Temperature dependence of protein backbone motion from carbonyl 13C and amide 15N NMR relaxation

The NMR spin-lattice relaxation rate (R1) and the rotating-frame spin-lattice relaxation rate (R1rho) of amide 15N and carbonyl 13C (13C') of the uniformly 13C- and 15N-labeled ubiquitin were measured at different temperatures and field strengths to investigate the temperature dependence of overall rotational diffusion and local backbone motion. Correlation between the order parameter of the N-H vector, SNH2, and that of the carbonyl carbon, S2C', was investigated. The effective S2C' was estimated from the direct fit of the experimental relaxation rates and from the slope of 2R2-R1 vs. B2 using Lipari-Szabo formalism. The average SNH2 decreased by 5.9%, while the average S2C' decreased by 4.6% from 15 to 47 degrees C. At the extreme low and high temperatures the difference in the temperature dependence of the order parameters vanishes. At the intermediate temperatures they do not change by the same amount but they follow the same trend. On the same peptide plane along the protein sequence, S2C' and SNH2 are highly correlated. The results suggest that fast local motion experienced at the site of the N-H vector and carbonyl nucleus is more complicated than previously thought and it cannot be easily described by one single type of motion in a broad range of temperature.     

2,6-Bis[4-(p-dihexylaminostyryl)styryl]anthracene derivatives with large two-photon cross sections

[Structure: see text] Anthracene derivatives with a variety of donor-acceptor substituents have been synthesized and shown to exhibit large two-photon cross sections over a wide range of wavelengths.     

New insight into the solid electrolyte interphase with use of a focused ion beam

The formation and evolution of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film on the surface of natural graphite spheres in the electrolyte of 1 M LiPF6 in ethylene carbonate (EC) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) (volume ratio 1:1) were investigated with use of focused ion beam (FIB) technology. Secondary electron FIB images clearly show the surface and cross-section morphology of the SEI film. The composition variation along the surface and cross section of the SEI film was also explored by the elemental line scan analysis (ELSA). The initial SEI film with an apparent thickness range of approximately 450 to approximately 980 nm is rough in morphology and nonuniform in composition, and contains small splits. After certain electrochemical cycles, the thickened SEI film displays microscale holes and obvious cracks on the surface, and the content of organic compounds increases. In addition, the concept of "internal SEI film" is first proposed based on the characterization of the cross section of the natural graphite spheres with the aid of FIB. Finally, the capacity fading mechanisms of the natural graphite spheres corresponding to different electrochemical stages are discussed.     

Adsorption and reactions of ClCH2CH2OH on clean and oxygen-precovered Cu(100): experimental and computational studies

Temperature-programmed reaction/desorption, reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations have been employed to investigate the adsorption and thermal reactions of ClCH2CH2OH on clean and oxygen-precovered Cu(100) surfaces. On Cu(100), ClCH2CH2OH is mainly adsorbed reversibly. The ClCH2CH2OH molecules at a submonolayer coverage can change their orientation with increasing temperature. However, on oxygen-precovered Cu(100), all of the adsorbed ClCH2CH2OH molecules below 0.5 langmuir exposures completely dissociate to generate ethylene and acetaldehyde via the intermediate of ClCH2CH2O-. The computational studies predict that the ClCH2CH2O- is most likely to be adsorbed at the 4-fold hollow sites of Cu(100), with its C-O bond only slightly titled away from the surface normal and with a gauche conformation with respect to the C-C bond. The hollow-site ClCH2CH2O- has an adsorption energy that is 4.4 and 19.2 kcal x mol(-1) lower than that of the ClCH2CH2O- bonded at the bridging and atop sites, respectively. No significant effect of precovered oxygen on the ClCH2CH2O- bonding geometry and infrared band frequencies has been observed, as compared with the case without oxygen.     

Evidence for B0 --> D+ D- and observation of B- --> D0D- and B- -->D0D*- decays

We report evidence for B(0) --> D(0)D(-) and the first observation of the decay modes B(-) --> D(0)D(-) and B(-) --> D(0)D(*-) based on a sample of 152 x 10(6) BB events collected by the Belle detector at KEKB. The branching fractions for B(0) --> D(+) D(-), B--->D(0)D(-), and B--> D(0)D(*-) are found to be (1.91 +/- 0.51 +/- 0.30) x10(-4), (4.83 +/- 0.78 +/- 0.58) x 10(-4), and (4.57 +/- 0.71 +/- 0.56) x 10(-4), respectively. Charge asymmetries in the B---> D(0)D(-) and B(-) --> D(0)D(*-) channels are consistent with zero.     

Observation of the D1(2420)-->Dpi + pi- decays

We report on the first observation of D0/1(2420)-->D0pi- pi+ and D+/1(2420-->D+ pi- pi+ decays (where the contribution from the dominant known D1-->D*pi decay mode is excluded) in the B- -->D0/1pi-) and (-)B0-->D+/1pi- decays, respectively. The observation is based on 15.2 x 10(7) B(-)B events collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB collider. We also set 90% confidence level upper limits for the branching fractions of the four following decays: B- -->D0/1pi-, D01-->D(*0)pi- pi+, (-)B0-->D+/1pi-, D+/1-->D(*+) pi- pi+, B- -->D(*0)2(2460)pi-, D(*0)2 -->D(*0) pi- pi+, (-)B0-->D(*+)2(2460)pi-, D(*+)2-->D(*+)pi- pi+.     

X-ray resonance in crystal cavities: realization of Fabry-Perot resonator for hard x rays

X-ray back diffraction from monolithic two silicon crystal plates of 25-150 microm thickness and a 40-150 microm gap using synchrotron radiation of energy resolution DeltaE = 0.36 meV at 14.4388 keV clearly show resonance fringes inside the energy gap and the total-reflection range for the (12 4 0) reflection. This cavity resonance results from the coherent interaction between the x-ray wave fields generated by the two plates with a gap smaller than the x-ray coherence length. This finding opens up new opportunities for high-resolution and phase-contrast x-ray studies, and may lead to new developments in x-ray optics.     

Observation of a near-threshold omegaJ/psi mass enhancement in exclusive B-->KomegaJ/psi decays

We report the observation of a near-threshold enhancement in the omegaJ/psi invariant mass distribution for exclusive B-->KomegaJ/psi decays. The results are obtained from a 253 fb(-1) data sample that contains 275 x 10(6) BB pairs that were collected near the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric energy e(+)e(-) collider. The statistical significance of the omegaJ/psi mass enhancement is estimated to be greater than 8sigma.     

Observation of B0-->pi0pi0

We report the observation of the decay B0-->pi(0)pi(0), using a 253 fb(-1) data sample collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB e(+)e(-) collider. The measured branching fraction is B(B0-->pi(0)pi(0))=(2.3(+0.4+0.2)(-0.5-0.3))x10(-6), with a significance of 5.8 standard deviations including systematic uncertainties. We also make a measurement of the direct CP violating asymmetry in this mode.     

Self-organized growth of nanopucks on Pb quantum islands

Electronic Moirè patterns found on lead (Pb) quantum islands can serve as a template to grow self-organized cluster (nanopucks) arrays of various materials. These patterns can be divided into fcc- and hcp-stacked areas, which exhibit different binding strengths to the deposited adatoms. For Ag adatoms, the binding energy can differ substantially and the confined nucleation thus occurs in the fcc sites. Both the size distribution and spatial arrangement of the Ag nanopucks are analyzed and found to be commensurate with the characteristics of the template island, which exhibits a bilayer oscillatory behavior.