Direct determination of the intracellular oxidation state of plutonium

Microprobe X-ray absorption near edge structure (μ-XANES) measurements were used to determine directly, for the first time, the oxidation state of intracellular plutonium in individual 0.1-μm(2) areas within single rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC12). The living cells were incubated in vitro for 3 h in the presence of Pu added to the media in different oxidation states (Pu(III), Pu(IV), and Pu(VI)) and in different chemical forms. Regardless of the initial oxidation state or chemical form of Pu presented to the cells, the XANES spectra of the intracellular Pu deposits were always consistent with tetravalent Pu even though the intracellular milieu is generally reducing.     

Heating a bowl of single-molecule-soup: structure and desorption energetics of water-encapsulated open-cage [60] fullerenoid anions in the gas-phase

The gas-phase unimolecular decay kinetics of an anionic, open-cage [60] fullerene derivative encapsulating one water molecule is studied by means of black-body IR radiation induced dissociation (BIRD) in the temperature programmable ion trap of a Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer. The primary reaction channel observed is escape of the water molecule from the fullerenoid bowl. The rate constants for this water loss as a function of temperature are evaluated using the Arrhenius equation to yield an activation energy of 104 ± 4 kJ mol(-1). A complementary ion mobility spectrometry study contrasting the water-encapsulated and the empty fullerene cages finds identical collision cross sections to within experimental error-supporting the structural assignment of this gas-phase anion as an endohedral (i.e. encapsulated) species. Both experiments were compared with quantum-chemical computations which well-describe the transition state for water desorption and the concomitant binding and activation energies.     

Trinuclear rare earth metal complexes based on 1,3,5-triamino-1,3,5-trideoxy-cis inositol as catalysts for the hydrolysis of phosphodiesters

Trinuclear rare-earth metal complexes [M?(taciH??)?](3+) (M = La(3+), Y(3+)), based on a rigid polyamino-polyalcohol ligand 1,3,5-triamino-1,3,5-trideoxy-cis-inositol (taci), are proven to be efficient catalysts for the hydrolysis of 2-hydroxypropyl-4-nitrophenyl phophate (HPNP), a commonly used RNA model system.     

Generalized Alternating Direction Implicit Method for Projected Generalized Lyapunov Equations

We generalize an alternating direction implicit method for projected generalized Lyapunov equations. Low rank versions of this method is also presented that can be used to compute a low rank approximation of the solution of Lyapunov equations with symmetric, positive semidefinite right‐hand side. Numerical example is given. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Properties of radiation‐modified blends of polyethylene with elastomers and liquid crystalline copolyester

The results are given on the effect of γ‐irradiation on properties of blends of high and low‐density polyethylene (HDPE, LDPE) with elastomers ‐ethylene/propylene/diene rubber (EPDM) and chlorinated polyethylene (CPE), and thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (LCP). The morphological, thermal, mechanical properties (including thermosetting properties) and adhesion properties of blended composites were investigated. A special attention was paid to the applicability of the blends as thermosetting materials (TSM). The LCP used was a copolyester of poly(ethylene terephthalate) with p‐(hydroxybenzoic acid) in the ratio 40 : 60. It was found that addition of LCP essentially influenced the thermomechanical and adhesion properties of PE composites, irradiated up to the absorbed dose 150 kGy, as well as the dimensional stability of thermosetting products, made from polyethylene/elastomer mixtures. The results show that such ternary blends considerably improve the exploitation conditions of irradiated polyethylene and useful thermosetting materials can be obtained.