Phase transitions in phosphatidylcholine foam bilayers

Foam bilayers from individual and mixed phosphatidylcholines are experimentally studied at different temperatures. Occurrence of a chain-melting phase transition in the foam bilayers is detected by two independent parameters—the critical concentrationC _c for formation of foam bilayer and the foam bilayer thickness. The data forC _c are discussed on the basis of the hole-nucleation theory, which applies the Ising model to foam bilayers and uses the mean-field approximation for interpretation of their stability. This allows the determination of the binding energy of a phospholipid molecule in gel and liquid-crystalline foam bilayers. New possibilities to relate the microscopic and macroscopic characteristics of foam bilayers are demonstrated.     

Difference Equations and Discriminants for Discrete Orthogonal Polynomials

We prove that any set of polynomials orthogonal with respect to a discrete measure supported on equidistant points contained in a half line satisfy a second order difference equation. We also give a discrete analogue of the discriminant and give a general formula for the discrete discriminant of a discrete orthogonal polynomial. As an application we give explicit evaluations of the discrete discriminants of the Meixner and the Hahn polynomials. A difference analogue of the Bethe Ansatz equations is also mentioned.Research partially supported by NSF grant DMS 99-70865     

Ethyl esters of coumarin-3-phosphonic acid and 1,2-benzoxaphosphorine-3-carboxylic acid: crystal structure,spectroscopic and theoretical elucidation

IR-spectroscopic characterization of the coumarin-3-phosphonic acid and 1,2-benzoxaphosphorine-3-carboxylic acid ethyl esters has been carried out by means of linear-polarized IR (IR-LD) spectroscopy of oriented colloid suspensions in a nematic host. Quantum chemical DFT calculations at the B3LYP level of theory and 6-311++G** basis set were performed. The electronic structure and vibrational properties of both compounds are discussed. The spectroscopic data for 2-benzoxaphosphorine-3-carboxylic acid ethyl ester are in accordance with the crystal structure determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The compound C₁₃H₁₅O₅P crystallizes in the noncentrosymmetric space group P2₁2₁2₁, and its structure consists of a 3D network formed by short contacts of the type P=O···HC_(Ar) with distances of 3.420 and 2.467 Å. The geometry of the PO₃C fragment exhibits a pseudo T _d symmetry.     

Experimental validation of a T2rho transverse relaxation model using LASER and CPMG acquisitions

The transverse relaxation rate (R2=1/T2) of many biological tissues are altered by endogenous magnetized particles (i.e., ferritin, deoxyhemoglobin), and may be sensitive to the pathological progression of neurodegenerative disorders associated with altered brain-iron stores. R2 measurements using Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) acquisitions are sensitive to the refocusing pulse interval (2taucp), and have been modeled as a chemical exchange (CE) process, while R2 measurements using a localization by adiabatic selective refocusing (LASER) sequence have an additional relaxation rate contribution that has been modeled as a R2rho process. However, no direct comparison of the R2 measured using these two sequences has been described for a controlled phantom model of magnetized particles. The three main objectives of this study were: (1) to compare the accuracy of R2 relaxation rate predictions from the CE model with experimental data acquired using a conventional CPMG sequence, (2) to compare R2 estimates obtained using LASER and CPMG acquisitions, and (3) to determine whether the CE model, modified to account for R2rho relaxation, adequately describes the R2 measured by LASER for a full range of taucp values. In all cases, our analysis was confined to spherical magnetic particles that satisfied the weak field regime. Three phantoms were produced that contained spherical magnetic particles (10 microm diameter polyamide powders) suspended in Gd-DTPA (1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mmol/L) doped gel. Mono-exponential R2 measurements were made at 4T as a function of refocusing pulse interval. CPMG measurements of R2 agreed with CE model predictions while significant differences in R2 estimates were observed between LASER and CPMG measurements for short taucp acquisitions. The discrepancy between R2 estimates is shown to be attributable to contrast enhancement in LASER due to T2rho relaxation.     

Evaluation of Argentation TLC—Densitometry for the Determination of trans Fatty Acids in Butterfat

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - A stand-alone argentation TLC (Ag-TLC) procedure has been established for rapid estimation of the authenticity and densitometric...     

CONVERGENCE OF NEWTON＇S METHOD FOR A MINIMIZATION PROBLEM IN IMPULSE NOISE REMOVAL

Recently, two-phase schemes for removing salt-and-pepper and random-valued impulse noise are proposed in [6, 7]. The first phase uses decision-based median filters to locate those pixels which are likely to be corrupted by noise (noise candidates). In the second phase, these noise candidates are restored using a detail-preserving regularization method which allows edges and noise-free pixels to be preserved. As shown in [18], this phase is equivalent to solving a one-dimensional nonlinear equation for each noise candidate.One can solve these equations by using Newton‘s method. However, because of the edgepreserving term, the domain of convergence of Newton‘s method will be very narrow. In this paper, we determine the initial guesses for these equations such that Newton‘s method will always converge.     

In Vitro Antineoplastic and Antiviral Activity and In Vivo Toxicity of Geum urbanum L. Extracts

This study evaluated the in vitro antineoplastic and antiviral potential and in vivo toxicity of twelve extracts with different polarity obtained from the herbaceous perennial plant Geum urbanum L. (Rosaceae). In vitro cytotoxicity was determined by ISO 10993-5/2009 on bladder cancer, (T-24 and BC-3C), liver carcinoma (HEP-G2) and normal embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cell lines. The antineoplastic activity was elucidated through assays of cell clonogenicity, apoptosis induction, nuclear factor kappa B p65 (NFκB p65) activation and total glutathione levels. Neutral red uptake study was applied for antiviral activity. The most promising G. urbanum extract was analyzed by UHPLC–HRMS. The acute in vivo toxicity analysis was carried out following OEDC 423. The ethyl acetate extract of aerial parts (EtOAc-AP) exhibited the strongest antineoplastic activity on bladder cancer cell lines (IC₅₀ = 21.33–25.28 µg/mL) by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting NFκB p65 and cell clonogenicity. EtOAc and n-butanol extracts showed moderate antiviral activity against human adenovirus type 5 and human simplex virus type I. Seventy four secondary metabolites (gallic and ellagic acid derivatives, phenolic acids, flavonoids, etc.) were identified in EtOAc-AP by UHPLC–HRMS. This extract induced no signs of acute toxicity in liver and kidney specimens of H-albino mice in doses up to 210 mg/kg. In conclusion, our study contributes substantially to the detailed pharmacological characterization of G. urbanum, thus helping the development of health-promoting phytopreparations.     

Influence of Gamma Irradiation on Different Phytochemical Constituents of Dried Rose Hip (Rosa canina L.) Fruits

Gamma irradiation is efficiently applied to many foods, but nevertheless there is a distinct lack of information about the changes of macro- and micronutrients (e.g., carbohydrates, lipids, organic acids, and phenolics) in dried rose hip (RH) fruits. Therefore, in this study, for the first time, the effect of gamma irradiation (10 and 25 kGy) on RH constituents is investigated. Different analytical techniques (GC-FID, HPLC-UV, HPSEC-RID, IR-FT, and SEM) are employed to examine this effect. The irradiation treatment (10 kGy) increased the glucose content by 30% and released cellobiose from RH fruits, thus revealing cellulose destruction. The extractability of total uronic acids increased from 51% (control) to 70.5% (25 kGy-irradiated), resulting in a higher pectin yield (10.8% < 12.8% < 13.4%) and molecular heterogeneity. Moreover, de-esterification was not a major effect of the irradiation-induced degradation of pectin. The sample exposure to the highest dose did not change the content of total carotenoids, β-carotene, and (un)saturated fatty acids, but it affected the tocopherols levels. Gamma rays had a negligible effect on the phenolic constituents and did not affect ORAC and HORAC antioxidant activity. In conclusion, it can be compromised that the exposition of dried RH is safe and can be successfully applied to decontaminate fruits without affecting their nutritional value and biological activity.     

Photoinduced dichroism and birefringence in films of Mordant Pure Yellow/poly(vinyl alcohol): simultaneous real-time investigations at two wavelengths

Photoinduced anisotropy in films of azo-dye Mordant Pure Yellow (MPY) dissolved in a polyvinyl alcohol matrix, is investigated. The photodichroism and photoinduced birefringence are measured in real time for two wavelengths, 488 nm (in the absorption band) and 633 nm (outside it), on excitation with an Ar⁺ laser beam. It is shown that strong dichroism is induced without changing the average optical density of the film, and the kinetic curves of the birefringence and the dichroism are substantially different. The conclusion is made that the photoprocesses of the dye molecules cause a reconstruction of the matrix.     

Predicted infrared intensities of diacetylene and 1,3-pentadiyne

The bond polar parameters method has been applied in predicting infrared band intensities for diacetylene and 1,3-pentadiyne using local intensity parameters determined from experimental data for acetylene and propyne. Satisfactory agreement between calculated and observed spectral curves is obtained.