The environment controlled effect of thiacalix[4]arene on the transition thermodynamics and kinetics of bovine serum albumin

Complexation ability of water-soluble thiacalix[4]arene-tetrasulfonate towards three aromatic amino acids (Phenylalanine, Tyrosine and Tryptophane) was studied in water–ethanol mixtures by photoluminescence (PL) method as a function of the ethanol content of the bulk solutions. Job’s method followed by the application of the van’t Hoff theory was used to determine the thermodynamic parameters of the molecular association. Results show quite different thermodynamics of formation of calixarene–amino acid complexes at low and higher ethanol content of the solutions. The considerable stability of the individual calixarene–aromatic amino acids complexes supports their existence also in the case when the amino acids are in a protein. To test this idea the conversion rate, enthalpy and entropy change associated to the structural transition of BSA (bovine serum albumin) were investigated by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) in the absence and in the presence of calixarene. Results show that presence of calixarene changes significantly both the thermodynamics and the kinetics of the transition of BSA and the information collected for the individual calixarene–amino acid complexes gives insights about the possible processes at molecular level.     

On the Irreducible Components of the Form Ring and an Application to Intersection Cycles

Let A be a commutative Noetherian ring and I an ideal in A. We characterize algebraically when all the minimal primes of the associated graded ring G _I A contract to minimal primes of A/I. This, applied to intersection theory, means that there are no embedded distinguished varieties of intersection. The characterization is in terms of the analytic spread of certain localizations of I, the symbolic Rees algebra, and the normalization of the Rees algebra, and extends results of Huneke, Vasconcelos, and Martí-Farré.     

A low-Mach number method for the numerical simulation of complex flows

A new numerical procedure which considers a modification to the artificial acoustic stiffness correction method (AASCM) is here presented, to perform simulations of low Mach number flows with the compressible Navier–Stokes equations. An extra term is added to the energy fluxes instead of using an energy source correction term as in the original model. This new scheme re-scales the speed of sound to values similar to the flow velocity, enabling the use of larger time steps and leading to a more stable numerical method. The new method is validated performing Large Eddy Simulations on test problems. The effect of a crucial numerical parameter alpha is evaluated as well as the robustness of the method to variations of the Mach number. Numerical results are compared to the existing experimental data showing that the new method achieves good agreement increasing the time-step, and therefore accelerating the computation for low-Mach convective flows.     

Thermal study of zinc(II) 4-chlorosalicylate complex compounds with bioactive ligands

Three new complex compounds of general formula Zn{4-ClC₆H₃-2-(OH)COO}₂⋅L₂⋅nH₂O (where L=thiourea (tu), nicotinamide (nam), caffeine (caf), n=2,3), were prepared and characterized by chemical analysis, IR spectroscopy and their thermal properties were studied by TG/DTG, DTA methods. It was found that the thermal decomposition of hydrated compounds starts with the release of water molecules. During the thermal decomposition of anhydrous compounds the release of organic ligands take place followed by the decomposition of salicylate anion. Zinc oxide was found as the final product of the thermal decomposition performed up to 650°C. RTG powder diffraction method, IR spectra and chemical analysis were used for the determination of products of the thermal decomposition.     

Electrokinetic chromatographic characterization of novel pseudo-phases based on N-alkyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium ionic liquid type surfactants

MEKC and linear solvation free energy relationships (LSFERs) have been used to characterize the solute distribution between water and self-assemblies formed from ionic liquid type mono-chain cationic surfactants containing a cyclic pyrrolidinium head group. Several features of the solvation environment afforded by these micellar solutions were found to be quite different from that of CTAB, a structurally analogous cationic surfactant with a conventional, acyclic quaternary ammonium head group. None of the LSFER coefficients were found to vary in any systematic way with increasing alkyl chain length for these unique surfactants. Overall, however, these surfactants display different behavior than do all known cationic detergents such as CTAB. In chemical terms, pseudo-phases formed by these N-alkyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bromides interact more strongly with polar compounds and less strongly with compounds having nonbonding or pi-electrons and are more cohesive compared to the well-studied CTAB.     

Determination of chitin and protein contents during the isolation of chitin from shrimp waste

Accurate determination of chitin and protein contents in crustacean biomass and the intermediate products during the industrial isolation of chitin cannot be made directly from the total nitrogen content, unless the appropriate corrections are applied. This method, however, is affected by the presence of other nitrogen-containing chemical species that are formed endogenously or by the action of microorganisms during the handling of the sample. Therefore, an alternative rapid method to estimate the contents of these components can be very useful both in research and in various fields of application. An original method has been developed to address this problem. The method consists of the development of a set of equations based on the stoichiometric contents of nitrogen of chitin and protein whereby the amounts of each component can be estimated from the value of the total nitrogen content, provided the rest of the proximate composition of the sample is accurately known. In order to validate the procedure, a set of model mixtures of pure chitin and protein concentrate in the solid state, both extracted from shrimp head waste, are used. Excellent agreement between the predicted and real values of chitin and protein are obtained (R2=0.98, slope=0.90). When the proposed method is tested in the analysis of real samples obtained from five different processing protocols of pretreatment of raw shrimp head, it is found that in general the values of protein and chitin contents throughout the various stages of the process vary as expected. [GRAPH: SEE TEXT] Variation of the measured total nitrogen versus calculated stoichiometric total nitrogen of the chitin-protein mixtures.     

Cytodifferentiation during the spermatogenesis of the hermaphrodite caridea Exhippolysmata oplophoroides

Among the decapods, the caridean Exhippolysmata oplophoroides has been described as a simultaneous protandric hermaphrodite, seeing that it presents a male initial stage followed by a hermaphrodite one in which it can function as male and as female. This work had the aims of characterizing the microscopical morphology of the male portion of the ovotestes gonads from E. oplophoroides, at the different development stages, identifying each cell from the germ lines during spermatogenesis, as well as describing the ultramorphology of spermatozoans in the terminal region of the vasa deferentia. Shrimps were collected in Ubatuba, north coast of São Paulo, and their male gonads and the ampoule were removed, fixed and processed according to histological routine and for scanning electron microscopy. The testicular portion is divided in lobes, inside which cells at the same stage of the spermatogenic cycle are observed, with prevalence of spermatogonia and spermatocytes at stages I, II and V of gonad development, whereas spermatids and spermatozoans are found at stages III and IV, respectively. Ultramorphology of the terminal portion of the vasa deferentia exhibits mature aflagellated spike-shaped spermatozoans, encased in secretion and between membrane foldings that will constitute the spermatophores. Despite presenting reproductive characteristics common to other decapods, E. oplophoroides shows spermatozoans as well as spermatophore with typical morphology, which is important for its identification and taxonomy. Further, this species showed polysaccharide secretions where the spermatozoa are immerse as far as the testicular portion, which could have a role in their transport and nutrition as well as spermatophore constitution and/or fixation; differently, other caridean species begin spermatophore formation during the passage of the gametes through the vasa deferentia.     

Incompatibility between Propericiazine Oral Solution and Tea-Based Drink

Here, we studied the incompatibility between an oral solution of propericiazine (PCZ), an antipsychotic drug, and various commercially available bottled tea-based drinks. When 0.5?mL of the PCZ oral solution (10?mg/mL) was mixed with 16.5?mL of a tea-based drink (such as green tea, oolong tea, and black tea), the residual PCZ content declined to approximately 50% in some mixed solutions. After mixing with other tea-based drinks, the residual PCZ content declined to approximately 30%, while in others, it changed very little. The residual PCZ content declined immediately after mixing with tea-based drinks, but the rate remained almost unchanged for the next 24?h. Furthermore, the pH of the mixture increased to 4.5-5.1 after the oral solution of PCZ (original pH 3.8) was diluted with various tea-based drinks. Afterwards, the pH did not change for 24?h. The mixture became cloudy immediately after diluting PCZ oral solution with tea-based drinks, and the insoluble substance gradually precipitated. In order to elucidate factors responsible for the decline in the content of PCZ, a (-)-epigallocatechin gallate solution, which is a main ingredient of green tea polyphenol, was mixed with the PCZ oral solution. After mixing, the residual PCZ content declined to approximately 60-75%. On the other hand, the content of PCZ did not decline when a (-)-epigallocatechin solution was mixed with the PCZ oral solution. The results from this study demonstrated that PCZ content was reduced after dilution in tea-based drinks because of the interaction between PCZ and polyphenol with a galloyl group in tea-based drinks.     

Characterization and dioxygen reactivity of a new series of coordinatively unsaturated thiolate-ligated manganese(II) complexes

The synthesis, structural, and spectroscopic characterization of four new coordinatively unsaturated mononuclear thiolate-ligated manganese(II) complexes ([Mn(II)(S(Me2)N(4)(6-Me-DPEN))](BF(4)) (1), [Mn(II)(S(Me2)N(4)(6-Me-DPPN))](BPh(4))·MeCN (3), [Mn(II)(S(Me2)N(4)(2-QuinoPN))](PF(6))·MeCN·Et(2)O (4), and [Mn(II)(S(Me2)N(4)(6-H-DPEN)(MeOH)](BPh(4)) (5)) is described, along with their magnetic, redox, and reactivity properties. These complexes are structurally related to recently reported [Mn(II)(S(Me2)N(4)(2-QuinoEN))](PF(6)) (2) (Coggins, M. K.; Kovacs, J. A. J. Am. Chem. Soc.2011, 133, 12470). Dioxygen addition to complexes 1-5 is shown to result in the formation of five new rare examples of Mn(III) dimers containing a single, unsupported oxo bridge: [Mn(III)(S(Me2)N(4)(6-Me-DPEN)](2)-(μ-O)(BF(4))(2)·2MeOH (6), [Mn(III)(S(Me2)N(4)(QuinoEN)](2)-(μ-O)(PF(6))(2)·Et(2)O (7), [Mn(III)(S(Me2)N(4)(6-Me-DPPN)](2)-(μ-O)(BPh(4))(2) (8), [Mn(III)(S(Me2)N(4)(QuinoPN)](2)-(μ-O)(BPh(4))(2) (9), and [Mn(III)(S(Me2)N(4)(6-H-DPEN)](2)-(μ-O)(PF(6))(2)·2MeCN (10). Labeling studies show that the oxo atom is derived from (18)O(2). Ligand modifications, involving either the insertion of a methylene into the backbone or the placement of an ortho substituent on the N-heterocyclic amine, are shown to noticeably modulate the magnetic and reactivity properties. Fits to solid-state magnetic susceptibility data show that the Mn(III) ions of μ-oxo dimers 6-10 are moderately antiferromagnetically coupled, with coupling constants (2J) that fall within the expected range. Metastable intermediates, which ultimately convert to μ-oxo bridged 6 and 7, are observed in low-temperature reactions between 1 and 2 and dioxygen. Complexes 3-5, on the other hand, do not form observable intermediates, thus illustrating the effect that relatively minor ligand modifications have upon the stability of metastable dioxygen-derived species.     

Regioselective silylation of 5-(2′-hydroxyethyl)cyclopent-2-en-1-ol and 6-(2′-hydroxyethyl)cyclohex-2-en-1-ol

Herein we report regioselective and mild reactions for the tert-butyldimethylsilyl mono-protection of 5-(2′-hydroxyethyl)cyclopent-2-en-1-ol (2) and 6-(2′-hydroxyethyl)cycohex-2-en-1-ol (5) at the primary hydroxyl group or at the secondary allylic hydroxyl group. The different steric environment surrounding the secondary allylic and saturated primary alcohols is mainly invoked to rationalize the observed regioselectivity.