The in vivo neutron activation analysis of calcium in the skeleton of normal subjects,with hypokinesia and bone diseases

A facility developed for the in-vivo neutron activation analysis (IVNAA) of calcium in some parts of tubular limb bones, in the hand, foot and spine is described. The⁴⁸Ca(n, )⁴⁹Ca reaction is used, the gamma-rays of⁴⁹Ca (E=3.08 MeV, T_1/2=8.8 min) are measured. The irradiation is carried out with five of ten²³⁸Pu–Be neutron sources with a source stength of 5·10⁷ n s^–1 each arranged in a bath filled with water. NaI(T1) detectors (from 2 to 4 in number) of 150×100 mm size supplied with lead and shadow shielding are used in the counting unit. The construction of the facility started in 1972 and has been in operation since 1974. It has been used for the examination of patients suffering from limb bone tumors, of children with rickets-like and similar diseases and for studies in space medicine.     

Determination of aristolochic acid by capillary zone electrophoresis

A simple and rapid capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method for the determination of aristolochic acid (AA) in dietary supplements and selected herbs is described. A clear separation of AA from other sample constituents was achieved within 5 minutes without any sample clean up. A mixture of 20 mM-morpholinethanesulphonic acid+10 mM-BisTrisPropane+0.2% hydroxyethylcelullose in 10% methanol serves as a background electrolyte. The linearity, accuracy, intra-assay and detection limit of the developed method are 200–6000 ng/mL, 95–103%, 3.5%, and 50 ng/ml, respectively. Ease of use, sufficient sensitivity and low running cost are the most important attributes of the CZE method. The proposed CZE method was compared with HPLC.     

Studies of the soluble part of oxidised coals

Soluble products obtained from the oxidation of four types of coal, each characterised by different degree of coalification and different degree of sulphur content, are studied. The coals are oxidised with peracetic acid (PAA) and nitric acid. Analyses are performed by Atmospheric Pressure-Temperature Programmed Reduction (AP-TPR) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The soluble products contain much more sulphur than the insoluble products of oxidation. The products obtained from the reaction with HNO₃ contain higher amounts of inorganic sulphur compounds, while those obtained from the reaction with PAA are characterised by an increased content of organic sulphur species.     

Cu（I）/Diamine-catalyzed Aryl-alkyne Coupling Reactions

Arylalkynes are important building blocks for the synthesis of natural products,pharmaceuticals,and artificial molecular devices1.They are often synthesized via the Pd-catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reactions between aryl halides and terminal alkynes2,3.Unfortunately,it remains difficult to apply the Sonogashira reaction to industrial scale and/or pharmaceutical synthesis,due to the high cost of Pd and the difficulty in removing the toxic Pd residues from the reaction products.Thus it is wor…     

Synthesis of novel tryptamine and β-carboline derivatives via palladium-catalyzed reaction of bromotryptamine with organic boronic acids

New tryptamine 5, 7 and β-carboline derivatives 3 were preparated by palladium-catalyzed coupling reaction of 5-bromotryptamine 1 with aryl boronic acids. Dedicated to Professor András Lipták on his 70^th birthday.     

Xyloketal G,a Novel Metabolite from the Mangrove Fungus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xylaria sp.</Emphasis> 2508

A novel metabolite 1, named xyloketal G, was isolated from cultures of marine derived mangrove fungus Xylaria sp. 2508. Its structure was elucidated by analysis of spectroscopic data.__________Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 22–23, January–February, 2005.     

Assessment of the Fe-Sn-Zn phase diagram at 450°C

The Fe-Sn-Zn system is of interest because Sn is one element added to the Zn galvanizing bath to overcome the drawbacks due to the presence of Si in semi-killed steels. This work has been undertaken with the aim to understand the tin effect on the microstructure and the layers growth in batch galvanized coatings on low alloyed steels. Various experimental techniques such as metallography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) are used in order to characterize the microstructure and the properties of such coatings elaborated in a zinc bath enriched with tin. Solidification phenomena and layers growth mechanisms during galvanization are explained by means of the ternary phase diagram Fe-Sn-Zn at 450°C. The Calphad method allows to obtain this phase diagram from the three optimized binary phase diagrams Fe-Sn, Fe-Zn and Sn-Zn and some experimental data inside the ternary Fe-Sn-Zn system.     

Template-free, polymerase-free DNA polymerization

A combination of a DNA ligase and a restriction endonuclease provides a DNA polymerase activity, which might suggest a novel strategy for polymer synthesis.     

Mixed Cationic‐nonionic Surfactants and pH Adjustment Route to Synthesize High‐quality MCM‐48

Using the mixture of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and p‐Octyl polyethylene glycol phenyl ether (OP‐10) as templates, siliceous MCM‐48 materials can be synthesized with low molar ratio of CTAB to silica (0.139:1) and low concentration of mixed surfactants (ca.5%) and within a wide range of OP‐10/CTAB ratio (0.08?0.25). The materials were characterized by X‐ray powder diffraction, N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherm, TEM, TG‐DSC and ²⁹Si MAS NMR. Measurements indicated that the use of mixed surfactants allowed better condensation and higher ordering of the cubic mesostructure; at the same time, some properties of these materials were sensitive to the OP‐10/CTAB ratio. It was also found that the reduced pH of the gel which had been crystallized for a certain time gave a highly reproducible synthesis with a high silica yield (about 95%). Furthermore, the reaction mechanism of the synthesis is discussed in detail.