Undecabenzo[7]superhelicene: a helical nanographene ribbon as CPL emitter

We report the synthesis and characterization of an enantiopure superhelicene nanographene constituted by two saddleshaped and one planar hexabenzocoronene (HBC) units arranged in a helicoidal shape. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first undecabenzo[7]carbohelicene, i.e., the first fully π-extended [7]helicene. Racemic resolution allowed its chiroptical properties analysis revealing dissymmetry factors in the range of 2×10-3 both in the absorption and in the emission measurements. Remarkably, nonlinear photophysical analysis showed two-photon absorption crosssection of 870 GM at 800 nm and a perfect overlapping between linear, non-linear and chiral emission.-European Research Council (ERC-2015-STG-677023) -Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain): CTQ2015-70283-P -Fundacao para a Ciencia e a tecnologia, Portugal: UID/NAN/50024/2013, IF/00759/2013 -Universidad de Granad

Magnetic and electronic Co states in layered cobaltate GdBaCo2O5.5-x

We have performed non-resonant x-ray diffraction, resonant soft and hard x-ray magnetic diffraction, soft x-ray absorption and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements to clarify the electronic and magnetic states of the Co3+ ions in GdBaCo2O5.5. Our data are consistent with a 3+ Py Co HS state at the pyramidal sites and a 3+ Oc Co LS state at the octahedral sites. The structural distortion, with a doubling of the a axis (2ap x 2ap x 2ap cell), shows alternating elongations and contractions of the pyramids and indicates that the metal-insulator transition is associated with orbital order in the t2g orbitals of the 3+ Py Co HS state. This distortion corresponds to an alternating ordering of xz and yz orbitals along the a and c axes for the 3+ Py Co . The orbital ordering and pyramidal distortion lead to deformation of the octahedra, but the 3+ Oc Co LS state does not allow an orbital order to occur for the 3+ Oc Co ions. The soft x-ray magnetic diffraction results indicate that the magnetic moments are aligned in the ab plane but are not parallel to the crystallographic a or b axes. The orbital order and the doubling of the magnetic unit cell along the c axis support a non-collinear magnetic structure. The x-ray magnetic circular dichroism data indicate that there is a large orbital magnetic contribution to the total ordered Co moment

Seasons and Other Factors Affecting the Quality of Life of Asthmatic Children

[email protected]: To study the effect of seasons on the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of asthmatic children. Methods: Four groups of asthmatic children 7 to 14 years old were recruited by pediatricians during each season of the year. Their HRQL was assessed by means of the Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (PAQLQ). Other factors surveyed were asthma severity, atopy, medical treatment, immunotherapy, obesity, parental smoking, and anti-allergic measures. Results: The mean (SD) overall PAQLQ score was highest in summer at 6.2 (1.0) and lowest in autumn at 5.5 (1.2). The same trend was found for domains in summer and autumn, respectively: symptoms, 6.2 (1.0) vs 5.4 (1.4); emotions, 6.5 (0.8) vs 6.0 (1.0); and activities, 5.9 (1.4) vs 5.0 (1.5). Factors such as male gender (odds ratio [OR], 0.60; 95% confi dence interval [CI], 0.41–0.87), being on immunotherapy (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.38–0.92), living in an urban environment (OR, 0.56; 0.33–0.93), and residing on the northern coast of Spain along the Bay of Biscay (OR, 0.56; 0.36-0.89) were independent protective factors against having a total PAQLQ score in the lower tertile. Conversely, being recruited in a primary care setting (OR, 1.55; 1.01–2.38) and having more severe asthma were risks for being in the lower tertile. Conclusions: Irrespective of the severity of the disease, season has a significant influence on the HRQL of asthmatic [email protected]

Experimental magnetic form factors in Co3V2O8: A combined study of ab initio calculations, magnetic Compton scattering and polarized neutron diffraction

We present a combination of ab initio calculations, magnetic Compton scattering and polarized neutron experiments, which elucidate the density distribution of unpaired electrons in the kagome staircase system Co3V2O8. Ab initio wave functions were used to calculate the spin densities in real and momentum space, which show good agreement with the respective experiments. It has been found that the spin polarized orbitals are equally distributed between the t2g and the eg levels for the spine (s) Co ions, while the eg orbitals of the cross-tie (c) Co ions only represent 30% of the atomic spin density. Furthermore, the results reveal that the magnetic moments of the cross-tie Co ions, which are significantly smaller than those of the spine Co ions in the zero-field ferromagnetic structure, do not saturate by applying an external magnetic field of 2 T along the easy axis a, but that the increasing bulk magnetization originates from induced magnetic moments on the O and V sites. The refined individual magnetic moments are mu(Co_c)=1.54(4) mu_B, mu(Co_s)=2.87(3) mu_B, mu(V)=0.41(4) mu_B, mu(O1)=0.05(5) mu_B, mu(O2)=0.35(5) mu_B, and; mu(O3)=0.36(5) mu_B combining to the same macroscopic magnetization value, which was previously only attributed to the Co ions

1,3-diphenylpropan-1-ones as allosteric modulators of α7 nACh receptors with analgesic and antioxidant properties

Nicotine acethylcholine receptors (nAChRs) play critical roles in cognitive processes, neuroprotection and inflammation. Results: According to their substituents, 1,3-diphenylpropan-1-one derivatives act as α7 nAChRs negative allosteric modulators (NAM, OMe) or Type I positive allosteric modulators (PAMs, OH). Compounds 7 and 31 were the most effective (989 and 666% enhancement of ACh-induced currents) and potent (EC: 12.9 and 6.85 μM) PAMs. They exhibited strong radical scavenging values. Compound 31, selective over other neuronal nAChR subtypes and with acceptable pharmacokinetic profile, showed antinociceptive effects in a model of inflammatory pain. Conclusion: Compound 31 is a novel, potent and selective α7 nAChR PAM, displaying antioxidant and analgesic activities. The 1,3-diphenylpropan-1-one scaffold could be the base toward more advanced type I PAMs for the treatment of nAChR-mediated diseases.This work was supported by the Spanish MINECO: CSD2008-00005, The Spanish Ion Channel Initiative-CONSOLIDER INGENIO 2010, SAF2011-22802 and BFU2012-39092-C02. The Instituto de Neurociencias is a “Centre of Excellence Severo Ochoa”. We thank Susana Cámara Garrido for her assistance in the synthesis of some starting compounds and Susana Gerber for technical assistance. BBP thanks the CSIC for a predoctoral fellowship (JAE-Predoc from Junta para la Ampliación de Estudios, co-financed by FSE). Alpha7 nAChRPeer Reviewe

Imaging of early inflammation in low-to-moderate carotid stenosis by 18-FDG-PET

It is not clear if 18FDG-PET can be useful for detection of inflammation in low to moderate carotid stenosis. We studied 15 patients scheduled for endarterectomy with contralateral carotids with less than 50% stenosis. 18-FDG-PET was performed prior to CEA and 3 months following surgery. FDG-uptake values were calculated based on maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) and corresponding uptake ratios. We confirmed by CD68 macrophage staining that FDG accumulation corresponds to active inflammation (R=0.8 p less than 0.005). We found significant correlation between the FDG-uptake in the carotids scheduled for CEA and contralateral carotids with low to moderate stenosis (R=0.9 p less than 0.001). The FDG uptake ratio in the contralateral arteries remained stable on the follow-up imaging (1.15+/-0.2 vs. 1.14+/-0.1, R=0.7 p=0.006). We did not find correlation between FDG uptake and symptomatic or asymptomatic patients, degree of carotid stenosis and vascular risk factors. This is a prospective, preliminary in vivo study demonstrating that low to moderate carotid atherosclerosis can be detected using 18-FDG-PET imaging and highlights the truly systemic nature of atherosclerosis

Responses to salt stress in Juncus acutus and J. maritimus during seed germination and vegetative plant growth

[EN] Responses to increasing salinity, during seed germination and vegetative plant growth, were studied in two related species of Juncus, J. maritimus and J. acutus. In both species, germination was optimal in the absence of salt, reduced by about 50% in the presence of 200 mM NaCl, and completely inhibited by NaCl concentrations above 300 mM. Previous exposure of the seeds to salt, up to 500 mM NaCl, did not affect the germination capacity in J. acutus, and clearly enhanced it in J. maritimus. A concentration-dependent inhibition of plant growth was observed in the presence of NaCl for both species, together with the parallel accumulation of sodium ions in the leaves, as determined by cation exchange HPLC. Regarding the levels of divalent cations, in J. acutus Ca2+ and Mg2+ increased up to about two-fold in plants treated with 500 mM NaCl, as compared to control plants, whereas in J. maritimus they were three-to four-fold higher than in J. acutus in the absence of salt, and did not change significantly with increasing NaCl concentrations. These results suggest that Ca2+ and Mg2+ participate in defence mechanisms against salt stress, which would be constitutive in J. maritimus and salt-inducible in J. acutus.Boscaiu Neagu, MT.; Ballesteros Amat, G.; Naranjo Olivero, MA.; Vicente Meana, Ó.; Boira Tortajada, H. (2011). Responses to salt stress in Juncus acutus and J. maritimus during seed germination and vegetative plant growth. Plant Biosystems. 145(4):770-777. doi:10.1080/11263504.2011.628446S770777145

Exome sequencing of an isolated Chilean population affected by Specific Language Impairment (SLI)

Speech and language impairments that are a primary deficit and have no obvious cause (e.g. a comorbid neurological disorder like autism) are diagnosed as Specific Language Impairment (SLI). SLI affects 5–8 % of preschool children and represents a lifelong disability associated with an increased risk of behavioural disorders, social problems and literacy deficits. SLI is highly heritable and twin studies indicate a strong genetic basis. Nonetheless, the underlying genetic mechanisms are expected to be multifactorial and, to date, only three risk variants have been identified. One way to increase the power to detect contributory genetic factors is to study isolated populations derived from relatively recent shared ancestors (founder populations). In 2008, Villanueva described a founder population with a particularly high incidence of SLI (10 times that expected). They inhabit the Robinson Crusoe Island, which lies 677 km to the west of Chile and was colonised in the late 19th century by 8 European and Amerindian families. 77 % of the current island population have a colonising surname and 14 % of marriages involve consanguineous unions. More than 80 % of language impaired individuals can be traced to a pair of founder brothers. This population thus has a short (5-generations) and well documented history and represents a unique resource which could make valuable contributions to the elucidation of genetic mechanisms underpinning SLI. We applied exome sequencing technologies to five language impaired individuals from this population and identified nine nonsynonymous coding changes or splice site mutations that were present in at least three of the five affected individuals sequenced. Sequencing of the entire cohort identified a single non-synonymous coding change that was significantly more frequent in cases than controls (genotype frequencies of 46 and 11 % respectively, p = 4.48 9 10-5). We suggest that this rare coding variant may contribute to the elevated frequency of SLI in this population

Synchronization of multi-phase oscillators: An Axelrod-inspired model

Inspired by Axelrod's model of culture dissemination, we introduce and analyze a model for a population of coupled oscillators where different levels of synchronization can be assimilated to different degrees of cultural organization. The state of each oscillator is represented by a set of phases, and the interaction --which occurs between homologous phases-- is weighted by a decreasing function of the distance between individual states. Both ordered arrays and random networks are considered. We find that the transition between synchronization and incoherent behaviour is mediated by a clustering regime with rich organizational structure, where some of the phases of a given oscillator can be synchronized to a certain cluster, while its other phases are synchronized to different clusters.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure