Improved synthesis of polyfluorinated l-lysine for 19F NMR-based screening

Polyfluorinated N-α-Fmoc--Boc-l-lysine represents the best-in-class among a set of polyfluorinated amino acids (PFAs) which are useful tools for ¹⁹F NMR-Based Screening. In this communication, optimized reaction conditions that allowed for the multi-gram preparation of this unnatural amino acid are reported.     

Nuclear Uptake of Gold Nanoparticles Deduced Using Dual‐Angle X‐Ray Fluorescence Mapping

Studies into the cell nucleus' incorporation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are often limited by ambiguities arising from conventional imaging techniques. Indeed, it is suggested that to date there is no unambiguous imaging evidence for such uptake in whole cells, particularly at the single nanoparticle level. This shortcoming in understanding exists despite the nucleus being the most important subcellular compartment in eukaryotes and gold being the most commonly used metal nanoparticle in medical applications. Here, dual‐angle X‐ray flouresence is used to show individually resolved nanoparticles within the cell nucleus, finding them to be well separated and 79% of the intranuclear population to be monodispersed. These findings have important implications for nanomedicine, illustrated here through a specific exemplar of the predicted enhancement of radiation effects arising from the observed AuNPs, finding intranuclear dose enhancements spanning nearly five orders of magnitude.     

Magnetic field effect on the pairing state competition in quasi-one-dimensional organic superconductors (TMTSF)2X

We study the effect of the magnetic field on the pairing state competition in organic conductors (TMTSF)₂X by applying random phase approximation to a quasi-one-dimensional extended Hubbard model. We show that the singlet pairing, triplet pairing and the Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov (FFLO) superconducting states may compete when charge fluctuations coexist with spin fluctuations. This rises a possibility of a consecutive transition from singlet pairing to FFLO state and further to S_z = 1 triplet pairing upon increasing the magnetic field. We also show that the singlet and S_z = 0 triplet components of the gap function in the FFLO state have “d-wave” and “f-wave” forms, respectively, which are strongly mixed.     

Characterization of a sCMOS‐based high‐resolution imaging system

The detection system is a key part of any imaging station. Here the performance of the novel sCMOS‐based detection system installed at the ID17 biomedical beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and dedicated to high‐resolution computed‐tomography imaging is analysed. The system consists of an X‐ray–visible‐light converter, a visible‐light optics and a PCO.Edge5.5 sCMOS detector. Measurements of the optical characteristics, the linearity of the system, the detection lag, the modulation transfer function, the normalized power spectrum, the detective quantum efficiency and the photon transfer curve are presented and discussed. The study was carried out at two different X‐ray energies (35 and 50 keV) using both 2× and 1× optical magnification systems. The final pixel size resulted in 3.1 and 6.2 µm, respectively. The measured characteristic parameters of the PCO.Edge5.5 are in good agreement with the manufacturer specifications. Fast imaging can be achieved using this detection system, but at the price of unavoidable losses in terms of image quality. The way in which the X‐ray beam inhomogeneity limited some of the performances of the system is also discussed.     

Evaluation of ADC measurements among solid pancreatic masses by respiratory-triggered diffusion-weighted MR imaging with inversion-recovery fat-suppression technique at 3.0 T

Purpose

The objective of this paper was to investigate the value of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) for differential diagnosis among solid pancreatic masses using respiratory triggered diffusion-weighted MR imaging with inversion-recovery fat-suppression technique (RT-IR-DWI) at 3.0 T.

Materials and Methods

20 normal volunteers and 72 patients (Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma [PDCA, n = 30], mass-forming pancreatitis [MFP, n = 15], solid pseudopapillary neoplasm [SPN, n = 12], and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor[PNET, n = 15]) underwent RT-IR-DWI (b values: 0 and 600 s/mm²) at 3.0 T. Results were correlated with histopathologic data and follow-up imaging. ADC values among different types of pancreatic tissue were statistically analyzed and compared.

Results

Statistical difference was noticed in ADC values among normal pancreas, MFP, PDCA, SPN and PNET by ANOVA (p < .001). Normal pancreas had the highest ADC value, then followed by PNET, PDCA, MFP and SPN. There was noticeable statistical difference in ADC values among PDCA, MFP and normal pancreas by Least Significant Difference (LSD) (p < .001). ADC of SPN was statistically lower than that of PNET (p = 0.1800 × 10^− 4), PDCA (p = 0.0300 × 10^− 4) and normal pancreas (p = 0.0007 × 10^− 4). ADC of PNET was statistically lower than that of normal pancreas (p = 0.0360) and higher than that of MFP (p = 9.3000 × 10^− 4).

Conclusions

ADC measurements using RT-IR-DWI at 3.0 T may aid to disclose the histopathological pattern of normal pancreas and solid pancreatic masses, which may be helpful in characterizing solid pancreatic lesions.     

Soft X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and resonant inelastic X‐ray scattering spectroscopy below 100 eV: probing first‐row transition‐metal M‐edges in chemical complexes

X‐ray absorption and scattering spectroscopies involving the 3d transition‐metal K‐ and L‐edges have a long history in studying inorganic and bioinorganic molecules. However, there have been very few studies using the M‐edges, which are below 100 eV. Synchrotron‐based X‐ray sources can have higher energy resolution at M‐edges. M‐edge X‐ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic X‐ray scattering (RIXS) could therefore provide complementary information to K‐ and L‐edge spectroscopies. In this study, M_2,3‐edge XAS on several Co, Ni and Cu complexes are measured and their spectral information, such as chemical shifts and covalency effects, are analyzed and discussed. In addition, M_2,3‐edge RIXS on NiO, NiF₂ and two other covalent complexes have been performed and different d–d transition patterns have been observed. Although still preliminary, this work on 3d metal complexes demonstrates the potential to use M‐edge XAS and RIXS on more complicated 3d metal complexes in the future. The potential for using high‐sensitivity and high‐resolution superconducting tunnel junction X‐ray detectors below 100 eV is also illustrated and discussed.     

Correction of B0 susceptibility induced distortion in diffusion-weighted images using large-deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping

Geometric distortion caused by B0 inhomogeneity is one of the most important problems for diffusion-weighted images (DWI) using single-shot, echo planar imaging (SS-EPI). In this study, large-deformation, diffeomorphic metric mapping (LDDMM) algorithm has been tested for the correction of geometric distortion in diffusion tensor images (DTI). Based on data from nine normal subjects, the amount of distortion caused by B0 susceptibility in the 3-T magnet was characterized. The distortion quality was validated by manually placing landmarks in the target and DTI images before and after distortion correction. The distortion was found to be up to 15 mm in the population-averaged map and could be more than 20 mm in individual images. Both qualitative demonstration and quantitative statistical results suggest that the highly elastic geometric distortion caused by spatial inhomogeneity of the B0 field in DTI using SS-EPI can be effectively corrected by LDDMM. This postprocessing method is especially useful for correcting existent DTI data without phase maps.     

Temperature dependent photoluminescence down to 4.2 K in EuTFC

The temperature dependence of photoluminescence in Europium tris[3-(trifluoro-methylhydroxymethylene)-(+)-camphorate] (EuTFC) embedded in polymer films has been examined from 40 K down to 4.2 K with the goal of preparing sensor films for low-temperature thermal imaging. The behavior of EuTFC showed significant difference when based on polystyrene compared to poly(n-alkyl methacrylate)s. In poly(n-alkyl methacrylate)s prepared by standard methods for imaging applications, the photoluminescence is fully saturated below 30 K, whereas in polystyrene films there is a strong temperature dependence even down to 4.2 K. By optimizing the preparation procedure for films made of poly(butyl methacrylate) (PBMA) and poly(methyl methacrylate), also these polymers became very sensitive down to liquid helium temperature. The maximum temperature sensitivity of EuTFC in PBMA is found to be 1.0%/K at 4.2 K. The problem of delamination and cracking of the polymer film at cryogenic temperature is also avoided by the special preparation method.     

Raman spectroscopy of very small Cd1−xCoxS quantum dots grown by a novel protocol: direct observation of acoustic‐optical phonon coupling

Glass‐embedded Cd_1−xCo_xS quantum dots (QDs) with mean radius of R ≈ 1.70 nm were successfully synthesized by a novel protocol on the basis of the melting‐nucleation synthesis route and herein investigated by several experimental techniques. Incorporation of Co²⁺ ions into the QD lattice was evidenced by X‐ray diffraction and magnetic force microscopy results. Optical absorption features with irregular spacing in the ligand field region confirmed that the majority of the incorporated Co²⁺ ions are under influence of a low‐symmetry crystal field located near to the Cd_1−xCo_xS QD surface. Electron paramagnetic resonance data confirmed the presence of Co²⁺ ions in a highly inhomogeneous crystal field environment identified at the interface between the hosting glass matrix (amorphous) and the crystalline QD. The acoustic‐optical phonon coupling in the Cd_1−xCo_xS QDs (x ≠ 0.000) was directly observed by Raman measurements, which have shown a high‐frequency shoulder of the longitudinal optical phonon peak. This effect is tuned by the size‐dependent sp‐d exchange interaction due to the magnetic doping, causing variations in the coupling between electrons and longitudinal optical phonon. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recent results on hadron spectroscopy from BES

The BES-Ⅲ Detector is a very versatile multipurpose device located at the Institute of High Energy Physics(IHEP) in Beijing,China.Concerning the physics program it ties stringently up to the past BES and BES-Ⅱ experiments.Since start of the data taking in the middle of 2008 the accumulated dataset of 200·106 J/ψ events and 100·106 ψ events already exceeds the world data on these resonances.In addition to studies of the charmonium systems the data offers great opportunity for investigations in the light hadron sector.In detail it will be reported about the confirmation of the enhancement in p invariant mass in radiative J/ψ decays,the search for decays Y(2175) → K0 K0,observation of a charged κ± in K±π0 and observation of a new excited baryon N(2065) decaying to pπ0 and charged conjugate.The first result is based on data taken by BES-Ⅱ and BES-Ⅲ,the latter three on data collected by BES-Ⅱ only.