Measurement of orientation distributions using chemical shift amplification

A new three-dimensional magic angle spinning (MAS) experiment is proposed, based on a combination of the two-dimensional rotor-synchronized MAS experiment of Spiess and co-workers and a new chemical shift anisotropy amplification method. The new experiment is demonstrated on a macroscopically ordered sample of ultra-high molecular weight poly(ethylene).     

Chemical shift anisotropy amplification

A new NMR experiment which allows a measurement of the chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) tensor under magic angle spinning (MAS) is described. This correlates a fast MAS spectrum in the omega2 dimension with a sideband pattern in omega1 in which the intensities mimic those for a sample spinning at a fraction of the rate omega r/N, and these sidebands result from an amplification by a factor N of the modulation caused by the CSA. Standard methods can be used to extract the principal tensor components from the omega1 sideband patterns, and the nature of the experiment is such that the use of a large number of t1 increments can be avoided without compromising the resolution of different chemical sites. The new experiment is useful for accurately measuring narrow shift anisotropies.     

Reactions of cyclo-octatetraene and its derivatives - X: 1,2,3,8-Tetraphenylcyclo-octatetraene and 2,3,4,5-tetraphenylcyclo-octa-1,3,5-triene

The reaction of tetracyclone $\text{1b}$ with the cyclo-octatetraene-dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate adduct $\text{2}$ at $\text{ca}$. 110° produces, in addition to the $\text{exo}$[4+2] Π cycloadduct $\text{3b}$ (49%), 1,2,3,8-tetraphenylcyclo-octatraene $\text{5}$ (11%), together with the diketone $\text{11}$ (5%). In a similar reaction with the esterified cyclo-octatetraene-maleic anhydride adduct $\text{13a}$, the major product $\text{14}$ (82%) is accompanied by the cyclohexa-1,3-diene $\text{15}$ and the dihydrosemibullvalene derivative $\text{16}$. Thermolysis of $\text{3b}$ at $\text{ca}$. 145° leads to the cyclobutene $\text{12}$., which on catalytic hydrogonation followed by decarbonylation at 180°–190° gives 2,3,4,5-tetraphenylcyclo-octa-1,3,5-triene $\text{19}$. Attempted thermal conversion of $\text{19}$ into a dihydrosemibullvalene failed.     

Electrical transport and magnetic ordering in R 2Ti3Ge4 (R=Dy, Ho and Er) compounds

New R ₂Ti₃Ge₄ (R=Dy, Ho and Er) intermetallic compounds have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction and low temperature ac magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity and thermoelectric power measurements were carried out. The compounds crystallize in the parent, Sm₅Ge₄-type orthorhombic structure (space group Pnma) and lanthanide contraction is observed as one moves along the rare-earth series. The changeover from paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic phase happens at low temperatures and the ordering temperature scales with the de Gennes factor. The electrical resistivity is metallic with a negative curvature above 100 K. Thermopower displays a weak maximum at temperatures less than 50 K signifying the possible phonon and magnon drag effects.     

Synthesis of 12-azaprostacyclin analogues

Synthetic routes for the preparation of 12-azaprostacyclin analogues are described.     

Analyse macro- et microrhéologique de certains effets observés en photoélasticité

Résumé Des mesures fines de l'effet photoélastique présenté par des matériaux soumis à une sollicitation sinuoïdale en régime établi, montrent un comportement inhabituel, et présentant une forte dépendance chromatique. En outre, la biréfringence peut être déphaséeen avance sur la sollicitation. Une analyse macrorhéologique, basée sur les fonctions de transfert, et l'adoption d'un modèle microrhéologique distinguant une composante hyperélastique et une composante entropique, fournissent une explication.

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Summary Precise measurements on the photoelastic effect exhibited by materials harmonically loaded, show an unusual behaviour, with a strong chromatic dependance. The phase shift of the birefringence to the stress may also be positive, negative or zero. The use of transfer functions, at the macrorheological scale, and the assumption of a microrheological model with a hyperelastic and an entropic component, may explain the phenomenon.

     

Dependence of cross-relaxation on temperature and concentration from the 1D2 level of Pr3+ in YPO4

We report on the role of cross-relaxation in the decay of the ¹D₂ level of trivalent Pr in YPO₄ in crystals with Pr concentrations of 0.1%, 1%, 2%, and 5%. We have found that the ¹D₂ level decay is purely radiative in the low-doped system. As the Pr concentration is increased, the ¹D₂ luminescence is quenched due to a cross-relaxation energy transfer between two Pr ions. The temporal behavior of the ¹D₂ luminescence following pulsed excitation has been monitored in each sample at temperatures between 30 K and 300 K, and all decay curves were fit to the Yokota–Tanimoto model. The decay times decrease as temperature increases, due to an increase in both the radiative rate and the energy transfer rate with temperature. There is little evidence of diffusion at any temperature, even in the more concentrated samples. We have also fit the decay curves using the LumiTrans computer simulation. A comparison of the fits to the decay curves of the two methods is presented.     

Elastic properties of the Ta–V system: bcc Ta0.33V0.67 and C15 TaV2

Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy was used to measure the elastic constants of bcc Ta_0.33V_0.67 over the temperature range 3.5–300?K; the results were compared to earlier measurements on C15 TaV₂. The temperature dependence of the polycrystalline shear modulus is completely different in the two phases; that of the bcc phase decreases with temperature whereas that of the C15 phases increases in an anomalous fashion. This difference is consistent with a model involving doubly-degenerate levels at the X point of the Brillouin zone in the C15 phase with the Fermi level lying near the doubly degenerate level. This model accounted for the unusual behaviour of the C15 phase. Debye temperatures were determined from the ultrasonic measurements: 295?K for the C15 phase and 315?K for the bcc phase.     

Quantitative display of the redox status of proteins with maleimide‐polyethylene glycol tagging

Cysteine oxidation, either biologically reversible or irreversible, is the main posttranslational modification associated with redox signaling and oxidative stress. Maleimide‐polyethylene glycol (m‐PEG) has been used to detect reversibly oxidized proteins by reacting to the reduced cysteine residues leading to mobility shift in immunoblots; a method called PEG‐switch. With PEG‐switch, both reduced and oxidized proteins can be observed on the same immunoblot simultaneously, providing a simple quantitative measurement for protein thiol modifications. In this report, we optimized the assay conditions and exploited the applications of PEG‐switch in quantitation of the extent of protein thiol oxidation in cells in response to H₂O₂ and insulin. In addition, we have proposed a redox scoring system for measuring the redox status of any given protein from the m‐PEG immunoblot. Our results provided quantitative data showing that two cysteine residues of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B are prone to oxidation following insulin treatment in cultured HeLa cells.