Working group report: Neutrino and astroparticle physics

This is the report of neutrino and astroparticle physics working group at WHEPP-7. Discussions and work on CP violation in long baseline neutrino experiments, ultra high energy neutrinos, supernova neutrinos and water Cerenkov detectors are discussed.     

Failure of elastomeric polymers due to rate dependent bond rupture

A new cohesive zone model is developed in order to study the mechanisms of adhesive and cohesive failures of soft rubbery materials. The fracture energy is estimated here using a strategy similar to that of Lake and Thomas (LT) by considering the dissipation of stored elastic energy followed by the extension and relaxation of polymer chains. The current model, however, departs from that of LT in that the force needed to break an interfacial bond does not have a fixed value; instead, it depends on the thermal state of the system and the rate at which the force is transmitted to the bond. While the force required to rupture a chain is set by the rules of thermomechanically activated bond dissociation kinetics, extension of a polymer chain is modeled within both the linear and nonlinear models of chain elasticity. Closed form asymptotic solutions are obtained for the dependence of crack propagation speed on the energy release rate, which are valid in two regimes: (I) slow crack velocity or short relaxation time for bond dissociation; (II) fast crack velocity or long relaxation time for bond dissociation. The rate independent and the zero temperature limit of this theory correctly reduces to the fracture model of LT. Detailed comparisons are made with a previous work by Chaudhury et al. which carried out an approximate analysis of the same problem.     

Measuring the work of adhesion between a soft confined film and a flexible plate

We present a theoretical and experimental study of a method for the determination of the adhesion strength between a thin elastomeric film bonded to a rigid substrate and a flexible plate in a geometry common in the peel test. In particular, we characterize the work of adhesion in terms of the length of an equilibrium crack, generated by a spacer of known thickness wedged between the flexible plate and adhesive film, and the elastic and geometric properties of the film and the plate. We treat both the limit of perfect bonding and that of perfect slippage at the interface of the adhesive film and the flexible plate. A series of experiments allow us to verify the theory quantitatively and thus validate our method, which ought to be of value in many technological situations.     

Contact angle hysteresis, adhesion, and marine biofouling

Adhesive and marine biofouling release properties of coatings containing surface-oriented perfluoroalkyl groups were investigated. These coatings were prepared by cross-linking a copolymer of 1H,1H,2H,2H-heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate and acrylic acid with a copolymer of poly(2-isopropenyl-2-oxazoline) and methyl methacrylate at different molar ratios. The relationships between contact angle, contact angle hysteresis, adhesion, and marine biofouling were studied. Adhesion was determined by peel tests using pressure-sensitive adhesives. The chemical nature of the surfaces was studied by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Resistance to marine biofouling of an optimized coating was studied by immersion in seawater and compared to previous, less optimized coatings. The adhesive release properties of the coatings did not correlate well with the surface energies of the coatings estimated from the static and advancing contact angles nor with the amount of fluorine present on the surface. The adhesive properties of the surfaces, however, show a correlation with water receding contact angles and contact angle hysteresis (or wetting hysteresis) resulting from surface penetration and surface reconstruction. Coatings having the best release properties had both the highest cross-link density and the lowest contact angle hysteresis. An optimized coating exhibited unprecedented resistance to marine biofouling. Water contact angle hysteresis appears to correlate with marine biofouling resistance.     

Preparation and electronic spectra of some alkyl- and aryl(2,2′-bipyridine)platinum(II) complexes

A series of alkyl- and aryl-(2,2′-bipyridine)-platinum (II) complexes has been prepared by displacement of the diene ligand in the corresponding cyclooctadiene complexes with 2,2′-bipyridine. Dimethyl(1,10-phenanthroline)platinum(II) was prepared in an analogous way. The electronic spectra of the complexes contain metal to ligand charge transfer bands whose energy is dependent on the nature of the substituents on platinum and on the solvent. It is suggested that π-bonding is important in the phenyl—platinum bond.     

Oxovanadium(IV) and -(V) complexes of dithiocarbazate-based tridentate Schiff base ligands: syntheses,structure, and photochemical reactivity of compounds involving imidazole derivatives as coligands

The tridentate dithiocarbazate-based Schiff base ligands H(2)L (S-methyl-3-((5-R-2-hydroxyphenyl)methyl)dithiocarbazate, R = NO(2), L = L(2); R = Br, L = L(3)) react with [VO(acac)(2)] in the presence of imidazole derivatives as coligands to form oxovanadium(IV) and cis-dioxovanadium(V) complexes. With benzimidazole and N-methylimidazole, the products are oxovanadium(IV) complexes, viz. [VOL(3)(BzIm)].0.5CH(3)CN (1a) and [VOL(N-MeIm)(2)] (L = L(3), 1b; L = L(2), 1c), respectively. In both 1a,b, the O and S donor atoms of the tridentate ligand are cis to the terminal oxo group (in the "equatorial" plane) and mutually trans, but the N donor atom is respectively cis and trans to the oxo atom, as revealed from X-ray crystallography. When imidazole or 4-methylimidazole is used as the ancillary ligand, the products obtained are water-soluble cis-dioxovanadium(V) complexes [VO(2)L(R'-ImH)] (L = L(3) and L(2), R' = H and Me, 2a-d). These compounds have zigzag chain structures in the solid state as confirmed by X-ray crystallographic investigations of 2a,d, involving an alternating array of LVO(2)(-) species and the imidazolium counterions held together by Coulombic interactions and strong hydrogen bonding. Complexes 2a-d are stable in water or methanol. In aprotic solvents, viz. CH(3)CN, DMF, or DMSO, however, they undergo photochemical transformation when exposed to visible light. The putative product is a mixed-oxidation divanadium(IV/V) species obtained by photoinduced reduction as established by EPR, electronic spectroscopy, and dynamic (1)H NMR experiments.     

Novel perturbation expansion for the Langevin equation

We discuss the randomly driven systemdx/dt= -W(x) +f(t), wheref(t) is a Gaussian random function or stirring force withf(t)f(t)=2(t–t), andW(x) is of the formgx ¹⁺². The parameter is a measure of the nonlinearity of the equation. We show how to obtain the correlation functionsx(t)f(t)···x(t( n)) _f as a power series in. We obtain three terms in the expansion and show how to use Padé approximants to analytically continue the answer in the variable. By using scaling relations, we show how to get a uniform approximation to the equal-time correlation functions valid for allg and.     

Honeycomb nets with interpenetrating frameworks involving iminodiacetato-copper(II) blocks and bipyridine spacers: syntheses, characterization, and magnetic studies

Three coordination polymers of copper(II), viz. ([Cu(ida)(4,4'-bipyH)]ClO(4))( proportional, variant ) (1), ([Cu(2)(ida)(2)(micro-4,4'-bipy)].2H(2)O)( proportional, variant ) (2), and [Cu(2)(ida)(2)(bpa)]( proportional, variant ) (3) have been synthesized by the process of self-assembly using Cu(ida) [ida = iminodiacetate(2-)] as the building block and 4,4'-bipyridyl and 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane (bpa) as linkers. Crystals of 1 are orthorhombic, of space group Pna2(1), with a = 13.8956(12) A, b = 16.3362(16) A, c = 7.3340(12), and Z = 4. Both compounds 2 and 3 crystallize in monoclinic space group P2(1)/a with a = 10.1887(8) A (9.6779(10) A for 3), b = 8.0008(11) A (9.1718(10) A), c = 11.6684(9) A (12.9144(12) A), beta = 98.307(11) degrees (102.796(18) degrees ), and Z = 2 (2). Compound 1 has a zigzag chain structure with an extensive hydrogen-bonded network while compounds 2 and 3 are honeycomb (6,3) nets with interpenetrating structures. Variable temperature (2-300 K) magnetic study indicates the presence of weak antiferromagnetic interactions (J = 0.82 +/- 0.01 cm(-)(1)) in 1 and ferromagnetic in 2 (J = -0.45 +/- 0.05 cm(-)(1)) and 3 (J = -0.21 +/- 0.02 cm(-)(1)). The extent of planarity of the bridging "Cu-O-C-O-Cu" moiety, acting as the super-exchange pathway between the neighboring copper centers, probably controls the sign of the magnetic exchange coupling in these compounds.     

Structure-Based Design,Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Hsp90β-Selective Inhibitors

The 90 kDa heat shock proteins (Hsp90) are molecular chaperones that are responsible for the folding and/or trafficking of ∼400 client proteins, many of which are directly associated with cancer progression. Consequently, inhibition of Hsp90 can exhibit similar activity as combination therapy as multiple signaling nodes can be targeted simultaneously. In fact, seventeen small-molecule inhibitors that bind the Hsp90 N-terminus entered clinical trials for the treatment of cancer, all of which exhibited pan-inhibitory activity against all four Hsp90 isoforms. Unfortunately, most demonstrated undesired effects alongside induction of the pro-survival heat shock response. As a result, isoform-selective inhibitors have been sought to overcome these detriments. Described herein is a structure-based approach to design Hsp90β-selective inhibitors along with preliminary SAR. In the end, compound 5 was shown to manifest ∼370-fold selectivity for Hsp90β versus Hsp90α, and induced the degradation of select Hsp90β-dependent clients. These data support the development of Hsp90β-selective inhibitors as a new paradigm to overcome the detriments associated with pan-inhibition of Hsp90.     

Simultaneous bioanalysis and pharmacokinetic interaction study of acebrophylline,levocetirizine and pranlukast in Sprague–Dawley rats

The combination of acebrophylline (ABP), levocetirizine (LCZ) and pranlukast (PRN) is used to treat allergic rhinitis, asthma, hay‐fever and other conditions where patients experience difficulty in breathing. This study was carried out with the aim of developing and validating a reverse‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatographic bioanalytical method to simultaneously quantitate ABP, LCZ and PRN in rat plasma. The objective also includes determination of the pharmacokinetic interaction of these three drugs after administration via the oral route after individual and combination treatment in rat. Optimum resolution between the analytes was observed with a C₁₈ Kinetex column (250 mm × 4.6 mm × 5 μm). The chromatography was performed in a gradient elution mode with a 1 mL/min flow rate. The calibration curves were linear over the concentration range of 100–1600 ng/mL. The intra‐ and inter‐day precision and accuracy were found to be within acceptable limits as specified in US Food and Drug Administration guideline for bioanalytical method validation. The analytes were stable on the bench‐top (8 h), after three freeze–thaw cycles, in the autosampler (8 h) and as a dry extract (?80°C for 48 h). The statistical results of the pharmacokinetic study in Sprague–Dawley rats showed a significant change in pharmacokinetic parameters for PRN upon co‐administration of the three drugs.