Synthetic studies on cell surface glycans 3: Branching pentasaccharides of glycoprotein

Synthetic routes for the branching pentasaccharides 4 and 5 of glycoproteins are described in a regio- and stereo- controlled way.     

Synthesis and characterization of nickel(II) complexes with potentially pentadentate macrocyclic ligands having N3O2 donor set

Nickel(II) complexes of N₃O₂ donor macrocycles incorporating 17- to 19-membered macrocyclic rings have been prepared. Physical measurements ind     

Core potential of intermolecular forces applied to third virial coefficients and transport coefficients of polyatomic gases

The three-molecular cluster integrals for oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon tetrafluoride and the coefficients of viscosity and self-diffusion for nitrogen and carbon dioxide are discussed on the basis of the Kihara convex-core potential of intermolecular forces. For the equilibrium property, the relative size of the core is essential; for the transport properties, the nonspherical character of the molecule plays an important role.     

Wave propagation along a non-principal direction in a compressible pre-stressed elastic layer

The dispersive behavior of small amplitude waves propagating along a non-principal direction in a pre-stressed, compressible elastic layer is considered. One of the principal axes of stretch is normal to the elastic layer and the direction of propagation makes an angle θ with one of the in-plane principal axes. The dispersion relations which relate wave speed and wavenumber are obtained for both symmetric and anti-symmetric motions by formulating the incremental boundary value problem for a general strain energy function. The behavior of the dispersion curves for symmetric waves is for the most part similar to that of the anti-symmetric waves at the low and high wavenumber limits. At the low wavenumber limit, depending on the pre-stress and propagation angle, it may be possible for both the fundamental mode and the next lowest mode to have finite phase speeds, while other higher modes have an infinite phase speed. At the high wavenumber limit, the phase speeds of the fundamental mode and the higher modes tend to the Rayleigh surface wave speed and the limiting wave speeds of the layer, respectively. Numerical results are presented for a Blatz–Ko material and the effect of the propagation angle is clearly illustrated.     

Sequential stir bar sorptive extraction for uniform enrichment of trace amounts of organic pollutants in water samples

A novel extraction procedure for stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) termed sequential SBSE was developed. Compared to conventional SBSE, sequential SBSE provides more uniform enrichment over the entire polarity/volatility range for organic pollutants at ultra-trace levels in water. Sequential SBSE consists of a SBSE performed sequentially on a 5-mL sample first without modifier using one stir bar, then on the same sample after addition of 30% NaCl using a second stir bar. The first extraction with unmodified sample is mainly targeting solutes with high Kow (logKow>4.0), the second extraction with modified sample solution (containing 30% NaCl) is targeting solutes with low and medium Kow (logKow<4.0). After extraction the two stir bars are placed in a single glass desorption liner and are simultaneously desorbed. The desorbed compounds were analyzed by thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Recovery of model compounds consisting of 80 pesticides (organochlorine, carbamate, organophosphorus, pyrethroid, and others) for sequential SBSE was evaluated as a function of logKow (1.70-8.35). The recovery using sequential SBSE was compared with those of conventional SBSE with or without salt addition (30% NaCl). The sequential approach provided very good recovery in the range of 82-113% for most of the solutes, and recovery less than 80% for only five solutes with low Kow (logKow<2.5), while conventional approaches (with or without salt addition) showed less than 80% recovery for 23 and 41 solutes, respectively. The method showed good linearity (r2>0.9900) and high sensitivity (limit of detection: <10ngL(-1)) for most of the model compounds even with the scan mode in the MS. The method was successfully applied to screening of pesticides at ngL(-1) level in river water samples.     

Enhancement of nonlinear optical response of exciton–polaritons by controlling thickness of GaAs layer

We demonstrate a remarkable thickness dependence of nonlinear optical response of exciton–polaritons in GaAs thin films by degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) at low temperature (T=5 K). High-quality samples of layer thickness from 80 to 200 nm were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Confined mode of the exciton–polariton dominantly contributed to the reflection spectra, which were examined by the calculation using a transfer matrix method. The DFWM intensity at exciton resonance was enhanced at a particular thickness (110 nm). This thickness dependence is in good agreement with the nonlocal theory, which shows a remarkable size dependence of the internal field relevant to the confined mode of the exciton–polaritons.     

Transverse surface waves in a layered structure with a functionally graded piezoelectric substrate and a hard dielectric layer

As to an ideally layered structure with a functionally graded piezoelectric substrate (material parameters change continuously along the thickness direction) and a hard dielectric layer, the existence and propagation behavior of transverse surface waves is studied by analytical technique. The dispersion equations for the existence of the transverse surface waves with respect to phase velocity are obtained for electrically open and short circuit conditions, respectively. A detailed investigation of the effect of gradient coefficient on dispersion relation, electromechanical coupling factor and penetration depth is carried out. It is found by numerical examples that adjusting gradient coefficient makes the electromechanical coupling factor of the transverse surface waves achieve quite high values at some appropriate ratio values of the layer thickness to the wavelength, and at the same time, the penetration depth can be reduced to the same order as the wavelength.     

Propagation of thickness-twist waves in a piezoelectric ceramic plate with unattached electrodes

We analyze the propagation of thickness-twist waves in an unbounded piezoelectric ceramic plate with air gaps between the plate surfaces and two electrodes. These waves are also called anti-plane or shear-horizontal waves with one displacement component only. An exact solution is obtained from the equations of the linear theory of piezoelectricity. Dispersion relations of the waves are obtained and plotted. Results show that the wave frequency or speed is sensitive to the air gap thickness. This effect can be used to manipulate the behavior of the waves and has implications in acoustic wave devices.     

Fast screening of pesticide multiresidues in aqueous samples by dual stir bar sorptive extraction-thermal desorption-low thermal mass gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A method for fast screening of pesticide multiresidues in aqueous samples using dual stir bar sorptive extraction-thermal desorption-low thermal mass gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (dual SBSE-TD-LTM-GC-MS) has been developed. Recovery of 82 pesticides - organochlorine, carbamate, organophosphorous, pyrethroid and others - for the SBSE was evaluated as a function of octanol-water distribution coefficients (logK(o/w): 1.7-8.35), sample volume (2-20mL), salt addition (0-30% NaCl), and methanol addition (0-20%). The optimized method consists of a dual SBSE performed simultaneously on respectively a 20-mL sample containing 30% NaCl and a 20-mL sample without modifier (100% sample solution). One extraction with 30% NaCl is mainly targeting solutes with low K(o/w) (logK(o/w)<3.5) and another extraction with unmodified sample solution is targeting solutes with medium and high K(o/w) (logK(o/w)>3.5). After extraction, the two stir bars are placed in a single glass desorption liner and are simultaneously desorbed. The desorbed compounds are analyzed by use of LTM-GC-MS with fast temperature programming (75 degrees Cmin(-1)) using a 0.18mm i.d. narrow-bore capillary column and fast scanning (10.83 scan s(-1)) using quadrupole MS. The method showed good linearity (r(2)>0.9900) and high sensitivity (limit of detection: <10ngL(-1)) for most of the target pesticides. The method was applied to the determination of pesticides at nanograms per liter levels in river water and brewed green tea.