Mercury and cadmium concentrations in milk in Puerto Rico

Milk was collected over a four-month period from three representative sectors of Puerto Rico. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) performed on the samples showed that the mercury concentration was slightly higher than the safe upper limit set by the World Health Organisation on food products. INAA for cadmium yielded high values when compared with atomic absorption.     

New diterpenes from the Caribbean sponge Epipolasis reiswigi

Two diterpenes, epipolone (1) and epipolol (3), produced by terpenoid pathways leading to a tricarbocyclic structure with an irregular "head to tail" isoprene configuration, have been isolated from the Caribbean marine sponge Epipolasis reiswigi collected in Puerto Rico. The structures of 1 and 3 were elucidated largely by 1D and 2D NMR methods and chemical conversion.     

13. International Conference on Chemical Education

In zweijährigem Rhythmus findet die International Conference on Chemical Education (ICCE) statt. Ende 1994 trafen sich über 600 Schul- und Hochschullehrer sowie am naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht interessierte Wissenschaftler aus über 60 Ländern auf dem Metropolitan Campus der Interamerican University of Puerto Rico in San Juan unter dem Motto “Chemistry: The Key to The Future”.     

Euryjanicin A: a new cycloheptapeptide from the Caribbean marine sponge Prosuberites laughlini

A new proline-containing cycloheptapeptide, euryjanicin A (1), has been isolated from the marine sponge Prosuberites laughlini indigenous to Puerto Rico, and its structure established by an X-ray crystal structure determination. The absolute configuration of each amino acid residue was determined by Marfey’s method.     

Theoretical treatment of overcrowding in phenanthrene

A theoretical study has been made of the deformations in the phenanthrene molecule resulting from the hydrogen-hydrogen overcrowding. The applicability of the Coulson-Haigh approach to such steric effects has been shown to have considerable potential, although the quantitative application requires further attention. The calculations suggest that the slight aplanarity observed in experimental work is possibly caused by crystal forces, rather than being due to intramolecular repulsion.

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Zusammenfassung Die Deformationen des Phenanthren-Moleküls, die von der gegenseitigen Störung der H-Atome herrührt, wurde theoretisch untersucht. Es wird gezeigt, daß die Coulson-Haigh-Methode auf derartige sterische Effekte erfolgreich anwendbar ist, obwohl die quantitative Auswertung noch weiter ausgearbeitet werden sollte. Die Berechnungen zeigen, daß die geringe experimentell beobachtete Nicht-Planarität möglicherweise durch Kristallkräfte, und nicht durch intramolekulare Kräfte verursacht wird.

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Résumé Etude théorique des déformations dans la molécule de phénanthrène résultant de l'encombrement muel des hydrogènes. L'approche de Coulson-Haigh pour de tels effets stériques offre de grandes possibilités moyennant un examen plus poussé des applications quantitatives. Les calculs montrent que le faible défaut de planéité observé expérimentalement est peut-être dû aux forces cristallines plutôt qu'à la répulsion intramoléculaire.

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The Puerto Rico Nuclear Center is operated by the University of Puerto Rico for the Atomic Energy Commission under Contract AT(40-1)-1833.     

Features of oxa-bridge cleavage in hexahydro-3a,6-epoxyisoindol-1(4H)-ones: A concise method to access acetylisoindolones possessing anti-viral activity

Unusual stereo- and regioselective methods for epoxy-bridge cleavage in perhydro-3a,6-epoxyisoindolones, under the action of the BF₃·Et₂O/Ac₂O system, were discovered. The reaction pathway strongly depends on the characteristics of the isoindolone ring substituents and allows the synthesis of a wide diversity of isoindole-containing heterocycles. The obtained isoindolinones belong to a new class of anti-viral agents possessing a high activity against influenza virus A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (H1N1) in in vitro experiments.     

Physiological responses of Acropora cervicornis to increased solar irradiance

The effects of increased UV radiation (UV-B [280-320 nm] + UV-A [320-400 nm]; hereafter UVR) on the growth, production of photosynthetic pigments and photoprotective mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) were studied in the threatened Caribbean coral Acropora cervicornis transplanted from 20 to 1 m depth in La Parguera, Puerto Rico. The UVR exposure by the transplanted colonies was significantly higher than that at 20 m, while photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) only increased by 9%. Photosynthetic pigments, quantified with HPLC, as well as linear extension rates and skeletal densities, were significantly reduced 1 month after transplantation to 1 m depth, while MAAs increased significantly despite immediate paling experienced by transplanted colonies. While these colonies showed a significant reduction in photosynthetic pigments, there were no significant reductions in zooxanthellae densities suggesting photoacclimation of the coral's symbionts to the new radiation conditions. The results suggest that while corals might be able to survive sudden increases in UVR and PAR, their skeletal structure can be greatly debilitated due to a reduction in the photosynthetic capacity of their symbionts and a possible relocation of resources.     

INTRODUCTION: ULTRAFAST REACTIONS IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS

The present issue of Photochemistry and Photobiology deals with the "ultra-fast reactions" in the primary process of photosynthesis. The definition of what one calls "ultra-fast reactions" was left to the individual authors; it ranged from picoseconds (ps) to microseconds ( μ s). All of the papers were invited for this issue; these include those presented by the various speakers (to be cited at appropriate places) at the symposium on " Primary Photoprocesses in Photosynthesis: Ultrafast Reactions " held at the 5th annual meeting of the American Society for Photobiology, May 11–15, 1977, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. All the papers in this issue were reviewed by three authorities in the field, and the authors have incorporated as many of their suggestions as possible. I thank all the reviewers for their help and their names will be included in the annual list of the reviewers of the entire journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology.     

Effect of ultraviolet-B radiation on salt marsh vegetation: Trends of the genus Salicornia along the Americas

The effects of natural UV-B radiation on growth, photosynthetic and photoprotective pigment composition of different Salicornia species were analyzed in salt marshes at three different sites along the Americas (Puerto Rico, southern Brazil and Patagonia, Argentina). Plants were exposed to different levels of UV-B radiation for 1-2 years in situ as well as in outdoor garden UV-B exclusion experiments. Different UV-B levels were obtained by covering plants with UV-B opaque (blocked 93-100% of ambient UV-B) and UV-B attenuating (near-ambient) filters (reduced 20-25% of UV-B). Unfiltered plants were exposed to natural irradiance. UV-B filters had significant effects on temperature and photosynthetic pigments (due to changes in PAR; 400-700 nm). The growth of Salicornia species was inhibited after 35 to 88 days of exposure to mean UV-B radiation dosages between 3.6 and 4.1 kJ m(-2) day(-1). The highest number of branches on the main shoot (S. bigelovii and S. gaudichaudiana) and longest total length of the branches (S. gaudichaudiana) were observed in the UV-B opaque treatment. Salicornia species responded to increasing levels of UV-B radiation by increasing the amount of UV-B absorbing pigments up to 330%. Chromatographic analyses of seedlings and adult S. bigelovii plants found seven different UV-B absorbing flavonoids that are likely to serve as UV-B filtering pigments. No evidence of differential sensitivity or resilience to UV-B radiation was found between Salicornia species from low-mid latitudes and a previously published study of a high-latitude population.     

Determination of vanillin and related flavor compounds in natural vanilla extracts and vanilla-flavored foods by thin layer chromatography and automated multiple development

Summary Thin layer chromatography on silica gel high performance layers and automated multiple development was used to separate the polar aromatic flavor compounds vanillin, ethyl vanillin, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, vanillic acid, coumarin, piperonal, anisic acid, and anisaldehyde commonly found in extracts of natural and artificial vanilla flavors. The ratio of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde and vanillic acid to vanillin in natural vanilla extracts was used to confirm the authenticity of extracts purchased in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Natural vanilla extracts purchased in Mexico and Puerto Rico were identified as counterfeit products based on changes in the above ratio and the presence of synthetic flavor compounds such as ethyl vanillin and coumarin. It is also demonstrated that the proposed method is suitable for the determination of natural and synthetic vanilla flavors in solvent extracts from food, beverage and confectionery products. The main advantage of thin layer chromatography for the analysis of vanilla extracts and food stuffs flavored with vanilla is its high sample throughput since sample preparation requirements are minimal and multiple samples can be separated simultaneously.     

The many-body expansion of the potential energy function for elemental clusters

The many-body expansion of the potential energy function of elemental clusters is examined in general terms in regard to its convergence for microclusters and the bulk phase. The systems Be_n and Li_n are examined in detail. For Li it is clear that the many-body expansion has no low-order convergence, but it is shown that a potential of the form gives good binding energies for Li_n (3<n?9) and also a good value for the heat of atomization of the bcc crystal.     

Branch point singularities in the energy of the delta-function model of one-electron diatoms

Two different perturbation series (the polarization expansion and a united-atom expansion) of the ground state energy of the delta-function model for one-electron diatoms are studied and the radii of convergence are determined. For both expansions the singularity in the energy which limits the radius of convergence is a branch point with exponent one-half. The physical significance of the branch point is that for particular values of the perturbation parameter, two different energy eigenvalues coalesce. The positions of the branch points are computed as a function of the internuclear separation R. For all values of R, both series converge for all physical values of the perturbation parameters. A lower bound to the radius of convergence of the polarization expansion has been computed previously by Claverie. It is proved in the present paper that the lower bound calculation is in fact an exact determination of the radius of convergence. The results of the model study are applied to real one-electron diatoms to suggest the possible location of a branch point singularity in the energy of the ground state.     

Direct perturbation theory in terms of energy derivatives: scalar-relativistic treatment up to sixth order

A formulation of sixth-order direct perturbation theory (DPT) to treat relativistic effects in quantum-chemical calculations is presented in the framework of derivative theory. Detailed expressions for DPT6 are given at the Hartree-Fock level in terms of the third derivative of the energy with respect to the relativistic perturbation parameter defined as λ(rel)=c(-2). They were implemented for the computation of scalar-relativistic energy corrections. The convergence of the scalar-relativistic DPT expansion is studied for energies and first-order properties such as dipole moment and electric-field gradient within the series of the hydrogen halides (HX, X = F, Cl, Br, I, and At). Comparison with spin-free Dirac-Coulomb calculations indicates that the DPT series exhibits a smooth and monotonic convergence. The rate of convergence, however, depends on the charge of the involved nuclei and significantly slows down for heavy-element compounds.     

An investigation into the use of expansion methods in the calculation of chemical shifts and diamagnetic susceptibilities

The chemical shift and the diamagnetic susceptibility of the hydrogenic atom with magnetic dipole and origin of the external magnetic field vector potential noncoincident with the hydrogenic nucleus have been calculated from perturbation theory using a set of expansion functions whose radial parts are single exponent associated Laguerre functions. In contrast to hydrogenic expansion functions these functions give rapid convergence to the exact values of the second-order energy summations when centred at the hydrogenic nucleus. The rate of convergence is fairly insensitive to the choice of expansion function exponent.     

Synthesis and antiviral activity of novel imidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles coupled with morpholine and thiomorpholines

Herein described the synthesis and antiviral evaluation of a novel series of morpholine and thio-morpholine coupled imidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles. The three-step reaction sequence involving the condensation of 1,3-dichloroacetone with thiourea followed by coupling with morpholine and thiomorpholine and finally cyclization with substituted α-bromoacetophenones yielded the desired imidazothiazoles 7(a–l) . Screening of all the new compounds for their in vitro antiviral activity against influenza virus A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (H1N1) in MDCK cells, resulted in two potent analogs, 7d (IC₅₀: 1.1 μM, C₅₀: >300 μM, SI = 273) and 7e (IC₅₀: 2.0 μM, C₅₀: >300 μM, SI = 150), with a favorable toxicity profile and are the best anti-influenza hit analogs for further structural optimization.     

Improved scheme to solve the atomic Schrödinger equation in hyperspherical coordinates

An improved scheme to accelerate the convergence in the calculations of N-electron atoms, which is based on the exact method we proposed before in hyperspherical coordinates, is presented. The factors influencing the rate of convergence in both parts of expansions in wave function with the hyperspherical harmonics (HHs) of hyperangles and the generalized Laguerre polynomials (GLPs) of hyperradius were investigated. A reselected asymptotic term was introduced by including more structural features in it to accelerate the convergence in the expansion part with the HHs, and a transformation of the hyperradius was used to keep the convergence going properly in the expansion part with the GLPs. Calculations with this scheme for the helium atom were given and compared with some other ones. More accurate results were obtained by considering a simple cusp parameter. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Comments on the convergence of the ordinary Rayleigh-Schrödinger perturbation expansion

The convergence properties of the ordinary Rayleigh-Schrödinger perturbation expansion are discussed for the polarization expansion of H⁺₂ like systems. It is shown that this expansion may still be useful if the perturbed hamiltonian has an additional symmetry.     

The principle-quantum-number (and the radial-quantum-number) expansion of the correlation energy of two-electron atoms

The second-order correlation energy of two-electron ions is studied in terms of an expansion in minimal approximations to the first-order natural orbitals (NOs). The non-linear parameters of these NOs are determined by minimization of the second-order energy. An approximation to the total second-order correlation energy is obtained as a sum of increments e(lp), depending on the angular quantum number l and the radial quantum number p. (Either l or p can be eliminated in favor of the principal quantum number n = l + p.) Closed expressions for these energy increments are derived. For fixed p the increments go as (l + 1)(-5). This is consistent with the behavior of the exact partial wave increments (that depend on the parameter l only) as (l + 1/2)(-4). While the partial wave increments correspond to a summation of e(lp) over p, other partial summations of the two-parameter increments lead to either the principal-quantum-number expansion (PQNE) with energy increments approximately n(-4), or the radial-quantum-number expansion, with a less transparent convergence pattern. Unfortunately these partial summations can neither be done in closed form nor from the asymptotic expansion, but some insight is obtained from a numerical summation. The hope to find a rigorous derivation of the PQNE has not been fulfilled.     

Environmental UV‐A and UV‐B Threshold Doses for Apoptosis and Necrosis in Humans Fibroblasts¶

Apoptosis involves a highly organized and programmed series of events aimed at maintaining genomic stability by eliminating defective host cells. The purpose of this study was to determine the threshold doses and environmental UV‐A and UV‐B exposure times necessary to produce apoptosis and necrosis in the normal cells of a human fibroblast cell line. Enviromental UV‐A and UV‐B doses were measured over a 6 year period with a four‐channel UV radiometer. The fibroblasts were irradiated once using an Oriel UV Solar Simulator with six doses of environmentally‐based UV. Doses corresponded to 0,11,19,23 and 45 min of average environmental UV‐A and UV‐B radiation at solar noon in Puerto Rico. The Annexin‐V binding method was used to differentiate between normal fibroblasts and apoptotic or necrotic fibroblasts. The threshold dose from apoptosis to necrosis was found between 24–28 kJ/m², which corresponded to 19 and 23 min of environmental UV‐A and UV‐B exposure. This study provides the first data that specify the environmental threshold doses of UV‐A and UV‐B at which human fibroblasts undergo apoptosis and necrosis. These results may provide valuable dose‐response thresholds for apoptosis and necrosis for future mechanistic studies and baseline data for skin cancer prevention programs.     

Decomposition of density matrix renormalization group states into a Slater determinant basis

The quantum chemical density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithm is difficult to analyze because of the many numerical transformation steps involved. In particular, a decomposition of the intermediate and the converged DMRG states in terms of Slater determinants has not been accomplished yet. This, however, would allow one to better understand the convergence of the algorithm in terms of a configuration interaction expansion of the states. In this work, the authors fill this gap and provide a determinantal analysis of DMRG states upon convergence to the final states. The authors show that upon convergence, DMRG provides the same complete-active-space expansion for a given set of active orbitals as obtained from a corresponding configuration interaction calculation. Additional insight into DMRG convergence is provided, which cannot be obtained from the inspection of the total electronic energy alone. Indeed, we will show that the total energy can be misleading as a decrease of this observable during DMRG microiteration steps may not necessarily be taken as an indication for the pickup of essential configurations in the configuration interaction expansion. One result of this work is that a fine balance can be shown to exist between the chosen orbital ordering, the guess for the environment operators, and the choice of the number of renormalized states. This balance can be well understood in terms of the decomposition of total and system states in terms of Slater determinants.