Phase States of Non-Heisenberg Magnet with Spin <Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis> = 3/2 on a Triangular Lattice

Phase states of an isotropic non-Heisenberg magnet with a magnetic ion spin of 3/2 on a triangular lattice are studied. It is shown that both dipole (ferro- and antiferromagnetic) and tensor (nematic and antinematic) phases can be implemented in the system. A phase diagram of the model under is constructed.     

A chromophore-supported structural and functional model of dinuclear copper enzymes,for facilitating mechanism of action studies

Type III dicopper centres are the heart of the reactive sites of enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of catechols. Numerous synthetic model complexes have been prepared to uncover the fundamental chemistry involved in these processes, but progress is still lagging much behind that for heme enzymes. One reason is that the latter gain very much from the informative spectroscopic features of their porphyrin-based metal-chelating ligand. We now introduce sapphyrin-chelated dicopper complexes and show that they may be isolated in different oxidation states and coordination geometries, with distinctive colors and electronic spectra due to the heme-like ligands. The dicopper(i) complex 1-Cu2 was characterized by ¹H and ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy of the metal-chelating sapphyrin, the oxygenated dicopper(ii) complex 1-Cu2O2 by EPR, and crystallographic data was obtained for the tetracopper(ii)-bis-sapphyrin complex [1-Cu2O2]2. This uncovered a non-heme [Cu₄(OH)₄]⁴⁻ cluster, held together with the aid of two sapphyrin ligands, with structural features reminiscent of those of catechol oxidase. Biomimetic activity was demonstrated by the 1-Cu2O2 catalyzed aerobic oxidation of catechol to quinone; the sapphyrin ligand aided very much in gaining information about reactive intermediates and the rate-limiting step of the reaction.

Di-copper chelation by sapphyrin facilitates reaction mechanism investigations and characterization of reactive intermediates regarding biomimetic catechol oxidation.     

A Two-Sublattice Non-Heisenberg Magnet with <Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis> = 1 and Complex Interion Anisotropy

Static and dynamic properties of a two-sublattice non-Heisenberg magnet with complex interion anisotropy of both bilinear and biquadratic exchange interactions are investigated. Existence conditions are found for phases with the dipole order parameter (AFM phases) and tensor parameters (OQU phases), as well as for intermediate states characterized by both vector and tensor parameters. Conditions for phase transitions and their types are determined.     

Carbon phase transformations under electrodynamic compression

The graphite-diamond phase transition under shock-wave-induced electrodynamic compression has been studied. A sample of a carbon-containing material was loaded by axisymmetric collapse of a copper liner. The liner was acted upon by ponderomotive forces generated by pulsed electric currents with amplitudes of 2–4 MA. The collapse of the cylindrical copper liner with a velocity of ∼1 km/s produced stepped loading of the carbon material in an ampoule from 5 to 40 GPa over 4 μs. Purification of the preserved material yielded agglomerates containing polycrystalline diamond. The average size of diamond polycrystals in the agglomerates is 1–2 μm, and the agglomerate yield is ∼3%. __________ Translated from Fizika Tverdogo Tela, Vol. 46, No. 4, 2004, pp. 659–661. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2004 by Makarevich, Rakhel, Rumyantsev, Fridman.     

Localizing Antifungal Drugs to the Correct Organelle Can Markedly Enhance their Efficacy

A critical aspect of drug design is optimal target inhibition by specifically delivering the drug molecule not only to the target tissue or cell but also to its therapeutically active site within the cell. This study demonstrates, as a proof of principle, that drug efficacy can be increased considerably by a structural modification that targets it to the relevant organelle. Specifically, by varying the fluorescent dye segment an antifungal azole was directed from the fungal cell mitochondria to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the organelle that harbors the drug target. The ER‐localized azole displayed up to two orders of magnitude improved antifungal activity and also dramatically reduced the growth of drug‐tolerant fungal subpopulations in a panel of Candida species, which are the most prevalent causes of serious human fungal infections. The principle underlying the “target organelle localization” approach provides a new paradigm to improve drug potency and replenish the limited pipeline of antifungal drugs.     

Blood Coagulation and Living Tissue Sterilization by Floating-Electrode Dielectric Barrier Discharge in Air

Thermal plasma discharges have been widely used in the past for treatment of living human and animal tissue. However, extensive thermal damage and tissue desiccation occurs due to extreme temperatures. Some solutions have been offered where the temperature is lowered by short current pulses, addition of noble gases, or significant decrease in the size of treatment electrodes. We propose a method of direct treatment of living tissue that occurs at room temperature and pressure without visible or microscopic tissue damage. The presented Floating-Electrode Dielectric Barrier Discharge plasma is proven electrically safe to human subjects and our results show no gross (visual) or histological (microscopic) damage to skin samples in minutes, complete tissue sterilization from skin flora in seconds, and blood clot formation in seconds of electric plasma treatment. We also observe significant hastening of blood clot formation via electric plasma induced catalysis of “natural” processes occurring in human blood. A model describing these processes is offered.An erratum to this article can be found at     

Cyclization of 4,4-dinitrobutenoic acid esters to 3-nitroisoxazoline N-oxides

Chemistry of Heterocyclic Compounds -     

Cascade of phase transitions in the Fe<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Co<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> monolayer

The reorientation phase transitions occurring in FeCo alloy monolayers have been investigated as a function of the cobalt concentration with inclusion of the magnetodipole and magnetoelastic interactions. The kinetic values of the cobalt concentration corresponding to the phase transition points have been determined and the phase diagram of the system under investigation has been constructed.