Parton distributions and new physics searches: the Drell–Yan forward–backward asymmetry as a case study

We present the first unquenched lattice-QCD calculation of the form factors for the decay \(B\rightarrow D^*\ell \nu \) at nonzero recoil. Our analysis includes 15 MILC ensembles with \(N_f=2+1\) flavors of asqtad sea quarks, with a strange quark mass close to its physical mass. The lattice spacings range from \(a\approx 0.15\) fm down to 0.045 fm, while the ratio between the light- and the strange-quark masses ranges from 0.05 to 0.4. The valence b and c quarks are treated using the Wilson-clover action with the Fermilab interpretation, whereas the light sector employs asqtad staggered fermions. We extrapolate our results to the physical point in the continuum limit using rooted staggered heavy-light meson chiral perturbation theory. Then we apply a model-independent parametrization to extend the form factors to the full kinematic range. With this parametrization we perform a joint lattice-QCD/experiment fit using several experimental datasets to determine the CKM matrix element \(|V_{cb}|\). We obtain \(\left| V_{cb}\right| = (38.40 \pm 0.68_{\text {th}} \pm 0.34_{\text {exp}} \pm 0.18_{\text {EM}})\times 10^{-3}\). The first error is theoretical, the second comes from experiment and the last one includes electromagnetic and electroweak uncertainties, with an overall \(\chi ^2\text {/dof} = 126/84\), which illustrates the tensions between the experimental data sets, and between theory and experiment. This result is in agreement with previous exclusive determinations, but the tension with the inclusive determination remains. Finally, we integrate the differential decay rate obtained solely from lattice data to predict \(R(D^*) = 0.265 \pm 0.013\), which confirms the current tension between theory and experiment.

     

Highly sensitive and rapid determination of tacrolimus in peripheral blood mononuclear cells by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

After solid organ transplantation, tacrolimus is given to prevent rejection. Therapeutic drug monitoring is used to reach target concentrations of tacrolimus in whole blood. Because the site of action of tacrolimus is the lymphocyte, and tacrolimus binds ~80% to erythrocytes, the intracellular tacrolimus concentration in lymphocytes is possibly more relevant. For this purpose, we aimed to develop, improve and validate a UPLC–MS/MS method to measure tacrolimus concentrations in isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). PBMCs were isolated using a Ficoll separation technique, followed by a washing step using red blood cell lysis. A cell suspension of 50 μL containing 1 million PBMCs was used in combination with MagSiMUS‐TDM^PREP. To each sample we added 30 μL lysis buffer, 20 μL reconstitution buffer containing ¹³C²H₄‐tacrolimus as internal standard, 40 μL MagSiMUS‐TDM^PREP Type I Particle Mix and 175 μL Organic Precipitation Reagent VI for methanol‐based protein precipitation. A 10 μL aliquot of the supernatant was injected into the UPLC–MS/MS system. The method was validated, resulting in high sensitivity and specificity. The method was linear (r² = 0.997) over the range 5.0–1250 pg/1 × 10⁶ PBMCs. The inaccuracy was <5% and the imprecision was <15%. The washing steps following Ficoll isolation could be performed at either room temperature or on ice, with no effect of the temperature on the results. A method for the analysis of tacrolimus concentrations in PBMCs was developed and successfully validated. Further research will be performed to investigate the correlation between concentrations in PBMCs and clinical outcome.     

Evaluation of Co and Zn competitive sorption by zeolitic material synthesized from fly ash using 60Co and 65Zn as radioindicators

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Zeolitic material prepared by hydrothermal treatment of brown coal fly ash was used for sorption separation of Co2+ and Zn2+ ions from single and...     

Antimicrobial Effect and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Mg-Doped Hydroxyapatite Functionalized with Au-Nano Rods

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is the main inorganic mineral that constitutes bone matrix and represents the most used biomaterial for bone regeneration. Over the years, it has been demonstrated that HA exhibits good biocompatibility, osteoconductivity, and osteoinductivity both in vitro and in vivo, and can be prepared by synthetic and natural sources via easy fabrication strategies. However, its low antibacterial property and its fragile nature restricts its usage for bone graft applications. In this study we functionalized a MgHA scaffold with gold nanorods (AuNRs) and evaluated its antibacterial effect against S. aureus and E. coli in both suspension and adhesion and its cytotoxicity over time (1 to 24 days). Results show that the AuNRs nano-functionalization improves the antibacterial activity with 100% bacterial reduction after 24 h. The toxicity study, however, indicates a 4.38-fold cell number decrease at 24 days. Although further optimization on nano-functionalization process are needed for cytotoxicity, these data indicated that Au-NRs nano-functionalization is a very promising method for improving the antibacterial properties of HA.     

Micro-Mesoporous Carbons from Cyclodextrin Nanosponges Enabling High-Capacity Silicon Anodes and Sulfur Cathodes for Lithiated Si-S Batteries

Manufactured globally on industrial scale, cyclodextrins (CD) are cyclic oligosaccharides produced by enzymatic conversion of starch. Their typical structure of truncated cone can host a wide variety of guest molecules to create inclusion complexes; indeed, we daily use CD as unseen components of food, cosmetics, textiles and pharmaceutical excipients. The synthesis of active material composites from CD resources can enable or enlarge the effective utilization of these products in the battery industry with some economical as well as environmental benefits. New and simple strategies are here presented for the synthesis of nanostructured silicon and sulfur composite materials with carbonized hyper cross-linked CD (nanosponges) that show satisfactory performance as high-capacity electrodes. For the sulfur cathode, the mesoporous carbon host limits polysulfide dissolution and shuttle effects and guarantees stable cycling performance. The embedding of silicon nanoparticles into the carbonized nanosponge allows to achieve high capacity and excellent cycling performance. Moreover, due to the high surface area of the silicon composite, the characteristics at the electrode/electrolyte interface dominate the overall electrochemical reversibility, opening a detailed analysis on the behavior of the material in different electrolytes. We show that the use of commercial LP30 electrolyte causes a larger capacity fade, and this is associated with different solid electrolyte interface layer formation and it is also demonstrated that fluoroethylene carbonate addition can significantly increase the capacity retention and the overall performance of our nanostructured Si/C composite in both ether-based and LP30 electrolytes. As a result, an integration of the Si/C and S/C composites is proposed to achieve a complete lithiated Si−S cell.     

Electronic and Steric Effects on L-Lactide Ring-Opening Polymerization with NSSN-type Zr(IV) Complexes

In this work the mechanism of L-lactide polymerization promoted by NSSN zirconium complexes was investigated through DFT methods with the aim to understand as the electronic and steric features of the ligand affect the energy reaction. It was observed that the rate determining step of the process is the opening of the L-lactide ring and that by increasing the steric hindrance, evaluated by changing geometric parameters and topographic steric maps, or the electron-withdrawing properties of the ligand, the corresponding energy barrier increases. On the other hand, calculations foresee that a small and electron-releasing substituent on the nitrogen atom of the ligand, such as the methyl group, is desirable in order to obtain NSSN zirconium based catalysts with improved activity in the ROP of the L-lactide.     

Diketopyrrolopyrrole‐Porphyrin Conjugates with High Two‐Photon Absorption and Singlet Oxygen Generation for Two‐Photon Photodynamic Therapy

Two‐photon photodynamic therapy is a promising therapeutic method which requires the development of sensitizers with efficient two‐photon absorption and singlet‐oxygen generation. Reported here are two new diketopyrrolopyrrole‐porphyrin conjugates as robust two‐photon absorbing dyes with high two‐photon absorption cross‐sections within the therapeutic window. Furthermore, for the first time the singlet‐oxygen generation efficiency of diketopyrrolopyrrole‐containing systems is investigated. A preliminary study on cell culture showed efficient two‐photon induced phototoxicity.     

Using controlled radical polymerization to confirm the lower critical solution temperature of an N‐(alkoxyalkyl) acrylamide polymer in aqueous solution

N‐(3‐Methoxypropyl) acrylamide (MPAM) was polymerized by controlled radical polymerization (CRP) methods such as nitroxide‐mediated polymerization (NMP) and reversible addition–fragmentation chain‐transfer polymerization (RAFT). CRP was expected to yield well‐defined polymers with sharp lower critical solution temperature (LCST) transitions. NMP with the BlocBuilder (2‐([tert‐butyl[1‐(diethoxyphosphoryl)‐2,2‐dimethylpropyl]amino]oxy)‐2‐methylpropanoic acid) and SG1 ([tert‐butyl[1‐(diethoxyphosphoryl)‐2,2‐dimethylpropyl]amino] oxidanyl) initiating system revealed low yields and lack of control (high dispersity, ? ～ 1.5–1.6, and inhibition of chain growth). However, RAFT was far more effective, with linear number average molecular weight, , versus conversion, X, plots, low ? ～ 1.2–1.4 and the ability to form block copolymers using N,N‐diethylacrylamide (DEAAM) as the second monomer. Poly(MPAM) (with = 13.7–25.3 kg mol^?1) thermoresponsive behavior in aqueous media revealed cloud point temperatures (CPT)s between 73 and 92 °C depending on solution concentration (ranging from 1 to 3 wt %). The and the molecular weight distribution were the key factors determining the CPT and the sharpness of the response, respectively. Poly(MPAM)‐b‐poly(DEAAM) block copolymer ( = 22.3 kg mol^?1, ? = 1.41, molar composition F_DEAAM = 0.38) revealed dual LCSTs with both segments revealing distinctive CPTs (at 75 and 37 °C for poly(MPAM) and poly(DEAAM) blocks, respectively) by both UV–Vis and dynamic light scattering. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 59–67     

Organocatalytic,Asymmetric Eliminative [4+2] Cycloaddition of Allylidene Malononitriles with Enals: Rapid Entry to Cyclohexadiene‐Embedding Linear and Angular Polycycles

A direct aminocatalytic synthesis has been developed for the chemo‐, regio‐, diastereo‐, and enantioselective construction of densely substituted polycyclic carbaldehydes containing fused cyclohexadiene rings. The chemistry utilizes, for the first time, remotely enolizable π‐extended allylidenemalononitriles as electron‐rich 1,3‐diene precursors in a direct eliminative [4+2] cycloaddition with both aromatic and aliphatic α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes. The generality of the process is demonstrated by approaching 6,6‐, 5,6‐, 7,6‐, 6,6,6‐, and 6,5,6‐fused ring systems, as well as biorelevant steroid‐like 6,6,6,6,5‐ and 6,6,6,5,6‐rings. A stepwise reaction mechanism for the key [4+2] addition is proposed as a domino bis‐vinylogous Michael/Michael/retro‐Michael reaction cascade. The utility of the malononitrile moiety as traceless activating group of the dicyano nucleophilic substrates is demonstrated.