Method for the collection and analysis of volatile compounds in the breath

A new method is described for the collection and assay of volatile compounds in the breath. Subjects expired into a pump-assisted collecting apparatus in which the breath was drawn through a water trap and then through an adsorptive trap where the volatile compounds were captured on graphitized carbon and molecular sieve. The sample was subsequently eluted from the trap by thermal desorption, concentrated by two-stage cryofocusing, then assayed by gas chromatography with flame ionization and flame photometric detection. Several compounds were regularly observed in the breath of normal human volunteers, including peaks eluting with the same retention times as isoprene, ethanol, acetone, acetaldehyde and carbon disulfide. As a quantitative assay for endogenous isoprene in the breath, the method was sensitive, linear, accurate and reproducible. This method provided a number of advantages: the collection technique was acceptable to volunteers and could be used at sites remote from the laboratory. The automated assay allowed isoprene and several other volatile compounds in the breath to be observed consistently and with improved sensitivity.     

Effects of ultraviolet-A exposure on ultraviolet-B-induced accumulation of specific flavonoids in Brassica napus.

Many plant species are able to acclimate to changes in ultraviolet-B radiation (UVB) (290-320 nm) exposure. Due to the wide range of targets of UVB, plants have evolved diverse repair and protection mechanisms. These include increased biosynthesis of UVB screening compounds, elevated antioxidant activity and increased rates of DNA repair. We have shown previously that Brassica napus L. cv Topas plants can acclimate quite effectively to environmentally relevant increases in UVB through the accumulation of specific flavonoids in the leaf epidermis. However, B. napus was found to lose other flavonoids when plants are exposed to ultraviolet-A radiation (UVA) (320-400 nm) and/or UVB (Wilson et al. [1998] Photochem. Photobiol. 67, 547-553). In this study we demonstrate that the levels of all the extractable flavonoids in the leaves of B. napus plants are decreased in a dose-dependent manner in response to UVA exposure. Additionally, the accumulation of the extractable flavonoids was examined following a shift from photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) + UVA to PAR + UVB to assess if preexposure to UVA affected UVB-induced flavonoid accumulation. UVA preexposures were found to impede UVB-induced accumulation of some flavonoids. This down regulation was particularly evident for quercetin-3-O-sophoroside and quercetin-3-O-sophoroside-7-O-glucoside, which is interesting because quercetins have been demonstrated to be induced by UVB and correlated with UVB tolerance in some plant species. The photobiological nature of these UVA-mediated effects on flavonoid accumulation implies complex interactions between UVA and UVB responses.     

Organo tin nucleophiles iii. Palladium catalyzed reductive cleavage of allylic heterosubstituents with tin hydride

Tributyl tin hydride, serving as an efficient hydride transfer agent, allows highly chemoselective palladium catalyzed reductions of allylic heterosubstituents even in presence of aldehydes, benzyl acetate and benzyl chloride.     

Book Reviews

Unsigned book reviews are by the Book Review Editor.     

A better step-off algorithm for the knapsack problem

The knapsack problem, maximize Σ^m_{i = 1}c_ix_i when Σ^m_{i = 1}a_ix_i?b for integers x_i?0, can be solved by the classical step-off algorithm. The algorithm develops a series of feasible solutions with ever-increasing objective values. We make a change in the problem so that the step-off algorithm produces a series of solutions of not necessarily increasing objective values. A point is reached when no better solutions can be found and the calculation is stopped.     

Proof of a hypercontractive estimate via entropy

Consider the probability spaceW={−1, 1} ⁿ with the uniform (=product) measure. Letf: W →R be a function. Letf=Σf _IX_I be its unique expression as a multilinear polynomial whereX _I=Π _i∈I x _i. For 1≤m≤n let =Σ_|I|=m f _IX_I. LetT _ɛ (f)=Σf _Iɛ^|I| X _I where 0<ɛ<1 is a constant. A hypercontractive inequality, proven by Bonami and independently by Beckner, states that

Bessel identities in the waldspurger correspondence over the real numbers

We prove certain identities between Bessel functions attached to irreducible unitary representations ofPGL ₂(R) and Bessel functions attached to irreducible unitary representations of the double cover ofSL ₂(R). These identities give a correspondence between such representations which turns out to be the Waldspurger correspondence. In the process we prove several regularity theorems for Bessel distributions which appear in the relative trace formula. In the heart of the proof lies a classical result of Weber and Hardy on a Fourier transform of classical Bessel functions. This paper constitutes the local (real) spectral theory of the relative trace formula for the Waldspurger correspondence for which the global part was developed by Jacquet. Research of first author was partially supported by NSF grant DMS-0070762. Research of second author was partially supported by NSF grant DMS-9729992 and DMS 9971003.     

An acyclic extension of the braid group

We relate Artin's braid groupB _℞=lim_→B_n to a certain groupF′ ofpl-homeomorphisms of the interval. Namely, there exists a short exact sequence 1→B _∞→A→F′→1 whereH _kA=0,k≥1.