Synthesis of some 3,7-disubstituted quino[3,2-c][1,8]naphthyridines

The preparation of some 3,7-disubstituted-5,6-dihydroquino[3,2-c][1,8]naphthyridines ( 6 ) by the condensation of 7-substituted-2,3-dihydro-1,8-naphthyridin-4-(1H)ones ( 5 ) with o-aminoacetophenone or o-aminobenzophenone is described. All the 5,6-dihydroderivatives 6 were transformed into the fully aromatic compounds 7 by heating with nitrobenzene. Only a few quino[3,2-c][1,8]naphthyridines were previously described.     

Forever Young: Structural Stability of Telomeric Guanine Quadruplexes in the Presence of Oxidative DNA Lesions**

Human telomeric DNA, in G-quadruplex (G4) conformation, is characterized by a remarkable structural stability that confers it the capacity to resist to oxidative stress producing one or even clustered 8-oxoguanine (8oxoG) lesions. We present a combined experimental/computational investigation, by using circular dichroism in aqueous solutions, cellular immunofluorescence assays and molecular dynamics simulations, that identifies the crucial role of the stability of G4s to oxidative lesions, related also to their biological role as inhibitors of telomerase, an enzyme overexpressed in most cancers associated to oxidative stress.     

G-Quadruplex Recognition by DARPIns through Epitope/Paratope Analogy**

We investigated the mechanisms leading to the specific recognition of Guanine Guadruplex (G4) by DARPins peptides, which can lead to the design of G4 s specific sensors. To this end we carried out all-atom molecular dynamic simulations to unravel the interactions between specific nucleic acids, including human-telomeric (h-telo), Bcl-2, and c-Myc, with different peptides, forming a DARPin/G4 complex. By comparing the sequences of DARPin with that of a peptide known for its high affinity for c-Myc, we show that the recognition cannot be ascribed to sequence similarity but, instead, depends on the complementarity between the three-dimensional arrangement of the molecular fragments involved: the α-helix/loops domain of DARPin and the G4 backbone. Our results reveal that DARPins tertiary structure presents a charged hollow region in which G4 can be hosted, thus the more complementary the structural shapes, the more stable the interaction.     

Symmetry classification of quasi-linear PDE’s containing arbitrary functions

We consider the problem of performing the preliminary “symmetry classification” of a class of quasi-linear PDE’s containing one or more arbitrary functions: we provide an easy condition involving these functions in order that nontrivial Lie point symmetries be admitted, and a “geometrical” characterization of the relevant system of equations determining these symmetries. Two detailed examples will elucidate the idea and the procedure: the first one concerns a nonlinear Laplace-type equation, the second a generalization of an equation (the Grad–Schlüter–Shafranov equation) which is used in magnetohydrodynamics.     

A truncated Newton method in an augmented Lagrangian framework for nonlinear programming

In this paper we propose a primal-dual algorithm for the solution of general nonlinear programming problems. The core of the method is a local algorithm which relies on a truncated procedure for the computation of a search direction, and is thus suitable for large scale problems. The truncated direction produces a sequence of points which locally converges to a KKT pair with superlinear convergence rate.     

Chaos in Black Holes Surrounded by Electromagnetic Fields

In this paper we study the occurrence of chaos for charged particles moving around a Schwarzschild black hole, perturbed by uniform electric and magnetic fields. The appearance of chaos is analyzed resorting to the Poincaré-Melnikov method.     

Synthesis of 1-alkyl-4-imidazolecarboxylates: a catch and release strategy

The novel alkyl N-methyl-N-polystyreneamino-2-isocyanoacrylate was used for the synthesis of 1-substituted imidazole-4-carboxylates utilizing a "catch and release" methodology. The reactions were performed under microwave irradiation, affording the title compounds in both high yields and chemical purity directly to solution, from the solid phase support.