Synthesis,characterization and properties of a soluble polymer with a poly(phenylenevinylene) structure

Soluble poly(2,5-dialkoxy-1,4-phenylenevinylene) has been prepared via Stille coupling reaction between 2,5-dialkoxy-1,4-diiodobenzene and E-1,2-bis(tributylstannyl)-ethene in the presence of palladium complexes. Characterization of this material by means of ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ultraviolet/visible (UV/VIS) and infrared (IR) spectra is described. Molecular weights, determined by means of gelpermeation chromatography (GPC) analysis and referred to standard polystyrene, were in the range number-average molecular weights M _n = 2061–2544 and weight-average molecular weights M _w = 3347–3878. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the polymer showed semicrystalline structure. T_g = 57°C, transition to a stable smectic mesophase at 115°C and clearing point at 210°C were revealed by differential scanning calorimetry analysis, optical microscopy observation and XRD of the annealed polymer.     

Metallization of the Ge(111) surface at high-temperature probed by energy-loss and Auger spectroscopies

We present new electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) and Auger (AES) experiments aimed to study the structural transition of the Ge(111) surface taking place at high temperatures. Our advanced high-temperature set-up allowed us to collect accurate EELS spectra near the M_2,3 excitation edges and AES MMV and MVV spectra, corresponding to different probing depths ranging from 4 to 10 Å. The metallization of the surface has been clearly detected by the shift of the M_2,3 edge and of the MMV, MVV Auger energies. A detailed study of the transition has been performed using a fine temperature step under thermal equilibrium conditions. The AES and EELS experiments show that a sudden semiconductor-metal transition takes place at about 1000 K involving mainly the topmost layers. Deeper layers within 10 Å are also involved in the metallization process (in a range of 10 above 1010 K) and a smooth change in the topmost layers is also observed at higher temperatures up to 1070 K. These transitions are not fully reversible upon cooling (down to 870 K). Structural and electronic characteristics of the surface transition are discussed in light of available models.     

Pressure effects on icosahedral short range order in undercooled copper

There is not a wide consensus on the role played by the icosahedral short range order on the stability of undercooled simple metals. The scenario is even less clear for undercooled metals under external pressure. Classical molecular dynamics simulations are performed to explain experimental results recently obtained on liquid and undercooled liquid copper under pressure. The atomic configurations are characterized by a common neighbor analysis to reveal the icosahedral short range order and its relation with external pressure. External pressure increases the probability to find atomic bonds with icosahedral symmetry both in the liquid and in the undercooled copper.     

An extension of the pairing theory between divergence-measure fields and BV functions

In this paper we introduce a nonlinear version of the notion of Anzellotti's pairing between divergence-measure vector fields and functions of bounded variation, motivated by possible applications to evolutionary quasilinear problems. As a consequence of our analysis, we prove a generalized Gauss–Green formula.     

Sub‐ and Supramolecular X‐Ray Characterization of Engineered Tissues from Equine Tendon,Bovine Dermis,and Fish Skin Type‐I Collagen

Collagen represents one of the most widely used biomaterial for scaffolds fabrication in tissue engineering as it represents the mechanical support of natural tissues. It also provides physical scaffolding for cells and it influences their attachment, growth, and tissue regeneration. Among all fibrillary collagens, type I is considered one of the gold standard for scaffolds fabrication, thanks to its high biocompatibility, biodegradability, and hemostatic properties. It can be extracted by chemical and enzymatic protocols from several collagen‐rich tissues, such as tendon and skin, of different animal species. Both the extraction processes and the manufacturing protocols for scaffolds fabrication provide structural and mechanical changes that can be tuned in order to deeply impact the properties of the final biomaterial. The aim of this review is to discuss the role of X‐rays to study structural changes of type I collagen from fresh collagen‐rich tissues (bovine, equine, fish) to the final scaffolds, with the aim to screen across available collagen sources and scaffolds fabrication protocols to be used in tissue regeneration.     

Progress in drug delivery to the central nervous system by the prodrug approach

This review describes specific strategies for targeting to the central nervous system (CNS). Systemically administered drugs can reach the brain by crossing one of two physiological barriers resistant to free diffusion of most molecules from blood to CNS: the endothelial blood-brain barrier or the epithelial blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier. These tissues constitute both transport and enzymatic barriers. The most common strategy for designing effective prodrugs relies on the increase of parent drug lipophilicity. However, increasing lipophilicity without a concomitant increase in rate and selectivity of prodrug bioconversion in the brain will result in failure. In these regards, consideration of the enzymes present in brain tissue and in the barriers is essential for a successful approach. Nasal administration of lipophilic prodrugs can be a promising alternative non-invasive route to improve brain targeting of the parent drugs due to fast absorption and rapid onset of drug action. The carrier-mediated absorption of drugs and prodrugs across epithelial and endothelial barriers is emerging as another novel trend in biotherapeutics. Several specific transporters have been identified in boundary tissues between blood and CNS compartments. Some of them are involved in the active supply of nutrients and have been used to explore prodrug approaches with improved brain delivery. The feasibility of CNS uptake of appropriately designed prodrugs via these transporters is described in detail.     

Nearest-neighbor oxygen distances in liquid water and ice observed by x-ray Raman based extended x-ray absorption fine structure

We report the nearest-neighbor oxygen-oxygen radial distribution function (NN O-O RDF) of room temperature liquid water and polycrystalline ice Ih (-16.8 degrees C) obtained by x-ray Raman based extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. The spectra of the two systems were taken under identical experimental conditions using the same procedures to obtain the NN O-O RDFs. This protocol ensured a measurement of the relative distance distribution with very small systematic errors. The NN O-O RDF of water is found to be more asymmetric (tail extending to longer distances) with longer average distance (2.81 A for water and 2.76 A for ice) but a slightly shorter peak position (2.70 A for water and 2.71 A for ice). The refinement also showed a small but significant contribution from the linear O-H-O multiple scattering signal. The high sensitivity to short range distances of the EXAFS probe will set further restrictions to the range of possible models of liquid water.     

Minimum principle for mixtures with memory

This work concerns the theory of viscoelastic composites which are modelled as mixtures of two interpenetrating solid continua. First it is given a characterization of the boundary-initial value problem in which the initial conditions are incorporated into the field equations. Then a minimum principle for the dynamic theory is established.