LC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS-based phenolic profiling of St John’s Wort Teas and their antioxidant activity: Eliciting infusion induced changes

Infusion-induced changes in the phenolics, antioxidant and colour propeties of St John’s wort (genus, Hypericum; specie, Hypericum perforatum L.) teas were studied for the first time. SJW teas prepared as three different infusions and coded as three (3?min), six (6?min) and twelve minutes (12?min). Investigation of phenolic compounds were performed by LC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS. A total of 18 phenolics including six chlorogenic acids, three phenolic acids, seven flavonoids and two naphtodianthrones were detected. It is worth noting that the phenolic profiles of St John’s wort teas were similar. However, the quantities of phenolic compounds individually and totally changed significantly for different infusion times. The highest total concentration was detected in 12?min (60.03?mg/L), followed by 6?min (54.81?mg/L) and 3?min (33.07?mg/L). The main difference for different infusion times was the hyperoside found as the most abundant phenolic only in 3?min samples. However, for 6?min and 12?minin infusions, chlorogenic acid was the most dominant phenolic compound. Similar to phenolics, antioxidant capacity of tea infusions showed an increasing trend with the extension of infusion time.     

Upper rim-functionalized calix[4]arene-based l-proline as organocatalyst for direct asymmetric aldol reactions in water and organic media

The synthesis of upper rim-functionalized calix[4]arene-based l-proline was described, and its catalytic efficiency as organocatalyst for the enantioselective aldol reaction in water was investigated. The results showed that the nature of the hydrophobic cavity of calixarene is critical for catalytic activity in water. The products of the reaction between various ketones and aldehydes with anti-configuration were obtained in high yields (up to 94%) with high diastereo- (up to 95:5 dr) and enantioselectivities (up to 80% ee).     

Synthesis of New Quinoline-Conjugated Calixarene as a Fluorescent Sensor for Selective Determination of Cu2+ Ion

Journal of Fluorescence - A novel quinoline-functionalized calix [4] arene derivative (Quin-Calix) has been successfully synthesized at partial cone conformation and duly characterized by using...     

Enhanced sedimentation and coalescence of petroleum crude oil emulsions by the new generation of environmentally friendly yellow chemicals

This study compares by means of new and advanced destabilization protocols the efficiency of new chemistry environmentally friendly (yellow) demulsifiers with already commercially available red demulsifiers in destabilizing two types of water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions: petroleum crude oil emulsions and model dense packed layers (DPLs). Oil–water separation profiles were measured by low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which allows monitoring the water content as well as the mean droplet size in the emulsion as function of the sample height and the time. Separation profiles measured by NMR depicted an increase of the free water release kinetics as the concentration of demulsifier as well as the sedimentation rate increased. The water resolution was not substantially improved by increasing the concentration further while the water quality was worse, most likely due to adsolubilization. There was no observation of DPL formation in these crude oil emulsions. Four different demulsifiers were tested on a model DPL and compared with normal crude oil emulsions. One chemical showed higher efficiency in destabilizing DPL than destabilizing crude oil emulsion. The interfacial rheological properties for one of the systems showed a slight increase in the elastic modulus (E′), as the concentration of demulsifier increased. The increment of the elastic modulus is not totally understood. The most central parameters were represented by principal component analysis (PCA). PCA did not contribute in a better characterization of the chemicals. The new-generation yellow demulsifiers did not reproduce the efficiency of commercially available, less environmentally friendly, (red) demulsifiers.     

Computation of thermal fracture parameters for orthotropic functionally graded materials using Jk-integral

This article introduces a computational method based on the J_k-integral for mixed-mode fracture analysis of orthotropic functionally graded materials (FGMs) that are subjected to thermal stresses. The generalized definition of the J_k-integral is recast into a domain independent form composed of line and area integrals by utilizing the constitutive relations of plane orthotropic thermoelasticity. Implementation of the domain independent J_k-integral is realized through a numerical procedure developed by means of the finite element method. The outlined computational approach enables the evaluation of the modes I and II stress intensity factors, the energy release rate, and the T-stress. The developed technique is validated numerically by considering two different problems, the first of which is the problem of an embedded crack in an orthotropic FGM layer subjected to steady-state thermal stresses; and the second one is that of periodic cracks under transient thermal loading. Comparisons of the mixed-mode stress intensity factors evaluated by the J_k-integral based method to those calculated through the displacement correlation technique (DCT) and to those available in the literature point out that, the proposed form of the J_k-integral possesses the required domain independence and leads to numerical results of high accuracy. Further results are presented to illustrate the influences of the geometric and material constants on the thermal fracture parameters.     

Linear stability analysis in compressible, flat-plate boundary-layers

The stability problem of two-dimensional compressible flat-plate boundary layers is handled using the linear stability theory. The stability equations obtained from three-dimensional compressible Navier–Stokes equations are solved simultaneously with two-dimensional mean flow equations, using an efficient shoot-search technique for adiabatic wall condition. In the analysis, a wide range of Mach numbers extending well into the hypersonic range are considered for the mean flow, whereas both two- and three-dimensional disturbances are taken into account for the perturbation flow. All fluid properties, including the Prandtl number, are taken as temperature-dependent. The results of the analysis ascertain the presence of the second mode of instability (Mack mode), in addition to the first mode related to the Tollmien–Schlichting mode present in incompressible flows. The effect of reference temperature on stability characteristics is also studied. The results of the analysis reveal that the stability characteristics remain almost unchanged for the most unstable wave direction for Mach numbers above 4.0. The obtained results are compared with existing numerical and experimental data in the literature, yielding encouraging agreement both qualitatively and quantitatively.      

Fixed points of non-Newtonian contraction mappings on non-Newtonian metric spaces

The study of non-Newtonian calculi was started in 1972 by Grossman and Katz. These calculi provide an alternative to the classical calculus and they include the geometric, anageometric and bigeometric calculi, etc. Recently, Çakmak and Ba?ar (2002) have studied the concept of non-Newtonian metric. Also they have given the triangle and Minkowski’s inequalities in the sense of non-Newtonian calculus. In this paper, we introduce a fixed point theory by defining some topological structures of the relevant non-Newtonian metric space.     

Computing the integer programming gap

We determine the maximal gap between the optimal values of an integer program and its linear programming relaxation, where the matrix and cost function are fixed but the right hand side is unspecified. Our formula involves irreducible decomposition of monomial ideals. The gap can be computed in polynomial time when the dimension is fixed. Partially supported by the National Science Foundation (DMS-0200729).     

New Amperometric Cholesterol Biosensors Using Poly(ethyleneoxide) Conducting Polymers

Accumulation of cholesterol in human blood can cause several health problems such as heart disease, coronary artery disease, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, cerebral thrombosis, etc. Therefore, simple and fast cholesterol determination in blood is clinically important. In this study, two types of amperometric cholesterol biosensors were designed by physically entrapping cholesterol oxidase in conducting polymers; thiophene capped poly(ethyleneoxide)/polypyrrole (PEO-co-PPy) and 3-methylthienyl methacrylate-co-p-vinyl benzyloxy poly(ethyleneoxide)/polypyrrole (CP-co-PPy). PEO-co-PPy and CP-co-PPy were synthesized electrochemically and cholesterol oxidase was immobilized by entrapment during electropolymerization. The amperometric responses of the enzyme electrodes were measured by monitoring oxidation current of H₂O₂ at +0.7 V in the absence of a mediator. Kinetic parameters, such as Km and Imax, operational and storage stabilities, effects of pH and temperature were determined for both entrapment supports. Km values were found as 1.47 and 5.16 mM for PEO-co-PPy and CP-co-PPy enzyme electrodes, respectively. By using these Km values, it can be observed that ChOx immobilized in PEO-co-PPy shows higher affinity towards the substrate.