Essential oils of three species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Heracleum</Emphasis>. Anticandidal activity

Fruits of Heracleum crenatifolium Boiss., Heracleum sphondylium L. subsp. ternatum (Velen.) Brummitt, and Heracleum platytaenium Boiss. (Umbelliferae) were hydrodistilled to obtain essential oils that were then analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The major component was identified as octyl acetate (93.7, 87.6 and 31.6% respectively). Octyl butyrate was also characterized as the main component in H. platytaenium oil. Furthermore, anticandidal activity of the oils was evaluated using the microdilution broth method. All the oils showed good inhibitory effects against C. glabrata.Published in Khimiya Prirodnikh Soedinenii No. 6, pp. 448–450, November–December 2004.This revised version was published online in April 2005 with a corrected cover date.     

Fine-tuning the electronic properties of highly stable organometallic Cu(III) complexes containing monoanionic macrocyclic ligands

A family of highly stable organometallic Cu(III) complexes with monoanionic triazamacrocyclic ligands (L(i)) with general formula [CuL(i)]+ have been prepared and isolated, and their structural, spectroscopic, and redox properties thoroughly investigated. The HL(i) ligands have been designed in order to understand and quantify the electronic effects exerted by electron donor and electron-withdrawing groups on either the aromatic ring or the central secondary amine or on both. In the solid state the Cu(III) complexes were mainly characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, whereas in solution their structural characterization was mainly based on 1H NMR spectroscopy given the diamagnetic nature of the d(8) square-planar Cu(III) complexes. Cyclic voltammetry together with 1H NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopy have allowed us to quantify the electronic effects exerted by the ligands on the Cu(III) metal center. A theoretical analysis of this family of Cu(III) complexes has also been undertaken by DFT calculations to gain a deeper insight into the electronic structure of these complexes, which has in turn allowed a greater understanding of the nature of the UV/Vis transitions as well as the molecular orbitals involved.     

Different lethal effects by enzyme-generated triplet indole-3-aldehyde in different Escherichia coli strains

Strains of Escherichia coli which lack 4-thiouridine (S4U) exhibit a higher survival rate than their wild-type parents which contain S4U after treatment with enzyme-generated triplet indole-3-aldehyde. In a similar manner to results obtained with monochromatic 334 nm UV light, the survival is related to single-strand breakage of DNA in E. coli containing the pBR 322 plasmid. The effects of the excited states generated by an enzymatic system suggest that S4U is an important chromophore in the lethal effects observed. The results also suggest that the energy transferred from triplet indole-3-aldehyde to S4U may also be passed from S4U of t-RNA to DNA, possibly through a singlet oxygen intermediate generated by excited S4U, resulting in a decrease in the survival rate of E. coli containing S4U. These results emphasize the importance of excited states in biological systems.     

On weighted q-Daehee polynomials with their applications

In this paper, we first consider a generalization of Kim’s $p$-adic $q$-integral on ${\mathbb{Z}}_p$ including parameters $\alpha$ and $\beta$. By using this integral, we introduce the $q$-Daehee polynomials and numbers with weight $\left(\alpha ,\beta \right)$. Then, we obtain some interesting relationships and identities for these numbers and polynomials. We also derive some correlations among $q$-Daehee polynomials with weight $\left(\alpha ,\beta \right)$, $q$-Bernoulli polynomials with weight $\left(\alpha ,\beta \right)$ and Stirling numbers of second kind.     

Efficiency of a Liu-type estimator in semiparametric regression models

In this paper we consider the semiparametric regression model, y=Xβ+f+ε. Recently, Hu [11] proposed ridge regression estimator in a semiparametric regression model. We introduce a Liu-type (combined ridge-Stein) estimator (LTE) in a semiparametric regression model. Firstly, Liu-type estimators of both β and f are attained without a restrained design matrix. Secondly, the LTE estimator of β is compared with the two-step estimator in terms of the mean square error. We describe the almost unbiased Liu-type estimator in semiparametric regression models. The almost unbiased Liu-type estimator is compared with the Liu-type estimator in terms of the mean squared error matrix. A numerical example is provided to show the performance of the estimators.     

Green synthesis of water splitting electrocatalysts: IrO2 nanocages via Pearson's chemistry

Highly porous iridium oxide structures are particularly well-suited for the preparation of porous catalyst layers needed in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers. Herein, we report the formation of iridium oxide nanostructured cages, via a water-based process performed at room temperature, using cheap Cu₂O cubes as the template. In this synthetic approach, based on Pearson''s hard and soft acid–base theory, the replacement of the Cu₂O core by an iridium shell is permitted by the difference in hardness/softness of cations and anions of the two reactants Cu₂O and IrCl₃. Calcination followed by acid leaching allow the removal of residual copper oxide cores and leave IrO₂ hierarchical porous structures with outstanding activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction. Fundamental understanding of the reaction steps and identification of the intermediates are permitted by coupling a set of ex situ and in situ techniques including operando time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy during the synthesis.

Hierarchical IrO₂ nanocages, easily synthesized in water at room temperature, are extremely active towards the oxygen evolution reaction. The formation mechanism is based on the difference in softness/hardness of the ions involved in the reaction.     

TG,DTA and X-ray thermodiffraction study of wall paintings from the fifteenth century

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In this work, it is reported that thermal analysis techniques such as TG, DTA and X-ray thermodiffraction, performed in air or nitrogen atmosphere, are...     

A portable X-ray diffraction apparatus for in situ analyses of masters’ paintings

It is rare that the analyses of materials in paintings can be carried out by taking micro-samples. Valuable works of art are best studied in situ by non-invasive techniques. For that purpose, a portable X-ray diffraction and fluorescence apparatus has been designed and constructed at the C2RMF. This apparatus has been used for paintings of Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh, Mantegna, etc. Results are given to illustrate the performance of X-ray diffraction, especially when X-ray fluorescence does not bring sufficient information to conclude.     

Sensitivity Analysis of Asset Flow Differential Equations and Volatility Comparison of Two Related Variables

In this study, I apply forward sensitivity analysis to the dynamical system of nonlinear asset flow differential equations (AFDEs). I find that all parameters in AFDEs are needed and can be estimated from market prices and net asset values data. Moreover, the market price is the most fluctuating state variable, and the coefficient for the trend-based investor' sentiment is the dominant parameter. Furthermore, I define and compare the extreme value-based volatilities of market price and net asset value for closed-end funds. I find that the extreme value-based volatility of market price is higher than that of net asset value for the vast majority of closed-end funds for both overlapping and non-overlapping cases.     

Direct measurement of forces between a colloidal particle and a phospholipid bilayer

Colloidal interaction forces between a silica particle and a solid-supported Langmuir-Schaefer phospholipid bilayer were directly measured using a gradient optical trap and evanescent wave light scattering. A small custom-built Langmuir trough was integrated with an optical trapping microscope to allow force measurements on a single particle within the subphase of the trough after the dip of the substrate was completed. The novel method allows the force measurements to be conducted without transferring the substratum across an air/water interface. The fluctuating particle position near the bilayer was tracked by evanescent wave light scattering to determine the deflection due to surface forces, and the relaxation time of particle fluctuations was measured to simultaneously determine the viscous forces. Measured equilibrium and viscous force-distance profiles of silica microspheres with diameters of 1 and 5 microm on bilayers of dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline (DPPC) were markedly different than force-distance on bare mica and DPPC monolayers under the same electrolyte conditions.