A study for quality evaluation of Taxilli Herba from different hosts based on fingerprint-activity relationship modeling and multivariate statistical analysis

In this study, a fingerprint-activity relationship modeling between chemical fingerprints and antirheumatic activity was established, and multivariate statistical analysis was used to evaluate the quality of Taxilli Herba (TH) from different hosts. Characteristic fingerprints of 20 batches of TH samples were generated by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-Triple TOF-MS/MS), and the similarity analysis was calculated based on thirteen common characteristic peaks by hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA). Subsequently, nine efficacy markers were discovered by combining fingerprints and antirheumatic activity through grey correlation analysis (GCA) and bivariate correlation analysis (BCA). Meanwhile, the content of 5 constituents in 9 markers was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole-linear ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-QTRAP-MS/MS). The comprehensive quality of TH was assessed using multivariate statistical analysis, including principal components analysis (PCA) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). The results showed that a high dose of TH extract could markedly ameliorate arthritis damage compared to other doses, with flavonoids playing an important role in the antirheumatic activity. The comprehensive quality of samples from Morus alba L. (SS) was superior to those from Liquidambar formosana Hance (FXS). The present study will demonstrate the markers associated with efficacy, and provide an applicable strategy for more comprehensive quality control and evaluation of TH.     

A convergence result for a sequence of distributed-parameter optimal control problems

In this paper, we consider a sequence of abstract optimal control problems by allowing the cost integrand, the partial differential operator, and the control constraint set all to vary simultaneously. Using the notions of -convergence of functions,G-convergence of operators, and Kuratowski-Mosco convergence of sets, we show that the values of the approximating problems converge to that of the limit problem. Also we show that a convergent sequence of optimal pairs for the approximating problems has a limit which is optimal for the limit problem. A concrete example of parabolic optimal control problems is worked out in detail.This research was supported by NSF Grant No. DMS-88-02688.     

Exploring the Potential of Metallodrugs as Chemotherapeutics for Triple Negative Breast Cancer

This review focuses on studies of coordination and organometallic compounds as potential chemotherapeutics against triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) which has one of the poorest prognoses and worst survival rates from all breast cancer types. At present, chemotherapy is still the standard of care for TNBC since only one type of targeted therapy has been recently developed. References for metal-based compounds studied in TNBC cell lines will be listed, and those of metal-specific reviews, but a detailed overview will also be provided on compounds studied in vivo (mostly in mice models) and those compounds for which some preliminary mechanistic data was obtained (in TNBC cell lines and tumors) and/or for which bioactive ligands have been used. The main goal of this review is to highlight the most promising metal-based compounds with potential as chemotherapeutic agents in TNBC.     

Embedding hypertrees into steiner triple systems

In this paper, we are interested in the following question: given an arbitrary Steiner triple system on vertices and any 3‐uniform hypertree on vertices, is it necessary that contains as a subgraph provided ? We show the answer is positive for a class of hypertrees and conjecture that the answer is always positive.     

Stable isotope dilution assay for the accurate determination of tricaine in fish samples by HPLC–MS–MS

Tricaine methanesulfonate is one of most commonly used anesthetics in fish during blood sampling, artificial propagation and long‐distance transportation. In this study, an accurate method for the quantitative determination of tricaine in fish samples by a stable isotope dilution assay coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry was developed. Tricaine‐D₅ was synthesized and used as an isotopically labeled internal standard for the determination of tricaine. The analytical performance of the method was validated for tricaine determination in marine fish and freshwater fish. The determination of tricaine was linear in the range of 2.0–200.0 μg L^?1. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation for fish muscle tissues were 1.0 and 4.0 μg kg^?1, respectively. Good recoveries were obtained in the range of 92.08–97.50%. The inter‐ and intra‐assay relative standard deviations (RSD values) were investigated, and the values were 0.39–3.01 and 0.85–2.77%, respectively. The values of CCα and CCβ were 10.21–10.43 and 10.42–10.87 μg kg^?1, respectively. The clearance of MS‐222 from grass carp was further studied using our method. The results demonstrate that MS‐222 could be well absorbed and rapidly eliminated after bath administration.     

Anti‐Pasch optimal packings with triples

It is shown that for , there exists an optimal packing with triples on points that contains no Pasch configurations. Furthermore, for all (mod 6), there exists a pairwise balanced design of order , whose blocks are all triples apart from a single quintuple, and that has no Pasch configurations amongst its triples.     

Extended Peptide Nucleic Acid Nucleobases Based on Isoorotic Acid for the Recognition of A–U Base Pairs in Double-Stranded RNA

Peptide nucleic acids (PNA) with extended isoorotamide containing nucleobases ( I _o ) were designed for binding A–U base pairs in double-stranded RNA. Isothermal titration calorimetry and UV thermal melting experiments revealed improved affinity for A–U using the Io scaffold in PNA. PNAs having four sequential Io extended nucleobases maintained high binding affinity.     

Collision cell pressure effect on CID spectra pattern using triple quadrupole instruments: a RRKM modeling

Control of the ion internal energy in mass spectrometry is needed to establish a workable mass spectral library. The purpose of this study is to understand and to compare the pressure effects on the collision‐induced dissociation (CID) spectrum pattern recorded using triple quadrupole instruments. The monoprotonated Leucine enkephalin [YGGFL, H⁺] was used as a thermometer molecule to calibrate the electrospray ionization (ESI) and the CID internal energies deposited on the molecular species and the time scale of ion decompositions. The survival yield and the ratio of a₄/b₄ fragment ions were mainly monitored. The energy uptake for the ESI source geometry used in our study has no impact on the CID spectrum fingerprint. The collision cell pressure for the [YGGFL, H⁺] has a major influence on the SY curves slope and on the experimental time scale. To demonstrate the pressure effect on internal energy distribution, three models (threshold, thermal and collisional) based on RRKM theory were built using the Masskinetics software. As a result, the limit of each model is discussed, and the investigation demonstrates that the thermal model, using truncated Maxwell‐Boltzmann internal energy distribution, is well‐suited for simulating the experimental data at high pressure widely used in the analytical conditions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.