Flow-injection approach for the determination of the dynamic response characteristics of ion-selective electrodes. Part 1. Theoretical considerations

A single-line flow-injection system with a straight tube reactor is proposed for investigating the dynamic response behaviour of ion-selective electrodes. The principle of the method is based on the fact that the concentration—time curve at the electrode surface can be described theoretically in the flow-injection system under certain practically realizable conditions. The response of the ion-selective electrode to that input signal can be measured experimentally. Thus, knowing the input and the output signal of an ion-selective electrode, an appropriate model describing its dynamic behaviour can be selected among the relevant models existing in the literature. Theoretical expressions for predicting the transient response of ion-selective electrodes in the flow system when the rate-determining step is an ion-transport process through a diffusion layer or a kinetic process were elaborated.     

In Vitro Antineoplastic and Antiviral Activity and In Vivo Toxicity of Geum urbanum L. Extracts

This study evaluated the in vitro antineoplastic and antiviral potential and in vivo toxicity of twelve extracts with different polarity obtained from the herbaceous perennial plant Geum urbanum L. (Rosaceae). In vitro cytotoxicity was determined by ISO 10993-5/2009 on bladder cancer, (T-24 and BC-3C), liver carcinoma (HEP-G2) and normal embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cell lines. The antineoplastic activity was elucidated through assays of cell clonogenicity, apoptosis induction, nuclear factor kappa B p65 (NFκB p65) activation and total glutathione levels. Neutral red uptake study was applied for antiviral activity. The most promising G. urbanum extract was analyzed by UHPLC–HRMS. The acute in vivo toxicity analysis was carried out following OEDC 423. The ethyl acetate extract of aerial parts (EtOAc-AP) exhibited the strongest antineoplastic activity on bladder cancer cell lines (IC₅₀ = 21.33–25.28 µg/mL) by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting NFκB p65 and cell clonogenicity. EtOAc and n-butanol extracts showed moderate antiviral activity against human adenovirus type 5 and human simplex virus type I. Seventy four secondary metabolites (gallic and ellagic acid derivatives, phenolic acids, flavonoids, etc.) were identified in EtOAc-AP by UHPLC–HRMS. This extract induced no signs of acute toxicity in liver and kidney specimens of H-albino mice in doses up to 210 mg/kg. In conclusion, our study contributes substantially to the detailed pharmacological characterization of G. urbanum, thus helping the development of health-promoting phytopreparations.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the hydrolysis of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (Na-CMC) by a cellulase complex

TheSomogyi-Nelson colorimetric method is applied in a new manner more suitable for evaluating the kinetics of the enzyme hydrolysis of sodium carboxymethylcellulose (Na-CMC) catalyzed by the cellulase complex. By means of selective inhibition of a chosen enzyme from the cellulase complex it became possible to trace the effect of the other enzymes included in its composition.

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Kinetik und Mechanismus der Hydrolyse von Natriumcarboxymethylcellulose (Na-CMC) durch einen Cellulase-Komplex

Zusammenfassung Die kolorimetrische Methode nachSomogyi undNelson wird nach einem neuen Verfahren zur Verfolgung der Kinetik der hydrolytischen Spaltung von Natriumcarboxymethylcellulose (Na-CMC), katalysiert durch den Cellulase-Komplex, angewandt. Durch selektive Inhibierung eines bestimmten Enzyms des Cellulase-Komplexes kann man die Wirkung der anderen zu seiner gesamten Zusammensetzung gehörenden Enzyme verfolgen.

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Symbols Used E enzyme (E—cellulase;E—exo-cellobiohydrolase;E—-glucosidase) - [E] _w weight concentration of enzymeE - S substrate (Na-CMC—sodium carboxymethylcellulose) - [S]₀ weight concentration of substrateS - I inhibitor (I—lactose;I—calcium chloride;I—condurrite-B-epoxide) - P product (P—oligosaccharides;P—cellobiose;P—D-glucose) - P end product (K , K , K ) - DP degree of polymerization - DS degree of substitution - ES enzyme-substrate complex (E S, E S, E S) - EP enzyme-product complex (E P, E P) - EI enzyme-inhibitor complex (E I, E I, E I) - M _s molecular mass of substrateS - K _s substrate constant (K _s , K _s , K _s ) - K _I inhibitor constant (K _I , K _I , K _I ) - K _m Michaelis-Menten constant - k ₊₁,k ₊₂ (k ₊₂ ,k ₊₂ ,k ₊₂ ) forward rate constants - k _–1 reverse rate constant - ₀ initial rate of reaction - V maximal reaction rate - A change in absorbance - molar absorption coefficient - wavelength Herrn Prof. Dr.Hans Tuppy zum 60. Geburtstag herzlichst gewidmet.     

The use of a polymer inclusion membrane in a paper-based sensor for the selective determination of Cu(II)

A disposable paper-based sensor (PBS) is described for the determination of Cu(II) in natural and waste waters at approximately 2 cents per measurement. The device makes use of a polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) to provide the selectivity for Cu(II). The PIM consists of 40 wt% di(2-ethlyhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as the carrier, 10 wt% dioctyl phthalate (DOP) as a plasticizer, 49.5 wt% poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) as the base polymer and 0.5 wt% (m m⁻¹) 1-(2′-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) as the colourimetric reagent. High selectivity under mildly acidic conditions (HCl, pH 2.0) is achieved for Cu(II) in the presence of frequently encountered metal ions in natural and waste waters such as Fe(III), Al(III), Zn(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Ca(II), Mg(II), and Ni(II).     

Numerical solution of hydraulic models based on the axially-dispersed plug flow model by Laplace transforms

The problem of solving hydraulic models based on the axially-dispersed plug flow model which are applicable for the mathematical modelling of different flow-through systems both in chemical analysis (e.g., chromatography, flow injection analysis) and chemical industry (e.g., different tubular reactors) is discussed. Methods for numerical inversion of the model solution in the Laplace domain by expanding it into series of orthogonal functions are compared. Best results with respect to precision and consumption of computation time are given by the methods employing Chebyshov polynomials of the first kind and Fourier sine series. These methods were found to be better in these respects than some other frequently used numerical inversion methods.     

The approximation of the Maxwell eigenvalue problem using a least-squares method

In this paper we consider an approximation to the Maxwell's eigenvalue problem based on a very weak formulation of two div-curl systems with complementary boundary conditions. We formulate each of these div-curl systems as a general variational problem with different test and trial spaces, i.e., the solution space is and components in the test spaces are in subspaces of , the Sobolev space of order one on the computational domain . A finite-element least-squares approximation to these variational problems is used as a basis for the approximation. Using the structure of the continuous eigenvalue problem, a discrete approximation to the eigenvalues is set up involving only the approximation to either of the div-curl systems. We give some theorems that guarantee the convergence of the eigenvalues to those of the continuous problem without the occurrence of spurious values. Finally, some results of numerical experiments are given.

     

Monotonicity in high‐order curvilinear finite element arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian remap

The remap phase in arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) hydrodynamics involves the transfer of field quantities defined on a post‐Lagrangian mesh to some new mesh, usually generated by a mesh optimization algorithm. This problem is often posed in terms of transporting (or advecting) some state variable from the old mesh to the new mesh over a fictitious time interval. It is imperative that this remap process be monotonic, that is, not generate any new extrema in the field variables. It is well known that the only linear methods that are guaranteed to be monotonic for such problems are first‐order accurate; however, much work has been performed in developing non‐linear methods, which blend both high and low (first) order solutions to achieve monotonicity and preserve high‐order accuracy when the field is sufficiently smooth. In this paper, we present a set of methods for enforcing monotonicity targeting high‐order discontinuous Galerkin methods for advection equations in the context of high‐order curvilinear ALE hydrodynamics. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

Passive mode locking of a Nd:YVO4 laser with an extra-long optical resonator

We describe a mode-locked, diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 laser with a very long optical cavity operating at 1064 nm. High-modulation, InGaAs quantum-well, semiconductor saturable-absorber mirrors were used for passive mode locking, providing a stable train of 13-ps pulses. A novel zero-q-transformation multipass cell provided a variable-length optical cavity as much as 100 m long. The output beam had M2 < 1.1 at average powers of 4.1, 3.9, and 3.5 W at repetition rates of 4.1, 2.6, and 1.5 MHz, respectively. To the best of our knowledge the last of these is the lowest repetition rate ever generated directly from a mode-locked nonfiber solid-state laser without cavity dumping.     

The [CH2CHOH.+, CH3CHO] solvated enol radical cation

The bimolecular reaction of the CH₂CHOH^.+ enol ion (m/z 44) with acetaldehyde gives a strongly dominant product,m/z 45, formed mainly by proton transfer from the ion to the molecule. The abundance of the product coming from a H^. abstraction reaction from the neutral, albeit more exothermic, is negligible. In order to explain this result, the long lived [CH₂CHOH^.+, CH₃CHO] solvated ion was generated by reaction of the CH₂CHOH^.+ enol ion with (CH₃CHO) _n in the cell of a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. The structure of this solvated ion was clearly established. Labeling indicates that [CH₂CHOH^.+, CH₃CHO], upon low energy collisions, reacts by H^. abstraction more rapidly than by H⁺ transfer to the neutral moiety. This shows that the entropic factors are determinant when the enol ion reacts directly with acetaldehyde.