Isometries on spaces of vector valued Lipschitz functions

This paper gives a characterization of a class of surjective isometries on spaces of Lipschitz functions with values in a finite dimensional complex Hilbert space.     

Phytochemical Constituents,Antioxidant Activity,and Toxicity Assessment of the Aerial Part Extracts from the Infraspecific Taxa of Matthiola fruticulosa (Brassicaceae) Endemic to Sicily

In a project designed to investigate the specific and infraspecific taxa of Matthiola endemic to Sicily (Italy) as new potential sources of bioactive compounds in this work, the infraspecific taxa of Matthiola fruticulosa were studied, namely, subsp. fruticulosa and subsp. coronopifolia. HPLC–PDA/ESI–MS and SPME–GC/MS analyses of hydroalcoholic extracts obtained from the aerial parts of the two subspecies led to the detection of 51 phenolics and 61 volatile components, highlighting a quite different qualitative–quantitative profile. The antioxidant properties of the extracts were explored through in vitro methods: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), reducing power and Fe²⁺ chelating activity assays. The results of the antioxidant tests showed that the extracts possess a different antioxidant ability: particularly, the extract of M. fruticulosa subsp. fruticulosa exhibited higher radical scavenging activity than that of subsp. coronopifolia (IC₅₀ = 1.25 ± 0.02 mg/mL and 2.86 ± 0.05 mg/mL), which in turn displayed better chelating properties (IC₅₀ = 1.49 ± 0.01 mg/mL and 0.63 ± 0.01 mg/mL). Lastly, Artemia salina lethality bioassay was performed for toxicity assessment. The results of the bioassay showed lack of toxicity against brine shrimp larvae for both extracts. The data presented indicate the infraspecific taxa of M. fruticulosa as new and safe sources of antioxidant compounds.     

Transitive A 6-invariant k-arcs in PG(2, q)

For q = p ^r with a prime p ≥ 7 such that ${q \equiv 1}$ or 19 (mod 30), the desarguesian projective plane PG(2, q) of order q has a unique conjugacy class of projectivity groups isomorphic to the alternating group A ₆ of degree 6. For a projectivity group ${\Gamma \cong A_6}$ of PG(2, q), we investigate the geometric properties of the (unique) Γ-orbit ${\mathcal{O}}$ of size 90 such that the 1-point stabilizer of Γ in its action on ${\mathcal O}$ is a cyclic group of order 4. Here ${\mathcal O}$ lies either in PG(2, q) or in PG(2, q ²) according as 3 is a square or a non-square element in GF(q). We show that if q ≥ 349 and q ≠ 421, then ${\mathcal O}$ is a 90-arc, which turns out to be complete for q = 349, 409, 529, 601,661. Interestingly, ${\mathcal O}$ is the smallest known complete arc in PG(2,601) and in PG(2,661). Computations are carried out by MAGMA.     

Some Combinatorial Aspects of Constructing Bipartite-Graph Codes

We propose geometrical methods for constructing square 01-matrices with the same number n of units in every row and column, and such that any two rows of the matrix contain at most one unit in common. These matrices are equivalent to n-regular bipartite graphs without 4-cycles, and therefore can be used for the construction of efficient bipartite-graph codes such that both the classes of its vertices are associated with local constraints. We significantly extend the region of parameters m, n for which there exist an n-regular bipartite graph with 2m vertices and without 4-cycles. In that way we essentially increase the region of lengths and rates of the corresponding bipartite-graph codes. Many new matrices are either circulant or consist of circulant submatrices: this provides code parity-check matrices consisting of circulant submatrices, and hence quasi-cyclic bipartite-graph codes with simple implementation.     

Evaluation of the Mooney Viscosity of Natural Rubber by Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract

The direct near‐infrared spectroscopic reflectance measurements of prevulcanized natural rubber (brown crepe) was employed for determination of its Mooney viscosity. NIR reflectance spectra were obtained for a total of 100 samples whose Mooney viscosity (VM in the range 68–95 units) have been determined by the standard reference procedure using a commercial computerized Mooney viscometer. These samples were employed as the raw material or were treated to achieve better homogenization. A Fourier transform near infrared (FT‐NIR) spectrophotometer was employed, and the reflectance spectra were obtained with resolution of 4 cm^?1 in the range 4000–10,000 cm^?1 as an average of 75 scans. The samples were split in a calibration set containing 70 samples and in an external validation set consisting of the remaining 30 samples. The calibration and validation spectra sets were treated to correct for baseline shift, further transformed by first derivative and finally modeled by partial least squares (PLS) employing four latent variables. The model was evaluated with the external sample test set, and a RMSEP of 3.6 and 3.9 units of Mooney viscosity were obtained for homogenized and nonhomogenized samples, respectively. The NIR method is capable of determining the Mooney viscosity in few minutes in the non‐pretreated sample with an error that is satisfactory for quality control of natural rubber destined for automobile tire manufacturing.     

Structural and Functional Consequences of the Weak Binding of Chlorin e6 to Bovine Rhodopsin

The chlorophyll‐derivative chlorin e6 (Ce6) identified in the retinas of deep‐sea ocean fish is proposed to play a functional role in red bioluminescence detection. Fluorescence and ¹H NMR spectroscopy studies with the bovine dim‐light photoreceptor, rhodopsin, indicate that Ce6 weakly binds to it with μm affinity. Absorbance spectra prove that red light sensitivity enhancement is not brought about by a shift in the absorbance maximum of rhodopsin. ¹⁹F NMR experiments with samples where ¹⁹F labels are either placed at the cytoplasmic binding site or incorporated as fluorinated retinal indicate that the cytoplasmic domain is highly perturbed by binding, while little to no changes are detected near the retinal. Binding of Ce6 also inhibits G‐protein activation. Chemical shift changes in ¹H‐¹⁵N NMR spectroscopy of ¹⁵N‐Trp labeled bovine rhodopsin reveal that Ce6 binding perturbs the entire structure. These results provide experimental evidence that Ce6 is an allosteric modulator of rhodopsin.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Cyclohexanes by Hydrogen Borrowing Annulations

Hydrogen borrowing catalysis serves as a powerful alternative to enolate alkylation, enabling the direct coupling of ketones with unactivated alcohols. However, to date, methods that enable control over the absolute stereochemical outcome of such a process have remained elusive. Here we report a catalytic asymmetric method for the synthesis of enantioenriched cyclohexanes from 1,5‐diols via hydrogen borrowing catalysis. This reaction is mediated by the addition of a chiral iridium(I) complex, which is able to impart high levels of enantioselectivity upon the process. A series of enantioenriched cyclohexanes have been prepared and the mode of enantioinduction has been probed by a combination of experimental and DFT studies.     

Photoelectrochemical platform for sensing propyl gallate in edible oil samples based on CdTe quantum dots and poly(D-glucosamine)

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - This paper reports the development of a photoelectrochemical platform based on indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode modified with carboxyl-functionalized...     

Preparative mass‐spectrometry profiling of minor concentrated metabolites in Salicornia gaudichaudiana Moq by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography and off‐line electrospray mass‐spectrometry injection

Salicornia species have just been introduced to the European market as a vegetable named ‘samphire’, ‘green asparagus’, or ‘sea asparagus’. Due to its increasing attention, and associated value, minor compounds of Salicornia gaudichaudiana Moq were investigated. The use of countercurrent chromatography and mass spectrometry enabled the search for known, as well as potentially novel natural products. Their identification was achieved based on molecular weights and mass‐spectrometric fragmentation data. Low detection limits enabled the visualization of all compounds with their identification in almost real time close to the preparative countercurrent chromatography experiment. A list of known natural products from Salicornia genus guided the identification process of compounds occurring in Salicornia gaudichaudiana Moq by tandem mass spectrometry fragment comparison. The natural product classes were divided into four groups: chlorogenic acid derivatives; flavonoid derivatives; pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins; and other compounds.