Long range interactions between some charged solitons

A procedure is offered for evaluating the forces between classical, charged solitons at large distances. This is employed for the solitons of a complex, scalar two-dimensional field theory with a U(1) symmetry, that leads to a conserved chargeQ. These forces are the analogues of the strong interaction forces. The potential,U(Q, R), is found to be attractive, of long range, and strong when the coupling constants in the theory are small. The dependence ofU(Q, R) onQ, the sum of the charges of the two interacting solitons (Q will refer to isospin in the SU(2) generalisation of the U(1) symmetric theory) is of importance in the theory of strong interactions; group theoretical considerations do not give such information. The interaction obtained here will be the leading term in the corresponding quantum field theory when the coupling-constants are small.     

Effect of plasticizer on electrical conductivity and cell parameters of (PVC+KBrO<Subscript>3</Subscript>) polymer electrolyte system

The effect of a plasticizer dimethyl formamide (DMF) on the properties of a potassium ion conducting electrolyte based on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) complexed with potassium bromate (KBrO₃) prepared using solution-cast technique was investigated. Various experimental techniques, such as electrical conductivity (composition and temperature dependence) and transport number measurements, were used to characterize these polymer electrolyte films. It was found that the addition of plasticizer (DMF) significantly improved the ionic conductivity. Transport number for K⁺ ion ranged from 0.95 to 0.97 depending on the composition and temperature. Electrochemical cells of configuration K/PVC+KBrO₃/(I₂+C+electrolyte) and K/PVC+KBrO₃+plasticizer/(I₂+C+electrolyte) were fabricated. The discharge characteristics of the cells were studied under a constant load of 100 kΩ. The open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, and discharge time for the plateau region were measured. The PVC+KBrO₃ polymer electrolyte system with added plasticizer showed an increased discharge time with respect to pure PVC+KBrO₃ electrolyte system. The features of complexation of the electrolytes were studied by X-ray diffraction.     

Age-related waning of in vitro Interferon-γ levels against r32kDaBCG in BCG vaccinated children

Background  

Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccine has displayed inconsistent efficacy in different trials conducted in various geographical regions. Nevertheless, it significantly reduces the risk of severe childhood tuberculosis and continues to be used to prevent tuberculosis in many countries. Many studies revealed that efficacy of vaccine wanes with age. Most of the studies were based on in vivo and in vitro responses to tuberculin. With the advent of newer tests such as in vitro interferon-γ assays and identification of potent immunogenic mycobacterial proteins there is a need to corroborate the observations. This study aims at ascertaining the need for a booster at a later age as indicated by in vitro release of IFN-γ while evaluating Ag85A as an antigen.     

A note on Fourier-Jacobi coefficients of Siegel modular forms

Let F be a Siegel cusp form of weight k and genus n >  1 with Fourier-Jacobi coefficients f _m . In this article, we estimate the growth of the Petersson norms of f _m , where m runs over an arithmetic progression. This result sharpens a recent result of Kohnen [5].     

Green synthesis and anticancer activity of tetrahydrodipyrazolo[3,4-b:4′,3′-e]pyridines catalyzed by phospho sulfonic acid

Biologically portent/significant tetrahydrodipyrazolo[3,4-b:4′,3′-e]pyridines are synthesized by an efficient green synthesis of various aldehydes with 3-methyl-1H-pyrazol-5(4H)-one in ammonium acetate using phospho sulfonic acid as a solid catalyst under microwave-assisted interaction under solvent-free conditions at 70°C. This methodology is easy to handle and get good to excellent yields. Later the potential in vitro antiproliferation of the titled compounds is evaluated. Among all the titled compounds, 4s and 4t showed the most potent anticancer potentiality on the used cancer cell lines of SK-BR-3 and HeLa (IC₅₀ = 10.70 ± 0.27 and 12.58 ± 0.38, and 19.38 ± 0.32 and 21.55 ± 0.41 μg/mL for SK-BR-3 cells lines and HeLa cells lines, respectively), which were comparable to the positive control.     

Photoinduced C-Br homolysis of 2-bromobenzophenones and Pschorr ring closure of 2-aroylaryl radicals to fluorenones

A variety of diversely substituted 2-aroylaryl radicals, generated by photoinduced homolysis of 2-bromoarylketones, is shown to undergo Pschorr cyclization to yield fluorenones in moderate to excellent yields. The photochemical results illustrate that the substituents in the two phenyl rings of the 2-bromobenzophenone skeleton exert a dramatic influence on the reactivity of the derived 2-aroylaryl radicals. The disubstitution by methoxy groups in the radical ring renders the aryl sigma-radical highly electrophilic and unreactive for hydrogen abstraction and cyclization. On the other hand, the substituents in the non-radical ring that strongly stabilize the hydrofluorenyl pi-radical, formed subsequent to the attack of the 2-aroylaryl radical on the non-radical ring, promote cyclization to furnish fluorenones in excellent isolated yields.     

Thermodynamics of the In|In+3 Electrode in HCl + InCl3 Solutions

Electromotive force measurements have been made using the cell $$\mbox{In(s)}|\mbox{HCl }(m_{\mathrm{A}}),\mbox{InCl}_{3}(m_{\mathrm{B}}),\mbox{H}_{2}\mbox{O}|\mbox{AgCl, Ag}$$ in the ionic strength range of I=0.05, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 mol?kg^?1 at 25?°C. The value of E ^o, the standard potential of the In/In³⁺ electrode, has been determined at 25?°C. Our value of E ^o (?0.3371 V) at 25?°C obtained from our measurements is in good agreement with ?0.336 (Hakomori, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 52: 2372–2376, 1930) and ?0.3382 V (Covington et al., J. Chem. Soc. 4394–4401, 1963). The activity coefficients of InCl₃ as well as Harned interaction coefficients have been determined at 25?°C for each of the experimental ionic strengths at ionic strength fractions of 0.1, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9 of HCl. Harned’s rule for the salt is obeyed at I=0.05,0.1 and 0.25 mol?kg^?1 but the quadratic terms are needed for higher ionic strengths. These data, together with others for the activity coefficient of HCl in the same solutions, have been treated by the ion-interaction (Pitzer, Activity Coefficients in Electrolyte Solutions, CRC Press, 1991) equations in a previous publication.     

Electrospray ionization mass spectral studies of N,N-dialkylaminoethane-2-sulphonic acids

Oxidative reactions of VX type compounds and N,N-dialkylaminoethane-2-thiols that are precursors for VX compounds produce N,N-dialkylaminoethane-2-sulphonic acids, N(R(1))(R(2))-CH(2)-CH(2)SO(3)H (where R(1) and R(2) = methyl, ethyl, n-propyl and isopropyl, 1-10), as the degradation products, and these degradation products are considered as markers for the detection of chemicals listed in the schedules of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) chemicals. Off-site detection of such degradation products in aqueous samples is an important task in the verification of CWC-related chemicals. Here we report a simple method involving the direct analysis of aqueous samples using positive and/or negative ion electrospray ionization (ESI) for the screening, detection and identification of N,N-dialkylaminoethane-2-sulphonic acids, avoiding sample preparation and chromatographic steps. The positive ion ESI mass spectra of all the compounds result in abundant [M+Na](+) ions, and the negative ion spectra show abundant [M-H](-) ions to confirm their molecular weight. The collision-induced dissociation spectra of [M+Na](+) and [M-H](-) give characteristic product ions by which it is easy to detect and identify all the studied N,N-dialkylaminoethane-2-sulphonic acids including those of isomeric compounds. The method is successfully applied to detect the spiked chemical, N,N-diisopropylaminoethane-2-sulphonic acid, present in a water sample received in a proficiency test.     

Geometry and stability of BenCm (n=1-10; m=1, 2, ..., to 11-n) clusters

Density functional theory B3PW91/6-31+G* calculations on BenCm (n=1-10; m=1, 2, ..., to 11-n) clusters have been carried out to examine the effect of cluster size, relative composition, binding energy per atom, HOMO-LUMO gap, vertical ionization potential, and electron affinity on their relative stabilities. The most stable planar cyclic conformations of these clusters always show at least a set of two carbon atoms between two beryllium atoms, while structures where beryllium atoms cluster together, or allow the intercalation of one carbon atom between two of them, generally seem to be the least stable ones. Clusters containing 1, 2, and 3 beryllium atoms (Be2C8, Be3C6, Be2C6, BeC6, Be2C4, BeC4, Be2C2, and BeC2) are identified as clusters of "magic numbers" in terms of their high binding energy per atom, high HOMO-LUMO gap, vertical ionization potential, and second difference in energy per beryllium atom.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of the catalytic pathway of a cysteine protease: a combined QM/MM study of human cathepsin K

Molecular dynamics simulations using a combined QM/MM potential have been performed to study the catalytic mechanism of human cathepsin K, a member of the papain family of cysteine proteases. We have determined the two-dimensional free energy surfaces of both acylation and deacylation steps to characterize the reaction mechanism. These free energy profiles show that the acylation step is rate limiting with a barrier height of 19.8 kcal/mol in human cathepsin K and of 29.3 kcal/mol in aqueous solution. The free energy of activation for the deacylation step is 16.7 kcal/mol in cathepsin K and 17.8 kcal/mol in aqueous solution. The reduction of free energy barrier is achieved by stabilization of the oxyanion in the transition state. Interestingly, although the "oxyanion hole" has been formed in the Michaelis complex, the amide units do not donate hydrogen bonds directly to the carbonyl oxygen of the substrate, but they stabilize the thiolate anion nucleophile. Hydrogen-bonding interactions are induced as the substrate amide group approaches the nucleophile, moving more than 2 A and placing the oxyanion in contact with Gln19 and the backbone amide of Cys25. The hydrolysis of peptide substrate shares a common mechanism both for the catalyzed reaction in human cathepsin K and for the uncatalyzed reaction in water. Overall, the nucleophilic attack by Cys25 thiolate and the proton-transfer reaction from His162 to the amide nitrogen are highly coupled, whereas a tetrahedral intermediate is formed along the nucleophilic reaction pathway.