Kinetic Modeling of Non-Linear Polymerization

Recent developments of a method based upon population balances of generating functions of polymer chain length distributions (CLD) are presented. The calculation of the CLD and how to take into account chain length dependent reactivity are discussed. Prediction of polymer properties is also possible but only easily done for the average molecular radius of gyration; some results are presented for a radical polymerization including transfer to polymer and propagation with terminal double bonds.     

Tumour-host dynamics under radiotherapy

Tumour-host interaction is modelled by the Lotka-Volterra equations. Qualitative analysis and simulations show that this model reproduces all known states of development for tumours. Radiotherapy effect is introduced into the model by means of the linear-quadratic model and the periodic Dirac delta function. The evolution of the system under the action of radiotherapy is simulated and parameter space is obtained, from which certain threshold of effectiveness values for the frequency and applied doses are derived. A two-dimensional logistic map is derived from the modified Lotka-Volterra model and used to simulate the effectiveness of radiotherapy in different regimens of tumour development. The results show the possibility of achieving a successful treatment in each individual case by employing the correct therapeutic strategy.     

Regioselective Synthesis of the Spiro-benzofuran Unit,Present in Several Natral Products,by an Intramolecular Michael Cyclization

The regioselective construction of a spirocycle unit, common to several biologically active natural products, through an intramolecular Michael cyclization is described.     

Use of Pyridine as Cocatalyst for the Synthesis of N-Phenylanthranilic Acids

It is reported the use of pyridine as cocatalyst for the synthesis of N-phenylantranilic acids by the Ullmann-Goldberg condensation in water or amyl alcohol as solvents, with good yield.     

The cis-bis(decanoate)tin phthalocyanine/DPPC film at the air/water interface

Films made of cis-bis-decanoate-tin(IV) phthalocyanine (PcSn10) and racemic dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) are studied with compression isotherms and Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) at the air/water interface. Films enriched in PcSn10 present phase separation elliptical-shaped domains. These domains present optical anisotropy and molecular order. They are enriched in PcSn10, and the film outside these domains is enriched in DPPC, as shown in by high-angle annular dark-field transmission electron microscopy on Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) transferred films. Film collapse area and atomic force microscopy images of LB transferred films on mica indicate that the films are actually multilayers. A computational survey was performed to determine how the PcSn10 molecules prefer to self-assemble, in films basically made of PcSn10. The relative energetic stability for several dimeric assemblies was obtained, and a crystal model of the film was developed through packing and repeating the PcSn10 molecules, along the crystallographic directions of the unit cell. Our results contribute to understanding the strong interaction between PcSn10 and DPPC at the air/water interface, where even small quantities of DPPC (~1-2%) can modify the film in an important way.     

Equivalence of communication and projective boundedness properties for monotone and homogeneous functions

This work concerns the eigenvalue problem for a monotone and homogeneous self-mapping f of a finite-dimensional positive cone. A communication criterion is formulated such that it is equivalent to the projective boundedness of the upper eigenspaces associated with f, a property that yields the existence of a nonlinear eigenvalue. Using the idea of dual function, a similar result is obtained for lower eigenspaces.     

High-sensitivity staining of proteins for one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis using post migration covalent staining with a ruthenium fluorophore

This paper describes the use of a ruthenium complex ((bis(2,2'-bipyridine)-4'-methyl-4-carboxybipyridine-ruthenium-N-succidimyl ester-bis(hexafluorophosphate), abbreviated below as ASCQ_Ru) commercially available and chemically pure. This new ruthenium complex ASCQ_Ru brings an activated ester, allowing the selective acylation of amino acid side chain amines for the post migration staining of proteins separated in 1-DE and 2-DE. The protocol used is a simple three-step protocol fixing the proteins in the gel, staining and then washing, as no lengthy destaining step is required. First the critical staining step was optimized. Although in solution the best described pH for acylating proteins with this reagent is phosphate buffer at pH 7.0, we found that best medium for in-gel staining is unbuffered ACN/water solution (20/80 v/v). The two other steps are less critical and classical conditions are satisfactory: fixing with 7% acetic acid/10% ethanol solution and washing four times for 10 min with water. Sensitivity tests were performed using 1-DE on protein molecular weight markers. We obtained a higher sensitivity than SYPRO Ruby with a detection limit of 80 pg of protein per well. However, contrary to SYPRO Ruby, ASCQ_Ru exhibits a logarithmic dependency on the amount of protein. The dynamic range is similar to SYPRO Ruby and is estimated between three and four orders of magnitude. Finally, the efficiency of the post migration ASCQ_Ru staining for 2-D gel separation is demonstrated on the whole protein extract from human colon carcinoma cells lines HCT 116. ASCQ_Ru gave the highest number of spot detected compared to other common stains Colloidal CBB, SYPRO Ruby and Deep Purple.