Noise Analysis of Duplicated Data on Microarrays Using Mixture Distribution Modeling

We propose a technique for estimating gene expression values for duplicated data on cDNA microarrays. In the scatter plots, the distribution is constructed from a mixture of normal two-dimensional distributions, which represent fluctuations in gene expression values due to noise. An expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm is used for estimating the modeling parameters. The probability that duplicated data is shifted by noise is calculated using Bayesian estimation. Six data sets of rice cDNA microarray assays were used to test the proposed technique. Genes in the data sets were subjected to clustering based on probability of true value. Clustering successfully identified candidate genes regulated by circadian rhythms in rice.     

Magnetic moments of proton drip-line nuclei13O and9C

The magnetic moments of the proton drip-line nuclei¹³O(I = 3/2^–,T _1/2 = 8.6 ms) and 9C(I = 3/2^–,T _1/2 = 126 ms) have been determined for the first time through the combined techniques of polarized radioactive nuclear beams and-NMR detection. The observed magnetic moments are ¦(¹³O)¦ = 1.3891 ±0.0003 _N and ¦(⁹C)¦ = 1.3914 ±0.0005 _N. Spin expectation values are deduced to be 0.76 and 1.44 for¹³O and⁹C, respectively. While the of¹³O is consistent with the systematics from isospinT= 1/2 mirror pairs, the of⁹C is unusually large, even far larger than the single particle value, = 1.     

New method for preparing saturated and unsaturated aliphatic polyurethanes

Saturated and unsaturated aliphatic polyurethane were obtained from three different routes. In route 1, 1,4-dichloro-2-butene, sodium cyanate, and methanol were reacted to give dimethyl 2-butene-1,4-dicarbamate. This is hydrogenated easily to give dimethyl butane-1,4-dicarbamate. Ester exchange reaction of this compound with glycol gave saturated aliphatic polyurethane. In another procedure, route 2, 1,4-dichloro-2-butene, sodium cyanate and excess glycol were reacted to give bis(ω-hydroxyalkyl)-2-butene-1,4-dicarbamate. This was hydrogenated to give bis(ω-hydroxyalkyl)-butane-1,4-dicarbamate. A glycol elimination reaction gave poly(polymethylene tetramethyl-enedicarbamate). By route 3, 1,4-dichloro-2-butene, sodium cyanate, and glycol were reacted to give poly(polymethylene 2-butene-1,4-dicarbamate), a new unsaturated aliphatic polyurethane.     

Kinetic study on the mechanism of inhibition of trypsin and trypsin-like enzymes by p-guanidinobenzoate ester

It was found that [4-(2-succinimidoethylthio)phenyl 4-guanidinobenzoate]methanesulfonate (E-3123) inhibits trypsin, thrombin and kallikrein, and its inhibitory activity is most potent toward trypsin. The interactions of these enzymes with E-3123 were studied mainly by using stopped-flow spectrophotometry. E-3123 behaved as a quasi-substrate of the enzymes and the inhibitory property was due to the efficient production of the stable acyl-enzyme. The acylation process with trypsin was exceedingly effective, and the resulting acyl-enzyme was the most stable among the three enzymes tested. This observation affords a rational basis for explaining the action of E-3123, which is a transient inhibitor most active toward trypsin.     

A facile synthesis of dragmacidin B and 2,5-bis(6'-bromo-3'-indolyl)piperazine

A short synthesis of dragmacidin B (1), 2,5-bis(6'-bromo-3'-indolyl)piperazine (2), and corresponding didebromo analogues 8 and 9 is described. The key steps involve the dimerization of oxotryptamines 4 and 11 to give bis(indolyl)pyrazines 5 and 12, which upon selective reduction and reductive methylation with sodium cyanoborohydride afforded the requisite piperazine natural products.     

Selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde over antimony oxide-loaded catalyst

A possibility of antimony oxide as a catalyst for the selective oxidation of methane with oxygen to formaldehyde was investigated. The activity measurement was carried out at an atmospheric pressure and at 873 K, where the homogeneous gas-phase reaction was negligible. Oxidized diamond (O-Dia)-supported antimony oxide catalyst produced 1.3 mmol h⁻¹ g-cat⁻¹ of formaldehyde with a formaldehyde selectivity of 23%. On the other hand, SiO₂ supported antimony oxide catalyst exhibited negligible catalytic activity. XRD and UV–vis analyses revealed that -Sb₂O₄ was formed on the oxidized diamond while Sb₆O₁₃ was formed on SiO₂. Selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde seemed to proceed on -Sb₂O₄ with moderate activity and selectivity to formaldehyde, via a redox cycle of -Sb₂O₄ and Sb₂O_4−x. On the other hand, Sb₆O₁₃ on SiO₂ was stable under the reaction conditions and the selective oxidation occurred only slightly.