Construction and evaluation of ion selective electrodes for nitrate with a summing operational amplifier. Application to tobacco analysis

In this paper, the construction and evaluation of an electrode selective to nitrate with improved sensitivity, constructed like a conventional electrode (ISE) but using an operational amplifier to sum the potentials supplied by four membranes (ESOA) is described. The two types of electrodes, without an inner reference solution, were constructed using tetraoctylammonium bromide as sensor, dibutylphthalate as solvent mediator and PVC as plastic matrix, the membranes obtained directly applied onto a conductive epoxy resin support. After the comparative evaluation of their working characteristics they were used in the determination of nitrate in different types of tobacco. The limit of detection of the direct potentiometric method developed was found to be 0.18 g kg(-1) and the precision and accuracy of the method, when applied to eight different samples of tobacco, expressed in terms of mean R.S.D. and average percentage of spike recovery was 0.6 and 100.3%, respectively. The comparison of variances showed, on all ocassions, that the results obtained by the ESOA were similar to those obtained by the conventional ISE, but with higher precision. Linear regression analysis showed good agreement (r=0.9994) between the results obtained by the developed potentiometric method and those of a spectrophotometric method based on brucine, adopted as reference method, when applied simultaneously to 32 samples of different types of tobacco.     

Molecular mechanics of peroxides. II. Cyclic compounds

The conformations of various cyclic peroxides have been determined using a molecular mechanics force field developed by the authors and previously applied to linear peroxides. Comparison of the results with those of experimental and ab initio studies shows that this force field may be employed without correction for cyclic compounds.     

One-pot organocatalytic domino Michael/α-alkylation reactions: highly enantioselective synthesis of functionalized cyclopentanones and cyclopentanols

A simple, highly enantioselective catalytic route to cyclopentanones is presented. The chiral amine catalyzed domino Michael/α-alkylation reaction gives access to functionalized cyclopentanones in good to high yields with 93 → 99% ee. The products were also reduced with high diastereoselectivity to the corresponding cyclopentanols.     

A one-pot organocatalytic asymmetric entry to tetrahydrothioxanthenones

A simple catalytic asymmetric synthesis of tetrahydrothioxanthenones is presented. The organocatalytic enantioselective domino reactions between 2-mercaptobenzaldehyde and α,β-unsaturated cyclic ketones proceed with excellent chemoselectivity to give the corresponding tetrahydrothioxanthenones in high yields and moderate to good enantioselectivities.     

The effects of asset specificity on maintenance financial performance: An empirical application of Transaction Cost Theory to the medical device maintenance field

This study uses multivariate regression analysis to examine the effects of asset specificity on the financial performance of both external and internal governance structures for medical device maintenance, and investigates how the financial performance of external governance structures differs depending on whether a hospital is private or public. The hypotheses were tested using information on 764 medical devices and 62 maintenance service providers, resulting in 1403 maintenance transactions. As such, our data sample is significantly larger than those used in previous studies in this area. The results empirically support our core theoretical argument that governance financial performance is influenced by assets specificity.     

1H and 13C assignments of cyclo[N-(Lys-Phe)-Orn-Val], a semicyclic imide tetrapeptide from Burkholderia cepacia

The rhizobacteria Burkholderia cepacia biosynthesized the new tetrapeptide Cyclo[N-(Lys-Phe)-Orn-Val] (1), a 2,5-diketopiperazine, and the known siderophore azurechelin (salicylic acid). The structure of 1 was established by means of IR, UV, 1H and 13C NMR, double dimension experiments and MS.     

Glasslike structure of globular proteins and the boson peak

Vibrational spectra of proteins and topologically disordered solids display a common anomaly at low frequencies, known as boson peak. We show that such feature in globular proteins can be deciphered in terms of an energy landscape picture, as it is for glassy systems. Exploiting the tools of Euclidean random matrix theory, we clarify the physical origin of such anomaly in terms of a mechanical instability of the system. As a natural explanation, we argue that such instability is relevant for proteins in order for their molecular functions to be optimally rooted in their structures.     

Headspace solid-phase microextraction of oil matrices heated at high temperature and phthalate esters determination by gas chromatography multistage mass spectrometry

A solvent-free analytical approach based on headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) of oil matrices heated at high temperatures coupled to gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detector (GC-ion trap) has been developed for the determination of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in oil matrices without sample manipulation. For this study, three fibers, i.e., 85 μm-polyacrylate (PA), 50/30 μm-divinylbenzene-carboxen-polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) and 100 μm-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) were tested. Variables affecting the SPME headspace composition such as incubation sample temperature, sample incubation time and fiber exposition time were optimized. The optimal values found were 250 °C for sample incubation temperature and 30 min for incubation and extraction time. PA fiber was not suitable for the lightest polar phthalates which showed poor extraction and repeatability values. PDMS fiber had very poor response for some of the heavier and non-polar phthalates, whereas DVB/CAR/PDMS fiber showed the best response and repeatability values for the majority of the phthalates studied. The main benefit of the analytical method proposed is the absence of sample manipulation and hence avoidance of possible contamination coming from glassware, environment, solvents and samples.     

Design and application of a molecular mechanics force field for alkyl iodides including an electrostatic polarization model

We describe a force field extending Boyd and Kesner's molecule mechanics treatment of alkyl chlorides, fluorides and bromides to alkyl iodides: accordingly, as well as parameters for the potential energy of bond stretching and bending and for interactions between nonbonded atoms, the field includes parameters taking into account permanent and induced C-I dipoles, whose values have been estimated by fitting the model to experimental dipole moment data. The results of applying this force field to 22 organic iodides comprising several substitution series are reported, and the structural and energy trends in the various series are discussed. These results agree satisfactorily with available experimental data and with those obtained by A. Y. Meyer using a different kind of force field.