Raman scattering in C_{60} and C_{48}N_{12} aza-fullerene: First-principles study

We carry out large scale {\sl ab initio} calculations of Raman scattering activities and Raman-active frequencies (RAFs) in ${\rm C}_{48}{\rm N}_{12}$ aza-fullerene. The results are compared with those of ${\rm C}_{60}$. Twenty-nine non-degenerate polarized and 29 doubly-degenerate unpolarized RAFs are predicted for ${\rm C}_{48}{\rm N}_{12}$. The RAF of the strongest Raman signal in the low- and high-frequency regions and the lowest and highest RAFs for ${\rm C}_{48}{\rm N}_{12}$ are almost the same as those of ${\rm C}_{60}$. The study of ${\rm C}_{60}$ reveals the importance of electron correlations and the choice of basis sets in the {\sl ab initio} calculations. Our best calculated results for ${\rm C}_{60}$ with the B3LYP hybrid density functional theory are in excellent agreement with experiment and demonstrate the desirable efficiency and accuracy of this theory for obtaining quantitative information on the vibrational properties of these molecules.Comment: submitted to Phys.Rev.

Lipophilic aroylhydrazone chelator HNTMB and its multiple effects on ovarian cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Metal chelators have gained much attention as potential anti-cancer agents. However, the effects of chelators are often linked solely to their capacity to bind iron while the potential complexation of other trace metals has not been fully investigated. In present study, we evaluated the effects of various lipophilic aroylhydrazone chelators (AHC), including novel compound HNTMB, on various ovarian cancer cell lines (SKOV-3, OVCAR-3, NUTU-19).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cell viability was analyzed via MTS cytotoxicity assays and NCI60 cancer cell growth screens. Apoptotic events were monitored via Western Blot analysis, fluorescence microscopy and TUNEL assay. FACS analysis was carried out to study Cell Cycle regulation and detection of intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)</p> <p>Results</p> <p>HNTMB displayed high cytotoxicity (IC50 200-400 nM) compared to previously developed AHC (oVtBBH, HNtBBH, StBBH/206, HNTh2H/315, HNI/311; IC50 0.8-6 μM) or cancer drug Deferoxamine, a hexadentate iron-chelator (IC50 12-25 μM). In a NCI60 cancer cell line screen HNTMB exhibited growth inhibitory effects with remarkable differences in specificity depending on the cell line studied (GI50 10 nM-2.4 μM). In SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells HNTMB treatment led to chromatin fragmentation and activation of the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of apoptosis with specific down-regulation of Bcl-2. HNTMB caused delayed cell cycle progression of SKOV-3 through G2/M phase arrest. HNTMB can chelate iron and copper of different oxidation states. Complexation with copper lead to high cytotoxicity via generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) while treatment with iron complexes of the drug caused neither cytotoxicity nor increased ROS levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present report suggests that both, non-complexed HNTMB as a chelator of intracellular trace-metals as well as a cytotoxic HNTMB/copper complex may be developed as potential therapeutic drugs in the treatment of ovarian and other solid tumors.</p

Family reunification: the case of the Muslim migrant children in Europe

Adopting a child is not a legal concept recognized in Islamic law, who however giving a great importance to orphans and children's rights, has introduced the legal institute of the "Kafala". This institute can be defined as a commitment by the "kafil" to ensure maintenance, education and protection of a minor "makfoul" until his legal majority, in the same way as would a father to his son, but without creating any family relationship. For these reasons the “Kafala” can not be compared to an international adoption, which, contrariwise, entails the creation of a parent-child relationship. If, in one side the Kafala is a legal concept recognized by International Law, in particular by the United Nations Convention of 20 November 1989 on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes the Muslim institute of the Kafala in the article 20 as a means of protection of the children. On the other hand, the Kafala is excluded by the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption. The aim of this paper is to understand how, in a society increasingly multicultural, the Kafala could be reconciled in Europe, in particular analyzing the EU 2003/86/EC of 22 September 2003 on the right to family reunification, that ignored this Muslim institute. In the second part, the paper will analyze the most important judgments in the Italian, French and English legal systems in order to highlight how in these three European countries the solutions adopted in relation to the Kafala have been completely different

International Law, War and Human Rights: The Humanitarian Response

One of the most important issues in the international political and legal system comprises the interaction between human rights and humanitarian law. In particular, the separate treatment of such areas of law allows to delineate different contents and application procedures, while the joint consideration is not simple, in view of the reasons for which each of the two has been created. Humanitarian law is a set of rules of conduct limited to a political and legal situation pathological, and presumably temporary. Against this regulatory system, the international law of human rights is the establishment of a political and legal concept of man as endowed with certain inalienable rights that constitutes an obstacle to the arbitrary use of force by states in the international community. The aim of the paper is to identify the conflicts arising from the interaction between these regulatory systems, starting from the “exemption clauses”, the circumstances in which occurs the suspension of fundamental rights of the individual in the face of an imminent public emergency. These circumstances are the basis of humanitarian law which serves as a guarantee transient. Feedback regulatory useful is Article 15 of the European Convention of Human Rights, concerning the exemption in case of emergencies. Moreover, it is necessary to analyze the containment of the war between the States, establishing whether humanitarian law is a possible exception to human rights, in view of armed conflict. The four Geneva Conventions provide measures for the suppression of international crimes such as torture and inhuman and degrading treatment or murder, proceeding on the basis of the principle of “universal jurisdiction”. Therefore, a key objective is to determine whether humanitarian law generates a full-fledged “State of exception”, on the basis of global warfare scenario, where there are situations of chronic emergency (Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan)

The (Il)legitimacy of EU state building: local support and contention in Kosovo

This article investigates legitimacy of EU state building and conflict resolution as a continuous and collective process through which local stakeholders, as the direct bearers of EU policies, ascribe meaning and support for the EU actors and actions on the ground. Contrary to the static and narrow understanding of legitimacy in the EU literature, the article offers a dynamic framework of legitimacy based on two main aspects: (i) sources of legitimacy (input and output) and (ii) objects of legitimacy (diffuse and specific support) in order to trace the complicated relationship between the EU and different local groups (the government, parliamentary opposition, local NGOs and public opinion) in Kosovo. The main argument is that the EU fails to generate local consent and faces a worsening erosion of support in Kosovo due to the limited participation of local stakeholders into the EU-promoted political decision-making structures and the contested ability of the EU to foster outcomes that have salience for local actors