Specific carbon-13 labelling of leucine residues in human growth hormone.

Biosynthetic human growth hormone specifically 13C-labelled in the carbonyl positions of all 26 leucine residues has been obtained by recombinant DNA techniques using 13C-labelled leucine and an E. coli strain that requires leucine. It is shown that, on the whole, the labelling is specific with no significant mislabelling as would have been the case had the 13C-labelled leucine been metabolized.     

The influence of synthetic conditions on the stability of methotrexate-monoclonal antibody conjugates determined by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography.

Methotrexate (MTX) has been convalently attached to an IgG-type monoclonal antibody (791T/36) directed to tumour-associated antigen gp72. Conjugates were synthesized by the active ester method using MTX N-succinimidyl ester at various pH values (7.5-10.5). Following purification by gel filtration, high performance liquid chromatography was used to assess the free drug or its derivatives in samples of MTX-791T/36 conjugates previously treated (or not) with hydroxylamine. Quantitative analysis, performed on a reversed phase column (pore size 300 A) with isocratic acetonitrile-sodium acetate buffer (pH 4.8) as mobile phase, indicated no detectable amount of free methotrexate in hydroxylamine-treated conjugates even six months after their preparation. Similar observations were made with conjugates, whose synthesis were performed at pH greater than or equal to 10. In contrast, the presence of increasing amounts of drug/metabolite could be demonstrated in samples produced at lower pH values. Based on these findings, the pH-dependent kinetics of MTX release has been determined and used to design conditions under which stable MTX-791T/36 conjugates could be prepared without hydroxylamine reaction.     

On the evaluation of the nonisothermal kinetic parameters of (GeS2)0.3(Sb2S3)0.7 crystallization using the IKP method

The isoconversional method suggested by Friedman and the invariant kinetic parameters method (IKP) were used in order to examine the kinetics of the nonisothermal crystallization of (GeS₂)_0.3(Sb₂S₃)_0.7. The objective of the paper is to show the usefulness of the IKP method both for determining the activation parameters as well as the model of the investigated process. It was shown that the kinetic triplet [(E, A, f(α), where E is the activation energy, A is the preexponential factor, and f(α) is the differential function of conversion], which results through the application of the IKP method, depends on the set of kinetic models considered. For different sets of kinetic models, proportional values of f(α) are obtained. A criterion for the selection of this set, the use of which lead to the true kinetic triplet corresponding to the analyzed process (E = 163.2 kJ mol^?1; A = 2.47 × 10¹² min^?1 and the Avrami‐Erofeev model, A_m, for m = 2.5–2.6 was suggested. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 36: 309–315, 2004     

Validation of a thermal decomposition mechanism of formaldehyde by detection of CH2O and HCO behind shock waves

The thermal decomposition of formaldehyde was investigated behind shock waves at temperatures between 1675 and 2080 K. Quantitative concentration time profiles of formaldehyde and formyl radicals were measured by means of sensitive 174 nm VUV absorption (CH₂O) and 614 nm FM spectroscopy (HCO), respectively. The rate constant of the radical forming channel (1a), CH₂O + M → HCO + H + M, of the unimolecular decomposition of formaldehyde in argon was measured at temperatures from 1675 to 2080 K at an average total pressure of 1.2 bar, k_1a = 5.0 × 10¹⁵ exp(‐308 kJ mol^?1/RT) cm³ mol^?1 s^?1. The pressure dependence, the rate of the competing molecular channel (1b), CH₂O + M → H₂ + CO + M, and the branching fraction β = k_1a/(kA_1a + k_1b) was characterized by a two‐channel RRKM/master equation analysis. With channel (1b) being the main channel at low pressures, the branching fraction was found to switch from channel (1b) to channel (1a) at moderate pressures of 1–50 bar. Taking advantage of the results of two preceding publications, a decomposition mechanism with six reactions is recommended, which was validated by measured formyl radical profiles and numerous literature experimental observations. The mechanism is capable of a reliable prediction of almost all formaldehyde pyrolysis literature data, including CH₂O, CO, and H atom measurements at temperatures of 1200–3200 K, with mixtures of 7 ppm to 5% formaldehyde, and pressures up to 15 bar. Some evidence was found for a self‐reaction of two CH₂O molecules. At high initial CH₂O mole fractions the reverse of reaction (6), CH₂OH + HCO ? CH₂O + CH₂O becomes noticeable. The rate of the forward reaction was roughly measured to be k₆ = 1.5 × 10¹³ cm³ mol^?1 s^?1. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 36: 157–169 2004     

Indirect boundary element method for unsteady linearized flow over prolate and oblate spheroids and hemispheroidal protuberances

The indirect boundary element method was used to study the hydrodynamics of oscillatory viscous flow over prolate and oblate spheroids, and over hemispheroidal bodies hinged to a plate. Analytic techniques, such as spheroidal coordinates, method of images, and series representations, were used to make the numerical methods more efficient. A novel method for computing the hydrodynamic torque was used, since for oscillatory flow the torque cannot be computed directly from the weightings. Instead, a Green's function for torque was derived to compute the torque indirectly from the weightings. For full spheroids, the method was checked by comparing the results to exact solutions at low and high frequencies, and to results computed using the singularity method. For hemispheroids hinged to a plate, the method for low frequencies was checked by comparing the results to previous results, and to exact solutions at high frequencies. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electron Metal-Dielectric Phase Transitions in Semiconductors under Pressure

The effect of uniform pressure on the character of metal-dielectric transitions in compensated weakly- and highly doped semiconductors (WHDCS) is considered. The influence of hybridization of resonance quasilocalized impurity states with band continuum states on the transition is shown. Minimum metallic conductivities in p-CdSnAs₂ are determined for Mott and Anderson transitions. Special features of the metal-dielectric transformation in weakly-doped narrow- and high energy-gap semiconductors are discussed for the case of hydrogen-like impurities. Anderson localization in WHDCS is also considered. Phase diagrams are presented.     

Search for the emission of π<Superscript>0</Superscript> mesons from the neutron-induced fission of <Superscript>235</Superscript>U nuclei

A nuclear-reactor experiment on the search for the emission of neutral pions from the neutron-induced fission of ²³⁵U nuclei has been carried out. To this end, an experimental setup for searching for the emission of π⁰ mesons with high sensitivity to this process has been designed and produced. This setup consisted of two Cherenkov total-absorption spectrometers for the detection and measurements of the energy of two gamma-ray photons from π ⁰-meson decay. The spectrometers were placed at the exits of two coaxial horizontal experimental channels. To protect the detectors from low-energy β and γ rays and neutron fluxes, 3.5-m-long water filters were situated in the channels. To reject the cosmic background, large-area scintillation counters operating in the anticoincidence mode were placed over each spectrometer. The energy and time resolution of the spectrometers, as well as the efficiency of detecting charged particles by scintillation counters, were tested on the secondary electron beam of the Tomsk electron synchrotron Sirius. Runs of measurements of the effect on the operating reactor (duration of 805 h) were alternated with runs of measurements of background on the stopped reactor (duration of 403 h). Statistical processing of the experimental results yields an upper limit of ≤5.3×10 ^?12 with a 90% confidence level for the probability of the emission of neutral pions from the neutron-induced fission of ²³⁵U nuclei. This result and results of other works carried out with sources of spontaneously fissioning ²⁵²Cf nuclei show that the probabilities of the emission of π⁰ mesons from spontaneous fission and fission induced by fission-spectrum neutrons are equal to each other.