Predicting percent composition of blends of biodiesel and conventional diesel using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and partial least squares analysis

The percent composition of blends of biodiesel and conventional diesel from a variety of retail sources were modeled and predicted using partial least squares (PLS) analysis applied to gas chromatography-total-ion-current mass spectrometry (GC-TIC), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-total-ion-current mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TIC) and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCxGC-MS) separations of the blends. In all four cases, the PLS predictions for a test set of chromatograms were plotted versus the actual blend percent composition. The GC-TIC plot produced a best-fit line with slope = 0.773 and y-intercept = 2.89, and the average percent error of prediction was 12.0%. The GC-MS plot produced a best-fit line with slope = 0.864 and y-intercept = 1.72, and the average percent error of prediction was improved to 6.89%. The GCxGC-TIC plot produced a best-fit line with slope = 0.983 and y-intercept = 0.680, and the average percent error was slightly improved to 6.16%. The GCxGC-MS plot produced a best-fit line with slope = 0.980 and y-intercept = 0.620, and the average percent error was 6.12%. The GCxGC models performed best presumably due to the multidimensional advantage of higher dimensional instrumentation providing more chemical selectivity. All the PLS models used 3 latent variables. The chemical components that differentiate the blend percent compositions are reported.     

A Rapid Synthesis of 4‐Oxazolidinones: Total Synthesis of Synoxazolidinones A and B

A five‐step total synthesis of the marine natural product synoxazolidinone A was achieved through a diastereoselective imine acylation/cyclization cascade. Synoxazolidinone B and a series of analogues were also prepared to explore the potential of these 4‐oxazolidinone natural products as antimicrobial agents. These studies confirmed the importance of the chlorine substituent for antimicrobial activity and revealed simplified dichloro derivatives that are equally potent against several bacterial strains.     

Epitaxial oxide bilayer on Pt (001) nanofacets

We observed an epitaxial, air-stable, partially registered (2 × 1) oxide bilayer on Pt (001) nanofacets [V. Komanicky, A. Menzel, K.-C. Chang, and H. You, J. Phys. Chem. 109, 23543 (2005)]. The bilayer is made of two half Pt layers; the top layer has four oxygen bonds and the second layer two. The positions and oxidation states of the Pt atoms are determined by analyzing crystal truncation rods and resonance scattering data. The positions of oxygen atoms are determined by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Partial registry on the nanofacets and the absence of such registry on the extended Pt (001) surface prepared similarly are explained in DFT calculations by strain relief that can be accommodated only by nanoscale facets.     

Conformational splitting: A more powerful criterion for dead‐end elimination

Dead‐end elimination (DEE) is a powerful theorem for selecting optimal protein side‐chain orientations from a large set of discrete conformations. The present work describes a new approach to dead‐end elimination that effectively splits conformational space into partitions to more efficiently eliminate dead‐ending rotamers. Split DEE makes it possible to complete protein design calculations that were previously intractable due to the combinatorial explosion of intermediate conformations generated during the convergence process. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 21: 999–1009, 2000     

EBC‐219: A New Diterpene Skeleton,Crotinsulidane, from the Australian Rainforest Containing a Bridgehead Double Bond

EBC‐219 ( 4 ), isolated from Croton insularis (Baill), was established by spectroscopic and DFT methods as the first member of a new diterpene skeletal class, uniquely defined by the presence of a bicyclo[10.2.1] bridgehead olefin. The proposed biogenetic pathway to 4 from the co‐isolated natural products EBC‐131 ( 1 ), EBC‐180 ( 2 ) and EBC‐181 ( 3 ) is highly likely. EBC‐180 ( 2 ) and EBC‐181 ( 3 ) showed moderate to strong cytotoxic activity against various cancer cell lines.     

Monte Carlo simulations of the dissolution of borosilicate glasses in near-equilibrium conditions

Monte Carlo simulations were performed to investigate the mechanisms of glass dissolution as equilibrium conditions are approached in both static and flow-through conditions. The glasses studied are borosilicate glasses in the compositional range (80 ? x)% SiO₂ (10 + x / 2)% B₂O₃ (10 + x / 2)% Na₂O, where 5 < x < 30%. In static conditions, dissolution/condensation reactions lead to the formation, for all compositions studied, of a blocking layer composed of polymerized Si sites with principally 4 connections to nearest Si sites. This layer forms atop the altered glass layer and shows similar composition and density for all glass compositions considered. In flow-through conditions, three main dissolution regimes are observed: at high flow rates, the dissolving glass exhibits a thin alteration layer and congruent dissolution; at low flow rates, a blocking layer is formed as in static conditions but the simulations show that water can occasionally break through the blocking layer causing the corrosion process to resume; and, at intermediate flow rates, the glasses dissolve incongruently with an increasingly deepening altered layer. The simulation results suggest that, in geological disposal environments, small perturbations or slow flows could be enough to prevent the formation of a permanent blocking layer. Finally, a comparison between predictions of the linear rate law and the Monte Carlo simulation results indicates that, in flow-through conditions, the linear rate law is applicable at high flow rates and deviations from the linear rate law occur under low flow rates (e.g., at near-saturated conditions with respect to amorphous silica). This effect is associated with the complex dynamics of Si dissolution/condensation processes at the glass–water interface.