Demonstration of event position reconstruction based on diffusion in the NEXT-white detector.

Noble element time projection chambers are a leading technology for rare event detection in physics, such as for dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay searches. Time projection chambers typically assign event position in the drift direction using the relative timing of prompt scintillation and delayed charge collection signals, allowing for reconstruction of an absolute position in the drift direction. In this paper, alternate methods for assigning event drift distance via quantification of electron diffusion in a pure high pressure xenon gas time projection chamber are explored. Data from the NEXT-White detector demonstrate the ability to achieve good position assignment accuracy for both high- and low-energy events. Using point-like energy deposits from 83mKr calibration electron captures (E∼45 keV), the position of origin of low-energy events is determined to 2 cm precision with bias <1mm. A convolutional neural network approach is then used to quantify diffusion for longer tracks (E≥1.5 MeV), from radiogenic electrons, yielding a precision of 3 cm on the event barycenter. The precision achieved with these methods indicates the feasibility energy calibrations of better than 1% FWHM at Qßß in pure xenon, as well as the potential for event fiducialization in large future detectors using an alternate method that does not rely on primary scintillation.

Ba+2 ion trapping using organic submonolayer for ultra-low background neutrinoless double beta detector.

If neutrinos are their own antiparticles the otherwise-forbidden nuclear reaction known as neutrinoless double beta decay can occur. The very long lifetime expected for these exceptional events makes its detection a daunting task. In order to conduct an almost background-free experiment, the NEXT collaboration is investigating novel synthetic molecular sensors that may capture the Ba dication produced in the decay of certain Xe isotopes in a high-pressure gas experiment. The use of such molecular detectors immobilized on surfaces must be explored in the ultra-dry environment of a xenon gas chamber. Here, using a combination of highly sensitive surface science techniques in ultra-high vacuum, we demonstrate the possibility of employing the so-called Fluorescent Bicolor Indicator as the molecular component of the sensor. We unravel the ion capture process for these molecular indicators immobilized on a surface and explain the origin of the emission fluorescence shift associated to the ion trapping.

Computational calculations in microwave-assisted organic synthesis (MAOS). Application to cycloaddition reactions.

Computational calculations represent a very useful tool to study separately the occurrence of thermal and non-thermal effects of microwave irradiation through the determination of the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of the reaction. In this paper, we approach the computational study of two previously reported cycloaddition reactions. All of the outcomes indicate the presence of a thermal effect alone for the microwave irradiation that produces changes in the regioselectivity or in the reaction mechanism.

Identification of (1H)-pyrroles as histone deacetylase inhibitors with antitumoral activity.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play a key role in the regulation of gene expression and chromatin structure, and drugs targeting these enzymes might have an important impact in the treatment of human cancer. Herein, we report the characterization of (1H)-pyrroles as a new subfamily of HDAC inhibitors obtained by computational modeling of class-I human HDACs. From a functional standpoint, (1H)-pyrroles are powerful inductors of acetylation of histones H3 and H4, and restore the expression of growth-inhibitory genes. From a cellular view, these compounds cause a marked decrease in the viability of cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, associated with a cell-cycle arrest at G2/M and an inhibition of angiogenesis. Thus, (1H)-pyrroles emerge as a novel group of HDAC inhibitors with promising antitumoral features.

On the mechanism of conversion of N-acyl-4-acyloxy-beta-lactams into 2-substituted 1,3-oxazin-6-ones. Can a low-barrier transition state be antiaromatic?

The mechanism of the conversion of N-acyl-4-acyloxy-beta-lactams into 1,3-oxazin-6-ones has been investigated using ab initio and density functional theories. It has been found that two pseudopericyclic reactions are involved in the whole process. The first key reaction is a retro-[4-exo-dig] cyclization instead of a thermal conrotatory electrocyclic ring opening. Magnetic characterization of the corresponding transition structure shows antiaromatic character, despite the low activation energy associated with this process. The second step is very exothermic and has no activation barrier. It corresponds to another pseudopericyclic reaction instead of a six-electron disrotatory electrocyclization. These results confirm that there is no correlation between aromaticity and pseudopericyclic reactions. In contrast, thermal-symmetry-allowed pericyclic reactions are always aromatic. Therefore, magnetic analysis of the corresponding transition structures constitutes a useful tool to distinguish between both kinds of processes.

New insights on the origins of the stereocontrol of the staudinger reaction: [2 + 2] cycloaddition between ketenes and N-silylimines.

Density-functional theory studies on the [2 + 2] reaction between N-silylimines and ketenes to form the corresponding 2-azetidinones (beta-lactams) help to clarify several aspects on the mechanism of the Staudinger reaction. This reaction has been studied experimentally by Panunzio et al. It is shown that the formation of the 2-azetidinone ring takes place via two consecutive reactions. The first reaction consists of the nucleophilic addition of the iminic nitrogen to the sp-hybridized carbon atom of the ketene, with simultaneous migration of the silyl group from the imine to the oxygen atom of the ketene. This leads to silyl enol intermediates, in good agreement with the experimental results. Formation of the N-silylated beta-lactam takes place via a domino reaction consisting of a conrotatory thermal electrocyclization followed by a new silatropic rearrangement. It is also found that isomerization of the starting N-silylimine has a lower activation barrier than that associated with the formation of the C-N bond, which explains the stereochemical outcome experimentally observed. Further considerations on the asymmetric torquoelectronic effects involved in this reaction are also reported.