Resonant scattering of Lyman alpha radiation as a neutral density diagnostic for fusion plasmas

Resonance fluorescence of neutral hydrogen illuminated by Lyman alpha radiation (1216Å) provides a technique for spatially and temporally resolved density measurements of neutral hydrogen isotopes in magnetically confined fusion plasmas or other similar environments. An analysis of the magnitude of expected fluorescence signals and integrated background radiation is developed and applied to typical fusion plasmas. Assuming that intense Lyman alpha sources, based on nonlinear laser frequency mixing techniques, are available, the feasibility of the method is demonstrated for neutral densities as low as a few times 10⁷ cm^-3 in DITE, PLT and TFTR. Suggestions are made for spectroscopic measurements on current and future Tokamak devices, to obtain additional data of interest for this application.     

Dynamical arrest in attractive colloids: the effect of long-range repulsion

We study gelation in suspensions of model colloidal particles with short-ranged attractive and long-ranged repulsive interactions by means of three-dimensional fluorescence confocal microscopy. At low packing fractions, particles form stable equilibrium clusters. Upon increasing the packing fraction the clusters grow in size and become increasingly anisotropic until finally associating into a fully connected network at gelation. We find a surprising order in the gel structure. Analysis of spatial and orientational correlations reveals that the gel is composed of dense chains of particles constructed from face-sharing tetrahedral clusters. Our findings imply that dynamical arrest occurs via cluster growth and association.     

Memory in the occurrence of earthquakes

We study the statistics of the recurrence times tau between earthquakes above a certain magnitude M in six (one global and five regional) earthquake catalogs. We find that the distribution of the recurrence times strongly depends on the previous recurrence time tau0, such that small and large recurrence times tend to cluster in time. This dependence on the past is reflected in both the conditional mean recurrence time and the conditional mean residual time until the next earthquake, which increase monotonically with tau0. As a consequence, the risk of encountering the next event within a certain time span after the last event depends significantly on the past, an effect that has to be taken into account in any effective earthquake prognosis.     

A short path synthesis of [13C/15N] multilabeled pyrimidine nucleosides starting from glucopyranose nucleosides

The synthesis of fully [13C/15N] labeled pyrimidine nucleosides has been achieved from 13C-glucose and labeled nucleobases. The reaction scheme leads directly to the protected nucleosides without the need for the inversion of configuration of C-3 of 13C-glucose. This was achieved by an oxitative ring-opening reaction removing the carbon with the wrong configuration.     

Terpenoids from Turraeanthus species

Chemical investigation of the root bark of Turraeanthus mannii and the stem of T. longipes resulted in the isolation of two new diterpenes, 13-methyl-labda-8(17)-en-15-oic acid (1) and 13-(hydroxymethyl)-14-hydroxy-ent-labda-8(17)-en-15-oic acid (2), along with two known diterpenes, 19-hydroxy-ent-labda-8(17),13-dien-15,16-olide (3) and 19-acetoxy-ent-labda-8(17),13-dien-15,16-olide (4), and the phytosterol, stigmasterol. The structure elucidation of the new compounds has been achieved using spectroscopic techniques.     

Convex hull: A new method to determine the separation space used and to optimize operating conditions for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography

It is important to develop methods of optimizing the selection of column sets and operating conditions for comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography. A new method for the calculation of the percentage of separation space used was developed using Delaunay's triangulation algorithms (convex hull). This approach was compared with an existing method and showed better precision and accuracy. It was successfully applied to the selection of the most convenient column set and the geometrical parameters of second column for the analysis of 49 target compounds in wastewater.     

A comparison of stochastic and effective medium approaches to the backscattered signal from a porous layer in a solid matrix

This paper reports a study of the backscattering behavior of a solid layer containing randomly spaced spherical cavities in the long wavelength limit. The motivation for the work arises from a need to model the responses of porous composite materials in ultrasonic NDE procedures. A comparison is made between models based on a summation over discrete scatterers, which show interesting emergent properties, and an integral formulation based on an ensemble average, and with a simple slab effective medium approximation. The similarities and differences between these three models are demonstrated. A simple quantitative criterion is established which sets the maximum frequency at which ensemble average or equivalent homogeneous medium models can represent echo signal generation in a porous layer for given interpore spacing, or equivalently, given pore size and concentration.     

Heterocyclic analogs of xanthiones: 5,6‐fused 3‐methyl‐1‐phenylpyrano[2,3‐c]pyrazol‐4(1H) thiones—synthesis and NMR (1H, 13C, 15N) data

Various [5,6]pyrano[2,3‐c]pyrazol‐4(1H)‐thiones were synthesized in high yields by treatment of the corresponding [5,6]pyrano[2,3‐c]pyrazol‐4(1H)‐ones with Lawesson's reagent. Detailed NMR spectroscopic studies were undertaken of the title compounds. Complete and unambiguous assignment of chemical shifts (¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁵N) and coupling constants (¹H,¹H; ¹³C,¹H) was achieved by the combined application of various one‐ and two‐dimensional (1D and 2D) NMR spectroscopic techniques. Unequivocal mapping of most ¹³C,¹H spin coupling constants is accomplished by 2D (δ, J) long‐range INEPT spectra with selective excitation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fuzzy processing in transitivity development

We review the literature on the development of transitive reasoning, and note three historical stages. Stage 1 was dominated by the Piagetian idea that transitive inference is logical reasoning in which relationships between adjacent terms figure as premises. Stage 2 was dominated by the information-processing view that memory for relationships between adjacent terms is determinative in transitivity performance. Stage 3 has produced data that are inconsistent with both the logic and memery positions, leading to a new theory that is designed to account for such findings, fuzzy-trace theory. The basic assumption of fuzzytrace theory is that reasoners rely on global patterns, or gist. We describe the tenets of fuzzytrace theory, and explore its implications for different theoretical conceptions of logical competence, concluding that young children possess transitivity competence. We discuss the connection between transitivity competence (cognition) and intransitive preferences (metacognition).     

Production of the Bengamide Class of Marine Natural Products in Myxobacteria: Biosynthesis and Structure–Activity Relationships

The bengamides, sponge‐derived natural products that have been characterized as inhibitors of methionine aminopeptidases (MetAPs), have been intensively investigated as anticancer compounds. We embarked on a multidisciplinary project to supply bengamides by fermentation of the terrestrial myxobacterium M. virescens, decipher their biosynthesis, and optimize their properties as drug leads. The characterization of the biosynthetic pathway revealed that bacterial resistance to bengamides is conferred by Leu 154 of the myxobacterial MetAP protein, and enabled transfer of the entire gene cluster into the more suitable production host M. xanthus DK1622. A combination of semisynthesis of microbially derived bengamides and total synthesis resulted in an optimized derivative that combined high cellular potency in the nanomolar range with high metabolic stability, which translated to an improved half‐life in mice and antitumor efficacy in a melanoma mouse model.