Communication: An Improved Synthesis of Methyl 2,3-Anhydro-α and β-D-Lyxofuranosides

Methyl 2,3-anhydro-α (6) and β (7)-D-lyxofuranosides are important intermediates in the synthesis of C-3 substituted derivatives of D-arabinose which show biological activity as a tumor inhibitor.^1,2 Some syntheses of 6 and 7 are reported but they are either expensive or give poor yields ^3-4 and generally the authors refer to Baker and coll.⁵ who synthesized both α and β epoxides from D-xylose in five steps; yields were 28% and 22% respectively. This synthesis is very well described but reaction times and workups are long and several intermediates are distilled with difficulty under reduced pressure. Unger and coll.⁶, using Baker's method, improved the yield of compound 6 and Martin and coll.⁷ described a three steps synthesis of 6 but the final purification is very difficult and the use of mercuric reagents is not consistent with biological activity; furthermore these two publications concern only α anomer 6.     

The influence of the flexoelectric effect on the electrohydrodynamic instability in nematics

A rigorous three-dimensional linear analysis of the electrohydrodynamic instability in nematic liquid crystals including the flexoelectric effect is presented for the case of an applied d.c. voltage. The flexoelectric effect leads to an appreciable reduction of the threshold and to the appearance of oblique rolls at threshold for the standard material MBBA. We discuss the influence of a magnetic field and test several approximations against the rigorous results     

High momentum components of the deuteron wave function

The tail of spectator distribution for the reaction K⁺d ?K⁺ π^?pp is studied with the inclusion of inelastic intermediate states in the double scattering. The result seems to indicate the existence of high momentum components for the deuteron wave function.     

Gaseous Fuel Reactor Research

Gaseous Fuel Nuclear Reactors are externally moderated and contain the fissile material inside a cavity where it is suspended by fluid mechanics forces. The gaseous phase of the nuclear fuel permits operation of the reactor at temperatures much higher than the melting point of all materials. NASA has originally supported relevant research for space propulsion. The continuation of this work includes now research on power generation on Earth for improved economy and environmental acceptability. In reactor experiments with enriched uranium hexafluoride, UF6, a critical mass of 6 kg is determined. Pressurized UF6 remains chemically stable at temperatures up to 2000 kelvins. The interaction of fission fragments with their gaseous environment causes preferential excitation and ionization, leading to non-equilibrium optical radiation. Powerful fluxes of photons are expected to become a superior mechanism of energy extraction from the fissioning gas or plasma in the reactor. The pumping of lasers solely by fission fragments is realized in a variety of lasants. A near term objective of the NASA gaseous fuel reactor program is a benchmark experiment at 100 kw power and at a gas temperature of 1600 kelvins, demonstrating the feasibility of major advances in reactor technology. A concerted research effort is leading to this experiment. A plasma core cavity reactor for high specific impulse propulsion in space reminas a long range goal.     

Resistivity- and perturbed angular correlation-study of implanted nickel hydrides

Hyperfine Interactions -