Use of hyperpolarized [1-C]pyruvate and [2-C]pyruvate to probe the effects of the anticancer agent dichloroacetate on mitochondrial metabolism in vivo in the normal rat

Development of hyperpolarized technology utilizing dynamic nuclear polarization has enabled the measurement of ¹³C metabolism in vivo at very high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In vivo mitochondrial metabolism can, in principle, be monitored with pyruvate, which is catalyzed to acetyl-CoA via pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH). The purpose of this work was to determine whether the compound sodium dichloroacetate (DCA) could aid the study of mitochondrial metabolism with hyperpolarized pyruvate. DCA stimulates PDH by inhibiting its inhibitor, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase. In this work, hyperpolarized [1-¹³C]pyruvate and [2-¹³C]pyruvate were used to probe mitochondrial metabolism in normal rats. Increased conversion to bicarbonate (+ 181±69%, P=.025) was measured when [1-¹³C]pyruvate was injected after DCA administration, and increased glutamate (+ 74±23%, P=.004), acetoacetate (+ 504±281%, P=.009) and acetylcarnitine (+ 377±157%, P=.003) were detected when [2-¹³C]pyruvate was used.     

外场下压力及屏蔽对无限深量子阱中施主结合能的影响

考虑外加磁场、压力及屏蔽效应,利用变分方法数值计算GaN/AlxGa1-xN无限深量子阱系统中的杂质态结合能。给出结合能随磁场和阱宽的变化关系,同时讨论了有无屏蔽时的区别。结果表明:在磁场和压力作用下,结合能随阱宽的增大而减小;阱宽和压力一定时,结合能随磁场的增大而增大。屏蔽效应使得有效库仑吸引作用减弱而导致杂质态结合能显著下降。屏蔽效应对结合能的影响随压力增大而增强,随磁场强度增大而减弱。     

Decoherence of flux qubits due to 1/f flux noise

We have investigated decoherence in Josephson-junction flux qubits. Based on the measurements of decoherence at various bias conditions, we discriminate contributions of different noise sources. We present a Gaussian decay function extracted from the echo signal as evidence of dephasing due to 1/f flux noise whose spectral density is evaluated to be about (10(-6)Phi0)2/Hz at 1 Hz. We also demonstrate that, at an optimal bias condition where the noise sources are well decoupled, the coherence observed in the echo measurement is limited mainly by energy relaxation of the qubit.     

Effect of Solvent on the Radical Copolymerizability of Styrene with Acrylonitrile

Radical copolymerization of styrene (St, M₁) with acrylonitrile (AN, M₂) has been carried out using azobisisobutylonitrile as an initiator in benzene, dimethylsulfoxide, acetonitrile, and ethanol at 60 and 80°C. Good linear correlationships were obtained by plotting the values of log r₁, log r₂, Q₂, and e₂ against those of vC[dbnd]N and vC[dbnd]C determined in the solvents: the increase in the interaction between AN and the solvent was found to decrease the values of log r₁ and e₂ but to increase those of log r₂ and Q₂. The results are discussed in terms of the solvation both in the ground state and in the transition state.     

分光光度法测定蒙药卷柏中总黄酮含量

采用分光光度法 ,测定了蒙药卷柏中总黄酮的含量 ,检测波长为 5 0 0 nm,校准曲线相关系数为 0 .9996 ,相对标准偏差为 1 .0 1 %,平均加样回收率为 1 0 1 .6 1 %。此法准确度较高 ,为卷柏中黄酮含量测定提供了一种切实可行的方法。     

Anti-babesial compounds from Curcuma xanthorrhiza

Anti-babesial ingredients, (12R)- and (12S)-12,13-dihydro-12,13-dihydroxyxanthorrhizols, were isolated from Curcuma xanthorrhiza. The structures were established by the extensive NMR techniques. The assignments of (1)H NMR data of (12R)-12,13-dihydro-12,13-dihydroxyxanthorrhizol was revised, and (12S)-12,13-dihydro-12,13-dihydroxyxanthorrhizol was isolated as a pure form for the first time. The IC(50) of the active compounds were compared with that of commercial drug, diminazene aceturate (Ganaseg). IC(50) values of Ganaseg, (12R)-, and (12S)-12,13-dihydro-12,13-dihydroxyxanthorrhizols were 0.6 microg mL(-1), 8.3 microg mL(-1) and 11.6 microg mL(-1), respectively.     

Application of proton induced X-ray emission to the qualitative and quantitative analysis of iodine in biological samples

Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) was applied to evaluate the loss of volatile elements such as iodine in biological samples. The analytical quality of the method is comparable or better than spectrophotometry, which is currently believed to be the most reliable for iodine determination. The temperature dependence of volatility loss of trace iodine was characteristic, and the feature was divided into three temperature regions. The first one, ranging from room temperature to 200 °C, showed only a slight loss below 20% on drying; the second stage, between 200 °C and 350 °C, where carbonizing processes became prominent, showed a remarkable loss up to 50%; the last one, beyond 350 °C, was accompanied by a considerable loss of iodine (more than 80%) with ashing. Even in the analysis using low temperature ashing with oxygen plasma, the loss of iodine observed was considerable (nearly 80%). The significance of these findings by PIXE in trace analysis is noted to improve analytical quality of volatile elements, such as iodine in biological, medical and also environmental fields.     

Specific radiation and recoil energy effects in recoil implantation reaction of51Cr in metal acetylacetonates

In recoil implantation reaction of⁵¹Cr in Cr/acac/₃ a polymer component which was sensitive to radiation dose was found. However, a retention type component⁵¹Cr/acac/₃ was not so sensitive to radiation dose. A remarkable dependence of the yield of⁵¹Cr/acac/₃ on recoil energy was found in the range 10²–10⁶ eV in recoil implantation using a thin film technique. This suggests a special role of implantation reaction in solids.     

Preparation and characterization of bis(acetonitrile)bis(acetylacetonato)technetium(III)

A new chemical species of bis(acetonitrile)bis(acetylacetonato)technetium(III), [Tc(acac)₂(CH₃CN)₂]⁺, has been prepared by the reaction of tris(acetylacetonato)technetium(III) with acetonitrile in the presence of a strong acid, perchloric or hydrochloric acid. The reaction kinetics were followed by observing spectral change of Tc(acac)₃ in the UV-visible region. The complex has been characterized by combination of elemental analyses, IR and UV-visible spectrophotometry, ion-exchange chromatography, and paper electrophoresis. Applicability of this substance to synthesize mixed-ligand technetium(III) complexes was discussed based on the solubility of this complex and the ease of substitution of the acetonitrile ligand.