A liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry method to measure a selected panel of uremic retention solutes derived from endogenous and colonic microbial metabolism

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with an increased risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease, which is, at least partly, mediated by the accumulation of so-called uremic retention solutes. Although there has been an increasing interest in the behavior of these solutes, derived from both the endogenous and colonic microbial metabolism, methods to simultaneously and accurately measure a broad panel of relevant uremic retention solutes remain scarce.     

Template-directed self-assembly of alkanethiol monolayers: selective growth on preexisting monolayer edges

Self-assembled monolayers were investigated for their suitability as two-dimensional scaffolds for the selective growth of alkanethiol edge structures. Heterostructures with chemical contrast could be grown, whose dimensions were governed by both the initial pattern sizes and the process time. n-Octadecanethiol (ODT) was made to expand from the edges of 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHDA) monolayer patterns. Likewise, 11-mercaptoundecanol (MUD) was grown on MHDA and on ODT monolayer edges. The results of these experiments are in accordance with the moving boundary model for monolayer spreading. In addition to such surface-bound spreading, a vapor-phase contribution to lateral monolayer growth was identified. MUD was observed to be an excellent ink for creating chemical contrast by means of regioselective deposition from a vapor phase. As a proof of principle, ribbons of 11-mercaptoundecanol with submicrometer widths were grown on pentaerythritol-tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate) edges, and submicrometer wide gold lines were produced by subsequent wet-chemical etching.     

Linear stability analysis of the natural convection in inclined rotating parallel plates

The linear stability analysis of the natural convection in a rectangular tilted infinite cavity filled with a Boussinesq fluid subject to Coriolis force is presented. The bottom and top surfaces have fixed temperatures. Both unstable and stable thermal conditions are studied (heated from below and heated from above respectively). The rotation axis passes through the center and it is orthogonal to the hot and cold surfaces. The stability equations were solved using the Tau–Chebyshev spectral method. The critical Rayleigh number and critical wave number were obtained for several rotation rates and different orientation of convective oblique rolls in a range of inclination of the cavity from 0 to 120 degrees. The stability analysis show that rotation rate affects the basic velocity profile, onset of convection, wave number and critical orientation of convective rolls.     

A bonding evolution theory study on the catalytic Noyori hydrogenation reaction

ABSTRACT

The electronic rearrangements involved in Noyori hydrogenation reactions with double bonds (ethene and formaldehyde) are analysed using the bonding evolution theory. The study and analysis of the changes on the electron localisation function topology along a given reaction path reveals fluxes of electron density, allowing to unambiguously identify the main chemical events happening along the chemical reactions. This analysis shows that the first hydrogen transfer (with hydride character) occurs before the transition state (TS), while the second hydrogen transfer (with proton character) takes places after having reached the TS. The lower energy barrier found for formaldehyde over ethene is explained by two reasons. First, the hydride transfer is favoured for the C?=?O bond over C?=?C due to the electrophilic character of the carbon atom. Second, a negatively charged CH₃–X (X?=?CH₂, O) hidden intermediate is formed in the proximities of the TS region. The oxygen atom is able to stabilise this negatively charged species more effectively than the CH₂ group due to its higher electronegativity and the presence of V(O) lone pairs. The obtained analysis explains and rationalises catalyst chemoselectivity (C?=?O vs. C?=?C). Finally, a curly arrow representation diagram accounting for the electronic rearrangements is proposed on the basis of BET results.     

Ferrocenyl‐Ended Thieno–Vinylene Oligomers: Donor–Acceptor Polarization and Mixed‐Valence Properties with Emphasis on the Raman Mapping of Localized‐to‐Delocalized Transitions

What's your role? New oligothiophene–vinylene compounds have been synthesized to study the role of the conjugated chain in two different cases (see scheme; MV=mixed valence). The electronic and molecular structures were analyzed by means of electronic, X‐ray photoelectron, and Raman spectroscopy, together with thermo spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and DFT calculations.

     

Finiteness of the number of solutions of Plateau’s problem for polygonal boundary curves II

In this article, the author proves that a simple closed polygon can bound only finitely many immersed minimal surfaces of disc-type if it meets the following two requirements: firstly it has to bound only minimal surfaces without boundary branch points, and secondly its total curvature, i.e. the sum of the exterior angles at its N + 3 vertices, has to be smaller than 6π.      

Supramolecular Co(II)-[2 x 2] grids: metamagnetic behavior in a single molecule

The magnetic anisotropy of the supramolecular [2 x 2] grid [Co(II)4L4]8+, with a bis(bipyridyl)-pyrimidine-based ligand L, was investigated by single-crystal magnetization measurements at low temperatures. The magnetization curves exhibit metamagnetic-like behavior and are explained by the weak-exchange limit of a minimal spin Hamiltonian including Heisenberg exchange, easy-axis ligand fields, and the Zeeman term. It is also shown that the magnetic coupling strength can be varied by the substituent R1 in the two-position on the central pyrimidine group of the ligand L.