Perfusion and chemical monitoring of living cells on a microfluidic chip

A microfluidic device that incorporates continuous perfusion and an on-line electrophoresis immunoassay was developed, characterized, and applied to monitoring insulin secretion from single islets of Langerhans. In the device, a cell chamber was perfused with cell culture media or a balanced salt solution at 0.6 to 1.5 microL min(-1). The flow was driven by gas pressure applied off-chip. Perfusate was continuously sampled at 2 nL min(-1) by electroosmosis through a separate channel on the chip. The perfusate was mixed on-line with fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled insulin (FITC-insulin) and monoclonal anti-insulin antibody and allowed to react for 60 s as the mixture traveled down a 4 cm long reaction channel. The cell chamber and reaction channel were maintained at 37 degrees C. The reaction mixture was injected onto a 1.5 cm separation channel as rapidly as every 6 s, and the free FITC-insulin and the FITC-insulin-antibody complex were separated under an electric field of 500 to 600 V cm(-1). The immunoassay had a detection limit of 0.8 nM and a relative standard deviation of 6% during 2 h of continuous operation with standard solutions. Individual islets were monitored for up to 1 h while perfusing with different concentrations of glucose. The immunoassay allowed quantitative monitoring of classical biphasic and oscillatory insulin secretion with 6 s sampling frequency following step changes in glucose from 3 to 11 mM. The 2.5 cm x 7.6 cm microfluidic system allowed for monitoring islets in a highly automated fashion. The technique should be amenable to studies involving other tissues or cells that release chemicals.     

Metal content in river suspended particulate matter: data on Po River

The present study summarizes the last ten years of literature on heavy metal distribution in Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and dissolved phase in the Po River (Italy). The work compares different methodologies employed to collect, concentrate and fractionate the samples. The importance of metal speciation as a function of particle size is underlined and two approaches to metal speciation in the colloidal fraction of Po River SPM are presented: Sedimentation Field-Flow Fractionation (SdFFF) and pH-dependent extractions. Finally, emphasis is placed on the need for comparison with a reference "natural background level" of the metal load in Po River particulate matter in order to determine the real human contribution to river pollution. The high values of some trace transition elements, such as Cr and Ni, have been compared with clay sediments around Ferrara and with bricks in historic buildings. The highly comparable natural concentration of these metals in Po fine sedimentary rocks and in historic brick buildings of Ferrara (XII-XVI centuries) can provide information on natural geochemical anomalies.     

3,3′-di[1,3-thiazolidin-4-one] system. Structural and conformational studies on configurational isomers with anti-inflammatory activity

3,3(1,2-Ethanediyl)bis(2-halophenyl-thiazolidin-4-one) derivatives display different pharmacological activities depending on the configuration of the 2,2 centers and on the oxidation state of the sulfur atoms. Quantum-chemical calculations on the 3-fluorophenyl-substituted configurational isomers are reported here, together with the X-ray structure of the 11 dioxide derivative. This crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c, with four molecules per unit cell and cell dimensions:a=18.917(3),b=9.003(2),c=12.062(2)Å, =96.20(3)°. The compound, which has an approximate center of symmetry in the middle of the ethylene chain and two asymmetric carbon atoms of opposite chiralities, is the (2R,2S-meso) (or 2S,2R-meso) stereoisomer.     

Toxics or Lures? Biological and Behavioral Effects of Plant Essential Oils on Tephritidae Fruit Flies

The family Tephritidae (Diptera) includes species that are highly invasive and harmful to crops. Due to globalization, international trade, and human displacement, their spread is continuously increasing. Unfortunately, the control of tephritid flies is still closely linked to the use of synthetic insecticides, which are responsible for detrimental effects on the environment and human health. Recently, research is looking for alternative and more eco-friendly tools to be adopted in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs. In this regard, essential oils (EOs) and their main compounds represent a promising alternative to chemical insecticides. EOs are made up of phytoconstituents formed from the secondary metabolism of many plants and can act as attractants or toxics, depending on the dose. Because of this unique characteristic, EOs and their main constituents are promising tools that can be used both in Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) programs and in the “lure and kill” technique, exploiting the attractiveness of the product in the former case and its toxicity in the latter. In this article, current knowledge on the biological and behavioral effects of EOs and their main constituents on tephritid fruit flies is reviewed, mainly focusing on species belonging to the Anastrepha, Bactrocera, Ceratitis, and Zeugodacus genera. The mechanisms of action of EOs, their real-world applications, and challenges related to their use in IPM are critically discussed.     

The Edgeworth's conjecture in finitely additive production economies

This paper presents the core-Walras equivalence theorem in the very general setting of finitely additive coalition production economies. In the case of infinitely many commodities, a version of the equivalence result is proved without necessarily assuming that the positive cone has non-empty interior or that preferences satisfy cone conditions.     

On partial tilting modules and bounded complexes

We investigate reasonably large modules with a tilting-type behaviour, regarded as bounded complexes of projective modules.     

Efficient synthesis of 3,4- and 4,5-dihydroxy-2-amino-cyclohexanecarboxylic acid enantiomers

An efficient method for the synthesis of (1S,2R,4R,5S)- and (1R,2R,4R,5S)-2-amino-4,5-dihydroxycyclohexanecarboxylic acids (?)-6 and (?)-9 and (1R,2R,3S,4R)- and (1S,2R,3S,4R)-2-amino-3,4-dihydroxycyclohexanecarboxylic acids (?)-15 and (?)-18 was developed by using the OsO₄-catalyzed oxidation of Boc-protected (1S,2R)-2-aminocyclohex-4-enecarboxylic acid (+)-2 and (1R,2S)-2-aminocyclohex-3-enecarboxylic acid (+)-11. Good yields were obtained. The stereochemistry of the synthesized compounds was proven by NMR spectroscopy.     

Liouville Type Equations with Singular Data¶and Their Applications to Periodic Multivortices¶for the Electroweak Theory

Motivated by the study of multivortices in the Electroweak Theory of Glashow–Salam–Weinberg [33], we obtain a concentration-compactness principle for the following class of mean field equations: on M, where (M,g) is a compact 2-manifold without boundary, 0 < a≤K(x)≤b, x∈M and λ > 0. We take with α _i > 0, δ _{p i} the Dirac measure with pole at point p _i ∈M, i= 1,…,m and ψ∈L ^∞(M) satisfying the necessary integrability condition for the solvability of (1)_λ. We provide an accurate analysis for solution sequences of (1)_λ, which admit a “blow up” point at a pole p _i of the Dirac measure, in the same spirit of the work of Brezis–Merle [11] and Li–Shafrir [35]. As a consequence, we are able to extend the work of Struwe–Tarantello [49] and Ding–Jost–Li–Wang [21] and derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of periodic N-vortices in the Electroweak Theory. Our result is sharp for N= 1, 2, 3, 4 and was motivated by the work of Spruck–Yang [46], who established an analogous sharp result for N= 1, 2. Received: 24 September 2001 / Accepted: 7 December 2001     

Amygdaloidins A-L, twelve new 13 α-OH jatrophane diterpenes from Euphorbia amygdaloides L.

Twelve new diterpenes, named amygdaloidins A-L (1-12), possessing a unique substitution pattern of the jatrophane skeleton, have been isolated from the wood spurge, Euphorbia amygdaloides L. (Euphorbiaceae). The chemical structures of amygdaloidins A-L have been established through a combination of extensive nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry methods. To deeper investigate the conformations adopted by such compounds in solution, we have carried out a molecular mechanic and dynamics calculation on amygdaloidin A and on the previously isolated euphodendroidin I. The data obtained gave further information on the endo- and exo-type conformations, the two main orientations of the jatrophane diterpenes.