Smectic liquid-crystalline phases of F(CF2)7(CHOH)(CH2)8H and F(CF2)9(CHOH)(CH2)10H Comparison with other partially fluorinated molecules

Partially fluorinated alcohols F(CF₂)_m(CHOH)(CH₂)_nH (where m = 7, n = 8 and m = 9, n = 10) exhibit highly ordered smectic liquid-crystalline phases, as confirmed by optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Miscibility studies show that the smectic phases of the two alcohols are not of the same type. The related partially fluorinated ketones F(CF₂)_mCO(CH₂)_nH do not form a detectable mesophase. This is rather surprising since the (more polar) corresponding alcohols and the (less polar) analogous iodides and n-alkanes do. A brief discussion of the results and a comparison among partially fluorinated alkanes with various functional groups are presented.     

Toric cubes

A toric cube is a subset of the standard cube defined by binomial inequalities. These basic semialgebraic sets are precisely the images of standard cubes under monomial maps. We study toric cubes from the perspective of topological combinatorics. Explicit decompositions as CW-complexes are constructed. Their open cells are interiors of toric cubes and their boundaries are subcomplexes. The motivating example of a toric cube is the edge-product space in phylogenetics, and our work generalizes results known for that space.     

Electrochemical determination of minoxidil in different pharmaceutical formulations by flow injection analysis.

The electrochemical behavior and amperometric-FIA quantification of minoxidil at a glassy carbon electrode is described. The procedure is based on electrochemical oxidation at 0.800 V (vs. Ag/AgCl/NaCl(3 M) in a phosphate buffer solution. Minoxidil was determined over the range 1 x 10(-7) - 1 x 10(-4) M. Different analytical parameters and electrode stability were analyzed to obtain the best electrode performance. The optimal conditions were: working potentials, 0.800 V; flow rate, 0.74 mL min(-1); and solution pH 7.0. This system allowed a sampling rate of 120 samples per hour without any pretreatment. The proposed method was used for minoxidil quantification in pharmaceutical preparations with satisfactory results. The accuracy of FIA-amperometric method was established by a comparison with the conventional UV determination technique using a paired t-test indicating the absence of systematic errors.     

Purification and partial characterization of two lectin isoforms fromCratylia mollis mart. (camaratu bean)

Two additional electrophoretically distinct molecular forms, isoforms (iso) 2 and 3, with lectin properties were isolated fromCratylia mollis Mart, seeds (FABACEAE), by extraction with 0.15M NaCl and ammonium sulfate fractionation, followed by chromatography on Sephadex G-75 and Bio-Gel P-200 (iso 2), as well as CM-Cellulose and Sephadex G-75 (iso 3). Both isoforms were human group nonspecific and showed distinct specificity. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis resolved iso 2 and 3 in polypeptides of apparent mol wts 60 and 31 kDa, respectively; a distinct isoelectric focusing pattern was obtained for iso 2 and 3, under denaturing and reducing conditions.     

A validated spectrofluorometric method for the determination of celecoxib in capsules

A rapid, selective, sensitive and simple fluorescence method was developed for the direct determination of celecoxib in capsules. The capsules were emptied, pulverized and dissolved in either ethanol or acetonitrile, sonicated and filtered. Direct fluorescence emission was measured at 355±5 nm (exciting at 272 nm). The method was fully validated and the recoveries were excellent, even in presence of excipients.     

A theoretical investigation of the preferred conformations of glutathione and its constituent amino acid residues

The preferred conformations of the tripeptide glutathione have been investigated by performing quantum mechanical calculations using the PCILO method. A series of model compounds representing fragments of the tripeptide has been studied as well as the complete molecule. The results are compared with the available experimental data.     

Hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometric determination of ultratraces of selenium and tellurium in cow milk

A sensitive procedure has been developed for selenium and tellurium determination in milk by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) after microwave-assisted sample digestion. The method provides sensitivity values of 1591 and 997 fluorescence units ng⁻¹ ml⁻¹ with detection limits of 0.005 and 0.015 ng ml⁻¹ for Se and Te, respectively. The application of the developed methodology to the analysis of cow milk samples of the Spanish market evidenced the presence of concentration ranges from 11.1 to 26.0 ng ml⁻¹ for Se, and from 1.04 to 9.7 ng ml⁻¹ for Te having found a good comparability with data obtained after dry-ashing of samples.     

Simulation of aerated lagoon using artificial neural networks and multivariate regression techniques

The aim of this study was to develop an empirical model that provides accurate predictions of the biochemical oxygen demand of the output stream from the aerated lagoon at International Paper of Brazil, one of the major pulp and paper plants in Brazil. Predictive models were calculated from functional link neural networks (FLNNs), multiple linear regression, principal components regression, and partial least-squares regression (PLSR). Improvement in FLNN modeling capability was observed when the data were preprocessed using the PLSR technique. PLSR also proved to be a powerful linear regression technique for this problem, which presents operational data limitations.     

Speciation and biosynthetic variation in four dictyoceratid sponges and their cyanobacterial symbiont, Oscillatoria spongeliae

Four species of marine sponges (Phylum Porifera, Order Dictyoceratida), which contain the filamentous cyanobacterial symbiont Oscillatoria spongeliae, were collected from four locations in Palau. The halogenated natural products associated with the symbiont were characterized from each sample, revealing that each species contained either chlorinated peptides, brominated diphenyl ethers, or no halogenated compounds. Analysis of the host sponges and the symbionts indicated that each species of sponge contained a distinct strain of morphologically similar cyanobacteria. Although cospeciation may be present in this group, we have identified that at least one host switching event has occurred in this symbiosis. Only the strain of O. spongeliae in the sponge containing the chlorinated compounds possessed genes involved in the biosynthesis of chlorinated leucine precursors, indicating that the chemical variation observed in these animals has a genetic foundation.     

INSTRUMENTATION FOR FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY WITH PICOSECOND TIME RESOLUTION

Abstract— Time-resolved fluorescence microscopy using excitation by actively mode-locked dye lasers and analysis by time-correlated single photon counting is shown to be an effective way of obtaining a high degree of spatial and temporal resolution. The imaging capabilities of the microscope make for optimal instrument response functions even with inexpensive photomultiplier tubes. Thus far limited (by the laser source) to long wavelength visible excitation, the excellent light collection and imaging, coupled with the sensitivity of single photon counting make it highly probable that the much weaker U-V second harmonics of the visible dyes will be useable. Certainly the potential of using the third harmonic line (355 nm) of a mode-locked c.w. Nd: YAG laser, or fundamental lines from mode-locked c.w. ion lasers as excitation sources will enhance the technique. Nevertheless, with visible-absorbing dyes only it is possible to excite such fluorochromes as chlorophylls, porphyrins, xanthenes (rose bengal, erythrosin B), phycobiliproteins, thionine dyes, ethidium bromide, and so on. Furthermore, this technique can be straightforwardly extended for polarized light measurements thereby allowing determinations of rotational diffusion of fluorochromes in cells and organelles. The extension to variable temperature situations is easy to conceive. In addition to its use for examination of cellular and sub-cellular entities, the equipment described can be profitably employed wherever spatial resolution may provide extra information, such as studies of powders and the structures of surfaces and interfaces.