Differential structure of the Thompson components of selfadjoint operators

Different equivalence relations are defined in the set of selfadjoint operators of a Hilbert space in order to extend a very well known relation in the cone of positive operators. As in the positive case, for the equivalence class admits a differential structure, which is compatible with a complete metric defined on . This metric coincides with the Thompson metric when is positive.

     

Synthesis of anthracene and azaanthracene fluorophores via [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization reactions

A highly convergent [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization approach to anthracenes and 2-azaanthracenes has been developed. It allows for the facile introduction of the anthracene moiety on alkyne and nitrile bearing molecules and the rapid construction of compound arrays. This is showcased in the assembly of a collection of fluorophores and their photochemical evaluation.     

Pi-stacking effect on levoglucosenone derived internal chiral auxiliaries. A case of complete enantioselectivity inversion on the Diels-Alder reaction

Detailed quantum chemical calculations, experimental evidence, and NMR data rationalize the participation of pi-stacking interaction in the highly asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction using levoglucosenone derived internal chiral auxiliaries, including the appealing effect of inversion of the enantioselectivity by coordination of the substrate with Et 2AlCl.     

Synthetic Peptide Antibodies as TNF-α Inhibitors: Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Nanogels Neutralize the Inflammatory Activity of TNF-α in THP-1 Derived Macrophages

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) is a cytokine that is normally produced by immune cells when fighting an infection. But, when too much TNF-α is produced as in autoimmune diseases, this leads to unwanted and persistent inflammation. Anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibodies have revolutionized the therapy of these disorders by blocking TNF-α and preventing its binding to TNF-α receptors, thus suppressing the inflammation. Herein, we propose an alternative in the form of molecularly imprinted polymer nanogels (MIP-NGs). MIP-NGs are synthetic antibodies obtained by nanomoulding the 3-dimensional shape and chemical functionalities of a desired target in a synthetic polymer. Using an in-house developed in silico rational approach, epitope peptides of TNF-α were generated and ‘synthetic peptide antibodies’ were prepared. The resultant MIP-NGs bind the template peptide and recombinant TNF-α with high affinity and selectivity, and can block the binding of TNF-α to its receptor. Consequently they were applied to neutralize pro-inflammatory TNF-α in the supernatant of human THP-1 macrophages, leading to a downregulation of the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Our results suggest that MIP-NGs, which are thermally and biochemically more stable and easier to manufacture than antibodies, and cost-effective, are very promising as next generation TNF-α inhibitors for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.     

On the congruence subgroup problem for branch groups

We prove here an energy estimate for the Cauchy problem for hyperbolic equations with double characteristic, which contains both effectively and non-effectively points (see L. Hörmander [3] and R. Melrose [8]) in a unique framework.     

Vertical migration and motility responses in three marine phytoplankton species exposed to solar radiation

Diurnal vertical migration in the water column and the impact of solar radiation on motility were investigated in three marine phytoplankton species: Tetraselmis suecica, Dunaliella salina and Gymnodinium chlorophorum. Cells were exposed to solar radiation either in ultraviolet radiation (UVR, 280-400 nm) transparent Plexiglas tubes (45 cm length, 10 cm diameter) or in quartz tubes under three radiation treatments: PAB (280-700 nm), PA (320-700 nm) and P (400-700 nm). The three species displayed different behavior after exposure to solar radiation. Tetraselmis suecica was insensitive to UVR and under high solar radiation levels, cells accumulated preferentially near the surface. Exposure experiments did not indicate any significant changes in swimming speed nor in the percentage of motile cells after 5 h of exposure. On the other hand, D. salina was sensitive to UV-B displaying a significant decrease in swimming speed and percentage of motile cells after 2-3 h of exposure. Moreover, D. salina cells migrated deep in the water column when irradiance was high. The response of G. chlorophorum was in between that of the other two species tested, with a slight (but significant) decrease in swimming speed and percentage of motile cells in all radiation treatments after 5 h of exposure. While G. chlorophorum cells were more or less homogenously distributed in the water column, a slight (but significant) avoidance response to high radiation was observed at local noon, with cells migrating deep in the water column. Our data clearly indicate that these sub-lethal effects of solar radiation are species-specific and they might have important implications for the aquatic ecosystem.     

Interactive effects of ultraviolet radiation and nutrient addition on growth and photosynthesis performance of four species of marine phytoplankton

Experiments (6-8 days) were carried out during the austral summer of 2005 in Chubut, Argentina (43 degrees S, 65 degrees W) to determine the interactive effects of solar UVR (280-400 nm) and nutrient addition on growth and chlorophyll fluorescence of four species of marine phytoplankton--the diatoms Thalassiosira fluviatilis Hustedt and Chaetoceros gracilis Schütt, and the dinoflagellates Heterocapsa triquetra (Ehrenberg) Stein and Prorocentrum micans (Ehrenberg). Samples were incubated under three radiation treatments (two sets of each radiation treatment): (a) samples exposed to full solar radiation (PAR+UVR, PAB treatment, 280-700 nm); (b) samples exposed to PAR and UV-A (PA treatment, 320-700 nm) and (c) samples exposed only to PAR (P treatment, 400-700 nm). At the beginning of the experiments, nutrients (i.e., NaPO(4)H(2) and NaNO(3)) were added to one set of samples from each radiation treatment ("N" cultures) whereas in the other, the nutrients concentration was that of the culture medium. At all times, the lowest growth rates (mu) were determined in the PAB treatments, where enriched cultures had significantly higher mu (P<0.05) than non-enriched cultures. Daily cycles of photochemical quantum yield (Y) displayed a pattern of relatively high values early in the morning with a sharp decrease at noon; recovery was observed late in the afternoon. In general, higher Y values were determined in enriched cultures than in non-enriched cultures. As the experiments progressed, acclimation (estimated as the difference between Y at noon and that at time zero) was observed in all species although in variable degree. All species displayed some degree of UVR-induced decrease in the photochemical quantum yield, although it was variable among treatments and species. However, this effect decreased with time, and this pattern was more evident in the dinoflagellates, as the concentration of UV-absorbing compounds increased. Thus, under conditions of nutrient enrichment as may occur by river input or by re-suspension by mixing, dinoflagellates outcompete with diatoms because they may have a higher fitness under UVR stress.     

Schur Complements in Krein Spaces

The aim of this work is to generalize the notions of Schur complements and shorted operators to Krein spaces. Given a (bounded) J-selfadjoint operator A (with the unique factorization property) acting on a Krein space and a suitable closed subspace of , the Schur complement of A to is defined. The basic properties of are developed and different characterizations are given, most of them resembling those of the shorted of (bounded) positive operators on a Hilbert space. To the memory of Professor Mischa Cotlar     

Conformations of proline analogues having double bonds in the ring

The intrinsic conformational preferences of proline analogues having double bonds between carbon atoms in their rings have been investigated using quantum mechanical calculations at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level. For this purpose, the potential energy surface of the N-acety-N'-methylamide derivatives of three dehydroprolines (proline analogues unsaturated at alpha,beta; beta,gamma; and gamma,delta) and pyrrole (proline analogue with unsaturations at both alpha,beta and gamma,delta) have been explored, and the results are compared with those obtained for the derivative of the nonmodified proline. We found that the double bonds affect the ring puckering and the geometric internal parameters, even though the backbone conformation was influenced the most. Results indicate that the formation of double bonds between carbon atoms in the pyrrolidine ring should be considered as an effective procedure to restrict the conformational flexibility of prolines. Interestingly, we also found that the N-acetyl-N'-methylamide derivative of pyrrole shows a high probability of having a cis peptide bond preceding the proline analogue.