Dark Energy with Phantom Crossing and the H0 Tension

We investigate the possibility of phantom crossing in the dark energy sector and the solution for the Hubble tension between early and late universe observations. We use robust combinations of different cosmological observations, namely the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), local measurement of Hubble constant (H0), Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) and SnIa for this purpose. For a combination of CMB+BAO data that is related to early universe physics, phantom crossing in the dark energy sector was confirmed at a 95% confidence level and we obtained the constraint H0=71.0−3.8+2.9 km/s/Mpc at a 68% confidence level, which is in perfect agreement with the local measurement by Riess et al. We show that constraints from different combinations of data are consistent with each other and all of them are consistent with phantom crossing in the dark energy sector. For the combination of all data considered, we obtained the constraint H0=70.25±0.78 km/s/Mpc at a 68% confidence level and the phantom crossing happening at the scale factor am=0.851−0.031+0.048 at a 68% confidence level.     

ParaHydrogen Polarized Ethyl-[1-13C]pyruvate in Water,a Key Substrate for Fostering the PHIP-SAH Approach to Metabolic Imaging

An efficient synthesis of vinyl-[1-¹³C]pyruvate has been reported, from which ¹³C hyperpolarized (HP) ethyl-[1-¹³C]pyruvate has been obtained by means of ParaHydrogen Induced Polarization (PHIP). Due to the intrinsic lability of pyruvate, which leads quickly to degradation of the reaction mixture even under mild reaction conditions, the vinyl-ester has been synthesized through the intermediacy of a more stable ketal derivative. ¹³C and ¹H hyperpolarizations of ethyl-[1-¹³C]pyruvate, hydrogenated using ParaHydrogen, have been compared to those observed on the more widely used allyl-derivative. It has been demonstrated that the spin order transfer from ParaHydrogen protons to ¹³C, is more efficient on the ethyl than on the allyl-esterdue to the larger J-couplings involved. The main requirements needed for the biological application of this HP product have been met, i. e. an aqueous solution of the product at high concentration (40 mM) with a good ¹³C polarization level (4.8 %) has been obtained. The in vitro metabolic transformation of the HP ethyl-[1-¹³C]pyruvate, catalyzed by an esterase, has been observed. This substrate appears to be a good candidate for in vivo metabolic investigations using PHIP hyperpolarized probes.     

FT-IR study on solvent effects in building blocks of bioactive compounds. V

3-Hydroxy-4-hydroxymethyl pyrrolidin-2-ones, easily prepared from the Baylis–Hillman adduct 1-ethyl-4-methyl-2-hydroxy-3-methylenebutanedioate, are useful intermediates in the synthesis of bioactive compounds. In order to understand the mechanism involved in this reaction, vibrational and Montecarlo molecular mechanics conformational analysis on 1-ethyl-4-methyl-2-hydroxy-3-methylenebutanedioate were carried out, confirming the existence of a low energy intramolecular H-bonded five-member ring.     

Infinitely renormalizable diffeomorphisms of the disk at the boundary of chaos

We show that, among area contracting embeddings of the 2-disk, infinitely renormalizable maps with a bounded geometry either have positive topological entropy or correspond to a cascade of period doubling.

     

ZnS bubble clusters with onion-like structures

Following recent studies which showed that the most stable structures for (ZnS)(n) clusters (n= 10-47) are the so-called "bubble clusters", in which all the atoms are three-coordinated, we have used simulated annealing techniques to find the most stable structure for a larger cluster, (ZnS)(60). We find an onion-like structure, with one small cluster enclosed inside a bigger one. The inner cluster has the structure of a sodalite cage. Bonding between the inner and the outer clusters creates a network of four-coordinated atoms.     

Investigations of chromium(III), manganese(III), tin(II) and lead(II) dithiocarbamate complexes

Piperidine-, morpholine-4-, N-methylpiperazine-4- and thiornorpholine-4-carbodithioate complexes of chromium(III), manganese(III), tin(II) and lead(II) are prepared and characterized by chemical analyses, spectroscopic methods (I.R. and electronic spectra), magnetic susceptibilities, conductivity measurements and mass spectra. The complexes are of the type M(R₂dtc)n, where n is the oxidation number of the metal ion. Where possible a tentative stereochemistry of the complexes is discussed on the basis of the results obtained. In all the complexes the dithiocarbamate ligands show bidentate behaviour.     

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.     

The impact of polystyrene resins in solid-phase organic synthesis

Summary A major objective of the DIVERSOMER^® technology is to provide pure and characterized compounds for biological testing in order to prevent false negatives in our libraries. On several occasions, analysis of the final products by¹H-NMR and MS, has revealed by-products from the polystyrene solid support. Subsequently, three alternative methods were studied to remove polystyrene by-products; (i) prewashing of the resin prior to execution of the synthesis; (ii) pretreatment of the resin with the cleavage conditions consistent with the solid-phase synthesis reaction scheme; and (iii) parallel purification.     

Platinum nanoparticles generated in functionality-enhanced reaction media based on polyoctadecylsiloxane with long-chain functional modifiers

Functionality-enhanced nanostructured matrices generated by intercalating polyoctadecylsiloxane (PODS) with octadecene (ODC) or octadecylamine (ODA) are employed as reaction media in which to grow Pt nanoparticles. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) signatures confirm that the amphiphilic PODS matrix orders into lamellae with a periodicity (d) of 5.24 nm, which corresponds to the siloxy bilayer and a double layer of alkyl tails. The regular packing of the hydrophobic tails becomes distorted upon introduction of ODC or ODA. Incorporation of K[(C2H4)PtCl3].H2O (a Zeise salt) into the PODS/ODC matrix, followed by reduction of the Pt ions by NaBH4 or H2, results in the localization of Pt compounds and nanoparticles along the siloxy bilayers, which remain dimensionally unchanged. Electron density profiles deduced from PODS/ODA, however, provide evidence for considerable structural reorganization upon metalation with H2PtCl6.6H2O. In this case, the siloxy bilayers broaden due to the presence of PtCl62- ions, and the hydrophobic layers become distorted due to the formation of (PtCl62-)(ODAH+)2 complexes. Subsequent reduction by NaBH4 restores the inherent PODS organization, while H2 reduction partially preserves the distorted matrix, indicating that some Pt nanoparticles form in close proximity to the siloxy bilayer. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that relatively monodisperse Pt nanoparticles measuring approximately 1 nm in diameter are located along the siloxy bilayers, whereas anomalous SAXS further indicates that nanoparticles form aggregates of comparable size to d within the PODS double layers.