Two isocoumarins from Pleurospermum angelicoides

Two new isocoumarins, angelicoins A and B, were isolated from the roots of Pleurospermum angelicoides, and their structures were established by spectral means.     

Bootstrapping Log Likelihood and EIC, an Extension of AIC

Akaike (1973, 2nd International Symposium on Information Theory, 267-281,Akademiai Kiado, Budapest) proposed AIC as an estimate of the expected loglikelihood to evaluate the goodness of models fitted to a given set of data.The introduction of AIC has greatly widened the range of application ofstatistical methods. However, its limit lies in the point that it can beapplied only to the cases where the parameter estimation are performed bythe maximum likelihood method. The derivation of AIC is based on theassessment of the effect of data fluctuation through the asymptoticnormality of MLE. In this paper we propose a new information criterion EICwhich is constructed by employing the bootstrap method to simulate the datafluctuation. The new information criterion, EIC, is regarded as an extensionof AIC. The performance of EIC is demonstrated by some numerical examples.     

An Imaging Colorimeter for Noncontact Skin Color Measurement

There has been a considerable effort made in several medical fields in the objective color analysis and characterization of biological tissues. Conventional colorimeters have proved inadequate for this purpose, since they do not provide spatial color information and because the measuring procedure randomly affects the color of the tissue. In this paper an imaging colorimeter is presented where the non imaging optical photodetector of the instrument is replaced with a charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor of a color video camera, enabling the independent capture of color information for any spatial point within its field of view. Combining imaging and colorimetry, the acquired image is calibrated and corrected under several ambient light conditions, providing non contact reproducible color measurements free of the errors and limitations present in conventional colorimeters. The technique has been used in hospital clinics for a wide variety of patients. These features highlight the potential of the imaging colorimeters as clinical and research tools for the standardization of clinical diagnosis and the objective evaluation of treatment efficacy.     

Robust curve fitting method for optical spectra by least median squares (LMedS) estimator with particle swarm optimization (PSO).

A curve fitting technique for optical spectra based on a robust estimator, least median squares (LMedS), is introduced in this study. For the effective calculation of LMedS, particle swarm optimization (PSO) is also introduced. Unlike a standard curve fitting method using least squares (LS) estimator, the method based on LMedS estimator is less influenced by outliers in experimental data. Two kinds of data sets, simulated data with outliers and temperature-dependent near-infrared (NIR) spectra of oleic acid (OA) are applied for the demonstration of the proposed method. The results clearly reveal that, compared with the LS estimator, the proposed method can effectively reduce undesirable effects of low SN ratio and can yield more accurate fitting results.     

Candibirin A,a furano­coumarin dimer isolated from Heracleum candicans Wall.

Candibirin A [systematic name: 9,9′‐(1,4‐dioxane‐2,5‐diyldi­methyl­ene­dioxy)­di(7H‐furo­[3,2‐g]­chromen‐7‐one)], a new furano­coumarin dimer, was isolated from Heracleum candicans Wall . ¹H NMR and MS spectra had indicated that the title compound was a dimer of heraclenin or heraclenol, but the linkage structure and its chirality were undetermined. The dioxane linkage, having the R,R configuration, has now been elucidated from di­methyl sulfoxide‐solvated crystals, C₃₂H₂₈O₁₀·2C₂H₆OS. Candibirin A is thus a dimerization product from heraclenin formed by reaction at the epoxy group. Di­methyl­form­amide‐solvated crystals, C₃₂H₂₈O₁₀·C₃H₇NO, adopt a different conformation, with a folded structure that differs from the extended structure in the dimethyl sulfoxide solvate. However, the puckering of the dioxane linker unit is very similar in the two conformers. This result shows that the rotation of the ether bonds, in the linker between the furano­coumarin and dioxane moieties, causes the conformational flexibility of (I).     

Effect of cholesterol and other additives on viscosity, self-diffusion coefficient, and intramolecular movements of oleic acid

It has been empirically known that cholesterol largely increases the viscosity of oleic acid. To clarify the mechanism of the effect of cholesterol on the intermolecular and the intramolecular (segmental) movements of oleic acid in the liquid state, we measured density, viscosity, IR, 1H NMR chemical shift, self-diffusion coefficient, and 13C NMR spin-lattice relaxation time for the liquid samples of oleic acid containing a small amount of cholesterol. Furthermore, the above measurements were also carried out for the samples of oleic acid containing a small amount of cholestanol, cholestane, cholesteryl oleate, ethanol, or benzene. Cholesterol, possessing one OH group and one double bond in its molecular structure, largely increased the viscosity and reduced the self-diffusion and the intramolecular movement of oleic acid. Cholestanol, possessing one OH group but not a double bond, and cholesteryl oleate, not possessing an OH group, also reduced the self-diffusion and the intramolecular movement; cholestane, not possessing an OH group, slightly reduced the self-diffusion and the intramolecular movements. In contrast with these sterols, ethanol and benzene reduced the viscosity and increased the self-diffusion and the intramolecular movements. In addition, cholesterol and ethanol, both having one OH group, promoted the upfield shift of the 1H NMR signal of the carboxyl group of oleic acid; IR difference spectra for the cholesterol/oleic acid system quite resemble those for the ethanol/oleic acid system. These results suggest that oleic acid makes a complex with cholesterol as well as with ethanol. On the basis of the formation of the complex, we have revealed the role and the functional mechanism of cholesterol to the intermolecular and the intramolecular movements of oleic acid in the liquid state.     

Self-modeling curve resolution (SMCR) by particle swarm optimization (PSO)

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) combined with alternating least squares (ALS) is introduced to self-modeling curve resolution (SMCR) in this study for effective initial estimate. The proposed method aims to search concentration profiles or pure spectra which give the best resolution result by PSO. SMCR sometimes yields insufficient resolution results by getting trapped in a local minimum with poor initial estimates. The proposed method enables to reduce an undesirable effect of the local minimum in SMCR due to the advantages of PSO. Moreover, a new criterion based on global phase angle is also proposed for more effective performance of SMCR. It takes full advantage of data structure, that is to say, a sequential change with respect to a perturbation can be considered in SMCR with the criterion. To demonstrate its potential, SMCR by PSO is applied to concentration-dependent near-infrared (NIR) spectra of mixture solutions of oleic acid (OA) and ethanol. Its curve resolution performances are compared with SMCR with evolving factor analysis (EFA). The results show that SMCR by PSO yields significantly better curve resolution performances than those by EFA. It is revealed that SMCR by PSO is less sensitive to a local minimum in SMCR and it can be a new effective tool for curve resolution analysis.     

Cooperative absorption in Eu2O2S

Lines due to cooperative optical absorption of Eu³⁺ have been observed in the luminescence excitation spectra for Eu₂O₂S at 75 K. A pair of Eu³⁺ ions are simultaneously excited by one photon to the ⁵D_J and ⁷F'_J states from the ground state ⁷F₀. Estimated oscillator strengths of the pair absorption are of the order of 10^-9, and are much larger than those in other rare earth compounds reported elsewhere. Multipolar interaction between Eu³⁺ ions cannot explain such a large oscillator strength. Hole-exchange through the charge transfer state, or a super-exchange mechanism, gives a reasonable order of the pair absorption strength in Eu₂O₂S.     

Enzymatic hydrolysis of chloramphenicol palmitate in insoluble monolayer at air—Water interface as detected by radiotracer method

Hydrolysis of chloramphenicol palmitate (CPP) in insoluble monolayer in the presence of lipase in aqueous subphase has been studied by simultaneous determination of molecular area A of CPP and surface radioactivity R as a function of time t under a constant surface pressure. Separate use of CP-¹⁴C-P and CPP-¹⁴C, i.e., CPP samples isotopically labeled at hydrophilic and hydrophobic positions, respectively, made it possible to analyze the A R t relationship, which reflects the enzymatic reaction to be governed solely by the adsorbed amount of lipase and the fraction of CPP in the α conformation.