Microdistillation and analysis of volatiles from eight ornamental Salvia taxa

Volatile compounds from seven Salvia species and one interspecific hybrid growing at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Texas, US. Salvia coccinea, S. farinacea, S. greggii, S. leucantha, S. longispicata x farinacea, S. madrensis, S. roemeriana and S. splendens were investigated for their chemical compositions using a microdistillation technique. Volatiles were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). One hundred and twenty seven compounds were identified representing 94.3-99.7% of the oils. The major components in each of the seven species were as follows: S. coccinea (Z)-3-hexenal (31%), viridiflorol (19%); S. farinacea 1-octen-3-ol (30%) and (Z)-3-hexenal (23%); S. greggii 1,8-cineole (22%), borneol (17%), camphene (11%) and alpha-pinene (10%); S. leucantha limonene (35%) and alpha-pinene (17%); S. longispicata x farinacea 1-octen-3-ol (50%) and (Z)-3-hexenal (24%); S. madrensis (Z)-3-hexenal (53%); S. roemeriana limonene (49%) and alpha-pinene (20%); and S. splendens (Z)-3-hexenal (36%), 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (19%) and linalool (11%). The microdistillation method was fast, practical and a useful technique that enabled the isolation of the volatiles in samples when only limited quantities were available.     

Essential oil composition, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of two endemic Stachys cretica subspecies (Lamiaceae) from Turkey

The chemical compositions of the water-distilled essential oil of Stachys cretica ssp. lesbiaca Rech. fil. and S. cretica ssp. trapezuntica Rech. fil. were determined by GC and GC-MS. Altogether 63 compounds were identified. The sesquiterpene hydrocarbon, germacrene D (20.3% and 12.9% respectively) was the main component identified in both oils. Furthermore, ethanol, light petroleum, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts prepared from the aerial parts of the plants were tested for their antimicrobial activities against six bacterial strains and the yeast Candida albicans. The extracts exhibited no antibacterial activity, but the light petroleum and n-butanolic fractions showed low antifungal activities. Crude ethanolic extracts of the two subspecies were tested for their ability to inhibit the growth of HL-60 and Ishikawa human tumor cell lines. The IC50 values were 100 microg/mL for the HL-60 cell line and 200 microg/mL for the Ishikawa cell line.     

Effect of G/M ratio on the radiation-induced degradation of sodium alginate

Radiation-induced degradation of sodium alginate (NaAlg) having different G/M ratios was investigated. NaAlg samples were irradiated with gamma rays in air at ambient temperature in the solid state at low dose rate. Change in their molecular weights was followed by size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Changes in their rheological properties and viscosity values as a function of temperature, shear rate and irradiation dose were also determined. Chain scission yields, G(S), and degradation rates were calculated. It was observed that G/M ratio was an important factor controlling the G(S) and degradation rate of sodium alginate.     

Photoisomerization and photochemistry of matrix-isolated 3-furaldehyde

3-Furaldehyde (3FA) was isolated in an argon matrix at 12 K and studied using FTIR spectroscopy and quantum chemistry. The molecule has two conformers, with trans and cis orientation of the O=C-C=C dihedral angle. At the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory, the trans form was computed to be ca. 4 kJ mol(-1) more stable than the cis form. The relative stability of the two conformers was explained using the natural bond orbital (NBO) method. In fair agreement with their calculated relative energies and the high barrier of rotamerization (ca. 34 kJ mol(-1) from trans to cis), the trans and cis conformers were trapped in an argon matrix from the compound room temperature gas phase in proportion ~7:1. The experimentally observed vibrational signatures of the two forms are in a good agreement with the theoretically calculated spectra. Broad-band UV-irradiation (λ > 234 nm) of the matrix-isolated compound resulted in partial trans → cis isomerization, which ended at a photostationary state with the trans/cis ratio being ca. 1.85:1. This result was interpreted based on results of time-dependent DFT calculations. Irradiation at higher energies (λ > 200 nm) led to decarbonylation of the compound, yielding furan, cyclopropene-3-carbaldehyde, and two C(3)H(4) isomers: cyclopropene and propadiene.     

The static bike relocation problem with multiple vehicles and visits

This paper introduces the static bike relocation problem with multiple vehicles and visits, the objective of which is to rebalance at minimum cost the stations of a bike sharing system using a fleet of vehicles. The vehicles have identical capacities and service time limits, and are allowed to visit the stations multiple times. We present an integer programming formulation, implemented under a branch-and-cut scheme, in addition to an iterated local search metaheuristic that employs efficient move evaluation procedures. Results of computational experiments on instances ranging from 10 to 200 vertices are provided and analyzed. We also examine the impact of the vehicle capacity and of the number of visits and vehicles on the performance of the proposed algorithms.     

Chemometrical Interpretation of Lake Waters after their Chemical Analysis by Using Aas,Flame Photometry and Titrimetric Techniques

This article reports the distribution of trace metals and major ions in lake waters of Sultansazl L < L , a reedfield near Kayseri, Turkey. The determination of elements such as Cr, Ni, Cu, Cd and Pb in lake water samples was performed by AAS after a preconcentration step using a column packed with Amberlite XAD-16 resin. Both flame- and graphite furnace-atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine these metals in lake water samples. The concentrations of the metals bound to humic substances, and free metal ions were determined after their sorption-elution on the resin, separately. The column method optimized with sodium tetraborate reagent was used in determining the free metal ions. In the determinations of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, K⁺ , and SO2-4 , Cl ^m and total hardness, flame atomic absorption spectrometry, flame photometry, and titrimetry were used, respectively. In order to evaluate the analytical data by multivariate statistical techniques which enable feature reduction and grouping of the pollutant sources in lake waters from their chemical composition, principal component analysis (PCA), cluster analysis (CA) and correlation analysis were used. As a consequence of multivariate statistical evaluation, main anthropogenic sources like traffic, industry and agricultural processes were drawn to be responsible from the pollution in the environment investigated.     

Enzyme-catalyzed synthesis of (R)- and (S)-3-heteroaryl-3-hydroxy-propanoic acids and their derivatives

Starting from the racemic 3-benzofuranyl- and 3-benzo[b]thiophenyl-3-hydroxypropanoic acid ethyl esters as substrates, various multistep enzymatic procedures were developed for the efficient synthesis of the corresponding highly enantiomerically enriched (R)- and (S)-3-heteroaryl-3-hydroxypropanoic acids.