Stability of sulfonamides,nitrofurans, and chloramphenicol residues in preserved raw milk samples measured by liquid chromatography

A stability study was made of 10 antimicrobials: 6 sulfonamides, 3 nitrofurans, and chloramphenicol residues in raw milk samples preserved with 0.1 % potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) and 0.05% mercuric bichloride (HgCl2) during cold storage for 7 days. Preserved milk samples fortified with 50 ppb of each antimicrobial were analyzed by liquid chromatography (modified AOAC Method 993.32). Drugs were extracted with chloroform-acetone after solvent evaporation residues were dissolved with aqueous sodium acetate buffer solution (0.02M, pH 4.8), and fat was removed with hexane. Sulfonamides and chloramphenicol were detected at 275 nm (UV) by using a gradient system of sodium acetate buffer solution-acetonitrile starting at 95 + 5 (v/v) and finishing at 80 + 20 (v/v). Nitrofurans were detected at 375 nm (UV) isocratically with sodium acetate buffer solution-acetonitrile (80 + 20, v/v). Residues stability was measured through recovery data. Sulfamethoxazole, sulfachloropyridazine, nitrofurazone, furazolidone, and furaltadone residues remained stable in the presence of either preservative for 7 days. Sulfamethazine and chloramphenicol were not affected by K2Cr2O7, but had significant losses (p <0.05) when HgCl2 was used: 26.2 and 13.4%, respectively. Average recoveries of sulfamonomethoxine, sulfamerazine, and sulfathiazole significantly decreased by Day 7, with losses of 17.1, 17.2, and 23.2% for K2Cr2O7, and 23.3, 20.7, and 48.0% for HgCl2, respectively. During 5 days of cold storage all antimicrobials tested, except sulfathiazole, remained stable in milk samples preserved with 0.1 % K2Cr2O7 or 0.05% HgCl2.     

Chirality of amyloid suprastructures

Amyloids are pathological fibrillar aggregates of proteins related to more than 20 different diseases. Amyloid fibers have a characteristic cross-beta structure consisting of a series of beta-strands extended perpendicular to the fiber axis and joined by hydrogen bonds parallel to the fiber direction. Fibril aggregation results in helical suprastructures. Here we used high-resolution SEM and cryo-SEM for the study of chirality in the amyloid suprastructure. We found that amyloids of Abeta1-40 and hen lysozyme form at all hierarchical levels always and only left-handed helices. In contrast, amyloid fibers formed by the N-terminal sequence of serum amyloid A (SAA1-12) consist of right-handed helices exclusively. Consistently, the peptide enantiomer, formed of (R)-aminoacids, aggregates exclusively in left-handed helices. We conclude that the opposite handedness of the SAA1-12 amyloids is an intrinsic feature of the peptide structure. The left-handed chirality observed for the Abeta1-40 and hen lysozyme amyloid suprastructures is consistent with the conventional beta-sheet structural model. In contrast, the right-handedness observed in (all-S) SAA1-12 fibers indicates that the cross-beta structure of SAA1-12 fibers is probably not formed of beta-sheets. Whatever the answer to the dilemma of the right-handed helicity of SAA1-12 amyloid fibers is, its existence shows that the supramolecular chirality of amyloid fibers is not only dictated by the molecular chirality of the component molecules but also by their structural organization.     

A Locust-Inspired Model of Collective Marching on Rings

We study the collective motion of autonomous mobile agents in a ringlike environment. The agents’ dynamics are inspired by known laboratory experiments on the dynamics of locust swarms. In these experiments, locusts placed at arbitrary locations and initial orientations on a ring-shaped arena are observed to eventually all march in the same direction. In this work we ask whether, and how fast, a similar phenomenon occurs in a stochastic swarm of simple locust-inspired agents. The agents are randomly initiated as marching either clockwise or counterclockwise on a discretized, wide ring-shaped region, which we subdivide into k concentric tracks of length n. Collisions cause agents to change their direction of motion. To avoid this, agents may decide to switch tracks to merge with platoons of agents marching in their direction. We prove that such agents must eventually converge to a local consensus about their direction of motion, meaning that all agents on each narrow track must eventually march in the same direction. We give asymptotic bounds for the expected time it takes for such convergence or “stabilization” to occur, which depends on the number of agents, the length of the tracks, and the number of tracks. We show that when agents also have a small probability of “erratic”, random track-jumping behavior, a global consensus on the direction of motion across all tracks will eventually be reached. Finally, we verify our theoretical findings in numerical simulations.     

Time-varying tandem queues with blocking: modeling,analysis, and operational insights via fluid models with reflection

In this paper, we develop time-varying fluid models for tandem networks with blocking. Beyond having their own intrinsic value, these mathematical models are also limits of corresponding many-server stochastic systems. We begin by analyzing a two-station tandem network with a general time-varying arrival rate, a finite waiting room before the first station, and no waiting room between the stations. In this model, customers that are referred from the first station to the second when the latter is saturated (blocked) are forced to wait in the first station while occupying a server there. The finite waiting room before the first station causes customer loss and, therefore, requires reflection analysis. We then specialize our model to a single station (many-server fluid limit of the \(G_t/M/N/(N +H)\) queue), generalize it to k stations in tandem, and allow finite internal waiting rooms. Our models yield operational insights into network performance, specifically on the effects of line length, bottleneck location, waiting room size, and the interaction among these effects.     

Density functional theory of transition metal phthalocyanines,I: electronic structure of NiPc and CoPc—self-interaction effects

We present a two-part systematic density functional theory study of the electronic structure of selected transition metal phthalocyanines. We use a semi-local generalized gradient approximation (GGA) functional, as well as several hybrid exchange-correlation functionals, and compare the results to experimental photoemission data. Here, we study the low-spin systems NiPc and CoPc. We show that hybrid functionals provide computed photoemission spectra in excellent agreement with experimental data, whereas the GGA functional fails qualitatively. This failure is primarily because of under-binding of localized orbitals due to self-interaction errors.     

Heavy ion beam polarization produced by the multi-tilted-foil interaction

Nuclear polarization of the 7/2^? ground-state of⁵¹V was produced via the Multi-Tilted-Foil (MTF) interaction with a V beam. The induced polarization was determined by measuring the left-right asymmetry of Coulomb excited⁵¹V nuclei and, for a⁵¹V beam at E=100 MeV, was measured to beP _I =0.012(2). The nuclear polarization was also induced atE=50 MeV and, after further acceleration, determined at E=195 MeV to be P_I=0.010(1). These experiments demonstrate the feasibility of polarizing a great variety of heavy-ion beams at arbitrary velocities with subsequent acceleration and passage through magnetic beam-optics elements. Such polarization, albeit small, can be utilized for the determination of electromagnetic moments of exotic beams and separated reaction products.     

Construction of conducting and photoconducting 3D structures with submicron resolution in electrooptical substrates

It is shown that the implantation of protons in electrooptical substrates enables the construction of 3D structures with submicron features that are both conductive and photoconductive embedded in amorphized regions that possess reduced refractive index. The conductivity and photoconductivity are attributed to the transformation of the material into a degenerate semiconductor due to the formation of high concentration of OH⁻ complexes that are created by the bonding of the implanted H⁺ ions to the O⁻² ions of the lattice. It is argued that these results extend significantly the capabilities of integrated photonic circuits and devices fabricated by Refractive Index Engineering by ion implantations.     

Carbon nanotubes in emulsion‐templated porous polymers: Polymer nanoparticles,sulfonation, and conductivity

Sulfonated polymers are of interest for ion exchange resins, reaction supports, and membranes for separation, filtration, fuel cells, and electrochemical devices. Sulfonic groups have been introduced into polystyrene (PS) through exposure to sulfuric acid, and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been added to polymers to enhance proton conductivity without creating an electronic percolation pathway. PolyHIPEs, emulsion‐templated porous polymers with highly interconnected hierarchical open‐cell porous structures, are synthesized through polymerization in the external phases of high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). In this article, the synthesis of PS‐based CNT‐filled polyHIPEs, their structure, sulfonation, and conductivity are described. Adding CNT dispersions to the HIPEs produced polymer nanoparticle–covered polyHIPEs from polymerization within the water‐soluble surfactant micelles in the internal aqueous phase droplets. The CNTs migrated from the HIPE's aqueous phase droplets into the HIPE's organic phase and formed interconnected bundles within the polyHIPE walls, reflecting a reduction in the surfactant's ability to disperse the CNTs. The water adsorption in the hygroscopic sulfonated polyHIPEs increased the conductivity by several orders of magnitude. The conductivity of the sulfonated polyHIPE containing CNTs was more than an order of magnitude greater than that of the sulfonated polyHIPEs with no CNTs. The CNTs act as “bridges,” enhancing the connection between existing conductive pathways. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 4369–4377     

Magnetic moments of mirror nuclei with tilted-foil polarization

We report here on an ongoing experimental program initiated at the ISOLDE facility at CERN for the measurement of magnetic moments of short-lived radionuclides, with the emphasis on magnetic moments of mirror nuclei in far-from-stability regions. The nuclei are polarized by the tilted foil technique and the resulting 0–180^○ βasymmetry is monitored as a function of rf frequency applied in an NMR setup. In order to achieve sufficiently high energy for transmission through the foils, the experimental setup is mounted on a high voltage platform. The first experiment in this program was the measurement of the βasymmetry and the NMR resonance for the ground state of ²³Mg (I=3/2, T_1/2=11.3 s), yielding μ=−0.533(6) nm. Improvements to the experimental setup are presently being designed, to be used in conjunction with the new developments at ISOLDE for obtaining high charge-state ions from the EBIS (REX-ISOLDE) ion source. This will help pave the way for measurements of magnetic moments of T=3/2 nuclei in the s–d shell and of T=1/2 f-shell nuclei. The study of relaxation times and other solid-state phenomena in semiconductors and other materials of interest using this technique is also contemplated. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.