Hair analysis and the early detection of imbalances in trace elements for members of expeditions in Antarctica

In the framework of the Human Biology and Medicine Project of the National Program for Research in Antarctica (Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide, PNRA) a study was undertaken to explore the suitability of trace element determination in human hair as a tool for the early detection of the impact of extreme environmental conditions on the health of members of the Italian and French expeditions. This study included three campaigns, namely, the 1995–1996 expedition to the Italian base of Terra Nova Bay, as well as the 1997–1998 and 1998–1999 expeditions to both the Italian base of Terra Nova Bay and the Italian–French base of Dome C. Sampling of hair of participants in the expeditions was carried out both prior to departure and at the end of the period spent at the bases. As regards storage, pre-treatment and analysis of hair samples they were performed in accordance with previously established procedures. Acid-assisted microwave digestion was adopted as the best approach for preparing solutions for subsequent analysis by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. In the first part of this study, only the elements Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg and Zn were selected, while at a later stage it was decided to also include Co, Cr, Mn, Mo and Ni. Experimental results were subjected to basic statistical analysis to detect possible significant differences in element concentrations that occurred during the sojourn at the bases, with a view to identify possible remedial action to minimize adverse consequences.     

On the relationship between continuous and discontinuous stochastic processes in Hilbert space

Two different kinds of stochastic processes in Hilbert space used to introduce spontaneous localization into the quantum evolution are investigated. In the processes of the first type, finite changes of the wave function take place instantaneously with a given mean frequency. The processes of the second type are continuous. It is shown that under a suitable infinite frequency limit the discontinuous process transforms itself into the continuous one.Work supported in part by the Ministero dell'Universitá e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica.     

A path integral way to option pricing

An efficient computational algorithm to price financial derivatives is presented. It is based on a path integral formulation of the pricing problem. It is shown how the path integral approach can be worked out in order to obtain fast and accurate predictions for the value of a large class of options, including those with path-dependent and early exercise features. As examples, the application of the method to European and American options in the Black–Scholes model is illustrated. A particularly simple and fast semi-analytical approximation for the price of American options is derived. The results of the algorithm are compared with those obtained with the standard procedures known in the literature and found to be in good agreement.     

Synthesis of bis(2-chloroethyl)amino-1,8-naphthyridines for evaluation as anticancer agents

Some 1,8-naphthyridine nitrogen mustards have been synthesized for studies of their antitumor potentialities. All the tested intermediate and target compounds are devoid of antitumor properties.     

1,2,3-Triazolo[4,5-e]-1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-c]pyrimidines

Some new 1,2,3-triazolo[4,5-e]-1,2,4-triazolo[3, 4 -c]pyrimidmes were prepared starting from the corresponding 1,2,3-triazolo[4,5-d]pyrimidines via the formation of the 1,2,4-triazole ring. Thus suitable hydrazino derivatives 6 were condensed with triethyl orthoformate, triethyl orthoacetate and triethyl orthobenzoate to give the expected tricyclic derivatives 7 , 8 and 9 . Intramolecular cyclization of the ethoxycarbonylhydrazino derivatives 10 gave the tricyclic compounds 11 bearing an hydroxyl group in the 3 position. The v-triazolo-s-triazolopyrimidine derivatives were tested towards the A₁ and A_2A adenosine receptors in binding assays, but they did not show any receptor affinity.     

Advanced materials based on polymer cocrystalline forms

Polymeric “cocrystalline forms,” that is, structures were a polymeric host and a low‐molecular‐mass guest are cocrystallized, were early recognized, and in many cases also well characterized by X‐ray diffraction studies. However, only in the last two decades cocrystalline forms have received attention in material science, due to the ability (of few of them) to maintain an ordered polymer host structure even after guest removal, thus leading to the formation of “nanoporous‐crystalline forms,” for which many applications in the fields of molecular separation and sensors have been proposed. Moreover, in the last decade, an accurate control of the orientation of the polymer cocrystalline phases has been achieved, thus leading to a control of the orientation of the guest molecules, not only in the crystalline phase but also in macroscopic films. In addition, on the basis of this orientation control, in the last few years, cocrystalline films where active molecules are present as guests of polymer cocrystalline phases have been proposed for optical, magnetic and electric applications. In the last few years, it has been also discovered that polymer cocrystallization, when induced by nonracemic guest molecules, can produce stable chiral optical films. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

From pregabalin to rac-3-cyano-5-methylhexanoic acid: an easy conversion which valorizes waste pregabalin enantiomer

(S)-(+)-3-Aminomethyl-5-methylhexanoic acid (pregabalin) was converted in one-pot to (S)-(−)-3-cyano-5-methylhexanoic acid (pregabalin nitrile) by N-dichlorination and double dehydrochlorination. The (S) β-cyanoacid was racemized under mild conditions by treatment with a base. This very simple and efficient procedure, applied to (R)-(−)-3-aminomethyl-5-methylhexanoic acid, would enable the recycling of the undesired enantiomer of pregabalin, an anticonvulsant drug manufactured by the synthesis of rac-3-aminomethyl-5-methylhexanoic acid and subsequent classical resolution.     

WO3–SiO2 nanomaterials synthesized using a novel template-free method in supercritical CO2 as heterogeneous catalysts for epoxidation with H2O2

A series of tungsten oxide-silica (WO₃–SiO₂) composite nanomaterials were synthesized through a novel, template-free sol-gel method, in which supercritical-CO₂ (scCO₂) was utilized as synthesis medium. The efficacy of the synthesis method stems from a tailored reactor design that allows the contact of the reactants only in the presence of scCO₂. Selected synthetic parameters were screened with the purpose of enhancing the performance of the resulting materials as heterogeneous catalysts in epoxidation reactions with H₂O₂ as environmentally friendly oxidant. A cyclooctene conversion of 73% with epoxide selectivity of > 99% was achieved over the best WO₃–SiO₂ catalyst under mild reaction conditions (80 °C), equimolar H₂O₂ amount (1:1) and low WO₃ loading (~2.5 wt%). The turnover number achieved with this catalyst (TON = 328), is significantly higher than that of a WO₃–SiO₂ prepared via a similar sol-gel route but without supercritical CO₂, and that of commercial WO₃. A thorough characterization with a combination of techniques (ICP-OES, N₂-physisorption, XRD, TEM, STEM-EDX, SEM-EDX, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy, XPS, TGA and FT-IR analysis of adsorbed pyridine) allowed correlating the physicochemical properties of the WO₃–SiO₂ nanomaterials with their catalytic performance. The high catalytic activity was attributed to: (i) the very high surface area (892 m²/g) and (ii) good dispersion of the W species acting as Lewis acid sites, which were both brought about by the synthesis in supercritical CO₂, and (iii) the relatively low hydrophilicity, which was tuned by optimizing the tetramethyl orthosilicate concentration and the amount of basic solution used in the synthesis of the materials. Our optimum catalyst was also tested in the reaction of cyclohexene with H₂O₂, resulting in cyclohexane diol as main product due to the presence of strong Brønsted acid sites in the catalyst, whereas the reaction with limonene yielded the internal epoxide as the major product and the corresponding diol as side product. Importantly, the catalyst did not show leaching and could be reused in five consecutive runs without any decrease in activity.     

1,2,3-Triazolodiazepines. I. Preparation and benzodiazepine receptor binding of 1-benzyl- and 1-phenethyl-1,2,3-triazolo-[4,5-b][1,4]diazepines

Several new 1,2,3-triazolo[4,5-b][1,4]diazepines were prepared starting from 1-benzyl-1 and 1-phenethyl-4,5-diamino-1,2,3-triazole 2 (Scheme 1), by condensation reactions with β-diketones (Scheme 2), β-ketoesters (Scheme 3), and diethyl malonates (Scheme 4). In the first case we obtained compounds 3 and 4 with basic properties, while the ester function condensations gave cyclic amide derivatives 7, 8, 10, 12 and 13 with acid properties. Some N-methyl derivatives 11, 14 and 15 were obtained from the cyclic amide compounds. Most of compounds were tested for their ability to displace [³H]flunitrazepam from bovine brain membranes but no compound showed benzodiazepine receptor binding affinity.