ACTION SPECTRUM FOR PHOTOREACTIVATION OF ULTRAVIOLET-INDUCED MORPHOLOGICAL ABNORMALITY IN SEA URCHIN EGGS

Abstract An action spectrum was obtained for photoreactivation (PR) of morphological abnormality arising from ultraviolet (UV)-irradiation of sea urchin sperm. The wavelength dependence of PR was measured by the restoration of the formation of normal pluteus larvae after the exposure of fertilized eggs to various fluences of monochromatic PR light (313 to 500 nm). The PR action spectrum showed a maximum around 365 nm and a secondary peak somewhere above 400 nm. High PR activity beyond 400 nm wavelengths may reflect an advantageous or adaptational ability to cope with harmful effects of solar UV radiation.     

3,4-dihydro-6,7-dimethoxy-4-methyl-3-oxo-qinoxaline-2-carbonyl azide as a highly sensitive fluorescence derivatization reagent for primary,secondary and tertiary alcohols in high-performance liquid chromatography

3,4-Dhydro-6,7-dimethoxy-4-methyl-3-oxo-quinoxaline-2-carbonyl azide is a highly senstive fluorescence derivatization reagent for primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols for high-performance liquid chromatography. Reaction conditions are optimized with benzyl alcohol, n-hexanol, cyclohexanol and 2-methyl-2-butanol. The reagent reacts with the alcohols in benzene to produce the corresponding fluorescent carbamic acid esters, which can be separated on a reversed-phase column YMC Pack C₈ with aqueous methanol as eluent. the detection limits for the alchols are 2–5 fmol per 10-μl njection. The reagent also reacts with hydroxysteroids with primary, secondary and/or tertiary alcoholic group(s) to form fluorescent derivatives. Hydroxycarboxylic acids and phenols do not give any chromatographic peaks.     

Room-temperature phosphorimetric determination of biogenic indole compounds adsorbed on a thin-layer chromatographic plate

A simple and sensitive method is described for the determination of biogenic indole compounds adsorbed on cellulose or alumina plates for thin-layer chromatography by room-temperature phosphorimetry. The optimum conditions were investigated for 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid and indole-3-acetic acid. The compounds are spotted on the plates, which are then sprayed successively with sodium citrate or sodium acetate, and sodiu iodide solutions. The plates are dried completely under a stream of dry nitrogen, and immediately dipped in molten paraffin. The phosphorescence is stable for at least 3 h even in moist air. The limits of detection for nine biogenic indole compounds tested are between 2 and 300 pmol per sample spot.     

Determination of saccharides in sake by high-performance liquid chromatography with polarized photometric detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of saccharides in sake, an alcoholic beverage brewed from rice. Saccharides in sake were separated on a normal phase (carbamoyl bonded silica) column using a linear gradient elution of water in acetonitrile. Seven saccharides, glucose, maltose, isomaltose, maltotriose, panose, isomaltotriose and ethyl alpha-D-glucoside, were determined by a polarized photometric detector. Unidentified peaks suggesting saccharides with polymerization degrees over 4 were also observed. The proposed method did not require any sample clean-up treatment. As an application, saccharide compositions in various kinds of sake were compared.     

Bioactive marine metabolites IX. Mycalisines A and B,novel nucleosides which inhibit cell division of fertilized starfish eggs,from the marine sponge mycale sp.

Two novel nucleosides, mycalisines A and B, have been isolated from a marine sponge and their structures elucidated as 4-amino-5-cyano-7-(3-$\text{O}$-methyl-5-deoxy-β-D-$\text{erythro}$-pent-4-enofuranosyl)-pyrrolo[2,3-$\text{d}$]pyrimidine and 5-cyano-7-(3-$\text{O}$-methyl-5-deoxy-β-D-$\text{erythro}$-pent-4-enofuranosyl)-pyrrolo[2,3-$\text{d}$]pyrimidine-4-one, respectively. Both compounds inhibit cell division of fertilized starfish eggs.     

Optical and surface morphological properties of polarizing films fabricated from a chromonic dye by the photoalignment technique

The inherent chromonic lyotropic liquid crystalline properties of a dye have been manipulated to fabricate multi-axial micropolarizing thin films by means of the photoalignment technique. The dye aqueous solution is deposited on a photopatterned polymer film to result in the macroscopic alignment of the dye molecules, followed by drying at ambient temperature. The solid polarizing dye layers thus produced exhibit very a high contrast ratio and degree of polarization in the region of visible light. Addition of a small amount of surfactant to the dye solution is a prerequisite for the generation of a nematic chromonic phase and for the formation of homogeneous thin dye layers on the polymer film. The correlation between the optical and surface morphological properties of the dye layers is discussed.     

Photoluminescence of bis(8-hydroxyquinoline) zinc (Znq2) and magnesium (Mgq2)

Absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectra, PL quantum efficiency, and PL lifetime have been investigated on bis(8-hydroxyquinoline) zinc (Znq₂) and magnesium (Mgq₂) in solutions and powder. Znq₂ and Mgq₂ have the lowest-energy absorption band at 376 and 396 nm in acetonitrile solution, respectively, and emission band with peak at 555 and 480 nm. The PL quantum efficiency is 0.03 and 0.45 for Znq₂ and Mgq₂ in the solution, respectively, while 0.45 and 0.36 in powder. Unlike the case of powders, two PL lifetimes are obtained in solutions. The longer lifetime is attributed to molecule having interaction with its neighboring molecule, while the shorter one to the isolated single molecule.     

Minimization of erase-band in shingled PMR with asymmetric writer

To make the write-field much stronger with sharper cross-track field gradient in Shingled perpendicular Magnetic Recording (SMR), we have successfully developed asymmetric SMR heads with one-side shield design. Using these heads, higher track density capability on the shielded-side was demonstrated, which came from narrower erase-band width at shielded side.     

Modeling Thioredoxin Reductase-Like Activity with Cyclic Selenenyl Sulfides: Participation of an NH⋅⋅⋅Se Hydrogen Bond through Stabilization of the Mixed Se−S Intermediate

At the redox-active center of thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), a selenenyl sulfide (Se−S) bond is formed between Cys497 and Sec498, which is activated into the thiolselenolate state ([SH,Se⁻]) by reacting with a nearby dithiol motif ([SH^Cys59,SH^Cys64]) present in the other subunit. This process is achieved through two reversible steps: an attack of a cysteinyl thiol of Cys59 at the Se atom of the Se−S bond and a subsequent attack of a remaining thiol at the S atom of the generated mixed Se−S intermediate. However, it is not clear how the kinetically unfavorable second step progresses smoothly in the catalytic cycle. A model study that used synthetic selenenyl sulfides, which mimic the active site structure of human TrxR comprising Cys497, Sec498, and His472, suggested that His472 can play a key role by forming a hydrogen bond with the Se atom of the mixed Se−S intermediate to facilitate the second step. In addition, the selenenyl sulfides exhibited a defensive ability against H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress in cultured cells, which suggests the possibility for medicinal applications to control the redox balance in cells.