Study of a Monod–Haldene type food chain chemostat with pulsed substrate

In this paper, we introduce and study a model of a Monod–Haldene type food chain chemostat with pulsed substrate. We investigate the subsystem with substrate and prey and study the stability of the periodic solutions, which are the boundary periodic solutions of the system. The stability analysis of the boundary periodic solution yields an invasion threshold. By use of standard techniques of bifurcation theory, we prove that above this threshold there are periodic oscillations in substrate, prey, and predator. Simple cycles may give way to chaos in a cascade of period-doubling bifurcations. Furthermore, by comparing bifurcation diagrams with different bifurcation parameters, we can see that the impulsive system shows two kinds of bifurcations, whose are period-doubling and period-halfing.     

Major flavonoid components of heartsease (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Viola tricolor</Emphasis> L.) and their antioxidant activities

Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography was used to separate flavonoid components in a heartsease methanol extract. One of the main components was identified by NMR as violanthin (6-C-glucosyl-8-C-rhamnosylapigenin). As a first approximation, the other main flavonoid component was considered to be rutin (3-O-rhamnoglucosylquercetin), based on comprehensive comparison of retention times and UV spectra of reference molecules, as well as molecular mass and fragmentation patterns obtained by mass spectrometry. The minor flavonoids were separated by polyamide column and analyzed by LC-MS. The antioxidant capacity of different flavonoid fractions was determined using both Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) in vitro antioxidant assays. The highest electron-donor capacity was found for the major flavonoid component (rutin), whereas one minor component-rich flavonoid fraction exhibited the highest hydrogen-donor activity.     

Investigation on the catalytic activity of doped low-percentage oxide catalysts Mn/ZnO obtained from oxalate precursor

The precursors with a low manganese content ≤ 0.07% Mn were synthesized by spontaneous crystallization from Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺ and C₂O₄ ²⁻-containing solutions. The initial ratio Zn²⁺:C₂O₄ ²⁻ = 1:1 and 1:2 influences the morphology and prevailing orientations of the crystallites in the oxalate samples. The presence of such small Mn content in the samples does not change the morphology or size of the crystals. The ZnO and Mn/ZnO oxides with manganese content from 0.51×10⁻² to 15.1×10⁻² Wt % are obtained after thermal decomposition of the oxalates. The oxides preserved the morphology of the precursors. The catalytic tests show that the pure ZnO has a poor activity for CO oxidation reaction. Its doping with Mn promotes the catalytic activity (up from twice to five times) in spite of the very low contents of the dopants. The observed increase of the activity depends on both dopant concentration and Zn²⁺:C₂O₄ ²⁻ ratio, probably due to the different mechanism of the manganese inclusion and different morphology of the oxides. The catalysts of the 1:2 series are more active in CO oxidation reaction.      

A one-dimensional silver(I) coordination polymer with saccharin and pyrazine: synthesis,crystal structure,thermal analysis,FTIR spectra,and DFT studies

A silver(I) complex of saccharinate (sac) with pyrazine (pyz), [Ag(sac)(pyz)] _n , has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, thermal analysis, and single-crystal X-ray diffractometry. The complex crystallizes orthorhombic space group Pnma with unit cell parameters of a = 13.0073(9) Å, b = 6.4907(6) Å, c = 13.4007(9) Å, V = 1131.37(15) Å³, and Z = 4. [Ag(sac)(pyz)] _n is a one-dimensional coordination polymer, in which the sac ligand acts as a monodentate ligand through the N atom and the trigonal silver centers are linked by the bridging pyz ligands. The individual chains are connected into two-dimensional supramolemular network by aromatic π(sac)···π(pyz) stacking interactions. The FTIR spectrum of [Ag(sac)(pyz)] _n has been recorded in the region and 4,000–400 cm^?1. The optimized geometry, frequency, and intensity of the vibrational bands of [Ag(sac)(pyz)] _n were obtained by density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP level. The vibrational frequencies were calculated and the scaled values have been compared with the experimental FTIR data. The observed and calculated frequencies are found to be in good agreement.     

Characterization of the raw essential oil eugenol extracted from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Syzygium</Emphasis> <Emphasis Type="Italic">aromaticum</Emphasis> L.

Eugenol is the main volatile compound extracted oil from clove bud, Syzygium aromaticum L., and used in traditional medicine, as a bactericide, fungicide, anesthetic, and others. Its extraction was performed using hydrodistillation which is the most common extraction technique. Its components and thermal behavior were evaluated using gas chromatography (GC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), which provide a better characterization of these natural compounds. This extracted product was compared to the standard eugenol results. The GC results suggested ~90% eugenol was found in the total extracted oil, and some of its boiling characteristics were 270.1 °C for peak temperature and 244.1 J g⁻¹ for the enthalpy variation. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Mass analysis in islands of stability with linear quadrupoles with added octopole fields

Mass analysis with linear quadrupole mass filters is possible by forming "islands" in the stability diagram with auxiliary quadrupole excitation. In this work, computer simulations are used to calculate stability boundaries, island positions, and peak shapes and ion transmission for mass analysis with linear quadrupole mass filters that have added octopole fields of about 2 to 4%. Rod sets with exact geometries that have quadrupole and octopole fields only in the potential, and round rod sets, with multipoles up to N = 10 (the twenty pole term) included in the calculations, show the same stability boundaries, island positions, and peak shapes. With the DC voltage applied to the rods so that the Mathieu parameter a < 0, conventional mass analysis is possible without the use of an island. With the DC polarity reversed so that a > 0, the resolution and transmission are poor preventing conventional mass analysis. In principle, mass analysis in an island is possible with operation at either of two tips. Provided the correct island tip is chosen for mass analysis, peak shapes comparable to those with a > 0 and no excitation are possible, both with a > 0 and with a < 0. In the latter case, the use of an island of stability allows mass analysis when the added octopole otherwise prevents conventional mass analysis.     

Structural characterization of intact proteins is enhanced by prevalent fragmentation pathways rarely observed for peptides

While collisionally activated dissociation (CAD) pathways for peptides are well characterized, those of intact proteins are not. We systematically assigned CAD product ions of ubiquitin, myoglobin, and bovine serum albumin generated using high-yield, in-source fragmentation. Assignment of >98% of hundreds of product ions implies that the fragmentation pathways described are representative of the major pathways. Protein dissociation mechanisms were found to be modulated by both source declustering potential and precursor ion charge state. Like peptides, higher charge states of proteins fragmented at lower energies next to Pro, via mobile protons, while lower charge states fragmented at higher energies after Asp and Glu, via localized protons. Unlike peptides, however, predominant fragmentation channels of proteins occurred at intermediate charge states via non-canonical mechanisms and produced extensive internal fragmentation. The non-canonical mechanisms include prominent cleavages C-terminal to Pro and Asn, and N-terminal to Ile, Leu, and Ser; these cleavages, along with internal fragments, led to a 45% increase in sequence coverage, improving the specificity of top-down protein identification. Three applications take advantage of the different mechanisms of protein fragmentation. First, modulation of declustering potential selectively fragments different charge states, allowing the source region to be used as the first stage of a low-resolution tandem mass spectrometer, facilitating pseudo-MS3 of product ions with known parent charge states. Second, development and integration of automated modulation of ion funnel declustering potential allows users access to a particular fragmentation mechanism, yielding facile cleavage on a liquid chromatography timescale. Third, augmentation of a top-down search engine improved protein characterization.     

Comparison of solid phase microextraction and hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction for the determination of pesticides in aqueous samples by gas chromatography triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry

This work compares two miniaturised sample preparation methods, solid phase microextraction (SPME) and hollow fiber liquid phase microextraction (HF-LPME), in combination with gas chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry with a triple quadrupole analyzer for the determination of 77 pesticides in drinking water. In the case of SPME, extraction temperature and time were optimized by experimental design, although other parameters, as desorption time, pH, and ionic strength, were also evaluated. The extraction and desorption solvents [octanol/dihexyl ether (75:25, v/v) and cyclohexane, respectively], as well as the extraction and desorption time, ionic strength, and pH, were studied for the HF-LPME procedure. Under the optimal conditions, recoveries (70.2–113.5% for SPME and 70.0–119.5% for HF-LPME), intra-day precision (2.1–19.4% for SPME and 4.3–22.5% for HF-LPME), inter-day precision (5.2–21.5% for SPME and 8.4–27.3% for HF-LPME), and limits of detection, between 0.1 and 28.8 ng/L for SPME and 0.2 and 47.1 ng/L for HF-LPME and overall uncertainty (9.6–25.2% for SPME and 13.3–27.5% for HF-LPME) were established for both extraction procedures. Finally, the proposed methods were successfully applied to the analysis of 41 drinking water samples, and similar results were obtained with both extraction approaches.     

Time and poling history dependent energy storage and discharge behaviors in poly(vinylidene fluoride-<Emphasis Type="Italic">co</Emphasis>-hexafluoropropylene) random copolymers

 We studied cycle time (0.01–10 s with triangular input waves) and poling history (continuous versus fresh poling) dependent electric energy storage and discharge behaviors in poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) [P(VDF-HFP)] films using the electric displacement ― the electric field (D-E) hysteresis loop measurements. Since the permanent dipoles in PVDF are orientational in nature, it is generally considered that both charging and discharging processes should be time and poling history dependent. Intriguingly, our experimental results showed that the charging process depended heavily on the cycle time and the prior poling history, and thus the D-E hysteresis loops had different shapes accordingly. However, the discharged energy density did not change no matter how the D-E loop shape varied due to different measurements. This experimental result could be explained in terms of reversible and irreversible polarizations. The reversible polarization could be charged and discharged fairly quickly (< 5 ms for each process), while the irreversible polarization depended heavily on the poling time and the prior poling history. This study suggests that it is only meaningful to compare the discharged energy density for PVDF and its copolymer films when different cycle times and poling histories are used.     

Distribution of Heavy Metal Contents and Chemical Fractions in Anaerobically Digested Manure Slurry

Digested slurry samples from twenty-one large-scale anaerobic digestion plants together with intensive pig and dairy farms in Jiangsu Province of China were collected and analyzed for total and dissolved concentrations of Zn, Cu and As, as well as chemical characteristics. The results showed that total concentrations of Zn, Cu and As in digested pig slurries were concentrated to <10, <5 and 0.02–0.1 mg/l, respectively; while <2 and 10–30, <1, and 0.02–0.1 mg/l, respectively, in digested dairy slurries. Lowering the dietary supply of these elements to pig and dairy would be the most effective way to control heavy metal contents in digested manure slurries. Dissolved fractions of Zn, Cu and As accounted for 1–74%, 1–33% and 2–53% of the total concentrations, respectively, in digested pig slurries; and 18–65%, 12–58% and 3–68% in digested dairy slurries. The chemical fractions of heavy metals in digested slurries were not only dependent on the total concentrations of heavy metals in raw manures but also on conditions of digestion and storage. Oxidation pond systems could significantly cripple the total contents of heavy metals in digested slurries, and the removal effect was better in multi-oxidation-pond systems than that in primary-oxidation-pond systems. However, the chemical fractions of heavy metals in digested slurries changed in a complicated manner when stored in oxidation ponds, due to the suspended solid deposition, elements reduction, as well as variations of pH values and oxidation-reduction potential.