Study of the Seasonal Variations of the Fatty Acid Profiles of Selected Macroalgae

Due to the high consumption of fat-rich processed foods, efforts are being done to reduce their saturated fat (SFA) contents and replace it with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), creating a necessity to find alternative PUFA sources. Macroalgae, being a promising natural source of healthy food, may be such an alternative. The fatty acid (FA) profile of Fucus spiralis, Bifurcaria bifurcata, Ulva lactuca, and Saccorhiza polyschides were determined through direct transesterification and their seasonal variation was studied. F. spiralis showed the highest FA content overall, B. bifurcata presented the higher PUFA amounts, and U. lactuca and S. polyschides the higher SFA. The production of FA was shown to be influenced by the seasons. Spring and summer seemed to induce the FA production in F. spiralis and B. bifurcata while in U. lactuca the same was verified in winter. U. lactuca presented a ω6/ω3 ratio between 0.59 and 1.38 while B. bifurcata presented a ratio around 1.31. The study on the seasonal variations of the macroalgal FA profile can be helpful to understand the best season to yield FA of interest, such as ALA, EPA, and DHA. It may also provide valuable information on the best culturing conditions for the production of desired FAs.     

Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide/ethanol/water systems as mobie phase in reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. Study of metal-diethyldithiocarbamate complexes retention

Summary This paper presents the, chromatographic retention of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) as diethyldithiocarbamate complexes in the presence of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide/ethanol/water systems, as mobile phase, by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography. The presence of an organic modifier reduces the retention times and improves the efficiency. In order to evaluate the interaction between the metal complexes and the mixed micellar system the values of solute binding constants are calculated in, two ways: a) Arunyanart and Cline-Love's treatment and b) multiple regression analysis taking account of the ethanol percentages.     

Design of a TE42,7 coaxial cavity for a 1 MW, 280 GHz gyrotron

To provide the required mode selectivity for a 1 MW, 280 GHz gyrotron, a coaxial resonator operating in the high order TE_42,7 mode is considered. Mode discrimination is achieved both by exploring selective ohmic effects and examining the electrodynamic properties of the coaxial cylindrical waveguide. Analytic results indicate the effectiveness of a coaxial insert with a low electrical conductivity in rarefying the mode density of overmoded, megawatt hollow cavities.     

A test for time-reversal violation in allowed isospin-hindered beta-decay

A method is proposed for the detection of T-violation in allowed isospin-hindered β-decay which is relatively simple from the point of view of theoretical analysis and which introduces an amplication of the T-violating effect of ≈ 10². As an example a β-decay in ¹³⁴Cs is studied.     

Electrochemical oxidation and cleavage of peptides analyzed with on-line mass spectrometric detection

An on-line electrochemistry/electrospray mass spectrometry system (EC/MS) is described that allows fast analysis of the oxidation products of peptides. A range of peptides was oxidized in an electrochemical cell by application of a potential ramp from 0 to 1.5 V during passage of the sample. Electrochemical oxidation of peptides was found to occur readily when tyrosine was present. Tyrosine was found to be oxidized between 0.5 and 1.0 V to various oxidation products, including peptide fragments formed by hydrolysis at the C-terminal side of tyrosine. The results confirm earlier knowledge on the mechanisms and reaction products of chemical and electrochemical peptide oxidation. Methionine residues are also readily oxidized, but do not induce peptide cleavage. At potentials higher than about 1.1 V, additional oxidation products were observed in some peptides, including loss of 28 Da from the C-terminus and dimerization. The tyrosine-specific cleavage reaction suggests a possible use of the EC/MS system as an on-line protein digestion and peptide mapping system. In addition, the system can be used to distinguish phosphorylated from unphosphorylated tyrosine residues. Four forms of the ZAP-70 peptide ALGADDSYYTAR with both, either or neither tyrosine phosphorylated were subjected to a 0-1.5 V potential ramp. Oxidation of, and cleavage adjacent to, tyrosine was observed exclusively at unphosphorylated tyrosine residues.     

Determination of terpenoids in wines by solid phase extraction and gas chromatography

A new method for determination of volatile terpenoids in wine is proposed. An off-line solid phase extraction—gas chromatographic method has been used for the determination. The influence of several extraction variables was studied, including the solid phase employed (C-18 versus divinylbenzene-based), eluting solvent (n-pentane, dichloromethane, ethanol and methanol), volume of eluting solvent (1-4 ml) and drying time (0-20 min). Complete recovery of volatile terpenoids from several kinds of wines was obtained under the optimized conditions.     

Lanthanide Complexes of Polyacid Ligands derived from 2, 6-bis(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine,pyrazine, and 6, 6′-bis(pyrazol-1-yl)-2, 2′-bipyridine: Synthesis and luminescence properties

The synthesis of three novel pyrazole-containing complexing acids, N,N,N′,N′-{2, 6-bis[3-(aminomethyl)pyrazol-1-yl]-4-methoxypyridine}tetrakis(acetic acid)( 1 ), N,N,N′,N′-{2, 6-bis[3-(aminomethyl)pyrazol-1-yl]pyrazine}-tetrakis(acetic acid) ( 2 ), and N,N,N′,N′-{6, 6′-bis[3-(aminomethyl)pyrazol-1-yl]-2, 2′-bipyridine}tetrakis(acetic acid) ( 3 ) is described. Ligands 1–3 formed stable complexes with Eu^III, Tb^III, Sm^III, and Dy^III in H₂O whose relative luminescence yields, triplet-state energies, and emission decay lifetimes were measured. The number of H₂O molecules in the first coordination sphere of the lanthanide ion were also determined. Comparison of data from the Eu^III and Tb^III complexes of 1–3 and those of the parent trisheterocycle N,N,N′,N′-{2, 6-bis[3-(aminomethyl)pyrazol-l-yl]pyridine}tetrakis(acetic acid) showed that the modification of the pyridine ring for pyrazine or 2, 2′-bipyridine strongly modify the luminescence properties of the complexes. MeO Substitution at C(4) of 1 maintain the excellent properties described for the parent compound and give an additional functional group that will serve for attaching the label to biomolecules in bioaffinity applications.     

Trace elements determination in red and white wines using total-reflection X-ray fluorescence

Several wines produced in different regions from south of Brazil and available in markets in Rio de Janeiro were analyzed for their contents of elements such as: P, S, Cl, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Rb and Sr. Multi-element analysis was possible with simple sample preparation and subsequent analysis by total-reflection X-ray fluorescence using synchrotron radiation. The measurement was carried at the X-ray fluorescence beamline in the Synchrotron Light Source Laboratory in Campinas, Brazil. The levels of the various elements obtained were lower in the Brazilian wines than the values generally found in the literature. The present study indicates the capability of multi-element analysis for determining the contents of various elements present in wines coming from Brazil vineyards by using a simple, sensitive and precise method.