Macroscopic Dimension of 3-Manifolds

In this paper we give the answer to the Gromov's question about the macroscopic dimension of universal coverings of closed manifolds in dimension 3. We prove that the macroscopic dimension of a universal covering of a closed Riemannian 3-manifold cannot be equal to 2.     

Tetraphenylantimony carboxylates in the cascade Pd-catalyzed C-phenylation reaction of methyl acrylate in the presence of peroxide

Tetraphenylantimony(V) carboxylates have been used in the palladium-catalyzed C-phenylation reaction of methyl acrylate in the presence of (PhCO₂)₂ or t-BuOOH under mild conditions (50 °C). The peroxides promote a cascade participation of the organoantimony compound and result in the transfer of three phenyl groups. Organoantimony intermediates have been isolated from the reaction.     

A Law of Large Numbers for the Zeroes of Heine–Stieltjes Polynomials

We determine the limiting density of the zeroes of Heine–Stieltjes polynomials (or of any set of points satisfying the conclusion of Heine–Stieltjes Theorem) in the thermodynamic limit and use this to prove a strong law of large numbers for the zeroes.     

Efficient conjugation and preferential DNA binding of oligonucleotides containing 2′-O-(2-oxoethyl)arabinouridine

Oligodeoxyribonucleotides were synthesized that contain a novel nucleoside, 2′-O-(2-oxoethyl)arabinouridine. Whereas such oligonucleotides showed only a slight reduction in the T_M values of their complexes with complementary DNA, a significant destabilization was observed in the case of duplexes formed with RNA. This may be explained by the C_2′-endo conformation of 2′-O-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)arabinouridine as demonstrated by NMR experiments in D₂O. The modified oligonucleotides were used to synthesize a number of conjugates with dyes, biotin and a N-modified laminin peptide, by hydrazone and oxime formation. We suggest that the 2′-arabinoaldehyde-containing DNA duplexes may be valuable tools for affinity modification of DNA-binding proteins.     

Matrix polyelectrolyte microcapsules: new system for macromolecule encapsulation

A new approach to fabricate polyelectrolyte microcapsules is based on exploiting porous inorganic microparticles of calcium carbonate. Porous CaCO3 microparticles (4.5-5.0 microns) were synthesized and characterized by scanning electron microscopy and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method of nitrogen adsorption/desorption to get a surface area of 8.8 m2/g and an average pore size of 35 nm. These particles were used as templates for polyelectrolyte layer-by-layer assembly of two oppositely charged polyelectrolytes, poly(styrene sulfonate) and poly(allylamine hydrochloride). Calcium carbonate core dissolution resulted in formation ofpolyelectrolyte microcapsules with an internal matrix consisting of a polyelectrolyte complex. Microcapsules with an internal matrix were analyzed by confocal Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, force microscopy, and confocal laser-scanning fluorescence microscopy. The structure was found to be dependent on a number of polyelectrolyte adsorption treatments. Capsules have a very high loading capacity for macromolecules, which can be incorporated into the capsules by capturing them from the surrounding medium into the capsules. In this paper, we investigated the loading by dextran and bovine serum albumin as macromolecules. The amount of entrapped macromolecules was determined by two independent methods and found to be up to 15 pg per microcapsule.     

The chemical synthesis of beta-(1-->4)-linked D-mannobiose and D-mannotriose

A D-cellobiose derivative was converted to D-mannobiose via simultaneous epimerization at C-2 and C-2'. Subsequent beta-D-glucosylation and epimerization at C-2" gave D-mannotriose.     

Dipole solvation in dielectrics

This paper presents an exact solution for the free energy of linear solvation of a dipolar solute in an arbitrary dielectric material with a microscopic spectrum of polarization fluctuations. The solution is given in terms of wave vector-dependent longitudinal and transverse structure factors of the polarization fluctuations in the pure dielectric. Good agreement with computer simulations of dipole solvation in dipolar and dipolar--quadrupolar liquids is achieved.     

Microwave-Assisted Preparation of Trifluoroacetaldehyde (Fluoral): Isolation and Applications

A novel method for the preparation of trifluoroacetaldehyde (fluoral, TFAc, CF₃CHO) from commercially available trifluoroacetaldehyde ethylhemiacetal (TFAE) by microwave irradiation is described. The isolation, characterization and reaction of fluoral with various nucleophiles were studied to verify the diverse applicability of this new method.     

A new expression for the direct quantum mechanical evaluation of the thermal rate constant

Based on the formalism of Miller, Schwartz, and Tromp [J. Chem. Phys. 79, 4889(1983)], we derive a new expression for the thermal rate constant for a chemical reaction. The expression involves an unperturbed, i.e., reactant or product channel Boltzmann operator for the imaginary time propagation, making it possible to compute efficiently the rate constant for a range of temperatures. We illustrate numerical aspects with an extensive study of the one-dimensional Eckart barrier problem, as well as a study of the three-dimensional (J = 0) D + H2 problem.     

Interaction between indigo and adsorbed protein as a major factor causing backstaining during cellulase treatment of cotton fabrics

A model microassay system was developed to measure indigo backstaining on cotton fabrics in the presence of enzymes on a small laboratory scale. Backstaining indexes for 11 cellulase samples were measured, and the enzymes were ranked from lower to higher backstaining. Two multienzyme cellulase preparations were separated into fractions using chromatofocusing on a Mono P column. Adsorption ability and backstaining properties of purified enzyme fractions were studied. Evidence was obtained that protein adsorption on cotton fabrics is a crucial parameter causing backstaining (both for crude cellulase samples and purified enzyme components).