Thermoluminescence and electron spin resonance after room-temperature X-ray irradiation of NaCl:Mn2+

A parallel investigation of thermoluminescence (TL) and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra on room-temperature (RT) X-irradiated NaCl:Mn²⁺ has been performed. The TL spectra in the range 20–300°C consist of five glow peaks, numbered from I to V. Temperatures at maximum height are 41°, 68°, 118°, 152° and 216°C, respectively. Peaks I, II and IV obey first-order kinetics, whereas peaks III and V fit second-order behavior. The wavelength spectrum for all glow peaks consists of two bands centered at 595 and 400 nm. The 595 nm emission is attributed to hole capture by Mn⁺ and subsequent deexcitation of Mn²⁺. The 400 nm emission is produced as a consequence of hole-F center recombination.The correlation of TL glow peaks to various defects has been investigated. Peak II is clearly related to manganese-vacancy dipoles and peak I can be roughly associated to free cation vacancies. Peak IV appears to relate to large Mn-aggregates, whereas peak V is intrinsic and not related to impurities.On the other hand, ESR data indicate that each glow peak in the 595 nm emission is associated to the annihilation of a given Mn-center; Peak I to Mn⁰C, peak II to Mn⁰C and Mn⁺, peak III to Mn⁺ and peaks IV and V to Mn⁰-D.     

Superfluid and dissipative dynamics of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a periodic optical potential

We create Bose-Einstein condensates of 87Rb in a static magnetic trap with a superimposed blue-detuned 1D optical lattice. By displacing the magnetic trap center we are able to control the condensate evolution. We observe a change in the frequency of the center-of-mass oscillation in the harmonic trapping potential, in analogy with an increase in effective mass. For fluid velocities greater than a local speed of sound, we observe the onset of dissipative processes up to full removal of the superfluid component. A parallel simulation study visualizes the dynamics of the Bose-Einstein condensate and accounts for the main features of the observed behavior.     

Spatial interference of coherent atomic waves by manipulation of the internal quantum state

A trapped >(87)Rb Bose-Einstein condensate is initially put into a superposition of two internal states. Under the effect of gravity and by means of a second transition, we prepare two vertically displaced condensates in the same internal state. These constitute two coherent sources of matter waves with adjustable spatial separation. Fringe patterns, observed after free expansion, are associated with the interplay between internal and external degrees of freedom and substantially agree with those for a double-slit experiment.     

Integrated TE-TM mode converter on Y-cutZ-propagating LiNbO3 with an electrooptic phasematching for coherence multiplexing

The use of an integrated TE-TM mode converter as a coherence multiplexer is described. The component is based on a buried waveguide obtained by proton exchange and postannealing. The electrode structure consists of three electrodes. Two are used to achieve TE-TM conversion, and the third is used to perform phase matching to ensure a high conversion efficiency     

Magnetic tunneling told to ignorants by two ignorants

Magnetic tunneling of a large spin subject to the Hamiltonian is investigated by elementary methods for weak fields H. In zero field (H=0) the tunnel frequency in the ground state is found to be equal to [0pt] multiplied by a quantity whose variation with s is slower than exponential. This result coincides with that of path integral methods [#!schi!#]. For the values of the longitudinal field which allow tunneling, the tunnel frequency is shown to vanish when H _y =0 for certain “diabolic" values of [0pt] , in qualitative agreement with experiments by Wernsdorfer and Sessoli. The particular case H _z =0 was already obtained by Garg by means of path integrals. The diabolic values of are in agreement with numerical results but, as already noticed by Wernsdorfer and Sessoli, they disagree with the experimental ones. This may be an effect of higher order anisotropy terms, which is briefly addressed in the conclusion. Received 17 May 2000     

Ordered Mesoporous Silica Incorporating Platinum Nanoparticles as Electrode Material for Paracetamol Detection

High ordered mesoporous materials (SBA-15) modified with Al and/or B and Pt nanoparticles (Pt NPs) were used for preparing modified graphite paste electrodes (Pt/M−SBA-15-GPE, where M=Al−, B− or Al−B−) and applied for paracetamol (PA) detection. The electrodes were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Square wave voltammetry (SWV) technique was used to obtain the analytical parameters for PA detection. The acquired values of electrochemical and analytical parameters recommend the mesoporous compound containing Pt NPs to be used as composite electrode material for PA detection in real samples.     

Organocatalytic Asymmetric Conjugate Additions to Cyclopent‐1‐enecarbaldehyde: A Critical Assessment of Organocatalytic Approaches towards the Telaprevir Bicyclic Core

In the context of a programme directed at the manufacture of telaprevir, eight possible approaches to its bicyclic α‐amino acid core, based on organocatalytic enantioselective conjugate additions to cyclopent‐1‐enecarbaldehyde, were identified and preliminarily explored. Four reactions, delivering advanced intermediates en route to the target amino acid, were selected for a thorough optimisation. Three of this reactions involved iminium ion catalysis with a prolinol catalyst (addition of nitromethane, nitroacetate and acetamidomalonate) and one was based on a Cinchona‐derived phase‐transfer catalyst (addition of glycine imines). A careful choice of additives allowed lowering of the catalyst loading to 0.5 mol % in some cases. The preparation of intermediates that would give access to the core of telaprevir in good yields and enantioselectivities by exploiting readily available substrates and catalysts, highlights the potential of organocatalytic technology for a cost‐effective preparation of pharmaceuticals.     

Ultracold atoms in a disordered crystal of light: towards a bose glass

We use a bichromatic optical lattice to experimentally realize a disordered system of ultracold strongly interacting 87Rb bosons. In the absence of disorder, the atoms are pinned by repulsive interactions in the sites of an ideal optical crystal, forming one-dimensional Mott-insulator states. We measure the excitation spectrum of the system as a function of disorder strength and characterize its phase-coherence properties with a time-of-flight technique. Increasing disorder, we observe a broadening of the Mott-insulator resonances and the transition to a state with vanishing long-range phase coherence and a flat density of excitations, which suggest the formation of a Bose-glass phase.     

A chemical approach to the pharmaceutical optimization of an anti-HIV protein

Chemical protein synthesis is important for dissecting the molecular basis of protein function. Here we advance its scope by demonstrating the significant improvement of the multifaceted pharmaceutical profile of small proteins exclusively via a chemical-based approach. The focus of this work centered on CCL-5 (RANTES) derivatives with potent anti-HIV activity. The overall chemical strategy involved a combination of coded and noncoded amino acid mutagenesis, peptide backbone engineering, and site-specific polymer attachment. The ability to alter specific protein residues, as well as precise control of the position and type of polymer attachment, allows for the exploration of specific molecular designs and resulted in novel CCL-5 analogues with significant differences in their respective biochemical and pharmaceutical properties. Using this approach, the complex-interplay of variables contributing to the noncovalent self-association (aggregation) state, CCR-5 specificity, in vivo elimination half-life, and anti-HIV activity of CCL-5-based protein analogues could be empirically evaluated via total chemical synthesis. This work has led to the identification of potent (sub-nanomolar) anti-HIV proteins with significantly improved pharmaceutical profiles, and illustrates the increasing value of protein chemical synthesis in contemporary therapeutic discovery. These antiviral molecules provide a novel mechanism of action for the development of a new generation of anti-HIV therapeutics which are still desperately needed.