Response surface methodology toward the optimization of high-energy carotenoid extraction from Aristeus antennatus shrimp

High-energy assisted extraction techniques, like ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) and microwave assisted extraction (MAE), are widely applied over the last years for the recovery of bioactive compounds such as carotenoids, antioxidants and phenols from foods, animals and herbal natural sources. Especially for the case of xanthophylls, the main carotenoid group of crustaceans, they can be extracted in a rapid and quantitative way with the use of UAE and MAE.     

Smart Geodesic Tracing in GRworkbench

We have developed a new tool for numerical work in General Relativity: GRworkbench. We discuss how GRworkbench's implementation of a numerically-amenable analogue to Differential Geometry facilitates the development of robust and chart-independent numerical algorithms. We consider, as an example, geodesic tracing on two charts covering the exterior Schwarzschild space-time.     

Acrylamide analysis: assessment of results from six rounds of Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme (FAPAS) proficiency testing

Six proficiency tests have now been completed in an ongoing program of the UK Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme (FAPAS) for the analysis of acrylamide in a range of food matrixes. Homogeneous test material samples were requested by laboratories throughout the world, with 29 to 45 submitting results for each test. Results were analyzed by appropriate statistical procedures, and z-scores were awarded for reported values. In the absence of both legislation and collaborative trial data, the target standard deviation was derived from the Horwitz equation, although it is acknowledged that there is a need to establish a "fit for purpose" target standard deviation specifically for acrylamide analysis. Participants were encouraged to use the analytical method routinely used in their own laboratory and to provide details of their procedure. Close examination of the data submitted indicates that performance is generally acceptable in terms of accuracy. There is no significant difference between results submitted by gas chromatography and liquid chromatography (GC and LC) methods, and no method dependency on the use of internal standards or sample size. However, choice of extraction solvent may be important, with indications that plain water is an acceptable extraction method. There is evidence from the most recent test that direct (underivatized) GC methodology may present problems, but more data are required and this aspect will be monitored in the continuing proficiency testing program.     

Continuum formulation of the Scheutjens-Fleer lattice statistical theory for homopolymer adsorption from solution

Homopolymer adsorption from a dilute solution on an interacting (attractive) surface under static equilibrium conditions is studied in the framework of a Hamiltonian model. The model makes use of the density of chain ends n(1,e) and utilizes the concept of the propagator G describing conformational probabilities to locally define the polymer segment density or volume fraction phi; both n(1,e) and phi enter into the expression for the system free energy. The propagator G obeys the Edwards diffusion equation for walks in a self-consistent potential field. The equilibrium distribution of chain ends and, consequently, of chain conformational probabilities is found by minimizing the system free energy. This results in a set of model equations that constitute the exact continuum-space analog of the Scheutjens-Fleer (SF) lattice statistical theory for the adsorption of interacting chains. Since for distances too close to the surface the continuum formulation breaks down, the continuum model is here employed to describe the probability of chain configurations only for distances z greater than 2l, where l denotes the segment length, from the surface; instead, for distances z < or = 2l, the SF lattice model is utilized. Through this novel formulation, the lattice solution at z = 2l provides the boundary condition for the continuum model. The resulting hybrid (lattice for distances z < or = 2l, continuum for distances z > 2l) model is solved numerically through an efficient implementation of the pseudospectral collocation method. Representative results obtained with the new model and a direct application of the SF lattice model are extensively compared with each other and, in all cases studied, are found to be practically identical.     

AN ACTION SPECTRUM FOR LETHAL PHOTOSENSITIZATION OF Candida albicans BY 8-MOP AFTER LOW-DOSE BROAD-BAND UV-A IRRADIATION; AN ACTION SPECTRUM FOR 8-MOP 4′,5′- MONOADDUCTS?

An action spectrum was obtained for lethal photosensitization of Candida albicans that had been pre-irradiated with a sub-lethal low dose of broad-band UV-A after incubation with 8-methoxypsoralen and then washed to remove any non-photobound 8-methoxypsoralen. The resultant spectrum with a peak in the 320-335 nm region was similar to that obtained by a conventional method (single irradiation only) and also to the absorption spectrum of the 4',5'-monoadduct. These data support the hypothesis that the chromophore for lethal photosensitization by 8-methoxypsoralen is the 8-methoxypsoralen/DNA 4',5'-monoadduct rather than 8-methoxypsoralen itself.     

Bounds for the generalized Marcum function of the second kind

The Ramanujan Journal - This paper provides elementary proofs for several types of congruences involving multipartitions and self-convolutions of the divisor function. Our computations use...     

Effects of thioamide substitutions on the conformation and stability of alpha- and 3(10)-helices

Thiopeptides, formed by replacing the amide oxygen atom with a sp(2) sulfur atom, are useful in protein engineering and drug design because they confer resistance to enzymatic degradation and are predicted to be more rigid. This report describes our free molecular dynamics simulations with explicit water and free energy calculations on the effects of thio substitutions on the conformation of alpha-helices, 3(10)-helices, and their relative stability. The most prominent structural effect of thio substitution is the increase in the hydrogen bond distance from 2.1 A for normal peptides to 2.7 A for thiopeptides. To accommodate for the longer C[double bond]S...H-N hydrogen bond, the (phi, psi) dihedral angles of the alpha-helix changed from (-66 degrees, -42 degrees) to (-68 degrees, -38 degrees), and the rise per turn increased from 5.5 to 6.3 A. For 3(10)-helices, the (phi, psi) dihedral angles (-60 degrees, -20 degrees) and rise per turn (6.0 A) changed to (-66 degrees, -12 degrees) and 6.8 A, respectively. In terms of relative stability, the most prominent change upon thio substitution is the decrease in the free energy difference, Delta A(alpha --> 3(10)), from 14 to 3.5 kcal/mol. Therefore, normal peptides are less likely to form 3(10)-helix than are thiopeptides. Component analysis of the Delta A(alpha --> 3(10)) reviews that the entropy advantage of the 3(10)-helix for both Ac-Ala(10)-NHMe and Act-Alat(10)-NHMe is attributed to the 3(10)-helix being more flexible than the alpha-helix. Interestingly, upon thio substitution, this differential flexibility is even more apparent because the alpha-helix conformation of Act-Alat(10)-NHMe becomes more rigid due to the bulkier sulfur atom.     

Synthesis,Conformation, and Metabolism of a Selenium Bilirubin

Summary. A symmetrical C(10)-selena-bilirubin analog, 8,12-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-7,13-dimethyl-2,3,17,18-tetraethyl-10-selenabiladiene-ac-1,19(21H,24H)-dione was synthesized from 8-(2-carboxyethyl)-2,3-diethyl-7-methyl-(10H)-dipyrrin-1-one in one step by reaction with diselenyl dichloride. The selena-rubin exhibited UV-vis and NMR spectroscopic properties similar to those of the parent mesobilirubin, and like bilirubin and mesobilirubin, it adopts an intramolecularly hydrogen-bonded conformation, shaped like a ridge-tile but with a steeper pitch. The longer C–Se bond lengths (2.2Å) and smaller bond angles at C–Se–C (88°), as compared to C–CH₂–C (1.5Å, 106°), lead to an interplanar angle between the two dipyrrinones of only 72°, which is considerably less than that of bilirubin (100°) and close to that (74°) of its 10-thia-rubin analog. Despite the conformational distortion, the sensitivity of Se toward oxidation and the typically weak C–Se bond, the selena-rubin is metabolized in normal rats, like bilirubin, to acyl glucuronides, which are secreted into bile. In mutant (Gunn) rats lacking bilirubin glucuronosyl transferase (UGT1A1), glucuronide or other metabolites of the selena-rubin were not detected in bile, demonstrating the importance of hepatic glucuronidation for its biliary excretion.