Halichonines A, B, and C, novel sesquiterpene alkaloids from the marine sponge Halichondria okadai Kadota

Novel sesquiterpene alkaloids, halichonines A (1), B (2), and C (3), were identified from the marine sponge Halichondria okadai Kadota. By spectroscopic analyses and synthesis, their structures were revealed to include a 6,6-bicyclic ring system and two prenylated amine moieties. In addition, 2 induced apoptosis in HL60 human leukemia cells.     

High-pressure and high-temperature generation using diamond/sic composite anvils prepared with hot isostatic pressing

Using a hot isostatic pressing (HIP) technique, we synthesized diamond/SiC composites from diamond and Si powders. At an HIP condition of 1450 °C and 100 MPa, a pressure much lower than that of the diamond stability field, diamond powders react with molten Si to form well-sintered diamond/SiC composites. Cubes of the composites with 15 mm edge length were thereby fabricated, and an application to the second stage anvils in a Kawai-type high-pressure apparatus was attempted. A hybrid anvils system using four cubes of the composites and four of the conventional WC was introduced and heating experiments up to 1600 °C became possible. Because the diamond/SiC composites are transparent to X-rays, the present system is applicable not only to diffraction studies but also to radiographic studies that need a larger window for an X-ray image.     

Study of partial melting at high-pressure using in situ X-ray diffraction

The high-pressure melting behavior of different iron alloys was investigated using the classical synchrotron-based in situ X-ray diffraction techniques. As they offer specific advantages and disadvantages, both energy-dispersive (EDX) and angle-dispersive (ADX) X-ray diffraction methods were performed at the BL04B1 beamline of SPring8 (Japan) and at the ID27-30 beamline of the ESRF (France), respectively. High-pressure vessels and pressure ranges investigated include the Paris–Edinburgh press from 2 to 17 GPa, the SPEED-1500 multi-anvil press from 10 to 27 GPa, and the laser-heated diamond anvil cell from 15 to 60 GPa. The onset of melting (at the solidus or eutectic temperature) can be easily detected using EDX because the grains start to rotate relative to the X-ray beam, which provokes rapid and drastic changes with time of the peak growth rate. Then, the degree of melting can be determined, using both EDX and ADX, from the intensity of diffuse X-ray scattering characteristic of the liquid phase. This diffuse contribution can be easily differentiated from the Compton diffusion of the pressure medium because they have different shapes in the diffraction patterns. Information about the composition and/or about the structure of the liquid phase can then be extracted from the shape of the diffuse X-ray scattering.     

A comparative study on acute toxicity of methylarsonic acid,dimethylarsinic acid and trimethylarsine oxide in mice

The acute toxicity of methylarsonic acid, CH₃AsO(OH)₂ (MAA), dimethylarsininc acid, (CH₃)₂AsO(OH) (DMAA), and trimethylarsine oxide, (CH₃)₃AsO (TMAO), were examined in mice with oral administration. The LD₅₀ values of MAA, DMAA and TMAO were 1.8, 1.2 and 10.6 g kg^?1 respectively. The toxicity of MAA and DMAA was very much lower than that for inorganic arsenic compounds. It was shown that TMAO has a similar acute toxicity to arsenobetaine. On the other hand, when the mice were administered 14.4 g kg^?1 of TMAO once only orally, a garlic-like odor (trimethylarsine, (CH₃)₃As) was definitely detectable in the exhalation of the animals by the human olfactory sense within about a few minutes.     

AC transport current loss of assembled conductor of HTS tapes

We study experimentally and theoretically the AC transport current loss characteristics of a tape in multiple tapes assembled in single layer and subject to external field produced by transport currents of adjacent tapes. We measured the AC transport current losses of a Bi2223 silver-sheathed tape in a single layer arrangement of three tapes using our newly developed potential leads arrangement to avoid spurious loss components caused by the magnetization in the adjacent tapes. In the paper, the influence of the external AC field produced by adjacent tapes on the loss characteristics is studied based on the experimental results and theoretical analysis.     

A Simple Frequency Lock of Green YAG Laser to Dispersion Line of the Linear Absorption Spectrum of Iodine Molecules Utilizing an Acousto-Optic Frequency Shifter

Frequency of a 532 nm emission line of a diode-laser-pumped Nd:YAG laser is stabilized by lock of the output line to the linear absorption line of iodine molecules. The stabilization method is very simple utilizing the frequency shift caused with an acousto-optic modulator. The laser frequency was stabilized at the zero-crossing point of the second-derivative of the dispersion curve. Instability obtained by the error signal is affected by the phase-characteristics of detectors, which results in 3^*10^-8.     

A unified expressing model of the AKNS hierarchy and the KN hierarchy, as well as its integrable coupling system

A new subalgebra of loop algebra Ã₁ is first constructed. Then a new Lax pair is presented, whose compatibility gives rise to a new Liouville integrable system(called a major result), possessing bi-Hamiltonian structures. It is remarkable that two symplectic operators obtained in this paper are directly constructed in terms of the recurrence relations. As reduction cases of the new integrable system obtained, the famous AKNS hierarchy and the KN hierarchy are obtained, respectively. Second, we prove a conjugate operator of a recurrence operator is a hereditary symmetry. Finally, we construct a high dimension loop algebra to obtain an integrable coupling system of the major result by making use of Tu scheme. In addition, we find the major result obtained is a unified expressing integrable model of both the AKNS and KN hierarchies, of course, we may also regard the major result as an expanding integrable model of the AKNS and KN hierarchies. Thus, we succeed to find an example of expanding integrable models being Liouville integrable.     

AC loss of low temperature superconducting AC wire caused by longitudinal and azimuthal AC magnetic field components

We investigated the AC loss characteristics of a low temperature NbTi AC wire by measuring the AC transport current losses in the external AC magnetic field whose components are the longitudinal and transverse ones. The measurement results showed that the AC losses were significantly dependent on the directions and magnitudes of the external longitudinal field component. The AC losses caused by the longitudinal and azimuthal field components were estimated by our previously derived model. The theoretical results well explained the dependence of the AC losses on the longitudinal field components. It was also shown that the AC losses can be substantially reduced by the proper choice of the twisting way.     

Structure of protonated thioformaldehyde

It is proposed, from an ab initio (4–31G) SCF calculation, that the most stable forms of protonated thioformaldehyde may be the C-protonated complexes H₃CS⁺. The energy-gradient technique was used for geometry optimization, and an energy decomposition analysis was carried out to elucidate the origin of this abnormal behavior of the C=S group.