Synthesis of the erythromycin-conjugated nanodendrimer and its antibacterial activity

Abstract The development and spread of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial drugs necessitates the need to search for novel and effective antimicrobial agents. In the last few decades, innovative nanomaterials are attracting increasing attention and, among them, dendrimers have shown wide application in the various fields. In the current study, the two generations of an anionic linear- spherical nanodendrimer G1 and G2 were synthetized and compound G2 of nanodendrimer conjugated with erythromycin. The structures of the nanodendrimers were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, zetasizer, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The antibacterial activity of the erythromycin-conjugated nanodendrimer and erythromycin alone were evaluated by the microdilution method against Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, S. saprophyticus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The size of first and second generation of nanodendrimer, and the erythromycin-conjugated nanodendrimer was 75, 95, and 65.6 nm, respectively. The drug loading percentage of the nanodendrimer conjugates was obtained to be in 35.2%. In our study, the erythromycin-conjugated nanodendrimer showed significantly more bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities against all four studied bacteria than erythromycin alone. Our study's results highlight that the erythromycin-conjugated nanodendrimer is a highly effective agent against Gram positive and negative bacteria. The antibacterial properties of erythromycin combined with the targeting potential of the nanodendrimer can lead to sustained intracellular delivery of therapeutic agent Keywords: Nanostructures Erythromycin Dendrimers Antibacterial agents

Nonfactorization and the decays Ds+→ϕπ+,ϕρ+D_s^+ \to \phi \pi^+, \phi \rho^+ and ϕl+νl\phi l^+ \nu_l

In six chosen scenarios for the $q^2$ dependence of the form factors involved in $D_s^+ \rightarrow \phi$ transition, we have determined the allowed domain of $x = A_2(0) / A_1(0)$ and $y = V(0)/A_1(0)$ from the experimentally measured ratios $R_{sl} = \Gamma(D_s^+ \rightarrow \phi l^+ \nu_l)/\Gamma(D_s^+ \rightarrow \phi \pi^+)$ and $R_h = \Gamma(D_s^+ \rightarrow \phi \rho^+)/\Gamma(D_s^+ \rightarrow \phi \pi^+)$ in a scheme that uses the $N_c =3$ value of the phenomenological parameter $a_1$ and includes nonfactorized contribution. We find that the experimentally measured values of $x$ and $y$ from semileptonic decays of $D_s^+$ favor solutions which have significant nonfactorized contribution, and, in particular, $R_{sl}$ favors solutions in scenarios where $A_1(q^2)$ is either flat or decreasing with $q^2$.Comment: 15 pages, Latex, four figure (available on request)

Nonfactorization and Color-Suppressed B→ψ(ψ(2S))+K(K∗)B \to \psi (\psi(2S))+K(K^*) Decays

Using $N_c=3$ value of the parameter $a_2=0.09$ but including a modest nonfactorized amplitude, we show that it is possible to understand all data, including polarization, for color-suppressed $B\to\psi(\psi(2S))+K(K^*)$ decays in all commonly used models of form factors. We show that for $B\to\psi +K$ decay one can define an effective $a_2$, which is process-dependent and, in general, complex; but it is not possible to define an effective $a_2$ for $B\to\psi +K^*$ decay. We also explain why nonfactorized amplitudes do not play a significant role in color-favored B decays.Comment: 13 pages, Latex, one figure (not included

Reconstruction of the Dark Energy equation of state

One of the main challenges of modern cosmology is to investigate the nature of dark energy in our Universe. The properties of such a component are normally summarised as a perfect fluid with a (potentially) time-dependent equation-of-state parameter $w(z)$. We investigate the evolution of this parameter with redshift by performing a Bayesian analysis of current cosmological observations. We model the temporal evolution as piecewise linear in redshift between `nodes', whose $w$-values and redshifts are allowed to vary. The optimal number of nodes is chosen by the Bayesian evidence. In this way, we can both determine the complexity supported by current data and locate any features present in $w(z)$. We compare this node-based reconstruction with some previously well-studied parameterisations: the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder (CPL), the Jassal-Bagla-Padmanabhan (JBP) and the Felice-Nesseris-Tsujikawa (FNT). By comparing the Bayesian evidence for all of these models we find an indication towards possible time-dependence in the dark energy equation-of-state. It is also worth noting that the CPL and JBP models are strongly disfavoured, whilst the FNT is just significantly disfavoured, when compared to a simple cosmological constant $w=-1$. We find that our node-based reconstruction model is slightly disfavoured with respect to the $\Lambda$CDM model.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, minor correction

Internal W-emmission and W-exchange Contributions to {\bf B}\to {{\bf D}^{(*)} Decays

We evaluate external $W$-emission, internal $W$-emission and $W$-exchange contributions to nonleptonic $B\to D^{(*)}$ decays based on the perturbative QCD formalism including Sudakov effects, whose ratio is found to be $1:+0.2:0.03i$ at the amplitude level. We observe that the internal $W$-emission contribution is additive to the external $W$-emission contribution, and that the $W$-exchange contribution is negligible and mainly imaginary, its real part being at least one order of magnitude smaller than the imaginary part. Our predictions are consistent with the CLEO data and with those obtained by the Bauer-Stech-Wirbel method.Comment: 13 pages, Latex, 1 Postscript fil

Measurements of the Ratios B(Ds+→ηℓ+ν)/B(Ds+→ϕℓ+ν){\cal B}(D_s^+\to \eta\ell^+\nu)/{\cal B}(D_s^+\to \phi\ell^+\nu) and B(Ds+→η′ℓ+ν)/B(Ds+→ϕℓ+ν){\cal B}(D_s^+\to \eta'\ell^+\nu)/{\cal B}(D_s^+\to \phi\ell^+\nu)

Using the CLEO~II detector we measure ${\cal B}(D_s^+\to \eta e^+\nu)/{\cal B}(D_s^+\to \phi e^+\nu) =1.24\pm0.12\pm0.15$, ${\cal B}(D_s^+\to \eta' e^+\nu)/{\cal B}(D_s^+\to \phi e^+\nu) =0.43\pm0.11\pm0.07$ and ${\cal B}(D_s^+\to \eta' e^+\nu)/{\cal B}(D_s^+\to \eta e^+\nu) =0.35\pm0.09\pm0.07$. We find the vector to pseudoscalar ratio, ${\cal B}(D_s^+\to \phi e^+\nu)/{\cal B}(D_s^+\to (\eta+\eta') e^+\nu) =0.60\pm0.06\pm0.06$, which is similar to the ratio found in non strange $D$ decays.Comment: 11 page uuencoded postscript file, postscript file also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

Time-integrated luminosity recorded by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e+e- collider

This article is the Preprint version of the final published artcile which can be accessed at the link below.We describe a measurement of the time-integrated luminosity of the data collected by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e+e- collider at the ϒ(4S), ϒ(3S), and ϒ(2S) resonances and in a continuum region below each resonance. We measure the time-integrated luminosity by counting e+e-→e+e- and (for the ϒ(4S) only) e+e-→μ+μ- candidate events, allowing additional photons in the final state. We use data-corrected simulation to determine the cross-sections and reconstruction efficiencies for these processes, as well as the major backgrounds. Due to the large cross-sections of e+e-→e+e- and e+e-→μ+μ-, the statistical uncertainties of the measurement are substantially smaller than the systematic uncertainties. The dominant systematic uncertainties are due to observed differences between data and simulation, as well as uncertainties on the cross-sections. For data collected on the ϒ(3S) and ϒ(2S) resonances, an additional uncertainty arises due to ϒ→e+e-X background. For data collected off the ϒ resonances, we estimate an additional uncertainty due to time dependent efficiency variations, which can affect the short off-resonance runs. The relative uncertainties on the luminosities of the on-resonance (off-resonance) samples are 0.43% (0.43%) for the ϒ(4S), 0.58% (0.72%) for the ϒ(3S), and 0.68% (0.88%) for the ϒ(2S).This work is supported by the US Department of Energy and National Science Foundation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada), the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique and Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physiquedes Particules (France), the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany), the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (Italy), the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (The Netherlands), the Research Council of Norway, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain), and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (United Kingdom). Individuals have received support from the Marie-Curie IEF program (European Union) and the A.P. Sloan Foundation (USA)

Modified GBIG Scenario as an Alternative for Dark Energy

We construct a DGP-inspired braneworld model where induced gravity on the brane is modified in the spirit of $f(R)$ gravity and stringy effects are taken into account by incorporation of the Gauss-Bonnet term in the bulk action. We explore cosmological dynamics of this model and we show that this scenario is a successful alternative for dark energy proposal. Interestingly, it realizes the phantom-like behavior without introduction of any phantom field on the brane and the effective equation of state parameter crosses the cosmological constant line naturally in the same way as observational data suggest.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in JCA

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results

Jet size dependence of single jet suppression in lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s(NN)) = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Measurements of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions at the LHC provide direct sensitivity to the physics of jet quenching. In a sample of lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s) = 2.76 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 7 inverse microbarns, ATLAS has measured jets with a calorimeter over the pseudorapidity interval |eta| < 2.1 and over the transverse momentum range 38 < pT < 210 GeV. Jets were reconstructed using the anti-kt algorithm with values for the distance parameter that determines the nominal jet radius of R = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The centrality dependence of the jet yield is characterized by the jet "central-to-peripheral ratio," Rcp. Jet production is found to be suppressed by approximately a factor of two in the 10% most central collisions relative to peripheral collisions. Rcp varies smoothly with centrality as characterized by the number of participating nucleons. The observed suppression is only weakly dependent on jet radius and transverse momentum. These results provide the first direct measurement of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions and complement previous measurements of dijet transverse energy imbalance at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 8 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Physics Letters B. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/HION-2011-02