Determination of selenium in bread-wheat samples grown under a Se-supplementation regime in actual field conditions

Selenium is an essential micronutrient for humans and animals, yet it is deficient in at least one billion people worldwide. Plants and plant-derived products transfer the soil-uptaken selenium to humans; therefore, the cultivation of plants enriched in selenium can be an effective way to improve the selenium status on humankind. This paper focuses on determining the ability of bread wheat to accumulate selenium after supplementation. One of the methods for supplementing this element in plants is foliar application with selenium solutions. These supplemented crop of wheat samples—bread wheat; Triticum aestivum L.—were used to determine if there is an increase of selenium content in cereal grains by comparing them with cereals cultivated in 2009 and harvested in 2010 with no supplementation. The experiments were done using sodium selenate and sodium selenite at three different selenium concentrations: 4, 20 and 100 g per hectare. Total Se is assessed by cyclic neutron activation analysis (CNAA), through short irradiations on the fast pneumatic system (SIPRA) of the Portuguese Research Reactor (RPI-ITN). The short-lived nuclide ^77mSe, that features a half-lifetime of 17.5 s, was used to determine the Se content in SIPRA. The experiment was successful, since the selenium concentration increased in the cropped grains and reached values up to 35 times the non-supplemented ones.     

(1)H relaxivity of water in aqueous suspensions of Gd(3+)-loaded NaY nanozeolites and AlTUD-1 mesoporous material: the influence of Si/Al ratio and pore size

The results of a (1)H nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion (NMRD) and EPR study on aqueous suspensions of Gd(3+)-loaded NaY nanozeolites and AlTUD-1 mesoporous material are described. Upon increase of the Si/Al ratio from 1.7 to 4.0 in the Gd(3+)-loaded zeolites, the relaxation rate per mM Gd(3+) (r1) at 40 MHz and 25 degrees C increases from 14 to 27 s(-)1 mM(-1). The NMRD and EPR data were fitted with a previously developed two-step model that considers the system as a concentrated aqueous solution of Gd(3+) in the interior of the zeolite that is in exchange with the bulk water outside the zeolite. The results show that the observed increase in relaxivity can mainly be attributed to the residence lifetime of the water protons in the interior of the material, which decreased from 0.3 to 0.2 micros, upon the increase of the Si/Al ratio. This can be explained by the decreased interaction of water with the zeolite walls as a result of the increased hydrophobicity. The importance of the exchange rate of water between the inside and the outside of the material was further demonstrated by the relatively high relaxivity (33 s(-1) mM(-1) at 40 MHz, 25 degrees C) observed for a suspension of the Gd(3+)-loaded mesoporous material AlTUD-1. Unfortunately, Gd(3+) leaches rather easily from that material, but not from the Gd(3+)-loaded NaY zeolites, which may have potential as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging.     

Ring current effects in crystals. Evidence from 13C chemical shift tensors for intermolecular shielding in 4,7-di-t-butylacenaphthene versus 4,7-di-t-butylacenaphthylene

13C chemical shift tensor data from 2D FIREMAT spectra are reported for 4,7-di-t-butylacenaphthene and 4,7-di-t-butylacenaphthylene. In addition, calculations of the chemical shielding tensors were completed at the B3LYP/6-311G** level of theory. While the experimental tensor data on 4,7-di-t-butylacenaphthylene are in agreement with theory and with previous data on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the experimental and theoretical data on 4,7-di-t-butylacenaphthene lack agreement. Instead, larger than usual differences are observed between the experimental chemical shift components and the chemical shielding tensor components calculated on a single molecule of 4,7-di-t-butylacenaphthene, with a root mean square (rms) error of +/-7.0 ppm. The greatest deviation is concentrated in the component perpendicular to the aromatic plane, with the largest value being a 23 ppm difference between experiment and theory for the 13CH2 carbon delta11 component. These differences are attributed to an intermolecular chemical shift that arises from the graphitelike, stacked arrangement of molecules found in the crystal structure of 4,7-di-t-butylacenaphthene. This conclusion is supported by a calculation on a trimer of molecules, which improves the agreement between experiment and theory for this component by 14 ppm and reduces the overall rms error between experiment and theory to 4.0 ppm. This intermolecular effect may be modeled with the use of nuclei independent chemical shieldings (NICS) calculations and is also observed in the isotropic 1H chemical shift of the CH2 protons as a 4.2 ppm difference between the solution value and the solid-state chemical shift measured via a 13C-1H heteronuclear correlation experiment.     

Diffusioosmosis of electrolyte solutions in a fine capillary tube

A theoretical study is presented for the steady diffusioosmotic flow of an electrolyte solution in a fine capillary tube generated by a constant concentration gradient imposed in the axial direction. The capillary wall may have either a constant surface potential or a constant surface charge density of an arbitrary quantity. The electric double layer adjacent to the charged wall may have an arbitrary thickness, and its electrostatic potential distribution is determined by an analytical approximation to the solution of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. Solving a modified Navier-Stokes equation with the constraint of no net electric current arising from the cocurrent diffusion, electric migration, and diffusioosmotic convection of the electrolyte ions, the macroscopic electric field and the fluid velocity along the axial direction induced by the imposed electrolyte concentration gradient are obtained semianalytically as a function of the radial position in a self-consistent way. The direction of the diffusioosmotic flow relative to the concentration gradient is determined by the combination of the zeta potential (or surface charge density) of the wall, the properties of the electrolyte solution, and other relevant factors. For a prescribed concentration gradient of an electrolyte, the magnitude of fluid velocity at a position in general increases with an increase in its distance from the capillary wall, but there are exceptions. The effect of the radial distribution of the induced tangential electric field and the relaxation effect due to ionic convection in the double layer on the diffusioosmotic flow are found to be very significant.     

Luminescent Di‐ and Trinuclear Boron Complexes Based on Aromatic Iminopyrrolyl Spacer Ligands: Synthesis,Characterization, and Application in OLEDs

New bis‐ and tris(iminopyrrole)‐functionalized linear (1,2‐(HNC₄H₃‐C(H)?N)₂‐C₆H₄ ( 2 ), 1,3‐(HNC₄H₃‐C(H)?N)₂‐C₆H₄ ( 3 ), 1,4‐(HNC₄H₃‐C(H)?N)₂‐C₆H₄ ( 4 ), 4,4′‐(HNC₄H₃‐C(H)?N)₂‐(C₆H₄‐C₆H₄) ( 5 ), 1,5‐(HNC₄H₃C‐(H)?N)₂‐C₁₀H₆ ( 6 ), 2,6‐(HNC₄H₃C‐(H)?N)₂‐C₁₀H₆ ( 7 ), 2,6‐(HNC₄H₃C‐(H)?N)₂‐C₁₄H₈ ( 8 )) and star‐shaped (1,3,5‐(HNC₄H₃‐C(H)?N‐1,4‐C₆H₄)₃‐C₆H₃ ( 9 )) π‐conjugated molecules were synthesized by the condensation reactions of 2‐formylpyrrole ( 1 ) with several aromatic di‐ and triamines. The corresponding linear diboron chelate complexes (Ph₂B[1,3‐bis(iminopyrrolyl)‐phenyl]BPh₂ ( 10 ), Ph₂B[1,4‐bis(iminopyrrolyl)‐phenyl]BPh₂ ( 11 ), Ph₂B[4,4′‐bis(iminopyrrolyl)‐biphenyl]BPh₂ ( 12 ), Ph₂B[1,5‐bis(iminopyrrolyl)‐naphthyl]BPh₂ ( 13 ), Ph₂B[2,6‐bis(iminopyrrolyl)‐naphthyl]BPh₂ ( 14 ), Ph₂B[2,6‐bis(iminopyrrolyl)‐anthracenyl]BPh₂ ( 15 )) and the star‐shaped triboron complex ([4′,4′′,4′′′‐tris(iminopyrrolyl)‐1,3,5‐triphenylbenzene](BPh₂)₃ ( 16 )) were obtained in moderate to good yields, by the treatment of 3 – 9 with B(C₆H₅)₃. The ligand precursors are non‐emissive, whereas most of their boron complexes are highly fluorescent; their emission color depends on the π‐conjugation length. The photophysical properties of the luminescent polyboron compounds were measured, showing good solution fluorescence quantum yields ranging from 0.15 to 0.69. DFT and time‐dependent DFT calculations confirmed that molecules 10 and 16 are blue emitters, because only one of the iminopyrrolyl groups becomes planar in the singlet excited state, whereas the second (and third) keeps the same geometry. Compound 13 , in which planarity is not achieved in any of the groups, is poorly emissive. In the other examples ( 11 , 12 , 14 , and 15 ), the LUMO is stabilized, narrowing the gap between the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO), and the two iminopyrrolyl groups become planar, extending the size of the π‐system, to afford green to yellow emissions. Organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) were fabricated by using the new polyboron complexes and their luminance was found to be in the order of 2400 cd m^?2, for single layer devices, increasing to 4400 cd m^?2 when a hole‐transporting layer is used.     

A General and Mild Catalytic α‐Alkylation of Unactivated Esters Using Alcohols

Catalytic α‐alkylation of esters with primary alcohols is a desirable process because it uses low‐toxicity agents and generates water as the by‐product. Reported herein is a NCP pincer/Ir catalyst which is highly efficient for α‐alkylation of a broad scope of unactivated esters under mild reaction conditions. For the first time, alcohols alkylate unactivated α‐substituted acyclic esters, lactones, and even methyl and ethyl acetates. This method can be applied to the synthesis of carboxylic acid derivatives with diverse structures and functional groups, some of which would be impossible to access by conventional enolate alkylations with alkyl halides.     

Preparation of a monolith functionalized with zinc oxide nanoparticles and its application in the enrichment of fluoroquinolone antibiotics

This study describes the enrichment ability of ZnO‐modified methacrylic acid‐co‐ethylene dimethacrylate polymer monoliths as stationary phases for the simultaneous determination of antibiotics (ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, enoxacin, and pefloxacin) combined with high‐performance liquid chromatography. The prepared monolith was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier‐transformed infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The polymer monolith microextraction method has been applied to the enrichment of fluoroquinolone antibiotics and satisfactory results were obtained in the analysis of water samples. Compared with the conventional methacrylic acid based monolith, the developed monolith exhibited a higher enrichment capacity because of the introduction of zinc oxide into the preparation process.     

Efficient Two‐Photon Excited Amplified Spontaneous Emission from Organic Single Crystals

E, E‐1, 4‐bis[4′‐(N,N‐dibutylamino)styryl]‐2,5‐dimethoxy‐benzene (DBASDMB) organic crystals with high crystalline quality, large size and excellent optical properties are prepared. The linear and nonlinear properties in the crystal are comparatively studied. The relaxation dynamics pumped by two‐photon are very similar with that pumped by one‐photon. The crystal exhibits very strong two‐photon excited fluorescence and amplified spontaneous emission. Efficient two‐photon absorption, reasonably high fluorescent quantum efficiency, and high crystal quality together with stimulated emission make organic crystals ideal for the application in frequency upconversion and other optoelectronic fields.     

Fullerenes as unique nanopharmaceuticals for disease treatment

As unique nanoparticles, fullerenes have attracted much attention due to their unparalleled physical, chemical and biological properties. Various functionalized fullerenes with -OH, -NH₂, -COOH, and peptide modifications were developed. It summarized the biological activities of fullerenes derivatives in cancer therapy with high efficiency and low toxicity, as reactive oxygen species scavenger and lipid peroxidation inhibitor, to inhibit human immunodeficiency virus and to suppress bacteria and microbial at low concentration. In addition, the mechanism for fullerene to enter cells and biodistribution of fullerene in vivo was also discussed. This research focuses on the current understanding of fullerenes-based nanomaterials in the potential clinical application as well as biological mechanism of fullerenes and its derivatives in disease therapy.     

A novel three-dimensional pillared-layer hybrid zinc phosphite featuring double-helical channels

A new zinc phosphite (C₂H₈N₂)_0.5(HPO₃)Zn has been hydrothermally synthesized from a mixture of ZnO, H₃PO₃, 4,4’-bipyridine, ethylenediamine, and H₂O. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the Zn ions are first interconnected by HPO₃ ²- ligands to produce a neutrally infinite two-dimensional inorganic layer with four- and eight-membered rings, which is further used as the second building units and helically pillared by bridging ethylenediamine molecules to form the scarcely reported three-dimensional pillared-layer hybrid zinc phosphite with double-helical channels due to the flexibility of the ethylenediamine ligands.