Chromatographic determination of amino acid enantiomers in beers and raw materials used for their manufacture

Using gas chromatography (GC) on a chiral stationary phase, accompanied by high-performance liquid chromatography, beers and raw materials used for manufacturing (hops, barley grains, malts) were investigated for the pattern and quantities of amino acid enantiomers. Although L-amino acids were most abundant, certain D-amino acids were detected in all beers and most of the raw materials. Highest amounts of D-amino acids were detected in special beers such as Berliner Weisse that underwent bottle-conditioning with lactic cultures, and Belgian fruit beers produced by spontaneous fermentation. It is demonstrated that GC on chiral stationary phases is highly suitable for the quantitative determination of amino acid enantiomers in beers and raw materials used for their manufacture. Quantities, relative amounts and pattern of amino acid enantiomers can serve in particular as chiral markers for the authenticity of special beers.     

Dielectric interlayers for increasing the transparency of metal films for mid-infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy

By depositing a continuous, thin metal film on a substrate coated with a mid-infrared (IR) transparent dielectric film that fulfils the role of an index-matching, anti-reflective coating for the metal, the transparency of the metal in the IR wavelength range can be significantly enhanced. This effect is used to yield enhanced absorption in attenuated total internal reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy in the presence of continuous thin metal films. The main limitation of the ATR technique when using continuous metal films is the low transparency of metals, especially for infrared light. Computations and experiments show an enhancement in the absorbance of a sample in contact with the metal at certain wavenumbers when the dielectric interlayer is present. The realisation of the setup is the stratified system consisting of zinc selenide-germanium (~1 μm)-gold (40 nm and 20 nm) using the organic solvent acetonitrile as sample. Enhancement is stronger in s- than in p-polarisation. In s-polarisation, enhancement factors of up to 4 have been observed so far in experiments, but calculations show a route to higher enhancements. In addition to the increased absorption, the absorbance spectra show interference fringes which are due to a mismatch in the real part of the refractive index of the sample in contact with the metal film compared to a reference measurement.     

On Systems of Boundary Value Problems for Differential Inclusions

Herein we consider the existence of solutions to second-order, two-point boundary value problems （BVPs） for systems of ordinary differential inclusions. Some new Bernstein-Nagumo conditions are presented that ensure a priori bounds on the derivative of solutions to the differential inclusion. These a priori bound results are then applied, in conjunction with appropriate topological methods, to prove some new existence theorems for solutions to systems of BVPs for differential inclusions. The new conditions allow of the treatment of systems of BVPs without growth restrictions.     

Gronwall's inequality for a nabla fractional difference system with a retarded argument and an application

ABSTRACT

We study the nabla fractional difference system with retarded argument. There are two major ingredients. A Gronwall's inequality for the nabla case is given. This allows us to evaluate the solution of nabla fractional difference system. We shall illustrate the validity of our results by means of examples.     

Blockierungsphänomene bei Ultrafiltern

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Hille and Nehari type criteria for third-order dynamic equations

In this paper, we extend the oscillation criteria that have been established by Hille [E. Hille, Non-oscillation theorems, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 64 (1948) 234-252] and Nehari [Z. Nehari, Oscillation criteria for second-order linear differential equations, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 85 (1957) 428-445] for second-order differential equations to third-order dynamic equations on an arbitrary time scale T, which is unbounded above. Our results are essentially new even for third-order differential and difference equations, i.e., when T=R and T=N. We consider several examples to illustrate our results.     

On the existence of oscillatory solutions to nonlinear differential equations

Summary A general change of variable technique is combined with appropriate energy functions to show the existence of oscillatory solutions to nonlinear ordinary second order differential equations. Entrata in Redazione il 21 marzo 1974. Research supported by National Research Council of Canada grants NRC-A-7673 and NRC-A-7197 and Defence Research Board of Canada grand DRB-9540-28.