DETECTION OF DNA-PSORALEN PHOTOADDUCTS in situ

Abstract— An immunological method, with the use of specific immune serum, has been developed for detection of 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) photoadducts to DNA, formed in situ in cell nuclei, after combined treatment with 8MOP and UV-A irradiation (Zarçbska et al. , 1978). Lymphocytes fixed on slides or in suspension, and cryostat sections of different mammalian tissues, served as antigenic substrate, after treatment with 8-MOP and UV-A in vitro. Specific fluorescence in these substrates was detected in the nuclei after treatment with 30 ˜ 140 kJ/m² UV-A in the presence of 0.1-0.3 μg/cm² 8-MOP. PHA-stimulated-lymphocytes appeared to be the most sensitive substrate.
However, hairless mice treated with high doses of UV-A in vivo , 70 ˜ 360 kJ/m² did not reveal a specific fluorescence of epidermal nuclei, unless a high local concentration of 8-MOP was attained.
The apparent discrepancy in the level of photoadduct detection between the in vitro and in vivo treated specimens was explained by the low number of DNA-8-MOP-photoadducts formed in vivo under these experimental conditions. The relevance of these findings to the role of DNA-8-MOP-photoadducts formed during PUVA photochemotherapy is discussed.     

X-Ray Structure and Proton NMR Study of a Hexacoordinated Lithium Complex

The structure of the lithium complex with1,3,5-tris[oxymethylene(N,N-dicyclohexyl)carboxyamido]cyclohexanehas been determined by the X-ray method.The compound is triclinic, space group P¯1,a = 15.623(3), b = 19.279(4),c = 19.295(4)Å = 102.32(3), = 92.45(3), = 105.67(3)0, V = 5436(2)Å3, Z = 4. Itscomposition is represented by the formulaC48H82N3O6LiI 0.5H2O. The lithium cationis encapsulated in a polar pseudo-cavity of six oxygen atoms of the ligandmolecule and displays a distorted trigonal prism coordination. The conformationof the ligand in the solid state complex has been compared with the conformationof the complex in solution determined by 1H-NMR measurements.Supplementary data relevant to this publication have been deposited with the British Library, No. SUP 82224 (21 pages).     

CHEMILUMINESCENCE AND FLUORESCENCE OF THE EUROPIUM IONS-ADENINE NUCLEOTIDES SYSTEM AND ITS POSSIBLE BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Abstract— Chemiluminescence of the Eu(II)/Eu(III)-adenine nucleotide-H₂O₂ system and fluorescence of the Eu(III)-adenosine triphosphate system have been investigated. The spectral distribution of the chemiluminescence emission has shown an occurrence of three main bands (Λ=470–480,590–620 and ca. 700 nm). The energy transfer process from the adenosine triphosphate molecules to the Eu(III) ions has been observed in the fluorescence spectrum. The examined chemiluminescence and fluorescence spectra show that these both kinds of emission originate from the ⁵ D _***τ⁷F_*** ( n =1–4) transitions in the Eu(III) ions.     

Determination of Densities of Liquids and Solids Using a Gas

An experiment for the determination of densities of solids and liquids is described. It uses Archimedes Principle with air as the fluid. It can be used in general and introductory physical chemistry courses as a regular laboratory experiment or as a demonstration. A typical calibration curve and the values of some densities measured using this method are given as examples.     

Evaluation of a novel nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite powder and a solid hydroxyapatite/Chitosan-Gelatin bioceramic for scaffold preparation used as a bone substitute material

Artificially fabricated hydroxyapatite (HAP) shows excellent biocompatibility with various kinds of cells and tissues which makes it an ideal candidate for a bone substitute material. In this study, hydroxyapatite nanoparticles have been prepared by using the wet chemical precipitation method using calcium nitrate tetra-hydrate [Ca(NO₃)₂.4H₂O] and di-ammonium hydrogen phosphate [(NH₄)₂ HPO₄] as precursors. The composite scaffolds have been prepared by a freeze-drying method with hydroxyapatite, chitosan, and gelatin which form a 3D network of interconnected pores. Glutaraldehyde solution has been used in the scaffolds to crosslink the amino groups (|NH₂) of gelatin with the aldehyde groups (|CHO) of chitosan. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) performed on different scaffolds indicates that the incorporation of a certain amount of hydroxyapatite has no influence on the chitosan/gelatin network and at the same time, the organic matrix does not affect the crystallinity of hydroxyapatite. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images show the needle-like crystal structure of hydroxyapatite nanoparticle. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis shows an interconnected porous network in the scaffold where HAP nanoparticles are found to be dispersed in the biopolymer matrix. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirms the presence of hydroxyl group (OH^-) , phosphate group (PO^3-₄) , carbonate group (CO^2-₃) , imine group (C=N), etc. TGA reveals the thermal stability of the scaffolds. The cytotoxicity of the scaffolds is examined qualitatively by VERO (animal cell) cell and quantitatively by MTTassay. The MTT-assay suggests keeping the weight percentage of glutaraldehyde solution lower than 0.2%. The result found from this study demonstrated that a proper bone replacing scaffold can be made up by controlling the amount of hydroxyapatite, gelatin, and chitosan which will be biocompatible, biodegradable, and biofriendly for any living organism.     

Vapour—liquid equilibrium of the square-well fluid of variable range via a hybrid simulation approach

The equilibrium between vapour and liquid in a square-well system has been determined by a hybrid simulation approach combining chemical potentials calculated via the Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo technique with pressures calculated by the standard NVT Monte Carlo method. The phase equilibrium was determined from the thermodynamic conditions of equality of pressure and chemical potential between the two phases. The results of this hybrid approach were tested by independent NPT and μPT calculations and are shown to be of much higher accuracy than those of conventional GEMC simulations. The coexistence curves, vapour pressures and critical points were determined for SW systems of interaction ranges λ = 1.25, 1.5, 1.75 and 2. The new results show a systematic dependence on the range λ, in agreement with results from perturbation theory where previous work had shown more erratic behaviour.     

Thermal Explosion with Variable Thermal Conductivity: Criticality and Its Disappearance

Thermal stability of reacting masses, whose thermal conductivityis a function of temperature, is investigated. Some generalresults relating to criticality and its disappearance are presented.A particular study is made of the disappearance of criticalityfor the slab geometry with infinite Biot number (Frank-Kamenetskiiconditions) for both linear and exponential forms for the temperaturedependence of conductivity.     

Low-Dimensional Galerkin Models for Nonlinear Vibration and Instability Analysis of Cylindrical Shells

This paper discusses the derivation of discrete low-dimensional models for the non-linear vibration analysis of thin shells. In order to understand the peculiarities inherent to this class of structural problems, the non-linear vibrations and dynamic stability of a circular cylindrical shell subjected to dynamic axial loads are analyzed. This choice is based on the fact that cylindrical shells exhibit a highly non-linear behavior under both static and dynamic axial loads. Geometric non-linearities due to finite-amplitude shell motions are considered by using Donnell’s nonlinear shallow shell theory. A perturbation procedure, validated in previous studies, is used to derive a general expression for the non-linear vibration modes and the discretized equations of motion are obtained by the Galerkin method. The responses of several low-dimensional models are compared. These are used to study the influence of the modelling on the convergence of critical loads, bifurcation diagrams, attractors and large amplitude responses of the shell. It is shown that rather low-dimensional and properly selected models can describe with good accuracy the response of the shell up to very large vibration amplitudes.