Elliptic equations with jumping nonlinearities involving high eigenvalues

We present some multiplicity results concerning semilinear elliptic Dirichlet problems with jumping nonlinearities where the jumping condition involves a set of high eigenvalues not including the first one. Using a variational method we show that the number of solutions may be arbitrarily large provided the number of jumped eigenvalues is large enough. Indeed, we prove that for every positive integer $k$ there exists a positive integer $n(k)$ such that, if the number of jumped eigenvalues is greater than $n(k),$ then the problem has at least a solution which presents $k$ peaks. Moreover, we describe the asymptotic behaviour of the solutions as the number of jumped eigenvalues tends to infinity; in particular, we analyse some concentration phenomena of the peaks (near points or suitable manifolds), we describe the asymptotic profile of the rescaled peaks, etc $\ldots $      

Synthesis of 3-substituted 2-fluoro- and 2,2-difluoroaziridines

A new route for the synthesis of stable 3-alkyl- and 3-aryl-2(,2)-(di)fluoroaziridines was developed by hydride reduction of novel alpha-bromo- and alpha-chloro-alpha(,alpha)-(di)fluoroketimines and subsequent ring closure of beta-fluorinated beta-chloro- and beta-bromoamines. This is the first report on the synthesis of 2,2-difluoroaziridines sensu stricto.     

Excitonic effects in two-dimensional vibrational spectra of liquid formamide

The linear and two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) responses of the amide I vibrational mode in liquid formamide are investigated experimentally and theoretically using molecular dynamics simulations. The recent method based on the numerical integration of the Schr?dinger equation is employed to calculate the 2DIR spectra. Special attention is devoted to the interplay of the structural dynamics and the excitonic nature of the amide I modes in determining the optical response of the studied system. In particular, combining experimental data, simulated spectra and analysis of the simulated atomic trajectory in terms of a transition dipole coupling model, we provide a convincing explanation of the peculiar features of the 2DIR spectra, which show a substantial increase of the antidiagonal bandwidth with increasing frequency. We point out that, at variance with liquid water, the 2DIR spectral profile of formamide is determined more by the excitonic nature of the vibrational states than by the fast structural dynamics responsible for the frequency fluctuations.     

Synthesis of 4,5-dihydro-2,4-benzoxazepin-3( 1H)ones and 1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-2,4-benzoxazepines

o- Aminomethylbeiizyl alcohols (X) easily cyclize with phosgene in an aqueous alkaline medium to form 4,5-dihydro-2,4-benzoxazepin-3(1H)ones (IV) and with aldehydes in acidic conditions to yield 1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-2,4-benzoxazepines (V). The characteristics and chemical behaviour of these new heterocyclic ring systems are reported.     

A quantitative approach to the recycling of alpha-tocopherol by coantioxidants

A systematic investigation is reported on the regeneration of alpha-tocopherol (alpha-TOH) in homogeneous solution by coantioxidants in order to better understand the mechanism and the factors responsible for the effectiveness of this process. The current availability of thermochemical data concerning the reactants involved in the regeneration reactions, as well as a large number of the kinetic constants for the various reactions involved, allowed us to rationalize the experimental observations collected so far. Three limiting cases have been considered. The first case is that of a coantioxidant irreversibly regenerating alpha-TOH, where the effectiveness of the recycling process depends on the magnitude of the rate constant k(r). The second case is that of a coantioxidant reversibly recycling alpha-TOH, where regeneration can only be observed if the bond dissociation enthalpy value of the coantioxidant is lower or at least close to that of the O-H bond of alpha-tocopherol. The third case is that of a catechol derivative (chosen as a model compound for polyphenolic antioxidants), where recycling of alpha-TOH is feasible even though the BDE value is significantly higher than that of vitamin E. In this case, the driving force for the recycling process is the removal of the semiquinone radical from the catechol derivative by the alpha-tocopheroxyl radical, which makes the regeneration of alpha-TOH practically irreversible.     

Personalized Metabolic Profile by Synergic Use of NMR and HRMS

A new strategy that takes advantage of the synergism between NMR and UHPLC–HRMS yields accurate concentrations of a high number of compounds in biofluids to delineate a personalized metabolic profile (SYNHMET). Metabolite identification and quantification by this method result in a higher accuracy compared to the use of the two techniques separately, even in urine, one of the most challenging biofluids to characterize due to its complexity and variability. We quantified a total of 165 metabolites in the urine of healthy subjects, patients with chronic cystitis, and patients with bladder cancer, with a minimum number of missing values. This result was achieved without the use of analytical standards and calibration curves. A patient’s personalized profile can be mapped out from the final dataset’s concentrations by comparing them with known normal ranges. This detailed picture has potential applications in clinical practice to monitor a patient’s health status and disease progression.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic/tandem mass spectrometric identification of the phototransformation products of tebuconazole on titanium dioxide

Tebuconazole is a widely used fungicide. The formation of by-products on irradiated titanium dioxide as a photocatalyst was evaluated. Several species derived from tebuconazole degradation were identified and characterized by HPLC/MS(n). A pattern of reactions accounting for the observed intermediates is proposed. Different parallel pathways are operating (and through these pathways the transformation of the molecule proceeds), leading to a wide range of intermediate compounds. All these molecules are more hydrophylic than tebuconazole. The main steps involved are (1) the hydroxylation of the molecule with the formation of three species having [M + H](+) 324; the hydroxylation occurs on the C-1 carbon and on the aromatic ring in the two ortho-positions; (2) the cleavage of a C--C bond with the release of the tert-butyl moiety and the formation of a species having m/z 250; analogously to step 1, also on this species a further hydroxylation reaction occurs; (3) through the loss of the triazole moiety with the formation of a structure with m/z 257.