Spontaneous breaking of minimal surface condition: labyrinths in free standing smectic films

We present a study of thin free standing films made of intercalated smectic-C liquid crystal in which, upon lowering the temperature, the minimal surface area condition is broken. A periodic modulation of the film thickness is obtained and a labyrinth structure of crests and valleys is formed. Thickness variation is coupled to the spatial variation of the molecular orientation. The transition to the labyrinth structure is explained to be driven by the mass density difference between the surface and the bulk layers.     

Chemical Constituents of Polyalthia rumphii

Chemistry of Natural Compounds -     

Phenolic compounds in field horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) as natural antioxidants

In this paper, the study of antioxidant activity and phenolic composition of three different extracts (EtOAc, n-BuOH and H(2)O) of field horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) is presented. The antioxidant activity has been evaluated measuring the total reducing power (expressed by Ascorbate Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity - AEAC), inhibition of lipid peroxidation, and free radical scavenging capacity (RSC) towards 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH radical) and nitric oxide (NO), respectively. In addition, the total flavonoid content (TFC) and phenolic constituents of each extract have been determined. The results obtained show that the highest RSC regarding both DPPH and NO radicals is expressed by EtOAc extract (EC(50)=2.37 microg/mL and EC(50)=90.07 microg/mL, respectively), and the lowest by H(2)O extract (EC(50)=37.2 microg/mL and EC(50)>333.33 microg/mL, respectively). n-BuOH extract showed the highest total reducing power (AEAC=13.40 microg/mL). Differences in the phenolic composition of examined extracts are found comparing the HPLC chemical profiles. Although, isoquercitrin is the main flavonoid in both EtOAc and n-BuOH extracts, a considerable amount of di-E-caffeoyl-meso-tartaric acid was presented in the n-BuOH extract. In H(2)O extract high content of phenolic acids and low percentage of flavonoids were detected.     

Parametric frequency analysis of oscillatory behavior of mouse Zona Pellucida spherical net model: cases of successful and of unsuccessful fertilization

The current paper proposes a model for describing mechanical phenomena that occur during the process of mammal fertilization when spermatozoa impact the surface of Zona Pellucida. Zona pellucida (ZP) is a dynamical 3D matrix that surrounds the mammalian oocyte. In the process of fertilization, sperm cell has to penetrate this structure. To describe impact of sperm cells with velocities that are effective and those that are ineffective relative to the oscillatory behavior of ZP, the discreet continuum model in the form of spherical net model is used. Resultant trajectories of knot mass particles dynamics of mouse ZP spherical net model in the form of generalized Lussajous curves are presented. Using generalized Lussajous curves, parametric frequency analysis of oscillatory behavior of knot material particles in the mouse ZP spherical net model is conducted. The influence of impact angles of sperm cells on corresponding knot mass particle trajectory is discussed. Favorable and unfavorable trajectories of knot mass particle motions are discussed in the context of successful fertilization. (© 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Atomic force microscopy study of the molecular sieve MnAPO-50

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging of MnAPO-50 reveals multiply-nucleated, elliptical terraces, oriented in registry with the facet edges with step heights ranging from one to six template repeat distances on the [100] facets and terraces with step heights ranging from one to thirty three times the c unit cell parameter on the [001] facets.     

Electroviscoelasticity of liquid/liquid interfaces: fractional-order model

A number of theories that describe the behavior of liquid-liquid interfaces have been developed and applied to various dispersed systems, e.g., Stokes, Reiner-Rivelin, Ericksen, Einstein, Smoluchowski, and Kinch. A new theory of electroviscoelasticity describes the behavior of electrified liquid-liquid interfaces in fine dispersed systems and is based on a new constitutive model of liquids. According to this model liquid-liquid droplet or droplet-film structure (collective of particles) is considered as a macroscopic system with internal structure determined by the way the molecules (ions) are tuned (structured) into the primary components of a cluster configuration. How the tuning/structuring occurs depends on the physical fields involved, both potential (elastic forces) and nonpotential (resistance forces). All these microelements of the primary structure can be considered as electromechanical oscillators assembled into groups, so that excitation by an external physical field may cause oscillations at the resonant/characteristic frequency of the system itself (coupling at the characteristic frequency). Up to now, three possible mathematical formalisms have been discussed related to the theory of electroviscoelasticity. The first is the tension tensor model, where the normal and tangential forces are considered, only in mathematical formalism, regardless of their origin (mechanical and/or electrical). The second is the Van der Pol derivative model, presented by linear and nonlinear differential equations. Finally, the third model presents an effort to generalize the previous Van der Pol equation: the ordinary time derivative and integral are now replaced with the corresponding fractional-order time derivative and integral of order p<1.     

Spectroscopic and kinetic studies of PKU-inducing mutants of phenylalanine hydroxylase: Arg158Gln and Glu280Lys

Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) is a tetrahydrobiopterin-dependent, nonheme iron enzyme that catalyzes the hydroxylation of L-Phe to L-Tyr in the rate-limiting step of phenylalanine catabolism. This reaction is tightly coupled in the wild-type enzyme to oxidation of the tetrahydropterin cofactor. Dysfunction of PAH activity in humans leads to the disease phenylketonuria (PKU). We have investigated two PKU-inducing mutants, Arg158Gln and Glu280Lys, using kinetic methods, magnetic circular dichrosim (MCD) spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Analysis of the products produced by the mutant enzymes shows that although both oxidize pterin at more than twice the rate of wild-type enzyme, these reactions are only approximately 20% coupled to production of L-Tyr. Previous MCD and XAS studies had demonstrated that the resting Fe(II) site is six-coordinate in the wild-type enzyme and converts to a five-coordinate site when both L-Phe and reduced pterin are present in the active site. Although the Arg158Gln mutant forms the five-coordinate site when both cosubstrates are bound, the Fe(II) site of the Glu280Lys mutant remains six-coordinate. These results provide insight into the PAH reaction and disease mechanism at a molecular level, indicating that the first step of the mechanism is formation of a peroxy-pterin species, which subsequently reacts with the Fe(II) site if the pterin is properly oriented for formation of an Fe-OO-pterin bridge and an open coordination position is available on the Fe(II).     

A kinetic study of the thermal degradation of 3-methylaminopropylamine inside AlPO<Subscript>4</Subscript>-21

Kinetics of the thermal decomposition of 3-methylaminopropylamine which was used as a structure-directing agent in the synthesis of AlPO₄-21 has been studied under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. The decomposition is a single-step reaction occurring in the 573–663 K range. It is a phase-boundary-controlled process, described by the ‘F2/3, R3’ kinetic model. The activation energy values obtained under the non-isothermal and isothermal conditions lie in the 173–151 kJ mol^–1 range.