On Linear Degeneracy of Integrable Quasilinear Systems in Higher Dimensions

We investigate (d + 1)-dimensional quasilinear systems which are integrable by the method of hydrodynamic reductions. In the case d ?? 3 we formulate a conjecture that any such system with an irreducible dispersion relation must be linearly degenerate. We prove this conjecture in the 2-component case, providing a complete classification of multi- dimensional integrable systems in question. In particular, our results imply the non- existence of 2-component integrable systems of hydrodynamic type for d ?? 6. In the second half of the paper we discuss a numerical and analytical evidence for the impossibility of the breakdown of smooth initial data for linearly degenerate systems in 2 + 1 dimensions.     

Dietary genistein enhances phosphorylation of regulatory myosin light chain in the myocardium of ovariectomized mice

There is evidence that isoflavones, such as genistein, can directly or indirectly improve lipid profile and lower blood pressure and hence exert cardiovascular protection. It is further believed, that genistein attenuates vascular contraction and thus vascular tone and blood pressure through altering the phosphorylation of the regulatory myosin light chain (MLC) probably via the myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) or the RhoA pathway. However, the direct role of genistein in the myocardium is poorly reviewed. In this study, we investigated the impact of genistein on the cardiac proteome in ovariectomized female mice using a 2DE-MS approach. Dietary genistein intake considerably changed the abundance of several cytoskeletal and contractile proteins and enhanced the phosphorylation of MLC. The MLC phosphorylation was mediated through increased abundance of MLCK and inhibition of myosin light chain phosphatase latest known to be inversely regulated by RhoA. Contrary to others, in our model genistein did neither inhibit the cardiac MLCK, nor the cardiac RhoA pathway in vivo.     

Stable colloidal dispersions of a lipase-perfluoropolyether complex in liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide

The technique of hydrophobic ion pairing was used to solubilize the lipase from Candida rugosa in a fluorinated solvent, perfluoromethylcyclohexane (PFMC), in complex with a perfluoropolyether (PFPE) surfactant, KDP 4606. The enzyme-surfactant complex was determined to have a hydrodynamic diameter of 6.5 nm at atmospheric pressure by dynamic light scattering (DLS), indicating that a single lipase molecule is stabilized by surrounding surfactant molecules. The complex formed a highly stable colloidal dispersion in both liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide at high CO2 densities (>0.92 and 0.847 g/mL, respectively), with 4% by volume PFMC as a cosolvent, yielding a fluid that was orange, optically translucent, and very nearly transparent. DLS demonstrated aggregation of the enzyme-surfactant complexes in CO2 at 25 and 40 degrees C and various pressures (2000-5000 psia) with hydrodynamic diameters ranging from 50 to 200 nm. The mechanism by which the enzyme-surfactant particles aggregate was shown to be via condensation due to very low polydispersities as characterized by the size distribution moments. Interparticle interactions were investigated with respect to density and temperature, and it was shown that on decreasing the CO2 density, the particle size increased, and the stability against settling decreased. Particle size also decreased as the temperature was increased to 40 degrees C, at constant CO2 density. Nanoparticle aggregates of an enzyme-surfactant complex in CO2, which are nearly optically transparent and stable to settling, are a promising new alternative to previous types of dispersions of proteins in CO2 that either required water/CO2 microemulsions or were composed of large particles unstable to settling.     

Identification and in vitro antioxidant activities of phenolic compounds isolated from Cynoglossum cheirifolium L.

In an extensive search for bioactive compounds from plant sources, the quantitative and qualitative characterisation of the compounds present in Cynoglossum cheirifolium extracts was studied. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined by spectrophotometric techniques. In vitro antioxidant and radical scavenging profiling was determined through DPPH^? scavenging activity and Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). Our study showed that leaves produce more phenolic compounds, followed by flowering aerial part. The butanolic fraction obtained from leaves extract exhibited the highest total phenolics (78.65 ± 3.58 mg GAE/g DW) and flavonoids (22.15 ± 4.66 mg CE/g DW). In contrast, this fraction displayed the highest DPPH^? scavenging ability with IC₅₀ values of 0.06 ± 0.003 mg/mL. The RP-HPLC-PDA analysis of phenolic compounds from leaves of C. cheirifolium lets to identify: rosmarinic acid, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, syringic acid, sinapic acid and rutin. The obtained results indicate that this plant represent a valuable source of natural antioxidants.     

Mesophase study of pure and doped cyanobiphenyl liquid crystals with salen-type systems

Two salen Schiff base ligands derived from the condensation of ethylendiamine on salicylaldehyde and 5-chlorosalicylaldehyde, namely N,N′-bis(salicylidene)ethylene-diamine (L1) and N,N′-bis(5-chlorosalicylidene)ethylene-diamine (L2) as well as two of their iron(III) and nickel(II) complexes, were prepared and then used as doping agents of two thermotropic liquid crystals (LCs) of cyanobiphenyl type, namely 4-cyano-4′-n-pentyl-biphenyl (5CB) and 4-cyano-4′-n-octyl-biphenyl (8CB). The study of the mesophase of pure and doped LCs was carried out by UV–visible spectroscopy equipped with a heating compartment for precise temperature control, differential scanning calorimetry and polarised optical microscopy. The characteristic nematic/isotropic and smectic-A/nematic transition temperatures of 5CB- and 8CB-based systems were measured and then compared to those of the literature concerning pure 5CB and 8CB. Optical microscopy results revealed the existence of Schlieren and focal conic textures of the nematic and smectic states, respectively, both of pure and doped LCs. The homogeneity of the obtained guest–host systems was proven by the linear evolution of their transition temperatures as function of the solute concentration, with correlation factors close to unity.     

Flow-injection technique for determination of uranium and thorium isotopes in urine by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A sensitive and efficient flow-injection (FI) preconcentration and matrix-separation technique coupled to sector field ICP–mass spectrometry (SF-ICP–MS) has been developed and validated for simultaneous determination of ultra-low levels of uranium (U) and thorium (Th) in human urine. The method is based on selective retention of U and Th from a urine matrix, after microwave digestion, on an extraction chromatographic TRU resin, as an alternative to U/TEVA resin, and their subsequent elution with ammonium oxalate. Using a 10 mL sample, the limits of detection achieved for ²³⁸U and ²³²Th were 0.02 and 0.03 ng L^–1, respectively. The accuracy of the method was checked by spike-recovery measurements. Levels of U and Th in human urine were found to be in the ranges 1.86–5.50 and 0.176–2.35 ng L^–1, respectively, well in agreement with levels considered normal for non-occupationally exposed persons. The precision obtained for five replicate measurements of a urine sample was 2 and 3% for U and Th, respectively. The method also enables on-line measurements of the ²³⁵U/²³⁸U isotope ratios in urine. Precision of 0.82–1.04% (RSD) was obtained for ²³⁵U/²³⁸U at low ng L^–1 levels, using the FI transient signal approach.     

Structural and electrochemical characterization of polyaniline/LiCoO2 nanocomposites prepared via a Pickering emulsion

Polyaniline (PANI)/LiCoO₂ nanocomposite materials are successfully ready through a solid-stabilized emulsion (Pickering emulsion) route. The properties of nanocomposite materials have been put to the test because of their possible relevance to electrodes of lithium batteries. Such nanocomposite materials appear thanks to the polymerization of aniline in Pickering emulsion stabilized with LiCoO₂ particles. PANI has been produced through oxidative polymerization of aniline and ammonium persulfate in HCl solution. The nanocomposite materials of PANI/LiCoO₂ could be formed with low amounts of PANI. The morphology of PANI/LiCoO₂ nanocomposite materials shows nanofibers and round-shape-like morphology. It was found that the morphology of the resulting nanocomposites depended on the amount of LiCoO₂ used in the reaction system. Ammonium persulfate caused the loss of lithium from LiCoO₂ when it was used at high concentration in the polymerization recipe. Highly resolved splitting of 006/102 and 108/110 peaks in the XRD pattern provide evidence to well-ordered layered structure of the PANI/LiCoO₂ nanocomposite materials with high LiCoO₂ content. The ratios of the intensities of 003 and 104 peaks were found to be higher than 1.2 indicating no pronounced mixing of the lithium and cobalt cations. The electrochemical reactivity of PANI/LiCoO₂ nanocomposites as positive electrode in a lithium battery was examined during lithium ion deinsertion and insertion by galvanostatic charge–discharge testing; PANI/LiCoO₂ nanocomposite materials exhibited better electrochemical performance by increasing the reaction reversibility and capacity compared to that of the pristine LiCoO₂ cathode. The best advancement has been observed for the PANI/LiCoO₂ nanocomposite 5 wt.% of aniline.     

Synthesis of azide‐functionalized nanoparticles by microemulsion polymerization and surface modification by click chemistry in aqueous medium

Stable translucent aqueous suspensions of azide‐functionalized cross‐linked nanoparticles (NPs), with diameters in the 15–20 nm range, were prepared using two synthetic approaches. Copolymerization of azidomethylstyrene (VBN₃), styrene, and divinylbenzene in various oil‐in‐water microemulsions led to NPs with modulable azide contents (0.53–0.78 mmol/g) and surface over volume distributions. Surface modifications of reactive NPs bearing chlorobenzyl groups, produced by microemulsion copolymerization of vinylbenzylchloride, with sodium azide led to azido‐coated NPs with high densities of peripheral groups (0.13–0.45 mmol/g). It is shown that the nature of the surfactant used for the preparation of the microemulsion has an impact on the incorporation of VBN₃ in the polymer particles as well as on the surface reaction yield. The azide‐functionalized NPs were used as clickable polymeric scaffolds for the grafting of sparingly water‐soluble dansyl and fluorescein derivatives through copper(I)‐catalyzed azide‐alkyne cycloaddition in water in the presence of surfactants as solubilizing agents to produce fluorescent NPs. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

(2,2′‐Bipyridyl‐κ2N,N′)­bis­(salicyl­ato‐κ2O,O′)­zinc(II)

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Zn(C₇H₅O₃)₂(C₁₀H₈N₂)], contains one monomeric zinc complex. The Zn atom is coordinated to one 2,2′‐bipyridyl ligand via both N atoms and to two salicyl­ate anions (Hsal⁻) in a bidentate chelating manner involving carboxyl­ate O‐atom coordination. The complex exhibits a distorted octahedral geometry about the Zn^II atom, with the `apical' positions occupied by one of the two N atoms of the bipyridyl ligand and an O atom from one Hsal<sup>−</sup> ligand; the Zn atom is 0.168 (1) Å out of the `basal' plane. Two intramolecular six‐membered hydrogen‐bonded rings are present, generated from interactions between the carboxyl and hydroxyl groups of the salicyl­ate ligands. The crystal packing is governed by weak C—H⋯O and C—H⋯π interactions.