Using a non-invasive stable isotope tracer to measure the absorption of water in humans

The development of solutions that prevent dehydration or promote adequate re-hydration play a vital role in preventing fatigue during exercise, however, the methods commonly used to assess the hydration ability of such solutions are invasive and often assess the components of absorption separately. This paper describes using a non-invasive deuterium tracer technique that assesses gastric emptying and intestinal absorption simultaneously to evaluate the uptake of water during rest and exercise. The kinetics of absorption are further examined by mathematical modelling of the data generated. For the rest group, 0.05 g/kg of body weight of deuterium, contained in gelatine capsules, was ingested with ordinary tap water and saliva samples were collected every 5 min for one hour while the subject remained seated. The deuterium was administered as above for the exercise group but sample collection was during one hour of exercise on a treadmill at 55% of the subject's maximum heart rate. The enrichment data for each subject were mathematically modelled and the parameters obtained were compared across groups using an independent samples t-test. Compared with the rest condition, the exercise group showed delayed absorption of water as indicated by significant differences for the modelling parameters t2, t1/2, maximum absorption rate and solution absorption amount at t1. Labelling with a deuterium tracer is a good measure of the relative rate ingested fluids are absorbed by the body. Mathematical modelling of the data generates rates of maximum absorption and allows calculation of the percentage of the solution that is absorbed at any given time during the testing period.     

An approximate solution for planar solidification with Newton cooling at the surface

Summary The classical moving boundary problem for the planar freezing of a semi-infinite saturated liquid with Newton cooling at the wall is well known not to admit an exact solution. Existing perturbation solutions are valid only when the Stefan number is large. Further, since the implementation of the Newton cooling condition involves the step size, numerical solutions are only accurate if extremely small sizes are taken which involves large computing times. Here two new approximate analytic solutions are obtained, the first is an initial or starting solution while the second is valid for subsequent times. In the limit of large Stefan number the pseudo-steady state and first order corrected motions arise from both approximations. Further, in the limit of no Newton cooling at the wall the large time solution gives rise to precisely the well known Stefan or Neumann solution. The validity of the approximations is illustrated numerically with reference to previous work and known upper and lower bounds.

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Zusammenfassung Das klassische Problem der Bestimmung der variablen Grenze beim Gefrieren eines halbunendlich gesättigten Fluids mit Newton-Kühlung an der Wand besitzt bekanntlich keine geschlossene Lösung. Näherungslösungen sind nur für große Stefan-Zahlen bekannt. Bei Newton Kühlung erfordern die gängigen numerischen Methoden eine Schrittweite, die so klein ist, daß genaue Resultate große Rechenzeiten erfordern. Hier werden zwei Näherungslösungen konstruiert, die eine für kleine und die andere für große Zeiten. Im Fall einer großen Stefan-Zahl erhalten wir mit beiden Lösungen einen pseudostationären Zustand mit Korrekturen erster Ordnung. Der Grenzfall der verschwindenden Newton-Kühlung ergibt genau die bekannte Stefan-oder Neumann-Lösung. Im allgemeinen Fall wird die Gültigkeit der Näherung durch Vergleich mit Resultaten früherer Arbeiten sowie mit bekannten oberen und unteren Schranken verifiziert.

     

Investigation of drift gas selectivity in high resolution ion mobility spectrometry with mass spectrometry detection

Recent studies in electrospray ionization (ESI)/ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) have focussed on employing different drift gases to alter separation efficiency for some molecules. This study investigates four structurally similar classes of molecules (cocaine and metabolites, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, and small peptides) to determine the effect of structure on relative mobility changes in four drift gases (helium, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide). Collision cross sections were plotted against drift gas polarizability and a linear relationship was found for the nineteen compounds evaluated in the study. Based on the reduced mobility database, all nineteen compounds could be separated in one of the four drift gases, however, the drift gas that provided optimal separation was specific for the two compounds.     

Determination of residues of pirimicarb and its desmethyl and desmethylformamido metabolites in fruits and vegetables by liquid chromatography-electrospray/mass spectrometry

A method was developed for the simultaneous determination of residues of pirimicarb (I) and its desmethylformamido (II) and desmethyl (III) metabolites in plums, peas, green beans, broad beans, carrots, and swedes. The compounds were extracted with ethyl acetate and determined, without cleanup, by reversed-phase liquid chromatography and electrospray mass spectrometry (MS). MS and MS/MS were used concurrently to monitor the protonated molecules and their common collision-induced dissociation product. The limit of detection (signal-to-noise ratio of >3) was 1 ng/mL, corresponding to crop concentrations of <0.0015 mg/kg. All 3 compounds were determined in plums, broad beans, and green beans by MS without interference. Interferences which affected the determination of desmethylformamido-pirimicarb in peas, and to a lesser extent in carrots and swedes, were eliminated by MS/ MS. Recoveries for all 3 compounds, at 0.05 mg/kg for plums and 0.005 mg/kg for other commodities, were in the range 83-124%. No interconversion of I, II and III, occurred during extraction, and the compounds were stable in extracts for > or = 7 days under appropriate conditions.     

Nonpeptide inhibitors of cathepsin G: optimization of a novel beta-ketophosphonic acid lead by structure-based drug design

The serine protease cathepsin G (EC 3.4.21.20; Cat G), which is stored in the azurophilic granules of neutrophils (polymorphonuclear leukocytes) and released on degranulation, has been implicated in various pathological conditions associated with inflammation. By employing high-throughput screening, we identified beta-ketophosphonic acid 1 as a moderate inhibitor of Cat G (IC(50) = 4.1 microM). We were fortunate to obtain a cocrystal of 1 with Cat G and solve its structure by X-ray crystallography (3.5 A). Structural details from the X-ray analysis of 1.Cat G served as a platform for optimization of this lead compound by structure-based drug design. With the aid of molecular modeling, substituents were attached to the 3-position of the 2-naphthyl ring of 1, which occupies the S1 pocket of Cat G, to provide an extension into the hydrophobic S3 region. Thus, we arrived at analogue 7 with an 80-fold potency improvement over 1 (IC(50) = 53 nM). From these results, it is evident that the beta-ketophosphonic acid unit can form the basis for a novel class of serine protease inhibitors.     

(Fe(III)(OH(2))(2))(3)(A-alpha-PW(9)O(34))(2)](9-) on cationic silica nanoparticles,a new type of material and efficient heterogeneous catalyst for aerobic oxidations

Polyoxometalates (POMs) electrostatically bind to silica nanoparticles coated with cationic aluminum oxide "(Si/AlO2)n+" to form a new type of material (the anionic POMs replace Cl- counterions associated with the cationic surface sites). Association of a new approximately D3h POM of formula [(FeIII(OH2)2)3(A-alpha-PW9O34)2]9- (1) with the cationic nanoparticles (to form "K81/(Si/AlO2)") was studied in detail. Elemental analysis, particle sizes from both laser light scattering and TEM before and after association of 1, the size of 1 from X-ray crystallography, and other methods provide mutually consistent data that indicate about 58 K8[(FeIII(OH2)2)3(A-alpha-PW9O34)2]- monoanions associate with the average nanoparticle (diameter of the K81/(Si/AlO2) product = approximately 17 nm). While heterogeneity of the cationic sites and roughness of the (Si/AlO2)n+ surfaces make the associated POMs structurally nonuniform, the equivalent of approximately 1 monolayer of 1 is present in K81/(Si/AlO2). Remarkably, while 1, the precursor (Si/AlO2)n+, and the components of 1, each alone, are inactive as catalysts for O2/air-based oxidation of sulfides or aldehydes in solution, K81/(Si/AlO2) is an active catalyst for both reactions (facile reaction with air at low temperature).     

A computational study of hydration, solution structure, and dynamics in dilute carbohydrate solutions

We report results from a molecular simulation study of the structure and dynamics of water near single carbohydrate molecules (glucose, trehalose, and sucrose) at 0 and 30 degrees C. The presence of a carbohydrate molecule has a number of significant effects on the microscopic water structure and dynamics. All three carbohydrates disrupt the tetrahedral arrangement of proximal water molecules and restrict their translational and rotational mobility. These destructuring effects and slow dynamics are the result of steric constraints imposed by the carbohydrate molecule and of the ability of a carbohydrate to form stable H bonds with water, respectively. The carbohydrates induce a pronounced decoupling between translational and rotational motions of proximal water molecules.     

Cupric decamolybdodivanadophosphate. A coordination polymer heterogeneous catalyst for rapid, high conversion, high selectivity sulfoxidation using the ambient environment

A new type of coordination network polymer involving the redox-active polyanion, PV(2)Mo(10)O(40)(5)(-), and bridging -Cu(II)(OH(2))(4)- units, [[(Cu(II)(OH(2))(4))(3)(OH)]PV(2)Mo(10)O(40)](n)() (1), has been characterized by X-ray crystallography and several other methods. It is the first efficient heterogeneous (insoluble) catalyst for selective and rapid sulfoxidation using only the ambient environment (air at room temperature). Catalytic activity is enhanced by soluble nitrate in nontoxic perfluoropolyether (PFPE) media.     

From solution-phase to solid-phase enyne metathesis: crossover in the relative performance of two commonly used ruthenium pre-catalysts

A crossover in the ability of two distinct ruthenium-based metathesis pre-catalysts to effect the synthesis of dialkenylboronic esters in solution and on the solid-phase was observed. Specifically, while the Grubbs 2nd generation pre-catalyst 3 affords a greater degree of conversion to product than the Hoveyda-Grubbs pre-catalyst 2 in a solution-phase enyne-metathesis reaction, this trend is reversed in the solid-phase variant. Systematic investigation showed this trend to be general, regardless of variations in the homoallylic alcohol and alkynylboronic ester components of the reaction, as well as in the type of solid support employed. Experiments to determine a mechanistic hypothesis for this trend highlighted the significance of the ruthenium remaining bound to the substrate after metathetic rearrangement and found the presence of phosphine ligand to be detrimental to the success of the solid-phase reaction. Therefore, these results suggest an expanded role for phosphine-free pre-catalysts, such as 2, in challenging solid-phase metathesis reactions.