The First Observation of the Temperature-Dependent Phenomenon of Muon Catalyzed Fusion in Solid D–T Mixtures

A systematic study on muon catalyzed fusion (μCF) was conducted in solid deuterium and tritium (D–T) mixture. A variety of experimental conditions were investigated, i.e., tritium concentrations from 20 to 70%, temperatures from 5 to 16 K. A preliminary analysis result suggests a steep decrease in the dtμ-molecule formation rate with decreasing temperature, and also an increase in the probability for a muon reactivation after an α-sticking phenomenon. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Purification of a hybrid plasminogen activator protein

Recombinant DNA technology has been employed to produce a hybrid gene in which the kringle and serine protease domains of tissue plasminogen activator are linked to the heavy-chain Fd region of a fibrin-specific antibody. The hybrid gene is co-expressed with antibody light chains. This communication describes a purification procedure for the hybrid protein, involving affinity and ion-exchange chromatography. The purified hybrid protein has been used in vivo and in vitro clot lysis experiments and has been shown to be effective at clot dissolution.     

Spatial distribution and formation of nitrate radical NO<Stack><Subscript>3</Subscript><Superscript>2−</Superscript></Stack> in Antarctic calcitic evaporates

Nitrate radical NO₃²⁻ in calcitic evaporate was discovered in Antarctica. The distribution and formation of nitrate radical NO₃²⁻ in the calcite have been studied by pulse and continuous-wave electron spin resonance. In samples that had been annealed to destroy the NO₃²⁻, regeneration of the radical by γ-rays or UV light indicated that the radical was formed by UV light (with wavelengths less than 340 nm) from solar rays, not by environmental radiation. The nonuniform spatial distribution of the nitrate radical, which was deduced from high ratios of local spin density to total spin density, suggests that the nitrate impurity was introduced into the calcium carbonate after carbonate grain formation. Formation of the carbonate-containing nitrate requires the presence of high amounts of nitrate and a dry climate. Formation of the nitrate radical requires sample exposure to UV light. These conditions are satisfied in the environment of Antarctica.     

A correction method for measuring turbulence kinetic energy dissipation rate by PIV

The accuracy of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) dissipation rate measured by PIV is studied. The critical issue for PIV-based dissipation measurements is the strong dependency on the spatial resolution, Δx, as reported by Saarenrinne and Piirto (Exp Fluids Suppl:S300–S307, 2000). When the PIV spacing is larger than the Kolmogorov scale, η, the dissipation is underestimated because the small scale fluctuations are filtered. For the case of Δx smaller than the Kolmogorov scale, the error rapidly increases due to noise. We introduce a correction method to eliminate the dominant error for the small Δx case. The correction method is validated by using a novel PIV benchmark, random Oseen vortices synthetic image test (ROST), in which quasi-turbulence is generated by randomly superposing multiple Oseen vortices. The error of the measured dissipation can be more than 1,000% of the analytical dissipation for the small Δx case, while the dissipation rate is underestimated for the large Δx case. Though the correction method does not correct the underestimate due to the low resolution, the dissipation was accurately obtained within a few percent of the true value by using the correction method for the optimal resolution of η/10 < Δx < η/2.     

Cubanes: Starting Materials for the Chemistry of the 1990s and the New Century

The study of non-natural products has led to a broad understanding of bonding and reactivity in organic chemistry. Many times, compounds thought impossible have been realized in the course of such studies. Cubane, a landmark in the world of “impossible” compounds, has been found to have a rich chemistry, full of the unexpected. The recent renaissance of cubane chemistry, triggered by potential applications of the system to the production of high-energy fuels and the like, has led to many discoveries including the first methods for systematic substitution on strained, saturated systems and a new process for the metalation of arenes, ortho magnesiation. Reactive intermediates with exceptional bonding parameters have been uncovered and characterized including 1(9)-homocubene, the most twisted olefin; cubene, the most pyramidalized olefin; cubyl cation, once the “least likely” cation; cubylmethyl radical, a saturated radical that rearranges on the picosecond timescale; and many other extraordinary species. There is certainly good reason to believe that future work in the cubane arena will be at least as productive (probably more so), and that it will help develop a deeper understanding of chemistry.     

The Asymptotic Distribution of Singular-Values with Applications to Canonical Correlations and Correspondence Analysis

Let X_n, n = 1, 2, ... be a sequence of p × q random matrices, p ≥ q. Assume that for a fixed p × q matrix B and a sequence of constants b_n → ∞, the random matrix b_n(X_n − B) converges in distribution to Z. Let ψ(X_n) denote the q-vector of singular values of X_n. Under these assumptions, the limiting distribution of b_n (ψ(X_n) − ψ(B)) is characterized as a function of B and of the limit matrix Z. Applications to canonical correlations and to correspondence analysis are given.