Master integrals for double real radiation emission in heavy-to-light quark decay

We evaluate analytically the master integrals for double real radiation emission in the \(b \rightarrow u W^*\) decay, where b and u are a massive and massless quark, respectively, while \(W^{*}\) is an off-shell charged weak boson. Since the W boson can subsequently decay in a lepton anti-neutrino pair, the results of the present paper constitute a further step toward a fully analytic computation of differential distributions for the semileptonic decay of a b quark at NNLO in QCD. The latter partonic process plays a crucial role in the study of inclusive semileptonic charmless decays of B mesons. Our results are expressed in terms of multiple polylogarithms of maximum weight four.     

Enhancing energy harvesting by coupling monostable oscillators

The performance of a ring of linearly coupled, monostable nonlinear oscillators is optimized towards its goal of acting as energy harvester – through piezoelectric transduction – of mesoscopic fluctuations, which are modeled as Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noises. For a single oscillator, the maximum output voltage and overall efficiency are attained for a soft piecewise-linear potential (providing a weak attractive constant force) but they are still fairly large for a harmonic potential. When several harmonic springs are linearly and bidirectionally coupled to form a ring, it is found that counter-phase coupling can largely improve the performance while in-phase coupling worsens it. Moreover, it turns out that few (two or three) coupled units perform better than more.     

On Some Properties of PBZ*-Lattices

We continue the algebraic investigation of PBZ*-lattices, a notion introduced in Giuntini et al. (Stud. Logica 104, 1145–1177, 2016) in order to obtain insights into the structure of certain algebras of effects of a Hilbert space, lattice-ordered under the spectral ordering.     

Effects of Combination Treatments with Astaxanthin-Loaded Microparticles and Pentoxifylline on Intracellular ROS and Radiosensitivity of J774A.1 Macrophages

Radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF) is a serious, yet incurable, complication of external beam radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer. Macrophages are key cellular actors in RIF because of their ability to produce reactive oxidants, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammatory cytokines that, in turn, are the drivers of pro-fibrotic pathways. In a previous work, we showed that phagocytosis could be exploited to deliver the potent natural antioxidant astaxanthin specifically to macrophages. For this purpose, astaxanthin encapsulated into µm-sized protein particles could specifically target macrophages that can uptake the particles by phagocytosis. In these cells, astaxanthin microparticles significantly reduced intracellular ROS levels and the secretion of bioactive TGFβ and increased cell survival after radiation treatments. Here we show that pentoxifylline, a drug currently used for the treatment of muscle pain resulting from peripheral artery disease, amplifies the effects of astaxanthin microparticles on J774A.1 macrophages. Combination treatments with pentoxifylline and encapsulated astaxanthin might reduce the risk of RIF in cancer patients.     

Species Differences in Metabolism of Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibitor,EC1728, Highlight the Importance of Clinically Relevant Screening Mechanisms in Drug Development

There are few novel therapeutic options available for companion animals, and medications rely heavily on repurposed drugs developed for other species. Considering the diversity of species and breeds in companion animal medicine, comprehensive PK exposures in the companion animal patient is often lacking. The purpose of this paper was to assess the pharmacokinetics after oral and intravenous dosing in domesticated animal species (dogs, cats, and horses) of a novel soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitor, EC1728, being developed for the treatment of pain in animals. Results: Intravenous and oral administration revealed that bioavailability was similar for dogs, and horses (42 and 50% F) but lower in mice and cats (34 and 8%, respectively). Additionally, clearance was similar between cats and mice, but >2× faster in cats vs. dogs and horses. Efficacy with EC1728 has been demonstrated in mice, dogs, and horses, and despite the rapid clearance of EC1728 in cats, analgesic efficacy was demonstrated in an acute pain model after intravenous but not oral dosing. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that exposures across species can vary, and investigation of therapeutic exposures in target species is needed to provide adequate care that addresses efficacy and avoids toxicity.     

GC-MS Study of Mono- and Bishaloethylphosphonates Related to Schedule 2.B.04 of the Chemical Weapons Convention: The Discovery of a New Intramolecular Halogen Transfer

A new class of compounds, mono- and bis-haloethylphosphonates (HAPs and bisHAPs, respectively), listed in Schedule 2.B.04 of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), has been synthesized and studied by GC-MS with two aims. First, to improve the identification of this type of chemicals by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, (OPCW). Second, to study the synergistic effect of halogen and silicon atoms in molecules undergoing mass spectrometry. Fragmentation patterns of trimethylsilyl derivatives of HAPs were found to depend on the nature of the halogen atom; this was in agreement with DFT-calculations. The data suggest that a novel intramolecular halogen transfer takes place during the fragmentation process.

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Shift reagents in ion mobility spectrometry: the effect of the number of interaction sites,size and interaction energies on the mobilities of valinol and ethanolamine

Overlapping peaks interfere in ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), but they are separated introducing mobility shift reagents (SR) in the buffer gas forming adducts with different collision cross‐sections (size). IMS separations using SR depend on the ion mobility shifts which are governed by adduct's size and interaction energies (stabilities). Mobility shifts of valinol and ethanolamine ions were measured by electrospray‐ionization ion mobility‐mass spectrometry (MS). Methyl‐chloro propionate (M) was used as SR; 2‐butanol (B) and nitrobenzene (N) were used for comparison. Density functional theory was used for calculations. B produced the smallest mobility shifts because of its small size. M and N have two strong interaction sites (oxygen atoms) and similar molecular mass, and they should produce similar shifts. For both ethanolamine and valinol ions, stabilities were larger for N adducts than those of M. With ethanolamine, M produced a 68% shift, large compared to that using N, 61%, because M has a third weak interaction site on the chlorine atom and, therefore, M has more interaction possibilities than N. This third site overrode the oxygen atoms' interaction energy that favored the adduction of ethanolamine with N over that with M. On the contrary, with valinol mobility shifts were larger with N than with M (21 vs 18%) because interaction energy favored even more adduction of valinol with N than with M; that is, the interaction energy difference between adducts of valinol with M and N was larger than that between those adducts with ethanolamine, and the third M interaction could not override this larger difference. Mobility shifts were explained based on the number of SR's interaction sites, size of ions and SR, and SR–ion interaction energies. This is the first time that the number of interaction sites is used to explain mobility shifts in SR‐assisted IMS. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Confocal Microscopy of the Mycotoxin Citrinin in Condensed Phase and Hydrogel Films

The emission spectra, quantum yields and fluorescence lifetimes of citrinin in organic solvents and hydrogel films have been determined. Citrinin shows complex fluorescence decays due to the presence of two tautomers in solution and interconversion from excited-state double proton transfer (ESDPT) process. The fluorescence decay times associated with the two tautomers have values near 1 and 5 ns depending on the medium. In hydrogel films of agarose and alginate, fluorescence imaging showed that citrinin is not homogeneously dispersed and highly emissive micrometer spots may be formed. Fluorescence spectrum and decay analysis are used to recognize the presence of citrinin in hydrogel films using confocal fluorescence microscopy and spectroscopy.     

FDR,an easier way to NNLO calculations: a two-loop case study

In this paper we illustrate the simplifications produced by FDR in NNLO computations. We show with an explicit example that—due to its four-dimensionality—FDR does not require an order-by-order renormalization and that, unlike the one-loop case, FDR and dimensional regularization generate intermediate two-loop results which are no longer linked by a simple subtraction of the ultraviolet (UV) poles in $\epsilon $ . Our case study is the two-loop amplitude for $H \rightarrow \gamma \gamma $ , mediated by an infinitely heavy top loop, in the presence of gluonic corrections. We use this to elucidate how gauge invariance is preserved with no need of introducing counterterms in the Lagrangian. In addition, we discuss a possible four-dimensional approach to the infrared problem compatible with the FDR treatment of the UV infinities.     

Hierarchical Self‐Assembly of PDMA‐b‐PS Chains into Granular Nanoparticles: Genesis and Fate

The hierarchical self‐assembly of an amphiphilic block copolymer, poly(N,N‐dimethylacrylamide)‐block‐polystyrene with a very short hydrophilic block (PDMA₁₀‐b‐PS₆₂), in large granular nanoparticles is reported. While these nanoparticles are stable in water, their disaggregation can be induced either mechanically (i.e., by applying a force via the tip of the cantilever of an atomic force microscope (AFM)) or by partial hydrolysis of the acrylamide groups. AFM force spectroscopy images show the rupture of the particle as a combination of collapse and flow, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of partly hydrolyzed nanoparticles provide a clear picture of the granular structure.