Decrease in skin permeation and antibacterial effect of parabens by a polymeric additive, poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine-co-butylmetacrylate)

The inhibitory effect of poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine-co-butylmetacrylate) (PMB) on the in vitro skin permeation of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and its esters (parabens; methylparaben, ethylparaben, n-propylparaben and n-butylparaben) as model compounds was evaluated. Solubility of the parabens in distilled water was increased by addition of PMB, and the increasing ratio was dependent on the concentration of PMB. The increment of the ratio was more marked in lipophilic parabens than hydrophilic ones. Skin permeability of parabens from their aqueous suspensions was decreased by addition of PMB, and the decreasing ratio was dependent on the PMB concentration. Then, antibacterial effect of parabens of their aqueous solutions was determined with and without PMB by measuring minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against E. coli and S. aureus. As results, MIC and antibacterial effect were increased and decreased, respectively, by addition of PMB. The contribution of PMB was more marked in butylparaben than methylparaben. These decreases in skin permeation and antibacterial effect of parabens by PMB are probably due to a higher solubility in water and a lower partition to the skin and bacterial membranes of parabens by addition of PMB.     

Iridium-catalyzed hydroboration of alkenes with pinacolborane

Hydroboration of terminal and internal alkenes with pinacolborane (1.2 equiv) was carried out at room temperature in the presence of an iridium(I) catalyst (3 mol%). Addition of dppm (2 equiv) to [Ir(cod)Cl]₂ gave the best catalyst for hydroboration of aliphatic terminal and internal alkenes at room temperature, resulting in addition of the boron atom to the terminal carbon of 1-alkenes with more than 99% selectivities. On the other hand, a complex prepared from dppe (2 equiv) and [Ir(cod)Cl]₂ resulted in the best yields for vinylarenes such as styrene. These complexes exhibited higher levels of catalyst activity and selectivity than those of corresponding rhodium complexes.     

8‐Hydroxyquinaldinic acid and its nickel(II) complex

The molecules of 8‐hydroxy­quinolinium‐2‐carboxyl­ate, C₁₀H₇NO₃, have a planar structure, in which the carboxyl group is ionized and the ring N atom is protonated. The derived nickel(II) complex, bis(8‐hydroxy­quinoline‐2‐carboxyl­ato‐κ³O²,N,O⁸)­nickel(II) trihydrate, [Ni(C₁₀H₆NO₃)₂]·3H₂O, contains an octahedral central Ni^II ion coordinated by the hydroxyl O atom, the ring N atom and the carboxyl­ate O atom of each of the two tridentate ligands, with a perpendicular orientation of the quinoline rings.     

Two new cyclopentenone derivatives and a new cyclooctadienone derivative from Erigeron annuus (L.) PERS., Erigeron philadelphicus L., and Erigeron sumatrensis RETZ

Two new cyclopentenone derivatives, erigerenones A (1) and B (2), and a new cyclooctadienone derivative, erigerenone C (3), were isolated from the aerial parts of Erigeron philadelphicus L. Compound 2 was also isolated from the aerial parts of Erigeron annuus (L.) PERS. and Erigeron sumatrensis RETZ. The structures of 1-3 were elucidated on the basis of their spectral data.     

PHOTORECEPTOR PIGMENT IN Blepharisma: H+ RELEASE FROM RED PIGMENT

In faded cells of Blepharisma kept in a standard saline solution containing bacteria which had been cultured on agar plates containing glucose and polypepton, threshold light intensity for step-up photophobic response elevated. This result suggests that red pigment (blepharismin) contained in Blepharisma cells is involved in the step-up photophobic response. The pH of the aqueous solution of the red pigment was found to decrease when light was applied, indicating that the pigment releases H⁺ in response to light stimulation. However, faded pigment preparation by light irradiation did not show pH decrease. In the living cells faded by light irradiation, threshold light intensity for the step-up photophobic response was raised. Results suggest that H⁺ release from the red pigment induced by light irradiation might be responsible for the step-up photophobic response of the cells.     

Monte Carlo study of lipid membranes: Simulation of diparmitoylphosphatidylcholine bilayers in gel and liquid-crystalline phases

The statistical properties of the bilayer membranes of diparmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) in the gel and liquid-crystal phases were studied by Monte Carlo (MC) simulation using potential functions of the Lennard-Jones, the simple Coulomb, and the bond torsion. The simulation was undertaken on a two-dimensional periodic condition imposed on the bilayer model consisting of faithfully described molecules. The structure and ordering of the model bilayers accorded well with experiments, and the segment order parameters were in agreement with those of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. The two kinds of lipid chains of DPPC do not equivalently behave in the bilayers, and chain 2 has lower ordering than chain 1. The order parameters of the first eight segments of chain 2 in the liquid-crystal model are particularly small and are roughly constant. From electron density analysis, it has been observed that the liquid-crystal bilayer has about one excess water molecule per one lipid molecule in comparison with the gel bilayer. The energy difference between the two bilayer models, taking account of the water contribution, is consistent with the latent heat of the phase transition. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

New sterols from two edible mushrooms, Pleurotus eryngii and Panellus serotinus

Two edible mushrooms, Pleurotus eryngii and Panellus serotinus, have been investigated chemically. Two new sterols, 5alpha,9alpha-epidioxy-8alpha,14alpha-epoxy-(22E)-ergosta-6,22-dien-3beta-ol (1) and 3beta,5alpha-dihydroxyergost-7-en-6-one (2), have been isolated from P. eryngii, together with six known ones (3-8). Compound 1 was also isolated from P. serotinus. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated on the basis of their spectral data.     

Enhanced phosphorescence in intramolecular exciplex systems

Phosphorescence behavior of the series of compounds, (carbazole)-(CH₂)_n-(terephthalic acid methyl ester), which show intramolecular exciplex emission, has been studied in a rigid medium at 77 K. The phosphorescence of the carbazole moiety is enhanced by electron transfer fluorescence quenching of the carbazole residue in accord with the degree of quenching.     

Asymptotic properties of the maximum likelihood estimate in the first order autoregressive process

Summary In this paper we obtain an asymptotic expansion of the distribution of the maximum likelihood estimate (MLE) based onT observations from the first order Gaussian process up to the term of orderT ⁻¹. The expansion is used to compare with a generalized estimate including the least square estimate (LSE) , based on the asymptotic probabilities around the true value of the estimates up to the terms of orderT ⁻¹. It is shown that (or the modified MLE ) is better than (or the modified estimate ). Further, we note that does not attain the bound for third order asymptotic median unbiased estimates.     

Adsorption voltammetry of the copper(II) 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol complex

The voltammetric determination of copper(II), based on adsorptive accumulation of the Cu(II)-2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (S-Br-PADAP) complex on a hanging mercury drop electrode, is reported. The complex can be accumulated at the electrode at constant potential in 0.1M ammonium nitrate/ammonia buffer solution, and its reduction wave observed by scanning the potential in the negative direction, in the differential pulse mode. The calibration graph for copper is linear over the range 0.05-0.5muM, with accumulation for 5 min at -0.20 V. The adsorption of the complex is discussed and compared with that of copper complexes with several other pyridylazo derivatives.