Sub-Doppler Two-Photon Laser Spectroscopy of Antiprotonic Helium and the Antiproton-to-Electron Mass Ratio

The ASACUSA collaboration of CERN has recently irradiated antiprotonic helium atoms with two counter-propagating laser beams. This excited some non-linear two-photon transitions of the antiproton at the deep UV wavelengths λ = 139.8–197.0 nm. The counterpropagating geometry of the laser beams reduced the thermal Doppler broadening of the observed resonances. Their narrow spectral lines allowed the measurement of three transition frequencies with fractional precisions of 2.3–5 parts in 10⁹. By comparing the results with three-body QED calculations, the antiproton-to-electron mass ratio was derived as 1836.1526736(23).     

Approximations for the maximum of a vector-valued stochastic process with drift

Giving a generalization of Berkes and Horváth (2003), we consider the Euclidean norm of vector-valued stochastic processes, which can be approximated with a vector-valued Wiener process having a linear drift. The suprema of the Euclidean norm of the processes are not far away from the norm of the processes at the right most point. We also obtain an approximation for the supremum of the weighted Euclidean norm with a Wiener process.     

On the shape of solution sets of systems of (functional) equations

Solution sets of systems of linear equations over fields are characterized as being affine subspaces. But what can we say about the “shape” of the set of all solutions of other systems of equations? We study solution sets over arbitrary algebraic structures, and we give a necessary condition for a set of n-tuples to be the set of solutions of a system of equations in n unknowns over a given algebra. In the case of Boolean equations we obtain a complete characterization, and we also characterize solution sets of systems of Boolean functional equations.     

Nitrogen‐Doped Ordered Mesoporous Carbon Supported Bimetallic PtCo Nanoparticles for Upgrading of Biophenolics

Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is an attractive route for the upgrading of bio‐oils produced from lignocellulose. Current catalysts require harsh conditions to effect HDO, decreasing the process efficiency in terms of energy and carbon balance. Herein we report a novel and facile method for synthesizing bimetallic PtCo nanoparticle catalysts (ca. 1.5 nm) highly dispersed in the framework of nitrogen‐doped ordered mesoporous carbon (NOMC) for this reaction. We demonstrate that NOMC with either 2D hexagonal (p6m) or 3D cubic (Im m) structure can be easily synthesized by simply adjusting the polymerization temperature. We also demonstrate that PtCo/NOMC (metal loading: Pt 9.90 wt %; Co 3.31 wt %) is a highly effective catalyst for HDO of phenolic compounds and “real‐world” biomass‐derived phenolic streams. In the presence of PtCo/NOMC, full deoxygenation of phenolic compounds and a biomass‐derived phenolic stream is achieved under conditions of low severity.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the reaction between hypochlorous acid and tetrathionate ion

The reaction has been studied spectrophotometrically monitoring the absorbance in the 240–400 nm wavelength range. The spectra of the reactants, intermediates, and products in this system are overlapping; thus special programs [ 1 , 2 ] have been used (and tested) to unravel the kinetics and mechanism of the reaction. The stoichiometry of the reaction in excess hypochlorous acid is S₄O₆²⁻ + 7HOCl + 3H₂O → 4SO₄²⁻ + 7Cl⁻ + 13H⁺. Various experiments are presented to show that—in excess tetrathionate—the reaction produces a light‐absorbing intermediate identified as S₂O₃Cl⁻. The intermediate slowly hydrolyzes into sulfur and sulfate and it yields pentathionate in excess tetrathionate. The rate‐determining steps and their rate constants are The further oxidation of S₂O₄²⁻ and SO₃²⁻ by HOCl to sulfate are fast processes. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 32: 395–402, 2000     

Use of a new type of 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulphonic acid cellulose (sulphoxine cellulose) for the preconcentration of trace metals from highly mineralised water prior their GFAAS determination

Sulphoxine cellulose microcolumn was used in an FI-GFAAS system for the preconcentration of trace metals, Cd, Co, Ni, Pb and V from water and from highly mineralised water and also in the presence of complexing agent, e.g. citrate. The recovery was quantitative at pH 5 for all of the elements from NIST 1643c trace elements in water SRM and from highly mineralised water samples. No significant difference was found in the sorption of V(IV) and V(V) during preconcentration. The preparation of the 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulphonic acid cellulose (sulphoxine-cellulose) by Mannich reaction from aminoethyl cellulose or via chlorodeoxy and ethylenediamine cellulose is also described.     

The occurrence of free radicals in milled and irradiated paprika as detected by ESR

Ionising radiation and various other types of treatment can induce oxidising processes that give rise to free radicals in materials. This paper reports an ESR study of free radicals in spicy paprika in various phases of grinding and in samples of different particle sizes as functions of the absorbed gamma dose and storage time. In 7th phase of grinding, the ESR intensity first increased and then decreased after conditioning. The ESR intensity increased with increase in the absorbed dose, and then decreased during the 8 weeks of storage. This declining intensity demonstrates the simultaneous presence of free radicals having short and long shelf life in paprika samples.     

A pyrophosphate-responsive gadolinium(III) MRI contrast agent

This study shows that the relaxivity and optical properties of functionalised lanthanide‐DTPA‐bis‐amide complexes (lanthanide=Gd³⁺ and Eu³⁺, DTPA=diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid) can be successfully modulated by addition of specific anions, without direct Ln³⁺/anion coordination. Zinc(II)‐dipicolylamine moieties, which are known to bind strongly to phosphates, were introduced in the amide “arms” of these ligands, and the interaction of the resulting Gd–Zn₂ complexes with a range of anions was screened by using indicator displacement assays (IDAs). Considerable selectivity for polyphosphorylated species (such as pyrophosphate and adenosine‐5′‐triphosphate (ATP)) over a range of other anions (including monophosphorylated anions) was apparent. In addition, we show that pyrophosphate modulates the relaxivity of the gadolinium(III) complex, this modulation being sufficiently large to be observed in imaging experiments. To establish the binding mode of the pyrophosphate and gain insight into the origin of the relaxometric modulation, a series of studies including UV/Vis and emission spectroscopy, luminescence lifetime measurements in H₂O and D₂O, ¹⁷O and ³¹P NMR spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance dispersion (NMRD) studies were carried out.     

Functionalization of the benzobicyclo[3.2.1]octadiene skeleton via photocatalytic and thermal oxygenation of a furan derivative

A simple and efficient protocol is utilized for the synthesis of novel functionalized benzobicyclo[3.2.1]octadiene derivatives by photocatalytic oxygenation of a furan derivative using an anionic free-base porphyrin as well as cationic and anionic manganese(III) porphyrins under different reaction conditions. The course and yields of these reactions were compared to those of the thermal reaction using m-chloroperbenzoic acid as the oxidizing agent. The deviating reaction pathways with anionic and cationic metalloporphyrins may be attributed to simultaneous electronic and steric effects. Application of free-base and metalated water-soluble porphyrins for photocatalytic oxygenation of the furan ring fused to the rigid methano-bridged skeleton proved to be regioselective and flexible compared to the thermal reactions with mCPBA, giving at the same time novel potentially biologically active bicyclo[3.2.1]octenes with the basic skeleton of which is incorporated in many natural compounds.