Centrifugal distortion effects in SF2: Calculation of the force field and infrared spectrum

Measurements of the microwave spectrum of SF₂ have been extended up to J = 43 in order to account for the effects of centrifugal distortion. Seventy-five transitions have been included in a weighted least squares fit of the measured spectrum with an rms deviation of 0.078 MHz. The force field for SF₂ has been determined from the centrigufal distortion constants. The vibrational spectrum, as yet unobserved, has been predicted from the force field as have been the Coriolis coupling constants and the average structure.     

Single nucleotide polymorphism analysis in the human phosphatase PTPrj gene using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Data derived from analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are being applied in many diverse fields, from medical studies of disease mechanisms and individual drug response, to population genetics for tracking migration and mixing of ancestral groups and also in forensic science for the identification of human remains and identification of individuals from bodily samples. All these applications have in common the need to generate data for multiple loci from large numbers of samples. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) is a promising platform for the generation of such data and we present a simple, flexible and robust technique for SNP determination. We demonstrate these features by typing two SNPs (Q276P and R326Q) in the human phosphatase gene PTPrj, which has been implicated in the aetiology of colon, lung, breast and thyroid cancers. A nucleotide depletion primer extension assay using no commercial kits or dideoxyNTPs was used to genotype a panel of DNAs derived from thyroid cancer patients and normal volunteers. The results obtained were in perfect agreement with those generated via restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. No significant association was noted between possession of either allelic variant and a disease state, but the technique was validated as simple, flexible and appropriate for application in this context. Furthermore, it was highly cost-effective and required minimal optimisation, rendering it ideal for this type of pilot study.     

Biomimetic assembly of calcite microtrumpets: crystal tectonics in action

Crystallisation of calcium carbonate in the presence of the polycarboxylate 1,3-diamino-2-hydroxypropane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetate results in the formation of "microtrumpets" composed of nanocrystalline calcite.     

A new type of oxygen bridged Cu(II)36 aggregate formed around a central [KCl6]5- unit

A magnetically coupled Cu(II)36 aggregate forms around a potassium chloride unit.     

Precision measurement of the neutron spin asymmetryA(n)(1) and spin-flavor decomposition in the valence quark region

We have measured the neutron spin asymmetry A(n)(1) with high precision at three kinematics in the deep inelastic region at x=0.33, 0.47, and 0.60, and Q(2)=2.7, 3.5, and 4.8 (GeV/c)(2), respectively. Our results unambiguously show, for the first time, that A(n)(1) crosses zero around x=0.47 and becomes significantly positive at x=0.60. Combined with the world proton data, polarized quark distributions were extracted. Our results, in general, agree with relativistic constituent quark models and with perturbative quantum chromodynamics (PQCD) analyses based on the earlier data. However they deviate from PQCD predictions based on hadron helicity conservation.     

Co(en)3][Sb12S19]: a new antimony sulfide with a zeolite-like structure containing one-dimensional channels

Solvothermal synthesis affords access to the first truly three-dimensional antimony-sulfide framework which contains one-dimensional circular channels.     

Dispersion of the third-order nonlinear optical properties of an organometallic dendrimer(1)

The dispersion of cubic nonlinearity in the organometallic dendrimer 1,3,5-(3,5-{trans-[(dppe)2(4-O2NC6H4CC)RuCC]}2C6H3CCC6H4-4-CC)3C6H3 can be understood in terms of an interplay of two-photon absorption and absorption saturation. Simple dispersion relations reproduce the behavior of both the real and imaginary components of the hyperpolarizability.