Monitoring bisphenol A and estrogenic chemicals in thermal paper with yeast-based bioreporter assay

Bioluminescent Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast-based bioreporters were used to monitor bisphenol A and other estrogenic chemicals in thermal paper samples collected mainly from Finland on two occasions in 2010/2011, and 2013. The bisphenol A-targeted (BPA-R) and the human oestrogen receptor (hERα) bioreporters were applied to analyse both non-treated and extracted paper samples. Bisphenol A was readily bioavailable to the yeast bioreporters on the non-treated paper samples without any pre-treatment. Detected concentrations ranged from a detection limit of 9–142 μg/g to over 20 mg/g of bisphenol A equivalents in the thermal papers. Low bisphenol A like activities were detected in many samples, and were considered to be caused by residual bisphenol A or other types of bisphenols, such as bisphenol S. Most of the thermal paper samples were toxic to the yeast bioreporters. The toxicity did not, however, depend on the bisphenol A concentration of the samples. The yeast bioreporters were demonstrated to be a robust and cost-efficient method to monitor thermal paper samples for their bisphenol A content and estrogenicity. Thermal paper was considered as a potential BPA source for both human exposure and environmental emission.     

The Structural Diversity of Benzofuran Resorcinarene Leads to Enhanced Fluorescence

An unexpected and previously unknown resorcinarene mono‐crown with a fused benzofuran moiety in its macrocyclic core was obtained as a byproduct from a bridging reaction of tetramethoxy resorcinarene with tetraethylene glycol ditosylate. The formation of the fused benzofuran moiety in the resorcinarene macrocycle resulted in a unique rigid and puckered boat conformation, as shown by XRD studies in the solid state. Modification of the macrocycle was also observed to affect the photophysical properties in solution by enhancing the fluorescence brightness compared with a conventional resorcinarene macrocycle. The fluorescent properties enabled unique detection of structural features, that is, the rigid boat conformation with the conjugated benzofuran system and the more flexible crown bridge part, in solution.     

The Effect of the Side Chain on Gelation Properties of Bile Acid Alkyl Amides

Six bile acid alkyl amide derivatives were studied with respect to their gelation properties. The derivatives were composed of three different bile acids with hexyl or cyclohexyl side chains. The gelation behaviour of all six compounds were studied for 36 solvents with varying polarities. Gelation was observed mainly in aromatic solvents, which is characteristic for bile-acid-based low molecular weight gelators. Out of 108 bile acid-solvent combinations, a total of 44 gel systems were formed, 28 of which from lithocholic acid derivatives, only two from deoxycholic acid derivatives, and 14 from cholic acid derivatives. The majority of the gel systems were formed from bile acids with hexyl side chains, contrary to the cyclohexyl group, which seems to be a poor gelation moiety. These results indicate that the spatial demand of the side chain is the key feature for the gelation properties of the bile acid amides.     

The equivalence between pointwise Hardy inequalities and uniform fatness

We prove an equivalence result between the validity of a pointwise Hardy inequality in a domain and uniform capacity density of the complement. This result is new even in Euclidean spaces, but our methods apply in general metric spaces as well. We also present a new transparent proof for the fact that uniform capacity density implies the classical integral version of the Hardy inequality in the setting of metric spaces. In addition, we consider the relations between the above concepts and certain Hausdorff content conditions.     

Triangular hyperbolic buildings

We construct triangular hyperbolic polyhedra whose links are generalized 4-gons. The universal cover of such a polyhedron is a hyperbolic building, whose apartments are hyperbolic planes tessellated by regular triangles with angles $\pi /4$. The fundamental groups of the polyhedra are hyperbolic, torsion free, with property (T). To cite this article: R. Kangaslampi, A. Vdovina, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 342 (2006).     

The De Giorgi measure and an obstacle problem related to minimal surfaces in metric spaces

We study the existence of a set with minimal perimeter that separates two disjoint sets in a metric measure space equipped with a doubling measure and supporting a Poincaré inequality. A measure constructed by De Giorgi is used to state a relaxed problem, whose solution coincides with the solution to the original problem for measure theoretically thick sets. Moreover, we study properties of the De Giorgi measure on metric measure spaces and show that it is comparable to the Hausdorff measure of codimension one. We also explore the relationship between the De Giorgi measure and the variational capacity of order one. The theory of functions of bounded variation on metric spaces is used extensively in the arguments.     

Obstacle problem for nonlinear parabolic equations

We show the existence of a continuous solution to a nonlinear parabolic obstacle problem with a continuous time-dependent obstacle. The solution is constructed by an adaptation of the Schwarz alternating method. Moreover, if the obstacle is Hölder continuous, we prove that the solution inherits the same property.     

Simultaneous ion transfer across the microhole ITIES: an example of ternary electrodiffusion

Ternary electrodiffusion at the immiscible liquid liquid interface (ITIES) is considered in the case where a univalent cation is transferring from the water to the organic phase through a microhole, and simultaneously a univalent anion is transferring in the opposite direction. The process is assumed to take place at steady-state. If the separation between the formal transfer potentials of these ions is large enough, a limiting current corresponding to the electrodiffusion of the ion with the lower formal transfer potential is observed. Thereafter, the current begins to rise again as a linear function of the cell potential because the Galvani potential across the interface has reached its limiting value and the potential is expended in the form of ohmic loss in the diffusion boundary layers. The Galvani potential across the interface cannot overcome the average value of the formal transfer potentials due to the electroneutrality condition. The present case is analogous to a redox reaction at the ultramicroelectrode with sign reversal (K.B. Oldham, J. Electroanal. Chem. 337 (1992) 91) but no suitable experimental system has yet been found with which to test this prediction. Experiments without supporting electrolytes seem to have only little value in quantitative analysis of ion transfer.     

Variations in fiber length within a first-thinning Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stem

Variations in average fiber length and fiber length distribution both in the longitudinal and horizontal directions of a first-thinning Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stem and between six stems of similar age (26–30 years) and height (10.7–12.8 m) were studied. As a general trend, fiber length increased from the pith (0.8–1.3 mm) to the outer part of the stem (1.9–2.9 mm) maximizing at the relative stem height of 20–40%. Variations in fiber length between stems were smaller than those within a stem. The average fiber length of different stems of the same age (28 years) or diameter at breast height (11 cm) depended typically on wood growth rate. Finally, kraft cooking experiments on different parts of the stem (i.e., butt and top as well as inner and outer parts of the stem) indicated clear differences in their pulp properties. It was concluded that due to the acceptable properties of these pulps, first-thinning wood material as such or after the suitable fractionation may offer a potential source of fiber for a variety of different purposes.