glass former of intermediate H-bonding and fragility: salol. The dielectric spectra extend over a very broad frequency range of about 2 × 10⁻²−3.5 × 10¹¹ Hz, providing information on the α-relaxation, the secondary relaxation giving rise to the excess wing, and the shallow high-frequency minimum in the micro- to milli-meter wave range. A number of empirical correlations between the o-Ps lifetime, τ ₃(T), and the various spectral and relaxation features have been observed. Thus, the phenomenological evaluation of the τ ₃(T) dependence of the PALS response of the amorphous sample reveals three characteristic PALS temperatures: T _g ^PALS, T _b1 ^L = 1.15T _g ^PALS and T _b2 ^L = 1.25T _g ^PALS, which are discussed in relation to similar findings for some typical small molecular vdW- and H-bonded glass formers. A slighter change of the slope at T _b1 ^L appears to be related to the transition from excess wing to the primary α-process-dominated behavior, with the secondary process dominating in the deeply supercooled liquid state below T _b1 ^L . The high-temperature plateau effect in the τ ₃(T) plot occurs at T _b2 ^L and agrees with the characteristic Stickel temperature, T _B ^ST, marking a qualitative change of the primary α process, but it does not follow the relation T _b2 ^L < T _α [τ ₃(T _b2) < τ _α ]. Both effects at T _b1 ^L and T _b2 ^L correlate with two crossovers in the spectral shape and related non-exponentiality parameter of the structural relaxation, β _KWW. Finally, the application of the two-order parameter (TOP) model to the structural relaxation as represented by the primary α relaxation times from BDS leads to the characteristic TOP temperature, T _m ^c , close to T _b1 from PALS. Within this model the phenomenological interpretation is offered based on changes in the probability of occurrence of solid-like and liquid-like domains to explain the dynamic as well as PALS responses. In summary, all the empirical correlations support further very close connections between the PALS response and the dielectric relaxation behavior in small molecule glass formers.