Site-Specific Detection of Free Radicals in Membranes Using an Amphiphilic Spin Trap

The detection of free radicals and related species has attracted considerable attention in recent years due to their critical roles in physiological and pathological processes. Among the various methods for the detection of free radicals, electron spin resonance coupled with spin-trapping technique has been an effective approach for the characterization and quantification of free radicals due to its high specificity. In this study, we designed and synthesized a novel amphiphilic spin trap, 2-(diethoxyphosphoryl)-2-heptadecanyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrrole-1-oxide (DEPHdPO), from 5-(diethoxyphosphoryl)-5-methyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide with a long hydrocarbon chain at the C-5 position of the pyrroline ring, providing the amphiphilic character. The free-radical-trapping ability of DEPHdPO was evaluated by capturing hydroxyl radicals (^·OH), superoxide anions (\( {\text{O}}_{2}^{ \cdot - } \)), and carbon-centered free radicals in a model membrane prepared from sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The results indicate that the hydrophobic hydrocarbon chain of DEPHdPO can be inserted into the inner core of SDS micelles, and the hydrophilic nitronyl functional moiety is located on the surface layer. Thus, various free radicals, including ^·OH radicals, \( {\text{O}}_{2}^{ \cdot - } \) anions, and carbon-centered radicals could be site-specifically detected near the membrane surface. Moreover, DEPHdPO could be successfully located on the surface of thylakoid membranes, and the nearby photo-initiated \( {\text{O}}_{2}^{ \cdot - } \) anions could be trapped site-specifically.     

Global continuum of positive solutions for discrete <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-Laplacian eigenvalue problems

We discuss the discrete p-Laplacian eigenvalue problem,

$$\left\{ \begin{gathered} \Delta (\phi _p (\Delta u(k - 1))) + \lambda a(k)g(u(k)) = 0,k \in \{ 1,2,...,T\} , \hfill \\ u(0) = u(T + 1) = 0, \hfill \\ \end{gathered} \right.$$

where T > 1 is a given positive integer and φ _p (x):= |x| ^p?2 x, p > 1. First, the existence of an unbounded continuum C of positive solutions emanating from (λ, u) = (0, 0) is shown under suitable conditions on the nonlinearity. Then, under an additional condition, it is shown that the positive solution is unique for any λ > 0 and all solutions are ordered. Thus the continuum C is a monotone continuous curve globally defined for all λ > 0.

     

A well-balanced and asymptotic-preserving scheme for the one-dimensional linear Dirac equation

The numerical approximation of one-dimensional relativistic Dirac wave equations is considered within the recent framework consisting in deriving local scattering matrices at each interface of the uniform Cartesian computational grid. For a Courant number equal to unity, it is rigorously shown that such a discretization preserves exactly the \(L^2\) norm despite being explicit in time. This construction is well-suited for particles for which the reference velocity is of the order of \(c\), the speed of light. Moreover, when \(c\) diverges, that is to say, for slow particles (the characteristic scale of the motion is non-relativistic), Dirac equations are naturally written so as to let a “diffusive limit” emerge numerically, like for discrete 2-velocity kinetic models. It is shown that an asymptotic-preserving scheme can be deduced from the aforementioned well-balanced one, with the following properties: it yields unconditionally a classical Schrödinger equation for free particles, but it handles the more intricate case with an external potential only conditionally (the grid should be such that \(c \Delta x\rightarrow 0\)). Such a stringent restriction on the computational grid can be circumvented easily in order to derive a seemingly original Schrödinger scheme still containing tiny relativistic features. Numerical tests (on both linear and nonlinear equations) are displayed.     

Superstability of the Cauchy equation with squares in finite-dimensional normed algebras

Our purpose is to provide an affirmative answer to Moszner’s problem [cf. Moszner (Ann Univ Paed Crac Stud Math XI:69–94, 2012), p. 93] concerning the superstability of the Cauchy equation with squares

$$f(x + y)^2 = (f(x) + f(y))^2$$

in the class of functions mapping an Abelian semigroup into a finite-dimensional normed algebra without divisors of zero.

     

Block partitions of sequences

Given a sequence A = (a ₁, …, a _n ) of real numbers, a block B of A is either a set B = {a _i , a _i+1, …, a _j } where i ≤ j or the empty set. The size b of a block B is the sum of its elements. We show that when each a _i ∈ [0, 1] and k is a positive integer, there is a partition of A into k blocks B ₁, …, B _k with |b _i ?b _j | ≤ 1 for every i, j. We extend this result in several directions.     

A Rolle Type Theorem for Cyclicity of Zeros of Families of Analytic Functions

Let \({\{ {f_{\lambda ;j}}\} _{\lambda \in V;1 \leqslant j \leqslant k}}\) be families of holomorphic functions in the open unit disk \({\text{D}} \subset {\Bbb C}\) ? ? depending holomorphically on a parameter λ ∈ V ? ? ⁿ . We establish a Rolle type theorem for the generalized multiplicity (called cyclicity) of zeros of the family of univariate holomorphic functions \({\left\{ {\sum\nolimits_{j = 1}^k {{f_{\lambda ;j}}} } \right\}_{\lambda \in V}}\) at 0 ∈ D. As a corollary, we estimate the cyclicity of the family of generalized exponential polynomials, that is, the family of entire functions of the form \(\sum\nolimits_{k = 1}^m {{P_k}(z){e^{{Q_k}(z)}}} \), z ∈ ?, where P _k and Q _k are holomorphic polynomials of degrees p and q, respectively, parameterized by vectors of coefficients of P _k and Q _k .     

Gelfand-Kirillov dimension of algebras with locally nilpotent derivations

Let R be a finitely generated algebra over a field of characteristic 0 with a locally nilpotent derivation δ ≠ 0. We show that if {ie313-1}, where the invariants {ie313-2} are prime and satisfy a polynomial identity, then {ie313-3}. Furthermore, when R is a domain, the same conclusion holds without the assumption that R is finitely generated. This enables us to obtain a result on skew polynomial rings. These results extend work of Bell and Smoktunowicz on domains with GK dimension in the interval [2, 3).     

Generalized 3-edge-connectivity of Cartesian product graphs

The generalized k-connectivity κ _k (G) of a graph G was introduced by Chartrand et al. in 1984. As a natural counterpart of this concept, Li et al. in 2011 introduced the concept of generalized k-edge-connectivity which is defined as λ _k (G) = min{λ(S): S ? V (G) and |S| = k}, where λ(S) denotes the maximum number l of pairwise edge-disjoint trees T ₁, T ₂, …, T _l in G such that S ? V (T _i ) for 1 ? i ? l. In this paper we prove that for any two connected graphs G and H we have λ ₃(G □ H) ? λ ₃(G) + λ ₃(H), where G □ H is the Cartesian product of G and H. Moreover, the bound is sharp. We also obtain the precise values for the generalized 3-edge-connectivity of the Cartesian product of some special graph classes.     

Ojective ideals in modular lattices

The concept of an extending ideal in a modular lattice is introduced. A translation of module-theoretical concept of ojectivity (i.e. generalized relative injectivity) in the context of the lattice of ideals of a modular lattice is introduced. In a modular lattice satisfying a certain condition, a characterization is given for direct summands of an extending ideal to be mutually ojective. We define exchangeable decomposition and internal exchange property of an ideal in a modular lattice. It is shown that a finite decomposition of an extending ideal is exchangeable if and only if its summands are mutually ojective.     

Toeplitz Operators with Uniformly Continuous Symbols

Let T _f be a Toeplitz operator on the Segal–Bargmann space or the standard weighted Bergman space over a bounded symmetric domain \({\Omega \subset {\bf C}^n}\) with possibly unbounded symbol f. Combining recent results in Bauer et al. (J. Funct. Anal. 259:57–78, 2010), Bauer et al. (J. reine angew. Math. doi: 10.1515/crelle-2015-0016), Issa (Integr. Equ. Oper. Theory 70:569–582, 2011) we show that in the case of uniformly continuous symbols f with respect to the Euclidean metric on C ⁿ and the Bergman metric on \({\Omega}\), respectively, the operator T _f is bounded if and only if f is bounded. Moreover, T _f is compact if and only if f vanishes at the boundary of \({\Omega.}\) This observation substantially extends a result in Coburn (Indiana Univ. Math. J. 23:433–439, 1973).