Discovery of temperature-dependent phenomena of muon-catalyzed fusion in solid deuterium and tritium mixtures

A systematic experimental study on muon-catalyzed fusion was conducted using a series of solid deuterium and tritium mixtures. A variety of conditions were investigated, i.e., tritium concentrations from 20% to 70%, and temperatures from 5 to 16 K. With decreasing temperature, we observed an unexpected decrease in the muon cycling rate (lambda(c)) and an increase in the muon loss probability (W). The origins of these observed changes were interpreted by the temperature-dependence in the dt mu formation process for lambda(c) and that in the muon reactivation process after muon-to-alpha sticking for W.     

5-Aza-2′-deoxycytidine reactivates the CDH1 gene without influencing methylation of the entire CpG island or histone modification in a human cancer cell line

It is well-recognized that DNA methylation and histone modifications play critical roles in epigenetic regulation of gene activity through the alteration of chromatin structure. Recent studies have shown that in a subset of cancer cells, the silencing of the human E-cadherin (CDH1) gene is associated with hypermethylation of the CpG island. However, the associated molecular mechanism remains unclear. To understand the mechanism, we have investigated the alteration of CpG island methylation and histone modifications during the reactivation of the CDH1 gene by treatment with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC). Although the CDH1 gene expression was recovered by treatment with 5-aza-dC in a liver cancer cell line Li21, the methylation status of the entire CpG island and acetylation and methylation status of associated histones were not significantly altered. These results demonstrate that the silenced CDH1 gene can be reactivated without apparent alteration of histone modification or CpG island methylation.     

Flourescence lifetimes anf excitation spectra of the jet-cooled HNO radical

The new nozzle assembly using Hg-photosensitized reaction has been developed to obtained a jet-cooled radical beam. This technique was applied to produce a HNO radical beam. Laser-induced flourescence excitation spectra were obtained for the $\text{A}$¹A″ — $\text{X}$¹A′ system. Time-resolved measurements yielded fluorescence lifetimes of 22–29 μs for single rovibronic levels of HNO.     

Separation of spin and orbital angular coherence momenta in the second-order coherence theory of vector electromagnetic fields

In analogy with the separation of the total optical angular momentum into a spin and an orbital part in electrodynamics, we introduce a new concept of spin and orbital angular coherence momenta into the general coherence theory of vector electromagnetic fields. The properties of the newly introduced spin and orbital angular coherence momenta are investigated through the decomposition of the total coherence angular momentum into the sum of these two components, and their separate conservations have been derived for what is believed to be the first time.     

Trypanocidal constituents of Dracocephalum komarovi

Trypanocidal constituents of Dracocephalum komarovi were investigated. Under guidance of the in vitro trypanocidal activity against epimastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas' disease, two new diterpenes, dracocequinones A (1) and B (2), and two known triterpene acids, ursonic acid and ursolic acid, were isolated as trypanocidal constituents, in addition to previously reported diterpenes, cyclocoulterone (4), komaroviquinone (5), dracocephalone A (6) and komarovispirone (7). Furthermore a new diterpene, komarovinone A (3), was isolated, together with four known terpenes. Among these compounds, komaroviquinone (5) showed the most potent activity with minimum lethal concentration of 0.4 μM. Structure elucidation of the new diterpenes 1-3 was described.     

Ion exchange fabric synthesized by graft polymerization and its application to ultra-pure water production

Ion exchange fabric (IEF) having the functional group of sulfonic acid was synthesized by radiation grafting of glycidyl methacrylate on a polyethylene nonwoven fabric and subsequent chemical modification. Total organic carbon eluted from the resulting IEF could be reduced to the concentration less than 1 ppb after washing with organic solvents. Adsorption performance of the obtained IEF was evaluated by 10 ppb Na⁺ solution. The column packed IEF, 7 mm in diameter and 20 mm high, could remove the Na⁺ at the distribution coefficient of 1.2×10⁷ at linear velocity of 400 m/h. At column height of 95 mm, the breakthrough point reached 2.0×10⁵ in bed volume and the degree of column utilization was improved up to 18.7%. From these results, the IEF synthesized by graft polymerization was considered to be applicable for water purification in ultra-pure water production.     

Preparation of chiral stationary phase via activated carbamate intermediate for liquid chromatographic optical resolution

Summary Chiral stationary phases (CSPs) for liquid chromatography were prepared by the way of an activated carbamate intermediate. The amino group of aminopropylsilyl silica gel was first activated by carbamylation with disuccinimido carbonate (DSC). The obtained activated carbamate silica gel (ACsil) proved useful as an intermediate for the preparation of urea-type CSPs. The reaction of ACsil with (S)- of (R)-1-(α-naphthyl)-ethylamine gave naphthylethylurea type CSPs. These CSPs were also obtained directly from aminopropylsilyl silica gel by its reaction with optically active (S)- or (R)-succinimido 1-(α-naphthyl)ethyl carbamate (SINEC). Several phenylthiohydantoin amino acid enantiomers and p-bromophenylcarbamyl amino acid enantiomers were resolved on the CSPs by elution with aqueous mobile phase.