Passivation of the calcite surface with malonate ion

Samples of polycrystalline calcite were impregnated with solutions of malonic acid of three concentrations (5 x 10(-2), 5 x 10(-3) , and 5 x 10(-4) M) and different pH values (6.00, 7.00, and 8.00). The impregnation was carried out at room temperature to evaluate the adsorption of malonate ion in the calcite surface to optimize the conditions for possible application on limestone and marble in cultural heritage materials. The affinity of the malonate ion was determined through the potentiometric measurement of the surface charge and the corresponding adsorbed amounts by titration, Raman spectroscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The results indicate effective adsorption of the malonate ion on the surface at a pH value close to the point of zero charge (pHpzc approximately 8.20) and changes in some surface morphological properties such as the pore shape and the pore size distribution. The presence of a malonate adsorptive layer on calcite generates an interface interaction potential that may influence the reaction and transport mechanisms within the medium.     

Toward efficient Zn(II)-based artificial nucleases

A series of cis-cis-triaminocyclohexane Zn(II) complex-anthraquinone intercalator conjugates, designed in such a way to allow their easy synthesis and modification, have been investigated as hydrolytic cleaving agents for plasmid DNA. The ligand structure comprises a triaminocyclohexane platform linked by means of alkyl spacers of different length (from C(4) to C(8)) to the anthraquinone group which may intercalate the DNA. At a concentration of 5 microM, the complex of the derivative with a C(8) alkyl spacer induces the hydrolytic stand scission of supercoiled DNA with a rate of 4.6 x 10(-6) s(-1) at pH 7 and 37 degrees C. The conjugation of the metal complex with the anthraquinone group leads to a 15-fold increase of the cleavage efficiency when compared with the anthraquinone lacking Zn-triaminocyclohexane complex. The straightforward synthetic procedure employed, allowing a systematic change of the spacer length, made possible to gain more insight on the role of the intercalating group in determining the reactivity of the systems. Comparison of the reactivity of the different complexes shows a remarkable increase of the DNA cleaving efficiency with the length of the spacer. In the case of too-short spacers, the advantages due to the increased DNA affinity are canceled due to the incorrect positioning of the reactive group, thus leading to cleavage inhibition.     

The reactivity of the A-CH=N-NR-CX-B system. 1,3,4-Oxadiazoles and 2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1,2,4-triazin-3-ones through the 1–5 and 1–6 cyclization reactions of α-thienylglyoxal monosemicarbazones

The factors influencing the reactivity of α-thienylglyoxal monosemicarbazones when treated with cyclizing reagents (bromine/sodium acetate and hydrobromic acid in acetic acid) were investigated. Depending on the experimental conditions, on the position of the substituent on the semicarbazide residue, and on the cyclizing agent, the substrates 1a-e give the semicarbazone bromides 2a-b, 5 , the 1,3,4-oxadiazoles 3a-c , the 1,2,4-triazine 11 and the 2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1,2,4-triazine-3-ones 6, 8 and 9 . Compound 6 by thermolysis undergoes ring contraction in the Δ²-1,3,4-oxadiazoline 12 , while treatment with base involves the conversion of 6 into 1,2,4-triazol-5-one 13 . Ir, nmr and mass spectra support the reported structures.     

Reactivity of 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazoles. Nucleophilic behaviour of some 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazoles: Model compounds

The ambident nucleophilic behaviour of some 2-amino-5-H-1,3,4-thiadiazoles in alkylation, acylation and nitrosation reaction has been verified. The structures assigned to the 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazoles ( 1a-i ) and to the Δ²-1,3,4-thiadiazolines ( 2a-e ) agree with the spectral data.     

Margin maximization in spherical separation

We face the problem of strictly separating two sets of points by means of a sphere, considering the two cases where the center of the sphere is fixed or free, respectively. In particular, for the former we present a fast and simple solution algorithm, whereas for the latter one we use the DC-Algorithm based on a DC decomposition of the error function. Numerical results for both the cases are presented on several classical binary datasets drawn from the literature.     

Development of a high‐performance liquid chromatography method with fluorescence detection for the routine quantification of tamoxifen,endoxifen and 4‐hydroxytamoxifen in plasma from breast cancer patients

To date, several methods for the quantification of tamoxifen and its metabolites have been developed, most of which employ liquid chromatography tandem–mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). These methods are highly sensitive and reproducible, but are also time‐consuming and require expensive equipment; one of their main disadvantages is matrix ionization effects. A more viable option, particularly in developing countries, is high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with UV or fluorescence detection. We developed and validated a method for simultaneous quantification of tamoxifen, endoxifen and 4‐hydroxytamoxifen based on high‐performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection in a reverse‐phase column. The method is rapid (16 min plus 5 min of column re‐equilibrium), accurate (80–100%) and precise (0.23–6.00%), and does not require any additional irradiation process. Sample pretreatment consists of protein precipitation with acetonitrile under alkaline conditions, employing only 200 μL plasma. The validated method's wide range allowed quantification of steady‐state levels in patients under standard tamoxifen treatment (20 mg/day). This assay is ready for application in clinical studies and routine quantification of tamoxifen, endoxifen and 4‐hydroxytamoxifen in healthcare institutions.     

Eigenvalues of the Kählerian Dirac Operator

We get estimates on the eigenvalues of the Kählerian Dirac operator in terms of the eigenvalues of the scalar Laplace–Beltrami operator. In odd complex dimension, these estimates are sharp, in the sense that, for the first eigenvalue, they reduce to Kirchberg's inequality.     

Versuche zur Porenstatistik und Siebwirkung bei Ultrafiltern und tierischen Membranen

Ohne Zusammenfassung Es sei mir gestattet, Herrn Professor Dr. H. Bechhold für sein stetiges Interesse an dieser Untersuchung bestens zu danken. Ebenso habe ich Herrn Dr. H. Karplus für viele Anregungen und Herrn Dr. F. Erbe für seine Hilfe bei der experimentellen Ausführung und bei der Abfassung dieser Arbeit meinen Dank auszusprechen.     

An illumination problem: optimal apex and optimal orientation for a cone of light

Let $\{a_i:i\in I\}$ be a finite set in $\mathbb R ^n$ . The illumination problem addressed in this work is about selecting an apex $z$ in a prescribed set $Z\subseteq \mathbb R ^n$ and a unit vector $y\in \mathbb R ^n$ so that the conic light beam $$\begin{aligned} C(z,y,s):= \{x \in \mathbb R ^n : s\,\Vert x-z\Vert - \langle y, x-z\rangle \le 0\} \end{aligned}$$ captures every $a_i$ and, at the same time, it has a sharpness coefficient $ s\in [0,1]$ as large as possible.