Investigation of high spin states in23Na and23Mg and the12C+12C resonance atE c.m.=19.3 MeV

The resonance in the¹²C+¹²C system atE _c.m.=19.3 MeV has been studied in the neutron and proton decay channels. From(p, γ), (n, p) and (n, γ) coincidence measurements high spin states could be localized inA=23 nuclei, in²³Mg up to possibly 21/2⁺. These states were resonantly populated. The present data favorJ ^π=17/2⁺ for the 9.61 MeV state in²³Mg and therefore also for the probable parent state at 9.81 MeV in²³Na. AJ ^π=12⁺ assignment to the resonance is supported and evidence was found that the resonant excitation of the lowest 15/2⁺ and 17/2⁺ states in mass 23 nuclei is caused by a change of the intrinsic structure of the Yrast levels aroundJ ^π=15/2⁺ towards larger deformation.     

Jetlike component in sputtering of LiF induced by swift heavy ions

Angular distributions of sputtered atoms from SiO2 and LiF single crystals were measured under the irradiation of 1 MeV/u swift heavy ions. In contrast to the almost isotropic distribution of SiO2, an additional jetlike component was observed for LiF. The total sputtering yield of SiO2 ( approximately 10(2) atoms/ion) can be reproduced by an extended inelastic thermal spike model, whereas the huge yield of LiF ( approximately 10(4) atoms/ion) needs a substantial decrease of the sublimation energy to be described by the model.     

Testing polycyclicity of finitely generated rational matrix groups

We describe algorithms for testing polycyclicity and nilpotency for finitely generated subgroups of and thus we show that these properties are decidable. Variations of our algorithm can be used for testing virtual polycyclicity and virtual nilpotency for finitely generated subgroups of .

     

Toward a digital gene response: RNA G-quadruplexes with fewer quartets fold with higher cooperativity

Changes in RNA conformation can alter gene expression. The guanine quadruplex sequence (GQS) is an RNA motif that folds in the presence of K(+) ions. Changes in the conformation of this motif could be especially important in regulating gene expression in plants because intracellular K(+) concentrations often increase during drought stress. Little is known about the folding thermodynamics of RNA GQS. We show here that RNA GQS with tracts containing three G's [e.g., (GGGxx)(4)] have a modest dependence on the K(+) concentration, folding with no or even negative cooperativity (Hill coefficients ≤1), and are associated with populated folding intermediates. In contrast, GQS with tracts containing just two G's [e.g., (GGxx)(4)] have a steep dependence on the K(+) concentration and fold with positive cooperativity (Hill coefficients of 1.7-2.7) without significantly populating intermediate states. We postulate that in plants, the more stable G3 sequences are largely folded even under unstressed conditions, while the less stable G2 sequences fold only at the higher K(+) concentrations associated with cellular stress, wherein they respond sharply to changing K(+) concentrations. Given the binary nature of their folding, G2 sequences may find application in computation with DNA and in engineering of genetic circuits.     

Ultracold neutrons extracted from a superfluid-helium converter coated with fluorinated grease

The European Physical Journal C - We report experiments on the production of ultracold neutrons (UCN) in a converter of superfluid helium coated with fluorinated grease (fomblin). We employed our...     

Analytical capillary isotachophoresis: a routine technique for the analysis of lipoproteins and lipoprotein subfractions in whole serum

A capillary isotachophoretic separation technique was developed for lipoproteins in native serum which, compared with previous electrophoretic techniques, has negligible molecular sieve effects, does not need gel casting, is suitable for whole serum and has a high discriminative power for lipoprotein subfractions. The technique is based on pre-staining whole serum lipoproteins for 30 min at 4 degrees C before separation of 0.5 microliter of the sample in a free-flow capillary system (0.5 mm I.D.) with discontinuous buffer system. In normolipidaemic sera, high-density (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) are separated into two major subpopulations according to their net electric mobility. The identification of these fractions was confirmed by substitution with ultracentrifugally isolated lipoproteins and by their complete absence from Tangier and abetalipoproteinaemic serum. Triglyceride-rich very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) revealed a defined zone between the HDL and LDL subpopulations. Our preliminary results indicate that the separation of human whole serum lipoproteins by capillary isotachophoresis is a promising method for the determination of lipoprotein subfractions.