Synthesis and properties of stereoregular poly(ester amides) derived from carbohydrates

Two poly(ester amides) containing three methoxy groups stereoregularly attached to the main chain have been prepared by using naturally occurring L -arabinose and D -xylose as the starting materials. The polymers were prepared by the active ester polycondensation method and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, and ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopies. Both viscosimetry and GPC were used to estimate the molecular weights. The polymers are hydrophilic, one of them being water soluble, and exhibited moderate optical activity. Thermal and X-ray diffraction studies revealed that they are slightly crystalline and stable up to 250°C under nitrogen. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 67–77, 1998     

The molecular and supramolecular structures of the isomeric compounds 5,7‐di­methoxy­imidazo­[1,2‐c]­pyrimidine and 7‐methoxy‐1‐methyl­imidazo­[1,2‐a]­pyrimidin‐5(1H)‐one

The supramolecular structures of the isomeric compounds 5,7‐di­methoxy­imidazo­[1,2‐c]­pyrimidine, C₈H₉N₃O₂, (I), and 7‐methoxy‐1‐methyl­imidazo­[1,2‐a]­pyrimidin‐5(1H)‐one, C₈H₉N₃O₂, (II), are determined by weak C—H⃛N and C—H⃛O hydrogen bonds in (I), which generate alternating linked centrosymmetric R(8) and R(10) rings that form a ribbon running parallel to the c axis, and by C—H⃛O bonds in (II), which link the mol­ecules into sheets comprising centro­symmetric R(10) and R(22) rings.     

Invariant tensors for simple groups

The forms of the invariant primitive tensors for the simple Lie algebras A_l, B_l, C_l, and D_l are investigated. A new family of symmetric invariant tensors is introduced using the non-trivial cocycles for the Lie algebra cohomology. For the A_l algebra it is explicitly shown that the generic forms of these tensors become zero except for the l primitive ones and that they give rise to the l primitive Casimir operators. Some recurrence and duality relations are given for the Lie algebra cocycles. Tables for the 3- and 5-cocycles for su(3) are su(4) are also provided. Finally, new relations involving the d and f su(n) tensors are given.     

Synthesis and characterization of chiral polyamides derived from glycine and (S)-5-amino-4-methoxypentanoic acid

Stereoregular, enantiomerically pure, chiral polyamides of the –AB– type, containing a natural (glycine) and a synthetic [(S)-5-amino-4-methoxypentanoic acid (AMP)] component have been prepared by the active ester polycondensation method. Thus, polyamide 7 was obtained by polycondensation of the conveniently activated H₂NGly–AMPCO₂R unit ( 6 ). In this reaction, 7 appeared accompanied by a considerable amount of cyclic (Gly–AMP)₂ ( 8 ), which makes the isolation and purification of 7 difficult. The formation of cyclic byproducts could be avoided by preparing and polymerizing the oligoamide H₂NGly–AMP–AMPCO₂R ( 11 ), which has the terminal carboxyl group activated as the pentachlorophenyl ester. The resulting polyamide ( 12 ) was obtained in 85% yield and free of macrolactams, such as 8 . The new polyamides 7 and 12 were characterized by elemental analysis and infrared and ¹H- and ¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies. Thermal studies revealed that 12 is crystalline and yields films with spherulitic texture by slow evaporation of formic acid solutions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 2741–2748, 1998     

Active redundancy allocation for a k-out-of-n:F system of dependent components

We characterize active redundancy through compensator transform and use the reverse rule of order 2 (RR₂) property between compensator processes to investigate the problem of where to allocate a spare in a k-out-of-n:F system of dependent components through active redundancy.     

Discrete-Continuous Symmetrized Sobolev Inner Products

This paper deals with the bilinear symmetrization problem associated with Sobolev inner products. Let 007B;Q _n } _n=0 be the sequence of monic polynomials orthogonal with respect to a Sobolev inner product of order 1 when one of the measures is discrete and the other one is a nondiscrete positive Borel measure. Furthermore, assume that the supports of such measures are symmetric with respect to the origin so that the corresponding odd moments vanish. We consider the orthogonality properties of the sequences of monic polynomials 007B;P _n } _n=0 and {R _n } _n=0 such that Q _2n (x)=P _n (x ²), Q _2n+1(x)=xR _n (x ²). Moreover, recurrence relations for {P _n } _n=0 and {R _n } _n=0 are obtained as well as explicit algebraic relations between them.     

Preparation and thermal characterization of inclusion complex of Brazilian green propolis and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin

The propolis produced in Southeastern Brazil is known as green propolis (BGP) because of its color and the most important plant source is Baccharis dracunculifolia. Several authors reported biological activities such as antiulcer, anti-inflammator, antimutagenic, antifungal/antibacterial, antileishmanial/antiplasmodial for the BGP. For this reason, BGP has been extensively employed in food and beverages, thus helping improve health and preventing diseases. Some authors related that the biological activities of BGP are mostly due to its high levels of prenylated ρ-coumaric acids derivatives, mainly artepillin C. The inclusion complex between Brazilian green propolis (BGP) with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) was prepared and its characterization was investigated by different analytical techniques (X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetry) and suggesting that propolis was molecularly dispersed in the HP-β-CD matrix. The increasing solubility of chemical constituents was determined using quantitation methods for total flavonoids and polyphenols. Furthermore, it was developed a method for the quantitation and identification of the main compounds by high-performance liquid chromatography in order to evaluate the increasing water solubility of each constituent in aqueous BGP extract (aromadendrin, isosakuranetin, and artepillin C). The antioxidant activity was evaluated by chemical assay 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging.     

Assessment of Summer Trends of Tropospheric Radon Isotopes in a Coastal Antarctic Station (Terra Nova Bay)

This work reports the first results of atmospheric radon measurements performed at the Italian Antarctic station located at Terra Nova Bay (74.69°S; 164.12°E) during summer campaigns of 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98. Mean²²²Rn concentrations was 0.51 - 0.43 Bq m^m3 (median = 0.37 Bq m^m3), and ranged from 0.01 to 2.74 Bq m^m3 . On the average, these values were considered high, in comparison to results reported for other sites in Antarctica at equivalent latitudes. This could be explained by two causes: radon data for Terra Nova Bay were only for the summer period, when the ice-free area is at its maximum and thus the radon emission to the atmosphere; and by the larger ice-free area at Terra Nova Bay compared, for example, to measurements taken at another Antarctic site by the same technique (Ferraz station - 62°05'S; 058°23.5'W). The mean ²²²Rn to ²²⁰Rn activity ratio was 4.4 - 4.2, ranging between 0.1 and 45.3. The highest ratios indicated that some of observed surges of concentration of ²²²Rn could be attributed to not local sources. Lower radon concentrations were observed during katabatic wind events. The diurnal radon variation followed the general trend observed for continental areas located at lower latitudes.