Spectrophotometric determination of advanced products of non-enzymatic glycosylation of lysine by means of their reaction with diazonium salts

A typical product (glycosyl lysine) formed by reaction of lysine with glyceraldehyde is measured at 490 nm after coupling with diazotized sulfanilic acid. Reaction with 4-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde was less satisfactory.     

A heuristic computer program for automatic spectrum assignment in microwave spectroscopy

A heuristic computer program has been written in fortran IV to do the automatic assignment of the microwave spectrum of a rigid, asymmetric rotor with no centrifugal or hyperfine effects. Given certain guidelines, the program needs only the observed lines and the transitions for which frequencies are to be assigned. It does not need any other physically observed effect (e.g. the Stark effect).     

Connectivities of Potts Fortuin–Kasteleyn clusters and time-like Liouville correlator

Recently, two of us argued that the probability that an FK cluster in the Q-state Potts model connects three given points is related to the time-like Liouville three-point correlation function (Delfino and Viti, 2011) [1]. Moreover, they predicted that the FK three-point connectivity has a prefactor which unveils the effects of a discrete symmetry, reminiscent of the _SQ$S_Q$ permutation symmetry of the Q=2,3,4$Q=2,3,4$ Potts model. We revisit the derivation of the time-like Liouville correlator (Zamolodchikov, 2005) [2] and show that this is the only consistent analytic continuation of the minimal model structure constants. We then present strong numerical tests of the relation between the time-like Liouville correlator and percolative properties of the FK clusters for real values of Q.     

Four-Boson Systems Close to a Universal Regime

Universal properties of weakly-bound four-boson systems near the scaling limit are discussed by considering recent results obtained from the solution of Faddeev-Yakubovsky (FY) equations, which confirm a previous conjecture on a four-body scale dependence. In the present contribution, within a discussion on our numerical results obtained for the binding energies of two consecutive tetramer states, we are analyzing the relative relevance of the two possible configurations of the four-body system.     

Unravelling the Phytochemical Composition and the Pharmacological Properties of an Optimized Extract from the Fruit from Prunus mahaleb L.: From Traditional Liqueur Market to the Pharmacy Shelf

Prunus mahaleb L. fruit has long been used in the production of traditional liqueurs. The fruit also displayed scavenging and reducing activity, in vitro. The present study focused on unravelling peripheral and central protective effects, antimicrobial but also anti-COVID-19 properties exerted by the water extract of P. mahaleb. Anti-inflammatory effects were studied in isolated mouse colons exposed to lipopolysaccharide. Neuroprotection, measured as a blunting effect on hydrogen-peroxide-induced dopamine turnover, was investigated in hypothalamic HypoE22 cells. Antimicrobial effects were tested against different Gram+ and Gram- bacterial strains. Whereas anti-COVID-19 activity was studied in lung adenocarcinoma H1299 cells, where the gene expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 was measured after extract treatment. The bacteriostatic effects induced on Gram+ and Gram- strains, together with the inhibition of COX-2, TNFα, HIF1α, and VEGFA in the colon, suggest the potential of P. mahaleb water extract in contrasting the clinical symptoms related to ulcerative colitis. The inhibition of the hydrogen peroxide-induced DOPAC/DA ratio indicates promising neuroprotective effects. Finally, the downregulation of the gene expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in H1299 cells, suggests the potential to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 virus entry in the human host. Overall, the results support the valorization of the local cultivation of P. mahaleb.     

Transition-Metal-Free Multiple Functionalization of Piperidines to 4-Substituted and 3,4-Disubstituted 2-Piperidinones

Remote and multiple functionalization of piperidines without the use of transition-metal catalysts and elaborate directing groups is one of the major challenges in organic synthesis. Herein is reported an unprecedented two-step protocol that enables the multiple functionalization of piperidines to either 4-substituted or trans-3,4-disubstituted 2-piperidones. First, by exploiting the duality of TEMPO reactivity, which under oxidative and thermal conditions fluctuates between cationic and persistent-radical form, a novel multiple C(sp³)-H oxidation of piperidines to α,β-unsaturated 2-piperidones was developed. Second, the intrinsic low reactivity of the unsaturated piperidones toward conjugated Grignard additions was overcome by using trimethylsilyl chloride (TMSCl) as Lewis acid. Subsequently, conjugated Grignard addition/electrophilic trapping protocol provided substituted 2-piperidone intermediates, some of which were then transformed into pharmaceutical alkaloids.     

On the space of quantum fields in massive two-dimensional theories

For a large class of integrable quantum field theories we show that the S-matrix determines a space of fields which decomposes into subspaces labeled, besides the charge and spin indices, by an integer k. For scalar fields k   is non-negative and is naturally identified as an off-critical extension of the conformal level. To each particle we associate an operator acting in the space of fields whose eigenvectors are primary (k=0$k=0$) fields of the massive theory. We discuss how the existing results for models as different as Zn$Z_n$, sine-Gordon or Ising with magnetic field fit into this classification.     

Anomalous temperature dependence of speed of sound of bulk poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels near the phase transition

Bulk Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) hydrogels are thermally responsive polymers that undergo a sharp volumetric phase transition around its lower critical solution temperature of 33 °C. The physical characteristics of bulk, micro-, and nano-form PNIPAm hydrogel have been well-studied, and have applications ranging from biomedical devices to mechanical actuators. An important physical characteristics which reveals lack of available information is speed of sound. Prior studies have utilized Brillouin scattering, multi-echo reflection ultrasound spectroscopy, the sing-around method, and others in measuring the speed of sound. We use a planar resonant cavity with bulk PNIPAm hydrogel in aqueous solution to determine the temperature dependent speed of sound around the lower critical solution temperature. The results show sharp nonmonotonic behavior of the sound velocity in vicinity of the phase transition.