Nucleic acid secondary structures containing the double-headed nucleoside 5'(S)-C-(2-(thymin-1-yl)ethyl)thymidine

Oligodeoxynucleotides containing the double-headed nucleoside 5'(S)-C-(2-(thymin-1-yl)ethyl)thymidine were prepared by standard solid phase synthesis. The synthetic building block for incorporating the double-headed moiety was prepared from thymidine, which was stereoselectively converted to a protected 5'(S)-C-hydroxyethyl derivative and used to alkylate the additional thymine by a Mitsunobu reaction. The oligodeoxynucleotides were studied in different nucleic acid secondary structures: duplexes, bulged duplexes, three-way junctions and artificial DNA zipper motifs. The thermal stability of these complexes was studied, demonstrating an almost uniform thermal penalty of incorporating one double-headed nucleoside moiety into a duplex or a bulged duplex, comparable to the effects of the previously reported double-headed nucleoside 5'(S)-C-(thymin-1-yl)methylthymidine. The additional base showed only very small effects when incorporated into DNA or RNA three-way junctions. The various DNA zipper arrangements indicated that extending the linker from methylene to ethylene almost completely removed the selective minor groove base-base stacking interactions observed for the methylene linker in a (-3)-zipper, whereas interactions, although somewhat smaller, were observed for the ethylene linker in a (-4)-zipper motif.     

Synthesis and characterization of water-soluble phenylene-vinylene-based singlet oxygen sensitizers for two-photon excitation

[reaction: see text] The synthesis and characterization of water-soluble singlet oxygen sensitizers with a phenylene-vinylene motif is presented. The principal motivation for this study was to better understand specific features of a water-soluble molecule that influence the photosensitized production of singlet oxygen upon nonlinear, two-photon excitation of that molecule. To achieve water solubility, sensitizers were synthesized with ionic as well as nonionic substituents. In the ionic approach, salts of N-methylated pyridine, benzothiazole, and 1-methyl-piperazine moieties were used, as were aryl-substituted sulfonic acid moieties. In the nonionic approach, aryl-substituted triethylene glycol moieties were used. Selected photophysical properties of the compounds synthesized were determined, including singlet oxygen quantum yields. Of the molecules examined, the most efficient singlet oxygen sensitizers had triethylene glycol units as the functional group that imparted water solubility. Molecules containing the ionic moieties did not make singlet oxygen in appreciable yield nor did they efficiently fluoresce. Rather, for these latter molecules, rapid charge-transfer-mediated non-radiative processes appear to dominate excited state deactivation.     

Extended UNIQUAC model for thermodynamic modeling of CO2 absorption in aqueous alkanolamine solutions

The extended UNIQUAC model [K. Thomsen, P. Rasmussen, Chem. Eng. Sci. 54 (1999) 1787–1802] was applied to the thermodynamic representation of carbon dioxide absorption in aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA), methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) and varied strength mixtures of the two alkanolamines (MEA–MDEA). For these systems, altogether 13 interaction model parameters are adjusted. Out of these parameters, 11 are temperature dependent.     

Optimum fiber tapers for increasing the power in the blue edge of a supercontinuum-group-acceleration matching

We demonstrate how the gradient of the tapering in a tapered fiber can significantly affect the trapping and blueshift of dispersive waves (DWs) by a soliton. By modeling the propagation of a fundamental 10?fs soliton through tapered fibers with varying gradients, it is shown that the soliton traps and blueshifts an increased fraction of the energy in its DW when the gradient is decreased. This is quantified by the group-acceleration mismatch between the soliton and DW at the entrance of the taper. These findings have direct implications for the achievable power in the blue edge of a supercontinuum generated in a tapered fiber and explain observations of a lack of power in the blue edge.     

Lie Semialgebras in reductive Lie algebras

This paper gives some basic facts on Lie semialgebras and shows the crucial steps that lead to a classification of semialgebras in a class of Lie algebras that contains the reductive ones. The classification of invariant wedges by Hilgert and Hofmann is a prerequisite. This paper was presented at the Conference on “The analytical and topological theory of semigroups” in Oberwolfach, January 29 through February 4, 1989     

Néel order in doped quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnets

We study the Néel temperature of quasi-one-dimensional S = 1/2 antiferromagnets containing nonmagnetic impurities. We first consider the temperature dependence of the staggered susceptibility of finite chains with open boundary conditions, which shows an interesting difference for even and odd length chains. We then use a mean field theory treatment to incorporate the three-dimensional interchain couplings. The resulting Néel temperature shows a pronounced drop as a function of doping by up to a factor of 5.     

Pion scattering and nuclear dynamics

A phenomenological optical-model analysis of pion elastic scattering and single- and doublecharge-exchange scattering to isobaric-analog states is reviewed. Interpretation of the opticalmodel parameters is briefly discussed, and several applications and extensions are considered. The applications include the study of various nuclear properties, including neutron deformation and surface-fluctuation contributions to the density. One promising extension for the near future would be to develop a microscopic approach based on powerful momentum-space methods brought to existence over the last decade. In this, the lowest-order optical potential as well as specific higher-order pieces would be worked out in terms of microscopic pion-nucleon and delta-nucleon interactions that can be determined within modern meson-theoretical frameworks. A second extension, of a more phenomenological nature, would use coupled-channel methods and shell-model wave functions to study dynamical nuclear correlations in pion double charge exchange.Invited talk to the symposium 'Mesons and Light Nuclei IV, Bechyn, Czechoslovakia, September 5–10, 1988.The author would like to express his appreciation to Dr. Mach and the organizers for their the hospitality at the Conference.     

Motions of elastic solids in fluids under vibration

Motion of a rigid or deformable solid in a viscous incompressible fluid and corresponding fluid–solid interactions are considered. Different cases of applying high frequency vibrations to the solid or to the surrounding fluid are treated. Simple formulas for the mean velocity of the solid are derived, under the assumption that the regime of the fluid flow induced by its motion is turbulent and the fluid resistance force is nonlinearly dependent on its velocity. It is shown that vibrations of a fluid’s volume slow down the motion of a submerged solid. This effect is much pronounced in the case of a deformable solid (i.e., gas bubble) exposed to near-resonant excitation. The results are relevant to the theory of gravitational enrichment of raw materials, and also contribute to the theory of controlled locomotion of a body with an internal oscillator in continuous deformable (solid or fluid) media.     

Single-camera Doppler global velocimetry based on frequency modulation techniques

The main advantage of the described Doppler global velocimeter (DGV) systems based on frequency modulation (FM) or frequency shift keying (FSK) is that no reference detector is required. The frequency variation of the laser light during one modulation period additionally allows an on-line calibration of the complete DGV system. Thus, the new method has the potential to reduce the uncertainty of conventional DGV velocity measurements since time resolved velocity field measurements on a spinning disc have shown standard deviations down to 0.02 m/s. On investigating flow fields, velocity components notably less than 0.5 m/s were resolved.