Theoretical investigation of the (hyper)polarizabilities of pyrrole homologues C4H4XH (X = N, P, As, Sb, Bi). A coupled-cluster and density functional theory study

Geometries, inversion barriers, static and dynamic electronic and vibrational dipole polarizability (alpha), and first (beta) and second (gamma) hyperpolarizability of the pyrrole homologues C(4)H(4)XH (X = N, P, As, Sb, Bi) have been calculated by Hartree-Fock, M?ller-Plesset second-order perturbation theory, coupled-cluster theory accounting for singles, doubles, and noniterative triple excitations methods, as well as density functional theory using B3LYP and PBE1PBE functionals and Sadlej's Pol and 6-311G basis sets. Relativistic effects on the heavier homologues stibole and bismole have been taken into account within effective core potential approximation. The results show that the electronic (hyper)polarizabilities monotonically increase with the atomic number of the heteroatom, consistent with the decrease in the molecular hardness. Ring planarization reduces the carbon-carbon bond length alternation of the cis-butadienic unit, enhancing the electronic polarizability values (alpha(e)) by 4-12% and the (hyper)polarizability values (and gamma(e)) by 30-90%. Pure vibrational and zero-point vibrational average contributions to the (hyper)polarizabilities have been determined within the clamped nucleus approach. In the static limit, the pure vibrational hyperpolarizabilities have a major contribution. Anharmonic corrections dominate the pure vibrational hyperpolarizabilities of pyrrole, while they are less important for the heavier homologues. Static and dynamic electronic response properties of the pyrrole homologues are comparable to or larger than the corresponding properties of the furan and cyclopentadiene homologue series.     

The contribution of synchrotron X‐ray computed microtomography to understanding volcanic processes

A series of computed microtomography experiments are reported which were performed by using a third‐generation synchrotron radiation source on volcanic rocks from various active hazardous volcanoes in Italy and other volcanic areas in the world. The applied technique allowed the internal structure of the investigated material to be accurately imaged at the micrometre scale and three‐dimensional views of the investigated samples to be produced as well as three‐dimensional quantitative measurements of textural features. The geometry of the vesicle (gas‐filled void) network in volcanic products of both basaltic and trachytic compositions were particularly focused on, as vesicle textures are directly linked to the dynamics of volcano degassing. This investigation provided novel insights into modes of gas exsolution, transport and loss in magmas that were not recognized in previous studies using solely conventional two‐dimensional imaging techniques. The results of this study are important to understanding the behaviour of volcanoes and can be combined with other geosciences disciplines to forecast their future activity.     

Organocatalyzed synthesis of chiral non-racemic 1,4-dihydropyridazines

Chiral non-racemic 1,4-dihydropyridazines were prepared by the reaction of 1,2-diaza-1,3-dienes with arylacetaldehydes under organocatalytic conditions. l-Proline and (S)-(+)-1-(2-pyrrolidinylmethyl)pyrrolidine coupled with trifluoroacetic acid were used as organocatalysts. Enantiomeric excesses ranged from 25% to 78%.     

Protein purification by aminosquarylium cyanine dye‐affinity chromatography

The most selective purification method for proteins and other biomolecules is affinity chromatography. This method is based on the unique biological‐based specificity of the biomolecule–ligand interaction and commonly uses biological ligands. However, these ligands may present some drawbacks, mainly because of their cost and lability. Dye‐affinity chromatography overcomes the limitations of biological ligands and is widely used owing to the low cost of synthetic dyes and to their resistance to biological and chemical degradation. In this work, immobilized aminosquarylium cyanine dyes are used in order to exploit affinity interactions with standard proteins such as lysozyme, α‐chymotrypsin and trypsin. These studies evaluate the affinity interactions occurring between the immobilized ligand and the different proteins, as a reflection of the sum of several molecular interactions, namely ionic, hydrophobic and van der Waals, spread throughout the structure, in a defined spatial manner. The results show the possibility of using an aminosquarylium cyanine dye bearing a N‐hexyl pendant chain, with a ligand density of 1.8 × 10^?2 mmol of dye/g of chromatographic support, to isolate lysozyme, α‐chymotrypsin and trypsin from a mixture. The application of a decreasing ammonium sulfate gradient resulted in the recovery of lysozyme in the flowthrough. On the other hand, α‐chymotrypsin and trypsin were retained, involving different interactions with the ligand. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the potential applicability of ligands such as aminosquarylium cyanine dyes for the separation and purification of proteins by affinity chromatography. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exact Tests for Interaction in Several 2 × 2 Tables

Abstract

The investigation of interaction in a series of 2 × 2 tables is warranted in a variety of research endeavors. Though many large-sample approaches for such investigations are available, the exact analysis of the problem has been formulated for the probability statistic only. We present several alternative statistics applicable in this context. We also give an efficient polynomial multiplication algorithm to compute exact distributions and tail areas for the family of stratum-additive statistics. Besides the probability statistic, these include the score, likelihood ratio, and other statistics. In addition to comparing, in empirical terms, the diverse computational strategies for exact interaction analysis, we also explore the theoretical linkages between them. Data from published papers are used for illustration.     

Flow-injection spectrophotometric multidetermination of metallic ions with a single reagent exploiting multicommutation and multidetection

A flow system designed by computer-controlled discrete commutation devices is proposed for the multidetermination of metallic ions with a single chromogenic reagent. Intermittent addition of masking agents and changes of the reaction pH were exploited to implement selective determination of four species. Multidetection with an optical-fiber CCD-array spectrophotometer enabled simultaneous measurements at different wavelengths for multidetermination. The proposed system was applied to the determination of iron, copper, nickel and zinc in alloys and pharmaceutical preparations, yielding results in agreement with those obtained by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry at the 95% confidence level. The sampling rate was estimated to be 80 determinations per hour. Coefficients of variation lower than 2% (n = 20) were achieved for all species. Received: 25 October 2000 / Revised: 19 December 2000 / Accepted: 31 December 2000     

Intrinsic and Chemotherapeutic Stressors Modulate ABCC-Like Transport in Trypanosoma cruzi

Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiologic agent for Chagas disease, which affects 6–7 million people worldwide. The biological diversity of the parasite reflects on inefficiency of benznidazole, which is a first choice chemotherapy, on chronic patients. ABC transporters that extrude xenobiotics, metabolites, and mediators are overexpressed in resistant cells and contribute to chemotherapy failure. An ABCC-like transport was identified in the Y strain and extrudes thiol-conjugated compounds. As thiols represent a line of defense towards reactive species, we aimed to verify whether ABCC-like transport could participate in the regulation of responses to stressor stimuli. In order to achieve this, ABCC-like activity was measured by flow cytometry using fluorescent substrates. The present study reveals the participation of glutathione and ceramides on ABCC-like transport, which are both implicated in stress. Hemin modulated the ABCC-like efflux which suggests that this protein might be involved in cellular detoxification. Additionally, all strains evaluated exhibited ABCC-like activity, while no ABCB1-like activity was detected. Results suggest that ABCC-like efflux is not associated with natural resistance to benznidazole, since sensitive strains showed higher activity than the resistant ones. Although benznidazole is not a direct substrate, ABCC-like efflux increased after prolonged drug exposure and this indicates that the ABCC-like efflux mediated protection against cell stress depends on the glutathione biosynthesis pathway.     

Finitely generated invariants of Hopf algebras on free associative algebras

We show that the invariants of a free associative algebra of finite rank under a linear action of a finite-dimensional Hopf algebra generated by group-like and skew-primitive elements form a finitely generated algebra exactly when the action is scalar. This generalizes an analogous result for group actions by automorphisms obtained by Dicks and Formanek, and Kharchenko.     

Diffusion processes in seeded and unseeded SBT thin films with varied stoichiometry

SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) is a bismuth layered perovskite (BLP) with interesting ferroelectric properties for memories applications. The previous study on the synthesis of seeded and unseeded SBT thin films by the authors [G. González Aguilar, M.E.V. Costa, I.M. Miranda Salvado, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 25 (2005) 2331] has shown an increase of the crystallinity of the films and an improvement of the thin film ferroelectric properties when using SBT seeds. However, the detailed role of the seeds as an improver of the thin film properties has not been investigated so far. In the present work we study the role of the seeds, particularly with respect to the reactions between film and (bottom) underlying platinum electrode. The comparison of the results obtained by characterizing the seeded and unseeded thin films via Rutherford backscattering (RBS) and particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) techniques reveals an effective modification of the substrate-thin film interface by the presence of the seeds. Moreover, the evaluation of the thin film ferroelectric properties by atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows an improvement of the local piezoelectric hysteresis loops by the seeds. These seeding effects as well as those observed in non-stoichiometric SBT thin films with different bismuth contents are used to discuss the barrier-like role of the SBT seeds against reactions between film and the platinum electrode and its contribution to the improvement of the thin film properties.