A light-scattering study of deformation of liquid-crystalline spherulites of poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate) in an electric field

The deformation of liquid-crystalline spherulites of poly(γ-benzyl-L -glutamate) (PBLG) in an electric field was investigated by light scattering, polarized-light microscopy, and birefringence measurements. Under the polarizing microscope, the deformation was found to be dependent upon the field strength. The spherulites deformed perpendicular to the field. Above 75 V/cm in N,N-dimethylformamide or 120 V/cm in 1,1,2-trichloroethane, the deformed spherulites were transformed to rodlike textures. With increasing voltage, the rods gradually oriented parallel to the electric field. On the basis of the experimental results, models for affine deformation are proposed. With these models, light-scattering patterns are calculated. The calculated and experimental patterns agree semiquantitatively.     

Polytypic phase transition in alkyl chain-functionalized valence tautomeric complexes

A novel series of valence tautomeric (VT) complexes, [Co(Cnbpy)(3,5-DTBQ)2] (Cnbpy = 4,4'-dialkyl-2,2'-bipyridine (alkyl = (C(n)H(2n+1)) where n = 0 (CoC0bpy), 1 (CoC1bpy), 5 (CoC5bpy), 9 (CoC9bpy) and 13 (CoC13bpy); 3,5-DTBQ = 3,5-di-tert-butylsemiquinonate or catecholate), including two previously reported complexes (CoC0bpy and CoC1bpy), were systematically prepared and their properties examined. Introduction of alkyl groups into VT chromophores leads to unexpected variations in the VT process, depending on the lengths of the alkyl chains. An even more interesting observation is that significant polytypic phase transitions with crystallographic symmetry changes accompanying the abrupt VT conversion are induced for the first time in CoC9bpy and CoC13bpy.     

Synthesis of 1-beta-O-acyl glucuronides of diclofenac, mefenamic acid and (S)-naproxen by the chemo-selective enzymatic removal of protecting groups from the corresponding methyl acetyl derivatives

Using a straightforward chemo-enzymatic procedure, 1-beta-O-acyl glucuronides of three non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, diclofenac (DF) 5, mefenamic acid (MF) 6 and (S)-naproxen (NP) 7, were prepared. Caesium salts of these carboxylic acid drugs reacted with commercially available methyl 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-1-bromo-1-deoxy-alpha-D-glucopyranuronate 4 to give exclusively the corresponding 1-beta-O-acyl glucuronides 8-10 in moderate yields. The protecting acetyl (for -OH group) and methyl ester (for -CO2H group) groups of each sugar moiety were easily removed to provide the corresponding free 1-beta-O-acyl glucuronides 1-3 in high yields. Deprotection was achieved through effective enzyme-catalysed chemo-selective hydrolyses of the acetyl groups using lipase AS Amano (LAS), and of the methyl ester group using esterase from porcine liver (PLE).     

Determination of selenium in sediment by isotope-dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with an octapole reaction cell

A method is described for determination of selenium in sediment by isotope-dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with an octapole reaction cell (ID–ICP–ORCMS). Sediment samples were digested with HNO₃, HClO₄, and HF, and the digestion included an elaborate evaporation process to remove bromine from the digested solution. Simple strong cation-exchange disk filtration was used to remove rare earth elements (REE) from the digested solution, because REE²⁺ seriously interfere with Se isotopes (i.e. ¹⁵⁶Gd²⁺ with ⁷⁸Se⁺, ¹⁶⁰Gd²⁺ with ⁸⁰Se⁺). Addition of acetic acid to the filtrate was examined to improve the sensitivity of ICP–ORCMS measurement of Se⁺ by means of a carbon-enhancement effect. The interfering for selenium isotopes were almost eliminated by use of H₂ as reaction gas. Interference from BrH⁺ formed in the reaction cell was negligible because the Br was removed in the evaporation process. Approximately 99.5% of REE were removed by cation-exchange disk filtration yet more than 99% of Se remained in the filtrate solution. The intensity for Se⁺ was enhanced approximately fourfold by addition of 5% (v/v) of acetic acid whereas that for was barely enhanced. Measured ⁸⁰Se/⁷⁸Se ratios in unspiked digested solutions of the sample were in good agreement with that for an Se standard solution. The analytical results for Se in the certified reference materials MESS-3 and PACS-1 were in good agreement with their certified values, with small uncertainties.      

Photo-control of kinesin-microtubule motility using caged peptides derived from the kinesin C-terminus domain

To design a nanoscale biodevice that can be controlled by an external stimulus, we have introduced photochemical switching peptides derived from the kinesin C-terminus domain into the kinesin-microtubule in vitro motility system.     

Conservative numerical schemes for the Ostrovsky equation

The Ostrovsky equation describes gravity waves under the influence of Coriolis force. It is known that solutions of this equation conserve the L² norm and an energy function that is determined non-locally. In this paper we propose four conservative numerical schemes for this equation: a finite difference scheme and a pseudospectral scheme that conserve the norm, and the same types of schemes that conserve the energy. A numerical comparison of these schemes is also provided, which indicates that the energy conservative schemes perform better than the norm conservative schemes.     

Superquadratic convergence of DLASQ for computing matrix singular values

DLASQ is a routine in LAPACK for computing the singular values of a real upper bidiagonal matrix with high accuracy. The basic algorithm, the so-called dqds algorithm, was first presented by Fernando-Parlett, and implemented as the DLASQ routine by Parlett-Marques. DLASQ is now recognized as one of the most efficient routines for computing singular values. In this paper, we prove the asymptotic superquadratic convergence of DLASQ in exact arithmetic.     

Sinc-collocation methods for weakly singular Fredholm integral equations of the second kind

In this paper we propose new numerical methods for linear Fredholm integral equations of the second kind with weakly singular kernels. The methods are developed by means of the Sinc approximation with smoothing transformations, which is an effective technique against the singularities of the equations. Numerical examples show that the methods achieve exponential convergence, and in this sense the methods improve conventional results where only polynomial convergence have been reported so far.     

SAXD studies on bulk crystallization of nylon 6.I. Changes in crystal structure,heat of fusion,and surface free energy of lamellar crystals with crystallization temperature

Measurements of small-angle x-ray diffraction (SAXD) were performed for nylon 6 samples quenched from the melt at various crystallization temperatures T (°K). The spacing estimated from the position of maximum intensity in a SAXD diagram, which is assumed to be equal to the thickness of lamellar crystals ?, decreases with the decrease of T. The behavior was analyzed in terms of nucleation theory. In applying the theory. the contribution of γ-form crystals for the samples crystallized at lower T was considered. For this purpose wide-angle x-ray diffraction and infrared data obtained for the same samples used in SAXD measurements were used. It was shown that the relation of ? versus T deviates remarkably from the theoretical prediction under the premise that the surface free energy σ_e (ergs/square centimeter) is constant with T. We present an approach to the analysis of the data from the standpoint that σ_e is a parameter changing with T, where σ_e should be interpreted as related to the degree of irregularity of the fold surface of lamellar crystals. The values of σ_e thus obtained increase with increasing undercooling δT, where δT = T_m ? T, with T_m (°K) being the melting point. SAXD data of polyethylene reported earlier by Mandelkern et al. were analyzed from the same standpoint, and it was found that the values of σ_e increase with δT/T_m in a similar manner for both nylon 6 and polyethylene.     

Effects of pressure and temperature on the solubility of monosodium L-glutamate monohydrate in water

Abstract

The solubility of monosodium L-glutamate monohydrate (MSG.H₂O) in water was measured at pressures in the range of 0.10-300MPa and 298.15K. The density of MSG solution at high concentrations and heat of solution at saturated concentration were also measured at atmospheric pressure. The solubility, m_s, increased with increasing pressure and the pressure coefficient, Θ_p, [?(? In m_s,? p)_T] at 0.10 MPa was (2.0 ± 0.1) × 10-¹⁰Pa-1. It agrees well with (2.1 ±0.2)× 10-¹⁰ Pa-¹ thermodynamically estimated using the partial molar volume, the activity coefficient of the solute in solution, and the molar volume of the crystal. The excellent agreement at 0.10MPa gives us confidence in the solubility data at higher pressures. The heat of solution data and other pertinent values were used to calculate the temperature coefficient of solubility, Θ_T [? (? In m_s/?(1/T))_p], by a thermodynamic equality. The resulting Θ_T compares well with the data directly measured by Ogawa.