Synthesis of ring-oxidized retinoids as substrates of mouse class I alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH1)

Ring-oxidized retinoids have been synthesized stereoselectively using the Stille cross-coupling reaction. Kinetic constants of mouse class I alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH1) with these retinoids were determined.     

A multicommutated flow system for determination of bismuth in milk shakes by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry incorporating on-line neutralization of waste effluent

A highly sensitive method was developed for determination of bismuth in milk shakes by multicommutation hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) based on off-line sonication for 10 min with aqua regia 8% (v/v) and on-line waste treatment. The instrumentation and chemistry variables were studied in order to provide the best performance. The limit of detection in the original samples, established for a probability level of 99.6% (k = 3), was 1.67 ng/g Bi. The method provides a fast alternative in control analysis with a sampling throughput of 72 h as compared with 31 h obtained by the classical continuous measurement. Additionally, multicommutation reduces waste generation by a factor of 2.6. The consumption of sample, reductant, and blank, as compared with continuous mode HG-AFS, was reduced 9.6, 4.5, and 13.3 times, respectively. To confirm the accuracy of the method, recovery studies were performed, and excellent agreement between multicommutation and continuous measurement-based values was obtained. Application of the developed methodology for bismuth determination in milk shake samples from the Spanish market provided concentrations ranging from 4.2 to 15.0 ng/mL, and good comparability with data obtained by continuous measurements after microwave-assisted total digestion of samples for a 95% probability level and 12 degrees of freedom was found.     

High focal depth with fractional-power wave fronts

We explore the use of phase profiles with fractional power for tailoring modulation transfer functions with high focal depth at high pupil apertures. We present numerical simulations of the images that can be obtained with certain fractional-power profiles.     

Determination of the optimal wavelength for temperature independent detection of commercial gasoline with a polymer cladding optical fiber

An influence of temperature variations on transmission of a polymer cladding silica core (PCS) optical fiber was investigated in a wide spectral range covering the first (1710 nm) and the second (1170 nm) vibrational overtone bands of gasoline absorption. Thermo-induced changes of the fiber background transmittance have strong dependence on wavelength. A narrow wavelength band around 1214 nm was found to be almost free from the thermal effects while maintaining sufficient sensitivity for gasoline detection.     

Braided Logic: The Simplest Models

The only pair of binary classical essential connectives for which the Artin braid relation holds is a distributive lattice, i.e. the Boolean disjunction and conjunction of     

The effect of sample salt additives on capillary electrophoresis analysis of intact proteins using surface modified capillaries

The effect of adding alkali salts to protein samples for capillary electrophoretic (CE) analysis of intact proteins was studied. A high degree of peak stacking, even for large proteins, was found to occur when alkali salts were added to the sample. The addition of salt to the protein sample promotes a strong improvement in the peak efficiency of individual proteins giving up to 2.1 × 10⁶ apparent plates/m. The concentration of salt required in the sample to reach optimal peak efficiency show dependency on both the molecular weight and molar concentration of the protein. However, adding salt will, at a sufficiently high concentration, cause a mixture of proteins to co-migrate to one very sharp peak. The observed sample stacking effect was obtained with a number of different surface modified silica capillaries indicating a general phenomenon and not surface coating specific.     

Interferometry based on Lau effect with a grating registered in a photorefractive crystal

The use of a grating in the form of modulation of birefringence in a BSO crystal in a novel Lau interferometer set-up is proposed. The system behaves as a conventional Lau interferometer implemented by using two amplitude gratings. Moreover, it permits control of the visibility and provides a contrast inversion of the interferometric fringes by rotating a polarizer. Two alternative experimental arrangements with similar performance are presented. A theoretical approach is outlined and the predicted behavior is confirmed by results obtained under different experimental conditions.