Orbifolds and Topological Defects

We study orbifolds of two-dimensional topological field theories using defects. If the TFT arises as the twist of a superconformal field theory, we recover results on the Neveu–Schwarz and Ramond sectors of the orbifold theory, as well as bulk-boundary correlators from a novel, universal perspective. This entails a structure somewhat weaker than ordinary TFT, which however still describes a sector of the underlying conformal theory. The case of B-twisted Landau–Ginzburg models is discussed in detail, where we compute charge vectors and superpotential terms for B-type branes. Our construction also works in the absence of supersymmetry and for generalised “orbifolds” that need not arise from symmetry groups. In general, this involves a natural appearance of Hochschild (co)homology in a 2-categorical setting, in which among other things we provide simple presentations of Serre functors and a further generalisation of the Cardy condition.     

Adsorption of single Cu atoms at differently stabilized polar ZnO surfaces: An ab initio study

In this study, the adsorption of a single Cu atom on the polar ZnO(0001) and ZnO(0001) surfaces was investigated by means of highly accurate wave function based ab initio methods. Different modifications of the polar surfaces were investigated: unstabilized surfaces, surfaces with hydrogen and OH overlayers, and defectious surfaces. Cu is strongly bound at the unstabilized surfaces by a charge transfer mechanism which induces a stabilization of the surface. At regular adsorption sites of stabilized surfaces the binding energies are much smaller. At oxygen defects, the Cu electron is transferred to the defect and a Cu(+) ion sits on top of the defect. At the Zn terminated surface the Cu moves into the Zn defects.     

HPLC-ESI-MS/MS of imidazole alkaloids in Pilocarpus microphyllus

Pilocarpine, an important imidazole alkaloid, is extracted from the leaves of Pilocarpus microphyllus (Rutaceae), known in Brazil as jaborandi and used mainly for the treatment of glaucoma. Jaborandi leaves also contain other imidazole alkaloids, whose pharmacological and physiological properties are unknown, and whose biosynthetic pathways are under investigation. In the present study, a HPLC method coupled with ESI-MS(n) was developed for their qualitative and quantitative analysis. This method permits the chromatographic separation of the imidazole alkaloids found in extracts of jaborandi, as well as the MS/MS analysis of the individual compounds. Thus two samples: leaves of P. microphyllus and a paste that is left over after the industrial extraction of pilocarpine; were compared. The paste was found to contain significant amounts of pilocarpine and other imidazole alkaloids, but had a slightly different alkaloid profile than the leaf extract. The method is suitable for the routine analysis of samples containing these alkaloids, as well as for the separation and identification of known and novel alkaloids from this family, and may be applied to further studies of the biosynthetic pathway of pilocarpine in P. microphyllus.     

Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy as a strategy to arrest enamel demineralization: a short-term study on incipient caries in a rat model

In this study we developed a rat model of incipient caries to investigate the short-term effects of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) on oral microbiota regulation and demineralization arrestment. Twenty-nine male rats were submitted to caries induction. Early carious lesion was confirmed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) 5 days after experiment beginning in five animals. The remaining animals (n = 24) were randomly divided into two groups: control (n = 12), animals were untreated; and aPDT (n = 12), animals were treated with 100 μM of methylene blue for 5 min and irradiated by a light emitting diode at λ = 645 ± 30 nm, fluence rate of 480 mW cm(-2) and exposure time of 3 min. Bacterial burden was evaluated before, immediately after, 3, 7 and 10 days following treatment, and total number of microaerophilic bacteria was counted. OCT was also used to quantify teeth demineralization. A significant bacterial decrease of about 1.6 log was observed immediately after aPDT. Besides, bacterial load in aPDT group remained lower than control until 10 days post-treatment (P < 0.05) and variation of optical attenuation coefficient before and after aPDT was 15%, corroborating to caries arrestment. Put together, these findings suggest that aPDT was competent to reduce cariogenic bacteria and to avoid further mineral loss.     

Amphibians as model to study endocrine disrupters

Environmental compounds can interfere with endocrine systems of wildlife and humans. These so-called endocrine disrupters (ED) are known to affect reproductive biology and thyroid system. The classical model species for these endocrine systems are amphibians and therefore they can serve as sentinels for detection of the modes of action (MOAs) of ED. Recently, amphibians are being reviewed as suitable models to assess (anti)estrogenic and (anti)androgenic MOAs influencing reproductive biology as well as (anti)thyroidal MOAs interfering with the thyroid system. The development of targeted bioassays in combination with adequate chemical analyses is the prerequisite for a concise risk assessment of ED.