A novel route to the vinyl sulfide nine-membered macrocycle moiety of Griseoviridin

The synthetic potentialities of cerium(III) chloride are demonstrated by the synthesis of a nine-membered ring heterocycle component of Griseoviridin (3) in optically active form. The key step involves the stereospecific formation of the alpha-carbalkoxy alkenyl sulfide moiety using a combination system of cerium(III) chloride heptahydrate and sodium iodide.     

Behavior of polarizable models in presence of strong electric fields. I. Origin of nonlinear effects in water point-charge systems

In the current opinion, the inclusion of polarization response in classical computer simulations is considered as one of the most important and urgent improvements to be implemented in modern empirical potential models. In this work we focus on the capability of polarizable models, based on the pairwise Coulomb interactions, to model systems where strong electric fields enter into play. As shown by Masia, Probst, and Rey (MPR) [in J. Chem. Phys. 121, 7362 (2004)], when a molecule interacts with point charges, polarizable models show underpolarization with respect to ab initio methods. We prove that this underpolarization, clearly related to nonlinear polarization effects, cannot be simply ascribed to the lack of hyperpolarization in the polarizable models, as suggested by MPR. Analysis of the electron-density rearrangement induced on a water molecule by a point charge reveals a twofold level of polarization response. One level involves intramolecular charge transfer on the whole molecular volume, with the related polarization exhibiting a seemingly linear behavior with the external electric field. The other nonlinear polarization level occurs only at strong electric fields and is found to be strictly correlated to the quantum-mechanical nature of the water molecule. The latter type of polarization has a local character, being limited to the space region of the water lone pairs.     

The Ni2+ binding properties of Helicobacter pylori NikR

The binding constants between Ni2+ and Helicobacterpylori NikR have been determined using isothermal titration microcalorimetry in order to rationalize the role of this protein as a nickel-dependent biological sensor.     

A Noncanonical Function of Sortase Enables Site‐Specific Conjugation of Small Molecules to Lysine Residues in Proteins

We provide the first demonstration that isopeptide ligation, a noncanonical activity of the enzyme sortase A, can be used to modify recombinant proteins. This reaction was used in vitro to conjugate small molecules to a peptide, an engineered targeting protein, and a full‐length monoclonal antibody with an exquisite level of control over the site of conjugation. Attachment to the protein substrate occurred exclusively through isopeptide bonds at a lysine ε‐amino group within a specific amino acid sequence. This reaction allows more than one molecule to be site‐specifically conjugated to a protein at internal sites, thereby overcoming significant limitations of the canonical native peptide ligation reaction catalyzed by sortase A. Our method provides a unique chemical ligation procedure that is orthogonal to existing methods, supplying a new method to site‐specifically modify lysine residues that will be a valuable addition to the protein conjugation toolbox.     

Impedance spectroscopy of reactive polymers. 5. Impedance as a measure of chemical and physical changes in glass formers

A study was conducted aimed at establishing the nature of chemical and physical phenomena in polymeric and nonpolymeric glass formers that can be observed by impedance measurements. Various systems were investigated that undergo a temporal evolution of structure as a result of chemical reactions and physical processes such as crystallization, vitrification, or phase separation. Distinct and systematic changes in impedance during crystallization and vitrification confirmed that these events could be monitored by impedance spectroscopy. Of particular interest was the potential use of impedance measurements in detecting gelation in crosslinking polymers. It was shown that the experimentally observed “knee” in imaginary impedance during reaction shifts with frequency and, hence, cannot be used to measure gelation. But a new insight at the molecular level was obtained by employing a novel experimental approach based on simultaneous dielectric-infrared measurements. Evidence was generated to support the formation of a hydrogen-bonded complex in the vicinity of gel point in polymer networks, which affords a vehicle for the migration of intrinsic charges and provides a contribution to the overall conductivity. This finding should be explored further because it suggests the possibility of correlating dielectric response with gelation. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 641–653, 1998     

Electrical,structural and thermal properties of new conductive blends (PANICG) based on polyaniline and cashew gum for organic electronic

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The application of cashew gum, in particular the one which is abundant in northeastern Brazil, remains limited to the foods and pharmaceutics industry....     

Investigation of the extraction and collimation of a beam in a circular accelerator using new crystal equipment

New crystalline equipment—an array of bent strips and fan reflector based on thin flat plates—has been used to investigate the extraction and collimation of a circulating beam in an accelerator with an energy of 50 and 1.3 GeV. It has been shown that new equipment can efficiently control the beam in a wide energy range. An extraction and collimation efficiency of 90%, which is a record for this method, has been achieved for 50-GeV protons.     

Spin filtering effects in a one dimensional artificial lattice with ring geometry subject to Rashba coupling

Quantum interference effects in rings provide suitable means for controlling spin at mesoscopic scales. Here we apply such a control mechanism to the spin dependent transport in a one-dimensional Aharonov-Bohm (AB) ring patterned in two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) symmetrically coupled to two leads. We investigate the ballistic conductance in the presence of an artificial crystal, which is made up of 5 quantum dots. The study is essentially based on the natural spinorbit interactions, due to the quantum well potential that confines electrons in the 2DEG. We focus on single-channel transport and solve for the spin polarization of the current. As an important consequence of the presence of spin splitting, we find the occurrence of spin dependent current oscillations. The presence of lattice can be useful to improve the spin filtering capability of the QR. In fact modulating both the geometry of the dots and the strength of the tunnel barriers between them it is now possible to obtain well defined spin-dependent resonances allowing polarized transport. The presence of isolated conductance peak is useful in order to improve the efficiency of the spin filtering also at non zero temperatures.     

LIFE DYNAMAP project: The case study of Rome

The DYNAMAP project (Dynamic Acoustic Mapping – Development of low cost sensors networks for real time noise mapping) is a LIFE project aiming at developing a dynamic noise mapping system able to detect and represent in real time the acoustic impact due to road infrastructures. Scope of the project is the European Directive 2002/49/EC relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise (END).     

Fs-pulsed laser deposition of PbTe and PbTe/Ag thermoelectric thin films

For the first time, thermoelectric thin films were fabricated by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition (fs-PLD) that represents a challenging technological solution for this application since it provides a correct film stoichiometry compared to the starting target, capability of native nanostructuring and a high deposition rate. In particular, this paper shows a preliminary work on PbTe and PbTe/Ag thin films deposited at different substrate temperatures by fs-PLD from a microcrystalline PbTe target. Structural, morphological and compositional characterizations of the deposited films were performed to demonstrate the formation of films composed by crystalline nanograins (about 35 nm size) and characterized by a correct stoichiometry. A remarkable deposition rate of 1.5 nm/s was evaluated. The electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient (thermopower) were measured as a function of operating temperature to derive the thermoelectric power factor that was found to be less than a factor 2 with respect to the bulk materials. Finally, a discussion about the influence of compositional and structural properties of the deposited films on the related thermoelectric performances was presented.