A generalized Macdonald operator

We present an explicit difference operator diagonalized by the Macdonald polynomials associated with an (arbitrary) admissible pair of irreducible reduced crystallographic root systems. By the duality symmetry, this gives rise to an explicit Pieri formula for the Macdonald polynomials in question. The simplest examples of our construction recover Macdonald's celebrated difference operators and associated Pieri formulas pertaining to the minuscule and quasi-minuscule weights. As further by-products, explicit expansions and Littlewood-Richardson type formulas are obtained for the Macdonald polynomials associated with a special class of small weights.Comment: 11 pages. To appear in Int. Math. Res. Not. IMR

Use of tridentate TsDPEN/pyridine ligands in ruthenium-catalysed asymmetric reduction of ketones

A series of enantiomerically pure tridentate ligands based on the 1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diamine structure, containing additional pyridine groups, was prepared and tested in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones using Ru3(CO)12 as a metal source. Alcohols were formed in up to 93% ee in the best cases, and good results were obtained with ortho-haloarylketones

Ru–Ag and Ru–Au dicarbene complexes from an abnormal carbene ruthenium system

The first complexes containing an anionic dicarbene connected to two different d-block elements are reported. The synthetic pathway entails metalation and transmetalation reactions, starting from a cationic abnormal Ru-NHC complex

THE EFFECTS OF ION IRRADIATION ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE CARRIER OF THE 3.4 MICRON INTERSTELLAR ABSORPTION BAND

Carbon grains in the interstellar medium evolve through exposure to UV photons, heat, gas, and cosmic rays. Understanding their formation, evolution, and destruction is an essential component of evaluating the composition of the dust available for newly forming planetary systems. The 3.4 lm absorption band, attributed to the aliphatic C"H stretch vibration, is a useful probe of the degree to which energetic processing affects hydrogenated carbon grains. Here we report on the effects of ion bombardment of two different kinds of nano-size hydrogenated carbon grains with different hydrogen content. Grain samples, both with and without a mantle of H2O ice, were irradiated with 30 keV He + to simulate cosmic-ray processing in both diffuse and dense interstellar medium conditions. The ion fluences ranged between 1:5 � 10 13 and 7:9 � 10 15 ions cm � 2 . Infrared and Raman spectroscopy were used to study the effects of ion irradiation on grains. In both the dense and diffuse interstellar medium simulations, ion bombardment led to a reduction of the 3.4 lm band intensity. To discuss the effects of cosmic-ray irradiation of interstellar hydrogenated carbon materials we adopt the approximation of 1 MeV monoenergetic protons. An estimate of the C"H bond destruction cross section by 1 MeV protons was made based on experiments using 30 keV He + ions and model calculations. In combination with results from our previous studies, which focused on UV irradiation and thermal H atom bombardment, the present results indicate that the C"H bond destruction by fastcolliding charged particles is negligible with respect to that of UV photons in the diffuse ISM. However, in dense cloud regions, cosmic-ray bombardment is the most significant C"H bond destruction mechanism when the optical depth corresponds to values of the visual extinction larger than � 5 mag. The results presented here strengthen the new interpretation of the evolution of the interstellar aliphatic component (i.e., the C"H bonds in the CH2 and CH3 groups) as evidenced by the presence of the 3.4 lm absorption band in the diffuse medium and the absence of such a signature in the dense cloud environment. The evolutionary transformation of carbon grains, induced by H atoms, UV photons, and cosmic rays, indicates that C"H bonds are readily formed, in situ, in the diffuse interstellar medium and are destroyed in the dense cloud environment

Cosmological inference including massive neutrinos from the matter power spectrum: biases induced by uncertainties in the covariance matrix

Data analysis from upcoming large galaxy redshift surveys, such as Euclid and DESI will significantly improve constraints on cosmological parameters. To optimally extract the information from these galaxy surveys, it is important to control with a high level of confidence the uncertainty and bias arising from the estimation of the covariance that affects the inference of cosmological parameters. In this work, we are addressing two different but closely related issues: (i) the sampling noise present in a covariance matrix estimated from a finite set of simulations and (ii) the impact on cosmological constraints of the non-Gaussian contribution to the covariance matrix of the power spectrum. We focus on the parameter estimation obtained from fitting the matter power spectrum in real space, using the DEMNUni N-body simulations. Regarding the first issue, we adopt two different approaches to reduce the sampling noise in the precision matrix that propagates in the parameter space: on the one hand using an alternative estimator of the covariance matrix based on a non-linear shrinkage, NERCOME; and on the other hand employing a method of fast generation of approximate mock catalogs, COVMOS. We find that NERCOME can significantly reduce the noise induced on the posterior distribution of parameters, but at the cost of a systematic overestimation of the error bars on the cosmological parameters. We show that using a COVMOS covariance matrix estimated from a large number of realisations (10~000) results in unbiased cosmological constraints. Regarding the second issue, we quantify the impact on cosmological constraints of the non-Gaussian part of the power spectrum covariance purely coming from non-linear clustering. We find that when this term is neglected, both the errors and central values of the estimated parameters are affected for a scale cut \kmax > 0.2\ \invMpc.Comment: 21 pages, 2 appendices, 20 figures. Submitted to A&

Novel measurements of refractive index, density and mid-infrared integrated band strengths for solid O2, N2O and NO2: N2O4 mixtures

We present novel measurements of the refractive index, density and integrated band strengths of mid-infrared features of solid N2O at 16 K and of NO2 and N2O4 in two frozen NO2: N2O4 mixtures deposited at 16 and 60 K. The refractive index and density measurements were performed also for frozen O2 deposited at 16 K. In this case, the integrated band strength values could not be determined since O2 is a homonuclear molecule and therefore its fundamental mode is not infrared active. The solid samples were analysed by infrared spectroscopy in the 8000÷800 cm-1 range. The sample thickness was measured by the interference curve obtained using a He-Ne laser operating at 543 nm. The refractive index at this laser wavelength was obtained, by numerical methods, from the measured amplitude of the interference curve. The density values were obtained using the Lorentz-Lorenz relation. Integrated band strength values were then obtained by a linear fit of the integrated band intensities plotted versus column density values. The astrophysical relevance of these novel measurements is briefly discusse

Acetate Acetylacetonate Ampy Ruthenium(II) Complexes as Efficient Catalysts for Ketone Transfer Hydrogenation

The mixed acetate acetylacetonate (acac) ruthenium(II) phosphine complexes Ru(OAc)(acac)P2 [P2=(PPh3)2, Ph2P(CH2)4PPh2 (dppb)] were prepared by protonation of Ru(OAc)2(PPh3)2 with acetylacetone in dichloromethane. Reaction of the dppb derivative with 2-(aminomethyl)pyridine (ampy) affords the complex Ru(OAc)(acac)(ampy)(dppb), which converts to [Ru(acac)(ampy)(dppb)](OAc) in toluene at 90 \ub0C. In the former derivative the ampy ligand is monodentate and coordinates through the NH2-moiety. The isolated acac complexes are active catalysts for the transfer hydrogenation of ketones with loadings as low as 0.01 mol%, the ampy having a strong accelerating effect. Several aromatic and aliphatic ketone substrates are converted to their corresponding alcohols, and different electronic influences through substituents on acetophenone are tolerated

Characterization of Kupffer cells in livers of developing mice

Abstract Background Kupffer cells are well known macrophages of the liver, however, the developmental characteristics of Kupffer cells in mice are not well understood. To clarify this matter, the characteristics of Kupffer macrophages in normal developing mouse liver were studied using light microscopy and immunocytochemistry. Methods Sections of liver tissue from early postnatal mice were prepared using immunocytochemical techniques. The Kupffer cells were identified by their immunoreactivity to the F4/80 antibody, whereas endothelial cells were labelled with the CD-34 antibody. In addition, Kupffer cells and endothelial cells were labelled by systemically injected fluorescently labelled latex microspheres. Tissue slices were examined by fluorescence microscopy. Results Intravenous or intraperitonal injections of microspheres yielded similar patterns of liver cell labelling. The F4/80 positive Kupffer cells were labelled with both large (0.2 μm) and small (0.02 μm) diameter microspheres, while endothelial cells were labelled only with the smaller diameter microspheres. Microsphere labelling of Kupffer cells appeared stable for at least 6 weeks. Cells immunoreactive for F4/80 were identified as early as postnatal day 0, and these cells also displayed uptake of microspheres. Numbers of F4/80 Kupffer cells, relative to numbers of albumin positive hepatocytes, did not show a significant trend over the first 2 postnatal weeks. Conclusions Kupffer cells of the developing mouse liver appear quite similar to those of other mammalian species, confirming that the mouse presents a useful animal model for studies of liver macrophage developmental structure and function