"Aether drag" and moving images

We contrast the two situations in which either a light beam is incident on a moving medium or a moving optical image is incident on a stationary medium. The principle of relativity suggests that the effects on the light of propagating through the medium should be similar. We find, however, that there are subtle differences which we can understand in terms of the relative alignment of the Poynting and wave vectors. Our analysis and experiments investigate both translational motion and rotation.     

Nondiverging algebraically special ℋ-spaces

All nondiverging algebraically special -spaces are found by means of the complexified spin-coefficient formalism. The solutions are found to group naturally into two classes according to whether or not the optical-rotation spin coefficient vanishes.Research supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.     

Food structure: Roles of mechanical properties and oral processing in determining sensory texture of soft materials

There is a desire to alter food composition to make foods healthier and at the same time not diminish sensory quality. This requires an understanding of key elements of food structure associated with texture perception. Texture, in part, is perceived during oral processing of food. Knowledge of structure–oral processing–texture interrelations could be utilized to develop or prevent specified textural attributes. Overall, the investigation of structure–oral processing–texture interrelations is just starting as a research focus. Factors including non-universal and inconsistent sensory terminology, omission of consideration for structural changes incurred by oral processes, and the lack of cross-disciplinary investigations hamper progress in this field. Consideration of these factors in future investigations on sensory texture will increase the applicability of their findings and bring us closer to understanding the contribution of food structure to sensory texture.     

Changes in metal specificity due to iron ligand substitutions in reaction centers fromRhodobacter sphaeroides

Bacterial reaction centers have a single nonheme iron that is located between two bound quinones, Q_A and Q_B, which are the primary and secondary electron acceptors during photosynthesis, respectively. InRhodobacter sphaeroides, the iron is coordinated by four nitrogen atoms, contributed by histidines at L190, L230, M219, and M266, and two oxygen atoms, contributed by Glu at M234. The roles of these ligands in determining the metal-binding specificity and electron transfer properties of the quinones were investigated by mutagenesis. Each of the four His ligands was changed to Glu, Gln, and Cys, whereas Glu was changed to His, Gln, Cys, and Asp. All mutants supported photosynthetic growth except for those with substitutions of Glu or Cys at L190 or M219. The metal specificity of isolated mutant RCs was determined by measurements using atomic absorption and 35 GHz electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The M234 mutants had a lesser iron specificity than the wild type with a mole fraction of 0.7 to 0.8 iron but retained a total metal content of 1.0. All His mutants had an even lower iron content with mole fractions of 0.04 to 0.16. The His to Cys at M266 mutant had a significantly greater amount of bound zinc that was further enhanced when the strain was grown in zinc-supplemented media. The charge recombination rates from Q _B ^?. , which ranged from 0.5 to 1 s^?1 in the mutants, were comparable to the 1 s^?1 value for the wild type. Charge recombination from Q _A ^?. showed complex kinetics, with rates of 15 to 30 s^?1 for the L190, L230, and M234 mutants and 200 s^?1 for the M266 mutants compared with 8 s^?1 for the wild type. The faster rates in the mutants most likely reflected a smaller free energy difference between Q _A ^?. and Φ _A ^? , a nearby bacteriopheophytin, with the smaller energy difference facilitating indirect recombination. All of the mutants transferred electrons to the secondary quinone, with rates (1200 to 4700 s^?1) comparable to that of the native (3700 s^?1). The data demonstrate that neither the ligands nor the bound metal play a critical role in the electron transfer processes at the acceptor side.     

Pd Uptake and H2S Sensing by an Amphoteric Metal–Organic Framework with a Soft Core and Rigid Side Arms

Molecular components of opposite character are often incorporated within a single system, with a rigid core and flexible side arms being a common design choice. Herein, molecule L has been designed and prepared featuring the reverse design, with rigid side arms (arylalkynyl) serving to calibrate the mobility of the flexible polyether links in the core. Crystallization of this molecule with Pb^II ions led to a dynamic metal–organic framework (MOF) system that not only exhibits dramatic, reversible single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal transformations, but combines distinct donor and acceptor characteristics, allowing for substantial uptake of PdCl₂ and colorimetric sensing of H₂S in water.