Electron-impact induced rearrangements in isomeric pyridine aldoximes

The mass spectra of α-, β- and γ-pyridine aldoximes and the respective O-methyl ethers were studied. The mass spectral behaviour of α-pyridine aldoxime is characterized by the elimination of NO, while the molecular ion of the γ-isomer expels H₂ CN. In the case of the β-isomer the formation of the m/e 67 ion (C₄H₅N) in a concerted process is the main feature. In the α-pyridine aldoxime methyl ether, in sharp contrast to the hydroxy analog, the M-30 peak was found to be due to the elimination of CH₂O, the expulsion of NO being absent. The mechanism of the fragmentation reactions is discussed, the conclusion drawn being based on the high resolution measurements as well as on the spectra of the respective deuterioanalogs and on the metastable transitions.     

Application of the generalized internal reference method for the characterization of parameters causing drift in inductively-coupled plasma emission spectrometry

Drift in signals limits the performance of inductively-coupled plasma (i.c.p.) emission spectrometry. The generalized internal reference method was applied to deconvolute the drift of an i.c.p. system. The plasma parameters were correlated to the drift components and the error boundary for the method was found. In the system studied, it was found that fluctuations in the nebulizer uptake rate were responsible for short-term signal changes. Long-term signal drift was caused mainly by flow variations of both cooling gas and aerosol carrier gas. The incident power to the plasma was found to be stable compared to other sources of drift. The method was found to be adequate for evaluating the origins of i.c.p. drift.     

Error estimates in the determination of rigid body displacements in protein crystals

We report the estimation of random errors in the refinement of the rigid body displacements of the -helices of the enzyme 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase. Least-squares refinement of the TLS parameters of the helices has been carried out using X-ray reflection data of 2.1 Å resolution, resulting in anR-factor of 19.5%. Standard deviations were estimated from the normal matrix. The results show that the translational mean-square displacements of nearly all the helices are significant at this resolution. However the libration parameters are only significant when the helices have at least four turns. Screw-rotation tensor values cannot be determined at this resolution.     

Scale-invariant correlations in dynamic bacterial clusters

In Bacillus subtilis colonies, motile bacteria move collectively, spontaneously forming dynamic clusters. These bacterial clusters share similarities with other systems exhibiting polarized collective motion, such as bird flocks or fish schools. Here we study experimentally how velocity and orientation fluctuations within clusters are spatially correlated. For a range of cell density and cluster size, the correlation length is shown to be 30% of the spatial size of clusters, and the correlation functions collapse onto a master curve after rescaling the separation with correlation length. Our results demonstrate that correlations of velocity and orientation fluctuations are scale invariant in dynamic bacterial clusters.     

Oxidation of Ascorbate by Ni(III) Complexes with Tetraaza-macrocyclic Ligands in Neutral Aqueous Solutions. A Pulse-Radiolysis Study

Abstract

The mechanisms and kinetics of oxidation of ascorbate, AH^?, by Ni(III)Lⁱ _aq and by LⁱNi(III) (HPO₄)₂ ^? complexes (L¹ = meso-(5,12)-7,7,14,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane; L² = 1,8-dimethyl-1,3,6,8,10,13-hexaazacyclotetradecane) in neutral aqueous solutions have been investigated.

The oxidation of ascorbate by the LⁱNi(III) (HPO₄)₂ ^? and Ni(III)L¹ _aq proceeds via two consecutive reactions well separated in time. The products of the first reaction are the A^.? radical anion and the corresponding Ni(II) complex. The oxidations by the LⁱNi(III)(HPO₄)₂ ^? complexes proceed via the outer sphere mechanism, whereas the detailed mechanism of reaction of Ni(III)L¹ _aq cannot be determined. The rate of reaction decreases with the increase in the concentration of phosphate, thus indicating that LⁱNi(III)(HPO₄)(H₂O)⁺ and LⁱNi(III)OH²⁺ are stronger oxidizing agents than LⁱNi(III)(HPO₄)^? ₂.

The oxidation of ascorbate by Ni(III)L² _aq proceeds via three consecutive reactions which are well separated in time. Thus the results clearly point out that this process occurs via the inner sphere mechanism. The first transient observed is tentatively identified as L²(H₂O)Ni(II)(A^.?)²⁺, i.e., an unexpected complex of the ascorbate anion radical. Also in this process the last transient observed is the A^.? anion radical. The stabilization of the ascorbyl radical in a transient complex might be of biological significance.     

A new route of oxygen isotope exchange in the solid phase: demonstration in CuSO4.5H2O

Temperature-programmed desorption mass spectrometry (TPD-MS) measurements on [(18)O]water-enriched copper sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO(4).5H(2)(18)O) reveal an unambiguous occurrence of efficient oxygen isotope exchange between the water of crystallization and the sulfate in its CuSO(4) solid phase. To the best of our knowledge, the occurrence of such an exchange was never observed in a solid phase. The exchange process was observed during the stepwise dehydration (50-300 degrees C) of the compound. Specifically, the exchange promptly occurs somewhere between 160 and 250 degrees C; however, the exact temperature could not be resolved conclusively. It is shown that only the fifth, sulfate-associated, anionic H(2)O molecule participates in the exchange process and that the exchange seems to occur in a preferable fashion with, at the most, one oxygen atom in SO(4). Such an exchange, occurring below 250 degrees C, questions the common conviction of unfeasible oxygen exchange under geothermic conditions. This new oxygen exchange phenomenon is not exclusive to copper sulfate but is unambiguously observed also in other sulfate- and nitrate-containing minerals.     

$$(O( V \oplus F), O( V))$$ is a Gelfand pair for any quadratic space V over a local field F

Let V be a quadratic space with a form q over an arbitrary local field F of characteristic different from 2. Let with the form Q extending q with Q(e) = 1. Consider the standard embedding and the two-sided action of on . In this note we show that any -invariant distribution on is invariant with respect to transposition. This result was earlier proven in a bit different form in van Dijk (Math Z 193:581–593, 1986) for , in Aparicio and van Dijk (Complex generalized Gelfand pairs. Tambov University, 2006) for and in Bosman and van Dijk (Geometriae Dedicata 50:261–282, 1994) for p-adic fields. Here we give a different proof. Using results from Aizenbud et al. (arXiv:0709.1273 (math.RT), submitted), we show that this result on invariant distributions implies that the pair (O(V), O(W)) is a Gelfand pair. In the archimedean setting this means that for any irreducible admissible smooth Fréchet representation (π, E) of we have A stronger result for p-adic fields is obtained in Aizenbud et al. (arXiv:0709.4215 (math.RT), submitted).     

Stereoselectivity in the synthesis of polyprenylphosphoryl β-d-ribofuranoses

Decaprenylphosphoryl β-d-arabinofuranose (DPA) is a key arabinose donor in mycobacteria. The ribo analog of DPA (DPR) has also been found in mycobacteria. It has recently been confirmed that DPA is formed via a two-step epimerization of DPR. The stereoselective synthesis of DPR as well as two shorter analogs of DPR is described.     

Sensing the physicochemical nature of he and ne in micropores by adsorption measurements

He and Ne in contact with molecular sieves in the form of crystalline A zeolites and amorphous carbon molecular sieves fibers (CMSF) were studied by adsorption measurements. Classification of the effective enclosure of zeolitic apertures and of graphitic constrictions, as determined by recent temperature-programmed desorption mass spectrometry (TPD-MS) studies of adsorption of He and Ne onto these materials, was utilized in making a prudent choice of samples and experimental conditions. In view of the former TPD information, the behaviors of adsorption and volumetric measurements reported herein are straightforwardly interpreted. The combined TPD, adsorption isotherms, and dead volume data deepen the understanding of the physicochemical nature of adsorbed gas, where gas adsorption in the vicinity of pore constrictions and/or apertures as well as on the inner surface areas of pores and/or cages could be resolved. Previous conclusions that the huge activation energies measured for Ne/CMSF at high temperatures are unlikely to characterize chemical desorption but reflect those required for overcoming the barrier of effectively constricted apertures were confirmed by the volumetric data presented here. At 77 K, considerable He adsorption was observed in the porous solids and found to be responsible for abnormal deduced values of dead volumes. The occurrence of significant adsorption of He onto A zeolites and CMSF at 77 K warrants the realization that in cases concerning porous materials, volumetrically deduced quantities should not be taken for granted, but should be carefully considered and uniquely interpreted in relation to the specific experimental conditions under which they are taken.