Determination of heterocyclic amines in urine samples by capillary liquid chromatography with evaporated light-scattering detection

A rapid and simple method for separation and detection of six heterocyclic aromatic amines (2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4,5-b]-pyridine, 2-amino-1-methyl-imidazo [4,5-f]-quinoline, 2-amino-3,8-dimethyl-imidazo [4,5-f]-quinoxaline, 2-amino-3,7,8-trimethyl-imidazo [4,5-f]-quinoxaline, 2-amino-3,4,8-trimethyl-imidazo [4,5-f]-quinoxaline, and 2-amino-3,4-dimethyl-imidazo [4,5-f]-quinoline) in human urine samples is proposed to reflect daily intake and recent HAAs exposure. This method comprises previous clean-up and preconcentration of the analytes on Strata-X reversed phase extraction cartridges followed by capillary liquid chromatography (CLC) and evaporative light-scattering detection (ELSD). A mobile phase of acetonitrile and ammonium acetate 35 mM at pH 5.15 through a gradient of composition and a flow rate of 15 μL min⁻¹ resulted in good separations of the analytes. Temperature and gas pressure were optimized for detection. The CLC-ELSD allows the separation and quantification of HAAs with good resolution, precision, and sensitivity. The usefulness of the proposed method was demonstrated by the analysis of synthetic and natural human urine samples spiked with different concentration levels of heterocyclic amines.     

Continuum limit of overlap valence quarks on a twisted mass sea

We study a lattice QCD mixed action with overlap valence quarks on two flavours of Wilson maximally twisted mass sea quarks. Employing three different matching conditions to relate both actions to each other, we investigate the continuum limit by using three values of the lattice spacing ranging from a≈0.05 fm$a\approx 0.05\text{fm}$ to 0.08 fm$0.08\text{fm}$. A particular emphasis is put on the effect on physical observables of the topological zero modes appearing in the valence overlap operator. We estimate the region of parameter space where the contribution from these zero modes is sufficiently small such that their effects can be safely controlled and a restoration of unitarity of the mixed action in the continuum limit is reached.     

Poisson pencils, algebraic integrability, and separation of variables

In this paper we review a recently introduced method for solving the Hamilton-Jacobi equations by the method of Separation of Variables. This method is based on the notion of pencil of Poisson brackets and on the bihamiltonian approach to integrable systems. We discuss how separability conditions can be intrinsically characterized within such a geometrical set-up, the definition of the separation coordinates being encompassed in the bihamiltonian structure itself. We finally discuss these constructions studying in details a particular example, based on a generalization of the classical Toda Lattice.     

New technique of processing highly oriented poly(vinylidene fluoride) films exclusively in the β phase

Oriented β‐phase films were obtained by utilizing two different techniques: conventional uniaxial drawing at 80 °C of predominantly α‐phase films, and by drawing almost exclusively β‐phase films obtained by crystallization at 60 °C from dimethylformamide (DMF) solution with subsequent pressing. Wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) and pole figure plots showed that with the conventional drawing technique films oriented at a ratio (R) of 5 still contained about 20% of phase α, a crystallinity degree of 40% and β‐phase crystallographic c ‐axis orientation factor of 0.655. Drawing at 90 °C and with R = 4 of originally β‐phase films results in exclusively β‐phase films with crystallinity degree of 45% and orientation factor of 0.885. Crystalline phase, crystallinity degree, and crystallographic c‐axis orientation factor of both phases were also determined for α‐phase oriented films obtained by drawing α‐phase films at 140 °C. For films drawn at 140 °C the α to β phase transition drops to about 22%. Reduction in crystallinity degree with increasing R is more pronounced at draw temperature of 140 °C compared with 80 °C. Moreover, for both phases the c ‐axis orientation parallel to the draw direction is higher at draw temperature of 140 °C than at 80 °C. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2793–2801, 2007     

Random Flights in Higher Spaces

We consider in this paper random flights in ℝ ^d performed by a particle changing direction of motion at Poisson times. Directions are uniformly distributed on hyperspheres S ₁ ^d . We obtain the conditional characteristic function of the position of the particle after n changes of direction. From this characteristic function we extract the conditional distributions in terms of (n+1)−fold integrals of products of Bessel functions. These integrals can be worked out in simple terms for spaces of dimension d=2 and d=4. In these two cases also the unconditional distribution is determined in explicit form. Some distributions connected with random flights in ℝ³ are discussed and in some special cases are analyzed in full detail. We point out that a strict connection between these types of motions with infinite directions and the equation of damped waves holds only for d=2. Related motions with random velocity in spaces of lower dimension are analyzed and their distributions derived.     

Allergenic fragments in Parietaria judaica pollen extract.

High-performance ion-exchange chromatography and immunoaffinity chromatography suggest that Par jI, the principal allergenic component of Parietaria judaica pollen, is a very unstable molecule, which tends to fragment in solution. Several fragments were obtained from Par jI and some of them show positivity toward the anti-Par jI monoclonal antibody, suggesting that they retain the entire structure of the allergenic determinant. These fragments could be the target for sequence and conformation studies.