Theoretical studies of the potential surface for the F - H2 greater than HF + H reaction

The F + H2 yields HF + H potential energy hypersurface was studied in the saddle point and entrance channel regions. Using a large (5s 5p 3d 2f 1g/4s 3p 2d) atomic natural orbital basis set, a classical barrier height of 1.86 kcal/mole was obtained at the CASSCF/multireference CI level (MRCI) after correcting for basis set superposition error and including a Davidson correction (+Q) for higher excitations. Based upon an analysis of the computed results, the true classical barrier is estimated to be about 1.4 kcal/mole. The location of the bottleneck on the lowest vibrationally adiabatic potential curve was also computed and the translational energy threshold determined from a one-dimensional tunneling calculation. Using the difference between the calculated and experimental threshold to adjust the classical barrier height on the computed surface yields a classical barrier in the range of 1.0 to 1.5 kcal/mole. Combining the results of the direct estimates of the classical barrier height with the empirical values obtained from the approximation calculations of the dynamical threshold, it is predicted that the true classical barrier height is 1.4 + or - 0.4 kcal/mole. Arguments are presented in favor of including the relatively large +Q correction obtained when nine electrons are correlated at the CASSCF/MRCI level

Amphotericin B-loaded nanoparticles for local treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an infectious, parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Leishmania. Amphotericin B (AMB) is a macrolide polyene antibiotic presenting potent antifungal and antileishmanial activity, but due to poor water solubility at physiological pH, side effects, and toxicity, its therapeutic efficiency is limited. In the present study, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with AMB were generated to reduce drug toxicity and facilitate localized delivery over a prolonged time. AMB NPs were characterized for particle size, zeta potential, polydispersity index, and degree of aggregation. In vitro assessments demonstrated its sustained activity against Leishmania major promastigotes and parasite-infected macrophages. A single intralesional administration to infected BALB/c mice revealed that AMB NPs were more effective than AMB deoxycholate in terms of reducing lesion area. Taken together, these findings suggest thatAMB NPs improve AMB delivery and can be used for local treatment of CL.This research was funded by the GIP program of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) German Research Foundation. EZ wish to acknowledge the financial support of the RBNI-The Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute at the Technion. CLJ holds the Michael and Penny Feiwel Chair of Dermatology

Guidelines for OLAC Video Game Genre Terms (olacvggt)

A thesaurus of video game genre terms with a corresponding MARC authority record

Antiprotozoal activity of dehydroabietic acid derivatives against Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma cruzi - SPECIAL ISSUE "NEW TALENT: EUROPE"

Derivatives of dehydroabietic acid bearing different amino acids scaffolds have potent antiprotozoal activity against Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma cruzi, with good to high selectivity, and can therefore be regarded as good models for further development into new drugs to fight leishmaniasis and Chagas disease. Several of the tested compounds were able to kill parasites residing inside cells, with IC50 values ranging from 2.3 to 9 mu M (L. donovani) and 1.4 to 5.8 mu M (T. cruzi), reflecting their ability to fight these infections at the relevant stage responsible for disease. One of the compounds, bearing a 3-pyridyl-Dalanine side chain, was 1.5-fold more potent against T. cruzi amastigotes residing in L6 cells than the reference compound benznidazole.Peer reviewe

Heterocycle-fused Lupane Triterpenoids Inhibit Leishmania donovani Amastigotes

Peer reviewe

A Candidate Young Massive Planet in Orbit around the Classical T Tauri Star CI Tau

The ~2 Myr old classical T Tauri star CI Tau shows periodic variability in its radial velocity (RV) variations measured at infrared (IR) and optical wavelengths. We find that these observations are consistent with a massive planet in a ~9-day period orbit. These results are based on 71 IR RV measurements of this system obtained over 5 years, and on 26 optical RV measurements obtained over 9 years. CI Tau was also observed photometrically in the optical on 34 nights over ~one month in 2012. The optical RV data alone are inadequate to identify an orbital period, likely the result of star spot and activity induced noise for this relatively small dataset. The infrared RV measurements reveal significant periodicity at ~9 days. In addition, the full set of optical and IR RV measurements taken together phase coherently and with equal amplitudes to the ~9 day period. Periodic radial velocity signals can in principle be produced by cool spots, hot spots, and reflection of the stellar spectrum off the inner disk, in addition to resulting from a planetary companion. We have considered each of these and find the planet hypothesis most consistent with the data. The radial velocity amplitude yields an Msin(i) of ~8.1 M_Jup; in conjunction with a 1.3 mm continuum emission measurement of the circumstellar disk inclination from the literature, we find a planet mass of ~11.3 M_Jup, assuming alignment of the planetary orbit with the disk.Comment: 61 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Synthesis of carboxyimidamide-substituted benzo[c][1,2,5]oxadiazoles and their analogs, and evaluation of biological activity against Leishmania donovani

A facile synthesis route to carboxyimidamide-substituted benzoxadiazoles and related derivatives was developed. A total of 25 derivatives were synthesized. They were evaluated for antileishmanial activity by inhibition of Leishmania donovani axenic amastigote growth using a fluorescent viability microplate assay. The most promising derivative (14) demonstrated an antileishmanial EC50 of 4.0 mu M, and it also showed activity in infected macrophages (EC50 5.92 mu M) without signs of cytotoxicity.Peer reviewe

Starspot-induced optical and infrared radial velocity variability in T Tauri star Hubble 4

We report optical (6150 Ang) and K-band (2.3 micron) radial velocities obtained over two years for the pre-main sequence weak-lined T Tauri star Hubble I 4. We detect periodic and near-sinusoidal radial velocity variations at both wavelengths, with a semi-amplitude of 1395\pm94 m/s in the optical and 365\pm80 m/s in the infrared. The lower velocity amplitude at the longer wavelength, combined with bisector analysis and spot modeling, indicates that there are large, cool spots on the stellar surface that are causing the radial velocity modulation. The radial velocities maintain phase coherence over hundreds of days suggesting that the starspots are long-lived. This is one of the first active stars where the spot-induced velocity modulation has been resolved in the infrared.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa