Intense source of slow positrons from pulsed electron accelerators

A pulsed LINAC is used for pair production in a tantalum target of 2.5 radiation lengths in an energy range from 80 to 260 MeV. Several well-annealed tungsten vanes are placed immediately behind the target and thermalize a small fraction of the fast positrons. The slow positrons are extracted from the target region and magnetically guided over a distance of 17 m to the detector at the end of an S-shaped solenoid. Two Nal detectors with well-known detection efficiency are used to register the 511 keV annihilation-rays. To reduce pile-up effects 50 mm of Pb were placed in front of the detectors. At an average electron current of 1 A we could detect about 10⁷ slow positrons per second. The positron yield is proportional to the electron current, and shows an increase with the electron energy for our target. The positron energy distribution has a FWHM of 1.8 eV.     

In vivo EXPOSURE TO ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION ENHANCES PATHOGENIC EFFECTS OF MURINE LEUKEMIA VIRUS, LP-BMS, IN MURINE ACQUIRED IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROME

LP-BM5 murine leukemia virus (MuLV) induces an immunodeficiency syndrome (MAIDS) in C57BL/6 mice which resembles immunological abnormalities observed in early stages of human AIDS. In our study, MAIDS virus-infected mice were exposed to low doses of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) before and after virus inoculation and compared with MAIDS-infected but not UVR-exposed mice. In all tested parameters (blood IgM levels; mitogenic responses to PHA, ConA, LPS and anti-mu; MLR; antigenic response to SRBC; enlargement and histopathologic changes of the spleen) we observed the same trend: changes due to MAIDS infection were more pronounced in the UVR-exposed group than in the unexposed group. Statistically significant differences between these two groups were seen for mitogenic responses at two different time points after virus inoculation. These results demonstrate that in vivo UVR exposure enhances the immunosuppressive effects of a retroviral infection. UVR exposure may affect the progression of AIDS in a similar manner.     

Sulphuration of Electron-Rich Arenes with Sulphenamides and Aminosulphenyl Chlorides

The ability of sulphenamides to act as sulphur transfer reagents towards organic substrates is well known.¹ For example, they have been used in the preparation of sulphides,^2,3 disulphides,^4–6 tri-sulphides,^7–9 sulphenate esters,¹⁰ aminosuccinimidosulphonium salts¹¹ and aminocarbotrithioates.¹²     

Multivariate skewing mechanisms: A unified perspective based on the transformation approach

In recent years, models for (possibly multivariate) skewed distributions have become more and more popular. In the univariate case, Ferreira and Steel (2006) [Ferreira, J.T.A.S., Steel, M.F.J., 2006. A constructive representation of univariate skewed distributions. J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 101, 823–829] introduced general skewing mechanisms in order to compare existing skewing methods in a common framework and to ease construction of new such methods according to the needs in given situations. In this paper, we make use of the classical transformation approach to define alternative skewing mechanisms for the same purpose. While keeping all the nice features of Ferreira and Steel’s skewing mechanisms (flexibility, surjectivity, the possibility of retaining prespecified characteristics of the original symmetric distribution, etc.), our skewing mechanisms, unlike theirs, can easily be extended to the multivariate case. We describe our skewing schemes, investigate their main properties, and illustrate their effects on standard (multi)normal distributions by means of a few examples. Finally, we briefly discuss their relevance in the context of optimal symmetry testing.     

Total syntheses of the bromotyrosine-derived natural products ianthelline, 5-bromoverongamine and JBIR-44

The total syntheses of the bromotyrosine-derived natural products ianthelline, 5-bromoverongamine and JBIR-44 are described and their cytotoxic activity in a cervical cancer (HeLa) cell line and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) are reported.