Efficient Hydrolysis of RNA by a PNA - Diethylenetriamine Adduct

The introduction of a urea bond linking a protected diethylenetriamine (DETA) unit and the terminal amino group of a resin-bound peptide nucleic acid (PNA) decamer gave access to a PNA - DETA adduct (shown here), which hydrolyzed the target 25-mer RNA rapidly and sequence specifically.     

A double self-consistent-field method for electron correlation: Applications to LiH,H2O,and cyclopropane

A computational procedure which introduces some electron correlation into quantum mechanical calculations is described. Diverse applications are given. Among these, the method gives values of 65.6 kcal/mole for the dissociation energy of LiH, 62.0 kcal/mole for the ring-opening energy of cyclopropane, and 9.123 × 15⁵ dynes/cm for the O–H stretching force constant of H₂O. These results, and others given, suggest that our procedure has great potential and provides a very economical method for introducing electron correlation into a wave-function.     

A mass spectrometric study of the vaporization of boron phosphate (BPO(4))

The vaporization behavior of boron phosphate has been studied by using Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry. The vapor over BPO(4) consists of B(2)O(3), P(4)O(10), PO(2), BPO(4) (platinum cell) and B(2)O(3), PO, PO(2), BPO(3), BPO(4) (molybdenum cell). Standard enthalpies of formation and atomization (kJ/mol) were derived for BPO(4) (g) (-1000 +/- 15 and 2863 +/- 16) and for BPO(3) (g) (-731 +/- 15 and 2347 +/- 16), respectively. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microwave heating of ceramic composites

The microwave heating of a ceramic composite is modelled andanalysed. The composite consists of many small ceramic particlesembedded in a ceramic cement. The composite is assumed to bewell insulated, and each particle is assumed to be in imperfectthermal contact with the surrounding cement. Based on thesetwo assumptions an asymptotic theory exploiting the small Biotnumber and small non-dimensional contact conductance is developed.Our asymptotic theory yields a set of nonlinear partial differentialequations which govern the temperature in the composite. Theseare reduced to a set of coupled nonlinear ordinary differentialequations in which the surface area of each particle entersas a parameter. Recent experiments with such composites haveshown that the steady-state temperature of the composite isstrongly dependent upon the radii of the embedded particles.Our model captures this effect. In fact, our analysis showsthat the assumption of imperfect thermal contact between theparticles and the ceramic cement is essential for this trendto be established.     

Remote bond breaking by interacting temporary anion states

The cross section for bond breaking at the site of a dissociative temporary negative ion state through the dissociative electron attachment process can be considerably enhanced by the presence of a second longer-lived temporary negative ion state elsewhere in the molecule, even one quite remote from the first. In a series of chloroalkenes possessing both C-Cl and C==C bonds separated by various distances, we show that the cross sections are determined by the lifetime of the lower anion state created by the mixing of the anion states of these two moieties, with the wave function's coefficients giving the probability that the electron is located at the dissociative site. Furthermore, the lifetime of the composite anion state can be expressed in terms of these same coefficients and the lifetimes of the unmixed resonances. We also discuss how these results may give insight into the means by which strand breaks are induced in DNA by the attachment of slow electrons.     

Bond breaking and temporary anion states in uracil and halouracils: implications for the DNA bases

Low energy electrons are capable of breaking bonds in gas phase DNA bases by means of the dissociative electron attachment process. With the aid of new total scattering data in the halouracils and input from quantum chemical calculations, we describe the dipole bound and valence anion states in these compounds and present assignments for the two types of structure appearing in the cross sections. A clear distinction between the two mechanisms for bond breaking is necessary for an understanding of electron induced damage to DNA.     

Optical colours and polarization of a model reflection nebula

Simple models of a reflection nebula in the form of a plane-parallel slab containing smooth spherical solid particles in submicron size range have been considered. Single scattering has been assumed. The effect of varying the composition and size distribution function of the grains have been brought out in the calculations using Mie theory of scattering. The analytical part of the geometry of the problem has been treated quite rigorously and the resulting expression for nebular intensity has been presented in a somewhat new form. In this paper, the case of the star behind the nebula has been examined. A comparison of the theoretical results with the observations of the Merope nebula shows that the dirty ice grains with index of refraction about 1·3–0·1i and size parametera ₀ = 0·5μ give reasonable agreement with the colours. Simultaneously, the polarization in the visual and blue wavelength bands agree approximately up to offset angle of 6 minutes of arc. The larger offset angles pose an intriguing problem. The general trends of nebular colours and polarization with variation of real and imaginary parts of index of refraction and the size distribution parameter have been tabulated to serve as a guide for further study of reflection nebulae with the star in the rear. A part of this work was presented at the first scientific meeting of the Astronomical Society of India, held on 27 and 28 February 1974 at Hyderabad. An erratum to this article is available at .