Reactions of barium chloride dihydrate in potassium halide matrices: A differential scanning calorimetry study

The deaquation of BaCl₂·2H₂O in pressed KCl, KBr, and KI disks was followed by TG and DSC at pressures ranging from one to 34 atmospheres. Resolution of the DSC peaks of the first deaquation reaction and subsequent water vaporation was not improved by use of the matrix; for the second deaquation reaction, resolution was greater in the matrix. Evidence of a ternary eutectic involving BaCl₂, KI, and H₂O, which melted at 219°C, was obtained.     

Time-resolved optical Kerr-effect spectroscopy of low-frequency dynamics in Di-L-alanine,poly-L-alanine,and lysozyme in solution

The low-frequency spectra of peptides and proteins in solution have been investigated with optical heterodyne-detected Raman-induced Kerr-effect spectroscopy. Spectra were obtained for di-l-alanine ALA(2) and poly-l-alanine (PLA) in dichloroacetic acid solution. The conformational dependence of those spectra at low frequency has been analyzed. ALA(2) displays a band centered at 50 cm-1, whereas the alpha-helical PLA shows two shoulders at 60 and 140 cm-1. The similarity of the spectral features observed in PLA to those in water can be explained by analogous acoustic translational modes in the hydrogen network of the PLA alpha-helix. The mostly alpha-helical protein lysozyme in aqueous solution has also been investigated and showed significantly more structure with modes at 10, 35, 73, 106, and 164 cm-1.     

The use of differential scanning calorimetry to identify methaqualone samples: forensic applications.

The d.s.c. curves of commercial samples of methaqualone—Qu$\text{aa}$lude (U.S.A.), Qu$\text{aa}$lude (Mexico), Sopar, Mandrax and Parest — are presented. Similar d.s.c. curves were found for Qu$\text{aa}$lude (U.S.A.), Qu$\text{aa}$lude (Mexico), and Mandrax, while Sopar and Parest exhibited different types of curves. New and old formulations of the Qu$\text{aa}$lude (U.S.A.) brand could be differentiated by differences in the tablet filler and binder. Unfortunately, d.s.c. could not be used to determine the country of origin of the drug, although it was useful to characterize it. The technique can be used to identify samples of 0.15 mg or less.     

Chemical Proteomics and Phenotypic Profiling Identifies the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor as a Molecular Target of the Utrophin Modulator Ezutromid

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal muscle‐wasting disease arising from mutations in the dystrophin gene. Upregulation of utrophin to compensate for the missing dystrophin offers a potential therapy independent of patient genotype. The first‐in‐class utrophin modulator ezutromid/SMT C1100 was developed from a phenotypic screen through to a Phase 2 clinical trial. Promising efficacy and evidence of target engagement was observed in DMD patients after 24 weeks of treatment, however trial endpoints were not met after 48 weeks. The objective of this study was to understand the mechanism of action of ezutromid which could explain the lack of sustained efficacy and help development of new generations of utrophin modulators. Using chemical proteomics and phenotypic profiling we show that the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a target of ezutromid. Several lines of evidence demonstrate that ezutromid binds AhR with an apparent K_D of 50 nm  and behaves as an AhR antagonist. Furthermore, other reported AhR antagonists also upregulate utrophin, showing that this pathway, which is currently being explored in other clinical applications including oncology and rheumatoid arthritis, could also be exploited in future DMD therapies.     

Bi-directional terahertz emission from gold-coated nanogratings by excitation via femtosecond laser pulses

We report on the investigation of terahertz (THz) emission from gold-coated nanogratings (500 nm grating constant) upon femtosecond laser irradiation (785?nm, 150?fs, 1?kHz, ??1?mJ/pulse). Unlike common assumptions, THz emission is not only observed in case of rear side irradiation (through substrate (Welsh et al. in Phys. Rev. Lett. 98:026803, 2007; Welsh and Wynne in Opt. Express 17:2470?C2480, 2009)) of the nanograting, but also in case of front side excitation (through air). Furthermore in both cases, THz emission propagates in the direction of laser beam propagation and reverse. Based on these findings, we suggest a new approach to describe the newly observed phenomena. Using a highly sensitive and fast superconducting transition edge sensor (TES) as calorimeter, it was possible to directly measure the absolute energy of the emitted THz pulses in a defined spectral and spatial range, enabling for the first time a quantitative analysis of the THz emission process.