Spectroscopic and Structural Study of a New Conducting Pyrazolium Salt

The increase in conductivity with temperature in 1H-pyrazol-2-ium 2,6-dicarboxybenzoate monohydrate was analyzed, and the influence of the mobility of the water was discussed in this study. The electric properties of the salt were studied using the impedance spectroscopy method. WB97XD/6-311++G(d,p) calculations were performed, and the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAiM) approach and the Hirshfeld surface method were applied to analyze the hydrogen bond interaction. It was found that temperature influences the spectroscopic properties of pyrazolium salt, particularly the carbonyl and hydroxyl frequencies. The influence of water molecules, connected by three-center hydrogen bonds with co-planar tetrameters, on the formation of structural defects is also discussed in this report.     

Results from Bifurcation Analysis in Ship Dynamics

To assure safe ship operations on one hand side and to reduce operational restrictions to a minimum a proper knowledge of the ship's behavior in waves is necessary. One approach to achieve this is to generate an exact mathematical model of a ship and the fluid–structure–interaction in order to determine dangerous and safe operational conditions by analyzing the behavior with present numerical methods from nonlinear dynamics theory. Comparison between numerical simulations and experimental results as well as two sets of save and dangerous conditions for a given model of a real ship are shown. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Importance of Bile Composition for Diagnosis of Biliary Obstructions

Determination of the cause of a biliary obstruction is often inconclusive from serum analysis alone without further clinical tests. To this end, serum markers as well as the composition of bile of 74 patients with biliary obstructions were determined to improve the diagnoses. The samples were collected from the patients during an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). The concentration of eight bile salts, specifically sodium cholate, sodium glycocholate, sodium taurocholate, sodium glycodeoxycholate, sodium chenodeoxycholate, sodium glycochenodeoxycholate, sodium taurodeoxycholate, and sodium taurochenodeoxycholate as well as bile cholesterol were determined by HPLC-MS. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and bilirubin were measured before the ERCP. The aim was to determine a diagnostic factor and gain insights into the influence of serum bilirubin as well as bile salts on diseases. Ratios of conjugated/unconjugated, primary/secondary, and taurine/glycine conjugated bile salts were determined to facilitate the comparison to literature data. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were determined, and the cut-off values were calculated by determining the point closest to (0,1). It was found that serum bilirubin was a good indicator of the type of biliary obstruction; it was able to differentiate between benign obstructions such as choledocholithiasis (at the concentration of >11 µmol/L) and malignant changes such as pancreatic neoplasms or cholangiocarcinoma (at the concentration of >59 µmol/L). In addition, it was shown that conjugated/unconjugated bile salts confirm the presence of an obstruction. With lower levels of conjugated/unconjugated bile salts the possibility for inflammation and, thus, neoplasms increase.     

Correlation of Tc with structure in the density of states in the new high-Tc superconductors

The variation of T_c with hole concentration in the new copper oxide superconductors can readily be understood in terms of a peak in the density of states associated with the CuO₂ planes. The data are consistent with either simple phonon-mediated pairing or an indirect excitonic pairing. Effects due to interlayer coupling are considered. The sharp decrease of T_c near half-filling is probable due to strong spin fluctuations.     

Scaling study for a high-field magnet for quasi-optical gyrotrons

The design of a 12 T superconducting magnet for a 280 GHz quasi-optical gyrotron is discussed. The gyrotron geometry requires a clear bore perpendicular to the magnetic axis through the center of the magnet, thus forcing the magnet to be formed of two separate sections. This causes the peak field on the windings to be over 14 T, and produces a double-peaked structure in the field. Calculations of mirror and cross bore RF heating and electron beam reflection as a function of the magnet and cross bore dimensions are presented, as are discussions of other tradeoffs in the magnet design. The conclusion of the study is that a suitable magnet is feasible     

Tabu search algorithm for DNA sequencing by hybridization with isothermic libraries

In this paper, a problem of isothermic DNA sequencing by hybridization (SBH) is considered. In isothermic SBH a new type of oligonucleotide libraries is used. The library consists of oligonucleotides of different lengths depending on an oligonucleotide content. It is assumed that every oligonucleotide in such a library has an equal melting temperature. Each nucleotide adds its increment to the oligonucleotide temperature and it is assumed that A and T add 2 degrees C and C and G add 4 degrees C. The hybridization experiment using isothermic libraries should provide data with a lower number of errors due to an expected similarity of melting temperatures. From the computational point of view the problem of isothermic DNA sequencing with errors is hard, similarly like its classical counterpart. Hence, there is a need for developing heuristic algorithms that construct good suboptimal solutions. The aim of the paper is to propose a heuristic algorithm based on tabu search approach. The algorithm solves the problem with both positive and negative errors. Results of an extensive computational experiment are presented, which prove the high quality of the proposed method.     

Synthesis, structural characterisation and thermal decomposition studies of some 2,4′-bipyridyl complexes with cobalt(II), nickel(II) and copper(II)

2,4-Bipyridyl (2,4-bipy orL) complexes with cobalt(II), nickel(II) and copper(II) of the formulae M(2,4-bipy)₂(CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O (M(II) = Co, Ni, Cu), Co(2,4-bipy)₂SO₄·3H₂O or Ni(2,4-bipy)₂SO₄·4H₂O have been prepared and their IR and electronic (VIS) spectra are discussed. The thermal behaviour of the obtained compounds has also been studied. The intermediate products of decomposition at different temperatures have been characterized by chemical analysis and X-ray diffraction.We thank dr. A. Malinowska for performing VIS spectra. This work was supported by the KBN project No. PB 0636/P3/93/04.     

Universal Solid Supports for Synthesis of Oligonucleotides with Terminal 3′-Phosphates

Abstract

Oligonucleotides bearing 3′-phosphates groups are required for studying chemical ligation (1), thermodynamic and spectroscopic analyses (2). Synthetic methods for oligodeoxynucleotides with terminal 3′-phosphates were already established either in solution (3) or on solid supports (4,5).

In this communication we describe the preparation of glass supports with degradable linkers I which allow an easy access to 3′-phosphorylated oligonucleotides by a phosphoroamidite method.     

Photosensitized oxidation of methionine derivatives. Laser flash photolysis studies

The early events in the triplet 4-carboxybenzophenone (CB)-induced oxidation of N-acetyl-methionine methyl ester (N-Ac-Met-OCH₃) are investigated in aqueous solution. Upon electron transfer from the methionine residue of N-Ac-Met-OCH₃ to ³CB*, the resulting sulfur radical cation undergoes further reactions: (1) back electron transfer, (2) escape of the radical ions from the solvent cage, or (3) proton transfer and escape of the radicals. The yields and paths of these reactions are shown to depend strongly on the pH of the solution, and, similar to the previously reported results for dipeptides (Met-Gly and Gly-Met), on the structural nature of the methionine substituents. In the experiments performed in this work, low quencher concentrations were used to avoid formation of intermolecular transients (e.g., dimeric sulfur-centered radical cation (S∴S)⁺). Under these experimental conditions, the one-electron oxidized sulfur does not seem to become stabilized in an (S∴N)⁺ three-electron bonded intramolecular complex. The proposed mechanism is further supported by the stable products analysis. A detailed mechanism involving characterization of the transients is discussed and compared to that of methionine and methionine-containing dipeptides (Met-Gly and Gly-Met). Moreover, a newly installed transient absorption laser system is described in details.