Laser induced electron emission from gold surface irradiated by picosecond pulses at λ=2.9 μm

A nonlinear photoelectric emission from a gold surface irradiated by intense (16 GW/cm²) ultrashort (100 ps) erbium laser pulses of the 3-micron wavelength region was observed. The results obtained were interpreted by the theoretically predicted thermally enhanced multiphoton photoemission.     

DSC study on the motor protein myosin in fibre system

We have examined by DSC the complexes of myosin with actin in fibre system in the absence of nucleotides and the intermediate state of ATP hydrolysis by mimicking stable complex with myosin and ADP and beryllium fluoride in muscle fibres. Comparing the DSC results with other structural analogues of phosphate P_i leads the conclusion that the AM.ADP.BeF_x complex favours the AM.ADP.P_i complex in fibre system. The deconvolution of DSC scans resulted in four transitions, the first three transition temperatures were almost independent of the intermediate state of the muscle, the last transition temperature was shifted to higher temperature, depending on the actual intermediate states of ATP hydrolysis. In AM.ADP.V_i state the transition temperature at the second and third transitions (actin binding domain and myosin rod) varied only slightly, whereas the last one (the fourth transition) shifted markedly to higher temperature depending on the ternary complex, e.g. in case of ADP plus BeF_x it was 77.7 °C, the highest value in weakly binding state of myosin to actin. The sum of calorimetric enthalpies of the first and last curves was practically constant, but their fractions depended on the state of the muscle. In strongly binding state of myosin to actin (rigor, ADP state) the fraction of the first transition was much larger, than the last one, whereas in weakly binding state of myosin to actin, the fraction of the first transition decreased at the expense of the last one. It supports also the view that these transitions are parts of the same portion of the myosin molecule.     

Geometric theory of trigger waves — A dynamical system approach

We propose a geometric model for wave propagation in excitable media. Our model is based on the Fermat principle and it resembles that of Wiener and Rosenblueth. The model applies to the propagation of excitations, such as chemical and biological wave fronts, grass fire, etc. Starting from the Fermat principle, some consequences of the assumptions are derived analytically. It is proved that the model describes a dynamical system, and that the wave propagates along ignition lines (extremals). The theory is applied to the special cases of tube reactor and annular reactor. The asymptotic shape of the wave fronts is derived for these cases: they are straight lines perpendicular to the tube, and involutes of the central obstacle, respectively.     

Use of the parametric representation method in revealing the root structure and hopf bifurcation

In practical applications of dynamical systems, it is often necessary to determine the number and the stability of the stationary states. The parameric respresentation method is a useful tool in such problems. Consider the two parameter families of functions:f(x) =u _o +u ₁ x +g(x), whereu _o andu ₁ are the parameters. We are interested in the number of zeros as well as in the stability. We want to determine the stable region on the parameter plane, where the real parts of the roots off are negative. The D-curve (along which the discriminant off is zero) helps us. We applied the method to the cases of cubic and quartic equation, giving pictorial meaning to the root structure. In this respect, the R-curves and the I-curves (along which the sum or difference, respectively, of two zeros is constant) also have a significance. Using these concepts, we established a relation between the (n - 1)th Routh-Hurwitz condition and the Hopf bifurcation.     

Correlation of structure and function in oligonuclear zinc(II) model phosphatases

A series of pyrazolate-based dizinc(II) complexes has been synthesized and investigated as functional models for phosphoesterases, focusing on correlations between hydrolytic activity and molecular parameters of the bimetallic core. The Zn...Zn distance, the (bridging or nonbridging) position of the Zn-bound hydroxide nucleophile, and individual metal ion coordination numbers are controlled by the topology of the compartmental ligand scaffold. Species distributions of the various dizinc complexes in solution have been determined potentiometrically, and structures in the solid state have been elucidated by X-ray crystallography. The hydrolysis of bis(p-nitrophenyl)phosphate (BNPP) promoted by the dinuclear phosphoesterase model complexes has been investigated in DMSO/buffered water (1:1) at 50 degrees C as a function of complex concentration, substrate concentration, and pH. Coordination of the phosphodiester has been followed by ESI mass spectrometry, and bidentate binding could be verified crystallographically in two cases. Drastic differences in hydrolytic activity are observed and can be attributed to molecular properties. A significant decrease of the pK(a) of zinc-bound water is observed if the resulting hydroxide is involved in a strongly hydrogen-bonded intramolecular O(2)H(3) bridge, which can be even more pronounced than for a bridging hydroxide. Irrespective of the pK(a) of the Zn-bound water, a hydroxide in a bridging position evidently is a relatively poor nucleophile, while a nonbridging hydroxide position is more favorable for hydrolytic activity. Additionally, the metal array has to provide a sufficient number of coordination sites for activating both the substrate and the nucleophile, where phosphate diesters such as BNPP preferentially bind in a bidentate fashion, requiring a third site for water binding. Product inhibition of the active site by the liberated (p-nitrophenyl)phosphate is observed, and the product-inhibited complex could be characterized crystallographically. In that complex, the phosphate monoester is found to cap a rectangular array of four zinc ions composed of two bimetallic entities.     

Surface and subsurface oxidation of Mo2C/Mo(100): low-energy ion-scattering, auger electron, angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron, and mass spectroscopy studies

The interaction of oxygen with a carburized Mo(100) surface was investigated at different temperatures (300-1000 K). The different information depths of low-energy ion-scattering (LEIS) spectroscopy, with topmost layer sensitivity, Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) allowed us to discriminate between reactions on the topmost layer and subsurface transformations. According to ARXPS measurements, a carbide overlayer was prepared by the high-temperature decomposition of C(2)H(4) on Mo(100), and the carbon distribution proved to be homogeneous with a Mo(2)C stoichiometry down to the information depth of XPS. O(2) adsorbs dissociatively on the carbide layer at room temperature. One part of the chemisorbed oxygen is bound to both C and Mo sites, indicated by LEIS. Another fraction of oxygen atoms probably resides in the hollow sites not occupied by C. The removal of C from the outermost layer by O(2), in the form of CO, detected by mass spectroscopy (MS), was observed at 500-600 K. The carbon-depleted first layer is able to adsorb more oxygen compared to the Mo(2)C/Mo(100) surface. Applying higher doses of O(2) at 800 K results in the inward diffusion of O and the partial oxidation of Mo atoms. This process, however, is not accompanied by the removal of C from subsurface sites. The depletion of C from the bulk starts only at 900 K (as shown by MS, AES, and XPS), very probably by the diffusion of C to the surface followed by its reaction with oxygen. At T(ads) = 1000 K, the carbon content of the sample, down to the information depth of XPS, decreased further, accompanied by the attenuation of the C concentration gradient and a substantially decreased amount of oxygen.     

Peptide models. XXXIII. Extrapolation of low-level Hartree-Fock data of peptide conformation to large basis set SCF,MP2, DFT,and CCSD(T) results. The Ramachandran surface of alanine dipeptide computed at various levels of theory

At the dawn of the new millenium, new concepts are required for a more profound understanding of protein structures. Together with NMR and X-ray-based 3D-structure determinations in silico methods are now widely accepted. Homology-based modeling studies, molecular dynamics methods, and quantum mechanical approaches are more commonly used. Despite the steady and exponential increase in computational power, high level ab initio methods will not be in common use for studying the structure and dynamics of large peptides and proteins in the near future. We are presenting here a novel approach, in which low- and medium-level ab initio energy results are scaled, thus extrapolating to a higher level of information. This scaling is of special significance, because we observed previously on molecular properties such as energy, chemical shielding data, etc., determined at a higher theoretical level, do correlate better with experimental data, than those originating from lower theoretical treatments. The Ramachandran surface of an alanine dipeptide now determined at six different levels of theory [RHF and B3LYP 3-21G, 6-31+G(d) and 6-311++G(d,p)] serves as a suitable test. Minima, first-order critical points and partially optimized structures, determined at different levels of theory (SCF, DFT), were completed with high level energy calculations such as MP2, MP4D, and CCSD(T). For the first time three different CCSD(T) sets of energies were determined for all stable B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) minima of an alanine dipeptide. From the simplest ab initio data (e.g., RHF/3-21G) to more complex results [CCSD(T)/6-311+G(d,p)//B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p)] all data sets were compared, analyzed in a comprehensive manner, and evaluated by means of statistics.     

Numerical simulation of the BZ reaction of oxalic acid with a simple four-variable model

A simple model of the bromate-cerium-oxalic acid batch oscillatory system has been constructed and examined by calculations. The model predicts a parameter range and a frequency which agree rather well with the observed values, but it does not describe the peculiar saddlenode infinite period bifurcations found experimentally in the system.

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Nucleosides. Part LIX. The 2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethylsulfonyl (Npes) Group: A New Type of Protection in Nucleoside Chemistry

The 2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethylsulfonyl (npes) group is developed as a new sugar OH-blocking group in the ribonucleoside series. Its cleavage can be performed in a β-eliminating process under aprotic conditions using 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) as the most effective base. Since sulfonates do not show acyl migration, partial protection of 1,2-cis-diol moieties is possible leading to new types of oligonucleotide building blocks. A series of Markiewicz-protected ribonucleosides 1–10 is converted into their 2′-O-[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethylsulfonyl] derivatives 29–38 in which the 5′-O? Si bond can be cleaved by acid hydrolysis forming 39–45 . Subsequent monomethoxytritylation leads to 46–50 , and desilylation affords the 5′-O-(monomethoxytrityl)-2′-O-[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethylsulfonyl]ribonucleosides 51–55 . Acid treatment to remove trityl groups do also not harm the npes group (→ 56–58 ). Unambiguous syntheses of fully blocked 2′-O-[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethylsulfonyl]ribonucleosides 96–102 are achieved from the corresponding 3′-O-(tert-butyl)dimethylsilyl derivatives. Furthermore, various base-protected 5′-O-(monomethoxytrityl)- and 5′-O-(dimethoxytrityl)ribonucleosides, i.e. 59–77 , are treated directly with 2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethylsulfonyl chloride forming in all cases a mixture of the 2′,3′-di-O- and the two possible 2′- and 3′-O-monosulfonates 107–148 which can be separated into the pure components by chromatographic methods. The npes group is more labile towards DBU cleavage than the corresponding base-protecting 2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethyl (npe) and 2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethoxycarbonyl (npeoc) groups allowing selective deblocking which is of great synthetic potential.