Characteristics of Dietary Fatty Acids Isolated from Historic Dental Calculus of the 17th- and 18th-Century Inhabitants of the Subcarpathian Region (Poland)

Dental calculus analysis can be a valuable source of archaeological knowledge, since it preserves not only microbial and host biomolecules but also dietary and environmental debris, as well as metabolic products likely originating from dietary and craft activities. Here we described GC-MS analysis of a set of historic dental calculus samples from the front teeth of the mandibles of seven individuals found in 17th- and 18th-century graves in the city of Rzeszow, located in South-eastern Poland. We have found that only saturated fatty acids, which are characteristic for fats of animal origin, were present in the tested samples. Our preliminary results indicate that the diet of modern-period inhabitants of Rzeszow was rich in animal products, such as meat and dairy products.     

Fundamental Characterization,Photophysics and Photocatalysis of a Base Metal Iron(II)-Cobalt(III) Dyad

A new base metal iron-cobalt dyad has been obtained by connection between a heteroleptic tetra-NHC iron(II) photosensitizer combining a 2,6-bis[3-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene]pyridine with 2,6-bis(3-methyl-imidazol-2-ylidene)-4,4′-bipyridine ligand, and a cobaloxime catalyst. This novel iron(II)-cobalt(III) assembly has been extensively characterized by ground- and excited-state methods like X-ray crystallography, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, (spectro-)electrochemistry, and steady-state and time-resolved optical absorption spectroscopy, with a particular focus on the stability of the molecular assembly in solution and determination of the excited-state landscape. NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopy reveal dissociation of the dyad in acetonitrile at concentrations below 1 mM and high photostability. Transient absorption spectroscopy after excitation into the metal-to-ligand charge transfer absorption band suggests a relaxation cascade originating from hot singlet and triplet MLCT states, leading to the population of the ³MLCT state that exhibits the longest lifetime. Finally, decay into the ground state involves a ³MC state. Attachment of cobaloxime to the iron photosensitizer increases the ³MLCT lifetime at the iron centre. Together with the directing effect of the linker, this potentially makes the dyad more active in photocatalytic proton reduction experiments than the analogous two-component system, consisting of the iron photosensitizer and Co(dmgH)₂(py)Cl. This work thus sheds new light on the functionality of base metal dyads, which are important for more efficient and sustainable future proton reduction systems.     

The Ising version of the t–J model

The t–J model is analysed in the limit of strong anisotropy, where the transverse components of electron spin are neglected. We propose a slave-particle-type approach that is valid, in contradiction to many of the standard approaches, in the low-doping regime and becomes exact for a half-filled system. We describe an effective method that allows to numerically study the system with the no-double-occupancy constraint rigorously taken into account at each lattice site. Then, we use this approach to demonstrate the destruction of the antiferromagnetic order by increasing the doping and formation of Nagaoka polarons in the strong interaction regime.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Stereoselective Intramolecular Oxidative Amidation of Alkenes in the Synthesis of 1,3‐ and 1,4‐Amino Alcohols and 1,3‐Diamines

An efficient and practical Pd‐catalyzed intramolecular oxidative allylic amidation provides facile access to derivatives of 1,3‐ and 1,4‐amino alcohols and 1,3‐diamines. The method operates under mild reaction conditions (RT) with molecular oxygen (1 atm) as the sole reoxidant of Pd. Excellent diastereoselectivities were attained with substrates bearing a secondary stereogenic center     

Molecular dynamics simulation study of xyloglucan adsorption on cellulose surfaces: effects of surface hydrophobicity and side-chain variation

The effect of surface hydrophobicity and side-chain variation on xyloglucan adsorption onto cellulose microfibrils (CMF) is investigated via molecular dynamics simulations. A molecular model of CMF with (100), (010), (1–10), (110) and (200) crystal faces was built. We considered xylogluco-oligosaccharides (XGO) with three repeating units, namely (XXXG)_3, (XXLG)₃, and (XXFG)₃ (where each (1,4)-β-d-glucosyl residue in the backbone is given a one-letter code according to its substituents: G = β-d-Glc; X = α-d-Xyl-(1,6)-β-d-Glc; L = β-d-Gal-(1,2)-α-d-Xyl-(1,6)-β-d-Glc; F = α-l-Fuc-(1,2)-β-d-Gal-(1,2)-α-d-Xyl-(1,6)-β-d-Glc). Our work shows that (XXXG)₃ binds more favorably to the CMF (100) and (200) hydrophobic surfaces than to the (110), (010) and (1–10) hydrophilic surfaces. The origin of this behavior is attributed to the topography of hydrophobic CMF surface, which stabilizes (XXXG)₃ in flat conformation. In contrast, on the rough hydrophilic CMF surface (XXXG)₃ adopts a less favorable random-coil conformation to facilitate more hydrogen bonds with the surface. Extending the xyloglucan side chains from (XXXG)₃ to (XXLG)₃ hinders their stacking on the CMF hydrophobic surface. For (XXFG)₃, the interaction with the hydrophobic surface is as strong as (XXXG)₃. All three XGOs have similar binding to the hydrophilic surface. Steered molecular dynamics simulation was performed on an adhesive model where (XXXG)₃ was sandwiched between two CMF hydrophobic surfaces. Our analysis suggests that this sandwich structure might help provide mechanical strength for plant cell walls. Our study relates to a recently revised model of primary cell walls in which extensibility is largely determined by xyloglucan located in limited regions of tight contact between CMFs.     

Ultrafast Photoswitching in a Copper‐Nitroxide‐Based Molecular Magnet

Molecular compounds with photoswitchable magnetic properties have been intensively investigated over the last decades due to their prospective applications in nanoelectronics, sensing and magnetic data storage. The family of copper‐nitroxide‐based molecular magnets represents a new promising type of photoswitchable compounds. We report the first study of these appealing systems using femtosecond optical spectroscopy. We unveil the mechanism of ultrafast (<50 fs) spin state photoswitching and establish its principal differences compared to other photoswitchable magnets. On this basis, we propose potential advantages of copper‐nitroxide‐based molecular magnets for the future design of ultrafast magnetic materials.     

Optimization of Adsorbent Layer Type and Developing Solvent in Coccidiostats Sample Preparation with Procedure of Solvent Front Position Extraction

Coccidiostats are drugs used against coccidiosis, a common disease among breeding animals. Their widespread application leads to the appearance of their residues in food, which is potentially harmful for human health and life. The European Union has established limits of concentrations of these drugs in premixtures and food. Nowadays, there are many methods for monitoring coccidiostats’ presence in market products, but their frequent weakness is sample preparation. Solvent Front Position Extraction is a planar chromatography-based sample preparation method that allows for effective assay of samples with coccidiostats when coupled with LC-MS/MS. The purpose of this research was to find common conditions for the effective isolation of eight coccidiostats from biological sample components with both lower and higher retention than the substances of interest. The acquired results were used for effective isolation of monensin and salinomycin from the premixture samples and allowed for their quantitative determination. The application of a semi-automatic device for the development of chromatograms positively impacted the results, confirming the effectiveness of the method for determining coccidiostats in biological samples.     

Bases,solvates and salts: new benzimidazole‐ and pyridine‐scaffolded ligands

The intermolecular interactions in the structures of a series of Schiff base ligands have been thoroughly studied. These ligands can be obtained in different forms, namely, as the free base 2‐[(2E)‐2‐(1H‐imidazol‐4‐ylmethylidene)‐1‐methylhydrazinyl]pyridine, C₁₀H₁₁N₅, 1 , the hydrates 2‐[(2E)‐2‐(1H‐imidazol‐2‐ylmethylidene)‐1‐methylhydrazinyl]‐1H‐benzimidazole monohydrate, C₁₂H₁₂N₆·H₂O, 2 , and 2‐{(2E)‐1‐methyl‐2‐[(1‐methyl‐1H‐imidazol‐2‐yl)methylidene]hydrazinyl}‐1H‐benzimidazole 1.25‐hydrate, C₁₃H₁₄N₆·1.25H₂O, 3 , the monocationic hydrate 5‐{(1E)‐[2‐(1H‐1,3‐benzodiazol‐2‐yl)‐2‐methylhydrazinylidene]methyl}‐1H‐imidazol‐3‐ium trifluoromethanesulfonate monohydrate, C₁₂H₁₃N₆⁺·CF₃O₃S^?·H₂O, 5 , and the dicationic 2‐{(2E)‐1‐methyl‐2‐[(1H‐imidazol‐3‐ium‐2‐yl)methylidene]hydrazinyl}pyridinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonate), C₁₀H₁₃N₅²⁺·2CF₃O₃S^?, 6 . The connection between the forms and the preferred intermolecular interactions is described and further studied by means of the calculation of the interaction energies between the neutral and charged components of the crystal structures. These studies show that, in general, the most important contribution to the stabilization energy of the crystal is provided by π–π interactions, especially between charged ligands, while the details of the crystal architecture are influenced by directional interactions, especially relatively strong hydrogen bonds. In one of the structures, a very interesting example of the nontypical F…O interaction was found and its length, 2.859 (2) Å, is one of the shortest ever reported.     

Homomorphisms and boundedness in topological groups

We consider homomorphisms from a normed space into a topological group. Assuming their boundedness in a neighbourhood (in relative topology) of an extremal point of the unit sphere, we derive their linearity (whenever it makes sense), closedness of the graph or continuity.