Radon gas activity measurements in the frame of an international comparison

In order to validate its original method for the radon gas activity standardization and to assure the international metrological traceability and equivalence, the Radionuclide Metrology Laboratory of IFIN-HH participated recently in the international comparison CCRI(II)-K2.Rn-222, organized by the International Committee for Weights and Measures—CIPM-CCRI(II)-Radionuclide Measurements. The radon gas sample received, the measurement equipment and the experimental procedures are described. Because the comparison is underway, the results are presented only as relative values to the liquid scintillator vial measurement result. The uncertainty budget of the measurements performed is provided.     

Simultaneous determination of angiotensins II and 1-7 by capillary zone electrophoresis in plasma and urine from hypertensive rats

We describe the procedure developed for the simultaneous detection and quantification of angiotensin II and angiotensin-(1-7), by capillary zone electrophoresis with UV detection by photodiode-array, at a wavelength of 200 nm, in the plasma and urine from hypertensive rats. Optimal separation was achieved with a 100 mM boric acid + 3 mM tartaric acid + 10 fM gold (III) chloride electrolyte solution at pH 9.80. The applied voltage was 30 kV and the capillary temperature was kept constant at 20 °C. The method was over the concentration range of 0.01-500 pmol/mL. All determination coefficients were higher or equal to 0.9985. Limits of detection and quantification for angiotensin II were 0.0110 pmol/mL (S/N = 3) and 0.0195 pmol/mL (S/N = 5), respectively. While for angiotensin-(1-7), the limits were 0.0112 pmol/mL (S/N = 3) and 0.0193 pmol/mL (S/N = 5), respectively. The present method offers a time-saving way to simultaneous determination of angiotensin II and angiotensin-(1-7), since it can be completed in 10 min, compared to other methodologies reported in the literature for capillary electrophoresis and liquid chromatography, which require more than 1 h for analysis of complex matrices, such as plasma and urine. The procedure is illustrated by experiments that quantify simultaneously angiotensin II and angiotensin-(1-7) in plasma and urine from hypertensive and normotensive rats, with and without antihypertensive treatment. The levels of angiotensin II and angiotensin-(1-7) detected in the experimental model, resulted in a recovery of 99.00-106.01% and a reproducibility of less than 10%. The proposed analytical method is a use full tool for the simultaneous detection of angiotensin II and angiotensin-(1-7) implicated in vascular remodeling in pathologies such as hypertension.     

Evaluation of the effects of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus on inoculated citrus plants using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and chemometrics tools

This study investigated the organic and inorganic constituents of healthy leaves and Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas)-inoculated leaves of citrus plants. The bacteria CLas are one of the causal agents of citrus greening (or Huanglongbing) and its effect on citrus leaves was investigated using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) combined with chemometrics. The information obtained from the LIBS spectra profiles with chemometrics analysis was promising for the construction of predictive models to identify healthy and infected plants. The major, macro- and microconstituents were relevant for differentiation of the sample conditions. The models were then applied to different inoculation times (from 1 to 8 months). The models were effective in the classification of 82-97% of the diseased samples with a 95% significance level. The novelty of this method was in the fingerprinting of healthy and diseased plants based on their organic and inorganic contents.     

(Liquid + liquid) equilibrium of {water + phenol + (1-butanol,or 2-butanol,or tert-butanol)} systems

(Liquid + liquid) equilibrium (LLE) and binodal curve data were determined for the systems (water + phenol + tert-butanol) at T = 298.15 K, (water + phenol + 2-butanol) and (water + phenol + 1-butanol) at T = 298.15 K and T = 313.15 K by the combined techniques of densimetry and refractometry. Type I curve (for tert-butanol) and Type II curves (for 1- and 2-butanol) were found. The data were correlated with the NRTL model and the parameters estimated present root mean square deviations below 2% for the system with tert-butanol and lower than 0.8% for the other systems.     

Solid phase synthesis of a molecular library of pyrimidines, pyrazoles, and isoxazoles with biological potential

A small molecular library of 40 pyrimidine, pyrazole, and isoxazole derivatives, bearing structural features for a promising binding of therapeutically interesting enzymes, was designed and prepared. An efficient and straightforward solid phase synthesis was envisaged and carried out on a Rink amide resin. The assistance of microwave heating in any step reduced the reaction time, increased the reaction yields, and allowed an easy work-up and purification of the targeted compounds.     

Polarized Absorption,Spontaneous and Stimulated Blue Light Emission of J‐type Tetraphenylbutadiene Monocrystals

Blue amplified spontaneous emission at room temperature is demonstrated from the exposed face of the strongly emitting organic semiconductor 1,1,4,4‐tetraphenyl‐1,3‐butadiene in single crystal form. The symmetry of the crystal and calculation of lattice sums indicate the J‐type organization of the molecular transition moments. The minimum in the lowest exciton dispersion branch, from which emission takes place, is found at the edge of the Brillouin zone leading to a dominant vibronic emission since the zero‐phonon line is forbidden. The observed gain narrowed line is attributed to the vibronic replica which becomes amplified with increased pumping. The reported emission is along the normal to the exposed crystal face, important for the development of vertical cavity geometry lasers based on organic single crystals. The threshold excitation fluence of 400 μJ cm^?2 is comparable to other organic crystalline systems, even if the amplification path is much reduced as a consequence of the vertical geometry. Considering these relevant aspects, the optical characterization of this material is provided. The polarized absorption spectra are reported and the properties of the lowest‐energy excitonic state investigated. Calculation of the electronic transitions for the isolated molecule, lattice sums for the transition at lowest energy, and the symmetry of the crystal allow attributing the largest face of the samples and the observed optical bands in the spectra. Polarized time‐resolved spectra are also reported allowing to identify the intrinsic excitonic emission.     

Entropically Driven Self‐Assembly of Lysinibacillus sphaericus S‐Layer Proteins Analyzed Under Various Environmental Conditions

S‐Layer proteins are an example of bionanostructures that can be exploited in nanofabrication. In addition to their ordered structure, the ability to self‐assembly is a key feature that makes them a promising technological tool. Here, in vitro self‐assembly kinetics of SpbA was investigated, and found that it occurs at a rate that is dependent on temperature, its concentration, and the concentration of calcium ions and sodium chloride. The activation enthalpy (120.81 kJ · mol^?1) and entropy (129.34 J · mol^?1 · K^?1) obtained infers that the incorporation of monomers incurs in a net loss of hydrophobic surface. By understanding how the protein monomers drive the self‐assembly at different conditions, the rational optimization of this process was feasible.

     

A multidimensional real Schwarz Lemma for the Hilbert metric

We present a real multidimensional version of the Schwarz Lemma on a bounded convex domain D of ℝ ⁿ endowed with the Hilbert metric. We provide as an application an extension of a Birkhoff’s Theorem on mappings contracting the Hilbert metric.     

Floating and sinking: the imprint of massive scalars around rotating black holes

We study the coupling of massive scalar fields to matter in orbit around rotating black holes. It is generally expected that orbiting bodies will lose energy in gravitational waves, slowly inspiraling into the black hole. Instead, we show that the coupling of the field to matter leads to a surprising effect: because of superradiance, matter can hover into "floating orbits" for which the net gravitational energy loss at infinity is entirely provided by the black hole's rotational energy. Orbiting bodies remain floating until they extract sufficient angular momentum from the black hole, or until perturbations or nonlinear effects disrupt the orbit. For slowly rotating and nonrotating black holes floating orbits are unlikely to exist, but resonances at orbital frequencies corresponding to quasibound states of the scalar field can speed up the inspiral, so that the orbiting body sinks. These effects could be a smoking gun of deviations from general relativity.     

Thermal momentum distribution from path integrals with shifted boundary conditions

For a thermal field theory formulated in the grand canonical ensemble, the distribution of the total momentum is an observable characterizing the thermal state. We show that its cumulants are related to thermodynamic potentials. In a relativistic system, for instance, the thermal variance of the total momentum is a direct measure of the enthalpy. We relate the generating function of the cumulants to the ratio of (a) a partition function expressed as a Matsubara path integral with shifted boundary conditions in the compact direction and (b) the ordinary partition function. In this form the generating function is well suited for Monte Carlo evaluation, and the cumulants can be extracted straightforwardly. We test the method in the SU(3) Yang-Mills theory and obtain the entropy density at three different temperatures.