Synthesis of potential selective cox‐2 enzyme inhibitors derived from ethyl ester of 2‐isothiocyanato‐5‐phenyl‐3‐thiophenecarboxylic acid

Derivatives containing the thieno[2,3‐d]pyrimidin‐4‐one system, potential selective COX‐2 inhibitors, were prepared starting from ethyl ester of 2‐isothiocyanato‐5‐phenyl‐3‐thiophenecarboxylic acid ( 2 ); their structural elucidation is also reported.     

Optimal contracting with effort and misvaluation

We propose a new continuous-time contracting model, in which the firm value process can only be observed with noise, and there are two sources of moral hazard: the agent’s effort and misvaluation. The principal can induce the agent to alter the perceived fundamental value of the firm through misvaluation, thus changing the market estimate of that value. We consider two cases in detail: the one in which the market correctly anticipates only the effort, and the other in which it correctly anticipates both the effort and the amount of misvaluation. In the first case, we find that it is optimal for the principal to induce the agent to apply a non-zero amount of misvaluation. Using calculus of variation techniques, we find the optimal pay-per-performance sensitivity (PPS) of the contract and optimal effort and misvaluation amount, by means of solving of a second order ordinary differential equation. In the second case, which can be viewed as an extension of the seminal Holmstrom-Milgrom model to the case of noisy observations, we find that the optimal misvaluation value is zero, and we compare the resulting optimal contract to the Holmstrom-Milgrom contract.     

Lanthanide Identity Governs Guest-Induced Dimerization in LnIII[15-MC N(L-pheHA)-5])3+ Metallacrowns

Series of lanthanide-containing metallic coordination complexes are frequently presented as structurally analogous, due to the similar chemical and coordinative properties of the lanthanides. In the case of chiral (Ln^III[15-MC _N(L-pheHA)-5])³⁺ metallacrowns (MCs), which are well established supramolecular hosts, the formation of dimers templated by a dicarboxylate guest (muconate) in solution of neutral pH is herein shown to have a unique dependence on the identity of the MC's central lanthanide. Calorimetric data and nuclear magnetic resonance diffusion studies demonstrate that MCs containing larger or smaller lanthanides as the central metal only form monomeric host-guest complexes whereas analogues with intermediate lanthanides (for example, Eu, Gd, Dy) participate in formation of dimeric host-guest-host compartments. The driving force for the dimerization event across the series is thought to be a competition between formation of highly stable MCs (larger lanthanides) and optimally linked bridging guests (smaller lanthanides).     

Exploring the Effect of Ligand Structural Isomerism in Langmuir–Blodgett Films of Chiral Luminescent EuIII Self‐Assemblies

Here we have investigated the influence of the antenna group position on both the formation of chiral amphiphilic Eu^III‐based self‐assemblies in CH₃CN solution and, on the ability to form monolayers on the surface of quartz substrates using the Langmuir–Blodgett technique, by changing from the 1‐naphthyl ( 2(R) , 2(S) ) to the 2‐naphthyl ( 1(R) , 1(S) ) position. The evaluation of binding constants of the self‐ assemblies in CH₃CN solution was achieved using conventional techniques such as UV/Visible and luminescence spectroscopies along with more specific circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The binding constants obtained for EuL , EuL₂ and EuL₃ species in the case of 2‐naphthyl derivatives were comparable to those obtained for 1‐naphthyl derivatives. The analysis of the changes in the CD spectra of 1(R) and 1(S) upon addition of Eu^III not only allowed us to evaluate the values of the binding constants but the resulting recalculated spectra may also be used as fingerprints for assignment of the chiral self‐assembly species formed in solution. The obtained monolayers were predominantly formed from EuL₃ (≈85 %) with the minor species present in ≈15 % EuL₂ .     

Synthesis and inverse virtual screening of new bi-cyclic structures towards cancer-relevant cellular targets

Structural Chemistry - We report here synthetic approaches to access new classes of small molecules based on three heterocyclic scaffolds, i.e. 3,7-dihydropyrimido[4,5-d]pyridazine-4,8-dione,...     

Interests diffusion on a semantic multiplex

Exploiting the information about members of a Social Network (SN) represents one of the most attractive and dwelling subjects for both academic and applied scientists. The community of Complexity Science and especially those researchers working on multiplex social systems are devoting increasing efforts to outline general laws, models, and theories, to the purpose of predicting emergent phenomena in SN’s (e.g. success of a product). On the other side the semantic web community aims at engineering a new generation of advanced services tailored to specific people needs. This implies defining constructs, models and methods for handling the semantic layer of SNs. We combined models and techniques from both the former fields to provide a hybrid approach to understand a basic (yet complex) phenomenon: the propagation of individual interests along the social networks. Since information may move along different social networks, one should take into account a multiplex structure. Therefore we introduced the notion of “Semantic Multiplex”. In this paper we analyse two different semantic social networks represented by authors publishing in the Computer Science and those in the American Physical Society Journals. The comparison allows to outline common and specific features.     

Label-Free Quantitative Proteomics to Explore the Action Mechanism of the Pharmaceutical-Grade Triticum vulgare Extract in Speeding Up Keratinocyte Healing

Plant extracts have shown beneficial properties in terms of skin repair, promoting wound healing through a plethora of mechanisms. In particular, the poly-/oligosaccharidic aqueous extract of Triticum vulgare (TVE), as well as TVE-based products, shows interesting biological assets, hastening wound repair. Indeed, TVE acts in the treatment of tissue regeneration mainly on decubitus and venous leg ulcers. Moreover, on scratched monolayers, TVE prompts HaCat cell migration, correctly modulating the expression of metalloproteases toward a physiological matrix remodeling. Here, using the same HaCat-based in vitro scratch model, the TVE effect has been investigated thanks to an LFQ proteomic analysis of HaCat secretomes and immunoblotting. Indeed, the unbiased TVE effect on secreted proteins has not yet been fully understood, and it could be helpful to obtain a comprehensive picture of its bio-pharmacological profile. It has emerged that TVE treatment induces significant up-regulation of several proteins in the secretome (153 to be exact) whereas only a few were down-regulated (72 to be exact). Interestingly, many of the up-regulated proteins are implicated in promoting wound-healing-related processes, such as modulating cell–cell interaction and communication, cell proliferation and differentiation, and prompting cell adhesion and migration.     

Single and two-qubit dynamics in circuit QED architectures

We use Bloch oscillations to transfer coherently many photon momenta to atoms. Then we can measure accurately the ratio h/m_Rb and deduce the fine structure constant α. The velocity variation due to the Bloch oscillations is measured thanks to Raman transitions. In a first experiment, two Raman π pulses are used to select and measure a very narrow velocity class. This method yields to a value of the fine structure constant α^-1= 137.03599884(91) with a relative uncertainty of about 6.6 ppb. More recently we use an atomic interferometer consisting in two pairs of π/2 pulses. We present here the first results obtained with this method.     

A high statistics measurement of the Lambda(+)(c) lifetime

A high statistics measurement of the Lambda(+)(c) lifetime from the Fermilab fixed-target FOCUS photoproduction experiment is presented. We describe the analysis technique with particular attention to the determination of the systematic uncertainty. The measured value of 204.6 +/- 3.4 (stat) +/- 2.5 (syst) fs from 8034 +/- 122 Lambda(+)(c)-->pK(-)pi(+) decays represents a significant improvement over the present world average.