Study of medieval enamelling on gilded objects combining SEM-EDAX and PIXE

A set of fragments of metallic artefacts from the medieval period excavated from Ciudad Real in Spain has been studied. The objects are gilded copper buckles with a champlevé enamelling decoration. The composition of predominantly blue-coloured enamels has been analysed using three non-destructive techniques, SEM-EDAX (scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and PIXE (particle-induced X-ray emission). Analyses show that Co is responsible for the blue colour. The results of the two techniques are compared, as well as the main components which constitute the enamel. Analyses suggest that Cu is responsible for red colour.     

A relativistic quark-diquark model for the nucleon

We developed a constituent quark-diquark model for the nucleon and its resonances using a harmonic oscillator potential for the interaction. The effects due to relativistic kinetic energy correction are studied. Finally, charge form factor of the model is calculated and compared with experimental data.      

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method for the determination of prolactin in bacterial extracts and in its purified form

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography methodology for the determination of human prolactin (hPRL) in bacterial periplasmic space or in purified preparations has been developed. The technique, based on the high hydrophobicity of the hPRL molecule, allows its separation from the bulk of bacterial proteins. The precision for periplasmic shock fluid analysis was characterized by relative standard variations of 3-7% for intra-day and of 3-25% for inter-day determinations. Accuracy, evaluated by recovery tests, was of the order of 90%, a calibration curve being constructed with the use of a lyophilized osmotic shock fluid extract, which provided a stable, readily prepared internal reference. Sensitivity was of the order of 0.5 microg of hPRL. The methodology developed also provided a tool for comparing the hydrophobicity of glycosylated and non-glycosylated prolactin molecules obtained from several different species and of different preparations of native or biosynthetic human prolactin.     

Labile coodination dendrimers

Addition of anionic benzylsulfate dendrons to dynamic mixtures of Ag+ and triphosphine ligands results in the assembly of loosely-bonded cage-core dendrimers.     

Phenylpropanoids from Umbilicus pendulinus

Phytochemical investigation of the leaves of Umbilicus pendulinus afforded in addition to 2-O-caffeoyl malate, isoquercitrin and Z-venusol, the new isomer E-venusol. Special NMR experiments were carried out to elucidate the configuration of the two latter compounds.     

Oxidation of guanines in the iron-responsive element RNA: similar structures from chemical modification and recent NMR studies

Background: The translation or stability of the mRNAs from ferritin, m-aconitase, erythroid aminoevulinate synthase and the transferrin receptor is controlled by the binding of two iron regulatory proteins to a family of hairpin-forming RNA sequences called iron-responsive elements (IREs). The determination of higher-solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) structures of IRE variants suggests an unusual hexaloop structure, leading to an intra-loop G-C base pair and a highly exposed loop guanine, and a special internal loop/bulge in the ferritin IRE involving a shift in base pairing not predicted with standard algorithms.Results: Cleavage of synthetic 55- and 30-mer RNA oligonucleotides corresponding to the ferritin IRE with complexes based on oxoruthenium(IV) shows enhanced reactivity at a hexaloop guanine and at a guanine adjacent to the internal loop/bulge with strong protection at a guanine in the internal loop/bulge. These results are consistent with the recent NMR structures. The synthetic 55-mer RNA binds the iron-regulatory protein from rabbit reticulocyte lysates. The DNA analogs of the 55- and 30-mers do not show the same reactivity pattern.Conclusions: The chemical reactivity of the guanines in the ferritin IRE towards oxoruthenium(IV) supports the published NMR structures and the known oxidation chemistry of the metal complexes, The results constitute progress towards developing stand-alone chemical nucleases that reveal significant structural properties and provide results that can ultimately be used to constrain molecular modeling.