Suppression of high-p{T} neutral pion production in central Pb+Pb collisions at sqrt[S{NN}]=17.3 GeV relative to p+C and p+Pb collisions

Neutral pion transverse momentum spectra were measured in p+C and p+Pb collisions at sqrt[S{NN}]=17.4 GeV at midrapidity (2.3 less than or approximately equal eta{lab} less than or approximately equal 3.0) over the range 0.7 less than or approximately equal p{T} less than or approximately equal 3.5 GeV/c. The spectra are compared to pi{0} spectra measured in Pb+Pb collisions at sqrt[S{NN}]=17.3 GeV in the same experiment. For a wide range of Pb+Pb centralities (N{part} less than or approximately equal 300), the yield of pi{0}'s with p{T} greater than or approximately equal 2 GeV/c is larger than or consistent with the p+C or p+Pb yields scaled with the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions (N{coll}), while for central Pb+Pb collisions with N{part}greater than or approximately equal 350, the pi{0} yield is suppressed.     

Wavelength-Selective Fluorescence of a Model Transmembrane Peptide: Constrained Dynamics of Interfacial Tryptophan Anchors

WALPs are prototypical, α-helical transmembrane peptides that represent a consensus sequence for transmembrane segments of integral membrane proteins and serve as excellent models for exploring peptide-lipid interactions and hydrophobic mismatch in membranes. Importantly, the WALP peptides are in direct contact with the lipids. They consist of a central stretch of alternating hydrophobic alanine and leucine residues capped at both ends by tryptophans. In this work, we employ wavelength-selective fluorescence approaches to explore the intrinsic fluorescence of tryptophan residues in WALP23 in 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) membranes. Our results show that the four tryptophan residues in WALP23 exhibit an average red edge excitation shift (REES) of 6 nm, implying their localization at the membrane interface, characterized by a restricted microenvironment. This result is supported by fluorescence anisotropy and lifetime measurements as a function of wavelength displayed by WALP23 tryptophans in POPC membranes. These results provide a new approach based on intrinsic fluorescence of interfacial tryptophans to address protein-lipid interaction and hydrophobic mismatch.     

Nonselective harvesting of a prey-predator community with infected prey

The present paper deals with the problem of nonselective harvesting in a partly infected prey and predator system in which both the susceptible prey and the predator follow the law of logistic growth and some preys avoid predation by hiding. The dynamical behaviour of the system has been studied in both the local and global sense. The optimal policy of exploitation has been derived by using Pontraygin’s maximal principle. Numerical analysis and computer simulation of the results have been performed to investigate the global properties of the system.     

Synthesis, characterisation and reactivity of trans-[Ru(L)(PPh3)Br2]; L=2-pyridyl-N-(2′-methylthiophenyl)methyleneimine: Crystal structure of trans-[Ru(L)(PPh3)Br2]

Reaction of Ru(PPh₃)₂Br₂ with the NNS chelating tridentate ligand 2-pyridyl-N-(2′-methylthiophenyl)methyleneimine (L) led to the isolation of the ruthenium(II) complex [Ru(L)(PPh₃)Br₂]. Reactivity of this complex with different bidentate chelating ligands revealed that the products are quite different from those obtained by reacting Ru(L)(PPh₃)Cl₂ (the corresponding cis dichloro complex) with the same ligands under comparable conditions. The mixed chelates were isolated and characterised by elemental analysis, magnetic moment measurement and by different spectroscopic methods along with their precursor. Electrochemistry of the complexes was examined by cyclic voltammetry using a platinum working electrode and a Ag/AgCl electrode as reference. The crystal structure of [Ru(L)(PPh₃)Br₂] disclosed that, unlike Ru(L)(PPh₃)Cl₂, the two bromo ligands are in trans position and this explained the difference in its reactivity pattern from the corresponding chloro complex.     

Structural Transition in the Micellar Assembly: A Fluorescence Study

Structural transition can be induced in charged micelles by increasing the ionic strength of the medium. Thus, spherical micelles of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) that exist in water at concentrations higher than the critical micelle concentration assume an elongated rod-like structure in the presence of an increased electrolyte concentration. This is known as sphere-to-rod transition. In this paper, we characterize the change in organization and dynamics that is accompanied by the salt-induced sphere-to-rod transition in SDS micelles using wavelength-selective fluorescence and other steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence parameters. Since the change in micelle organization during such structural transition may not be limited to one region of the micelle, we have selectively introduced fluorophores in two distinct regions of the micelle. We used two probes, N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)-1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (NBD-PE) and 25-[N-[(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)-methyl]amino]-27-norcholesterol (NBD-cholesterol), for monitoring the two regions of the micelle. NBD-PE monitors the interfacial region of the micellar assembly, while NBD-cholesterol acts as a reporter for the deeper regions of the micellar interior. Our results show that wavelength-selective fluorescence, in combination with other fluorescence parameters, offers a powerful way to monitor structural transitions induced in charged micelles. These results could be significant to changes in membrane morphology observed under certain physiological conditions.     

Coexistence of Two Triplets for the Twisted Intramolecular Charge Transfer (TICT) Probe 4‐(Dimethylamino)benzonitrile in Polar Solvents: An Experimental Evidence

Room‐temperature nanosecond/microsecond laser‐flash photolysis and low‐temperature phosphorescence studies reveal that two different triplets coexist during the twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) of 4‐(dimethylamino)benzonitrile in polar solvents.