Classification of Nonorientable 3-Manifolds Admitting Decompositions into ≤ 26 Coloured Tetrahedra

The present paper adopts a computational approach to the study of nonorientable 3-manifolds: in fact, we describe how to create an automaticcatalogue of all nonorientable 3-manifolds admitting coloured triangulationswith a fixed number of tetrahedra. In particular, the catalogue has been effectively produced and analysed for up to 26 tetrahedra, to reach the complete classification of all involved 3-manifolds. As a consequence, the following summarising result can be stated:THEOREM I. Exactly seven closed connected prime nonorientable3-manifolds exist, which admit a coloured triangulation consisting of atmost 26 tetrahedra.More precisely, they are the four Euclidean nonorientable 3-manifolds, the nontrivial S2 bundle overS1, the topological product between thereal projective plane RP2 andS1, and the torus bundle overS1, with monodromy induced by matrix(10 -11).     

Two methods for semi-automated quantification of changes in ventricular volume and their use in schizophrenia

Two semi-automated methods for quantification of ventricular volume change from baseline and follow-up magnetic resonance imaging scans have been developed. Technique 1 employs direct segmentation of the ventricles from both the scans using thresholding and contour extraction. Technique 2 operates on difference images produced by voxel based intensity subtraction of the baseline from the registered follow-up images. Here, all voxels with intensities above a noise threshold and in a restricted area are monitored to compute volumetric changes. In phantom measurements the first technique was accurate to 0.0046%, the second to 0.167% of the phantom volume. Results from normal volunteers was that the average ventricular volume changed by 1.52% and 1.54% for images acquired within 9 months using techniques 1 and 2, respectively. With schizophrenic patients mean change of 10.78% and 9.43% were found employing the first and second procedures, respectively. All measurements agreed with a radiologist’s visual grading of the changes. Robust, objective, fast, easy-to-use, and fairly accurate procedures have been developed and validated to quantify volumetric changes.     

Proper holomorphic maps between Reinhardt domains and strictly pseudoconvex domains

LetR be a Reinhardt domain andD a bounded simply connected strictly pseudoconvex domain withC ^∞ boundary. We prove that any proper holomorphic mapF:R →D is, up to biholomorphism ofD, of the form \((z_1^{d_1 } , z_2^{d_2 } , \ldots , z_n^{d_n } )\) withd ₁,d ₂,…,d _n ∈ IN.     

Equazioni ellittiche del secondo ordine di tipo non variazionale in aperti non limitati

Summary In this paper we study the Dirichlet problem, for second order, linear elliptic partial differential equations with discontinuous coefficients in unbounded domains. We obtain some results about existence and uniqueness of the solution in W²().

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Lavoro eseguito nell'ambito del G.N.A.F.A. del C.N.R.     

Nanoscale organization of the pathogen receptor DC-SIGN mapped by single-molecule high-resolution fluorescence microscopy.

DC-SIGN, a C-type lectin exclusively expressed on dendritic cells (DCs), plays an important role in pathogen recognition by binding with high affinity to a large variety of microorganisms. Recent experimental evidence points to a direct relation between the function of DC-SIGN as a viral receptor and its spatial arrangement on the plasma membrane. We have investigated the nanoscale organization of fluorescently labeled DC-SIGN on intact isolated DCs by means of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) combined with single-molecule detection. Fluorescence spots of different intensity and size have been directly visualized by optical means with a spatial resolution of less than 100 nm. Intensity- and size-distribution histograms of the DC-SIGN fluorescent spots confirm that approximately 80 % of the receptors are organized in nanosized domains randomly distributed on the cell membrane. Intensity-size correlation analysis revealed remarkable heterogeneity in the molecular packing density of the domains. Furthermore, we have mapped the intermolecular organization within a dense cluster by means of sequential NSOM imaging combined with discrete single-molecule photobleaching. In this way we have determined the spatial coordinates of 13 different individual dyes, with a localization accuracy of 6 nm. Our experimental observations are all consistent with an arrangement of DC-SIGN designed to maximize its chances of binding to a wide range of microorganisms. Our data also illustrate the potential of NSOM as an ultrasensitive, high-resolution technique to probe nanometer-scale organization of molecules on the cell membrane.     

Heterometallic copper-lanthanum complexes of 4-(1H)-pyridone

Summary Reaction of Cu(OAc)₂, 4-(1H)-pyridone (LH) and Dy or Gd nitrate in MeOH resulted in the formation of the heterometallic complexes [Cu₂LnL₂(LH)₂(NO₃)(OH)₄· xH₂O], Ln = Dy (1) or Gd (2). Reaction of Cu(OH)₂ with 4-(1H)-pyridone and Dy(NO₃)₃ in DMF resulted in the formation of the heterometallic compound [Cu₂DyL₂(LH)₂(NO₃)₂(OH)₃·DMF] (3). The Cu complexes [Cu(OAc)L]₂ and [CuL₂·DMF] _x have also been prepared from the reaction of 4-(1H)-pyridone with Cu²⁺ in MeOH and DMF, respectively. All the complexes were characterized by elemental analyses, and i.r. and X-band e.s.r. spectroscopies.     

Haplotyping by capillary electrophoresis

The investigation of the genetic background and phenotype structures of complex diseases, such as cardiovascular or psychiatric disorders and tumors, is one of the most scrutinized fields of the post genomic era. Besides the multiplex analysis of genetic markers and polymorphisms throughout the whole genome, more and more attention is focused on the interaction between the etiological factors of these traits. Haplotype determination, rather than multiplex genotyping seems to be one of the first building blocks of this endeavor. This review focuses on the importance and theoretical background of haplotyping, and summarizes the recent examples of novel and emerging haplotyping techniques by capillary gel electrophoresis based DNA fragment analysis, a powerful tool for the examination of the inheritance of complex traits.     

The cycloaddition way to novel deoxy disaccharide analogs

A novel heterocycloaddition merges 2-thiono-3-ketolactones with carbohydrate glycals to afford materials which resemble disaccharides with an O-glycosidic linkage at the anomeric center and a thioether linking both C-2 and C-2′, thus creating a third heterocyclic ring. Upon desulfurization, these novel cycloadducts afford materials which are models for 2-deoxydisaccharides. Studies with two keto lactones and seven glycals are described.     

Synthesis and evaluation of a C8 stationary phase on a silica hydride surface by hydrosilation of 1-octyne

The silanization/hydrosilation method is used to bond an alkyne (1-octyne) to a silica hydride surface. The new bonded material is characterized by elemental analysis and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. The hydrophobic behavior of this material was determined by the retention characteristics of aromatic solutes and the shape selectivity as well as phase classification (monomeric or polymeric) was measured by the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixture standard reference material 869. The presence of residual silanols on the bonded phase was probed by several basic solutes at pH 7. Long-term stability studies were conducted by measuring retention and peak symmetry of basic compounds over several thousand column volumes at pH 10.