The tensor reduction and master integrals of the two-loop massless crossed box with light-like legs

The class of the two-loop massless crossed boxes, with light-like external legs, is the final unresolved issue in the program of computing the scattering amplitudes of 2 --> 2 massless particles at next-to-next-to-leading order. In this paper, we describe an algorithm for the tensor reduction of such diagrams. After connecting tensor integrals to scalar ones with arbitrary powers of propagators in higher dimensions, we derive recurrence relations from integration-by-parts and Lorentz-invariance identities, that allow us to write the scalar integrals as a combination of two master crossed boxes plus simpler-topology diagrams. We derive the system of differential equations that the two master integrals satisfy using two different methods, and we use one of these equations to express the second master integral as a function of the first one, already known in the literature. We then give the analytic expansion of the second master integral as a function of epsilon=(4-D)/2, where D is the space-time dimension, up to order O(epsilon^0).Comment: 30 pages, 5 figure

Competitive Advantage from the World Wide Web

Research has suggested that organizations implement World Wide Web sites in order to gain competitive advantage. This research-in-progress uses CAPITA, an instrument for measuring competitive advantage, to determine how organizations seek to use the Web for competitive advantage and how well they succeed

Covalently immobilized porphyrins as photooxidation catalysts

Porphyrins covalently linked to aminomethylated Merrifield polymers, by chlorosulfonation activation of the porphyrin nucleus, are able to generate singlet oxygen with an efficiency which is related to the spacer between porphyrin and the polymer backbone. Juglone and ascaridole are efficiently produced in the presence of these supported catalysts.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6THR-4NTRT0M-7/1/c9bc37705a3639162941e23c9c85343

Silica grafted polyethylenimine as heterogeneous catalyst for condensation reactions

Primary amine groups were attached to a silica surface by using α,ω-diamines derivatives and (3-glycidyloxypropyl)-trimethoxysilane activation. The same activation was used to graft polyethylenimine, which also contains secondary and tertiary amine groups. These silica aminated structures were tested as heterogeneous catalysts in nitroaldol condensation with nitromethane, the derivative with the polyethylenimine moiety being the more active catalyst. This catalyst also showed efficiency in the Knoevenagel condensation of benzaldehydes with ethyl cyanoacetate under very mild reaction conditions and showed much the same efficiency when used in consecutive reaction runs. A reaction mechanism with participation of the several amine groups of the catalysts is discussed

In Vitro and In Vivo Studies of Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP) Metabolism in Humans

Purpose Triacetone triperoxide (TATP) is a volatile but powerful explosive that appeals to terrorists due to its ease of synthesis from household items. For this reason, bomb squad, canine (K9) units, and scientists must work with this material to mitigate this threat. However, no information on the metabolism of TATP is available. Methods In vitro experiments using human liver microsomes and recombinant enzymes were performed on TATP and TATP-OH for metabolite identification and enzyme phenotyping. Enzyme kinetics for TATP hydroxylation were also investigated. Urine from laboratory personnel collected before and after working with TATP was analyzed for TATP and its metabolites. Results While experiments with flavin monooxygenases were inconclusive, those with recombinant cytochrome P450s (CYPs) strongly suggested that CYP2B6 was the principle enzyme responsible for TATP hydroxylation. TATP-O-glucuronide was also identified and incubations with recombinant uridine diphosphoglucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) indicated that UGT2B7 catalyzes this reaction. Michaelis–Menten kinetics were determined for TATP hydroxylation, with Km = 1.4 µM and Vmax = 8.7 nmol/min/nmol CYP2B6. TATP-O-glucuronide was present in the urine of all three volunteers after being exposed to TATP vapors showing good in vivo correlation to in vitro data. TATP and TATP-OH were not observed. Conclusions Since scientists working to characterize and detect TATP to prevent terrorist attacks are constantly exposed to this volatile compound, attention should be paid to its metabolism. This paper is the first to elucidate some exposure, metabolism and excretion of TATP in humans and to identify a marker of TATP exposure, TATP-O-glucuronide in urine

Nomenclature of grapevine leafroll-associated putative closteroviruses

Comparative immunoenzymatic (ELISA), immunoelectron microscopic (IEM) and immunoblotting tests were carried out with antisera produced in different laboratories and commercial diagnostic kits on closterolike viruses reported in the literature under the name of grapevine corky bark-associated virus (GCBaV) and grapevine leafroll-associated viruses IIa and IIb (GLRaV IIa and GLRaV IIb). The results of these studies have established that GCBaV is the same as GLRaV IIb and that both viruses are apparently identical to an isolate of GLRaV-2 identified in France, whose designation as the authentic GLRaV 2 is proposed. GLRaV IIa is serologically distinct from all known clostero-like viruses of the grapevine and, therefore, the provisional name of grapevine leafroll-associated Virus 6 (GLRaV-6) is suggested for it

Perturbative QCD at High Energy Colliders

Selected applications of perturbative Quantumchromodynamics (QCD) to predictions of the Standard Model for processes at high energy colliders are reviewed with emphasis on past successes and future problems. This is a personal retrospective is not intended to be a comprehensive review of the field.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, contribution to the Symposium: 50+ Years of High Energy Physics at UB, University at Buffalo, October 20-21, 2006. Added references in section

Imaging extrasolar planets by stellar halo suppression in separately-corrected color bands

Extra-solar planets have not been imaged directly with existing ground or space telescopes because they are too faint to be seen against the halo of the nearby bright star. Most techniques being explored to suppress the halo are achromatic, with separate correction of diffraction and wavefront errors. Residual speckle structure may be subtracted by differencing images taken through narrowband filters, but photon noise remains and ultimately limits sensitivity. Here we describe two ways to take advantage of narrow bands to reduce speckle photon flux and to obtain better control of systematic errors. Multiple images are formed in separate color bands of 5-10% bandwidth, and recorded by coronagraphic interferometers equipped with active control of wavefront phase and/or amplitude. In one method, a single deformable pupil mirror is used to actively correct both diffraction and wavefront components of the halo. This yields good diffraction suppression for complex pupil obscuration, with high throughput over half the focal plane. In a second method, the coronagraphic interferometer is used as a second stage after conventional apodization. The halo from uncontrollable residual errors in the pupil mask or wavefront is removed by destructive interference made directly at the detector focal plane with an "anti-halo", synthesized by spatial light modulators in the reference arm of the interferometer. In this way very deep suppression may be achieved by control elements with greatly relaxed, and thus achievable, tolerances. In both examples, systematic errors are minimized because the planet imaging cameras themselves also provide the error sensing data.Comment: Accepted by ApJ

Influence of feeding regimens on rat gut fluids and colonic metabolism of diclofenac-β-cyclodextrin

Feeding states may affect the performance of colonic prodrugs. The aim is to investigate the influence of feeding regimen in Wistar rats on: (i) distribution and pH contents along the gut and (ii) metabolism of two colonic prodrugs, diclofenac-β-cyclodextrin and a commercially available control, sulfasalazine, within the caecal and colonic contents. Male Wistar rats were subject to four different feeding regimens, the gut contents characterized (mass and pH) and the metabolism of prodrugs investigated. The feeding regimen affects gut contents (mass and pH), more specifically in the stomach and lower intestine, and affects the rate of metabolism of diclofenac-β-cyclodextrin, but not that of sulfasalazine. The latter's degradation is much faster than that of diclofenac-β-cyclodextrin while the metabolism of both prodrugs is faster in colonic (versus caecal) contents. Fasting results in most rapid degradation of diclofenac-β-cyclodextrin, possibly due to lack of competition (absence of food) for microbial enzymatic activity