Linked scans of peptides and protein digests: amino acid sequence determination of components of complex mixtures

Two-sector linked-scan analysis of an unpurified proteolytic digest of a pyruvate decarboxylase enzyme (60,000 Da) has allowed the discovery and assignment of an amino-terminal post-translational modification and processing event. A difference in amino acid sequence from that predicted by a recently published nucleotide sequence has also been found. These results illustrate both the use and considerable potential of linked-scan methods for the analysis of complex biopolymer mixtures.     

Elemental composition of dental biologic tissues: study by means of different analytical techniques

The present study determined the organic and inorganic composition of human enamel and dentin. The instrumental neutron activation analysis, inductively-coupled plasma spectrometer, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis applied were and performed in the Nuclear Technology Development Centre (CDTN) and Elemental Analysis in the Department of Chemistry of the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil. The coronal dentin and enamel were separated from dentin mechanically (1) and by wear (2). The analyses were effective and led to the identification of the main elements present in enamel and dentin: Ca, Na, Cl, Zn, P, Mg, N, C, H, O. There was no contamination of samples of enamel or dentin in either separation technique; however, with separation technique 1, lower percentages of mainly Ca (7.25%) and O (15.16%) components were detected in dentin compared with technique 2.     

2-Aryl-7,7-dimethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrothieno[3,2-c]azepin-4-ones from 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione

A novel synthesis of substituted thieno[3,2-c]azepinones is described. This new approach uses 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione (dimedone) as the starting material. Oxime intermediates are obtained in three steps from the aforementioned diketone. Using these intermediates, the title compounds are synthesized in moderate yields.     

Structural changes in data communication in wireless sensor networks

Wireless sensor networks are an important technology for making distributed autonomous measures in hostile or inaccessible environments. Among the challenges they pose, the way data travel among them is a relevant issue since their structure is quite dynamic. The operational topology of such devices can often be described by complex networks. In this work, we assess the variation of measures commonly employed in the complex networks literature applied to wireless sensor networks. Four data communication strategies were considered: geometric, random, small-world, and scale-free models, along with the shortest path length measure. The sensitivity of this measure was analyzed with respect to the following perturbations: insertion and removal of nodes in the geometric strategy; and insertion, removal and rewiring of links in the other models. The assessment was performed using the normalized Kullback-Leibler divergence and Hellinger distance quantifiers, both deriving from the Information Theory framework. The results reveal that the shortest path length is sensitive to perturbations.     

Atmospheric chemistry of isopropyl formate and tert‐butyl formate

Formates are produced in the atmosphere as a result of the oxidation of a number of species, notably dialkyl ethers and vinyl ethers. This work describes experiments to define the oxidation mechanisms of isopropyl formate, HC(O)OCH(CH₃)₂, and tert‐butyl formate, HC(O)OC(CH₃)₃. Product distributions are reported from both Cl‐ and OH‐initiated oxidation, and reaction mechanisms are proposed to account for the observed products. The proposed mechanisms include examples of the α‐ester rearrangement reaction, novel isomerization pathways, and chemically activated intermediates. The atmospheric oxidation of isopropyl formate by OH radicals gives the following products (molar yields): acetic formic anhydride (43%), acetone (43%), and HCOOH (15–20%). The OH radical initiated oxidation of tert‐butyl formate gives acetone, formaldehyde, and CO₂ as major products. IR absorption cross sections were derived for two acylperoxy nitrates derived from the title compounds. Rate coefficients are derived for the kinetics of the reactions of isopropyl formate with OH (2.4 ± 0.6) × 10^?12, and with Cl (1.75 ± 0.35) × 10^?11, and for tert‐butyl formate with Cl (1.45 ± 0.30) × 10^?11 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1. Simple group additivity rules fail to explain the observed distribution of sites of H‐atom abstraction for simple formates. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 42: 479–498, 2010     

Control of crystalline phases in magnetic Fe nanoparticles inserted inside a matrix of porous carbon

Two magnetic composites made up of Fe nanoparticles (Fe-NPs) embedded in a porous amorphous carbon matrix are presented. One of the samples, Fe-S-AC, was obtained with the aid of sucrose and the other, Fe-AC, in the absence of this substance. The XRD patterns show Bragg diffraction peaks associated with α-Fe and γ-Fe crystalline phases in the Fe-AC sample, while only peaks corresponding to the α-Fe phase are observed for Fe-S-AC powders. The Fe-NPs exhibit broad particle-size distributions for both samples, 5–50 nm for Fe-AC, whereas two populations (2–8 and 10–70 nm) for the Fe-S-AC composite are found. This fact gives rise to poorly defined blocking temperatures, as it can be deduced from the broad maxima observed in M_ZFC(T) variations. In addition, M(H) curves for both Fe-AC and Fe-S-AC samples reveal the existence of exchange-bias effect for T<60 K, probably due to a magnetic coupling within a core/shell structure of the Fe-NPs, although this effect was observed to be less significant for Fe-S-AC.     

Entanglement as a Semantic Resource

The characteristic holistic features of the quantum theoretic formalism and the intriguing notion of entanglement can be applied to a field that is far from microphysics: logical semantics. Quantum computational logics are new forms of quantum logic that have been suggested by the theory of quantum logical gates in quantum computation. In the standard semantics of these logics, sentences denote quantum information quantities: systems of qubits (quregisters) or, more generally, mixtures of quregisters (qumixes), while logical connectives are interpreted as special quantum logical gates (which have a characteristic reversible and dynamic behavior). In this framework, states of knowledge may be entangled, in such a way that our information about the whole determines our information about the parts; and the procedure cannot be, generally, inverted. In spite of its appealing properties, the standard version of the quantum computational semantics is strongly “Hilbert-space dependent”. This certainly represents a shortcoming for all applications, where real and complex numbers do not generally play any significant role (as happens, for instance, in the case of natural and of artistic languages). We propose an abstract version of quantum computational semantics, where abstract qumixes, quregisters and registers are identified with some special objects (not necessarily living in a Hilbert space), while gates are reversible functions that transform qumixes into qumixes. In this framework, one can give an abstract definition of the notions of superposition and of entangled pieces of information, quite independently of any numerical values. We investigate three different forms of abstract holistic quantum computational logic.     

Vortex–antivortex states in nanostructured superconductor–ferromagnet hybrids

The formation of vortex–antivortex states in a superconducting film with a square array of magnetic dipoles magnetized perpendicularly to the film is investigated in the framework of the time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau equations. It is shown that a possible route to obtain equilibrium states is obtained following an experimentally realizable field-cooling procedure. The states thus obtained demonstrate a rich variety of phases, depending on magnetic moment intensity and dipole array-to-superconducting film distance. For instance, in the region of the phase diagram where each dipoles is able to generate N = 2 vortex–antivortex pairs, the antivortices induced by the negative stray fields of the dipoles undergo two transitions before ultimately merging into doubly-quantized giant antivortices. For N = 4, a state consisting on a three-quanta giant vortex below each dipole and an interstitial vortex–antivortex molecule was observed. Such state is thermodynamically stable and is induced by the fourfold symmetry of the dipole array, similar to symmetry-induced vortex–antivortex molecules found in mesoscopic superconductors.