Fully automated multianalyte determination of different classes of pesticides,at picogram per litre levels in water,by on-line solid-phase extraction–liquid chromatography–electrospray–tandem mass spectrometry

This paper reports the development of a fully automated method for the multianalyte determination of twenty pesticides belonging to different classes (triazines, phenylureas, organophosphates, anilines, acidic, propanil, and molinate) in natural and treated waters. The method, based on on-line solid-phase extraction–liquid chromatography–electrospray–tandem mass spectrometry, is highly sensitive (limits of detection between 0.004 and 2.8 ng L^–1), precise (relative standard deviations between 2.0 and 12.1%), reliable (two selected reaction-monitoring transitions are monitored per compound), rapid (45 min per sample), and simple. The application of this method to the monitoring of the target compounds in a waterworks revealed the presence of the pesticides investigated at concentrations up to 516 and 82 ng L^–1 (total pesticide concentration) in river water and ground water, respectively, used as sources, and their gradual removal through the purification process.Dedicated to the memory of Wilhelm Fresenius     

Gaussian basis sets for CO2 molecule generated with the molecular improved generator coordinate Hartree–Fock method

The molecular improved generator coordinate Hartree–Fock (MIGCHF) method is used to generate increasing size atom-centered Gaussian basis sets for the CO₂ molecule. From these basis sets total HF energies and second-order correlation energies were calculated and compared with results obtained with other approaches. Considering our largest basis set, the HF energy is in error by 98 hartree and the second-order correlation energy corresponds to 95.6% of an estimate of the limiting value. The relevance of the present calculations is to show the accuracy that can be achieved in studies of small polyatomic molecules with the MIGCHF method.Acknowledgement We acknowledge the financial support of CNPq (Brazilian Agency). We employed computational facilities at Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo and Universidade Estadual Paulista (IQ Araraquara).     

Synthetic and theoretical studies on the reduction of electron withdrawing group conjugated olefins using the Hantzsch 1,4-dihydropyridine ester

The Hantzsch 1,4-dihydropyridine ester (1) has been observed to be a useful selective reducing agent for the reduction of electron-withdrawing conjugated double bonds. The rate of this reaction was observed to be dependent upon the nature of the conjugated substituents and, consequently, the electronic nature of the unsaturated double bond. Theoretical calculations confirmed the importance of the HOMO-LUMO gap for this reaction and implicated a hydride transfer, agreeing with the experimentally observed reaction rate order. The calculations also revealed the importance of a boatlike structure of the 1,4-dihydropyridine nucleus as well as a trans arrangement of the ester groups to facilitate the hydride transfer.     

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy study of the potential dependence of thymine on silver electrodes

The potential-induced changes in thymine coordination on polycrystalline silver electrodes are studied by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for potentials positive to the potential of zero charge up to the end of the double layer range. Two distinct sets of spectra could be obtained in the range of potentials studied. Both states correspond to chemisorbed phases of thymine on silver, where a distinct heteroatom is deemed responsible for the bond with the surface. At less positive potentials, one of the ring oxygen atoms is responsible for the chemical bond and the molecule assumes a tilted position. At more positive potentials, one of the ring nitrogen atoms, possibly deprotonated, establishes a new bond with the surface, aligning the molecule's axis closer to the surface normal.This paper is dedicated to Prof. Wolf Vielstich on the occasion of his 80th birthday for his outstanding contributions to electrochemistry     

A heuristic approach to stowing general cargo into platform supply vessels

This paper addresses a practical problem encountered in the oil industry, related to the supplying of general cargo to offshore rigs and production units. For a given route assigned to a supply vessel we seek to determine the optimal two-dimensional positioning of deck cargoes such that the overall profit is maximized, while ensuring that several safety and operational constraints are respected. In terms of mathematical modelling, the resulting problem can be seen as a rich variation of the two-dimensional knapsack problem, since some cargoes may wait for a later trip. Furthermore, given that the trip may serve many offshore units and that a substantial number of items must also return from these units, the problem becomes even more complex and can be viewed as a pickup and delivery allocation problem. We propose a probabilistic constructive procedure combined with a local search heuristic to solve this problem. We also report the results of computational experiments with randomly generated instances. These results evidence that our proposed heuristic can effectively help ship planners when dealing with such large-scale allocation problems, with many operational constraints.     

Estimates of the first Steklov eigenvalue of properly embedded minimal hypersurfaces with free boundary

We consider a properly embedded minimal hypersurfacewith free boundary in a compact n-dimensional Riemannian manifold M be with nonnegative Ricci curvature and strictly convex boundary. Here, we obtain a new estimate from below for the first nonzero Steklov eigenvalue.     

Solid-state C NMR and molecular modeling studies of acetyl aleuritolic acid obtained from Croton cajucara Benth

Solid-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C NMR) with magic-angle spinning (MAS) and with cross-polarization and magic-angle spinning (CP/MAS) spectra, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques were used to obtain structural data from a sample of acetyl aleuritolic acid (AAA) extracted from the stem bark of Croton cajucara Benth. (Euphorbiaceae) and recrystallized from acetone. Since solid-state ¹³C NMR results suggested the presence of more than one molecule in the unitary cell for the AAA, DSC analysis and molecular modeling calculations were used to access this possibility. The absence of phase transition peaks in the DSC spectra and the dimeric models of AAA simulated using the semi-empirical PM3 method are in agreement with that proposal.     

Stereoelectronic interaction and their effects on conformational preference for 2-substituted methylenecyclohexane: an experimental and theoretical investigation

Conformational preferences for 2-substituted methylenecyclohexanes were determined using (3) J H 2 H 3 spin-spin coupling constants, while stereoelectronic interactions were obtained by means of theoretical calculations and NBO analysis. The conformational equilibrium of compounds studied can be represented by their axial and equatorial conformers, the axial conformers being the most stable form in polar and nonpolar solvents. These conformational preferences were attributed to the hyperconjugative interactions between the pi C-C-->sigma* C-Xax. and sigma C-H-->sigma* C-Xax. orbitals, and the repulsive steric interaction observed between sigma C-H-->n Xeq..     

On the use of different dielectric constants for computing individual and pairwise terms in poisson-boltzmann studies of protein ionization equilibrium

Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) models are a fast and common tool for studying electrostatic processes in proteins, particularly their ionization equilibrium (protonation and/or reduction), often yielding quite good results when compared with more detailed models. Yet, they are conceptually very simple and necessarily approximate, their empirical character being most evident when it comes to the choice of the dielectric constant assigned to the protein region. The present study analyzes several factors affecting the ability of PB-based methods to model protein ionization equilibrium. We give particular attention to a suggestion made by Warshel and co-workers (e.g., Sham et al. J. Phys. Chem. B 1997, 101, 4458) of using different protein dielectric constants for computing the individual (site) and the pairwise (site-site) terms of the ionization free energies. Our prediction of pK(a) values for several proteins indicates that no advantage is obtained by such a procedure, even for sites that are buried and/or display large pK(a) shifts relative to the solution values. In particular, the present methodology gives the best predictions using a dielectric constant around 20, for shifted/buried and nonshifted/exposed sites alike. The similarities and differences between the PB model and Warshel's PDLD/S model are discussed, as well as the reasons behind their apparently discrepant results. The present PB model is shown to predict also good reduction potentials in redox proteins.