Preparation and characterization of a novel activated carbon component via chemical activation of tea woody stem

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The novel activated carbon materials were synthesized by the carbonization and chemical activation of agricultural bio-waste from tea woody stems...     

Synthesis,spectroscopic characterization,crystal and molecular structure of [ReOBr(hmquin-7-COOH)2] and [ReOCl(hmquin-7-COOH)2] · MeCN complexes. DFT and TD-DFT calculations for [ReOBr(hmquin-7-COOH)2]

Novel [ReOBr(hmquin-7-COOH)₂] (1) and [ReOCl(hmquin-7-COOH)₂] · MeCN (2 · MeCN) complexes have been prepared by treatment of [ReOX₃(AsPh₃)₂] with an excess of 8-hydroxy-2-methylquinoline-7-carboxylic acid in acetonitrile. The compounds were characterized structurally and spectroscopically. The electronic structure of 1 has been calculated with the density functional theory (DFT) method, and additional information about binding has been obtained by NBO analysis. The UV–Vis spectrum of 1 has been discussed on the basis of TDDFT calculations.     

Simple waves do not avoid eigenvalue crossings

General one‐parameter families of matrices avoid eigenvalue crossings. It is shown that the matrices associated with the simple waves of nonlinear systems of conservation laws do not obey this rule: a subset of simple waves with nonzero measure has crossing eigenvalues. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Synthesis of thioamide-containing polystyrenes by Friedel–Crafts reaction and by thioamidation of (co)polydithioesters

Thioamide groups were introduced into polystyrenes by the Friedel–Crafts reaction, with phenyl isothiocyanate in nitromethane solution, in the presence of anhydrous aluminium chloride. Free radical copolymerization of 4-vinyl dithiobenzoate with styrene followed by low-temperature solution condensation reactions, with excess of amines in N,N-dimethylformamide, offered another synthetic route to (co)polymers containing thioamine groups in the side chains without crosslinking. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 117–127, 1998     

Resonant Triads Involving a Nondispersive Wave

A simple system is studied, involving a single nondispersive breaking wave and its interaction with two dispersive modes through a resonant triad. The dynamics of this system are shown to be quite rich, through a combined theoretical and numerical analysis. A sharply defined traveling wave with a corner seems to attract almost all initial data with enough energy, provided the nondispersive wave is unstable to the other two when standing alone. In other cases, the solution converges to quasiperiodic final states, unless extra symmetries force the solution to converge to simpler configurations.     

Principal Dynamical Components

A procedure is proposed for a dimension reduction in time series. Similarly to principal components, the procedure seeks a low‐dimensional manifold that minimizes information loss. Unlike principal components, however, the procedure involves dynamical considerations through the proposal of a predictive dynamical model in the reduced manifold. Hence the minimization of the uncertainty is not only over the choice of a reduced manifold, as in principal components, but also over the parameters of the dynamical model, as in autoregressive analysis and principal interaction patterns. Further generalizations are provided to nonautonomous and non‐Markovian scenarios, which are then applied to historical sea‐surface temperature data. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Trifluoperazine effects on anionic and zwitterionic micelles: a study by small angle X-ray scattering

In this work small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) studies on the interaction of the phenothiazine trifluoperazine (TFP, 2-10 mM), a cationic drug, with micelles of the zwitterionic surfactant 3-(N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethylammonium) propane sulfonate (HPS, 30 mM) and the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS, 40 mM) at pH 4.0, 7.0, and 9.0 are reported. The data were analyzed through the modeling of the micellar form factor and interference function, as well as by means of the distance distribution function p(r). For anionic micelles (SDS), the results evidence a micellar shape transformation from prolate ellipsoid to cylinder accompanied by micellar growth and surface charge screening as the molar ratio TFP:SDS increases in the complex for all values of pH. Small ellipsoids with axial ratio nu=1.5+/-0.1 (long dimension of 60 A) grow and reassemble into cylinder-like aggregates upon 5 mM drug incorporation (1 TFP:8 SDS monomers) with a decrease of the micelle surface charge. At 10 mM TFP:40 mM SDS cylindrical micelles are totally screened with an axial ratio nu approximately 4 (long dimension approximately 140 A at pH 7.0 and 9.0). However, at pH 4.0, where the drug is partially diprotonated, 10 mM TFP incorporation gives rise to a huge increase in micellar size, resulting in micelles at least 400 A long, without altering the intramicellar core. For zwitterionic micelles (HPS), the results have shown that the aggregates also resemble small prolate ellipsoids with averaged axial ratio approximately nu=1.6+/-0.1. Under TFP addition, both the paraffinic radius and the micellar size show a slight decrease, giving evidence that the micellar hydrophobic core may be affected by phenothiazine incorporation rather than that observed for the SDS/TFP comicelle. Therefore, our results demonstrate that the axial ratio and shape evolution of the surfactant:TFP complex are both dependent on surfactant surface-charge and drug:surfactant molar ratio. The results are compared with those recently obtained for another phenothiazine drug, chlorpromazine (CPZ), in SDS and HPS micelles (Caetano, Gelamo, Tabak, and Itri, J. Colloid Interface Science 248 (2002) 149).     

Deconvoluting the functions of polypeptide N-alpha-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase family members by glycopeptide substrate profiling

The polypeptide N-alpha-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases (ppGalNAcTs) play a key role in mucin-type O-linked glycan biosynthesis by installing the initial GalNAc residue on the protein scaffold. The preferred substrates and functions of the >20 isoforms in mammals are not well understood. However, current data suggest that glycosylated mucin domains are created by the successive, often hierarchical, action of several specific ppGalNAcTs. Herein we analyzed the glycopeptide substrate preferences of several ppGalNAcT family members using a library screening approach. A 56-member glycopeptide library designed to reflect a diversity of glycan clustering was assayed for substrate activity with ppGalNAcT isoforms using an azido-ELISA. The data suggest that the ppGalNAcTs can be classified into at least four types, which working together, are able to produce densely glycosylated mucin glycoproteins.     

Tailor-made agarose-based reactive beads for hemoperfusion and plasma perfusion

Composite beads of approximately 1mm diameter, made of cross-linked agarose and containing Fuller’s Earth or zirconium oxide powders, were prepared and used in extracorporeal systems for blood detoxification. The former was used for the removal of Paraquat, while the latter was used to remove inorganic phosphate from hyper-phosphatamic animals with or without acute renal failure. The high surface area of the powder, combined with the low resistance to diffusion in the cross-linked agarose matrix, are highly advantageous. The crosslinking provides high mechanical strength, heat stability, prolonged shelf life, good blood flow characteristics, and prevents the release of fine particles into the blood. Crosslinked agarose beads of 1 mm diameter, containing chemically-bound heparin were also prepared, and used as a model for direct contact removal of LDL-cholesterol from the blood of familial hypercholesterolemic patients by hemoperfusion. The high capacity of these beads (over 5 mg LDL/mL beads) indicates that this clinical modality can replace the highly expensive plasmapheresis procedure presently used.