In Vivo Biological Behavior of Polymer Scaffolds of Natural Origin in the Bone Repair Process

Autologous bone grafts, used mainly in extensive bone loss, are considered the gold standard treatment in regenerative medicine, but still have limitations mainly in relation to the amount of bone available, donor area, morbidity and creation of additional surgical area. This fact encourages tissue engineering in relation to the need to develop new biomaterials, from sources other than the individual himself. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of an elastin and collagen matrix on the bone repair process in critical size defects in rat calvaria. The animals (Wistar rats, n = 30) were submitted to a surgical procedure to create the bone defect and were divided into three groups: Control Group (CG, n = 10), defects filled with blood clot; E24/37 Group (E24/37, n = 10), defects filled with bovine elastin matrix hydrolyzed for 24 h at 37 °C and C24/25 Group (C24/25, n = 10), defects filled with porcine collagen matrix hydrolyzed for 24 h at 25 °C. Macroscopic and radiographic analyses demonstrated the absence of inflammatory signs and infection. Microtomographical 2D and 3D images showed centripetal bone growth and restricted margins of the bone defect. Histologically, the images confirmed the pattern of bone deposition at the margins of the remaining bone and without complete closure by bone tissue. In the morphometric analysis, the groups E24/37 and C24/25 (13.68 ± 1.44; 53.20 ± 4.47, respectively) showed statistically significant differences in relation to the CG (5.86 ± 2.87). It was concluded that the matrices used as scaffolds are biocompatible and increase the formation of new bone in a critical size defect, with greater formation in the polymer derived from the intestinal serous layer of porcine origin (C24/25).     

Activation thermodynamic parameters of binary mixtures of propionic acid ando-substituted anilines

Variations of densities and viscosities with temperature and composition are reported for binary liquid mixtures containing propionic acid+aniline (I),+o-toluidine (II),+o-anisidine (III), and+o-chloroaniline (IV). Entropies S _m and enthalpies H _m of activation as functions of the composition of the mixtures, as well as free energies of activation G _m at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50°C and different compositions were calculated by means of Eyring's equation. The formation of activated complexes between the components of these binary mixtures is postulated and claimed to result from acid-base and hydrogen bonding exchange interactions.     

Multiscale Approach to the Study of the Electronic Properties of Two Thiophene Curcuminoid Molecules

We studied the electronic and conductance properties of two thiophene–curcuminoid molecules, 2‐thphCCM ( 1 ) and 3‐thphCCM ( 2 ), in which the only structural difference is the position of the sulfur atoms in the thiophene terminal groups. We used electrochemical techniques as well as UV/Vis absorption studies to obtain the values of the HOMO–LUMO band gap energies, showing that molecule 1 has lower values than 2 . Theoretical calculations show the same trend. Self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) of these molecules were studied by using electrochemistry, showing that the interaction with gold reduces drastically the HOMO–LUMO gap in both molecules to almost the same value. Single‐molecule conductance measurements show that molecule 2 has two different conductance values, whereas molecule 1 exhibits only one. Based on theoretical calculations, we conclude that the lowest conductance value, similar in both molecules, corresponds to a van der Waals interaction between the thiophene ring and the electrodes. The one order of magnitude higher conductance value for molecule 2 corresponds to a coordinate (dative covalent) interaction between the sulfur atoms and the gold electrodes.     

Novel bis-betaines and betaines within [1(4)]meta-heterophane frameworks

After prior selection of betaine building blocks for the construction of quadrupolar heterophane frameworks, a convergent "3+1" synthetic strategy is reported for the synthesis of the title macrocycles composed of heterocyclic betaine subunit(s). These typify the first example of simple cyclophanes constructed out of both highly pi-excessive and highly pi-deficient heteroaromatic moieties linked in a 1,3-alternating fashion. The chemical reactivity of the quadrupolar heterophanes 1a and 1c toward electrophiles under neutral conditions corroborated their bis-betaine structure. The structural features of the bis-betaines 1, betaines 2 x PF6 and 5 x X, and the corresponding dicationic [1(4)]heterophanes 3 x 2X and 4 x 2Cl were studied by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of macrocycles 1a and 2a x PF6.     

Polynucleating open-chain systems with imidazole and proton-ionizable 1,2,4-triazole structural motifs

A multistep route for obtaining the polynucleating open-chain systems 3-5 is reported. These advanced intermediates required elaborate processes that proceeded for the pentanuclear protophanes 3 in seven steps, whereas the trinuclear compounds 4 and 5 were obtained in six steps     

Path integral approach to the full Dicke model

The full Dicke model describes a system of N identical two level-atoms coupled to a single mode quantized bosonic field. The model considers rotating and counter-rotating coupling terms between the atoms and the bosonic field, with coupling constants g₁ and g₂, for each one of the coupling terms, respectively. We study finite temperature properties of the model using the path integral approach and functional methods. In the thermodynamic limit, N→∞, the system exhibits phase transition from normal to superradiant phase, at some critical values of temperature and coupling constants. We distinguish between three particular cases, the first one corresponds to the case of rotating wave approximation, where g₁≠0 and g₂=0, the second one corresponds to the case of g₁=0 and g₂≠0, in these two cases the model has a continuous symmetry. The last one, corresponds to the case of g₁≠0 and g₂≠0, where the model has a discrete symmetry. The phase transition in each case is related to the spontaneous breaking of its respective symmetry. For each one of these three particular cases, we find the asymptotic behaviour of the partition function in the thermodynamic limit, and the collective spectrum of the system in the normal and the superradiant phase. For the case of rotating wave approximation, and also the case of g₁=0 and g₂≠0, in the superradiant phase, the collective spectrum has a zero energy value, corresponding to the Goldstone mode associated to the continuous symmetry breaking of the model. Our analysis and results are valid in the limit of zero temperature, β→∞, in which, the model exhibits a quantum phase transition.     

Autour des algèbres de Bernstein

Sans résuméTravail subventionné par Dirección de Investigación, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco. Chile et CONICYT.     

Elude de la réaction du β-aminocrotonitrile et du α-formyl phénylacétonitrile avec l'hydrazine: Synthèse d'amino-7 pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines

The three compounds C₈ H₁₀N₄ which arise from reaction of hydrazine and β-aminocrotonitrile have been identified: the formation of anazine, a 3(5)-amino 5(3)-methyl pyrazole derivative and a 7-amino pyrazolo [1,5-a] pyrimidine has been demonstrated. The relationships among these compounds and with the methyl-aminopyrazole have been studied.