Isolation and purification of two antioxidant isomers of resveratrol dimer from the wine grape by counter‐current chromatography

Resveratrol dimers belong to a group of compounds called stilbenes, which along with proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins, catechins, and flavonols are natural phenolic compounds found in grapes and red wine. Stilbenes have a variety of structural isomers, all of which exhibit various biological properties. Counter‐current chromatography with a two‐phase solvent system composed of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (2:5:4:5, v/v/v/v) was applied to isolate and purify stilbene from the stems of wine grape. Two isomers of resveratrol dimers trans‐ε‐viniferin and trans‐δ‐viniferin were obtained from the crude sample in a one‐step separation, with purities of 93.2 and 97.5%, respectively, as determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The structures of these two compounds were identified by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. In addition, their antioxidant activities were assessed by 1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The antioxidant activities of trans‐δ‐viniferin were higher than that of trans‐ε‐viniferin in this model. This work demonstrated that counter‐current chromatography is a powerful and effective method for the isolation and purification of polyphenols from wine grape. Additionally, the DPPH radical assay showed that the isolated component trans‐δ‐viniferin exhibited stronger antioxidant activities than trans‐ε‐viniferin and a little bit weaker than vitamin E at the same concentration.     

Increase of acidification of synthetic brines by ultrasound-treated Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strains isolated from olives

This paper focused on the evaluation of Ultrasound effect on the growth patterns (3–6% of salt and 45 °C), acidification (pH-decrease), interactions with microorganisms, and membrane permeability of nine strains of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. Ultrasound treatment was applied at 20% of net power by modulating duration (2–10 min) and pulses (2–10 s).Viable count (7.15–8.16 log CFU/mL) was never affected by Ultrasound, while the treatment increased the extent of pH decrease of at least three strains (109, 162 and c19). L. plantarum c19 was the best performer, as a low intensity treatment was able to increase its acidification, without affecting its growth. The effects could be attributed to an increased permeability of the cellular membrane, as suggested by the increase of released intracellular components. Other factors should be further assessed (e.g. possible changes in the metabolism) and the performances of Ultrasound-treated strains in real brines.     

Reality-Based Algebras,Generalized Camina-Frobenius Pairs,and the Nonexistence of Degree Maps

The notion of a generalized Camina-Frobenius pair is extended to reality-based algebras, and a construction that characterizes such pairs is given. Zero-product sets are defined, and a best-possible upper bound on their size is proved and related to Camina-Frobenius pairs. It is shown that there exist commutative reality-based algebras with zero-product sets and, hence, no degree map, of every dimension at least 4. All such 4-dimensional algebras are constructed explicitly.     

Commutative Standard Table Algebras with at Most One Nontrivial Multiplicity

We classify commutative standard table algebras (STA) with at most one nontrivial multiplicity. The main result shows that there exists exactly one nontrivial multiplicity if and only if the table basis is the wreath product of a two-dimensional subalgebra and an abelian group. The theorem applies to adjacency algebras of commutative association schemes with exactly one primitive idempotent matrix of rank greater than one. A theorem of Seitz that characterizes finite groups with exactly one irreducible representation of degree greater than one is another corollary of the main theorem.     

Development and Utilization of a Model System to Evaluate the Potential of Surface Coatings for Protecting Grapes from Volatile Phenols Implicated in Smoke Taint

Due to the increasing frequency of wildfires in recent years, there is a strong need for developing mitigation strategies to manage the impact of smoke exposure of vines and occurrence of ‘smoke taint’ in wine. One plausible approach would be to prevent or inhibit the uptake of volatile phenols from smoke into grape berries in the vineyard. In this study we describe a model system we developed for evaluating under controlled conditions the effectiveness of a range of surface coatings (including existing horticultural sprays) for reducing/preventing the uptake of volatile phenols and their subsequent conversion to phenolic glycosides. Grapes were coated with the materials to be tested and then exposed to gaseous phenols, via evaporation from an aqueous solution, in a semi-closed glass container. Analysis of volatile phenols and their glycosidic grape metabolites demonstrated that the treatments typically did not provide any significant protection; in fact, some resulted in higher concentrations of these compounds in the grapes. The highest concentrations of volatile phenols and their glycosides were observed after application of oily, hydrophobic materials, suggesting that these materials may enhance the adsorption or transfer of volatile phenols into grape berries. Therefore, it is important to consider the types of sprays that are being applied in the vineyard before and during smoke events to prevent the potential of exacerbating the uptake of smoke compounds by grape berries.     

pH-Metric study of gamma-irradiated table sugar for dosimetry purpose

Table sugar has been studied for a long time as a dosimeter in radiation accident and in high-dose dosimetry by using different analytical techniques especially electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and optical absorption spectrometry (OA). In this work, we report the results obtained by pH-metry on gamma-irradiated sugar. Table sugar samples were exposed to gamma radiation with doses of 0.1–58 kGy. Aqueous solutions of sugar were prepared with different concentrations ranged from 1% to 60% (w/w). It was found that sugar solutions showed strong decrease of pH up to concentration of 10% (w/w) followed by a slow decrease for the concentrations between 10 and 60% (w/w). Two possible mechanisms are proposed to explain the acidity increasing of the sugar solutions based on the existence of a carbonyl radical induced by gamma irradiation in solid table sugar with an open ring structure. Results for radiation response, post-irradiation change, reading temperature, dose-rate effect and repeatability are presented in this study. The results showed that pH-metric/sugar solution is an adequate high-dose dosimetric system in the dose range of 0.1–10 kGy.     

Formula that accounts a number of atoms within a period of the periodic table

The formula that determines a number of atoms within a period of the Periodic Table is derived and compared with the formula offered by Tomkeieff in 4 . © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem 2007     

Determination of cadmium and lead in table salt by sequential multi-element flame atomic absorption spectrometry

In the present paper, a simultaneous pre-concentration procedure for the sequential determination of cadmium and lead in table salt samples using flame atomic absorption spectrometry is proposed. This method is based on the liquid-liquid extraction of cadmium(II) and lead(II) ions as dithizone complexes and direct aspiration of the organic phase for the spectrometer. The sequential determination of cadmium and lead is possible using a computer program. The optimization step was performed by a two-level fractional factorial design involving the variables: pH, dithizone mass, shaking time after addition of dithizone and shaking time after addition of solvent. In the studied levels these variables are not significant. The experimental conditions established propose a sample volume of 250 mL and the extraction process using 4.0 mL of methyl isobutyl ketone. This way, the procedure allows determination of cadmium and lead in table salt samples with a pre-concentration factor higher than 80, and detection limits of 0.3 ng g⁻¹ for cadmium and 4.2 ng g⁻¹ for lead. The precision expressed as relative standard deviation (n = 10) were 5.6 and 2.6% for cadmium concentration of 2 and 20 ng g⁻¹, respectively, and of 3.2 and 1.1% for lead concentration of 20 and 200 ng g⁻¹, respectively. Recoveries of cadmium and lead in several samples, measured by standard addition technique, proved also that this procedure is not affected by the matrix and can be applied satisfactorily for the determination of cadmium and lead in saline samples. The method was applied for the evaluation of the concentration of cadmium and lead in table salt samples consumed in Salvador City, Bahia, Brazil.     

QuEChERS method for the simultaneous quantification of phorate and its metabolites in porcine and chicken muscle and table eggs using ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

An analytical method to detect phorate and its metabolites, including phorate sulfone, phorate sulfoxide, phoratoxon, phoratoxon sulfone, and phoratoxon sulfoxide, in porcine and chicken muscles and table eggs was developed and validated. Extraction was performed using a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method and analysis was conducted using ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry. Matrix‐matched calibrations were linear over the tested concentrations, with determination coefficient ≥ 0.995 for all tested analytes in the different matrices. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.001 and 0.004 mg/kg, respectively. The calculated recovery rates at three fortification levels were satisfactory, with values between 74.22 and 119.89% and relative standard deviations < 10%. The method was applied successfully to commercial samples collected from locations throughout the Korean Peninsula, and none of them showed any traces of the tested analytes. Overall, the developed method is simple and versatile, and can be used for monitoring phorate and its metabolites in animal products rich in protein and fat.     

流动注射安培法快速测定食盐中碘

报道了在酸性溶液中 ,IO- 3可被过量的I- 还原 ,FI流动注射安培法快速测定食盐中碘的方法。溶解于蒸馏水中的食盐样品 (30 μl)注入pH 1的 0 .1mol·L- 1NaCl + 1× 10 - 3mol·L- 1KI的载液中。自行研制的壁喷玻碳电极安培流通检测池作为工作电极 ,电位为 + 0 .2V(vs.SCE)。该系统和反向 (注入KI)系统的线性范围均为 1× 10 - 6 ～ 1× 10 - 4mol·L- 1,检出限为 5× 10 - 7mol·L- 1,相对标准偏差为 0 .8% (n =37) ,样品测定的回收率为 97.6 %～ 10 4 % ,采样频率 90样·h- 1。通过Bernoull恒流瓶可获得无脉冲载流。