Neumann Boundary Conditions Inhibiting SSB in Coleman-Weinberg Mechanism

In this work we show that homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions inhibit the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism for spontaneous symmetry breaking in the scalar electrodynamics if the length of the finite region is small enough （a = e2Mφ-1, where M, is the mass of the scalar field generated by the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism）.     

The Permeation Mechanism of Cisplatin Through a Dioleoylphosphocholine Bilayer**

The investigation of the intermolecular interactions between platinum-based anticancer drugs and lipid bilayers is of special relevance to unveil the mechanisms involved in different steps of the anticancer mode of action of these drugs. We have simulated the permeation of cisplatin through a model membrane composed of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine lipids by means of umbrella sampling classical molecular dynamics simulations. The initial physisorption of cisplatin into the polar region of the lipid membrane is controlled by long-range electrostatic interactions with the choline groups in a first step and, in a second step, by long-range electrostatic and hydrogen bond interactions with the phosphate groups. The second half of the permeation pathway, in which cisplatin diffuses through the nonpolar region of the bilayer, is characterized by the drop of the interactions with the polar heads and the rise of attractive interactions with the non-polar tails, which are dominated by van der Waals contributions. The permeation free-energy profile is explained by a complex balance between the drug/lipid interactions and the energy and entropy contributions associated with the dehydration of the drug along the permeation pathway and with the decrease and increase of the membrane ordering along the first and second half of the mechanism, respectively.     

Determination of ytterbium in animal faeces by tungsten coil electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A method for ytterbium determination in animal faeces by tungsten coil electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (TCAAS) was developed. Faeces were dry-ashed in a muffle furnace, the ashes were treated with hydrochloric acid, and 10 mul of sample solution were delivered into 150-W tungsten coil atomizer. A matrix-matching procedure employing a 66-s heating program proved to be efficient for obtaining accurate results. Characteristic mass and detection limit were 7.1 pg and 0.35 mug g(-1) Yb, respectively. The tungsten coil atomizer lifetime exceeded 300 firings with digested solutions and R.S.D. of measurements was 1.9% after ten consecutive injections of 10.0 mug l(-1) Yb. Accuracy of the proposed method was assessed by employing a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometric procedure. Application of the paired t-test did not reveal any significant difference for ytterbium contents determined by both methods at 95% confidence level. It was demonstrated that the proposed procedure can successfully be used for evaluation of kinetic passage rate of feed through digestive tract of animals.     

Thermal behavior of copper(II) pseudohalide complexes containing bidentate amines

Pseudohalide complexes of copper(II) with aliphatic bidentate amines, [Cu(N₃)₂(N,N-diEten)]₂ 1, [Cu(NCO)₂(N,N-diEten)]₂ 2, [Cu(NCO)₂(N,N-diMeen)]₂ 3, [Cu(N₃)(NCS)(N,N'-diMeen)]₂ 4 and [Cu(N₃)(NCO)(N,N-diMeen)]₂ 5 (N,N-diEten=N,N-diethylethylenediamine; N,N-diMeen=N,N- dimethyl-ethylenediamine and N,N'-diMeen = N,N'-dimethylethylenediamine), were prepared, characterized and their thermal behavior was investigated by TG curves. According to thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction patterns all compounds decomposed giving copper(II) oxide as final product. The mechanisms of decomposition were proposed and an order of thermal stability was established.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Stacking Effects on Anthraquinone/DNA Charge-Transfer Electronically Excited States

The design of more efficient photosensitizers is a matter of great importance in the field of cancer treatment by means of photodynamic therapy. One of the main processes involved in the activation of apoptosis in cancer cells is the oxidative stress on DNA once a photosensitizer is excited by light. As a consequence, it is very relevant to investigate in detail the binding modes of the chromophore with DNA, and the nature of the electronically excited states that participate in the induction of DNA damage, for example, charge-transfer states. In this work, we investigate the electronic structure of the anthraquinone photosensitizer intercalated into a double-stranded poly(dG-dC) decamer model of DNA. First, the different geometric configurations are analyzed by means of classical molecular dynamics simulations. Then, the excited states for the most relevant poses of anthraquinone inside the binding pocket are computed by an electrostatic-embedding quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics approach, where anthraquinone and one of the nearby guanine residues are described quantum mechanically to take into account intermolecular charge-transfer states. The excited states are characterized as monomer, exciton, excimer, and charge-transfer states based on the analysis of the transition density matrix, and each of these contributions to the total density of states and absorption spectrum is discussed in terms of the stacking interactions. These results are relevant as they represent the footing for future studies on the reactivity of anthraquinone derivatives with DNA and give insights on possible geometrical configurations that potentially favor the oxidative stress of DNA.     

Stability of triglyceride liquid films on hydrophilic and hydrophobic glasses

Wetting and dewetting of solid surfaces by oily fluids were investigated in terms of the stability of the liquid film formed between an air bubble and the solid surface. With the objective of understanding how molecules with low polarity but relatively complex molecular structure behave at the solid/liquid interface, three liquid triglycerides with different chain length and saturation were chosen, namely, tributyrin, tricaprylin, and triolein. Tributyrin and tricaprylin exist in milkfat while triolein is present in vegetable oils. The stability of the liquid films may be inferred from the shape of the disjoining pressure isotherms, which represent the dependence of the disjoining pressure on the film thickness. Disjoining pressure isotherms for films of the three triglycerides on hydrophilic and hydrophobic glasses were obtained using a recently developed apparatus, based on the interferometric technique. The experimental curves are compared with the theoretical predictions of London-Hamaker. The deviations between theory and experiment are interpreted in terms of a structural component of the disjoining pressure. All triglycerides form metastable films on both hydrophilic and hydrophobic glasses which means that for disjoining pressures higher than a critical value, pi(c), a wetting transition occurs and the film ruptures. The mechanisms for film rupture are discussed and a correlation between film stability and the apolar (Lifshitz-van der Waals) and the polar components of the spreading coefficient is proposed.     

An improved bonded-polydimethylsiloxane solid-phase microextraction fiber obtained by a sol-gel/silica particle blend

A novel procedure for solid-phase microextraction fiber preparation is presented, which combines the use of a rigid titanium alloy wire as a substrate with a blend of PDMS sol–gel mixture/silica particles, as a way of increasing both the mechanical robustness and the extracting capability of the sol–gel fibers. The 30 μm average thick fibers displayed an improvement in the extraction capacity as compared to the previous sol–gel PDMS fibers, due to a greater load of stable covalently bonded sol–gel PDMS. The observed extraction capacity was comparable to that of 100 μm non-bonded PDMS fiber, having in this case the advantages of the superior robustness and stability conferred, respectively, by the unbreakable substrate and the sol–gel intrinsic characteristics. Repeatability (n = 3) ranged 1–8% while fiber production reproducibility (n = 3) ranged 15–25%. The presence of the silica particles was found to have no direct influence on the kinetics and mechanism of the extraction process, thus being possible to consider the new procedure as a refinement of the previous ones. The applicability potential of the devised fiber was illustrated with the analysis of gasoline under the context of arson samples.     

Combining stir bar sorptive extraction and MEKC for the determination of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental and biological matrices

In this work, stir bar sorptive extraction and liquid desorption was combined with MEKC and diode-array detection (SBSE-LD-MEKC-DAD) for the determination of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aqueous medium, using biphenyl, fluorene, anthracene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene as model compounds. MEKC-DAD conditions and parameters affecting SBSE-LD efficiency are fully discussed. Assays performed on aqueous samples spiked at trace levels, yielded recoveries ranging from 55.5 +/- 6.1% (pyrene) to 70.7 +/- 7.1% (anthracene), under optimized experimental conditions. The methodology proved to be nearly described by the octanol-water partition coefficients (K(PDMS/W) approximately K(O/W)). The analytical performance showed good precision (<12.0%), suitable detection limits (2-11 microg/L) and convenient linear dynamic ranges (r(2)>0.99) from 5 to 25 microg/L for anthracene and 25 to 125 microg/L for the remaining compounds. The application of the proposed methodology to environmental water, sediments and fish bile matrices demonstrated good selectivity and accuracy. SBSE-LD combined with MEKC-DAD was shown to be an easy, reliable and robustness methodology, as well as a good analytical alternative to monitor environmental priority pollutants.     

Combining stir-bar sorptive extraction and large volume injection-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the determination of benzotriazole UV stabilizers in wastewater matrices

Stir‐bar sorptive extraction and liquid desorption followed by large volume injection‐gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry under selected ion monitoring mode acquisition (SBSE‐LD/LVI‐GC‐MS(SIM)) was applied for the determination of six benzotriazole UV stabilizers (Tinuvin P, Allyl‐bzt, Tinuvin 320, Tinuvin 326, Tinuvin 327 and Tinuvin 328) in wastewater matrices. Parameters affecting the performance of extraction and desorption steps were thoroughly evaluated using uni‐ and multivariate optimization strategies, based on the use of experimental factorial designs. Assays performed with stir bars, coated with 24 μL of polydimethylsiloxane, on 25 mL of ultra‐pure water samples spiked at the 0.5 ng/mL level, yielded recoveries ranging from 47.9±1.4% (Tinuvin P) to 103.1±3.6% (Tinuvin 326), under optimized experimental conditions. When applied to complex matrices (e.g. wastewater), the methodology showed also excellent linear dynamic ranges (0.02–10.00 ng/mL) for the six benzotriazole UV stabilizers studied with correlation coefficients higher than 0.9970, limits of quantification in between 0.004 and 0.015 ng/mL, suitable repeatability (RSD<12.7%) and reproducibility (RSD<4.5%). The application of the proposed methodology to urban sewage waters from Spain and Portugal wastewater plants revealed the presence of low contents of some benzotriazole UV stabilizers.     

Selenium determination in tissue samples of Nile tilapia using ultrasound-assisted extraction

This paper proposes a method to determine selenium in samples of fish muscle and liver tissue using ultrasound assisted extraction process, and analysed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS). The selenium content was extracted by 0.10 M HCl at the optimal extraction conditions which were established as follows: sample mass of 100 mg; granulometry of the sample <60 μm; sonication time of five 40 s cycles; and sonication power of 136 W. The selenium determinations were performed by GFAAS, at a drying temperature of 120°C/250°C, pyrolysis temperature of 1300°C, atomization temperature of 2300°C, and cleaning temperature of 2800°C. Palladium nitrate was used as a chemical modifier coinjected with the samples, and tungsten as a permanent modifier. The concentration of selenium determined in the pool of fish muscle and liver tissue were 280.4±4.2 e 592.3±6.7 μg kg⁻¹, respectively. The accuracy and precision of the proposed extraction method were evaluated using certified standard Bovine Muscle — NIST 8414. The results obtained by the ultrasonic extraction method were equivalent to those obtained by the method of acid mineralization of samples in a microwave oven