In vivo sampling using loop microdialysis probes coupled to a liquid chromatograph.

Microdialysis probes with longer membranes (20-100 mm) provide increased relative recovery over traditional shorter probes (1-4 mm) developed for neuroscience applications. The characterization and optimization of "straight through" or "loop type" probes for use in subcutaneous tissue are considered. Membrane area, probe size, inlet and outlet tubing dimensions, and flow-rate are examined for their effects on relative recovery, the total collection rate, and bulk flow through the membrane wall. Polyacrylonitrile and regenerated cellulose membrane fibers with different geometries were compared. Sampling probes used fibers 3-10 cm long. Inlet and outlet tubing was varied from 25 to 110 microns I.D. with lengths of 10 to 50 cm. Probe configurations optimized for relative recovery, flow-rate, and utility for in vivo use are presented. Utilizing microdialysis probes with large membrane surface areas results in relative concentration recovery of greater than 50% at flow-rates of greater than 5 microliters/min. Therapeutic drug monitoring in subcutaneous tissue of awake animals is explored.     

Approximating min-cost chain-constrained spanning trees: a reduction from weighted to unweighted problems

We study the min-cost chain-constrained spanning-tree (MCCST) problem: find a min-cost spanning tree in a graph subject to degree constraints on a nested family of node sets. We devise the first polytime algorithm that finds a spanning tree that (i) violates the degree constraints by at most a constant factor and (ii) whose cost is within a constant factor of the optimum. Previously, only an algorithm for unweighted CCST was known (Olver and Zenklusen in Proceedings of the 16th IPCO, pp 324–335, 2013), which satisfied (i) but did not yield any cost bounds. This also yields the first result that obtains an O(1)-factor for both the cost approximation and violation of degree constraints for any spanning-tree problem with general degree bounds on node sets, where an edge participates in a super-constant number of degree constraints. A notable feature of our algorithm is that we reduce MCCST to unweighted CCST (and then utilize Olver and Zenklusen in Proceedings of the 16th IPCO, pp 324–335, 2013) via a novel application of Lagrangian duality to simplify the cost structure of the underlying problem and obtain a decomposition into certain uniform-cost subproblems. We show that this Lagrangian-relaxation based idea is in fact applicable more generally and, for any cost-minimization problem with packing side-constraints, yields a reduction from the weighted to the unweighted problem. We believe that this reduction is of independent interest. As another application of our technique, we consider the k -budgeted matroid basis problem, where we build upon a recent rounding algorithm of Bansal and Nagarajan (Proceedings of IPCO 2016. arXiv:1512.02254, 2015) to obtain an improved \(n^{O(k^{1.5}/\epsilon )}\)-time algorithm that returns a solution that satisfies (any) one of the budget constraints exactly and incurs a \((1+\epsilon )\)-violation of the other budget constraints.     

Finite-size,magnetic and chemical-potential effects on first-order phase transitions

We perform a study about effects of an applied magnetic field and a finite chemical potential on the size-dependent phase structure of a first-order transition. These effects are introduced by using methods of quantum fields defined on toroidal spaces, and we study in particular the case of two compactified dimensions, imaginary time and a spatial one (a heated film). It is found that for any value of the applied field, there is a minimal size of the system, independent of the chemical potential, below which the transition disappears.     

Physicochemical Characterization and Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Myrciaria Floribunda (H. West ex Willd.) O. Berg Accessions

Myrciaria floribunda, also known as rumberry, is a tree native to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, where its fruits have the potential for commercial use. This study evaluates the antioxidant potential, determines the phytochemical profile, and chemically characterizes the rumberry fruit. Accessions were sampled from the Rumberry Active Germplasm Bank of the Federal University of Alagoas, Brazil. Physical characteristics, chemical characteristics, and phenolic compound content were analyzed. Chemical profile characterization was carried out using PSMS. Accessions had an average weight of 0.86 g. Accession AC137 presented a higher pulp yield (1.12 g). AC132 and AC156 had larger fruits, AC137 showed greater firmness (5.93 N), and AC160 had a higher and total phenolic content ratio (279.01 ± 11.11). Orange-colored accessions scored higher in evaluated parameters, except for AC160 for phenolic content. Thirty-two compounds were identified on positive ionization mode and 42 compounds on negative ionization mode using PSMS. Flavonoids, followed by the derivatives of benzoic acid, sugars, and phenylpropanoids, were the most prominent. Myricitrin, quercitrin, and catechin stand out as flavonoids that have been reported in previous studies with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, in addition to health and therapeutical benefits, demonstrating the potential of the rumberry fruit.     

Chemical Physical Characterization and Profile of Fruit Volatile Compounds from Different Accesses of Myrciaria floribunda (H. West Ex Wild.) O. Berg through Polyacrylate Fiber

Among the many species of native fruit of Brazil that have been little explored, there is Myrciaria floribunda (also known as rumberry, cambuizeiro, or guavaberry), a species with significant variability, which has fruits of different colors (orange, red, and purple) when ripe. The physical-chemical characteristics evaluated were fruit weight (FW), seed weight (SW), pulp weight (PW), number of seeds (NS), longitudinal diameter (LD), transverse diameter (TD), format (LD/TD), hydrogen potential (pH), soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), and ratio (SS/TA); further, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of nine accesses of rumberry orchards were identified. The averages of the variables FW, SW, PW, NS, LD, TD, shape, and firmness were 0.76 g, 0.22 g, 0.54 g, 1.45, 10.06 mm, 9.90 mm, 1.02, 2.96 N, respectively. LD/TD data showed that the fruits have a slightly rounded shape (LD/TD = 1). The averages for pH, SS, TA, and SS/TA were 3.74, 17.58 Brix, 4.31% citric acid, and 4.31, respectively. The evaluated parameters indicated that the fruits can be consumed both in natura and industrialized, with the red-colored fruits presenting a good balance of SS/TA, standards demanded by the processing industries. Thirty-six VOCs were identified, with emphasis on the sesquiterpenes. Caryophyllene (21.6% to 49.3%) and γ-selinene (11.3% to 16.3%) were the most predominant compounds in rumberry fruits.     

Intercalation ofn-alkylamines into α-titanium phosphate from aqueous solutions

Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Macrocyclic Chemistry - The intercalation reactions betweenn-alkylamines and α-titanium phosphate in aqueous media have been investigated. The compounds with...     

Dirac’s Theorem on Simplicial Matroids

We introduce the notion of k-hyperclique complexes, i.e., the largest simplicial complexes on the set [n] with a fixed k-skeleton. These simplicial complexes are a higher-dimensional analogue of clique (or flag) complexes (case k = 2) and they are a rich new class of simplicial complexes. We show that Dirac’s theorem on chordal graphs has a higher-dimensional analogue in which graphs and clique complexes get replaced, respectively, by simplicial matroids and k-hyperclique complexes. We prove also a higher-dimensional analogue of Stanley’s reformulation of Dirac’s theorem on chordal graphs.