Testing the stability of fundamental constants with the 199Hg+ single-ion optical clock

Over a two-year duration, we have compared the frequency of the 199Hg+ 5d(10)6s (2)S(1/2)(F=0)<-->5d(9)6s(2) (2)D(5/2)(F=2) electric-quadrupole transition at 282 nm with the frequency of the ground-state hyperfine splitting in neutral 133Cs. These measurements show that any fractional time variation of the ratio nu(Cs)/nu(Hg) between the two frequencies is smaller than +/-7 x 10(-15) yr(-1) (1sigma uncertainty). According to recent atomic structure calculations, this sets an upper limit to a possible fractional time variation of g(Cs)(m(e)/m(p))alpha(6.0) at the same level.     

Production of hyperpolarized nuclei for MRI

The project in producing the hyperpolarized ³He and ¹⁹F are addressed in pursuit of radiation free medical diagnosis. The program for production of the hyperpolarized ³He by the brute force method with the Pomeranchuk cooling and the rapid melting of the solid 3He started a few years ago, and is still on the way, while a new program for production of the hyperpolarized ¹⁹F by means of the PHIP (ParaHydrogen Induced Polarization) has just got started. Particular attention is placed upon a new idea of the hyperpolarization catalyst to be used for ¹⁹F.     

Imprinting modulates processing of visual information in the visual wulst of chicks

Background

Results of the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS) raised concerns regarding the timing and formulation of hormone interventions. Conjugated equine estrogens (CEE), used as the estrogen therapy in the WHIMS trial, is a complex formulation containing multiple estrogens, including several not secreted by human ovaries, as well as other biologically active steroids. Although the full spectrum of estrogenic components present in CEE has not yet been resolved, 10 estrogens have been identified. In the present study, we sought to determine which estrogenic components, at concentrations commensurate with their plasma levels achieved following a single oral dose of 0.625 mg CEE (the dose used in the WHIMS trial) in women, are neuroprotective and whether combinations of those neuroprotective estrogens provide added benefit. Further, we sought, through computer-aided modeling analyses, to investigate the potential correlation of the molecular mechanisms that conferred estrogen neuroprotection with estrogen interactions with the estrogen receptor (ER).

Results

Cultured basal forebrain neurons were exposed to either β-amyloid_25–35 or excitotoxic glutamate with or without pretreatment with estrogens followed by neuroprotection analyses. Three indicators of neuroprotection that rely on different aspects of neuronal damage and viability, LDH release, intracellular ATP level and MTT formazan formation, were used to assess neuroprotective efficacy. Results of these analyses indicate that the estrogens, 17α-estradiol, 17β-estradiol, equilin, 17α-dihydroequilin, equilinen, 17α-dihydroequilenin, 17β-dihydroequilenin, and Δ^8,9-dehydroestrone were each significantly neuroprotective in reducing neuronal plasma membrane damage induced by glutamate excitotoxicity. Of these estrogens, 17β-estradiol and Δ^8,9-dehydroestrone were effective in protecting neurons against β-amyloid_25–35-induced intracellular ATP decline. Coadministration of two out of three neuroprotective estrogens, 17β-estradiol, equilin and Δ^8,9-dehydroestrone, exerted greater neuroprotective efficacy than individual estrogens. Computer-aided analyses to determine structure/function relationships between the estrogenic structures and their neuroprotective activity revealed that the predicted intermolecular interactions of estrogen analogues with ER correlate to their overall neuroprotective efficacy.

Conclusion

The present study provides the first documentation of the neuroprotective profile of individual estrogens contained within the complex formulation of CEE at concentrations commensurate with their plasma levels achieved after an oral administration of 0.625 mg CEE in women. Our analyses demonstrate that select estrogens within the complex formulation of CEE contribute to its neuroprotective efficacy. Moreover, our data predict that the magnitude of neuroprotection induced by individual estrogens at relatively low concentrations may be clinically undetectable and ineffective, whereas, a combination of select neuroprotective estrogens could provide an increased and clinically meaningful efficacy. More importantly, these data suggest a strategy for determining neurological efficacy and rational design and development of a composition of estrogen therapy to alleviate climacteric symptoms, promote neurological health, and prevent age-related neurodegeneration, such as AD, in postmenopausal women.     

Determination of the orbital moment and crystal-field splitting in LaTiO3

Utilizing a sum rule in a spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopic experiment with circularly polarized light, we show that the orbital moment in LaTiO3 is strongly reduced from its ionic value, both below and above the Ne el temperature. Using Ti L2,3 x-ray absorption spectroscopy as a local probe, we found that the crystal-field splitting in the t2g subshell is about 0.12-0.30 eV. This large splitting does not facilitate the formation of an orbital liquid.     

Color Center Laser–Microwave Double Resonance Spectroscopy of the ν1Vibrational State of HCCF

Rotational transitions of fluoroacetylene in the ν₁(CH stretch) vibrational state have been observed by the laser–microwave double resonance technique using a color center laser as a radiation source in the 3 μm region. The rotational constant and centrifugal distortion constant in the ν₁state were determined to be 9684.310(16) MHz and 2.68(62) kHz, respectively, where the uncertainties given in parentheses correspond to 2.5 standard deviations.