GENETIC VARIATIONS AND LINOLENIC ACID INDUCED CHANGES IN THE ORIENTATION PATTERN OF CHLOROPHYLL a IN THYLAKOID MEMBRANES

Abstract Orientation pattern of the Q_y absorption and emission dipoles of chlorophyll a were studied in wild type Scenedesmus obliquus and in mutants deficient in chlorophyll b and carotenoids. Fluorescence polarization ratio at –140°C and linear dichroism at 25°C were measured in whole cells and thylakoids aligned in polyacrylamide gel. Unlike normal thylakoids, mutants displayed fluorescence polarization ratios significantly lower than 1.0 and showed a negative LD signal around 672 nm, indicating the tendency of the Q_y dipoles to tilt out from the membrane plane. Such an orientation pattern can also be artificially induced by treating normal thylakoids with linolenic acid.     

An Alternative Way to Generalize the Pentagon

We introduce the concept of a pentagonal geometry as a generalization of the pentagon and the Desargues configuration, in the same vein that the generalized polygons share the fundamental properties of ordinary polygons. In short, a pentagonal geometry is a regular partial linear space in which for all points x, the points not collinear with the point x, form a line. We compute bounds on their parameters, give some constructions, obtain some nonexistence results for seemingly feasible parameters and suggest a cryptographic application related to identifying codes of partial linear spaces.     

Spectrally selective coatings of gold nanorods on architectural glass

Infrared-blocking coatings on window glass can be produced by dispersing gold nanorods into a polymer coating. The spectral selectivity of the coating is controlled by the shape and aspect ratio of the nanoparticles, which are in turn determined by the conditions applied during their synthesis. Coatings of nanorods in polyvinyl alcohol were deposited onto glass and characterized in both laboratory and sun-lit conditions. Selective attenuation of the near-infrared was demonstrated with the test panels transmitting approximately one-third of the incident solar radiation and absorbing nearly two-thirds. The high absorptive cross sections of the gold nanorods suggest that they can be applied in efficacious coatings at relatively low volume fractions.     

Synthesis of Quinolines from N-Tosyl-1-azadienes

A route to aryl-substituted quinolines from N-tosyl 1-azadienes is described. The key steps are a [4 + 2] cycloaddition with benzyne followed by base treatment of the 1,4-dihydroquinoline product. The N-tosyl 1-azadienes were prepared from readily accessible cinnamaldehyde and chalcone substrates by condensation with p-TsNH₂.

Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications® to view the free supplemental file.     

Morphological instability in InAs/GaSb superlattices due to interfacial bonds

Synchrotron x-ray diffraction is used to compare the misfit strain and composition in a self-organized nanowire array in an InAs/GaSb superlattice with InSb interfacial bonds to a planar InAs/GaSb superlattice with GaAs interfacial bonds. It is found that the morphological instability that occurs in the nanowire array results from the large misfit strain that the InSb interfacial bonds have in the nanowire array. Based on this result, we propose that tailoring the type of interfacial bonds during the epitaxial growth of III-V semiconductor films provides a novel approach for producing the technologically important morphological instability in anomalously thin layers.     

Spherical growth and surface-quasifree vibrations of Si nanocrystallites in Er-doped Si nanostructures

Si-based Er-doped Si nanostructures were fabricated for exploring efficient light emission from Er ions and Si nanocrystallites. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations reveal that Si nanocrystallites are spherically embedded in the SiO2 matrix. Energy-dispersive x-ray analysis indicates that the Er centers are distributed at the surfaces of nanocrystallites surrounded by the SiO2 matrix. Low-frequency Raman scattering investigation shows that Lamb's theory can be adopted to exactly calculate the surface vibration frequencies from acoustic phonons confined in spherical Si nanocrystallites and the matrix effects are negligible.