Charged pion,kaon, proton and antiproton production in high energy e+e− annihilations

Production of pions, kaons, protons and antiprotons has been studied in e⁺e^? annihilations at 12 and 30 GeV centre of mass energy using time of flight techniques. The fractional yield of charged kaons and baryons appears to rise with outgoing particle momentum. At our highest energy at least 40% of e⁺e^? annihilations into hadrons are estimated to contain baryons.     

The three photon final state produced in e+e− collision at 3.6 GeV and at the ψ′

The three photon final state produced in e⁺e^? collisions at 3.6 GeV and at the mass of the ψ′ resonance has been measured using the nonmagnetic part of the double arm spectrometer DASP. A total of 31 events is observed outside the resonance region compared to 35.1 events predicted from QED. At the mass of the ψ′ 49 events are observed compared to 37.2 events expected from QED. Limits on radiative decays via intermediate states are given.     

Maximising opportunities in supercritical chemistry: the continuous conversion of levulinic acid to gamma-valerolactone in CO(2)

Phase behaviour is manipulated during the hydrogenation of aqueous levulinic acid in supercritical CO(2) to separate almost pure gamma-valerolactone from water and unreacted acid with reduced energy requirements compared to conventional processing.     

Trends in atmospheric halogen containing gases since 2004

The changes in the atmospheric concentration of 16 halogenated gases in the atmosphere have been determined using measurements made by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE-FTS). ACE-FTS has been used to measure the change in concentration between 2004 and 2010 of CCl₄, CF₄, CCl₃F (CFC-11), CCl₂F₂ (CFC-12), C₂Cl₃F₃ (CFC-113), CH₃Cl, ClONO₂, COF₂, COCl₂, COClF, CHF₂Cl (HCFC-22), CH₃CCl₂F (HCFC-141b), CH₃CClF₂ (HCFC-142b), HCl, HF and SF₆ between 30°N and 30°S. ACE-FTS measurements were compared to surface measurements made by the AGAGE network and output from the SLIMCAT three-dimensional (3-D) chemical transport model, which is constrained by similar surface data. ACE-FTS measurements of CFCs show declining trends which agree with both AGAGE and SLIMCAT values. There are problems with the ACE-FTS retrievals of CFC-113 and HCFCs, with work currently ongoing to correct these problems. At lower altitudes the volume mixing ratio (VMR) of these species increase with altitude. This is due to problems with the retrievals at high beta angle (the angle between the orbital plane and the Earth-Sun vector). Although some of the retrievals have problems, we are confident that the trends are generally reliable. The concentrations of HCFCs appear to be increasing with ACE-FTS, SLIMCAT and AGAGE all showing positive trends. ACE-FTS measurements of the decomposition products (COFCl and COCl₂) do not show any significant trends. SLIMCAT data show a negative trend for COFCl which corresponds to the decrease in CFC-11, its assumed major source, during this time. COF₂ measurements from ACE-FTS show an increasing trend, while SLIMCAT shows a decreasing trend again linked to its assumed production from CFCs. ClONO₂ is highly photosensitive, thus the ACE-FTS occultations have been divided into local morning and evening occultations. Evening measurements of ClONO₂ show a decreasing trend in VMR, while morning measurements show an increasing trend. The reason for this difference is not understood at this time. The SLIMCAT output used in this study was not saved as local sunrise and sunset: therefore, only 24 h mean fields are available for ClONO₂. These SLIMCAT data show a decreasing trend. SLIMCAT and ACE-FTS both show an increasing trend in the VMR of HF and a decreasing trend in the VMR of HCl. These results illustrate the success of the Montreal Protocol in reducing ozone depleting substances. The reduction in anthropogenic chlorine emissions has led to a decrease in the VMR of stratospheric HCl. The replacement of CFCs with HCFCs has led to an increase in the VMR of HF in the stratosphere. As chlorine-containing compounds continue to be phased out and replaced by fluorine-containing molecules, it is likely that total atmospheric fluorine will continue increasing in the near future.     

Acoustofluidics 9: Modelling and applications of planar resonant devices for acoustic particle manipulation

This article introduces the design, construction and applications of planar resonant devices for particle and cell manipulation. These systems rely on the pistonic action of a piezoelectric layer to generate a one dimensional axial variation in acoustic pressure through a system of acoustically tuned layers. The resulting acoustic standing wave is dominated by planar variations in pressure causing particles to migrate to planar pressure nodes (or antinodes depending on particle and fluid properties). The consequences of lateral variations in the fields are discussed, and rules for designing resonators with high energy density within the appropriate layer for a given drive voltage presented.     

Coupling of nanoporous chromium, aluminium-containing silicates with an ionic liquid for the transformation of glucose into 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde

Micro/mesoporous chromium, aluminium-containing silicates of the type TUD-1 (Al-TUD-1, Cr-TUD-1, CrAl-TUD-1) and zeolite BEA, Cr-BEA, and related composites BEA/TUD-1 and Cr-BEA/TUD-1, were prepared, characterised, and tested as solid acids coupled with the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([bmim]Cl) as solvent, in the transformation of D-glucose into 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde (Hmf), at 120 °C. The chromium-containing catalytic systems lead to considerably higher Hmf yields in comparison to the related systems without chromium. The IL is a favourable solvent for this target reaction (in terms of Hmf yields reached) compared to water or dimethylsulfoxide. A detailed study on the stabilities of the nanoporous solid acids in the IL medium is presented.     

Investigation of MR signal modulation due to magnetic fields from neuronal currents in the adult human optic nerve and visual cortex

Neuronal currents produce weak transient magnetic fields, and the hypothesis being investigated here is that the components of these parallel to the B0 field can potentially modulate the MR signal, thus providing a means of direct detection of nerve impulses. A theory for the phase and amplitude changes of the MR signal over time due to an external magnetic field has been developed to predict this modulation. Experimentally, a fast gradient-echo EPI sequence (TR = 158 ms, TE = 32.4 ms) was employed in an attempt to directly detect these neuronal currents in the adult human optic nerve and visual cortex using a 280-mm quadrature head coil at 1.5 T. A symmetrical intravoxel field distribution, which can be plausibly hypothesized for the axonal fields in the optic nerve and visual cortex, would result in phase cancellation within a voxel, and hence, only amplitude changes would be expected. On the other hand, an asymmetrical intravoxel field distribution would produce both phase and amplitude changes. The in vivo magnitude image data sets show a significant nerve firing detection rate of 56%, with zero detection using the phase image data sets. The percentage magnitude signal changes relative to the fully relaxed equilibrium signal fall within a predicted RMS field range of 1.2-2.1 nT in the optic nerve and 0.4-0.6 nT in the visual cortex, according to the hypothesis that the axonal fields create a symmetrical Lorentzian field distribution within the voxel.     

Structural consequences of the prohibition of hydrogen bonding in copper-guanidine systems

The synthesis and structure of copper(I) complexes supported by N-substituted bicyclic guanidines is described. The N-methyl-substituted bicyclic guanidine 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-1-methyl-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidine (hppMe) reacted with copper(I) chloride to afford the ion-pair [Cu(hppMe)(2)][CuCl(2)] (1), a rare example of a compound containing an unsupported Cu...Cu interaction. The analogous reaction with CuI, however, afforded the molecular mu,mu-dihalo-bridged dimer [CuI(hppMe)](2) (2). Inclusion of a trimethylsilyl substituent at nitrogen provided a sufficiently sterically encumbered environment to support a two coordinate copper center in CuCl(hppSiMe(3)) (3). Compounds 1-3 have been fully characterized, including single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies.