The motion of charged test particles in general relativity

We derive, from the Einstein-Maxwell field equations, the Lorentz equations of motion with radiation reaction for a charged mass particle moving in a background gravitational and electromagnetic field by utilizing a line element for the background space-time in a coordinate system specially adapted to the world line of the particle. The particle is introduced via perturbations of the background space-time (and electromagnetic field) which are singular only on the source world line.     

Basic hydrolysis of glyceryl nitrate esters. III. Trinitroglycerin

Kinetics of the basic hydrolysis of glyceryl trinitrate (TNG) were investigated in CO₂-free aqueous calcium hydroxide solutions. The hydrolysis reactions were carried out in a temperature controlled reactor vessel with provision for continuous N₂ sparging of the reaction mixture. TNG hydrolyzed via second-order reaction at 25°C, 18°C, and 10°C. The activation energy of the hydrolysis reaction of TNG was calculated from the kinetic data and found to be equal to 27.53 kcal/mol. The major products of the hydrolysis of TNG in solution of calcium hydroxide were calcium nitrate and calcium nitrite, accounting for approximately 50% of the degradation products. The minor identified products such as calcium oxalate and nitrate esters amounted to approximatey 6% of the products. The remaining 30% of the isolated products was a mixture of calcium formate, a nitrate ester, and unidentified volatiles, polymerlike substances, and other organic residue.     

Nucleon mean free path in nuclear matter

In calculations of nuclear reaction yields at incident energies of some tens of MeV consistently better agreement with experiments is obtained by assuming a nucleon mean free path in nuclear matter longer than that deduced from the Fermi gas model and free nucleon-nucleon cross sections.     

A limit on the lepton-family number violating process π → μe

A FNAL E799 Collaboration has carried out a search for the lepton-family number violating decay π⁰ → μ^±e using π⁰'s produced from K_L → π⁰π⁰π⁰ decays in flight. No events were observed. Assuming that lepton-family number violation is charge independent, the 90% confidence level upper limit on

Full-size image

was determined to be 8.6 × 10⁻⁹.     

Orai1 is an essential pore subunit of the CRAC channel

Stimulation of immune cells causes depletion of Ca2+ from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stores, thereby triggering sustained Ca2+ entry through store-operated Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ (CRAC) channels, an essential signal for lymphocyte activation and proliferation. Recent evidence indicates that activation of CRAC current is initiated by STIM proteins, which sense ER Ca2+ levels through an EF-hand located in the ER lumen and relocalize upon store depletion into puncta closely associated with the plasma membrane. We and others recently identified Drosophila Orai and human Orai1 (also called TMEM142A) as critical components of store-operated Ca2+ entry downstream of STIM. Combined overexpression of Orai and Stim in Drosophila cells, or Orai1 and STIM1 in mammalian cells, leads to a marked increase in CRAC current. However, these experiments did not establish whether Orai is an essential intracellular link between STIM and the CRAC channel, an accessory protein in the plasma membrane, or an actual pore subunit. Here we show that Orai1 is a plasma membrane protein, and that CRAC channel function is sensitive to mutation of two conserved acidic residues in the transmembrane segments. E106D and E190Q substitutions in transmembrane helices 1 and 3, respectively, diminish Ca2+ influx, increase current carried by monovalent cations, and render the channel permeable to Cs+. These changes in ion selectivity provide strong evidence that Orai1 is a pore subunit of the CRAC channel.     

Regioselective carbolithiation of o-amino-(E)-stilbenes: cascade route to the quinoline scaffold

[reaction: see text] The regioselective carbolithiation of substituted ortho-amino-(E)-stilbenes can be exploited to initiate cascade reaction sequences that can be utilized as new routes to substituted 3,4-dihydro-1H-quinolin-2-ones, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines, 1,4-dihydroquinolines, and quinolines.     

On uncertainty bounds and growth estimates for fractional fourier transforms

Gelfand–Shilov spaces are spaces of entire functions defined in terms of a rate of growth in one direction and a concomitant rate of decay in an orthogonal direction. Gelfand and Shilov proved that the Fourier transform is an isomorphism among certain of these spaces. In this article we consider mapping properties of fractional Fourier transforms on Gelfand–Shilov spaces. Just as the Fourier transform corresponds to rotation through a right angle in the phase plane, fractional Fourier transforms correspond to rotations through intermediate angles. Therefore, the aim of fractional Fourier estimates is to set up a correspondence between growth properties in the complex plane versus decay properties in phase space.