Model reactions for abiotic mercury(II) methylation: Kinetics of methylation of mercury(II) by mono-, di-, and tri-methyltin in seawater

The usual presence of mercury(II) with monodi-, and tri-methyltin in water, sediments, and plants in estuarine environments suggests possible abiotic formation of methylmercury via methyl transfer from methyltin compounds. Kinetics studies of reactions between mercury(II) and methyltin compounds under pseudo-first-order conditions in seawater show that relative rate of methylmercury formation under the same conditions are: monomethyltin <trimethyltin> dimethyltin. This order is explainable mainly by the speciation and charge of methyltin compounds in seawater and by the existence of mercury(II) as a tetrachloro anion. A factorial experiment with the variables pH and salinity (seawater diluted with deionized water) showed that pH, but not salinity, is significant at the 95% confidence level; and that reaction rates increase as pH increases. These results suggest the possibility of abiotic methylation of mercury(II) in seawater. Additional experiments in seawater demonstrated an absence of methylation of mercury(II) (14 days) and mercury(0) (35 days) by methyl iodide.     

Synthesis of 7-methyl-4,6,6a,7,10,10a-hexa-hydroindolo[4,3-fg]quinazoline derivatives

The synthesis of a series of compounds indolo[4,3-fg]quinazoline related to ergoline (indolo[4,3-fg]quinoline) is reported. The key step of the synthetic sequence is the ring cleavage of the ketone IV. The stereochemistry of the chiral centers is established by the chirality of dihydrolysergic acid I.     

Monolayers of stearic acid esters at the air-water interface: two-dimensional phases and miscibility

Monolayers of three stearic acid esters, methyl-stearate, propyl-stearate and butyl-stearate, were studied at the air-water interface in the 15–35 °C temperature range.To investigate the surface phases of these esters spread at the air-water interface, some state equations were fitted with the experimental data taken from the isotherms.Surface potential measurements were carried out to obtain information on the molecular orientation. The interfacial orientation and distribution was discussed in relationship to the surface phases present.Ellipsometric measurements were made to determine the thicknesses.The two-dimensional miscibility for the mixture methyl-stearate/butyl-stearate was also studied: surface free energies, enthalpies, and entropies of mixing were computed. The results obtained confirmed previous deductions about the role of the hydrophobic chains in determining the two-dimensional miscibility when they have the same interfacial orientation.     

Effects of mobile phone exposure on time frequency fine structure of transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions

Mobile phones have become very commonly used worldwide within a short period of time. To date there is only limited knowledge about interaction between electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by mobile phones and the auditory function. Moreover, there is widespread concern that there may be potential for harm. The aim of this study was to assess potential subtle changes in cochlear function by measuring the temporal and spectral fine structure of transiently evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE) in normal hearing subjects after exposure to EMFs emitted by Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) mobile phones. TEOAEs were recorded in 27 healthy young adults before and after 10 min of real or sham exposure in a double-blind design. TEOAE data were analyzed both globally (broadband analysis) and using the Wavelet Transform (analysis of the time-frequency fine structure). The broadband analysis revealed no significant effect on TEOAEs related to exposure, confirming results of previous studies; in addition, no significant change was detected in the analysis of the elementary wavelet components, suggesting that the temporal and spectral fine structure of TEOAEs is not affected by 10 min exposure to low-intensity EMFs emitted by GSM mobile phones.     

Antiviral Activity of Synthetic Aminopyrrolic Carbohydrate Binding Agents: Targeting the Glycans of Viral gp120 to Inhibit HIV Entry

The binding abilities of a set of structurally related aminopyrrolic synthetic receptors for mannosides, endowed with antimycotic activity against yeast and yeast‐like pathogens bearing mannoproteins on their cell surface, have been investigated towards the highly mannosylated gp120 and gp41 glycoproteins of the HIV envelope. A pronounced binding interaction with both glycoproteins was observed by SPR for most of the investigated compounds. Comparison of their binding properties towards the glycoproteins with their binding affinities toward mannosides revealed a direct correlation, supporting their role as carbohydrate binding agents (CBAs). Cytostatic activity studies revealed antiproliferative activity dependent on the nature and the structure of compounds. Antiviral activity studies against a broad panel of DNA and RNA viruses showed inhibitory effect against HIV infection of the T‐lymphocyte CEM cell line for two compounds, suggesting antiviral activity similar to other CBAs, such as the nonpeptidic pradimicin antibiotics.     

Cyclodextrin complexation improves aqueous solubility of the antiepileptic drug,rufinamide: solution and solid state characterization of compound-cyclodextrin binary systems

Rufinamide (RUF) was characterized in terms of cyclodextrin (CD) complexation in order to improve its aqueous solubility. Binary systems of RUF with three CDs—β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), randomly methylated-β-cyclodextrin (RAMEB) and sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD)—were characterized with a wide variety of analytical techniques. Liquid state characterization was carried out by complementary techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), capillary electrophoresis (CE), mass spectrometry (MS) and phase solubility studies. The latter revealed that the stability of the complexes decreased in the order of RAMEB?>?β-CD?>?SBE-β-CD. A_L-type diagrams were obtained in all cases, characteristic of 1:1 stoichiometry, with a maximum of over 15-fold increase in RUF solubility, when complexed with RAMEB. NMR Job plot and MS studies confirmed phase solubility results, regarding the binding stoichiometry. ¹H NMR and 2D ROESY investigations revealed the inclusion of the triazole moiety of RUF, confirmed by molecular modeling. Solid state complexation in 1:1 molar ratio was carried out by kneading method and investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). Comparative dissolution studies indicated an over two-fold improvement in dissolution efficacy of the kneaded products, when compared to the pure drug. Results of the present study might pave the way for a drug formulation with improved bioavailability.     

On the turbulent couette flow of an incompressible fluid with temperature-dependent viscosity

Summary Starting from energy and Navier-Stokes equations with temperature-dependent viscosity, we have obtained the Reynolds equations for the mean values of velocity, temperature and pressure. We have then applied these equations to the Couette flow; on the well-known hypothesis of mixing-length and Prandtl turbulent number, the above mentioned relations have been written in a more amenable form.Some general considerations concerning the reciprocal dependence between temperature and velocity gradients at wall have been deduced.Finally some solutions numerically obtained for several values of Reynolds number are given and discussed in some detail to point out the influence of the temperature-dependent viscosity.

---

Sommario Introducendo nelle equazioni dell'energia e di Navier-Stokes le parti medie e fluttuanti della velocità, temperatura, pressione e viscosità, vengono ricavate le cosiddette equazioni di Reynolds, ossia le equazioni che descrivono i campi di velocità e temperatura medi. Dal confronto di quest'ultime, in cui la viscosità è considerata dipendente dalla temperatura, con quelle originarie di Reynolds si deduce la forma che nel caso in esame assumono gli sforzi apparenti.Successivamente le equazioni ottenute vengono applicate al moto a Couette e discusse, dopo aver introdotto in esse le ipotesi della lunghezza di miscelamento e del numero di Prandtl turbolento; da questa analisi vengono tratte alcune conclusioni di carattere generale riguardanti i legami tra il campo dinamico e quello termico. Infine vengono date alcune soluzioni ottenute per via numerica, le quali illustrano l'influenza che sulle distribuzioni di temperatura e velocità viene esercitata dalla dipendenza della viscosità dalla temperatura.

---