Spin correlation in t&tmacr; production from p&pmacr; collisions at radicals = 1.8 TeV

The D0 collaboration has performed a study of spin correlation in t&tmacr; production for the process t&tmacr;-->bW(+)&bmacr;W-, where the W bosons decay to enu or &mgr;nu. A sample of six events was collected during an exposure of the D0 detector to an integrated luminosity of approximately 125 pb(-1) of sqrt[s] = 1.8 TeV p&pmacr; collisions. The standard model (SM) predicts that the short lifetime of the top quark ensures the transmission of any spin information at production to the t&tmacr; decay products. The degree of spin correlation is characterized by a correlation coefficient kappa. We find that kappa>-0.25 at the 68% confidence level, in agreement with the SM prediction of kappa = 0.88.     

Atmospheric gamma-rays of 1–200 GeV over Hyderabad

Using a stack of hypersensitized nuclear emulsions, exposed under 10.2 g.cm^?2 of residual atmosphere over Hyderabad, India, gamma-rays of energy > 1 GeV have been studied. It is found that the observed differential energy spectrum can be best represented by two power law spectra, one for energies less than 30 GeV and the other for higher energies but with the same spectral index of 2.6; however the intensities at energies greater than 30 GeV are about three times higher than what would be expected from the extrapolation of the spectrum at lower enerjies. The implication of this observation has been examined. The neutral pion production spectrum over Hyderabad has been derived from the gamma-ray spectrum. Using this information the energy spectrum of atmospheric electrons has been deduced and a comparison made with the observed spectrum below the geomagnetic threshold energy over Hyderabad; therefrom an upper limit of 0.5 particles/(m².sr.sec.) has been deduced for the flux of re-entrant albedo electrons above 2 GeV.     

Rietveld refinement of the cocrystal 2,4‐dihydroxybenzoic acid–N′‐(propan‐2‐ylidene)nicotinohydrazide (1/1)

A further example of using a covalent‐bond‐forming reaction to alter supramolecular assembly by modification of hydrogen‐bonding possibilities is presented. This concept was introduced by Lemmerer, Bernstein & Kahlenberg [CrystEngComm (2011), 13 , 55–59]. The title structure, C₉H₁₁N₃O·C₇H₆O₄, which consists of a reacted niazid molecule, viz.N′‐(propan‐2‐ylidene)nicotinohydrazide, and 2,4‐dihydroxybenzoic acid, was solved from powder diffraction data using simulated annealing. The results further demonstrate the relevance and utility of powder diffraction as an analytical tool in the study of cocrystals and their hydrogen‐bond interactions.     

Synthesis of novel heterocycles from 2-amino-3-(cyanomethylsulfonyl)thiophene

The synthesis and selected reactions of 2-amino-3-(cyanomethylsulfonyl)thiophene is reported. In particular, cyclization reaction of the versatile aminothiophene yielded a number of novel thieno[3,2-b][1,4]-thiazine 1,1-dioxides, as well as the analogous thieno[2,3-e][1,3,4]thiadiazine 4,4-dioxide. Reaction of the thienothiazine system with hydrazine was subsequently explored, which resulted in either ring-opening of the thiazine and formation of an aminopyrazole or solely ring cleavage depending on the thiazine substituent. Additionally, the synthesis of bis(2-amino-3-thienyl)sulfone and the corresponding bis-acetamide is described.     

An interesting synthesis of thieno[2,3‐d][1,2,3]thiadiazole via decomposition/recyclization of 3‐methoxycarbonyl‐1H‐thieno‐[2,3‐e][1,3,4]thiadiazine 4,4‐dioxide

Attempted hydrolysis of the ester of 3‐methoxycarbonyl‐1H‐thieno[2,3‐e][1,3,4]thiadiazine 4,4‐dioxide ( I ) under acidic conditions gave the ring‐contracted thieno[2,3‐d][1,2,3]thiadiazole ( V ) instead of the expected carboxylic acid. In addition to a discussion of the reaction, a plausible mechanism is presented.     

How can enzymes be so efficient?

Dudley Williams and his colleagues discuss how ligands can gain binding energy to their receptors, and substrate transition states to their enzymes, by tightening the protein structures, with a decrease in their dynamic behaviour.     

Comparison of time-dependent density-functional theory and coupled cluster theory for the calculation of the optical rotations of chiral molecules

A comparison of the abilities of time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) and coupled cluster (CC) theory to reproduce experimental sodium D-line specific rotations for 13 conformationally rigid organic molecules is reported. The test set includes alkanes, alkenes, and ketones with known absolute configurations. TDDFT calculations make use of gauge-including atomic orbitals and give origin-independent specific rotations. CC rotations are computed using both the origin-independent dipole-velocity and origin-dependent dipole-length representations. The mean absolute deviations of calculated and experimental rotations are of comparable magnitudes for all three methods. The origin-independent DFT and CC methods give the same sign of [alpha]D for every molecule except norbornanone. For every large-rotation ketone and alkene for which DFT and CC yield the incorrect sign as compared to liquid-phase experimental data, the corresponding optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) curve is bisignate, suggesting that the two models cannot reliably reproduce the relative excitation energies and antagonistic rotational strengths of multiple competing electronic states that contribute to the total long-wavelength rotation. Several potential sources of error in the theoretical treatments are considered, including basis set incompleteness, vibrational and temperature effects, electron correlation, and solvent effects.     

Bismuth(III) Flavonolates: The Impact of Structural Diversity on Antibacterial Activity,Mammalian Cell Viability and Cellular Uptake

A series of homoleptic and heteroleptic bismuth(III) flavonolate complexes derived from six flavonols of varying substitution have been synthesised and structurally characterised. The complexes were evaluated for antibacterial activity towards several problematic Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE)) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria. The cell viability of COS-7 (monkey kidney) cells treated with the bismuth flavonolates was also studied to determine the effect of the complexes on mammalian cells. The heteroleptic complexes [BiPh(L)₂] (in which L=flavonolate) showed good antibacterial activity towards all of the bacteria but reduced COS-7 cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner. The homoleptic complexes [Bi(L)₃] exhibited activity towards the Gram-positive bacteria and showed low toxicity towards the mammalian cell line. Bismuth uptake studies in VRE and COS-7 cells treated with the bismuth flavonolate complexes indicated that Bi accumulation is influenced by both the substitution of the flavonolate ligands and the degree of substitution at the bismuth centre.