Supercritical fluid chromatographic analysis of polyprenols in Ginkgo biloba L

A supercritical fluid chromatographic (SFC) procedure for the quantitation of three major polyprenols present in the leaves of Ginkgo biloba was developed. In contrast to previously reported high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods, the SFC method does not require extensive pre-purification for polyprenol analysis. The SFC analytical procedure described shows a very broad range of linearity and detects many known polyprenol isoprenologs with baseline separation. Dodecaprenol was used as the internal standard. The coefficient of variation of the method was 5.8% for the quantitation of C₈₅, C₉₀ and C₉₅ polyprenols. The SFC assay results showed that the content of polyprenols in ginkgo leaves were higher than the previously published values. In addition, the chromatogram of the highly concentrated leaf extract revealed the presence of an isoprenolog (C₁₂₀) not previously detected by HPLC methods.     

A note on a Brill-Noether locus over a non-hyperelliptic curve of genus 4

We prove that a certain Brill-Noether locus over a non-hyperelliptic curve C of genus 4, is isomorphic to the Donagi-Izadi cubic threefold in the case when the pencils of the two trigonal line bundles of C coincide.     

Human gut-on-a-chip inhabited by microbial flora that experiences intestinal peristalsis-like motions and flow

Development of an in vitro living cell-based model of the intestine that mimics the mechanical, structural, absorptive, transport and pathophysiological properties of the human gut along with its crucial microbial symbionts could accelerate pharmaceutical development, and potentially replace animal testing. Here, we describe a biomimetic 'human gut-on-a-chip' microdevice composed of two microfluidic channels separated by a porous flexible membrane coated with extracellular matrix (ECM) and lined by human intestinal epithelial (Caco-2) cells that mimics the complex structure and physiology of living intestine. The gut microenvironment is recreated by flowing fluid at a low rate (30 μL h(-1)) producing low shear stress (0.02 dyne cm(-2)) over the microchannels, and by exerting cyclic strain (10%; 0.15 Hz) that mimics physiological peristaltic motions. Under these conditions, a columnar epithelium develops that polarizes rapidly, spontaneously grows into folds that recapitulate the structure of intestinal villi, and forms a high integrity barrier to small molecules that better mimics whole intestine than cells in cultured in static Transwell models. In addition, a normal intestinal microbe (Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG) can be successfully co-cultured for extended periods (>1 week) on the luminal surface of the cultured epithelium without compromising epithelial cell viability, and this actually improves barrier function as previously observed in humans. Thus, this gut-on-a-chip recapitulates multiple dynamic physical and functional features of human intestine that are critical for its function within a controlled microfluidic environment that is amenable for transport, absorption, and toxicity studies, and hence it should have great value for drug testing as well as development of novel intestinal disease models.     

Blow-Up Solutions of Modified Schrödinger Maps

We study blow-up solutions of modified Schrödinger maps. We observe the pseudo-conformal invariance by which explicit blow-up solutions can be constructed.     

Surface modulation of magnetic nanocrystals in the development of highly efficient magnetic resonance probes for intracellular labeling

High-quality biocompatible magnetic iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanocrystals were developed through a ligand exchange process of hydrophobically capped nanocrystals with hydrophilic molecules. By simple modulation of the nanocrystal surface ligand charge properties, we have been able to prepare magnetic nanocrystals with excellent intracellular labeling capabilities that efficiently label a variety of cell types without the need for additional transport facilitating agents. The excellent intracellular labeling capability of the newly developed cationic WSIO has further led to successful MRI monitoring of the migration of neural stem cells in rat spinal cord. The magnetic nanocrystals developed here have great potential in applications for labeling of various cell types and also the monitoring of cell-based medical treatments and cancer metastasis.     

Isolation of a potent anti-MRSA sesquiterpenoid quinone from Ulmus davidiana var. japonica

A highly potent anti-MRSA sesquiterpenoid has been isolated from Ulmus davidiana var. japonica, which has been traditionally used to treat infectious diseases in Korea. This naturally occurring antibiotic was identified as mansonone F (1). This compound has been found to be highly active specifically against MRSA and showed an MIC range of 0.39-3.13 microg/ml which is comparable to that of vancomycin.