Quark mass corrections to the perturbative thrust and its effect on the determination of αs

We consider the effects of quark masses to the perturbative thrust in e ⁺ e ⁻ annihilation. In particular we show that perturbative power corrections resulting from non-zero quark masses considerably alters the size of the non-perturbative power corrections and consequently, significantly changes the fitted value of α_s.     

Domino "[3+3]-cyclization-homo-Michael" reactions of 1,3-bissilyl enol ethers with 1,1-diacylcyclopropanes

The Lewis acid mediated domino "[3+3]-cyclization-homo-Michael" reaction of 1,3-bissilyl enol ethers with 1,1-diacylcyclopropanes allows an efficient one-pot synthesis of functionalized salicylates containing a halogenated side chain. A great variety of substitution patterns could be realized by variation of the starting materials and of the Lewis acid. The mechanism of the domino process was studied.     

Lysinated Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes with Carbohydrate Ligands as an Effective Nanocarrier for Targeted Doxorubicin Delivery to Breast Cancer Cells

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are elongated, hollow cylindrical nanotubes made of sp2 carbon. MWCNTs have attracted significant attention in the area of drug delivery due to their high drug-loading capacity and large surface area. Furthermore, they can be linked to bioactive ligands molecules via covalent and noncovalent bonds that allow for the targeted delivery of anticancer drugs such as doxorubicin. The majority of methodologies reported for the functionalization of MWCNTs for drug delivery are quite complex and use expensive linkers and ligands. In the present study, we report a simple, cost-effective approach for functionalizing MWCNTs with the carbohydrate ligands, galactose (GA), mannose (MA) and lactose (LA), using lysine as a linker. The doxorubicin (Dox)-loaded functionalized MWCNTs were characterized using FT-IR, NMR, Raman, XRD and FE-SEM. The drug–loaded MWCNTs were evaluated for drug loading, drug release and cell toxicity in vitro, in breast cancer cells. The results indicated that the carbohydrate-modified lysinated MWCNTs had greater Dox loading capacity, compared to carboxylated MWCNTs (COOHMWCNTs) and lysinated MWCNTs (LyMWCNTs). In vitro drug release experiments indicated that the carbohydrate functionalized LyMWCNTs had higher Dox release at pH 5.0, compared to the physiological pH of 7.4, over 120 h, indicating that they are suitable candidates for targeting the tumor microenvironment as a result of their sustained release profile of Dox. Doxorubicin-loaded galactosylated MWCNTs (Dox-GAMWCNTs) and doxorubicin loaded mannosylated MWCNTs (Dox-MAMWCNTs) had greater anticancer efficacy and cellular uptake, compared to doxorubicin–loaded lactosylated MWCNTs (Dox-LAMWCNTs) and pure Dox, in MDA-MB231 and MCF7 breast cancer cells. However, neither the ligand conjugated multiwall blank carbon nanotubes (GAMWCNTs, MAMWCNTs and LAMWCNTs) nor the lysinated multiwalled blank carbon nanotubes produced significant toxicity in the normal cells. Our results suggest that sugar-tethered multiwalled carbon nanotubes, especially the galactosylated (Dox-GAMWCNTs) and mannosylated (Dox-MAMWCNTs) formulations, may be used to improve the targeted delivery of anticancer drugs to breast cancer cells.     

Glass transition and crystallization kinetics analysis of Sb–Se–Ge chalcogenide glasses

Differential thermal analysis (DTA) has been employed to investigate the effect of Ge addition on the glass transition behavior and crystallization kinetics of Sb₁₀Se_90?xGe_x (x = 0, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27) alloys. The three characteristic temperatures viz. glass transition (T _g), crystallization (T _c), and melting (T _m) have been determined and found to vary with the heating rates and Ge content. Thermal stability and glass forming tendency have been evaluated in terms of ΔT (= T _c ? T _g) and reduced glass transition temperature. The activation energies for glass transition and crystallization have been used to analyze the nucleation and growth process. The activation energy analysis also determines the suitability of alloys to be used in switching applications. Results have been interpreted in terms of bond energies and structural transformations in the investigated alloys.     

Efficient Continuous-Flow Synthesis and Evaluation of Anticancer Activity of Novel Quinoline–Pyrazoline Derivatives

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - An efficient and simple continuous-flow synthetic protocol for novel quinoline-tethered pyrazoline derivatives, which involves condensation of...     

One nanosecond photon correlation spectroscopy on smectic liquid crystal films

We have extended photon correlation spectroscopy down to a one-nanosecond time scale, and applied it to a study of layer undulations in freestanding smectic-A films of two cyanobiphenyl liquid crystals. Temporal correlations in the intensity of scattered light reveal an interesting combination of under- and overdamped modes. The underdamped mode is accurately described by a recently calculated correlation function of the smectic layer displacement, although its frequency and damping rate exhibit stronger dispersion at large optical wave vectors than expected from current dynamical models for smectic films.     

Temperature driven morphological changes of hydrothermally prepared copper oxide nanoparticles

The size and shape of nanocrystals have a strong effect on the optical, electrical and catalytic properties. Therefore, controlling the size, shape and structure of nanocrystals is technically important. The controlled synthesis of CuO nanostructures was achieved using a hydrothermal process by simply controlling the precipitation reaction temperature between copper nitrate trihydrate and sodium hydroxide. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), EDS, XRD, and FTIR analysis revealed that the synthesized product at 200 °C is of pure copper oxide particles. From Scherrer formula, the prepared CuO particles varied approximately 3–7 nm in size simply by varying the reaction temperature. The synthesized particles exhibited a regular flake like morphology and had a uniform size distribution. The morphology and size depend on the reaction conditions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.