How I Do It: Miniplate Reconstruction of the Lateral Thyroid Lamina: One-Stage Restoration of Voice After Teflon Granuloma Resection

This case report describes a one-stage technique for long-term voice restoration and laryngeal reconstruction in the treatment of Teflon (Dupont, Wilmington, Delaware) granuloma. A patient who presented with severe dysphonia underwent resection of a Teflon granuloma via a lateral laryngotomy. A pedicled strap muscle flap was used to reconstruct the paraglottic space. The muscle flap was positioned through the lateral laryngotomy with direct endoscopic visualization of the endolarynx to ensure correct vertical positioning and medialization of the vocal fold. The muscle flap was secured in this position with suture fixation. The trapdoor piece of cartilage that was elevated to create the window in the lateral thyroid lamina was repositioned over the pedicled muscle flap and reinforced with a titanium miniplate, which was secured to the remaining thyroid cartilage. The patient had excellent voice results and has not required revision or augmentation. Reinforcement of the lateral thyroid lamina using titanium miniplate fixation helps to stabilize the muscle pedicle flap and the position of the vocal fold, in this case resulting in good long-term voice results after a single-stage reconstruction.     

Simultaneous Determination of Carbamate and Organophosphorus Pesticides in Honeybees by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Summary The potential of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) has been studied for the simultaneous determination of sixteen carbamate and organophosphorus pesticides in honeybees using a traditional sample preparation protocol based on acetone extraction and dichloromethane partitioning. The performances of both atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) and electrospray (ES) interfaces were compared. APCI offered better sensitivity and specificity for a higher range of pesticides. Limits of quantification were from 0.01 to 0.17 mg kg^–1, at which recoveries obtained were between 64 and 93%, except for pirimicarb that was at 13%, with relative standard deviations ranging from 7 to 20%. Fenitrothion, fenoxycarb, methiocarb and phoxim were found in bees from Valencian Community beehives at concentrations between 0.03 and 3.75 mg kg^–1.     

1H and 13C assignments of two new triterpenes from Cladocolea grahami

The structure elucidation and 1H and 13C assignments of the new triterpenes 3beta-palmitoxy-7beta-hydroxyolean-12-ene (1) and its hydrolysis product 3beta,7beta-dihydroxyolean-12-ene (2) and 3beta-sn-glyceroyl-(1'-palmitoxy)urs-12-ene (3), isolated from the aerial parts of Cladocolea grahami (Loranthaceae), are reported.     

Aldol condensations over reconstructed Mg-Al hydrotalcites: structure-activity relationships related to the rehydration method

Two different rehydration procedures in the liquid or gas phase have been applied to reconstruct mixed oxides derived from calcined hydrotalcite-like materials to be used as catalysts for aldol condensation reactions. The as-synthesized hydrotalcite, its decomposition product, as well as the reconstructed solids upon rehydration were characterized by XRD, N(2) adsorption, He pycnometry, FTIR, SEM, TEM, (27)Al MAS-NMR and CO(2)-TPD (TPD=temperature-programmed desorption). Compared to the Mg-Al mixed oxide rehydrated in the gas phase (HT-rg), that rehydrated in the liquid phase (HT-rl) exhibits a superior catalytic performance with respect to the aldol condensation of citral with ketones to yield pseudoionones and in the self-aldolization of acetone. The textural properties of HT-rl and HT-rg differ strongly and determine the catalytic behavior. A memory effect led to a higher degree of reconstruction of the lamellar structure when the mixed oxide was rehydrated in the gas phase rather than in the liquid phase, although liquid-phase rehydration under fast stirring produced a surface area that was 26 times greater. This contrasts to typical statements in the literature claiming a higher degree of reconstruction in the presence of large amounts of water in the medium. CO(2)-TPD shows that the number of OH(-) groups and their nature are very similar in HT-rg and HT-rl, and cannot explain the markedly different catalytic behavior. Accordingly, only a small fraction of the available basic sites in the rehydrated samples is active in liquid-phase aldol condensations. Our results support the model in which only basic sites near the edges of the hydrotalcite platelets are partaking in aldol reactions. Based on this, reconstructed materials with small crystallites (produced by exfoliation during mechanical stirring), that is, possessing a high external surface area, are beneficial in the reactions compared to larger crystals with a high degree of intraplatelet porosity.     

Drying agents for water-free introduction of desorption solvent into a GC after on-line SPE of aqueous samples

Summary A small cartridge containing a drying agent is inserted between a solid phase extraction (SPE) column and a gas chromatograph (GC) to enable the introduction of water-free desorption solvent into the GC in on-line liquid chromatography (LC)-type enrichment of trace-level analytes from water samples. Some characteristics of the drying agents, such as their capacity to retain water and their re-usability after heating, have been tested. Possible interactions of the drying agent with the analytes, e.g., irreversible adsorption or catalyzed degradation, have been checked for a wide range of alkanes, alkylbenzenes chlorobenzenes, chlorophenols and phthalate esters. Using the on-line SPE-GC system with flame ionization detection (FID) and spiked samples containing different levels of the test compounds, the repeatability was shown to be satisfactory (6–17%). For 10 mL samples, the detection limits were lower than 0.1 g/L. The on-line SPE-GC-FID system here presented can be used for the repeated analysis of water samples without exchange of the dyring cartridge. The technique is applied to the analysis of tap water.     

A one-pot synthesis to [(Me3Si)3SiSb]4; a potential precursor for Sb42-

The reaction of (Me(3)Si)(3)SiK[middle dot]18-crown-6 with SbCl(3)(3 : 1 equiv.) provides a simple route to the title complex [(Me(3)Si)(3)SiSb](4). The potassium base initially acts as a nucleophile and then as a coupling agent, forming Sb-Sb bonds.     

Mathematical model for the analytical signal of an herbicide sensor based on the reaction centre of Rhodobacter sphaeroides

This paper introduces a mathematical model which makes it possible both to determine the concentration of photosynthetic herbicides and to obtain a quantitative parameter in order to compare their activity using a previously described sensing system. The working principle involves the changes in absorption properties at 860 nm of the reaction centre (RC) isolated from the bacteria Rhodobacter sphaeroides when photosynthetic herbicides are present. The method has been used for the determination and activity comparison of five photosynthetic herbicides: diuron, atrazine, terbutryn, terbuthylazine and simazine. Detection limits obtained were 2.2, 0.75, 0.046, 0.25, and 1.4 μM, respectively. The resulting order for the different herbicides according to their action on RC was: terbutryn > terbuthylazine > atrazine > simazine > diuron.     

Characterization of anthocyanin extracts from maize kernels

The aim of the present work is to characterize the pigments present in the kernel of four native maize varieties related to the races Arrocillo, Cónico, Peruano, and Purepecha to determine their possible use as natural dyes. Total anthocyanin content is determined by a conventional spectrophotometric method, and anthocyanin analysis is done by high-performance liquid chromatography. The stability of the pigment at pH is also evaluated. The four maize samples contained anthocyanin in both the pericarp and aleurone layer. Total anthocyanin content among samples ranged from 54 mg/100 g of sample to 115 mg/100 g of sample. Anthocyanin profiles are almost the same among the four samples. Differences are observed only in the relative percentage of each anthocyanin. The anthocyanins identified are cyanidin-3-glucoside, pelargonidin- 3-glucoside, peonidin-3-glucoside, cyanidin-3-(6" malonylglucoside), and cyanidin-3-(3",6"-dimalonylglucoside). Anthocyanin extracts showed similar behavior in solutions with different pH. From pH 1-6 lambdamax values are maintained almost constant; however, above this pH value, a marked increase is observed in the bathochromic shifts, but the bluish color did not continue to change above pH 8.