Common supports for pairs of sets

Sufficient conditions are given for the existence of a closed hyperplane which supports each member of a pair of closed and bounded subsets of a Banach space.     

Molecular site assessment and process monitoring in bioremediation and natural attenuation

A variety of modern biotechnical approaches are available to assist in optimizing and controlling bioremediation processes. These approaches are broad-ranging, and may include genetic engineering to improve biodegradative performance, maintenance of the environment, and process monitoring and control. In addition to direct genetic engineering strategies, molecular diagnostic and monitoring technology using DNA gene probing methods and new quantitative mRNA analytical procedures allows direct analysis of degradative capacity, activity, and response underin situ conditions. Applications of these molecular approaches in process developments for trichloroethylene (TCE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) bio-oxidation in soils, aquifer sediments, and ground-water treatment reactors have been demonstrated. Molecular genetic technologies permit not only the development of new processes for bioremediation, but also new process monitoring, control strategies, and molecular optimization paradigms that take full advantage of vast and diverse abilities of microorganisms to destroy problem chemicals.     

The effect of hydration/dehydration on the AC electrical conductivity of H4PVMo11O40 and some of its cesium salts used as catalysts

Changes in AC electrical conductance G of vanadium substituted 12-molybdophosphoric acid and of its (mono)-acid and neutral cesium salts were studied. Depending on the environment, the electrical conductivity is a combination of protonic and electronic conduction, the protonic one dominating at low temperature.     

Synthesis of dibenzo‐16‐crown‐5 compounds with pendant ester and ether groups

Structurally related dibenzo‐16‐crown‐5 lariat ethers with pendant ester and ether groups are prepared. Structural variations within the series of alkyl lariat ether esters include changes in the O‐alkyl group, attachment site and nature of the lipophilic group, and length of the spacer, which connects the ester group to the polyether framework. Also synthesized are bis(crown ether) diesters with two dibenzo‐16‐crown‐5 or two dicyclohexano‐16‐crown‐5 units and two ester groups connected to each other by a linker of varying length. Synthetic strategies for the preparation of these lariat ethers with pendant ester‐ and ether‐containing side arms are described.     

Synthesis and Structural Studies of Porous Organobridged Silicate Amorphous Powder

Novel amorphous organobridged polysilsesquioxane porous powders have been prepared via hydrolytic precipitation from solutions of 1,4-bis(trichlorosilylmethyl)benzene. These new porous materials have been characterized by SEM, nitrogen sorption measurements and solid state 13C and 29Si NMR spectroscopy. The internal structure and porosity of the amorphous materials are correlated to the process conditions.     

Interpreting NMR data for beta-peptides using molecular dynamics simulations

NMR is one of the most used techniques to resolve structure of proteins and peptides in solution. However, inconsistencies may occur due to the fact that a polypeptide may adopt more than one conformation. Since the NOE distance bounds and (3)J-values used in such structure determination represent a nonlinear average over the total ensemble of conformers, imposition of NOE or (3)J-value restraints to obtain one unique conformation is not an appropriate procedure in such cases. Here, we show that unrestrained MD simulation of a solute in solution using a high-quality force field yields a conformational ensemble that is largely compatible with the experimental NMR data on the solute. Four 100 ns MD simulations of two forms of a nine-residue beta-peptide in methanol at two temperatures produced conformational ensembles that were used to interpret the NMR data on this molecule and resolve inconsistencies between the experimental NOEs. The protected and unprotected forms of the beta-peptide adopt predominantly a 12/10-helix in agreement with the qualitative interpretation of the NMR data. However, a particular NOE was not compatible with this helix indicating the presence of other conformations. The simulations showed that 3(14)()-helical structures were present in the ensemble of the unprotected form and that their presence correlates with the fulfillment of the particular NOE. Additionally, all inter-hydrogen distances were calculated to compare NOEs predicted by the simulations to the ones observed experimentally. The MD conformational ensembles allowed for a detailed and consistent interpretation of the experimental data and showed the small but specific conformational differences between the protected and unprotected forms of the peptide.     

Composition and temperature dependence of cesium-borate glasses by molecular dynamics

The structural aspects of xCs2O-(1-x)B2O3 glasses have been investigated by molecular dynamics as functions of Cs2O content (x=0.2, 0.3, and 0.4) and temperature (T=300 and 1250 K). The tetrahedral (B?4-) and triangular (B?3,B?2O-, and B?O2 (2-)) short-range order borate units were found to be the structure-building entities of the simulated glasses [?=bridging oxygen (BO) and O-=nonbridging oxygen (NBO) atom]. The increase of Cs2O content results in the progressive increase of the NBO-containing triangle population at the expense of the BO4- tetrahedral units. The same effect is caused by temperature increase at a fixed Cs2O content, and this was associated with the "fragile" characteristics of alkali borate glasses. A comparison of simulated Cs and Li borates showed very similar structures at x=0.2, but dissimilar ones when the alkali content exceeds this composition. In particular, for x>0.2 Cs borates exhibit a preference for NBO formation relative to Li borates. Differences in the microstructure of sites hosting Cs ions were found, and this permits their classification into bridging (b type) and nonbridging type (nb type) of sites. b-type sites consist exclusively of BO atoms, while both BO and NBO atoms participate in nb-type sites. These differences in Cs-site local bonding characteristics were found to be reflected on the Cs-O(site) vibration frequencies. Also, the computed Cs-O vibrational responses for simulated Cs borates were found to compare well with experimental far-infrared spectra.     

ACTIVATION OF BENZOPORPHYRIN DERIVATIVE IN THE CIRCULATION OF MICE WITHOUT SKIN PHOTOSENSITIVITY

In vitro experiments with benzoporphyrin derivative monoacid ring A (BPD) confirmed earlier studies that it was taken up rapidly (within 30 min) to maximum concentrations by all cells tested. It was also confirmed that rapidly dividing tumor cell lines and mitogen-activated murine T lymphocytes took up significantly more (5-10-fold) BPD than did normal splenic lymphocytes. Further experiments were undertaken to determine whether BPD could be activated by whole-body irradiation with red light in the blood of animals, shortly after intravenous (i.v.) administration, in the absence of skin photosensitivity. It was found that shaved and depilated mice injected i.v. 60 min earlier with BPD at between 0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg could tolerate 160 J/cm² of broad-band red light (560-900 nm) delivered, at a relatively low rate, over a 90 min time interval without developing skin photosensitivity or general phototoxicity. During the treatment time, plasma levels of BPD were between 0.7 and 1.0 μg/mL. The light treatment resulted in between 70 and 80% photoinactivation of circulating BPD. When LI 210 tumor cells were preincubated with BPD and injected i.v. into mice immediately before total-body light treatment (160 J/cm² of 590-900 nm light delivered over 90 min), significant reductions in circulating clonogenic tumor cells were observed in blood samples taken immediately following treatment. This indicated that sufficient light was being delivered to BPD in the blood flowing in the peripheral vasculature to effect cytotoxicity to cells containing the photosensitizer without causing either vascular or skin photosensitivity. Thus, activation of this photosensitizer in the circulation can be achieved by transdermal light exposure without causing skin photosensitivity provided that light exposure is performed at a time when the first phase of plasma clearance is complete and when the drug has not yet accumulated in skin.