Raman and Brillouin scattering from electrolytic solutions

A number of spectroscopic investigations are reported on aqueous solutions of CdCl₂ and molten Ca(NO₃)₂·4H₂)0 and its mixture with KNO₃. The Raman probe gives evidence of the existence of two different local structures in the solutions of CdCl₂: one is dominated by the solvent, the other by the solute. A competition between them exists whose equilibrium changes with concentration. Hypersonic and ultrasonic velocity data and hypersonic absorption results on the same system, as a function of concentration and of temperature, give evidence of a structural relaxation connected to the local variation of the structural arrangement induced by the solute. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements on Ca(NO₃)₂·4H₂O and its mixture with KNO₃ reveal an inner shell of water complexation for the Ca²⁺ and K⁺ ions that produces a close-packed structure in which hydration forces are mainly responsible for the local arrangement. Mandelstamm-Brillouin scattering results give evidence for a relaxation phenomenon to which both structural and shear mechanisms contribute. The mean relaxation time τ_r, and the relaxation modulus M_r show a non-Arrhenius behaviour, supporting the idea that our systems can be regarded as fragile liquids.     

Unravelling the effect of the E545K mutation on PI3Kα kinase

PI3Kα controls several cellular processes and its aberrant signalling is implicated in tumorigenesis. One of its hotspot mutations, E545K, increases PI3Kα lipid kinase activity, but its mode of action is only partially understood. Here, we perform biased and unbiased molecular dynamics simulations of PI3Kα and uncover, for the first time, the free energy landscape of the E545K PI3Kα mutant. We reveal the mechanism by which E545K leads to PI3Kα activation in atomic-level detail, which is considerably more complex than previously thought.

The mechanism by which the cancer-causing E545K mutation may lead to PI3Kα activation is described in atomic-level detail.     

H2O−D2O solvent isotope effect in the volume behavior of some high-charge high-size electrolytes

The apparent molar volumes V of KCl, BaCl₂, K₂SO₄, LaCl₃, Co(en)₃Cl₃ [Tris(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) chloride], K₃Co(CN)₆, K₃Fe(CN)₆, K₄Fe(CN)₆, and Ba₃[Co(CN)₆]₂ have been determined at 25°C in both light and heavy water. The V values in D₂O are systematically lower and increase more rapidly with salt concentration than the V in H₂O. The volume of transfer from H₂O to D₂O as well as the partial molar volume at infinite dilution in both solvents have also been calculated. These results together with literature values for other electrolytes were used to estimate both of these quantities for D₂O solutions of individual ions. The predictions of ion hydration models and ion-ion interactions are compared with experimental observations.     

Synthesis of α-Oxo and α-hydroxy-1-benzyl-1,4-dihydro-3(2H)-isoquinolinones

The reaction of some primary amines with the methyl 2-[(α-oxobenzyl)-(α-bromo)methyl]phenylacetate ( 5 ) afforded the isoquinolinones 7a-d , which in turn were hydrogenated to 10a-d . The synthesis of these compounds was designed on the basis of a potential depressant and antiinflammatory activity found in other structurally related compounds.     

Synthesis, structural determination and photo-antiproliferative activity of new 3-pyrazolyl or -isoxazolyl substituted 4-hydroxy-2(1H)-quinolinones

A convenient route to new 3-quinolinonyl-pyrazoles and isoxazoles is described through cyclization of 3-[(E)-3-(dimethylamino)-2-propenoyl]-4-hydroxy-1-methyl-2(1H)-quinolinone. The phototoxicity as well as the cytotoxic activities of the title compounds are evaluated against leukemia- and adenocarcinoma-derived cell lines in comparison to the normal human keratinocytes.     

Wavy graphene sheets from electrochemical sewing of corannulene

The presence of non-hexagonal rings in the honeycomb carbon arrangement of graphene produces rippled graphene layers with valuable chemical and physical properties. In principle, a bottom-up approach to introducing distortion from planarity of a graphene sheet can be achieved by careful insertion of curved polyaromatic hydrocarbons during the growth of the lattice. Corannulene, the archetype of such non-planar polyaromatic hydrocarbons, can act as an ideal wrinkling motif in 2D carbon nanostructures. Herein we report an electrochemical bottom-up method to obtain egg-box shaped nanographene structures through a polycondensation of corannulene that produces a new conducting layered material. Characterization of this new polymeric material by electrochemistry, spectroscopy, electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), scanning probe microscopy, and laser desorption-ionization time of flight mass spectrometry provides strong evidence that the anodic polymerization of corannulene, combined with electrochemically induced oxidative cyclodehydrogenations (Scholl reactions), leads to polycorannulene with a wavy graphene-like structure.

A bottom-up synthesis of wavy graphene structures obtained through an anodic polymerization process, combined with an electrochemically triggered oxidative cyclodehydrogenation, of the bowl-shaped polyaromatic hydrocarbon corannulene.     

Derivative-free methods for mixed-integer nonsmooth constrained optimization

Computational Optimization and Applications - In this paper, mixed-integer nonsmooth constrained optimization problems are considered, where objective/constraint functions are available only as the...     

The XXXV International IUPAC Symposium on macromolecular chemistry (MACROACRON-94)

Information Congresses, Conferences, Symposia, Workshops, and Seminars in the Field of Chemical Sciences held with Participation of the Russian Academy of Sciences

The XXXV International IUPAC Symposium on macromolecular chemistry (MACROACRON-94)     

Cluster description of water-in-oil microemulsions near the critical and percolation points

The three-component ionic microemulsion system consisting of AOT/water/decane shows an unusual phase behavior in the vicinity of room temperature. The phase diagram in the temperature-volume fraction (of the dispersed phase) plane exhibits a lower consolute critical point at about 40 degrees centigrades and 10% volume fraction. A percolation line, starting from the vicinity of the critical point, cuts across the plane, extending to high volume fraction side at progressively lower temperatures. In this paper we review the evidence that allows to interpret the phase behavior of our system in terms of interacting spherical droplets. We also investigate the dynamics of droplets, below and approaching the critical point by dynamic light scattering. The first cumulant and time evolution of the droplet density correlation function can be quantitatively calculated by assuming the existence of polydispersed fractal clusters formed by the microemulsion droplets due to attraction. The relaxation phenomena observed in an extensive set of measurements of electrical conductivity and permittivity close to percolation is also reviewed and interpreted through the same cluster-forming mechanism, which reproduces the most relevant features of the frequency-dependent complex dielectric constant of this system. Paper presented at the I International Conference on Scaling Concepts and Complex Fluids, Copanello, Italy, July 4–8, 1994.