Further revisions on the diterpenoid alkaloids reported in a JNP paper (2012, 75, 1145–1159)

We have corrected (Tetrahedron2013, 69, 5859–5866) the structures of diterpenoid alkaloids reported in the Journal of Natural Products2012, 75, 1145–1159. Our follow-up experiments compel us to present further revisions and clarifications on the diterpenoid alkaloids:     

The Effects of CO2 Additional on Flame Characteristics in the CH4/N2/O2 Counterflow Diffusion Flame

The effects (chemical, thermal, transport, and radiative) of CO₂ added to the fuel side and oxidizer side on the flame temperature and the position of the flame front in a one-dimensional laminar counterflow diffusion flame of methane/N₂/O₂ were studied. Overall CO₂ resulted in a decrease in flame temperature whether on the fuel side or on the oxidizer side, with the negative effect being more obvious on the latter side. The prominent effects of CO₂ on the flame temperature were derived from its thermal properties on the fuel side and its radiative properties on the oxidizer side. The results also highlighted the differences in the four effects of CO₂ on the position of the flame front on different sides. In addition, an analysis of OH and H radicals and the heat release rate of the main reactions illustrated how CO₂ affects the flame temperature.     

GC–MS with photoionization of cold molecules in supersonic molecular beams—Approaching the softest ionization method

A new type of photoionization ion source was developed for the ionization of cold molecules in supersonic molecular beams (named Cold PI). The system was based on a GC–MS with supersonic molecular beams and its fly‐through EI of cold molecules ion source (Cold EI) plus quadrupole mass analyzer. A continuously operated deuterium VUV photoionization lamp was added and placed above and between the supersonic nozzle and skimmer whereas the Cold EI ion source served only as a portion of the ion transfer ion optics. The supersonic nozzle and skimmer were voltage biased and the VUV light crossed the supersonic expansion about 10 mm from the nozzle. We obtained over three orders of magnitude enhancement in the relative abundance of the molecular ion of squalane in Cold PI versus in photoionization of this compound as a thermal compound. Accordingly, we also proved that standard photoionization is not as soft ionization method as previously perceived for large compounds. We found that Cold PI is as soft as and possibly softer than field ionization; thus, it could be the softest known ionization method. The ionization yield was about 200–300 times weaker than with Cold EI yet our limit of detection was about 200 femtogram in SIM mode for cholesterol and pyrene which is reasonable. Practically, all hydrocarbons gave only molecular ions with rather uniform response whereas alcohols gave some molecular ions plus major fragment ions particularly with a loss of water (similarly to field ionization). We tested Cold PI in the GC–MS analysis of diesel fuels and analyzed the time averaged data for group type information. We also found that we can analyze the diesel fuels by fast under 20‐s flow injection analysis in which the generated averaged mass spectrum of molecular ions only could serve for the characterization of fuels.     

Analysis of impurities in pharmaceuticals by LC‐MS with cold electron ionization

Pharmaceuticals require careful and precise determination of their impurities that might harm the user upon consumption. Although today, the most common technique for impurities identification is liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS), it has several downsides due to the nature of the ionization method. Also, the analyses in many cases are targeted thus despite being present, some of the compounds will not be revealed. In this paper, we propose and show a new method for untargeted analysis and identification of impurities in active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The instrument used for these analyses is a novel electron ionization (EI) LC‐MS with supersonic molecular beams (SMB). The EI‐LC‐MS‐SMB was implemented for analyses of several drug samples spiked with an impurity. The instrument provides EI mass spectra with enhanced molecular ions, named Cold EI, which increases the identification probabilities when the compound is identified with the aid of an EI library like National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). We analyzed ibuprofen and its impurities, and both the API and the expected impurity were identified with names and structures by the NIST library. Moreover, other unexpected impurities were found and identified proving the ability of the EI‐LC‐MS‐SMB system for truly untargeted analysis. The results show a broad dynamic range of four orders of magnitude at the same run with a signal‐to‐noise ratio of over 10 000 for the API and almost uniform response.     

非绝热聚合波的数学模拟

对非绝热波聚合体系进行了数学模拟, 将反应器尺寸与聚合波关联, 建立了非绝热条件下蔓延聚合波波速和最大波温的数学模型; 利用所建模型计算不同引发剂浓度、 不同环境温度、 不同试管直径下淀粉接枝聚合波的波速和波温, 并与实验测定值进行了比较. 结果表明, 非绝热聚合波的数学模型对无相变体系的拟合结果令人满意, 对聚合波的发生条件及反应器尺寸的影响有很好的预见性; 另一方面, 对于存在相变及与环境有质量交换的波聚合体系, 所建模型的预测性受到了限制.     

冷原子吸收光谱法测定磷酸二氢钾中的汞

用冷原子吸收光谱法测定磷酸二氢钾中的汞含量,研究了测定介质及其浓度、重铬酸钾用量、还原剂用量、共存元素干扰等因素对测定的影响,在本试验条件下方法的回收率为97%-104%,相对标准偏差＜10%.     

Bose-like few-fermion systems

It is shown that the specific heat of a few-fermion system with odd number fermions behaves differently from that of a few-fermion system with even number fermions. The specific heat of an even-number-fermion system behaves like a Bose one rather than a Fermi one.     

THERMOTROPIC LIQUID CRYSTALLINE COPOLYESTERS-SOLID STATE POLYMORPHISM

This paper offers some new evidence on the polymorphism of solid state of liquid crystalline aromatic copolyesters which were prepared in our laboratory. The effects of different treatment conditions(quenching and annealing) on solid structure have been examined mainly by DSC and X-ray diffraction. The discussion focuses on the supercooled mesophase and low temperature solid-solid transition, the shifting of double melting peaks of annealed samples and the changing of their ΔH data depending on the treatment temperature, time and thermal scanning rate.     

Traveling Fronts in Monostable Equations with Nonlocal Delayed Effects

In this paper, we study the existence, uniqueness and stability of traveling wave fronts in the following nonlocal reaction–diffusion equation with delay

Speeding up the FMMR perfect sampling algorithm: A case study revisited

In a previous paper by the second author, two Markov chain Monte Carlo perfect sampling algorithms—one called coupling from the past (CFTP) and the other (FMMR) based on rejection sampling—are compared using as a case study the move‐to‐front (MTF) self‐organizing list chain. Here we revisit that case study and, in particular, exploit the dependence of FMMR on the user‐chosen initial state. We give a stochastic monotonicity result for the running time of FMMR applied to MTF and thus identify the initial state that gives the stochastically smallest running time; by contrast, the initial state used in the previous study gives the stochastically largest running time. By changing from worst choice to best choice of initial state we achieve remarkable speedup of FMMR for MTF; for example, we reduce the running time (as measured in Markov chain steps) from exponential in the length n of the list nearly down to n when the items in the list are requested according to a geometric distribution. For this same example, the running time for CFTP grows exponentially in n. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2003