Microdetermination of hyaluronic acid in human urine by high performance liquid chromatography.

A high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) system is described for determination of the unsaturated disaccharide (delta Di-HA) derived from hyaluronic acid (HA) in human urine by digestion with hyaluronidase SD. The effects of eluents on the separation of delta Di-HA and delta Di-0S, which is derived from the reaction of chondroitin with the enzyme, have been studied. The established chromatographic conditions were as follows--column: a stainless steel tube (4 mm i.d. x 250 mm) packed with TSKgel NH2-60; eluent: a mixture of acetonitrile and 0.1 M Tris-HCl buffer containing 0.1 M boric acid and 10 mM sodium sulphate, pH 7.0 (64:36, v/v). The strong fluorescence of unsaturated disaccharide after the reaction with 2-cyanoacetamide in alkaline medium was used for post-column detection. The calibration curve for delta Di-HA was linear in the range 5 pmol-5nmol with a practical detection limit of 2 pmol. The assay coefficients of variation (n = 5) at 200 pmol for delta Di-HA and delta Di-0S were 1.7 and 1.5%, respectively. This HPLC system has been applied to the determination of HA in human urine.     

Isolation of acetic acid-tolerant Baker’s yeast variants in a turbidostat

A commercial baker’s yeast was subjected to selection in a continuous turbidostat cultivation with increasing concentration of acetic acid. The final acetic acid content in fresh medium was 0.6% or 0.8% v/v. Two of seven selected variants were stable over 15 sequential shake flask cultivations without selection pressure. After laboratory scale production of baker’s yeast, one of the variants also showed increased acetic acid tolerance in sour dough. The overall raising power (mL CO₂/h) in sour dough was improved 36%.     

Structural Transformations in Fe/Zr Bi- and Multilayers Induced by Ion-Beam Mixing

The Ar-ion-beam mixing of Fe/Zr bi- and multilayers is studied by conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy as a function of ion dose ranging from 1×10¹⁴ to 1×10¹⁷ at./cm². The mixing leads to amorphization of the Fe/Zr system. It was shown that the mixing process in bilayers depends strongly on the thickness of the Zr substrate. The amorphization is much more effective and occurs at lower ion doses in multilayers as compared to corresponding bilayers.     

Influence of relaxation on the profile of a nonlinear acoustic pulse

The influence of transverse relaxation on a nonlinear acoustic wave generated in the presence of the acoustic self-induced transparency (SIT) phenomenon is investigated. An explicit analytical equation for the profile of the nonlinear acoustic wave is derived by a perturbation theory developed on the basis of the inverse scattering problem. This equation provides a possible means for investigating experimentally the profile of an acoustic SIT pulse with allowance for relaxation effects, so that these results can be used to construct new types of acoustoelectronic devices. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 130–131 (May 1998)     

A comparison of spin relaxation and local motion between symmetrically and asymmetrically ring-substituted bisphenol units in dissolved polycarbonates

Carbon-13 and proton spin-lattice relaxation times were measured at two field strengths on solutions 10% by weight of two polycarbonates in C₂D₂Cl₄ from ?20 to +120°C. The first polycarbonate is an asymmetrically substituted form with one chlorine on one of the two phenylene aromatic rings of the bisphenol unit, whereas the second polycarbonate is symmetrically substituted with two chlorines on each of the two rings. The nuclear spin relaxation data are interpreted in terms of several local motions likely in these polymers. Segmental motion was described by the Hall–Helfand correlation function. Segmental motion in the monosubstituted polycarbonate is somewhat slower than in unsubstituted polycarbonate, whereas segmental motion in the tetrasubstituted polycarbonate is considerably slower. Phenylene ring rotation is observed in unsubstituted polycarbonate and in the monosubstituted polycarbonate above 40°C. Below 40°C in the monosubstituted species, and at all temperatures in the tetrasubstituted species, ring rotation is replaced by ring libration as the predominant motion contributing to spin lattice relaxation. In addition, the rotational motion of the two types of rings in the asymmetric monosubstituted form are very similar although not identical. The substituted ring is slightly less mobile than the rings of unsubstituted polycarbonate. This indicates a strong coupling of ring motion, although the coupling leads to less than synchronous motion. Methyl group rotation is present in both polymers and is little affected by the various structural modifications.     

Ramsey numbers for graphs with five vertices

The Ramsey numbers r(F¹, F²) are tabulated for essentially all but six pairs of graphs F¹ and F² with five vertices.     

Trimeric liquid crystals containing lateral alkyl chains

The first twelve members of the n-alkyl 2,5-bis-(4'-cyanobiphenyloxybutyloxy)-benozates have been prepared. The compounds are nematogenic; in addition the first three members exhibit a smectic A phase. The nematic-isotropic transition temperatures decrease with little or no alternation on increasing the number of methylene groups in the lateral chain; this is analogous to the behaviour found in monomeric and polymeric mesogens possessing lateral alkyl chains.