Struggle for space: viral extinction through competition for cells

The design of protocols to suppress the propagation of viral infections is an enduring enterprise, especially hindered by limited knowledge of the mechanisms leading to viral extinction. Here we report on infection extinction due to intraspecific competition to infect susceptible hosts. Beneficial mutations increase the production of viral progeny, while the host cell may develop defenses against infection. For an unlimited number of host cells, a feedback runaway coevolution between host resistance and progeny production occurs. However, physical space limits the advantage that the virus obtains from increasing offspring numbers; thus, infection clearance may result from an increase in host defenses beyond a finite threshold. Our results might be relevant to devise improved control strategies in environments with mobility constraints or different geometrical properties.     

On the isobaric thermal expansivity of liquids

The temperature and pressure dependence of isobaric thermal expansivity, α(p), in liquids is discussed in this paper. Reported literature data allow general trends in this property that are consistent with experimental evidence to be established. Thus, a negative pressure dependence is to be expected except around the critical point. On the other hand, α(p) exhibits broad regions of negative and positive temperature dependence in the (T, p) plane depending on the nature of the particular liquid. These trends are rationalized here in terms of various molecular-based equations of state. The analysis of the Lennard-Jones, hard sphere square well and restricted primitive model equations allows understanding the differences in the α(p) behavior between liquids of diverse chemical nature (polar, nonpolar, and ionic): broader regions of negative temperature and positive pressure dependencies are obtained for liquids characterized by larger ranges of the interparticle potential. Also, using the statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT) allowed the behavior of more complex systems (basically, those potentially involving chain and association effects) to be described. The effect of chain length is rather simple: increasing it is apparently equivalent to raise the interaction range. By contrast, association presents a quite complex effect on α(p), which comes from a balance between the dispersive and associative parts of the interaction potential. Thus, if SAFT parameters are adjusted to obtain low association ability, α(p) is affected by each mechanism at clearly separate regions, one at low temperature, due to association, and the other to dispersive forces, which has its origin in fluctuations related with vapor-liquid transition.     

On-line ionic imprinted polymer selective solid-phase extraction of nickel and lead from seawater and their determination by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry

Nickel(II) and lead(II) ionic imprinted 8-hydroxyquinoline polymers were synthesized by a precipitation polymerization technique and were used as selective solid phase extraction supports for the determination of nickel and lead in seawater by flow injection solid phase extraction on-line inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. An optimum loading flow rate of 2.25 mL min⁻¹ for 2 min and an elution flow rate of 2.25 mL min⁻¹ for 1 min gave an enrichment factor of 15 for nickel. However, a low dynamic capacity and/or rate for adsorption and desorption was found for lead ionic imprinted polymer and a flow rate of 3.00 mL min⁻¹ for 4-min loading and a flow rate of 2.25 mL min⁻¹ for 1-min elution gave a enrichment factor of 5. The limit of detection was 0.33 μg L⁻¹ for nickel and 1.88 μg L⁻¹ for lead, with a precision (n = 11) of 8% (2.37 μg Ni L⁻¹) for nickel and 11% (8.38 μg Pb L⁻¹) for lead. Accuracy was also assessed by analyzing SLEW-3 (estuarine water) and TM-24 (lake water) certified reference materials, and the values determined were in good agreement with the certified concentrations.     

Formation of a magnetic composite by reduction of Co-Nd doped strontium hexaferrite in a hydrogen gas flow

Co-Nd strontium hexaferrite nanoparticles synthesized by the self-combustion method were treated in a hydrogen flow at different temperatures and times. The samples were characterized structurally by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction and magnetically with a vibrating sample magnetometer. Phase identification showed decomposition of the hexaferrite structure into Fe₃O₄ and different strontium mixed oxides. The sample treated at 500 °C for 30 minutes shows good magnetic properties due to the formation of a magnetite/hexaferrite composite. In this case magnetization is very close to the original sample while the coercivity slightly diminishes. The hexagonal phase is almost completely transformed into different oxides at a reducing temperature of 500 °C for 120 minutes. The obtained results are analyzed in terms of the phase composition and of the magnetic susceptibility of the studied samples.     

Empirical likelihood for conditional quantile with left-truncated and dependent data

In this paper, we employ the method of empirical likelihood to construct confidence intervals for a conditional quantile in the presence and absence of auxiliary information, respectively, for the left-truncation model. It is proved that the empirical likelihood ratio admits a limiting chi-square distribution with one degree of freedom when the lifetime observations with multivariate covariates form a stationary α-mixing sequence. For the problem of testing a hypothesis on the conditional quantile, it is shown that the asymptotic power of the test statistic based on the empirical likelihood ratio with the auxiliary information is larger than that of the one based on the standard empirical likelihood ratio. The finite sample performance of the empirical likelihood confidence intervals in the presence and absence of auxiliary information is investigated through simulations.     

A substitute for the Sard-Smale theorem in theC 1 case

IfF is a Fredholm mapping of indexΝ ∃ ℤ and classC ^max(Ν,0)+1 between separable Banach spaces, the Sard—Smale theorem yields the existence of arbitrarily small perturbations ofF having 0 as a regular value. The smoothness requirement cannot be weakened in the Sard—Smale theorem itself, at least whenΝ ≥ 0, but we prove that the approximation result remains valid irrespective of the indexΝ whenF is only of classC ¹ and satisfies appropriate properness-like conditions. The separability of the spaces is not needed either. Everything carries over to the setting of Banach manifolds modeled on spaces with a norm of classC ¹ away from the origin. We also show that in Banach spaces, theC ¹ norm assumption can be dropped without major prejudice. The application to degree theory forC ¹ Fredholm mappings of index 0 is developed in a separate paper.     

A Bridged High-Spin Complex Bis-[Ni(II)( rac-5,5,7,12,12,14-hexamethyl- 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane)]-2,5-pyridinedicarboxylate Diperchlorate Monohydrate

A bridged high-spin complex,bis-[Ni(II)(rac-5,5,7,l2,12,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane)]-2,5-pyridinedicarboxylate diperchlorate monohydrate has been obtained by reaction of [Ni(II)(rac-5,5,7, 12,12,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane)](ClO₄)₂ and 2,5-pyridinedicarboxylic acid in aqueousalkaline (NH₄OH) medium. C₃₉H₇₇Cl₂N₉Ni₂O₁₃, chemical formula weight 1068.42, orthorhombic, P2₁2₁2₁, a = 11 .423(3) Å,b = 14.770(6) Å, c = 31.608(7) Å, = = =90.00°, V = 5333(3) ų, Z = 4, D_calc = 1.331 g cm^-3, _calc = 0.869 mm^-1, F(000) = 2272, T = 293(2), R = 0.0870 for 2686 observed reflections [I > 2(I)]. The complexincludes two folded [Ni(rac- Me₆[14]aneN₄)]²⁺ units havingopposite diastereomeric configuration. They are bridged through a dianion of2,5-pyridinedicarboxylic acid, with one Ni-atom coordinated to the O-atom ofthe 2-carboxylic group and the pyridine N-atom (forming a 5-membered chelatering), and with the second Ni-atom coordinated to both O-atoms of the 5-carboxylic group (forming a 4-membered chelate ring). Hydrogen bonding involving macrocyclic NH groups, both 2- and 5-carboxylic groups, perchlorate anions and water molecules gives rise to the formation of an infinite supramolecular network in the title compound's crystals.