In vivo application of intestinal pH measurement using 2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl)-5,6-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) fluorescence imaging

Measurement of gastrointestinal intramucosal pH (pHim) has been recognized as an important factor in the detection of hypoxia-induced dysfunctions. However, current pH measurement techniques are limited in terms of time and spatial resolutions. A major advance in accurate pH measurement was the development of the ratiometric fluorescent indicator dye, 2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl)-5,6-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF). This study aimed to set up and validate a fluorescence imaging technique to measure in vivo the intramucosal pH (pHim) of the intestine. The intestine was inserted into an optical chamber placed under a microscope. Animals were injected intravenously with the pH-sensitive fluorescent dye BCECF. Fluorescence was visualized by illuminating the intestine alternately at 490 and 470 nm. The emitted fluorescence was directed to an intensified camera. The ratio of emitted fluorescence at excitation wavelengths of 490 and 470 nm was measured, corrected and converted to pHim by constructing a calibration curve. The pHim controls were performed with a pH microelectrode and were correlated with venous blood gas sampling. Results show that pHim is determined with an accuracy of +/- 0.07 pH units and a response time of 1 min. In conclusion pHim mapping of rat intestine can be obtained by fluorescence imaging using BCECF. This technology could be easily adapted for endoscopic pH measurements.     

Synthesis of 4H-3,1-benzoxazin-4-ones and 4-(3H)quinazolinones from anthranilic acids and their derivatives by the use of triphenyl phosphite and pyridine

A series of 2-substituted 4H-3,1-benzoxazinones and 2,3-disubstituted 4-(3H)quinazolinones have been synthesized in mild conditions by the use of triphenyl phosphite and pyridine as cyclising medium. Benzox-azinones are produced either by ring closure of 2-(acylamino)benzoic acids or in the reaction of benzoic acid with anthranilic acids. In the presence of aniline, the reaction leads to quinazolinones.     

On the mechanism of conformational interconversion in cyclohexene derivatives

The free energy barriers to ring inversion for 3,3-dimethylcyclohexene, 4,4-dimethylcyclohexene and 3,3,6,6-tetramethylcyclohexene were determined by low temperature PMR studies. The results were interpreted in terms of a mechanism whereby the boat conformation is of highest energy on the energy profile for conformational interconversion. The very high ΔG^≠ value for 3,3,6,6-tetramethylcyclohexane (8·4 kcal/mole) is considered a reflection of the serious non bonded interaction that exists between methyl groups at the “prow” positions of the boat form.     

Photoinduced morphism of gemini surfactant aggregates

The photochemical behaviour of an azobenzene chromophore inserted in a gemini surfactant imparts photocontrol to the resulting amphiphile assemblies, including the collapse, upon irradiation, of the multi lamellar vesicles formed in aqueous solution.     

An optimal two-step quadratic spline collocation method for the Dirichlet biharmonic problem

Numerical Algorithms - A two-step quadratic spline collocation method is formulated for the solution of the Dirichlet biharmonic problem on the unit square rewritten as a coupled system of two...     

Tensor product surfaces of euclidean plane curves

Recently B.Y. CHEN initiated the study of the tensor product immersion of two immersions of a given Riemannian manifold [3]. In [6] the particular case of tensor product of two Euclidean plane curves was studied. The minimal one were classified, and necessary and sufficient conditions for such a tensor product to be totally real or complex or slant were established. In the present paper we study for tensor product of Euclidean plane curves the problem of B.Y. CHEN: to what extent do the properties of the tensor product immersion f ? h of two immersions f, h determines the immersions f, h ? [3]     

Harmonic analysis of large systems. I. Methodology

Methods have been developed for the determination of vibrational frequencies and normal modes of large systems in the full conformational space (including all degrees of freedom) and in a reduced conformational space (reducing the number of degrees of freedom). The computational method, which includes Hessian generation and storage, full and iterative diagonalization techniques, and the refinement of the results, is presented. A method is given for the quasiharmonic analysis and the reduced basis quasiharmonic analysis. The underlying principle is that from the atomic fluctuations, an effective harmonic force field can be determined relative to the dynamic average structure. Normal mode analysis tools can be used to characterize quasiharmonic modes of vibration. These correspond to conventional normal modes except that anharmonic effects are included. Numerous techniques for the analyses of vibrational frequencies and normal modes are described. Criteria for the analysis of the similarity of low-frequency normal modes is presented. The approach to determining the natural frequencies and normal modes of vibration described here is general and applicable to any large system. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

1 This article is a U.S. Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

     

The Dunford-Pettis Property for some Function Algebras in Several Complex Variables

The Dunford-Pettis property is shown to hold for the uniformalgebra A() and its dual for some standard domains , includingstrongly pseudoconvex bounded domains in Cⁿ, pseudoconvex boundeddomains of finite type in C², and bounded domains in C. Previouslythe result was known for the unit ball and unit polydisc inCⁿ. Techniques used involve Bourgain algebras, Hankel operators,properties of the Bergman kernel, quasi-metrics on the boundary,and -theory.