Electrochemical studies and square wave adsorptive stripping voltammetry of the antidepressant fluoxetine

The electrochemical reduction of the antidepressant drug fluoxetine was investigated by cyclic, linear sweep, differential pulse and square wave voltammetry using a hanging mercury drop electrode in alkaline buffer solution in water and in a water/acetonitrile mixed solvent. Cyclic voltammograms in aqueous solution showed very strong adsorption of fluoxetine on the electrode with formation of a compact film. The effect of addition of different percentages of acetonitrile on the voltammetric response was evaluated. It is shown that acetonitrile protects the electrode surface, thus preventing the adsorption of fluoxetine as a compact film, although reduction occurs at more negative potentials. Adsorption was used to accumulate the drug onto the electrode surface. The adsorbed species were measured voltammetrically by reduction at -1.3 V in an aqueous 0.05 M Ringer buffer, pH 12, 20% acetonitrile v/v. Linear calibration graphs were obtained in the range 0.52-5.2 M. The quantification of fluoxetine in pharmacological formulations existing in the market was performed using adsorptive square wave cathodic stripping voltammetry. and compared with data from UV spectrophotometry. The method is simple and not time-consuming. A comparative high performance liquid chromatography assay with UV detection was performed. Recovery data for both methods are reported.     

Synthesis of (±)-1-(2,6,6-trimethyl-4-hydroxycyclohexenyl)-1,3-butanedione (1), a marine natural product

A short synthesis of racemic natural product (1) from the known compound (7) is described. A model study, using cyclochexanone as starting material, is also reported.     

The Reactivity Of singlet carbenes. An ab initio study

The energy barriers for the addition to ethylene of a series of carbenes have been calculated at an ab initio level. using the STO-3G and 3-21G basis sets. It is shown that the usual extrapolation of experiment results, which predicts that the reactivity of carbenes decreases when increasing its nucleophilic character, is not valid.     

Mixing of non-Newtonian fluids in steadily forced systems

We investigate mixing in a viscoelastic and shear-thinning fluid-a very common combination in polymers and suspensions. We find that competition between elastic and viscous forces generates self-similar mixing, lobe transport, and other characteristics of chaos. The mechanism by which chaos is produced is evaluated both in experiments and in a simple model. We find that chaotic flow is generated by spontaneous oscillations, the magnitude and frequency of which govern the extent of chaos and mixing.     

Existence of Baryons,Baryon Spectrum and Mass Splitting in Strong Coupling Lattice QCD

We consider a functional integral formulation for one-flavor lattice Quantum Chromodynamics in d=2,3 space dimensions and imaginary time, and work in the regime of the small hopping parameter , and zero plaquette coupling. Following the standard construction, this model exhibits positivity which is used to obtain the underlying physical Hilbert space . Then, using a Feynman-Kac formalism, we write the correlation functions for the model as functional integrals over the space of Grassmannian (fermionic) fields for one quark specie and the SU(3) gauge fields. We determine the energy-momentum spectrum associated with gauge invariant local baryon (anti-baryon) fields which are composites of three quark (anti-quark) fields. With the associated correlation functions, we establish a Feynman-Kac formula, and a spectral representation for the Fourier transform of the two-point functions. This representation allows us to show that baryons and anti-baryons arise as tightly bound, bound states of three (anti-)quarks. Labelling the components of the baryon fields by s=3/2,1/2,-1/2,-3/2, we show that the baryon and anti-baryon mass spectrum only depends on |s|, and the associated masses are given by M_s= –3ln+r_s(), where r_s() is real analytic in , for each d=2,3. The mass splitting is M_3/2–M_1/2=18⁶, for d=2 and, if any, is at least of (⁷), for d=3. In the subspace _o generated by an odd number of fermions, the baryon and anti-baryon energy-momentum dispersion curves are isolated up to near the baryon-meson threshold –5ln (upper gap property), identical and are determined up to (⁵). The symmetries of coordinate reflections, spatial lattice rotations, parity and charge conjugation are established for the correlation functions, and are shown to be implemented on by unitary (anti-unitary, for time reversal) operators.     

Supermassive Black Holes May Be Limited by the Holographic Bound

Supermassive Black Holes are the most entropic objects found in the universe. The Holographic Bound (HB) to the entropy is used to constrain their formation time with initial masses 10^6–8 M , as inferred from observations. We find that the entropy considerations are more limiting than causality for this direct formation. Later we analyze the possibility of SMBHs growing from seed black holes. The growth of the initial mass is studied in the case of accretion of pure radiation and quintessence fields, and we find that there is a class of models that may allow this metamorphosis. Our analysis generalizes recent work for some models of quintessence capable of producing a substantial growth in a short time, while simultaneously obeying the causal and Holographic Bound limits.     

Low field intermolecular double-quantum coherence imaging via the Overhauser effect

Intermolecular double-quantum coherence (i-DQC) signals in liquids are usually associated with high magnetic fields. We demonstrate that, in a magnetic field of only 16mT, i-DQC imaging of water protons is feasible thanks to the nuclear magnetization enhancement produced by the Overhauser effect. i-DQC images of a phantom containing an aqueous solution of a trityl free radical, with phase encoding in the DQC evolution period or in the acquisition period, are presented. Possible applications of low field i-MQC images are proposed.     

Differential Simplicity in Polynomial Rings and Algebraic Independence of Power Series

Let k be a field of characteristic zero, f(X,Y), g(X,Y)k[X,Y],g(X,Y) (X,Y) and d:=g(X,Y)/X + f(X,Y)/Y. A connection is establishedbetween the d-simplicity of the local ring k[X,Y]_(X,Y) and thetranscendency of the solution in tk[[t]] of the algebraic differentialequation g(t,y(t))·(/t)y(t)+f(t,y(t)). This connectionis used to obtain some interesting results in the theory ofthe formal power series and to construct new examples of differentiallysimple rings.     

Holomorphic K-Theory, Algebraic Co-cycles, and Loop Groups

In this paper we study the holomorphic K-theory of a projective variety. This K-theory is defined in terms of the homotopy type of spaces of holomorphic maps from the variety to Grassmannians and loop groups. This theory is built out of studying algebraic bundles over a variety up to algebraic equivalence. In this paper we will give calculations of this theory for flag like varieties which include projective spaces, Grassmannians, flag manifolds, and more general homogeneous spaces, and also give a complete calculation for symmetric products of projective spaces. Using the algebraic geometric definition of the Chern character studied by the authors we will show that there is a rational isomorphism of graded rings between holomorphic K-theory and the appropriate morphic cohomology groups, in terms of algebraic co-cycles in the variety. In so doing we describe a geometric model for rational morphic cohomology groups in terms of the homotopy type of the space of algebraic maps from the variety to the symmetrized loop group U(n)/ _n where the symmetric group _n acts on U(n) via conjugation. This is equivalent to studying algebraic maps to the quotient of the infinite Grassmannians BU(k) by a similar symmetric group action. We then use the Chern character isomorphism to prove a conjecture of Friedlander and Walker stating that if one localizes holomorphic K-theory by inverting the Bott class, then rationally this is isomorphic to topological K-theory. Finally this will allows us to produce explicit obstructions to periodicity in holomorphic K-theory, and show that these obstructions vanish for generalized flag mani-folds.