Development and test of SEOP neutron spin filter in Japan

We have begun the development of an in-situ spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP) system aiming to use it as a neutron spin filter for incident beam polarization at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). To use it, it is recommended that the optics be adjusted easily, have high stability, and have a small size. In this paper we improved our previous SEOP system aiming to use it in J-PARC and performed a neutron beam test at the JRR-3 NOP beamline to see the performance of the neutron spin filter (NSF). The polarization of the ³He gas reached 73%. This paper gives the present status of the development of in-situ SEOP system in J-PARC.     

Synthetic Studies on Sialoglycoconjugates 95: Total Synthesis of Sulfated Glucuronyl Lactosaminyl Paraglobosides

ABSTRACT

3-O-Sulfo glucuronyl neolactohexanosyl ceramide derivatives (heptasaccharides) have been synthesized. Condensation of 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl 2,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-β-D-galactopyranoside (2) with 4-O-acetyl-3,6-di-O-benzyl-2-deoxy-2-phthalimido-β-D-glucopyranosyl trichloroacetimidate (1) gave the desired β-glycoside 3, which was converted into 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl O-(2-acetamido-3,6-di-O-benzyl-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-(1→3)-2,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-β-D-galactopyranoside (4) via removal of the O-acetyl and N-phthaloyl groups, followed by N-acetylation. Glycosylation of 4 with O-(methyl 4-O-acetyl-2-O-benzoyl-3-O-levulinoyl-β-D-glucopyranosyluronate)-(1→3)-2,4,6-tri-O-benzoyl-α-D-galactopyranosyl trichloroacetimidate (5) using trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate gave the target tetrasaccharide 6, which was transformed via removal of the benzyl group, O-benzoylation, removal of the 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl group and imidate formation into the tetrasaccharide donor 9. Glycosylation of 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl O-(2-acetamido-3,6-di-O-benzyl-2-deoxy-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-(1→3)-O-(2,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-β-D-galactopyranosyl)-(1→4)-2,3,6-tri-O-benzyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (10) with the imidate donor 9 using trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate gave the desired heptasaccharide 11, which was transformed into the heptasaccharide imidate donor 14. Glycosylation of (2S, 3R, 4E)-2-azido-3-O-benzoyl-4-octadecene-1,3-diol (15) with 14 gave β-glycoside 16, which was transformed into the four target compounds, via reduction of the azido group, coupling with octadecanoic acid or tetracosanoic acid, selective removal of the levulinoyl group, O-sulfation, hydrolysis of the methyl ester group and O-deacylation.     

High‐resolution solid‐state NMR study of the domain structure and molecular motion in drawn films of a vinylidene fluoride and trifluoroethylene copolymer with 73 mol % vinylidene fluoride

The heterogeneous higher order structure and molecular motion in a single crystalline film of a vinylidene fluoride (VDF) and trifluoroethylene (TrFE) copolymer with 73 mol % VDF was investigated with the ¹H–¹³C cross‐polarization/magic‐angle spinning NMR technique. A transient oscillation was observed in plots of the ¹³C peak intensity versus the contact time for the CH₂, CHF, and CF₂ groups. On the basis of the extended cross‐relaxation theory of spin diffusion, we determined that the oscillation behavior was caused by the TrFE‐rich segments in the chain and that the crystal consisted of VDF‐rich and TrFE‐rich domains. The former had TrFE‐rich segments in VDF and TrFE fractions of 0.24 and 0.27, respectively, and the latter had VDF‐rich segments in a VDF fraction of 0.49. The spin–lattice relaxation time T_1ρH in the rotating frame for each group was minimal in the three temperature regions of β, α_b, and α_c (↑) on heating and in the two temperature regions of α_1D and α_c (↓) on cooling. The α_c (↑) and α_c (↓) processes depended on the first‐order ferroelectric phase‐transition regions on heating and cooling, respectively. The motional modes for the other processes were confirmed by the T_1ρH minimum behavior of the VDF and TrFE groups in the TrFE‐rich domain and the VDF‐rich segments in the VDF‐rich domain. The β and α_b processes were attributed to the flip–flop motion of the TrFE‐rich segments and the competitive motion of the TrFE‐ and VDF‐rich segments in the ferroelectric phase, respectively. The α_1D process was due to the one‐dimensional diffusion motion of the conformational defects along the chain in the paraelectric phase, accompanied by the trans and gauche transformation of the VDF conformers of ttg⁺tg^? and g⁺tg^?tt. The effect of the competitive motion of the TrFE‐rich segment on the thermal stability of the VDF‐rich segment in the chain near the Curie temperature was examined. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 1026–1037, 2002     

Gauge-Higgs unification in the left–right model

We construct a supersymmetric left–right model in four dimension with gauge-Higgs unification starting from a SU(3)_c×SU(4)_w×U(1)_B−L gauge symmetry in five dimension. The model has several interesting features, such as, the CKM mixings in the quark sector are naturally small while for the neutrino sector it is not, light neutrino masses can be generated via the seesaw mechanism in the usual way, and the model has a U(1)_R symmetry which naturally forbid dimension five proton decay operators. We also discuss the grand unification of our model in SO(12) in five dimensions.     

Toward the Exact WKB Analysis of the PII Hierarchy

We develop the exact WKB analysis of the P _II hierarchy introduced by Gordoa et al. [ 5 ] in this paper; our particular interest is in the relation between the Stokes geometry of a higher order Painlevé equation in the hierarchy and that of its underlying Lax pair. An important observation is that Stokes curves of the Painlevé equation may cross, reflecting the higher order character of the equation, and in a neighborhood of the crossing point an unexpected degeneracy of the Stokes geometry of the Lax pair may occur along a curved ray emanating from the crossing point.     

Light-controlled microstrip line coupler

Conclusions We have analyzed coupling properties of the coupled microstrip lines whose substrate contain electron-hole plasma by means of the spectral domain method. Scattering parameters in each ports have been evaluated numerically as a function of plasma density.Experiments were carried out using high resistivity silicon and LEDs. The agreement of the theoretical and experimental results was satisfactory. The plasma density observed in the experiments is one-third as large as the theoretically estimated value.     

Novel regular network polyester films from benezenetricarboxylic acids and glycols

Novel regular network polyester films were prepared from benzenetricarboxylic acids of trimesic (Y) and trimellitic (Z) acids, and glycols of ethylene (2G), tetramethylene (4G), and hexamethylene (6G) glycols. Prepolymers prepared by melt polycondensation for a short period within 1 h were cast from a DMF solution and successively post-polymerized at various temperatures and times to form a network. The resultant films were transparent, flexible, and insoluble in any solvents. Distortion temperature measured by a penetration mode of thermomechanical analysis (TMA) increased with increasing post polymerization time and temperature, and leveled out at 222, 168, 125 and 75°C, for the 2GY, 2GZ, 4GY, and 6GY films, respectively. Temperatures close to 400°C at which the probe had completely penetrated corresponded to the thermal decomposition temperature of these films. Two broad but strong peaks in the x-ray diffraction curves appears for the 2GY, 4GY, and 6GY, suggesting the formation of some ordered supramolecular structure owing to the regular network formed by symmetrical trimesic acid moiety, and the intensity of diffraction peaks became higher with increasing length of the methylene chain of the glycol monomer. Densities of the 2GY and 2GZ films decreased with increasing post-polymerization time and temperature. Tensile strength and Young's modulus increased and elongation decreased with increasing network formation. These tensile properties was affected by the chemical structure of the network films.     

Asymmetric Synthesis of Spiroketals with Aminothiourea Catalysts

Chiral spiroketal skeletons are found as core structures in a range of bioactive compounds. These natural compounds and their analogues have attracted much attention in the field of drug discovery. However, methods for their enantioselective construction are limited, and easily available optically active spiroketals are rare. We demonstrate a novel catalytic asymmetric synthesis of spiroketal compounds that proceeds through an intramolecular hemiacetalization/oxy‐Michael addition cascade mediated by a bifunctional aminothiourea catalyst. This results in spiroketal structures through the relay formation of contiguous oxacycles, in which multipoint recognition by the catalyst through hydrogen bonding imparts high enantioselectivity. This method offers facile access to spiroketal frameworks bearing an alkyl group at the 2‐position, which are prevalent in insect pheromones. Optically active (2S,5S)‐chalcogran, a pheromone of the six‐spined spruce bark beetle, and an azide derivative could be readily synthesized from the bicyclic reaction product.     

A Study of the Solvation Structure of l‐Leucine in Alcohol–Water Binary Solvents through Molecular Dynamics Simulations and FTIR and NMR Spectroscopy

The solvation structures of l ‐leucine (Leu) in aliphatic‐alcohol–water and fluorinated‐alcohol–water solvents are elucidated for various alcohol contents by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and IR, and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The aliphatic alcohols included methanol, ethanol, and 2‐propanol, whereas the fluorinated alcohols were 2,2,2‐trifluoroethanol and 1,1,1,3,3,3‐hexafluoro‐2‐propanol. The MD results show that the hydrophobic alkyl moiety of Leu is surrounded by the alkyl or fluoroalkyl groups of the alcohol molecules. In particular, TFE and HFIP significantly solvate the alkyl group of Leu. IR spectra reveal that the Leu C?H stretching vibration blueshifts in fluorinated alcohol solutions with increasing alcohol content, whereas the vibration redshifts in aliphatic alcohol solutions. When the C?H stretching vibration blueshifts in the fluorinated alcohol solutions, the hydrogen and carbon atoms of the Leu alkyl group are magnetically shielded. Consequently, TFE and HFIP molecules may solvate the Leu alkyl group through the blue‐shifting hydrogen bonds.