The structure of events triggered by direct photons in π− p, π+ p andpp collisions at 280 GeV/c

The structure of events associated with the production of direct photons in π^? p, π⁺ p andpp reactions of 280 GeV/c has been studied using data from the WA 70 experiment at the CERN SPS. Results are presented on the distributions of the fractional momenta of the colliding partons and on the fragmentation of the recoil jet and a comparison is made with predictions using the structure functions of Duke and Owens in the Lund Monte Carlo with string fragmentation.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance of Er doped in YVO4: hyperfine parameters

X-band (9.60 GHz) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of the Er³⁺ Kramers ion substituting for the Y³⁺ ion in yttrium vanadate (YVO₄) single crystal were recorded at liquid-helium temperatures. Fine and hyperfine EPR transitions were observed for the ¹⁶⁶Er (zero nuclear magnetic moment) and ¹⁶⁷Er (I=7/2) isotopes, respectively. The values of the elements of the anisotropic ²- and ò-tensors of the ¹⁶⁷Er³⁺ ion, and those of the ² tensor for the ¹⁶⁶Er ion, were estimated. The admixture of crystal-field wave functions in the ground-state wave function of Er³⁺ were determined using the experimental g-values.     

THE EFFECT OF ALCOHOLS WITH DIFFERENT STRUCTURES ON THE FORMATION OF WARM O/W MICROEMULSIONS

The influence of twenty five different alcohols on the formation of warm oil-in-water (O/W) microemulsions was investigated. Selected concentrations of each alcohol were added to fixed amounts of stearic acid, Tween 20 and water at 65 ° C. Fifteen alcohols formed microemulsions, at least at one of the concentrations. A pattern recognition study was performed to elucidate the activities of the alcohols by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) was used to classify them. Two classification functions, obtained for alcohols forming / not forming microemulsions, suggest that the formation of warm O/W microemulsion is linked to the nature and the dimension/lipophilicity of the alcohol.     

Multitarget Drug Discovery for Alzheimer's Disease: Triazinones as BACE‐1 and GSK‐3β Inhibitors

Cumulative evidence strongly supports that the amyloid and tau hypotheses are not mutually exclusive, but concomitantly contribute to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer′s disease (AD). Thus, the development of multitarget drugs which are involved in both pathways might represent a promising therapeutic strategy. Accordingly, reported here in is the discovery of 6‐amino‐4‐phenyl‐3,4‐dihydro‐1,3,5‐triazin‐2(1H)‐ones as the first class of molecules able to simultaneously modulate BACE‐1 and GSK‐3β. Notably, one triazinone showed well‐balanced in vitro potencies against the two enzymes (IC₅₀ of (18.03±0.01) μM and (14.67±0.78) μM for BACE‐1 and GSK‐3β, respectively). In cell‐based assays, it displayed effective neuroprotective and neurogenic activities and no neurotoxicity. It also showed good brain permeability in a preliminary pharmacokinetic assessment in mice. Overall, triazinones might represent a promising starting point towards high quality lead compounds with an AD‐modifying potential.     

MRI-guided neutron capture therapy by use of a dual gadolinium/boron agent targeted at tumour cells through upregulated low-density lipoprotein transporters

The upregulation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) transporters in tumour cells has been exploited to deliver a sufficient amount of gadolinium/boron/ligand (Gd/B/L) probes for neutron capture therapy, a binary chemio-radiotherapy for cancer treatment. The Gd/B/L probe consists of a carborane unit (ten B atoms) bearing an aliphatic chain on one side (to bind LDL particles), and a Gd(III)/1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane monoamide complex on the other (for detection by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)). Up to 190 Gd/B/L probes were loaded per LDL particle. The uptake from tumour cells was initially assessed on cell cultures of human hepatoma (HepG2), murine melanoma (B16), and human glioblastoma (U87). The MRI assessment of the amount of Gd/B/L taken up by tumour cells was validated by inductively coupled plasma-mass-spectrometric measurements of the Gd and B content. Measurements were undertaken in vivo on mice bearing tumours in which B16 tumour cells were inoculated at the base of the neck. From the acquisition of magnetic resonance images, it was established that after 4-6 hours from the administration of the Gd/B/L-LDL particles (0.1 and 1 mmol kg(-1) of Gd and (10)B, respectively) the amount of boron taken up in the tumour region is above the threshold required for successful NCT treatment. After neutron irradiation, tumour growth was followed for 20 days by MRI. The group of treated mice showed markedly lower tumour growth with respect to the control group.     

Naked five-coordinate Fe(III)(NO) porphyrin complexes: vibrational and reactivity features

Model ferric heme nitrosyl complexes, [Fe(TPP)(NO)](+) and [Fe(TPFPP)(NO)](+), where TPP is the dianion of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-phenyl-porphyrin and TPFPP is the dianion of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-pentafluorophenyl-porphyrin, have been obtained as isolated species by the gas phase reaction of NO with [Fe(III)(TPP)](+) and [Fe(III) (TPFPP)](+) ions delivered in the gas phase by electrospray ionization, respectively. The so-formed nitrosyl complexes have been characterized by vibrational spectroscopy also exploiting (15)N-isotope substitution in the NO ligand. The characteristic NO stretching frequency is observed at 1825 and 1859 cm(-1) for [Fe(III)(TPP)(NO)](+) and [Fe(III)(TPFPP)(NO)](+) ions, respectively, providing reference values for genuine five-coordinate Fe(III)(NO) porphyrin complexes differing only for the presence of either phenyl or pentafluorophenyl substituents on the meso positions of the porphyrin ligand. The vibrational assignment is aided by hybrid density functional theory (DFT) calculations of geometry and electronic structure and frequency analysis which clearly support a singlet spin electronic state for both [Fe(TPP)(NO)](+) and [Fe(TPFPP)(NO)](+) complexes. Both TD-DFT and CASSCF calculations suggest that the singlet ground state is best described as Fe(II)(NO(+)) and that the open-shell AFC bonding scheme contribute for a high-energy excited state. The kinetics of the NO addition reaction in the gas phase are faster for [Fe(III)(TPFPP)](+) ions by a relatively small factor, though highly reliable because of a direct comparative evaluation. The study was aimed at gaining vibrational and reactivity data on five-coordinate Fe(III)(NO) porphyrin complexes, typically transient species in solution, ultimately to provide insights into the nature of the Fe(NO) interaction in heme proteins.     

Exploring the accuracy level of new potential energy surfaces for the F + HD reactions: from exact quantum rate constants to the state-to-state reaction dynamics

Exact quantum reactive scattering calculations in the collision energy range 1-250 meV have been carried out for both the isotopic product channels of the title system. The dynamical studies compares an ab initio potential energy surface (PES) recently appeared in the literature (J. Chem. Phys., 2008, 129, 011103) with other phenomenological PESs. Vibrational branching ratios, cross sections and rate constants are presented and compared with molecular beam scattering experiments as well as with chemical kinetics data. In particular, the agreement of the vibrational branching ratios with experimental measurements is improved with respect to previous studies on other PESs, mainly because of the presence of a broad peak in the HF(v' = 3) integral cross section completely absent in the previous simulations. This feature, observed by molecular beam experiments, is the fingerprint of a new reaction mechanism operative in the dynamics described by the new PES. A conjecture for its origin, able to explain many of its characteristic aspects, is analyzed and discussed.     

Self-assembling of multi-jets by pyro-electrohydrodynamic effect for high throughput liquid nanodrops transfer

Destabilization of liquid film by electro-hydro-dynamics (EHD) pressure is achieved through the pyroelectric effect on a polar dielectric crystal. We show that by destabilizing the liquid film, periodical self-assembled multi-jets are obtained. The multi-jets operate simultaneously and could be exploited to dispense liquids with nanolitre drops. Such multiple self-assembled liquid jets have significant potential applicability for high-throughput liquid transfer by this novel pyro-EHD ink-jet approach. Since the method avoids the use of nozzles and electrodes, it is especially suitable for highly viscous liquids. Here we present and discuss the new multi-jet process and the results obtained with a liquid polymer (PDMS).     

On the Newtonian limit of general relativity

We establish rigorous results about the Newtonian limit of general relativity by applying to it the theory of different time scales for non-linear partial differential equations as developed in [4, 1, 8]. Roughly speaking, we obtain a priori estimates for solutions to the Einstein's equations, an intermediate, but fundamental, step to show that given a Newtonian solution there exist continuous one-parameter families of solutions to the full Einstein's equations — the parameter being the inverse of the speed of light — which for a finite amount of time are close to the Newtonian solution. These one-parameter families are chosen via aninitialization procedure applied to the initial data for the general relativistic solutions. This procedure allows one to choose the initial data in such a way as to obtain a relativistic solution close to the Newtonian solution in any a priori given Sobolev norm. In some intuitive sense these relativistic solutions, by being close to the Newtonian one, have little extra radiation content (although, actually, this should be so only in the case of the characteristic initial data formulation along future directed light cones).Our results are local, in the sense that they do not include the treatment of asymptotic regions; global results are admittedly very important — in particular they would say how differentiable the solutions are with respect to the parameter — but their treatment would involve the handling of tools even more technical than the ones used here. On the other hand, this local theory is all that is needed for most problems of practical numerical computation.