Development of dynamic compartment model for prediction of behavior of radioiodine in rice paddy field

For the assessment of a public impact caused by radionuclides released from nuclear facilities, a dynamic compartment model was developed for prediction of behavior of radioiodine in air, paddy field and rice plant system. The transfer coefficients among compartments were determined by some experimental data and assumptions for each chemical form of iodine. A verification of the model was carried out by some case studies.     

Chloroprene as a source of fine chemicals: palladium-catalyzed synthesis of terminal allenes

[reaction: see text] Several functionalized terminal allenes were prepared in moderate to excellent yield by a palladium-catalyzed reaction of chloroprene (2-chloro-1,3-butadiene) with soft nucleophiles.     

Effects of temperature and endogenous factors in blood on concentrations of cyclosporin in plasma measured by high-performance liquid chromatography

The effects of temperature, hematocrit (Hct), lipid level in plasma and cyclosporin A (CyA) level in whole blood on the concentration of CyA in plasma measured by high-performance liquid chromatography were studied in vitro. With rise in blood storage temperature before cells were removed, the concentration of CyA in plasma was increased in the temperature range between 10 degrees C and 37 degrees C, but was decreased between 4 degrees C and 10 degrees C. With rise in Hct, the concentration of CyA in plasma was decreased, and it was more markedly decreased at the blood storage temperature of 4 degrees C than at 37 degrees C. A lipid supplementation study showed that the concentration of CyA in plasma was increased with rise in plasma triglyceride level and in plasma cholesterol level at the storage temperature of 4 degrees C but not at 37 degrees C. Studies of the effect of CyA concentration in blood on the CyA distribution in blood demonstrated that the cellular/plasma concentration (C/P) ratio at low levels (less than 200 micrograms/ml) of plasma CyA ranged from 4 to 10 and was about 2 times higher than that at higher concentrations at 4 degrees C, but the ratio was relatively constant at 37 degrees C. The saturation capacity of the cellular fraction for CyA showed considerable individual variations, but there was no difference between the capacities at 4 degrees C and 37 degrees C. The separation of plasma after equilibration at 37 degrees C made it possible to avoid the variations in the distribution of CyA in whole blood associated with changes in Hct, lipid level in plasma and CyA level in whole blood, and to obtain a measurement reflecting the physiologically significant concentration of CyA in plasma.     

Calculation of skin permeability coefficient for ionized and unionized species of indomethacin.

The contribution of ionized and unionized species to the overall permeation of weak electrolytes through the skin was investigated to determine the effect of pH in the vehicle on the permeability of indomethacin (IDM), as a model drug, through hairless rat skin. The permeability of IDM through polydimethylsiloxane (silicone) and poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) membranes which may reflect lipid and aqueous pathway, respectively, was also measured for comparison. As the pH in the vehicle increased, there was an exponential increase in the skin permeation rate of IDM. The permeation rate of IDM through the silicone membrane was constant independent of pH, whereas that through the pHEMA membrane increased with increasing pH, similar to the skin permeation. The permeability coefficients of ionized and unionized species through the skin estimated using the skin permeation rates and solubilities of IDM at various pHs were 1.50 x 10(-7) and 2.79 x 10(-5) cm/s, respectively. These results indicated that the permeation of ionized species greatly contributed to the total permeation of IDM at higher pH, and that the total permeation rate of IDM was determined by the permeation of unionized species at lower pH. These contributions depend on the pH and pKa values and the ratio of permeability coefficient of each species. It was also confirmed that the skin has at least two kinds of permeation pathways and these two species permeate through a different pathway.     

Time decay of solutions to the cauchy problem for time-dependent Schrödinger-Hartree equations

We consider the time-dependent Schrödinger-Hartree equation (1) $$iu_t + \Delta u = \left( {\frac{1}{r}*|u|^2 } \right)u + \lambda \frac{u}{r},(t, x) \in \mathbb{R} \times \mathbb{R}^3 ,$$ (2) $$u(0,x) = \phi (x) \in \Sigma ^{2,2} ,x \in \mathbb{R}^3 ,$$ where λ≧0 and \(\Sigma ^{2,2} = \{ g \in L^2 ;\parallel g\parallel _{\Sigma ^{2,2} }^2 = \sum\limits_{|a| \leqq 2} {\parallel D^a g\parallel _2^2 + \sum\limits_{|\beta | \leqq 2} {\parallel x^\beta g\parallel _2^2< \infty } } \} \) . We show that there exists a unique global solutionu of (1) and (2) such that $$u \in C(\mathbb{R};H^{1,2} ) \cap L^\infty (\mathbb{R};H^{2,2} ) \cap L_{loc}^\infty (\mathbb{R};\Sigma ^{2,2} )$$ with $$u \in L^\infty (\mathbb{R};L^2 ).$$ Furthermore, we show thatu has the following estimates: $$\parallel u(t)\parallel _{2,2} \leqq C,a.c. t \in \mathbb{R},$$ and $$\parallel u(t)\parallel _\infty \leqq C(1 + |t|)^{ - 1/2} ,a.e. t \in \mathbb{R}.$$      

Antiviral agents of plant origin. III. Scopadulin, a novel tetracyclic diterpene from Scoparia dulcis L

The structure and stereochemistry of scopadulin, a novel aphidicolane-type diterpene isolated from Scoparia dulcis L. have been established from spectral data and single-crystal X-ray analysis of its acetone solvate.     

Magnetic interactions in a series of paramagnetic Ln(III) complexes with a chelated imino nitroxide radical

The magnetic interactions in a new series of isostructural imino nitroxide radical lanthanide(III) complexes, [Ln(hfac)₃(IM2py)] (Ln = Gd–Yb: IM2py = 2-(2′-pyridyl)-4,5-dihydro-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1H-imidazoline-1-oxy; hfac = 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedione), are examined by considering the intrinsic paramagnetic contribution of the Ln(III) ion from the corresponding [Ln(hfac)₃(pybzim)] with a diamagnetic pybzim(2-(2-pyridyl)benzimidazole) ligand; the Ln(III)–IM2py interaction being antiferromagnetic for the 4f⁷ to 4f¹³ Ln(III) complexes and negligibly small for the other complexes. This series is the first example reverse to the previous cases for the series of Ln–Cu or Ln–aminoxyl(NIT) radical (4,5-dihydro-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1H-imidazoline-3-oxide-1-oxy) complexes, other than only a few examples of semiquinone Ln complexes. This reverse nature of the magnetic interaction, as compared with the NIT complexes, validates the empirical approach by O. Kahn et al. [Inorg. Chem. 38 (1999) 3692; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 122 (2000) 3413] in the spin-coupled systems for a series of Ln(III) complexes.     

Motion of redox molecules in solution monitored by the highly-sensitive EQCM technique

The behavior of redox molecules in solution that was not detected by electrochemical techniques was measured by a highly-sensitive electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) technique that has been improved in this study to obtain a high sensitivity of EQCM measurement in solution. The improved EQCM technique allowed to monitor the motion of a redox molecule, that is an access of the molecule to an electrode surface and repulsion from the surface during redox. An EQCM technique currently in use has measured adsorption of redox molecules on an electrode surface or polymerization on the surface caused by a chemical reaction following redox, which exhibits an enough large mass change response to detect with an EQCM measurement. However, access and repulsion of redox molecule, which is a slight motion of the molecule near on electrode surface, has not been detected and investigated by an EQCM technique, because the mass change response seems to be very small. In this study, the redox behavior of methyl viologen on a bare gold surface, pyridinethiol surface and methylpyridinethiol surface was investigated. Although the three electrodes give the same cyclic voltammogram of methyl viologen, the three are different in QCM response recorded at the same time as the voltammetry. Access/repulsion of methyl viologen within an electrical double layer was monitored by the highly-sensitive EQCM technique.     

Radiation sterilization of enzyme hybrids with biodegradable polymers

Ionizing radiations, which have already been utilized for the sterilization of medical supplies as well as gas fumigation, should be the final candidate to decontaminate “hybrid” biomaterials containing bio-active materials including enzymes because irradiation induces neither heat nor substances affecting the quality of the materials and our health. In order to check the feasibility of ⁶⁰Co-gamma rays on these materials, we selected commercial proteases including papain and bromelain hybridized with commercial activated chitosan beads and demonstrated that these enzyme-hybrids suspended in water showed the significant radiation durability of more than twice as much as free enzyme solution at 25-kGy irradiation. Enhanced thermal and storage stability of the enzyme hybrids were not affected by the same dose level of irradiation, either, indicating that commercial irradiation sterilization method is applicable to enzyme hybrids without modification.