Effect of large light-heavy neutrino mixing and natural type-II seesaw dominance to lepton flavor violation and neutrinoless double beta decay

The European Physical Journal C - We present the EpIC Monte Carlo event generator for exclusive processes based on generalised parton distributions. EpIC utilises the PARTONS framework, which...     

Superdeformed structures and low Ω parity doublet in Ne-S nuclei near neutron drip-line

The structures of Ne, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P and S nuclei near the neutron drip-line region are investigated in the frame-work of relativistic mean field theory and non-relativistic Skyrme Hartree-Fock formalism. The recently discovered nuclei ⁴⁰Mg and ⁴²Al, which are beyond the drip-line predicted by various mass formulae are located within these models. We find many largely deformed neutron-rich nuclei, whose structures are analyzed. From the structure anatomy, we find that at large deformation low orbits of opposite parities (e.g. $\frac{1} {2}^ +$ and $\frac{1} {2}^ -$ ) occur close to each other in energy.     

Efficient resonance energy transfer from dye to Au@SnO2 core–shell nanoparticles

The present study reports the shell thickness dependence fluorescence resonance energy transfer between Rhodamine 6G dye and Au@SnO₂ core–shell nanoparticles. There is a pronounced effect on the PL quenching and shortening of the lifetime of the dye in presence of Au@SnO₂ core–shell nanoparticles. The calculated energy transfer efficiencies from dye to Au@SnO₂ are 64.4% and 78.3% for 1.5 nm and 2.5 nm thickness of shell, respectively. Considering the interactions of single acceptor and multiple donors, the calculated average distances (r_n) are 75.8 and 71.5 Å for 1.5 nm and 2.5 nm thick core–shell Au@SnO₂ nanoparticles, respectively.     

Late-Stage Halogenation of Peptides,Drugs and (Hetero)aromatic Compounds with a Nucleophilic Hydrazide Catalyst

Unlike its other halogen atom siblings, chlorination of a bioactive compound can change its physiological characteristics, improve its pharmacological profile, and function as a point of diversification through cross-coupling reactions. As a result, it has been a crucial strategy for drug discovery and development. However, functional groups such as amines, amides, hydroxy groups, or carboxylic acids trap the Cl⁺, severely limiting the reactivity and making direct chlorination far too difficult to be practical. Herein, we introduce a nucleophilic sulfonohydrazide catalyst for late-stage halogenation of peptides and drugs. This direct, mild and metal-free protocol shows high functional-group tolerance and is compatible with a range of structurally diverse peptides, drugs and aromatic compounds. Furthermore, DFT studies indicate that the reaction most likely proceeds via a cationic transition state. The gram-scale synthesis, high stability and efficiency of the catalyst provide a facile route for late-stage functionalization and intermediates for further derivatization.     

Optofluidic detection for cellular phenotyping

Quantitative analysis of the output of processes and molecular interactions within a single cell is highly critical to the advancement of accurate disease screening and personalized medicine. Optical detection is one of the most broadly adapted measurement methods in biological and clinical assays and serves cellular phenotyping. Recently, microfluidics has obtained increasing attention due to several advantages, such as small sample and reagent volumes, very high throughput, and accurate flow control in the spatial and temporal domains. Optofluidics, which is the attempt to integrate optics with microfluidics, shows great promise to enable on-chip phenotypic measurements with high precision, sensitivity, specificity, and simplicity. This paper reviews the most recent developments of optofluidic technologies for cellular phenotyping optical detection.     

Effect of Physicochemical Parameters on Enzymatic Biodecaffeination During Tea Fermentation

We report for the first time the development of a biodecaffeination process for tea synchronised with tea fermentation process using enzymes isolated from Pseudomonas alcaligenes. Cell-free extract was used for biodecaffeination of tea during fermentation of tea and 80% of the caffeine in the tea dhool was degraded within 90 min of incubation. Several factors that tend to effect the biodecaffeination during this stage, like moisture, aeration, intermittent enzyme addition and mixing, were optimized, and inhibitory interactions of proteins with polyphenols, caffeine–polyphenol interactions, which directly influence the biodecaffeination process were prevented by the use of glycine (5% w/w) in the dhool. Tea decaffeinated through the enzymatic route retained the original flavor and aroma, and there was an increase in the total polyphenol content of the tea.     

Control of surface tension at liquid-liquid interfaces using nanoparticles and nanoparticle-protein complexes

Subtle changes in the monolayer structure of nanoparticles (NPs) influence the interfacial behavior of both NPs and NP-protein conjugates. In this study, we use a series of monolayer-protected gold NPs to explore the role of particle hydrophobicity on their dynamic behavior at the toluene-water interface. Using dynamic surface tension measurements, we observed a linear decrease in the meso-equilibrium surface tension (γ) and faster dynamics as the hydrophobicity of the ligands increases. Further modulation of γ is observed for the corresponding NP-protein complexes at the charge-neutralization point.     

Photochromic one-dimensional nanostructures based on dithienylethene: fabrication by light-induced precipitation and reversible transformation in the nanoparticle state

A convenient protocol has been developed to fabricate one-dimensional nanostructures of a photochromic molecule cis-l,2-dicyano-l,2-bis(2,4,5-trimethyl-3-thieny1)ethene (CMTE). Light-induced self-assembled nanorods and nanowires of the colored form were obtained in situ under UV light irradiation in aqueous dispersion and redissolved under green light. Reversible and fatigue-resistant optical switching in the nanoparticle state was demonstrated.     

Hybrid porous tin(IV) phosphonate: an efficient catalyst for adipic acid synthesis and a very good adsorbent for CO2 uptake

A new porous organic-inorganic hybrid tin phosphonate material has been synthesized hydrothermally, which shows a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of 723 m(2) g(-1) and it adsorbs 4.8 mmol g(-1) CO(2) at 273 K and 5 bar pressure. The material also shows remarkable catalytic activity in one-pot liquid phase oxidation of cyclohexanone to adipic acid under eco-friendly conditions.