Topographical characteristics through the study of the thermal and hydrological disuniformity of the soil from the mesoscale. An appplication to local forecasting of ambient temperature from the TELLUS project

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Asymmetric conjugate additions of dialkylzinc reagents to enones promoted by new purely atropisomeric phosphoramidite ligands

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A Vibrational Circular Dichroism Approach To The Determination Of The Absolute Configuration Of Flexible And Transparent Molecules: Fluorenone Ketals Of 1,N-Diols

The infrared absorption (IR) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectra for five ketal molecules, three of which obtained from 1,2-diols and two from 1,3-diols, were recorded in the mid-IR region. The spectra have been satisfactorily reproduced by DFT calculations, even with not too large wavefunction basis sets, especially due to the low number of conformers to be considered. The mobility of some moieties provides a recognizable signature. A characteristic couplet of VCD bands attributed to normal modes involving the methine and a phenyl ring bonded to the stereogenic carbon atom is evidenced for two ketals of the series as a signature of the absolute configuration; due comparison with existing literature is made. A relation is discussed of the present VCD data with the literature VCD data of simple alcohols and diols

Treatment of malignant hypercalcaemia with aminohexane bisphosphonate (neridronate).

Twenty patients with hypercalcaemia due to malignancy, which persisted following rehydration, were treated with the bisphosphonate, aminohexane bisphosphonate (AHBP), which is structurally similar to pamidronate. The treatment given was a single infusion of 125 mg of AHBP in 500 ml of normal saline infused over 4 h. Serum and urine biochemistry were measured before and after treatment. Acute toxicity was evaluated with particular attention to gastrointestinal symptoms, acute-phase reaction and change in renal function, as judged by serum creatinine. The infusion of AHBP induced a rapid fall apparent by day 3 (P < 0.001), with a nadir at day 7. The serum calcium remained lower at days 14 and 28 than at day 0, but the numbers followed up were low (n = 5 and n = 4). In all 20 patients there was a fall in serum calcium after treatment, and in 13 (65%) normocalcaemia was achieved. Failure to respond completely to AHBP appeared to be associated with a renal mechanism of hypercalcaemia. Treatment was associated with a significant decrease in fasting urinary calcium excretion (P < 0.05). There was no change in white cell count or renal function following AHBP and only two cases of mild pyrexia after infusion. We conclude that aminohexane bisphosphonate is an effective agent in the treatment of tumour-induced hypercalcaemia, with rapid onset of effect and low toxicity

Stability of Transonic Shock Solutions for One-Dimensional Euler-Poisson Equations

In this paper, both structural and dynamical stabilities of steady transonic shock solutions for one-dimensional Euler-Poission system are investigated. First, a steady transonic shock solution with supersonic backgroumd charge is shown to be structurally stable with respect to small perturbations of the background charge, provided that the electric field is positive at the shock location. Second, any steady transonic shock solution with the supersonic background charge is proved to be dynamically and exponentially stable with respect to small perturbation of the initial data, provided the electric field is not too negative at the shock location. The proof of the first stability result relies on a monotonicity argument for the shock position and the downstream density, and a stability analysis for subsonic and supersonic solutions. The dynamical stability of the steady transonic shock for the Euler-Poisson equations can be transformed to the global well-posedness of a free boundary problem for a quasilinear second order equation with nonlinear boundary conditions. The analysis for the associated linearized problem plays an essential role

Adsorption of Indium on a InAs wetting layer deposited on the GaAs(001) surface

In this work we perform a first-principles study of the adsorption properties of an In adatom deposited on 1.75 monolayers (ML) InAs, forming a wetting layer on GaAs$(001)$ with the $\alpha_2 (2\times4)$ or $\beta_2 (2\times4)$ reconstruction. The structural properties of these reconstructions have been studied: we determine the equilibrium geometry of the surfaces and their stability for various growth conditions. We have then carried out a detailed study of the potential energy surface (PES) for an In adsorbate, finding the minima and the saddle points. The main characteristics of the PES and the bonding configurations of the In adatom on the surface are analyzed by comparing with analogous studies reported in the literature, trying to extract the effects due to: (i) the compressive strain to which the InAs adlayer is subjected, (ii) the particular surface reconstruction, and (iii) the wetting layer composition. We found that, in general, stable adsorption sites are located at: (i) locations besides the As in-dimers, (ii) positions bridging two As in-dimers, (iii) between two adjacent ad-dimers (only in $\beta_2$), and (iv) locations bridging two As ad-dimers. We find also other shallower adsorption sites which are more reconstruction specific due to the lower symmetry of the $\alpha_2$ reconstruction compared to the $\beta_2$ reconstruction

Curcuma longa Extract Exerts a Myorelaxant Effect on the Ileum and Colon in a Mouse Experimental Colitis Model, Independent of the Anti-Inflammatory Effect

Background: Curcuma has long been used as an anti-inflammatory agent in inflammatory bowel disease. Since gastrointestinal motility is impaired in inflammatory states, the aim of this work was to evaluate if Curcuma Longa had any Methods: The biological activity of Curcuma extract was evaluated against Carbachol induced contraction in isolated mice intestine. Acute and chronic colitis were induced in Balb/c mice by Dextran Sulphate Sodium administration (5% and 2.5% respectively) and either Curcuma extract (200 mg/kg/day) or placebo was thereafter administered for 7 and 21 days respectively. Spontaneous contractions and the response to Carbachol and Atropine of ileum and colon were studied after colitis induction and Curcuma administration. Results: Curcuma extract reduced the spontaneous contractions in the ileum and colon; the maximal response to Carbachol was inhibited in a non-competitive and reversible manner. Similar results were obtained in ileum and colon from Curcuma fed mice. DSS administration decreased the motility, mainly in the colon and Curcuma almost restored both the spontaneous contractions and the response to Carbachol after 14 days assumption, compared to standard diet, but a prolonged assumption of Curcuma decreased the spontaneous and Carbachol-induced contractions. Conclusions: Curcuma extract has a direct and indirect myorelaxant effect on mouse ileum and colon, independent of the anti-inflammatory effect. The indirect effect is reversible and non-competitive with the cholinergic agent. These results suggest the use of curcuma extract as a spasmolytic agent