On the blowing up of solutions to quantum hydrodynamic models on bounded domains

The blow-up in finite time for the solutions to the initial-boundary value problem associated to the multi-dimensional quantum hydrodynamic model in a bounded domain is proved. The model consists on conservation of mass equation and a momentum balance equation equivalent to a compressible Euler equations corrected by a dispersion term of the third order in the momentum balance. The proof is based on a priori estimates for the energy functional for a new observable constructed with an auxiliary function, and it is shown that, under suitable boundary conditions and assumptions on the initial data, the solution blows up after a finite time. I.M. Gamba is supported by NSF-DMS0507038. M.P. Gualdani acknowledges partial support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, grants JU359/5 and was partially supported under the Feodor Lynen Research fellowship. P. Zhang is partially supported by the NSF of China under Grant 10525101 and 10421101, and the innovation grant from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Part of the work was done when P. Zhang visited the Department of Mathematics of Texas University at Austin, the author would like to thank the hospitality of the department. Support from the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin is also gratefully acknowledged.     

Preventive doping control analysis: liquid and gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry for detection of designer steroids

A new combined doping control screening method for the analysis of anabolic steroids in human urine using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LCoaTOFMS) and gas chromatography/electron ionization orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCoaTOFMS) has been developed in order to acquire accurate full scan MS data to be used to detect designer steroids. The developed method allowed the detection of representative prohibited substances, in addition to steroids, at concentrations of 10 ng/mL for anabolic agents and metabolites, 30 ng/mL for corticosteroids, 500 ng/mL for stimulants and beta-blockers, 250 ng/mL for diuretics, and 200 ng/mL for narcotics. Sample preparation was based on liquid-liquid extraction of hydrolyzed human urine, and the final extract was analyzed as trimethylsilylated derivatives in GCoaTOFMS and underivatized in LCoaTOFMS in positive ion mode. The sensitivity, mass accuracy, advantages and limitations of the developed method are presented.     

C(3)-alkylation and cyclization of pyrazino[1,2-b]isoquinolin-4-ones

To avoid the epimerization of the C(11a)-stereocenter previously observed in 6,11a-cis-pyrazino[1,2-b]isoquinolin-1,4-diones, we present in this paper the C(3)-alkylation of 1-methoxy-pyrazino[1,2-b]isoquinolin-4-ones to obtain all-cis derivatives through a very reliable protocol. The success of the acid-promoted cyclization to get pentacyclic (R₃=arylmethyl) or tetracyclic (R₃=2-bromo-2-propenyl) compounds is dependent on the nature of the C(3)-unsaturated chain and of the N-substituent, but these limitations have been overcome by using trifluoromethanesulfonic as a superacid catalyst. The C-(3)-alkylation of pyrazino[1,2-b]isoquinolin-4-one is also studied.     

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography/positive ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry method for the quantification of perindopril and its main metabolite in human plasma

A validated method based on liquid chromatography/positive ion electrospray–mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS) is described for the quantification of perindopril and its active metabolite, perindoprilat, in human plasma. The assay was based on 500-μL plasma samples, following solid-phase extraction using Oasis HLB cartridges. All analytes and the internal standard (trandolapril) were separated by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography using a SeQuant Zic-HILIC analytical column (150.0?×?2.1 mm i.d., particle size 3.5 μm, 200 Å) with isocratic elution. The mobile phase consisted of 10% 5.0 mM ammonium acetate water solution in a binary mixture of acetonitrile/methanol (60:40, v/v) and pumped at a flow rate of 0.10 mL min^?1. Quantitation of the analytes was performed with selected ion monitoring (SIM) in positive ionization mode using electrospray ionization interface. The assay was found to be linear in the concentration range of 5.0–500.0 ng mL^?1 for perindopril and perindoprilat. Intermediate precision were found less than 3.5% over the tested concentration ranges. A run time of less than 6.0 min for each sample made it possible to analyze a large number of human plasma samples per day. The method is the first reported application of HILIC in the analysis of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and can be used to quantify perindopril and perindoprilat in human plasma covering a variety of pharmacokinetic or bioequivalence studies.     

Ethanol/water solutions as certified reference materials for breath alcohol analyzer calibration

The Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Germany, has issued a series of large volume ethanol in water certified reference materials (CRMs), primarily developed for the calibration of evidential breath alcohol analyzers in Germany. The certified parameter is the ethanol mass concentration at 20 °C. When used in a wet bath simulator, the solutions deliver gas samples that meet the requirements set by the Organization of Legal Metrology for calibration of breathalyzers. The materials were prepared gravimetrically by spiking of ethanol into water in single 5 L units. A complete uncertainty budget for the preparation process has been established. The purity of the commercial ethanol stock solution was identified to be the main source of uncertainty. For stability and homogeneity measurements and for the verification of the gravimetric mass concentration of the CRMs, a robust high-precision gas chromatography, with flame-ionization detection method for ethanol determination in aqueous samples was developed and validated. The good performance of this method has been demonstrated in several international comparisons organized by the Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance—Metrology in Chemistry at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures.     

Ozone-based electrochemical advanced oxidation processes

Novel processes have recently been developed that provide for the enhancement of ozonation through combination with electrochemical treatments. These are processes that can be included among those defined as advanced oxidation processes as they proceed via electrogeneration of highly oxidizing radical species.These processes are generally carried out by sparging ozone in both divided and undivided electrochemical cells in order to promote its decomposition through different mechanisms, depending on the electrode materials adopted, and in some cases still debated.This mini review presents the most recent advances in the field of electrochemically assisted ozonation.In particular, the first section is focused on the process known as electroperoxone (EP) where the ozone decomposition is enhanced by the adoption of carbon-based cathodes, due to the electrogeneration of hydrogen peroxide, while the second section is focused on the process that implies ozonation in a cell adopting metal-based cathodes.     

Understanding the Reshaping of Fluorinated Polyester Vitrimers by Kinetic and DFT Studies of the Transesterification Reaction

Vitrimers are a third class of polymers gathering the mechanical properties and solvent resistance of 3D thermosets and the reprocessability of thermoplastics. This unique behaviour is due to the triggering of certain covalent exchange reactions that allow the network to rearrange upon application of a stimulus. The constitutive feature of vitrimers is the adoption of a glass-like viscosity during the rearrangement of the network, often due to an associative mechanism for the exchange reaction. Transesterification networks are one of the most studied type of vitrimers that usually require the incorporation of a catalyst, implying the associated drawbacks. Following up on a recent report on catalyst-free transesterification vitrimers in which the ester functions are particularly reactive thanks to the presence of fluorine atoms in α- or β-position, parallel DFT calculations and an experimental kinetic study on model molecules are presented in order to quantitatively assess the effect of neighbouring fluorinated groups on the transesterification reaction rate.     

Lewis acid promoted aldol additions of α-thiosilylketeneacetals to α-alkoxy aldehydes: diastereoselective synthesis of syn-α-methylene-β-hydroxy-∂-alkoxy esters.

MgBr₂ mediated addition of Methyl α-methylthio propionate silylketene acetal to α and α,β-alkoxy aldehydes is highly 3,4 $\text{syn}$-selective (18:1). $\text{syn}$-α- methylene-β- hydroxy-?-alkoxy esters (6) and (8) are synthesized.