Crystalline misfit-angle implications for solid sliding

For the contact of two finite portions of interacting rigid crystalline surfaces, we compute the pinning energy barrier dependency on the misfit angle and contact area. This simple model allows us to investigate a broad contact-size and angular range, thus obtaining the statistical properties of the energy barriers opposing sliding for a single asperity. These data are used to generate the distribution of static frictional thresholds for the contact of polycrystals, as in dry or even lubricated friction. This distribution is used as the input of a master equation to predict the sliding properties of macroscopic contacts.     

Measurement of ultraweak transitions in the visible region of molecular oxygen

A highly sensitive cavity-enhanced frequency modulation spectroscopy technique has been used to measure ultraweak transitions in molecular oxygen that had not previously been characterized. The self-broadened half-width and line intensity of the measured transitions are reported. We include 12 high J transitions in the band of ¹⁶O₂ (the so-called A band), 59 transitions in the hot band of ¹⁶O₂, and 17 high J transitions in the band of ¹⁶O¹⁸O. Our measurements of line positions of the ¹⁶O¹⁸O transitions are used to determine improved molecular constants for the excited state of ¹⁶O¹⁸O.     

The use of vibrational spectroscopy to study the pathogenesis multiple sclerosis and other neurological conditions

Spectroscopy techniques are valuable tools in biomedical research and have been used extensively in the study of disease. However, neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS) have received little attention and the available spectroscopy studies are limited, both in overall numbers of patients studied and the disease samples considered. MS is a complex immune-mediated disease, with variable clinical courses and limited therapeutic options. This review aims to summarize current literature in the area, demonstrating how spectroscopy techniques can provide valuable information to inform and advance research into the most common neurological condition affecting young adults.     

One‐Pot,High‐Yielding Synthesis of Novel Dihydrothiazolo[3,2‐a]pyrimidinones

Reaction between 6‐(un)substituted‐2‐thiouracils and E‐ethyl 4‐bromocrotonate under basic conditions at room temperature is an easy, mild, high‐yielding, and regioselective method for the preparation of 7‐(un)substituted dihydrothiazolo[3,2‐a]pyrimidinone derivatives.     

Oxidative Addition of 4-Hydroxycoumarin to Alkenes. An Expeditious Entry to 2,3-Dihydro-4H-furo-[3,2-c][1]benzopyran-4-ones1

In the presence of one-electron metal oxidants (CAN, MAH), 4-hydroxycoumarin (1) adds to alkenes to give 2,3-dihydro-4H-furo[3,2-c][1]benzopyran-4-ones.     

Interests diffusion on a semantic multiplex

Exploiting the information about members of a Social Network (SN) represents one of the most attractive and dwelling subjects for both academic and applied scientists. The community of Complexity Science and especially those researchers working on multiplex social systems are devoting increasing efforts to outline general laws, models, and theories, to the purpose of predicting emergent phenomena in SN’s (e.g. success of a product). On the other side the semantic web community aims at engineering a new generation of advanced services tailored to specific people needs. This implies defining constructs, models and methods for handling the semantic layer of SNs. We combined models and techniques from both the former fields to provide a hybrid approach to understand a basic (yet complex) phenomenon: the propagation of individual interests along the social networks. Since information may move along different social networks, one should take into account a multiplex structure. Therefore we introduced the notion of “Semantic Multiplex”. In this paper we analyse two different semantic social networks represented by authors publishing in the Computer Science and those in the American Physical Society Journals. The comparison allows to outline common and specific features.     

Glycoconjugated Metallohelices have Improved Nuclear Delivery and Suppress Tumour Growth In Vivo

Monosaccharides are added to the hydrophilic face of a self‐assembled asymmetric Fe^II metallohelix, using CuAAC chemistry. The sixteen resulting architectures are water‐stable and optically pure, and exhibit improved antiproliferative selectivity against colon cancer cells (HCT116 p53^+/+) with respect to the non‐cancerous ARPE‐19 cell line. While the most selective compound is a glucose‐appended enantiomer, its cellular entry is not mainly glucose transporter‐mediated. Glucose conjugation nevertheless increases nuclear delivery ca 2.5‐fold, and a non‐destructive interaction with DNA is indicated. Addition of the glucose units affects the binding orientation of the metallohelix to naked DNA, but does not substantially alter the overall affinity. In a mouse model, the glucose conjugated compound was far better tolerated, and tumour growth delays for the parent compound (2.6 d) were improved to 4.3 d; performance as good as cisplatin but with the advantage of no weight loss in the subjects.     

The Influence of Different Bleaching Protocols on Dentinal Enzymatic Activity: An In Vitro Study

This study aimed to investigate matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity in human dentin using in-situ and gelatin zymography, after at-home and in-office bleaching, related to their clinical exposure times. Dentin specimens (n = 5) were treated with 35% hydrogen peroxide (50 min per session/4 sessions), 10% carbamide peroxide (180 min/21 sessions), or no treatment. All were subjected to in-situ zymography. Dentin slices were, subsequently, obtained, covered with fluorescein-conjugated gelatin, and examined with confocal laser-scanning microscopy. The fluorescence intensity was quantified and statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni tests (α = 0.05). Furthermore, gelatin zymography was performed on protein extracts obtained from dentin powder (N = 8 teeth), treated with hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide, with different exposure times (10/50 min for hydrogen peroxide; 252/1260 min for carbamide peroxide). The results of the in-situ zymography showed no statistical differences between the bleached specimens and the control group, with a medium level of gelatinolytic activity expressed in the dentin tubules. The results of gelatin zymography showed an increased expression of pro-MMP-9 in carbamide peroxide groups. The expression of pro-MMP-2 decreased in all the experimental groups. The bleaching treatments performed on the enamel of sound teeth do not influence dentinal enzymatic activity. However, when unprotected dentin tissue is bleached, matrix metalloproteinases are more expressed, particularly when carbamide peroxide is used, proportional to the exposure time.     

Comparison of Spaces of Hardy Type for the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck Operator

Denote by γ the Gauss measure on ℝ ⁿ and by ${\mathcal{L}}${\mathcal{L}} the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck operator. In this paper we introduce a Hardy space \mathfrakh¹g{{\mathfrak{h}}^1}{{\rm \gamma}} of Goldberg type and show that for each u in ℝ ∖ {0} and r > 0 the operator (rI+L)^iu(r{\mathcal{I}}+{\mathcal{L}})^{iu} is unbounded from \mathfrakh¹g{{\mathfrak{h}}^1}{{\rm \gamma}} to L ¹γ. This result is in sharp contrast both with the fact that (rI+L)^iu(r{\mathcal{I}}+{\mathcal{L}})^{iu} is bounded from H ¹γ to L ¹γ, where H ¹γ denotes the Hardy type space introduced in Mauceri and Meda (J Funct Anal 252:278–313, 2007), and with the fact that in the Euclidean case (rI-D)^iu(r{\mathcal{I}}-\Delta)^{iu} is bounded from the Goldberg space \mathfrakh¹\mathbbRⁿ{{\mathfrak{h}}^1}{{\mathbb{R}}^n} to L ¹ℝ ⁿ . We consider also the case of Riemannian manifolds M with Riemannian measure μ. We prove that, under certain geometric assumptions on M, an operator T{\mathcal{T}}, bounded on L ² μ, and with a kernel satisfying certain analytic assumptions, is bounded from H ¹ μ to L ¹ μ if and only if it is bounded from \mathfrakh¹m{{\mathfrak{h}}^1}{\mu} to L ¹ μ. Here H ¹ μ denotes the Hardy space introduced in Carbonaro et al. (Ann Sc Norm Super Pisa, 2009), and \mathfrakh¹m{{\mathfrak{h}}^1}{\mu} is defined in Section 4, and is equivalent to a space recently introduced by M. Taylor (J Geom Anal 19(1):137–190, 2009). The case of translation invariant operators on homogeneous trees is also considered.