Rapid method based on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography for purification of human myelin basic protein and its thrombic and endoproteinase Lys-C peptides.

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography was applied to isolate myelin basic protein from human brain, followed by separation of proteolytic peptides thereof on the same chromatographic system. Brain tissue was delipidated under conditions that keep copurifying proteases inactive. The crude brain protein fraction was applied directly to a C4 column. The homogeneous protein obtained in this way was digested with thrombin and endoproteinase Lys-C in order to produce short defined myelin basic protein peptides. The purified peptides were used to determine the antigen fine specificity of myelin basic protein recognizing T lymphocyte lines isolated from multiple sclerosis patients.     

Determination of benzotrifluoride derivative compounds in groundwater

Two simple analytical methods for the simultaneous determination and quantification of benzotrifluoride and eight chlorinated, amino and nitro benzotrifluoride derivatives in groundwater are proposed. Benzotrifluoride, 4-chlorobenzotrifluoride, 2,4-dichlorobenzotrifluoride and 3,4-dichlorobenzotrifluoride, were extracted by Purge-and-Trap on the basis of their volatile properties, while 3-aminobenzotrifluoride, 4-nitrobenzotrifluoride, 3-amino-4-chlorobenzotrifluoride, 3-nitro-4-chlorobenzotrifluoride and 4-chloro-3,5-dinitrobenzotrifluoride extractions were done with an automated SPE system. The analytical separations and detections were performed with two different GC systems, both equipped with single quadrupole mass spectrometer as detector. The LOD ranges for the two methods were 0.002–0.005 μg L⁻¹ and 0.01–0.07 μg L⁻¹, respectively. Both extraction methods were developed using spiked Milli-Q water and were then demonstrated with groundwater samples collected during autumn 2008. The areas of groundwater collection were polluted due to an episode of improper industrial soil disposal and consequent leakage of aliphatic and aromatic, fluorinated chemicals into the groundwater. This work eventually revealed the presence of several benzotrifluoride compounds most of them, like dichloro- and amino-derivatives, never been reported as environmental contaminants.     

Solutions to and Validation of Matrix-Diffusion Models

A model transport system is considered in which a pulse of tracer molecules is advected along a flow channel with porous walls. The advected tracer thus undergoes diffusion, matrix-diffusion, inside the walls, which affects the breakthrough curve of the tracer. Analytical solutions in the form of series expansions are derived for a number of situations which include a finite depth of the porous matrix, varying aperture of the flow channel, and longitudinal diffusion and Taylor dispersion of the tracer in the flow channel. Novel expansions for the Laplace transforms of the concentration in the channel facilitated closed-form expressions for the solutions. A rigorous result is also derived for the asymptotic form of the breakthrough curve for a finite depth of the porous matrix, which is very different from that for an infinite matrix. A specific experimental system was created for validation of matrix-diffusion modeling for a matrix of finite depth. A previously reported fracture-column experiment was also modeled. In both cases model solutions gave excellent fits to the measured breakthrough curves with very consistent values for the diffusion coefficients used as the fitting parameters. The matrix-diffusion modeling performed could thereby be validated.     

Families of meromorphic functions avoiding continuous functions

Leth ₁,h ₂ andh ₃ be continuous functions from the unit disk D into the Riemann sphereC such thath _i(z) ≠ h_j(z) (i ≠ j) for eachz∈D. We prove that the setF of all functionsf meromorphic on D such thatf(z)≠h _j (z) for allz ∈ D andj=1,2,3 is a normal family. The result and the method of the proof extend to quasimeromorphic functions in higher dimensions as well. The second author was supported by a Heisenberg fellowship of the DFG. The fourth author was partially supported by the Marsden Fund, New Zealand. This research was completed while the authors were attending a conference at Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach in Germany. The authors would like to express their sincere thanks to the Institute for providing a stimulating atmosphere and for its kind hospitality.     

Novel Inhibitors of Nicotinamide-N-Methyltransferase for the Treatment of Metabolic Disorders

Nicotinamide-N-methyltransferase (NNMT) is a cytosolic enzyme catalyzing the transfer of a methyl group from S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM) to nicotinamide (Nam). It is expressed in many tissues including the liver, adipose tissue, and skeletal muscle. Its expression in several cancer cell lines has been widely discussed in the literature, and recent work established a link between NNMT expression and metabolic diseases. Here we describe our approach to identify potent small molecule inhibitors of NNMT featuring different binding modes as elucidated by X-ray crystallographic studies.     

On Critical Values of Polynomials with Real Critical Points

Let f be a polynomial of degree at least 2 with f(0)=0 and f′(0)=1. Suppose that all the zeros of f′ are real. We show that there is a zero ζ of f′ such that |f(ζ)/ζ|≤2/3, and that this inequality can be taken to be strict unless f is of the form f(z)=z+cz ³.     

Unbounded domains of normality

Let be a transcendental entire function of order less than 1/2. We introduce the method of ``self-sustaining spread' to study the components of the set of normality of such a function. We give a new proof of the fact that any preperiodic or periodic component of the set of normality of is bounded. We obtain the same conclusion for a wandering domain if the growth rate of is never too small.

     

Julia Sets of Polynomials are Uniformly Perfect

Let f be a polynomial of degree at least two. We shall showthat the Julia set J(f) of f is uniformly perfect. This meansthat there is a constant c(0,1) depending on f only such thatwhenever zJ(f) and 0 < r < diam J(f) then J(f) intersectsthe annulus {w:cr |w — z| r}.