Novel coating for solid-phase microextraction: Electropolymerization of a molecular receptor functionalized with 2,2′-bithiophene for the determination of environmental pollutants at trace levels

A novel solid-phase microextraction coating based on the electropolymerization of a molecular receptor properly functionalized with 2,2′-bithiophene was developed for the determination of environmental pollutants in air and water samples. The 2,2′-bithiophene-based film was electrochemically deposed on the surface of a gold wire using cyclic voltammetry. The fibres showed a porous structure with an average thickness of 12 ± 3 μm (n = 5): a good intra-batch and inter-batch repeatability with RSD lower than 14% was also observed. The selective interactions via hydrogen bonding with organic molecules containing electronegative atoms was proved: LOD values in the low ng/l range allowed the determination of vinyl chloride and chlorobenzenes at trace levels in environmental matrices.     

Bacteria‐Based Production of Thiol‐Clickable,Genetically Encoded Lipid Nanovesicles

Despite growing research efforts on the preparation of (bio)functional liposomes, synthetic capsules cannot reach the densities of protein loading and the control over peptide display that is achieved by natural vesicles. Herein, a microbial platform for high‐yield production of lipidic nanovesicles with clickable thiol moieties in their outer corona is reported. These nanovesicles show low size dispersity, are decorated with a dense, perfectly oriented, and customizable corona of transmembrane polypeptides. Furthermore, this approach enables encapsulation of soluble proteins into the nanovesicles. Due to the mild preparation and loading conditions (absence of organic solvents, pH gradients, or detergents) and their straightforward surface functionalization, which takes advantage of the diversity of commercially available maleimide derivatives, bacteria‐based proteoliposomes are an attractive eco‐friendly alternative that can outperform currently used liposomes.     

Bacteria‐Based Production of Thiol‐Clickable,Genetically Encoded Lipid Nanovesicles

Despite growing research efforts on the preparation of (bio)functional liposomes, synthetic capsules cannot reach the densities of protein loading and the control over peptide display that is achieved by natural vesicles. Herein, a microbial platform for high‐yield production of lipidic nanovesicles with clickable thiol moieties in their outer corona is reported. These nanovesicles show low size dispersity, are decorated with a dense, perfectly oriented, and customizable corona of transmembrane polypeptides. Furthermore, this approach enables encapsulation of soluble proteins into the nanovesicles. Due to the mild preparation and loading conditions (absence of organic solvents, pH gradients, or detergents) and their straightforward surface functionalization, which takes advantage of the diversity of commercially available maleimide derivatives, bacteria‐based proteoliposomes are an attractive eco‐friendly alternative that can outperform currently used liposomes.     

Quark mixing in the discrete dark matter model

We consider a model in which dark matter is stable as it is charged under a Z₂ symmetry that is residual after an A₄ flavour symmetry is broken. We consider the possibility to generate the quark masses by charging the quarks appropriately under A₄. We find that it is possible to generate the CKM mixing matrix by an interplay of renormalisable and dimension-six operators. In this set-up, we predict the third neutrino mixing angle to be large and the dark matter relic density to be in the correct range. Low energy observables - in particular meson-antimeson oscillations - are hard to facilitate. We find that only in a situation where there is a strong cancellation between the Standard Model contribution and the contribution of the new Higgs fields, B meson oscillations are under control.     

The give-up problem for blocked regional lists with multi-winners

The current electoral law for the Italian Parliament prescribes blocked, linearly ordered lists of candidates for each party within each constituency. The peculiarity of the Italian electoral system is that a party can present the same candidate in different constituencies. There are several seats at stake in each constituency; these seats are allocated to the parties proportionally to the total number of votes they get. If the blocked list mechanism-which assigns the seats obtained by a party in a constituency to the first candidates of the corresponding ordered list-causes some candidates to win in more than one constituency, they may retain only one of the seats, giving up all the remaining ones. Thus, the problem arises for a party to find a suitable “schedule of give-ups” that produces the final set of winners for that party. In order to do this, we assume that such decision is centralized and based on some models of global (inter-regional) preferences over the set of candidates. In this paper, we introduce two classes of models to formulate the “give-up problem”, i.e., utility and ordinal models, and we show that for both of them some natural formulations of the problem can be efficiently solved by network flows techniques.     

Mean-Field Limit and Semiclassical Expansion of a Quantum Particle System

We consider a quantum system constituted by N identical particles interacting by means of a mean-field Hamiltonian. It is well known that, in the limit N → ∞, the one-particle state obeys to the Hartree equation. Moreover, propagation of chaos holds. In this paper, we take care of the dependence by considering the semiclassical expansion of the N-particle system. We prove that each term of the expansion agrees, in the limit N → ∞, with the corresponding one associated with the Hartree equation. We work in the classical phase space by using the Wigner formalism, which seems to be the most appropriate for the present problem. Submitted: October 2, 2008., Accepted: December 4, 2008.     

Fourth-order Schrödinger type operator with singular potentials

We prove that a deformation of a hypersurface in an (n + 1)-dimensional real space form \({{\mathbb S}^{n+1}_{p,1}}\) induces a Hamiltonian variation of the normal congruence in the space \({{\mathbb L}({\mathbb S}^{n+1}_{p,1})}\) of oriented geodesics. As an application, we show that every Hamiltonian minimal submanifold in \({{\mathbb L}({\mathbb S}^{n+1})}\) (resp. \({{\mathbb L}({\mathbb H}^{n+1})}\)) with respect to the (para-)Kähler Einstein structure is locally the normal congruence of a hypersurface \({\Sigma}\) in \({{\mathbb S}^{n+1}}\) (resp. \({{\mathbb H}^{n+1}}\)) that is a critical point of the functional \({{\mathcal W}(\Sigma) = \int_\Sigma\left(\Pi_{i=1}^n|\epsilon+k_i^2|\right)^{1/2}}\), where k_i denote the principal curvatures of \({\Sigma}\) and \({\epsilon \in \{-1, 1\}}\). In addition, for \({n = 2}\), we prove that every Hamiltonian minimal surface in \({{\mathbb L}({\mathbb S}^{3})}\) (resp. \({{\mathbb L}({\mathbb H}^{3})}\)), with respect to the (para-)Kähler conformally flat structure, is the normal congruence of a surface in \({{\mathbb S}^{3}}\) (resp. \({{\mathbb H}^{3}}\)) that is a critical point of the functional \({{\mathcal W}\prime(\Sigma) = \int_\Sigma\sqrt{H^2-K+1}}\) (resp. \({{\mathcal W}\prime(\Sigma) = \int_\Sigma\sqrt{H^2-K-1}}\)), where H and K denote, respectively, the mean and Gaussian curvature of \({\Sigma}\).     

Inverse Scattering Transform for the Focusing Ablowitz‐Ladik System with Nonzero Boundary Conditions

The purpose of this paper is to construct the inverse scattering transform for the focusing Ablowitz‐Ladik equation with nonzero boundary conditions at infinity. Both the direct and the inverse problems are formulated in terms of a suitable uniform variable; the inverse problem is posed as a Riemann‐Hilbert problem on a doubly connected curve in the complex plane, and solved by properly accounting for the asymptotic dependence of eigenfunctions and scattering data on the Ablowitz‐Ladik potential.     

Structure of Escherichia coli dUTPase in Solution: A Small Angle Neutron Scattering Study

The present study investigates shape properties of the enzyme dUTPase from Escherichia coli in the solution phase. In this work small angle neutron scattering (SANS) findings on dUTPase/D₂O solutions for temperature values of T = 8 °C and T = 37 °C are presented. The analysis of SANS data, carried out by using a prolate ellipsoid core/shell model fitting and the well‐known Guinier and Zimm analysis procedures allows the characterization of the shape of the protein in solution. By means of the comparison with experimental and theoretical data existing in literature on dUTPase in the crystalline state, we find that the protein in solution maintains its dimensions before the denaturation process. Furthermore, by analyzing the SANS spectra of dUTPase/D₂O/trehalose solutions, we emphasize the bioprotective effects of trehalose on the protein.

Structure of dUTPase.