Numerical simulation of Rhonegletscher from 1874 to 2100

Due to climatic change, many Alpine glaciers have significantly retreated during the last century. In this study we perform the numerical simulation of the temporal and spatial change of Rhonegletscher, Swiss Alps, from 1874 to 2007, and from 2007 to 2100.     

Highly Axial Magnetic Anisotropy in a N3O5 Dysprosium(III) Coordination Environment Generated by a Merocyanine Ligand

A spiropyran‐based switchable ligand isomerizes upon reaction with lanthanide(III) precursors to generate complexes with an unusual N₃O₅ coordination sphere. The air‐stable dysprosium(III) complex shows a hysteresis loop at 2 K and a very strong axial magnetic anisotropy generated by the merocyanine phenolate donor.     

High water‐content thermoresponsive hydrogels via electrostatic macrocrosslinking of cellulose nanofibrils

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) has been utilized to synthesize tri‐ and star‐block copolymers of poly(di(ethylene glycol)methyl ether methacrylate) (PDEGMA) and quaternized poly(2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (qPDMAEMA). The block copolymers, all with a minimum of two cationically charged blocks, were sequentially used for electrostatic macrocrosslinking of a dilute dispersion of anionic TEMPO‐oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (CNF, 0.3 wt%), forming free‐standing hydrogels. The cationic block copolymers adsorbed irreversibly to the CNF, enabling the formation of ionically crosslinked hydrogels, with a storage modulus of up to 2.9 kPa. The ability of the block copolymers to adsorb to CNF was confirmed by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM‐D) and infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), and the thermoresponsive properties of the hydrogels were investigated by rheological stress and frequency sweep, and gravimetric measurements. This method was shown to be promising for the facile production of thermoresponsive hydrogels based on CNF. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 3415–3424     

N‐(2‐Ethylhexyl)carbazole: A New Fluorophore Highly Suitable as a Monomolecular Liquid Scintillator

The synthesis, photophysical properties, and applications in scintillation counting of N‐(2‐ethylhexyl)carbazole (EHCz) are reported. This molecule displays all of the required characteristics for an efficient liquid scintillator (emission wavelength, scintillation yield), and can be used without any extra fluorophores. Thus, its scintillation properties are discussed, as well as its fast neutron/gamma discrimination. For the latter application, the material is compared with the traditional liquid scintillator BC‐501 A, and other liquid fluorescent molecules classically used as scintillation solvents, such as xylene, pseudocumene (PC), linear alkylbenzenes (LAB), diisopropylnaphthalene (DIN), 1‐methylnaphthalene (1‐MeNapht), and 4‐isopropylbiphenyl (iPrBiph). For the first time, an excimeric form of a molecule has been advantageously used in scintillation counting. A moderate discrimination between fast neutrons and gamma rays was observed in bulk EHCz, with an apparent neutron/gamma discrimination potential half of that of BC‐501 A.     

Synthesis of side‐chain‐substituted ifosfamide analogs

Three analogs of the cytostatic drug ifosfamide incorporating 1‐methyl‐2‐chloroethyl side chains were designed and prepared as an attempt to obtain drugs of lower toxicity.     

Subcellular mass determination by <Superscript>4</Superscript>He<Superscript>+</Superscript> energy-loss micro-spectrometry

The scanning transmission ion microscope (STIM) has been used to determine the intracellular mass of human cultured cells. A 4He+ microbeam of 2.0 MeV energy was chosen to obtain enhanced ion-energy-loss sensitivity through the micron-thick freeze-dried cells. Local sample mass calculation, based on energy-loss conversion by use of appropriate matrix stopping powers, was performed by use of dedicated software. The method was validated with epoxy resin sections and polymer foil as analogues of biological samples in the range of (intra)cellular thickness, 150 to 3000 nm. STIM analysis resulted in less than 5% error in mass determination. 4He+ energy-loss micro-spectrometry was performed on freeze-dried human ovarian cancer cells, the mean areal mass obtained was 120 microg cm(-2) (200 microg cm(-2) in the nucleus and 250 microg cm(-2) in nucleoli). This method is particularly useful for mass normalization of X-ray fluorescence yields resulting from particle-induced X-ray emission microanalysis (micro-PIXE). When performed successively these two ion-beam micro-analytical methods enable the mapping of true element concentrations within single cells.