Application of a high-performance,special-purpose computer,GRAPE-2A,to molecular dynamics

The special-purpose computer GRAPE-2A accelerates the calculation of pairwise interactions in many-body systems. This computer is a back-end processor connected to a host computer through a Versa Module Europe (VME) bus. GRAPE-2A receives coordinates and other physical data for particles from the host and then calculates the pairwise interactions. The host then integrates an equation of motion by using these interactions. We did molecular dynamics simulations for two systems of liquid water: System 1 (1000 molecules), and System 2 (1728 molecules). The time spent for one step of molecular dynamics was 3.9 s (System l), and 10.2 s (System 2). The larger the molecular system, the higher the performance. The speed of GRAPE-2A did not depend on the formula describing the pairwise interaction. The cost performance was about 20 times better than that of the fastest workstations available today, and GRAPE-2A cost only $22,000. © 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Facile Synthesis of Diethyl Azodicarboxylate and Diethylhydrazodicarboxylate via the Sequential Bromination and Hofmann-Type Rearrangement of Ethyl Allophanate

Diethyl azodicarboxylate (DEAD) is a well-known coupling reagent that can be readily synthesized from diethylhydrazodicarboxylate (DEHD). The bromination of commercially available ethyl allophanate (1) in CHCl₃, followed by the Hofmann-type rearrangement reaction of the resulting N-brominated species 2 and 3 in C₂H₅OH in the presence of 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]-7-undecene (DBU), gave DEHD in good yield from a one-pot process. Interestingly, however, the bromination and Hofmann-type rearrangement reactions did not occur in the presence of N(C₂H₅)₃. These results therefore suggest that this reaction is reliant upon a high level of reactivity during the bromination reaction to give 2 and 3, and that these N-brominated species require the presence of a strong and nonnucleophilic base to undergo the Hofmann-type rearrangement to give DEHD.     

Direct measurement of isotopomer of intracellular metabolites using capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry for efficient metabolic flux analysis

We have developed a metabolic flux analysis method that is based on (13)C-labeling patterns of the intracellular metabolites directly measured by capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry (CE-TOFMS). The flux distribution of the central carbon metabolism in Escherichia coli was determined by this new approach and the results were compared with findings obtained by conventional GC-MS analysis based on isotopomer of the proteinogenic amino acids. There were some differences in estimation results between new approach using CE-TOFMS and conventional approach using GC-MS. These were thought to be attributable to variations in measured mass distributions between amino acids and the corresponding precursors and to differences in the sensitivity of the exchange coefficients to mass distributions. However, our CE-TOFMS method facilitates high-throughput flux analysis without requiring complicated sample preparation such as hydrolysis of proteins and derivatization of amino acids.     

Reaction of α,β‐unsaturated ketones using cerium (IV) sulfate tetrahydrate in acetic acid

The reaction of α,β‐unsaturated ketones with cerium (IV) sulfate tetrahydrate [Ce(SO₄)₂·4H₂O, CS] in acetic acid gave the corresponding β‐acetoxy ketones. In the case of 2‐cyclohexen‐1‐one with CS in acetic acid, benzobicyclo[2.2.2]octen‐2‐one was obtained. The reaction mechanism also was proposed. Moreover, we report the aromatization and esterification of (R)‐(?)‐carvone by CS in acetic acid. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Combination of visible-light responsive heterogeneous and homogeneous photocatalysts for water oxidation

Bismuth vanadate (BiVO(4)), which is a visible-light responsive heterogeneous photocatalyst, was combined with homogeneous ruthenium complexes to increase the overall photocatalytic reactivity for water oxidation with a one-electron oxidant, [Co(III)(NH(3))(5)Cl](2+). Photoinduced electron transfer from the excited state of ruthenium(II) complexes to [Co(III)(NH(3))(5)Cl](2+) affords ruthenium(III) complexes which can oxidize water to oxygen with BiVO(4) under visible light irradiation.     

Fabrication of 3-in GaN substrates by hydride vapor phase epitaxy using void-assisted separation method

By using the hydride vapor phase epitaxy and a void-assisted separation method, freestanding 3-in GaN substrates were successfully fabricated for the first time, and the process showed an excellent reproducibility. A thick GaN layer 3.2 in in diameter was easily separated from the base substrate. No cracks were generated during the separation process. The dislocation density was of the order of 10⁶ cm^–2. The carrier density was approximately 1×10¹⁸ cm^–3 and the mobility was 3.4×10² cm² V^–1 s^–1. The concentrations of impurities, estimated by secondary-ion mass spectrometry, were below the limit of detection, except for Si. The Si concentration was approximately 1×10¹⁸ cm^–3, which is in good agreement with the carrier density.     

A note on maximality of analytic crossed products

Let G be a compact abelian group with the totally ordered dual group which admits the positive semigroup . Let N be a von Neumann algebra and be an automorphism group of on N. We denote to the analytic crossed product determined by N and α. We show that if is a maximal σ-weakly closed subalgebra of , then induces an archimedean order in .