Superfluid-helium converter for accumulation and extraction of ultracold neutrons

We report the first successful extraction of accumulated ultracold neutrons (UCN) from a converter of superfluid helium, in which they were produced by downscattering neutrons of a cold beam from the Munich research reactor. Windowless UCN extraction is performed in vertical direction through a mechanical cold valve. This prototype of a versatile UCN source is comprised of a novel cryostat designed to keep the source portable and to allow for rapid cooldown. We measured time constants for UCN storage and extraction into a detector at room temperature, with the converter held at various temperatures between 0.7 and 1.3 K. The UCN production rate inferred from the count rate of extracted UCN is close to the theoretical expectation.     

High proton conductivity of water channels in a highly ordered nanowire

A proton-conductive material based on a crystalline assembly of trimesic acid and melamine (TMA?M, see picture) is reported. Because of the ordered structure of the assembly, the water-saturated proton conductivity for the TMA?M assembly is 5.5?S?cm(-1) , which is the highest proton conductivity measured to date. This exceptionally high conductivity and low-cost fabrication of the material make applications feasible for fuel-cell devices.     

Strong local electron correlations in high-temperature superconductors: Mean-field description of the metal-insulator transition

A realistic model of a Cu?O-plane, as the important structural element of high-temperature superconductors, is discussed with emphasis on strong local electron correlations. The Coulomb repulsion of electrons on oxygen sites as well as the one on copper sites is assumed very large, so that a systematic approximation scheme can be based on canonical transformations for elimination of both of these interactions. The resulting multiplet-J-model encorporates correlated hopping as leading processes and interactions between local spins as next leading ones. Here we concentrate on the leading terms and study transitions between a metallic phase and a charge transfer insulator phase via bosonization and mean field theory. The full selfconsistent one particle spectra are derived for the metal and the doped charge transfer insulator. Near the phase transition an analytic solution is given. Numerical calculations are based on realistic tight binding bands and include the influence of van Hove singularities. Physical implications, some formal aspects of mean-field theory and the connection to other approaches a are discussed.     

Fundamental differences in mechanical behavior between two types of crystals at the nanoscale

We present differences in the mechanical behavior of nanoscale gold and molybdenum single crystals. A significant strength increase is observed as the size is reduced to 100 nm. Both nanocrystals exhibit discrete strain bursts during plastic deformation. We postulate that they arise from significant differences in the dislocation behavior. Dislocation starvation is the predominant mechanism of plasticity in nanoscale fcc crystals, while junction formation and hardening characterize bcc plasticity. A statistical analysis of strain bursts is performed as a function of size and compared with stochastic models.     

Angular dependence of the polarization of the recoil proton from the reaction γp→π0 p in the region of the second resonance

The polarization of the recoil proton from the reactionγp→π ⁰ p has been measured for photon energies between 600 and 1,200 MeV and pion c.m. angles between 90° and 150°.     

Fabrication of Insoluble Elastin by Enzyme-Free Cross-Linking

Elastin is an essential extracellular matrix protein that enables tissues and organs such as arteries, lungs, and skin, which undergo continuous deformation, to stretch and recoil. Here, an approach to fabricating artificial elastin with close-to-native molecular and mechanical characteristics is described. Recombinantly produced tropoelastin are polymerized through coacervation and allysine-mediated cross-linking induced by pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ). A technique that allows the recovery and repeated use of PQQ for protein cross-linking by covalent attachment to magnetic Sepharose beads is developed. The produced material closely resembles natural elastin in its molecular, biochemical, and mechanical properties, enabled by the occurrence of the cross-linking amino acids desmosine, isodesmosine, and merodesmosine. It possesses elevated resistance against tryptic proteolysis, and its Young's modulus ranging between 1 and 2 MPa is similar to that of natural elastin. The approach described herein enables the engineering of mechanically resilient, elastin-like materials for biomedical applications.     

An isomeric two-particle state in 236U

A new isomeric state with 125 ± 20 ns half-life has been found in a ²³⁵U(d, pγ)²³⁶U experiments. Of the 12 observed delayed λ-lines, 11 have been fitted into a tentative decay scheme. The isomeric level is deduced to be the K, J^π = 4,4^? two-quasineutron state at 1052 keV with configuration $\text{[743]}\text{7}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{?}}$; $\text{[631]}\text{1}\text{2}{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ that is also seen in (d, p) experiments.     

Evaluation of a potential epigenetic biomarker by quantitative methyl-single nucleotide polymorphism analysis

Tumorigenesis is characterized by alterations of methylation profiles including loss and gain of 5-methylcytosine. Recently, we identified a single CpG, which seemed to be consistently hypomethylated in pilocytic astrocytomas but not in other gliomas. To evaluate its applicability as a biomarker, we examined its methylation status in a large panel of gliomas (n = 97). Methylation-dependent DNA sequence variation may be considered a kind of single nucleotide polymorphism (methylSNP). MethylSNPs can be easily converted into common SNPs of the C/T type by sodium bisulfite treatment of the DNA and afterwards subjected to conventional SNP typing. We adapted SnaPshot trade mark and Pyrosequencing trade mark to determine the methylation of our test CpG in a quantitative manner. The adapted methods, called SNaPmeth and PyroMeth, respectively, gave nearly identical results, however data obtained with PyroMeth showed less scattering. Furthermore, the integrated software for allele frequency determination from Pyrosequencing could be used directly for data analysis while SnaPmeth data had to be exported and processed manually. Although data did not confirm our previous result of a preferential hypomethylation of the tested CpG in pilocytic astrocytomas, we consider quantitative methylSNP analysis by SNaPmeth or PyroMeth a favorable alternative to existing high-throughput methylation assays. It combines single CpG analysis with accurate quantitation and is amenable to high throughput.     

A time-dependent wave-packet quantum scattering study of the reaction H2+(v = 0-2,4,6;j = 1) + He--> HeH+ + H

The quantum scattering dynamics calculation was carried out for the titled reaction in the collision energy range of 0.0-2.4 eV with reactant H(2) (+) in the rotational state j = 1 and vibrational states v = 0-2, 4, and 6. The present time-dependent wave-packet calculation takes into account the Coriolis coupling (CC) and uses the accurate ab initio potential-energy surface of Palmieri et al. [Mol. Phys. 98, 1835 (2000)]. The importance of including the CC quantum scattering calculation has been revealed by the comparison between the CC calculation and the previous coupled state (CS) calculation. The CC total cross sections for the v = 2, 4, and 6 states show collision energy-dependent behaviors different from those based on the CS calculation. Furthermore, the collision energy dependence of the total cross sections obtained in the present CC calculation only exhibits minor oscillations, indicating that the chance is slim for reactive resonances in total cross sections to survive through the partial-wave averaging. The magnitude and profile of the CC total cross sections for v = 0-2 in the collision energy range of 0.0-2.5 eV are found to be consistent with experimental cross sections obtained recently by Tang et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 122, 164301 (2005)] after taking into account the experimental uncertainties.     

Synthesis of acyclic nucleoside phosphonates as antiviral compounds

Reaction of 6‐chloropyrimidines with diethyl [(2‐aminoethoxy)methyl]phosphonate allows for a ready access to acyclic nucleoside phosphonates. A series of 5‐substituted pyrimidines bearing a phosphonate side chain at position 6 were synthesized and tested against herpes simplex viruses (HSV‐1 and HSV‐2) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV‐1). Some compounds showed weak antiviral activity against HSV‐1.