Comete nell'arte e nella scienza. Da Giotto a 'Giotto'

Questa pubblicazione costituisce il catalogo della mostra iconografica: Comete nell'arte e nella scienza. Da Giotto a 'Giotto', realizzata nel maggio 2007 in occasione de 'La Nuit des Musées', la celebre iniziativa proposta ogni anno a tutta Europa dai Musei di Francia, a cui allora aderì il Museo La Specola dell'INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova. La mostra, esposta per la prima volta nell'Oratorio di San Michele a Padova, è stata poi allestita ad Asiago in occasione delle feste natalizie 2008-2009, per annunciare il 2009, proclamato dall'ONU Anno Internazionale dell'Astronomia. La mostra è stata riproposta più volte anche negli anni successivi, sia presso l'Osservatorio di Padova sia presso altre sedi espositive del Veneto. La mostra nasce come omaggio al celebre pittore Giotto che per primo raffigurò in modo naturalistico una cometa, quella da lui dipinta attorno al 1304 nella scena dell'Adorazione dei Magi nella Cappella degli Scrovegni a Padova. Nel riprodurre fedelmente la natura, Giotto fu il primo a dare nelle sue pitture l'impressione di profondità dello spazio e di rilievo delle figure, usando magistralmente gradazioni di luminosità e di colore. Per questo motivo la mostra esponeva anche una conversione in 3D in tecnica lenticolare della celebre Adorazione, realizzata dal tecnico OAPd Antonello Satta, riproposta in anaglifo in questa pubblicazione, per suggerire, attraverso la percezione del rilievo, la spazialità della sua pittura

The "Giovanni Santini" Library, Padua Astronomical Observatory: The Adapting Library

This paper traces the history of the Padua Astronomical Observatory's library from its inception in 1761 until the present day. The library has undergone significant changes throughout the years, and the evolution of its space has been an important part of its history. This paper will show how the space has evolved over the years to respond to the needs of its patrons and to accommodate the collection

L'astrologia convinta di falso col mezzo di nuove esperienze, e ragioni fisico-astronomiche, o' sia La caccia del frugnuolo di Geminiano Montanari

Ristampa anastatica dell'opera di Geminiano Montanari stampata a Venezia da Francesco Nicolini nel 1685. Edizione facsimilare pubblicata in 500 esemplari numerati per i 250 anni dell'Osservatorio astronomico di Padova. - Saggi introduttivi: "Perché si tratta di Riforma Romana e come i Preti ci pongon le mani addito Lettori" / Fabrizio Bònoli ; Geminiano Montanari : un astronomo di fronte all'astrologia / Valeria Zanini ; La Risata del Gran Cacciatore di Lagoscuro : uno sfogo inedito di Geminiano Montanari / Valeria Zanin

Solvent free interactions in contact pairs of molecules of biological interest: Laser spectroscopic and electrospray mass spectrometric studies

A laser spectroscopic and mass spectrometric study of ionic and molecular clusters of biological interest is reported. The molecules of interest and their aggregates were generated in a supersonic beam and analyzed by mass resolved resonant two photon absorption and ionization (R2PI) and by collision induced mass spectrometry (CID-MS). The absence of the solvent allows to study these systems in the isolated state free of undesired solvent effects which may level off the differences in their properties. The gas phase results have been compared to theoretical estimates of the structure and stability of the systems under investigation

Functional characterization of a CDKN1B mutation in a Sardinian kindred with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 4 (MEN4)

Inactivating germline mutations of the CDKN1B gene, encoding for the nuclear cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27kip1 protein, have been reported in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 4 (MEN4), a MEN1-like phenotype without MEN1 mutations. The aim of this study was to in vitro characterize the germline CDKN1B mutation c.374_375delCT (S125X) we detected in a patient with MEN4. The proband was affected by multiglandular primary hyperparathyroidism and gastro-entero-pancreatic tumors. We carried out subcellular localization experiments transfecting into eukaryotic HeLa and GH3 cell lines plasmid vectors expressing the CDKN1B wild type (wt) or mutant cDNA. Western blot studies showed that fusion proteins were expressed at equal levels. The mutated protein was shorter compared to the wt protein and lacked the highly conserved C-terminal domain, which includes the bipartite nuclear localization signal at amino acids 152/153 and 166/168. In HeLa and GH3 cells wt p27 localized in the nucleus whereas the p27_S125X protein was retained in the cytoplasm predicting the loss of tumor suppressive function. The proband's tumoral parathyroid tissue did not show allelic loss, since wt and mutant alleles were both present by sequencing the somatic DNA. Immunohistochemistry showed a complete loss of nuclear p27 expression in the parathyroid adenoma removed by the patient at the second surgery. In conclusion, our study confirms the pathogenic role of the c.374_375delCT CDKN1B germline mutation in a patient with MEN4

Diastereoselective Fragmentation of Chiral alfa-Aminophosphonic Acids/Metal Ion Aggregates

Diastereomeric clusters [MAB2]+ and [MA2B]+ (M = Li(I), Na(I), Ag(I), Ni(II)-H, or Cu(II)-H; A = (R)-(-)- and (S)-(+)-(1-aminopropyl)phosphonic acid; B = (1R)-(-)- and (1S)-(+)-(1-aminohexyl)phosphonic acid) were readily generated in the electrospray ionization (ESI) source of a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer and their collision-induced dissocn. (CID) studied. CID of diastereomeric complexes, e.g. [MAS(BS)2]+ and [MAR(BS)2]+, leads to fragmentation patterns characterized by Rhomo = [MASBS]+/[M(BS)2]+ and Rhetero = [MARBS]+/[M(BS)2]+ abundance ratios, which depend upon the relative stability of the diastereomeric [MASBS]+ and [MARBS]+ complexes in the gas phase. The chiral resoln. factor Rchiral = Rhomo/Rhetero depends not only on the nature of the M ion but also on that of the fragmenting species, whether [MAB2]+ or [MA2B]+. The origin of this behavior is discussed

Laser Spectroscopy of 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-1-naphthol·ROH (R=H, CH3) Clusters

Wavelength and mass selected resonant enhanced multi-photon ionization (REMPI) spectroscopy is an excellent tool for characterizing mol. clusters. Mass selected resonant two photon ionization (R2PI) spectra of the S1 S0 transition of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1-naphthol (TR) and their complexes with solvent mols. such as water (W) and methanol (MeOH) have been recorded after a supersonic mol. beam expansion. Spectra have been analyzed with the aid of ab initio MO calcns. conducted at the B3LYP/6-31G** level of the theory

Chiral Discrimination of 2.3-Butanediols by Laser Spectroscopy

The resonance enhanced two-photon ionization time-of-flight (R2PI-TOF) excitation spectra of supersonically expanded complexes of isomeric 2,3-butanediols with a suitable chromophore, i.e. R-(+)-1-phenyl-1-propanol, represent powerful means for structurally discriminating the diol moiety and for investigating the nature of the intra- and intermol. interactions involved in the complexes

Photochemical R2PI Study of Chirality and Intermolecular Forces in Supersonic Beam

One and two-color, mass selected R2PI spectra of the S1 S0 transitions in the bare (+)-(R)-1-phenyl-1-ethanol (ER) and its complexes with different solvent mols. (-)-(R)-2-butanol (BR) or (+)-(S)-2-butanol (BS), (-)-(R)-2-pentanol (TR) or (+)-(S)-2-pentanol (TS) and (-)-(R)-2-butylamine (AR) or (+)-(S)-2-butylamine (AS), have been recorded after a supersonic mol. beam expansion. The one-color R2PI excitation spectra of the diastereomeric complexes are characterized by significant shifts of their band origin relative to that of bare ER. The extent and the direction of these spectral shifts are found to depend upon the structure and the configuration of solv and are attributed to different short-range interactions in the ground and excited states of the complexes. In analogy with other diastereomeric complexes, the phenomenol. binding energy of the homochiral cluster is found to be greater than that of the heterochiral one. Preliminary measurements of excitation spectrum of (+)-(R)-1-Indanol (IR) is also reported

Gas-phase complexes: noncovalent interactions and stereospecificity

Chiral recognition is a fundamental phenomenon in life sciences based on the enantioselective complexation of a chiral molecule with a chiral selector. The diastereomeric aggregates, formed by complexation, are held together by a different combination of intermolecular forces and are, therefore, endowed with different stability and reactivity. Determination of these forces, which are normally affected in the condensed phase by solvent and supramolecular interactions, requires the generation of the diastereomeric complexes in an isolated state and their kinetic and spectroscopic investigation. This paper concerns enantiodiscrimination of chiral molecules in the gas phase through the application of various ESI-MSn-CID and REMPI-TOF methodologies. The measurement of the fragmentation thresholds of diastereomeric clusters by these techniques allowed to shed light upon the nature and the magnitude of the intrinsic interactions which control their formation and which affect their stability and reactivity. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved