Stereospecific Synthesis and Photophysical Properties of Propeller-Shaped C90H48 PAH

Herein, we have synthesized an enantiomerically pure propeller-shaped PAH, C₉₀H₄₈, possessing three [7]helicene and three [5]helicene subunits. This compound can be obtained in gram quantities in a straightforward manner. The photophysical and chiroptical properties were investigated using UV/Vis absorption and emission, optical rotation and circular dichroism spectroscopy, supported by DFT calculations. The nonlinear optical properties were investigated by two-photon absorption measurements using linearly and circularly polarized light. The extremely twisted structure and packing of the homochiral compound were investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.     

Über die Existenz von Lösungen zu Variationsproblemenn-ter Ordnung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Untersuchungen über das Vorkommen von Eiweiss in der pflanzlichen Zellhaut,nebst Bemerkungen über den mikrochemischen Nachweis der Eiweisskörper

Ohne ZusammenfassungVorliegende Abhandlung bildet den chemischen Theil einer pflanzen-physiologischen Arbeit, welche vollständig in den Sitzungsber. der kais. Akad. d. Wiss., XCIV. Bd., I. Abth., December 1886 erscheinen wird.     

HistoFlex--a microfluidic device providing uniform flow conditions enabling highly sensitive, reproducible and quantitative in situ hybridizations

A microfluidic device (the HistoFlex) designed to perform and monitor molecular biological assays under dynamic flow conditions on microscope slide-substrates, with special emphasis on analyzing histological tissue sections, is presented. Microscope slides were reversibly sealed onto a cast polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) insert, patterned with distribution channels and reaction chambers. Topology optimization was used to design reaction chambers with uniform flow conditions. The HistoFlex provided uniform hybridization conditions, across the reaction chamber, as determined by hybridization to microscope slides of spotted DNA microarrays when applying probe concentrations generally used in in situ hybridization (ISH) assays. The HistoFlex's novel ability in online monitoring of an in situ hybridization assay was demonstrated using direct fluorescent detection of hybridization to 18S rRNA. Tissue sections were not visually damaged during assaying, which enabled adapting a complete ISH assay for detection of microRNAs (miRNA). The effects of flow based incubations on hybridization, antibody incubation and Tyramide Signal Amplification (TSA) steps were investigated upon adapting the ISH assay for performing in the HistoFlex. The hybridization step was significantly enhanced using flow based incubations due to improved hybridization efficiency. The HistoFlex device enabled a fast miRNA ISH assay (3 hours) which provided higher hybridization signal intensity compared to using conventional techniques (5 h 40 min). We further demonstrate that the improved hybridization efficiency using the HistoFlex permits more complex assays e.g. those comprising sequential hybridization and detection of two miRNAs to be performed with significantly increased sensitivity. The HistoFlex provides a new histological analysis platform that will allow multiple and sequential assays to be performed under their individual optimum assay conditions. Images can subsequently be recorded either in combination or sequentially through the ability of the HistoFlex to monitor assays without disassembly.     

Effects of colored noise on the dynamics of quantum entanglement of a one-parameter qubit—qutrit system

We analyzed the effect of colored noise on the negativity dynamics of a hybrid system consisting of a qubit-qutrit and not interacting, prepared from the start in an entangled one-parameter state and acting with noise in local and non-local environments. In this pink and brown noise we investigated two different situations: in the first situation, the noise is produced by a bistable oscillator with an unknown exchange rate; however, in the second situation, the noise is generated by a set of bistable oscillators. We found that entanglement decreases with time to zero, and undergoes the phenomenon of sudden death and rebirth. The pink noise is more prone to entanglement than the brown noise and the non-local environment is more prone to entanglement than the local one. When the number of fluctuators is increased, entanglement decays faster and finally, for certain parameters of the initial state, the subsystems are not affected by the noise.     

Effects of classical random external field on the dynamics of entanglement in a four-qubit system

We investigate the dynamics of entanglement through negativity and witness operators in a system of four non-interacting qubits driven by a classical phase noisy laser characterized by a classical random external field (CREF). The qubits are initially prepared in the GHZ-type and W-type states and interact with the CREF in two different qubit-field configurations, namely, common environment and independent environments in which the cases of equal and different field phase probabilities are distinguished. We find that entanglement exhibits different decaying behavior, depending on the input states of the qubits, the qubit-field coupling configuration, and field phase probabilities. On the one hand, we demonstrate that the coupling of the qubits in a common environment is an alternative and more efficient strategy to completely shield the system from the detrimental impacts of the decoherence process induced by a CREF, independent of the input state and the field phase probabilities considered. Also, we show that GHZ-type states have strong dynamics under CREF as compared to W-type states. On the other hand, we demonstrate that in the model investigated the system robustness's can be greatly improved by increasing the number of qubits constituting the system.     

Susceptibility to 5-aminolevulinic acid based photodynamic therapy in WHO I meningioma cells corresponds to ferrochelatase activity

5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is a natural precursor of protoporphyrin IX (PpIX), which can be used as a photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy (PDT). Accumulation of PpIX in benign meningioma cells has been observed previously, its exploitation for PDT, however, was discouraged by inconsistent results. To evaluate PDT for benign meningiomas, we investigated PpIX synthesis in two human meningioma cell lines (HBL-52 and BEN-MEN-1), their respective extracellular loss of PpIX and corresponding ferrochelatase (FECH) activity as well as their susceptibility to PDT. We demonstrated PpIX production after 5-ALA administration and minor loss to the extracellular space in both cell lines. However, significantly more (up to five times) PpIX was accumulated in BEN-MEN-1 as compared with HBL-52 cells. FECH activity was 2.7-fold higher in HBL-52 compared with BEN-MEN-1 cells and accordingly higher FECH levels could be shown in HBL-52 cells by Western blot analysis. BEN-MEN-1 cells were much more sensitive to PDT and cells could be almost completely killed by irradiation doses of 2 J cm(-2) , whereas HBL-52 showed only an insufficient response at this irradiation dose. We conclude that differences in intracellular PpIX concentrations between HBL-52 and BEN-MEN-1 benign meningioma cells were mainly due to differences in FECH activity and that these differences correspond to their susceptibility to 5-ALA-induced PDT.