Levels of210Po in some beverages and in tobacco

The objective of the present work is the estimation of the²¹⁰Po content in some beverages and in tobacco, in order to assess the corresponding collective doses to the population in Argentina. Yerba mate, tea leaves, their infusions and ground coffee were analyzed, as well as tobacco. Collective doses due to the annual consumption of the beverages described were found to be from 6 man.Sv to 1200 man.Sv. Results for²¹⁰Po in tobacco ranged from 10 Bq·kg^–1 to 80 Bq·kg^–1. Lung doses due to the use of tobacco vary from 75 Sv·y^–1 to 600 Sv·y^–1.     

Unprecedented oxidation of a phenylglycinol-derived 2-pyridone: enantioselective synthesis of polyhydroxypiperidines

[reaction: see text]. The phenylglycinol-derived 2-pyridone 1 undergoes m-CPBA oxidation steroselectively leading to the chiral nonracemic unsaturated bicyclic hydroxylactam 2, from which the enantioselective synthesis of (3R,5R)-3,4,5-trihydroxypiperidine (16) and the formal synthesis of the azasugar epiisofagomine are described. The enantioselective synthesis of (S)-N-Boc-3-hydroxypiperidine and (3R,4S)-3,4-dihydroxypiperidine is also reported.     

Stokes vector for small rough particles: Regression analysis

The Stokes parameters and the linear polarization P_l of small rough particles composed of ice and silicate are studied with statistical methods. The probability density function of P_l and a regression analysis for the first two Stokes parameter I_s² and Q_s² are presented for three typical scattering angles θ_s=60°, 90° and 150°. The width of the probability density function of P_l given by its standard deviation increases with the roughness of the particles. A linear relationship between I_s² and Q_s² is found by the regression analysis. The slope of the linear model reflects the correlation between I_s² and Q_s² that, for a specific composition of the particles, depends on the roughness of the particles and the scattering angles. The value of the constant of the linear regression is characteristic of the composition of the particles and is not sensitive to the roughness of the particles and the scattering angles. The scattering angle θ_s=150° is the most appropriate angle for a study of rough particles of different composition.     

Nickel‐Catalyzed Direct Carboxylation of Olefins with CO2: One‐Pot Synthesis of α,β‐Unsaturated Carboxylic Acid Salts

The nickel‐catalyzed direct carboxylation of alkenes with the cheap and abundantly available C₁ building block carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the presence of a base has been achieved. The one‐pot reaction allows for the direct and selective synthesis of a wide range of α,β‐unsaturated carboxylates (TON>100, TOF up to 6 h^?1, TON=turnover number, TOF=turnover frequency). Thus, it is possible, in one step, to synthesize sodium acrylate from ethylene, CO₂, and a sodium salt. Acrylates are industrially important products, the synthesis of which has hitherto required multiple steps.     

Fluorescence spectroscopy applied to the optimisation of a desalting step by electrodialysis for the characterisation of marine organic matter

The isolation and characterisation of marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) are still not readily achieved today. The study of this chemically complex material is particularly difficult, especially as it is hindered by the high salinity of seawater. It is therefore essential to develop a method in which a sufficient quantity of marine organic matter can be collected for structural analyses. Reverse osmosis (RO) is often used for the concentration of DOM from freshwaters, due to the fact that DOM is not modified during RO and that DOC recoveries are high (about 80%). Unfortunately, RO cannot be used directly to isolate marine DOM, since both salts and organic matter are concentrated during the process. Therefore, marine samples have to be desalted before their concentration by RO.     

Impact of glycosylation on physico–chemical and biological properties of nitrification inhibitors

The lipophilic 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT), known for its nitrification inhibition properties, was derivatized thanks to direct glycosylation reactions. Similar transformations were also performed starting from 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (MBI), structurally close to MBT. The resulting S-linked mono- or disaccharides derived from d-glucose or l-arabinose, and cellobiose, gentiobiose or lactose, respectively, were subsequently studied as novel nitrification inhibitors without any further formulation or physical processes, except dilution in water. Along with ecotoxicity measurements, inhibition properties of the synthesized water soluble glycoconjugates were studied in a model reactor containing nitrification bacteria. The best results were obtained for the gentiobiosyl derivatives simply dissolved in water.     

The protective effects of silymarin against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity in rats

Silymarin is a complex of five major compounds, and silibinin is the most biologically active component of the complex. The aim of this study was to investigate, evaluate and confirm the potential cardioprotective and hepatoprotective effects of administration of silymarin, rich in silibinin, at a dose of 60 mg/kg orally for a time-span of 12 days on doxorubicin induced toxicity in male Wistar rats. The in vivo model was used to explore whether silymarin could prevent damage of liver and heart tissue induced by doxorubicin administered every other day at dose of 1.66 mg/kg intraperitoneally for twelve days. In the study the change of body weight, ECG changes, biochemical parameters of oxidative stress, serum activity of alanine and aspartate transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase and histological preparations of heart and liver samples of treated animals were examined. According to physiological, pharmacological, microscopic and biochemical results, we confirmed that at the examined dose, silymarin exhibits a protective influence on the heart and liver tissue against toxicity induced by doxorubicin.     

Quantization of the Sphere with Coherent States

Current views link quantization with dynamics. The reason is that quantum mechanics or quantum field theories address to dynamical systems, i.e., particles or fields. Our point of view here breaks the link between quantization and dynamics: any (classical) physical system can be quantized. Only dynamical systems lead to dynamical quantum theories, which appear to result from the quantization of symplectic structures.     

Spatially distributed two-photon excitation fluorescence in scattering media: Experiments and time-resolved Monte Carlo simulations

We report on measurements and Monte Carlo analysis of the spatial distribution of light in two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF) microscopy operating through scattering media. The axial profile of TPEF produced by a high numerical aperture microscope objective focusing through a tissue-like optical phantom at depths more than five photon mean-scattering lengths is studied. The measured profile is quantitatively interpreted with time-resolved Monte Carlo simulations that take into account the spatio-temporal distribution of the photons within the turbid medium under a femtosecond excitation regime. It is shown that considering only the ballistic photons leads to an under-estimation of the actual out-of-focus distribution of the fluorescence, whereas it is over-estimated when the ballistic and scattered photons are treated alike. Comparison of the in-focus signal to the overall out-of-focus background clearly pointed out that the signal-to-background ratio of TPEF microscopy images benefits from a shortening of the excitation pulses. Moreover, in homogeneously labeled specimen, the background is shown to overcome the signal at imaging depths of about five to six photon mean-scattering paths.     

Protonation and diffusion phenomena in poly(4-vinylpyridine)-based weak anion-exchange membranes

Purification and concentration of mineral acids can be carried through dialysis processes with anion-exchange membranes. Weak anion-exchange membranes are active only for sufficient acid concentrations in their structure, however too high concentrations result in significant proton leakage, i.e. reduction in the transport selectivity. The present paper deals with the kinetics of acid diffusion through two commercial poly(4-vinylpyridine)-based weak anion-exchange membranes which comprises protonation of the exchanging groups. The electrical conductivity and the water content of the membranes were shown to be linear function of the protonation degree of poly(4-vinylpyridine) groups. Kinetics of protonation and diffusion of acids have been investigated using dialysis cells. First diffusion kinetics has been studied in a conventional dialysis cell, by observation of the transient acid transport through the membrane (macroscopic studies). Besides, protonation kinetics was investigated using a miniaturised dialysis cell coupled to confocal Raman microspectrometer. Profiles of non-protonated and protonated sites in the membrane were recorded along time, depending on the membrane grade and the nature of the acid transported. Interpretation of the two sources of data yielded permeability coefficient and diffusion coefficient, whose meaning is discussed. A mechanism for protonation/diffusion in this type of weak anion exchangers in acidic media was proposed.