Free energy of transfer ofn-nitroalkanes fromn-octane to water at 25°C

Calorimetric determinations of the thermodynamics of transfer of nitromethane, nitroethane, 1-nitrobutane, 1-nitropentane, and 1-nitrohexane from n-octane to water at 25°C have been made. Transfer free energies calculated by four different models agree reasonably well with observations. Calculations indicate that the dipolar part of the transfer free energy depends only on the dipole moment and size of the-C?NO₂ group and is independent of the length of the alkyl chain in nitroalkanes.     

Electron spin density distribution in the special pair triplet of Rhodobacter sphaeroides R26 revealed by magnetic field dependence of the solid-state photo-CIDNP effect

Photo-CIDNP (photochemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization) can be observed in frozen and quinone-blocked photosynthetic reaction centers (RCs) as modification of magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR signal intensity under illumination. Studying the carotenoidless mutant strain R26 of Rhodobacter sphaeroides, we demonstrate by experiment and theory that contributions to the nuclear spin polarization from the three-spin mixing and differential decay mechanism can be separated from polarization generated by the radical pair mechanism, which is partially maintained due to differential relaxation (DR) in the singlet and triplet branch. At a magnetic field of 1.4 T, the latter contribution leads to dramatic signal enhancement of about 80,000 and dominates over the two other mechanisms. The DR mechanism encodes information on the spin density distribution in the donor triplet state. Relative peak intensities in the photo-CIDNP spectra provide a critical test for triplet spin densities computed for different model chemistries and conformations. The unpaired electrons are distributed almost evenly over the two moieties of the special pair of bacteriochlorophylls, with only slight excess in the L branch.     

A cardinality constrained stochastic goal programming model with satisfaction functions for venture capital investment decision making

Venture capital has proven to be an essential resource for economic growth, especially in some technological clusters. The focus is on the way the venture capitalist makes the investment decision and the portfolio selection. The aim of this paper is to formulate the venture capital investment problem through the Goal Programming model where the Financial Decision-Maker’s preferences will be explicitly incorporated through the concept of satisfaction functions. The proposed model will be illustrated by using data from an Italian venture capital fund.     

PELDOR on an exchange coupled nitroxide copper(II) spin pair

Transition metal ions play an important role in the design of macromolecular architectures as well as for the structure and function of proteins and oligonucleotides, which makes them interesting targets for spectroscopic investigations. In combination with site directed spin labelling, pulsed electron–electron double resonance (PELDOR or DEER) could be a well-suited method for their characterization and localization. Here, we report on the synthesis and full characterization of a copper(II) porphyrin/nitroxide model system bearing an extended π-conjugation between the spin centres and demonstrate the possibility to disentangle the dipolar through space interaction from the through bond exchange coupling contribution even in the presence of orientational selectivity and conformational flexibility. The simulations used are based on the known experimental and spin Hamiltonian parameters and on a structural model as previously employed for similar systems. The mean exchange coupling of +4(1) MHz (antiferromagnetic) is in agreement with the value of |J| = 3(1) MHz determined from room temperature continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Thus, as long as the pulse excitation bandwidths are large versus the spin–spin coupling, X-band PELDOR measurements in combination with explicit time trace simulations allow for disentangling the sign and magnitude of through bond electron–electron exchange from the through space dipolar interaction D.     

Synthesis,structural and spectral investigations of new types of dioxovanadium(V) complexes withS-methylthiosemicarbazones derived from salicyl and 2,4-dihydroxybenzaldehydes. X-ray structure of ammonium(salicylaldehydeS-methylthiosemicarbazonato) dioxovanadate(V) monohydrate

Summary The x-ray crystal structure of [VO₂(HL¹)] (where L¹ denotes the dianion of theS-methylthiosemicarbazone of salicylaldehyde) has been determined and refined to R=0.058 (R_w=0.063) for 3377 observed reflections.There are two symmetrically independent molecules in the asymmetric unit, showing no significant differences in their geometries. The vanadium atom is pentacoordinated in a distorted square-pyramidal arrangement.Absorption spectra of [VO₂(HL¹)] and [VO₂(HL²)], in the 10000–45000 cm^–1 range, were calculated from the measured reflectance spectra, applying Kubelka-Munk's theory. The extinction coefficients were determined from the absorption spectra of the solutions of these complexes in methanol. The observed maxima are interpreted on the basis of intraligand transition and charge-transfer spectra on the basis of the presence of approximate groupC _2v for both complexes.     

Continuum description of the cytoskeleton: ring formation in the cell cortex

Motivated by the formation of ringlike filament structures in the cortex of plant and animal cells, we study the dynamics of a two-dimensional layer of cytoskeletal filaments and motor proteins near a surface by a general continuum theory. As a result of active processes, dynamic patterns of filament orientation and density emerge via instabilities. We show that self-organization phenomena can lead to the formation of stationary and oscillating rings. We present state diagrams that reveal a rich scenario of asymptotic behaviors and discuss the role of boundary conditions.     

Construction of spherical 4- and 5-designs

A finite subsetX of thed-dimensional unit sphereS ^d-1 is called a sphericalt-design, if and only if $$\frac{1}{{\left| {S^{d - 1} } \right|}}\int_{S^{d - 1} } {f(x)d\omega (x)} = \frac{1}{{\left| x \right|}}\sum\limits_{x \in X} {f(x)} $$ holds for all polynomialsf(x) =f(x ₁,x ₂,...,x _d ) of degree at mostt. In 1984 Seymour and Zaslavsky proved the existence of sphericalt-designs for anyt andd, but for sufficiently large |X|. Since spherical designs can be used for numerical integration, it is of interest to give explicit constructions. Mimura gave a construction fort = 2,d ∈ ? and |X| ≥n ₂ for somen ₂ ∈ ? (n ₂ is sharp). Here we will give an explicit construction fort = 4 and 5,d ∈ ? and |X| ≥n ₄ for somen ₄ ∈ ?.     

Molecular responses to stress induced in normal human caucasian melanocytes in culture by exposure to simulated solar UV

Melanocytes play a central role in the response of skin to sunlight exposure. They are directly involved in UV-induced pigmentation as a defense mechanism. However, their alteration can lead to melanoma, a process where the role of sun overexposure is highly probable. The transformation process whereby UV damage may result in melanoma initiation is poorly understood, especially in terms of UV-induced genotoxicity in pigmented cells, where melanin can act either as a sunscreen or as a photosensitizer. The aim of this study was to analyze the behavior of melanocytes from fair skin under irradiation mimicking environmental sunlight in terms of spectral power distribution. To do this, normal human Caucasian melanocytes in culture were exposed to simulated solar UV (SSUV, 300-400 nm). Even at relatively high doses (until 20 min exposure, corresponding to 12 kJ/m2 UV-B and 110 kJ/m2 UV-A), cell death was limited, as shown by cell viability and low occurrence of apoptosis (caspase-3 activation). Moreover, p53 accumulation was three times lower in melanocytes than in unpigmented cells such as fibroblasts after SSUV exposure. However, an important fraction of melanocyte population was arrested in G2-M phase, and this correlated well with a high induction level of the gene GADD45, 4 h after exposure. Among the genes involved in DNA repair, gene XPC was the most inducible because its expression increased more than two-fold 15 h after a 20 min exposure, whereas expression of P48 was only slightly increased. In addition, an early induction of Heme Oxygenase 1 (HO1) gene, a typical response to oxidative stress, was also observed for the first time in melanocytes. Interestingly, this induction remained significant when melanocytes were exposed to UV-A radiation only (320-400 nm), and stimulation of melanogenesis before irradiation further increased HO1 induction. These results were obtained with normal human cells after exposure to SSUV radiation, which mimicked natural sunlight. They provide new data related to gene expression and suggest that melanin in light skin could contribute to sunlight-induced genotoxicity and maybe to melanocyte transformation.     

Convex Bodies, Graphs and Partial Orders

A convex corner is a compact convex down-set of full dimensionin Rⁿ. Convex corners arise in graph theory, for instance asstable set polytopes of graphs. They are also natural objects of study in geometry, as they correspond to 1-unconditionalnorms in an obvious way. In this paper, we study a parameterof convex corners, which we call the content, that is relatedto the volume. This parameter has appeared implicitly before:both in geometry, chiefly in a paper of Meyer (Israel J. Math.} 55 (1986) 317–327) effectively using content to givea proof of Saint-Raymond's Inequality on the volume product of a convex corner, and in combinatorics, especially in apaper of Sidorenko (Order} 8 (1991) 331–340) relatingcontent to the number of linear extensions of a partial order.One of our main aims is to expose connections between workin these two areas. We prove many new results, giving in particular various generalizations of Saint-Raymond's Inequality. Contentalso behaves well under the operation of pointwise product oftwo convex corners; our results enable us to give counter-examplesto two conjectures of Bollobás and Leader Oper. TheoryAdv. Appl. 77 (1995) 13–24) on pointwise products. 1991Mathematics Subject Classification: 52C07, 51M25, 52B11, 05C60,06A07.     

Synthesis,characterisation and antifungal activity of a series of Cobalt(II) and Nickel(II) complexes with ligands derived from reduced <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>′-<Emphasis Type="Italic">o</Emphasis>-Phenylenebis(Salicylideneimine)

The synthesis and characterisation by elemental analysis, conductivity, FTIR, UV–Visible, ESR and magnetic measurements are described for a series of complexes of nickel(II) and cobalt(II) with three ligands (H₂L^1–3) derived from reduced N, N′-o-Phenylenebis(salicylideneimine). The complexes formed are identified as neutral species, where the ligands are coordinated through N and O donor atoms. The formulae obtained for the complexes are: [CoL(H₂O)₂] with octahedral geometry and [NiL] with tetrahedral geometry. Their antifungal activity is evaluated towards human pathogenic fungi including yeasts of the Candida genus, some opportunistic moulds belonging to the Aspergillus, Scedosporium genus and some dermatophytes. The cobalt complexes show a significant growth inhibition of yeasts tested and also to fungi of the genus Scedosporium which is of interest because these fungi are usually poorly susceptible to current antifungal including Amphotericin B and Itraconazole, chosen as reference in this study. The activity data show that the metal complexes are more potent than the parent ligand.