Understanding mechanisms of drying of a cellulose slurry by magnetic resonance imaging

Cellulose - This study concerns the spatial evolution of the internal components of a macroscopic sample of cellulose slurry during its convective drying. In a first stage, some water is extracted...     

Ultra performance liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry studies of formalin‐induced alterations of human brain lipidome

The development of ‘omics’ sciences offers new opportunities for the study of neurodegenerative diseases but increases at the same time the sample demand on brain banks that collect and store valuable human post‐mortem tissue. Our study aims to evaluate in lipidomics the potential of formalin‐fixed tissue compared with the cryopreservation method, considered as the gold standard for biochemical research. Two complementary liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry analytical platforms were used on the basis of hybrid quadrupole time‐of‐flight and triple quadrupole mass spectrometers. Untargeted fingerprinting, semitargeted profiling of specific lipid classes and targeted monitoring of lipid species were performed in formalin‐fixed and cryopreserved samples to provide detailed information at the molecular level on the formalin‐induced alterations of the brain tissue. In vitro incubations of lipid standards were also performed to further describe the degradation processes induced by formaldehyde. Phospholipid compounds were found to be extensively hydrolysed, whilst the sphingolipid ones were preserved. N‐methylation and N‐formylation of amine‐containing phospholipids have also been evidenced. These findings show that the potential detrimental effect of formalin on the analytes of interest must be taken into account when analysing formalin‐fixed samples. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nucleophilic imidoesterification of dicarbonyl compounds with cyanatobenzenes through C-C bond formation

Under neat conditions,an efficient method for synthesis of imidoesters has been developed using cyanatobenzenes and dicarbonyl compounds.Nucleophilic addition spontaneously occurred between the two kinds of materials at room temperature with yields of up to 90%.A mechanism directed towards to the imidoester formation has been proposed.     

Doubly stereocontrolled asymmetric Michael addition of acetylacetone to nitroolefins promoted by an isosteviol-derived bifunctional thiourea

A novel class of chiral bifunctional thioureas bearing a chiral lipophilic beyerane scaffold and a tertiary amino group was designed and prepared. The thioureas were proven to be effective for catalyzing the doubly stereocontrolled asymmetric Michael addition between acetylacetone and nitroolefins. The corresponding adducts were obtained in high yields (up to 95%) and with good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 97%). In addition, the reaction of tert-butyl acetoacetate and trans-β-nitrostyrene also proceeded smoothly with good enantioselectivity.     

Hydroindene-derived chiral synthons from carotol and their cytotoxicity

Ten enantiomerically pure hydroindene-derived compounds obtained by the transformation of (+)-carotol, the main constituent of carrot seed essential oil, were examined for their ability to inhibit the growth of myeloid leukaemia (HL-60) cancer cell lines. All compounds showed significant activity, which was comparable to the most active volatile organic compounds, such as trans–trans-farnesol, citral and nerolidol. Based on the bioactivity and molecular modelling, a 3D QSAR pharmacophore model was generated.     

Synthesis of tetrazole containing 1,2,3-thiadiazole derivatives via U-4CR and their anti-TMV activity

A series of novel tetrazole containing 1,2,3-thiadiazole derivatives were designed and synthesized via Ugi reaction. Their structures were confirmed by melting points, IR, 1H NMR, and HRMS (ESI). Preliminary bioassay indicated that most target compounds exhibited very good direct anti-TMV activity at 100 μg/mL, which was equal to or higher than that of ribavirin. Among them, compounds 4b, 4c and 4i also showed equivalent protection effect to ribavirin in vivo at 100 μg/mL.     

Vesicle formation between single-chained cationic surfactants and ribo-oligonucleotides

Recently,we reported that deoxyribo-oligonucleotides could induce single chained cationic surfactant aggregation to form vesicles.In this paper,we will present that ribo-oligonucleotides can also induce vesicle formation,and compared with deoxyribo-oligonucleotides,ribo-oligonucleotides exhibit a higher inductive efficiency.     

Evaluation of the Fate of Aldicarb and Its Metabolites in Oranges

Abstract

The accumulation, persistence and fate of systemic pesticide aldicarb was melencholy evaluated in orange crops. The concentration of this pesticide and its two toxic metabolites, aldicarb sulfoxide and aldicarb sulfone was determined in leaves, rind and pulp of three orange varieties (Satsuma, Navelina and Clemetina de Nules) and in the top soil of the orange groves. The groves were located in two different places in the Valencia Community (Spain). The analysis showed that the aldicarb concentration was lower than those of aldicarb sulfoxide and aldicarb sulfone. In all cases, the residues persisted at least 160 days in vegetable samples and between 157 and 227 days in soil samples. Residue concentrations measured in the soil samples were highly variable but a relation with the organic matter content can be observed. The residue levels found in vegetal products were higher in leaves than in rind, and in rind than in pulp. The maximum residue values were obtained between 47 and 70 days after the application. One hundred days after treatment (Security period) the residue levels of total fruit were lower than the maximum residue level of 0.2 mg/kg established by law.