Intersecting Families of Separated Sets

A set A {1,2,...,n} is said to be k-separated if, when consideredon the circle, any two elements of A are separated by a gapof size at least k. A conjecture due to Holroyd and Johnson that an analogue ofthe Erds–Ko–Rado theorem holds for k-separated setsis proved. In particular, the result holds for the vertex-criticalsubgraph of the Kneser graph identified by Schrijver, the collectionof separated sets. A version of the Erds–Ko–Radotheorem for weighted k-separated sets is also given.     

The adsorption of endothelin 1 to phospholipids is governed by electrostatic interactions: A monolayer and fluorescence study

In order to elucidate the influence on the lipidic environment on the recognition process of its membrane associated receptor, the interactions of the vasoconstrictor peptide endothelin 1 with various phospholipids have been investigated using different lipidic model membranes: monolayers at constant surface pressure, vesicles and micelles. A monolayer study of ET1 adsorbed onto the water surface has shown that the C-terminus of the peptide points towards the aqueous phase. Penetration measurements into lipidic monolayers indicate that ET1 adsorbs to phospholipids with an orientation similar to that of the air–water interface and fluorescence measurements are in agreement with such an orientation of the peptide. This adsorption is selective for neutral phospholipids and indicates that the nature of the phospholipid headgroups is of major importance for the approach of the membrane associated receptor.     

Spherical models with a Gates-Penrose-type phase transition

Gates and Penrose have given criteria under which classical gases with weak long-range interactions fail to be described by the van der Waals equation with Maxwell's rule. Unfortunately, examples of equations of state for such systems have not yet been produced. This paper examines the Gates-Penrose class of interactions-i.e.,U (r)=q(r)+(r), in the limit0, where the Fourier transform (p) has a minimum at a nonzero value ofp-for the spherical model on a one-dimensional lattice. Free energy and magnetization isotherms are computed; it is seen that there is a phase transition, but that the zero-field spontaneous magnetization is always zero (a parahelicoidal phase). However, the pair-correlation function may exhibit either long-range order or the appearance of oscillation.     

Synthesis and dispersion of Ni(OH)2 platelet-like nanoparticles in water

Synthesis of nanometric platelet-like Ni(OH)2 particles is described. The role of several experimental parameters on the particle size is investigated. A colloidal dispersion of particles is produced by adsorbing ionizable organic ligands (trisodium citrate) on the particle surface. The stability of this colloidal dispersion and the particle charge density are determined for different citrate ions concentrations.     

A new biolistic intradermal injector

We present a novel intradermal needle-free drug delivery device which exploits the unsteady high-speed flow produced by a miniature shock tube to entrain drug or vaccine particles onto a skin target. A first clinical study of pain and physiological response of human subjects study is presented, comparing the new injector to intramuscular needle injection. This clinical study, performed according to established pain assessment protocols, demonstrated that every single subject felt noticeably less pain with the needle-free injector than with the needle injection. Regarding local tolerance and skin reaction, bleeding was observed on all volunteers after needle injection, but on none of the subjects following powder injection. An assessment of the pharmacodynamics, via blood pressure, of pure captopril powder using the new device on spontaneously hypertensive rats was also performed. It was found that every animal tested with the needle-free injector exhibited the expected pharmacodynamic response following captopril injection. Finally, the new injector was used to study the delivery of an inactivated influenza vaccine in mice. The needle-free device induced serum antibody response to the influenza vaccine that was comparable to that of subcutaneous needle injection, but without requiring the use of an adjuvant. Although no effort was made to optimize the formulation or the injection parameters in the present study, the novel injector demonstrates great promise for the rapid, safe and painless intradermal delivery of systemic drugs and vaccines.