Probing the transmembrane potential of bacterial cells by voltage-sensitive dyes.

Fluorescent dyes have been widely employed as optical indicators of the membrane potential difference in cells, isolated organelles and lipid vesicles that are too small to make microelectrode measurements feasible. We describe here the application of a carbocyanine dye, 3,3'-dipropylthiodicarbocyanine iodide [DiS-C3-(5)], to monitor the transmembrane potential changes induced by a variation of the K+ concentration for the cells of Escherichia (E.) coli and photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum (R.) rubrum. The cells were first incubated in buffers containing DiS-C3-(5) and K+ ions of various concentrations until the fluorescence intensity reached a constant value. Valinomycin was then added to the solution, which caused changes in the fluorescence intensity, depending on the K+ concentrations. The membrane potential is shown to have a linear relationship with the fluorescence intensity of DiS-C3-(5). The results demonstrate that the K+ concentrations inside intact cells are 4.6 mM and 5.3 mM for E. coli and R. rubrum, respectively. The diffusion potentials of K+ ions were determined using the Nernst equation over the range of -1.3 mV to 44 mV, corresponding to K+ concentrations of 5 mM -25 mM outside of the cells.     

Examples of max-flow and min-cut problems with duality gaps in continuous networks

Strang (Mathematical Programming 26, 1983) gave a method to establish a max-flow min-cut theorem in a domain of a Euclidean space. The method can be applied also to max-flow min-cut problems defined by Iri (Survey of Mathematical Programming, North-Holland, 1979) whenever the capacity functions of max-flow problems are bounded and continuous. This paper deals with max-flow min-cut problems of Strang and Iri with unbounded or noncontinuous capacity functions. It is proved that, in such problems, max-flow min-cut theorems may fail to hold.     

Sorption of nonylphenol on Na-Montmorillonite

Sorption of nonylphenol on Na-montmorillonite was studied by batch experiment and compared with that on -SiO₂, -Al₂O₃ and gibbsite. It was found that sorption of nonylphenol on Na-montmorillonite reached the equilibrium state within 24 h, and that the interlayer width of Na-montmorillonite did not change before and after the sorption. These suggest that nonylphenol was sorbed on the outer surface of Na-montmorillonite. Sorption isotherms of nonylphenol on Na-montmorillonite, -SiO₂, -Al₂O₃ and gibbsite were studied. Sorption amount of nonylphenol on the surface of octahedral sheets of Na-montmorillonite was found to be identical to that of gibbsite. On the other hand, sorption amount on -Al₂O₃ was smaller, and that on -SiO₂ was fairly few. Dependence of sorption onto Na-montmorillonite on pH and ionic strength was also examined. Sorption amount was found to increase monotonously with pH. Sorption amount decreased with ionic strength in the low ionic strength region, reached to a minimum and then increased with ionic strength. These results might suggest that nonylphenol was sorbed on the broken-edges of octahedral alumina sheets of Na-montmorillonite.     

2-Hydroxy-5,5-dialkyl-δ-valerolactone derivatives as chiral dopants for practical ferroelectric liquid crystals

2-Hydroxy-5,5-dialkyl-δ-valerolactone derivatives have shown interesting properties as a chiral dopant for ferroelectric liquid crystals. In small amounts these compounds induce high magnitudes of spontaneous polarization and long helical pitches in the chiral nematic phase (N*). Alkyl chains attached at the C-5 position play an important role in these properties. Here we discuss the stereochemistry and ferroelectric properties of these lactones and compare them with those of 2-hydroxy-5-alkyl-δ-valerolactone derivatives reported previously. The ring structure of 5,5-dialkyl-δ-valerolactone is found to be a rigid 'pseudo-chair' conformation by *H NMR studies.     

Isolation of a new tremorgenic indoloditerpene, 1'-O-acetylpaxilline, from Emericella striata and distribution of paxilline in Emericella spp

The distribution of a tremorgenic mycotoxin, paxilline (1), was investigated in 19 species belonging to the genus Emericella. It was found that Emericella desertorum, E. foveolata, and E. striata produced paxilline (1). A new type of indoloditerpene, emindole DA (4), was also found in E. quadrilineata. A new tremorgenic indoloditerpene, 1'-O-acetylpaxilline (3), was isolated from the mycelium of E. striata. Its structure was established on the basis of spectroscopic investigations.     

Self-consistent-field variational approach to the interaction between a polymer and a small molecule

A variational SCF treatment based on a perturbational concept is developed and applied to the interaction between trans-polyacetylene and a small molecule. The validity of the present method is examined by comparing the results with those from the conventional tight-binding SCF crystal orbital method. The interaction energies and charge distributions obtained are in good agreement between the two methods. This result suggests that the present variational approach is promising for application to complicated interactions between a polymer and impurities.     

A density functional elongation method for the theoretical synthesis of aperiodic polymers

The elongation method, a theoretical tool to synthesize the electronic states of polymers, is applied within the framework of the density functional approach and using a linear combination of Gaussian-type orbitals. In this treatment, the wave function of a cluster is localized and the interaction with an attacking monomer is self-consistently calculated according to the Kohn–Sham equation. The reliability and the applicability of our treatment are examined by the application to a random hydrogen molecule cluster, comparing the results with those obtained by the usual diagonalization method for the whole system. The results show that this treatment efficiently provides the electronic states of the end part of aperiodic polymers. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Determination of dissociation constants of sparingly soluble phenothiazine derivatives by second-derivative spectrophotometry

The dissociation constants (pK_a) for sparingly soluble phenothiazines (promazine, chlorpromazine, trifluoropromazine) in water were measured by second-derivative spectrophotometry. The intense background signals in the absorption spectra due to the turbidity caused by the precipitation of insoluble free base of the phenothiazine derivatives were eliminated in the second-derivative spectra, and the solubilities of the phenothiazine derivatives could be easily determined from the peak-to-trough lengths (D values) of the second-derivative signals. The pK_a values were calculated from the pH dependence of the D values. The pK_a values obtained agreed well with reported values and the standard deviations for 6–10 determinations were ? 0.02. The solubilities of the free bases of the phenothiazines were also determined.     

An energy-decomposition technique for the analysis of band structure and its application to polyphosphazene and its halogenated derivatives

An energy-decomposition technique is presented for the analysis of band structures of polymers and is applied to the π orbitals of polyphosphazene and its halogenated derivatives. In this treatment the orbital energy is decomposed into the contributions from individual atoms and bonds in the structure. Thereby, the shape of the energy band is elucidated as a function of atomic orbital interactions as well as structures of polymers. The trends of the k dependences for the individual contributions thus analyzed are consistent with those to be expected from the characters of the crystal orbitais. This method seems to be suitable for determining the effects of various substituents on the shape of the energy bands of polymers.