Multivalent glycan arrays

Glycan microarrays have become a powerful technology to study biological processes, such as cell–cell interaction, inflammation, and infections. Yet, several challenges, especially in multivalent display, remain. In this introductory lecture we discuss the state-of-the-art glycan microarray technology, with emphasis on novel approaches to access collections of pure glycans and their immobilization on surfaces. Future directions to mimic the natural glycan presentation on an array format, as well as in situ generation of combinatorial glycan collections, are discussed

Algebraic-matrix calculation of vibrational levels of triatomic molecules

We introduce an accurate and efficient algebraic technique for the computation of the vibrational spectra of triatomic molecules, of both linear and bent equilibrium geometry. The full three-dimensional potential energy surface (PES), which can be based on entirely {\it ab initio} data, is parameterized as a product Morse-cosine expansion, expressed in bond-angle internal coordinates, and includes explicit interactions among the local modes. We describe the stretching degrees of freedom in the framework of a Morse-type expansion on a suitable algebraic basis, which provides exact analytical expressions for the elements of a sparse Hamiltonian matrix. Likewise, we use a cosine power expansion on a spherical harmonics basis for the bending degree of freedom. The resulting matrix representation in the product space is very sparse and vibrational levels and eigenfunctions can be obtained by efficient diagonalization techniques. We apply this method to carbonyl sulfide OCS, hydrogen cyanide HCN, water H$_2$O, and nitrogen dioxide NO$_2$. When we base our calculations on high-quality PESs tuned to the experimental data, the computed spectra are in very good agreement with the observed band origins.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, containg additional supporting information in epaps.ps (results in tables, which are useful but not too important for the paper

Quantum limit in resonant vacuum tunneling transducers

We propose an electromechanical transducer based on a resonant-tunneling configuration that, with respect to the standard tunneling transducers, allows larger tunneling currents while using the same bias voltage. The increased current leads to an increase of the shot noise and an increase of the momentum noise which determine the quantum limit in the system under monitoring. Experiments with micromachined masses at 4.2 K could show dominance of the momentum noise over the Brownian noise, allowing observation of the quantum-mechanical noise at the mesoscopic scale

Detailed site distribution of melanoma and sunlight exposure: aetiological patterns from a Swiss series

Background: The relation between detailed cutaneous distribution of melanoma and indicators of sun exposure patterns has scantily been explored in moderately sun-sensitive populations. Patients and methods: The precise site of 1658 primary malignant melanoma, registered from 1995 to 2002, in Switzerland were retrieved and clinically validated. Relative melanoma density (RMD) was computed by the ratio of observed to expected number of melanoma allowing for body site surface areas, and further adjusted for site-specific melanocyte density. Results: Sites of highest risks were the face, shoulder and upper arm for both sexes, the back for men, and leg for women. Major features of this series were: (i) an unexpectedly high RMD for the face in women (5.6 versus 3.7 in men), (ii) the absence of a male predominance for melanoma on the ears and (iii) for the upper limbs, a steady gradient of increasing melanoma density with increasing proximity to the trunk, regardless of sex. Age and sex patterns of RMD parallelled general indicators of sun exposure and behaviour, except for the hand (RMD = 0.2). Conclusion: RMD increased with (cumulative) site sun exposure, but a few notable exceptions support the impact of intermittent exposure in melanoma ris

C-N coupling between µ-aminocarbyne and nitrile ligands promoted by tolylacetylide addition to [Fe2CN(Me)(Xyl)}(CO)(CO)(NCCMe3)(Cp)2][SO3CF3]: formation of a novel bridging allene-diaminocarbene ligand

The reaction of the mu-aminocarbyne complex [Fe-2{mu-CN(Me)(Xyl)}(mu-CO)(CO)(NCCMe3)(CP)(2)][SO3CF3] (2) (Xyl = 2,6-Me2C6H3) with tolylacetylide, followed by treatment with HSO3CF3 affords the complex [Fe-2{mu-eta(1):eta(3)C(Tol)double bondCdouble bondC(CMe3)N(H)CN(Me)(Xyl)}(mu-CO)(CO)(Cp-2)][SO3CF3] (3) (Tol = 4-MeC6H4). The X-ray molecular structure of 3 reveals the peculiar character of the bridging ligand, which exhibits both eta(1):eta(2) allene and aminocarbene nature. The formation of 3 proceeds through several intermediate species, which have been detected by IR spectroscopy. Addition of HSO3CF3 at an early stage of the reaction between 2 and LiCdropCTol leads to the formation of the imine complex [Fe-2{mu-CN(Me)Xyl}(mu-CO)(CO){NHC(CdropCTol)CMe3}(Cp)(2)][SO3CF3] (6) indicating that the first step of the reaction consists in the acetylide addition at the coordinated NCCMe3. The molecular structure of 6 has been elucidated by an X-ray diffraction study

Towards cyber-physical systems as services: the ASIP protocol

The development of Cyber-Physical Systems needs to address the heterogeneity of several components that interact to build a single application. In this paper we present a model to enable easy integration and interaction of micro-controllers. Specifically, we describe the Arduino Service Interface Protocol (ASIP), we provide an implementation and client libraries for Java, Racket and Erlang, together with the description of a practical example

A data-driven method for the temporal estimation of soil water potential and its application for shallow landslides prediction

Soil water potential is a key factor to study water dynamics in soil and for estimating the occurrence of natural hazards, as landslides. This parameter can be measured in field or estimated through physically-based models, limited by the availability of effective input soil properties and pre-liminary calibrations. Data-driven models, based on machine learning techniques, could overcome these gaps. The aim of this paper is then to develop an innovative machine learning methodology to assess soil water potential trends and to implement them in models to predict shallow landslides. Monitoring data since 2012 from test-sites slopes in Oltrepò Pavese (northern Italy) were used to build the models. Within the tested techniques, Random Forest models allowed an outstanding recon-struction of measured soil water potential temporal trends. Each model is sensitive to meteorological and hydrological characteristics according to soil depths and features. Reliability of the proposed models was confirmed by correct estimation of days when shallow landslides were triggered in the study areas in December 2020, after implementing the modeled trends on a slope stability model, and by the correct choice of physically-based rainfall thresholds. These results confirm the potential application of the developed methodology to estimate hydrological scenarios that could be used for decision-making purposes

Olive oil by-product as functional ingredient in bakery products. Influence of processing and evaluation of biological effects

Nowadays, the strong demand for adequate nutrition is accompanied by concern about environmental pollution and there is a considerable emphasis on the recovery and recycling of food by-products and wastes. In this study, we focused on the exploitation of olive pomace as functional ingredient in biscuits and bread. Standard and enriched bakery products were made using different flours and fermentation protocols. After characterization, they were in vitro digested and used for supplementation of intestinal cells (Caco-2), which underwent exogenous inflammation. The enrichment caused a significant increase in the phenolic content in all products, particularly in the sourdough fermented ones. Sourdough fermentation also increased tocol concentration. The increased concentration of bioactive molecules did not reflect the anti-inflammatory effect, which was modulated by the baking procedure. Conventionally fermented bread enriched with 4% pomace and sourdough fermented, not-enriched bread had the greatest anti-inflammatory effect, significantly reducing IL-8 secretion in Caco-2 cells. The cell metabolome was modified only after supplementation with sourdough fermented bread enriched with 4% pomace, probably due to the high concentration of tocopherol that acted synergistically with polyphenols. Our data highlight that changes in chemical composition cannot predict changes in functionality. It is conceivable that matrices (including enrichment) and processing differently modulated bioactive bioaccessibility, and consequently functionality