Parity violation at neutron p-wave resonances of238U and232Th and related questions

Parity violation effects have been studied at 40 neutron p-wave resonances of the even-even nuclei²³⁸U and²³²Th. Of these 11 show parity violation effects larger than 2 standard deviations, making parity violation a rather common phenomenon. Parity mixing up to 10% has been found. The root-mean squared matrix elements for parity violation derived from these resonances are M=0.58 (+0.50/-0.25) meV for²³⁸U, respectively 1.39 (+0.35/-0.38) meV for²³²Th.     

Charge-mediated recognition of N-terminal tryptophan in aqueous solution by a synthetic host

The molecular recognition of peptides and proteins in aqueous solution by designed molecules remains an elusive goal with broad implications for basic biochemical research and for sensors and separations technologies. This paper describes the recognition of N-terminal tryptophan in aqueous solution by the synthetic host cucurbit[8]uril (Q8). Q8 is known to form 1:1:1 heteroternary complexes with methyl viologen (MV) and a second aromatic guest. Here, the complexes of Q8.MV with (i) the four natural aromatic alpha-amino acids, (ii) four singly charged tryptophan derivatives, and (iii) four tryptophan-containing tripeptides were characterized by isothermal titration calorimetry, mass spectrometry, and UV-visible, fluorescence, and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. We find that Q8.MV binds Trp-Gly-Gly with high affinity (K(a) = 1.3 x 10(5) M(-1)), with 6-fold specificity over Gly-Trp-Gly, and with 40-fold specificity over Gly-Gly-Trp. Analysis of the nine indole-containing compounds suggests that peptide recognition is mediated by the electrostatic charge(s) proximal to the indole, and that the mode of binding is consistent for these compounds. Complex formation is accompanied by the growth of a visible charge-transfer band and the quenching of indole fluorescence. These optical properties, combined with the stability and selectivity of this system, are promising for applications in sensing and separating specific peptides.     

1H MRS detection of glycine residue of reduced glutathione in vivo

Glutathione (GSH) is a powerful antioxidant found inside different kinds of cells, including those of the central nervous system. Detection of GSH in the human brain using ¹H MR spectroscopy is hindered by low concentration and spectral overlap with other metabolites. Previous MRS methods focused mainly on the detection of the cysteine residue (GSH-Cys) via editing schemes. This study focuses on the detection of the glycine residue (GSH-Gly), which is overlapped by glutamate and glutamine (Glx) under physiological pH and temperature. The first goal of the study was to obtain the spectral parameters for characterization of the GSH-Gly signal under physiological conditions. The second goal was to investigate a new method of separating GSH-Gly from Glx in vivo. The characterization of the signal was carried out by utilization of numerical simulations as well as experiments over a wide range of magnetic fields (4.0–14 T). The proposed separation scheme utilizes J-difference editing to quantify the Glx contribution to separate it from the GSH-Gly signal. The presented method retains 100% of the GSH-Gly signal. The overall increase in signal to noise ratio of the targeted resonance is calculated to yield a significant SNR improvement compared to previously used methods that target GSH-Cys residue. This allows shorter acquisition times for in vivo human clinical studies.     

Long-range magnetic order in Li<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Na<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Cu<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Single crystals of Li _x Na_{1 ? x} Cu₂O₂ solid solutions have been grown from the melt and crystal lattice parameters have been studied. It is found that the solid solution of this system exists in the region x ≤ 0.25. Specific heat and magnetic susceptibility are investigated on monocrystalline samples with x = 0.07, 0.14, and 0.21. Long-range magnetic order in these compounds is formed at T = 13.8, 4.1, and 14.8 K, respectively. It is found that the Néel temperature T _N in these compounds increases with Li content.     

微乳液的热力学性质 I: 芳烃类的侧链链长对微乳液热力学函数影响

本文研究以非离子型表面活性剂-正辛醇-水-芳烃类所组成的微乳液, 探讨醇从油相转移到界面相时的自由能变化, 以及温度对自由能的影响。计算出熵和焓的变化, 发现在实验范围内, 上述热力学函数的对数值与芳烃侧链的碳原子数(n)呈线性关系。这些关系式对微乳液的构成和稳定性的讨论是重要的, 还对几种芳烃异构体所构成的微乳液的热力学函数进行了实验和讨论。     

Spin dynamics in LiCu<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> and NaCu<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> low-dimensional helical magnets

Comprehensive NMR investigation of low-frequency spin dynamics of LiCu₂O₂ (LCO) and NaCu₂O₂ (NCO) low-dimensional helical magnets in the paramagnetic state has been carried out for the first time. Temperature dependences of the spin–lattice relaxation rate and anisotropy on various LCO/NCO nuclei have been determined at various orientations of single crystals in an external magnetic field. The spatial asymmetry of spin fluctuations in LCO multiferroic has been discovered. The quantitative analysis of the anisotropy of spin–lattice relaxation in LCO/NCO has allowed estimating the contributions of individual neighboring Cu²⁺ ions to the transferred hyperfine field on Li⁺(Na⁺) ions.     

Levitating states of superconducting rings in the field of a fixed ring with constant current

We consider the possibility of designing a plasma trap with a magnetic system formed by super-conducting rings and coils levitating in the field of a fixed coaxial coil carrying constant current. An analytic dependence of the potential energy of such a system with one or two levitating superconducting rings having trapped preset magnetic fluxes on their coordinates in the uniform gravitational field is obtained in the thin ring approximation. Calculations performed in the Mathcad system show that equilibrium states of such a system exist for certain values of parameters. Levitating states of a single superconducting ring and two superconducting rings in the field of the coil with constant current are observed experimentally in positions corresponding to calculated values.