Spectrophotometric determination of a thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance in human hair.

A simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of a thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) in human hair has been developed. The proposed method is based on the formation of a red-colored product by the reaction of products of lipid peroxidation with thiobarbituric acid in an acidic medium. The absorbance of the resulting red product was measured at 534 nm. The linear dynamic range was between 1.0 and 20 micromol/L. The recoveries were 98.3-105.0%, and the relative standard deviations (RSD) were 0.32-1.24, respectively. TBARS in digested hair sample was stable for 3 days at room temperature. It was found that, using this method, the hair TBARS concentration in smokers (0.116 +/- 0.030 micromol/g, n = 30) was significantly higher than that in non-smokers (0.096 +/- 0.015 micromol/g, n = 30) (p < 0.05).     

A fuzzy clustering approach to real-time demand-responsive bus dispatching control

Quick response (QR) to passenger needs is a key objective for advanced public transportation systems (APTS), and it has become increasingly important for contemporary metropolitan bus operations to gain a competitive advantage over private transportation. This paper presents a real-time control methodology for demand-responsive bus operations that respond quickly to passenger needs. The proposed method primarily involves two levels of functionality: (1) short-term forecasting of passenger demands using time-series prediction models, and (2) identification of service strategies coupled with the associated bus service segments using fuzzy clustering technologies in response to variances in passenger demand attributes and traffic conditions. The proposed bus operations method identifies the demand-responsive vehicle service strategies primarily according to the predicted up-to-date attributes of passengers’ demands, rather than deterministic passenger arrival rates, which were generally used in previous literature. In addition, the variation of traffic conditions along bus lines is considered in the proposed method. Results from numerical studies using real data of passengers’ demands, including passenger volume at each bus stop and the passenger origin-destination (O-D) patterns, are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for real-world applications.     

Quantization of the PoissonSU(2) and its Poisson homogeneous space — The 2-sphere

We show that deformation quantizations of the Poisson structures on the Poisson Lie groupSU(2) and its homogeneous space, the 2-sphere, are compatible with Woronowicz's deformation quantization ofSU(2)'s group structure and Podles' deformation quantization of 2-sphere's homogeneous structure, respectively. So in a certain sense the multiplicativity of the Lie Poisson structure onSU(2) at the classical level is preserved under quantization.With an Appendix by Jiang-Hua Lu and Alan Weinstein Department of Mathematics, University of California, Berkely, CA 94720 USAPartially supported by NSF-Grant DMS-8505550     

Differential Games of inf-sup Type and Isaacs Equations

Motivated by the work of Fleming, we provide a general framework to associate inf-sup type values with the Isaacs equations. We show that upper and lower bounds for the generators of inf-sup type are upper and lower Hamiltonians, respectively. In particular, the lower (resp. upper) bound corresponds to the progressive (resp. strictly progressive) strategy. By the Dynamic Programming Principle and identification of the generator, we can prove that the inf-sup type game is characterized as the unique viscosity solution of the Isaacs equation. We also discuss the Isaacs equation with a Hamiltonian of a convex combination between the lower and upper Hamiltonians.     

Semiconducting tellurium-iron-copper carbonyl polymers

The unprecedented ternary Te-Fe-Cu chain polymers [{Et4N}{TeFe3(CO)9Cu}]infinity and [{TeFe3(CO)9Cu2}(mu-4,4'-dipyridyl)1.5]infinity were prepared from the self-assembly of [Et4N]2[TeFe3(CO)9] with [Cu(MeCN)4][BF4] in THF or in the presence of 4,4'-dipyridyl in THF. These two chain polymers, which can also be constructed from the precursor complex TeFe3(CO)9Cu2(MeCN)2, show semiconducting behaviors with low band gaps of 0.59 and 0.41 eV, respectively. In addition, their conductivity and the effect of the bridging ligand are further elucidated by theoretical calculations.     

Molecular dynamics of hydrogen bonds in protein-D2O: the solvent isotope effect

We suggest that the H-bond in proteins not only mirrors the motion of hydrogen in its own atomistic setting but also finds its origin in the collective environment of the hydrogen bond in a global lattice of surrounding H2O molecules. This water lattice is being perturbed in its optimal entropic configuration by the motion of the H-bond. Furthermore, bonding interaction with the lattice drop the H-bond energy from some 5 kcal/mol for the pure protein in the absence of H2O, to some 1.6 kcal/mol in the presence of the H2O medium. This low value here is determined in a computer experiment involving MD calculations and is a value close to the generally accepted value for biological systems. In accordance with these computer experiments under ambient conditions, the H-bond energy is seriously depressed, hence confirming the subtle effect of the H2O medium directly interacting with the H-bond and permitting a strong fluxional behavior. Furthermore, water produces a very large change in the entropy of activation due to the hydrogen bond breakage, which affects the rate by as much as 2 orders of magnitude. We also observe that there is an entire ensemble of H-bond structures, rather than a single transition state, all of which contribute to this H-bond. Here the model is tested by changing to D2O as the surrounding medium resulting in a substantial solvent isotope effect. This demonstrates the important influence of the environment on the individual hydrogen bond.     

Bioactive Components from the Mycelium of Antrodia Salmonea

Three new compounds, 2,4‐dimethoxy‐6‐methylbenzene‐1,3‐diol ( 1 ), salmoquinone ( 2 ), and 3‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐4‐isobutyl‐1H‐pyrrole‐2,5‐dione ( 3 ), together with six known compounds, 2‐methoxy‐6‐methyl‐p‐benzoquinone ( 4 ), 2,3‐dimethoxy‐5‐methyl‐p‐benzoquinone ( 5 ), 2‐hydroxy‐5‐methoxy‐3‐methyl‐p‐benzoquinone ( 6 ), eburcoic acid ( 7 ), fomefficinic acid C ( 8 ), and a pyrroledione ( 9 ), were isolated from the mycelium of Antrodia salmonea. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectrometric analyses including IR, NMR, and MS. Among these compounds, 4 and 5 exhibited cytotoxicity against KB, HepG2, and H2058 cell lines.     

Amberlyst‐15‐Catalyzed Novel Synthesis of Quinoline Derivatives in Ionic Liquid

In recent years, ionic liquids have attracted much attention as useful synthetic solvents. Compared with classical molecular solvents, the ionic liquids are environmentally benign reaction media. A variety of quinoline derivatives have been synthesized under ionic liquid conditions using Amberlyst‐15 as catalyst.     

Briarenolides A-C, briarane diterpenoids from the gorgonian coral Briareum sp.

Chemical investigation on the gorgonian coral Briareum sp. has led to the isolation of six oxygenated briaran diterpenes 1-6, including three new compounds briarenolides A-C (1-3). The structures of 1-3 were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis and by comparison of their spectral data with those of related metabolites. Among these metabolites, 1 and 2 are rarely found 9-ketobriaranes. Also, 1 is the first briarane derivative possessing a 20-hydroxy group.     

Xeniaphyllane-derived terpenoids from the formosan soft coral Sinularia gibberosa

New xeniaphyllane-derived metabolites (1-7) were isolated from the EtOAc extract of the Formosan soft coral Sinularia gibberosa. The structures and relative configurations of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis (including 2D NMR) and by comparison of their spectral data with those of related compounds. In vitro cytotoxic evaluation of the above metabolites towards a limited panel of cancer cell lines is also described.