On the possibility to measure the π0→γγ decay width and the γ?γ→π0 transition form factor with the KLOE-2 experiment

A possibility of KLOE-2 experiment to measure the width \varGamma_{p⁰ ?gg}\varGamma_{\pi^{0} \to\gamma\gamma} and the π ⁰ γγ ^∗ form factor F(Q ²) at low invariant masses of the virtual photon in the space-like region is considered. This measurement is an important test of the strong interaction dynamics at low energies. The feasibility is estimated on the basis of a Monte-Carlo simulation. The expected accuracy for \varGamma_{p⁰ ?gg}\varGamma_{\pi^{0} \to\gamma\gamma} is at a per cent level, which is better than the current experimental world average and theory. The form factor will be measured for the first time at Q ²≤0.1 GeV² in the space-like region. The impact of these measurements on the accuracy of the pion-exchange contribution to the hadronic light-by-light scattering part of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon is also discussed.     

Preussianone, a new flavanone-chromone biflavonoid from Garcinia preussii Engl

A new flavanone-chromone biflavonoid, preussianone (1), has been isolated from the leaves of Garcinia preussii, along with four known biflavonoids. The absolute stereostructures were elucidated by chemical, spectroscopic, and chiroptical methods. The biological properties of the new biflavonoid against several bacterial strains were evaluated.     

Kinetics of reduction of supported nanoparticles of iron oxide

A series of catalysts prepared by dispersing iron oxide on supports of different nature and acidity has been studied. Silica (S) and silica-zirconia mixed oxides (SZ) with different ZrO₂ content (from 5 to 45 mass%) were used as supports for the iron oxide phase which was deposited over them by an equilibrium-adsorption method. The red-ox properties of the Fe-catalysts were studied by temperature programmed reduction (TPR) technique. The two well defined and narrow TPR peaks observed could be associated with the reduction steps: I) Fe₂O₃→FeO and Fe₂O₃→Fe(0) (at ca. 400°C) and II) FeO→Fe(0) (at ca. 800–900°C). The temperature of the second-step-peak increased with the zirconia content in the support, likely because of the stronger interaction of the iron oxide phase with the support. Activation parameters for the two step-reduction processes were obtained by a simple computation procedure applied to the TPR profiles.     

Cytotoxic flavonoids and other constituents from the stem bark of Ochna schweinfurthiana

Seven flavonoids, hemerocallone (1), 6,7-dimethoxy-3′,4′-dimethoxyisoflavone (2), amentoflavone (4), agathisflavone (6), cupressuflavone (8), robustaflavone (9) and epicatechin (10), together with three other compounds, lithospermoside (3), β-D-fructofuranosyl-α-D-glucopyranoside (5) and 3β-O-D-glucopyranosyl-β-stigmasterol (7), were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the stem bark of Ochna schweinfurthiana F. Hoffm. All the compounds were characterised by spectroscopic and mass spectrometric methods, and by comparison with literature data. Cytotoxicity of the extracts and compounds against cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells was evaluated by MTT assay. Compounds 4 and 6 exhibited good cytotoxic activity, with IC₅₀ values of 20.7 and 10.0 μM, respectively.     

Fe78−xNIxSi8B14 amorphous alloys characterized by Mössbauer spectroscopy

Using Mössbauer spectroscopy we have investigated a set of Fe_78?xNi_xSi₈B₁₄ amorphous alloys produced by melt spinning. The samples are all ferromagnetic at room temperature even for an iron concentration as low as 20 at. %. The most interesting observation is the evident asymmetry characterizing the Mossbauer fingerprints for x≦38. We suggest that this asymmetry mirros a change of the short range order.