Strongly Correlated Cerium Systems: Non-Kondo Mechanism for Moment Collapse

We present an ab initio based method which gives clear insight into the interplay between the hybridization, the coulomb exchange, and the crystal-field interactions, as the degree of 4f localization is varied across a series of strongly correlated cerium systems. The results for the ordered magnetic moments, magnetic structure, and ordering temperatures are in excellent agreement with experiment, including the occurence of a moment collapse of non-Kondo origin. In contrast, standard ab initio density functional calculations fail to predict, even qualitatively, the trend of the unusual magentic properties.Comment: A shorter version of this has been submitted to PR

Endothelial dysfunction in pregnancy metabolic disorders

In recent years, the vascular endothelium has gained attention as a key player in the initiation and development of pregnancy disorders. Endothelium acts as an endocrine organ that preserves the homeostatic balance by responding to changes in metabolic status. However, in metabolic disorders, endothelial cells adopt a dysfunctional function, losing their normal responsiveness. During pregnancy, several metabolic changes occur, in which endothelial function decisively participates. Similarly, when pregnancy metabolic disorders occur, endothelial dysfunction plays a key role in pathogenesis. This review outlines the main findings regarding endothelial dysfunction in three main metabolic pathological conditions observed during pregnancy: gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders, and obesity and hyperlipidemia. Organ, histological and cellular characteristics were thoroughly described. Also, we focused in discussing the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in the cellular signaling pathways that mediate responses in these pathological conditions

Preliminary study on the integrated programme (IP) and curriculum.

This study will seek to analyze obstacles that possibly hinder the success of this new system (IP) and may be used as a basis, on one hand to highlight to implementators what issues they have to address,while on the other hand for parents and students to gain a deeper understanding of this system

Impurity effects on bonding charge in Ni{sub 3}Al

We have studied the effect of B and H on the charge density in Ni{sub 3}Al employing first-principles electronic structure calculations based on the FLMTO method. The changes in the electronic structure induced by B result from hybridization of d states of the nearest neighbor Ni atoms with adjacent B-{ital PP} states. Thus, boron prefers to occupy Ni-rich octahedral interstices [X(7)]. Boron greatly enhances the intraplanar metallic bonding between the Ni atoms, enhances the interplanar bonding between the NiAl layers in [001] direction, and reduces the bonding-charge directionality near the Ni(3) atoms. It is concluded that B acts to increase crystal cohesion. Hydrogen enhances the bonding-charge directionality near Ni(3) atoms and has virtually no interstitial charge enhancement, suggesting that H does not promote local cohesion. When both B and H are present, the dominant changes in the electronic structure induced by B and H seems to have little effect

Determination of the composition, encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity in protein drug delivery systems using circular dichroism spectroscopy

Peptides and proteins have become very promising drug candidates in recent decades due to their unique properties. However, the application of these drugs has been limited by their high enzymatic susceptibility, low membrane permeability and poor bioavailability when administered orally. Considerable efforts have been made to design and develop drug delivery systems that could transport peptides and proteins to targeted area. Although it is of great importance to determine the composition after loading a drug to the carrier, the ability to do so is significantly limited by current analytical methods. In this letter, five important proteins, α1-antitrypsin, hemoglobin human, human serum albumin, human transferrin and r-globulin were chemically conjugated to two model drug carriers, namely carbon dots and polymer O-(2-carboxyethyl) polyethylene glycol. A simple yet convenient method based on circular dichroism spectroscopy was developed to determine the compositions of the various protein-carrier conjugates. [Display omitted] •CD spectra of different concentrations of α1-antitrypsin, hemoglobin, human serum albumin, human transferrin and r-globulin were obtained.•The Five above mentioned proteins were chemically conjugated to carbon dots and polymer O-(2-carboxyethyl) polyethylene glycol.•A simple yet convenient method based on CD spectroscopy was developed to determine the composition of various protein-carrier conjugates