Analyzing functional similarity of protein sequences with discrete wavelet transform

This paper applies discrete wavelet transform (DWT) with various protein substitution models to find functional similarity of proteins with low identity. A new metric, 'S' function, based on the DWT is proposed to measure the pair-wise similarity. We also develop a segmentation technique, combined with DWT, to handle long protein sequences. The results are compared with those using the pair-wise alignment and PSI-BLAST.     

富锌排铅咀嚼片安全性毒理学评价

对富锌排铅咀嚼片(RZLR)进行了急性毒性试验、Ames试验、骨髓微核试验、精子畸形试验和30 d喂养试验。结果表明,小鼠急性毒性LD50(BW)>21 500 mg/kg,属无毒级;Ames试验、小鼠骨髓微核试验、精子畸形试验和30 d喂养试验结果均为阴性;30 d喂养试验也未显示明显毒性。本研究证实RZLR是一种安全、无毒副作用的保健食品。     

The Use of Adiabatic Calorimetry for the Process Analysis and Safety Evaluation in Free Radical Polymerization

Adiabatic calorimetry is a technique that has been introduced as an important approach to hazard evaluation of exothermically reactive systems. In this paper the free radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) has been studied. One of the most important aspects of MMA polymerization is its exothermicity and autoaccelerating behaviour, these characteristics can generate the occurrence of a runaway reaction.In a runaway situation the reacting system is close to adiabatic behaviour because it is unable to eliminate the heat that is being generated. An even worse situation can be reproduced in the laboratory with the Phi-Tec pseudo-adiabatic calorimeter. Process design parameters that are usually calculated from thermodynamic data or using semiempirical rules, such as adiabatic temperature rise or maximum attainable pressure, can be directly determined.The existence of the ceiling temperature has been experimentally demonstrated.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The application of levulinic acid and 5-nitro-2-furylmethylene diacetate in the total synthesis of some novel biologically active (5-nitro-2-furyl)azomethines

Summary The syntheses andin vitro antibacterial and antifungal evaluation of certain (5-nitro-2-furyl)azomethines with different heterocyclic nuclei are described.

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Die Anwendung von Lävulinsäure und 5-Nitro-2-furylmethylendiacetat in der Totalsynthese einiger neuer biologisch aktiver (5-Nitro-2-furyl)azomethine

Zusammenfassung Es wird die Synthese und diein-vitro-antibakterielle und antifungale Wirksamkeit für bestimmte (5-Nitro-2-furyl)azomethine mit verschiedenen heterocyclischen Kernen beschrieben.

     

The quality of leadership (QL): the EFQM leadership criterion in relation to the 360° feedback evaluation method

The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) integral quality management model covers nine issues: five so-called enabler criteria and four so-called result-oriented criteria. The first enabler criterion concerns leadership and covers all kind of strategic management aspects. However, directly or indirectly, the leadership of the board of directors or its individual members is characterized and scored. An even more explicate technique, originated in a totally different way, is the 360° feedback evaluation method. In this paper both methods are compared and practiced on various individuals. A checklist was developed to facilitate scoring in the EFQM leadership submodel. Both methods, although from a different origin, could be linked easily, covered very similar aspects and gave results that were in excellent agreement with each other. The scoring showed almost identical results, supporting in large the use of the integral EFQM model. Received: 25 May 2002 Accepted: 17 July 2002 Presented at the European Conference on Quality in the Spotlight in Medical Laboratories, 7–9 October 2001, Antwerp, Belgium Correspondence to H. M. J. Goldschmidt     

Darstellung, 19F-NMR-spektroskopischer Nachweis und Untersuchung zur Bildung der metallgemischten Clusteranionen [(Mo6−nWnCl)F]2−, n = 0−6

Preparation, ¹⁹F NMR Spectroscopic Evidence and Study of the Formation of Metal-Mixed Cluster Anions [(Mo_6?nW_nCl )F ]^2?, n = 0?6 The complete system of metal-mixed octahedral cluster ions [(Mo_6?nW_nCl)F]^2?, n = 0?6, is prepared by tempering Mo powder with WCl₆ at 600°C. A mixture containing inclusively the geometric isomers (n = 2, 3, 4) all ten possible species is transferred into the tetra-n-butylammonium salts (TBA)₂[(Mo_6?nW_nCl)F]. In the ¹⁹F nmr spectrum the 24 expected signals are observed, assigned on the basis of their chemical shifts, multiplicities and intensities, and confirmed by a 2D-¹⁹F-¹⁹F COSY spectrum. From the integrated intensities the distribution of the different components is derived revealing a non-statistical formation, in that isomers with Mo…?Mo or W…?W atoms in trans-positions in comparision to those with mixed Mo…?W axes are favoured, and that especially the homoleptic compounds Mo₆ and W₆ are present to an over-average extent. Evaluation of ¹⁹F chemical shifts reveals that F bound to W which is in antipodal position to Mo resonates at higher field compared to F bound to W in a W…?W arrangement, caused by an increased shielding, which is synonymous to a positive antipodal-effect by Mo. Vice versa F bound to Mo with an antipodal W resonates at lower field compared with F bound to Mo in an Mo…?Mo arrangement caused by an increased deshielding and synonymous a negative antipodal-effect by W. The chemical shifts, resulting from antipodal-effects, are different for the compounds within the [(Mo_6?nW_nCl)F]^2? - system. The difference of the antipodal effect of successive substitution products results in characteristic values designated as antipodal shift constants, depending on the kind of substituents, which is valid for other cluster systems, too.     

Re-Evaluation of the Activity Coefficients of Aqueous Hydrochloric Acid Solutions up to a Molality of 2.0 Using Two-Parameter Hückel and Pitzer Equations. Part II. Results from 0 to 95°C

Simple two-parameter Hückel and Pitzer equations were used for the calculation of the activity coefficients of aqueous hydrochloric acid at temperatures 0–60°C up to a molality of 2.0 mol-kg^–1. The data obtained by Harned and Ehlers^(2,3) on galvanic cells without a liquid junction were used in the parameter estimations of these equations. These data consist of sets of measurements at the temperature intervals of 5°C. It was observed that all estimated parameters follow very simple equations with respect to temperature. They are either constant or depend linearly on the temperature. The values for the activity coefficient parameters calculated by these simple equations are recommended here. The recommended parameter values were tested by predicting the data of Gupta, Hills, and Ives,⁽⁵⁾ consisting of cell measurements from 5 to 45°C and molalities up to 1.0 mol-kg^–1, and the data of Bates and Bower,⁽⁴⁾ which extend to 95°C but measurements were only made on molalities less than about 0.1 mol-kg^–1. The activity coefficients obtained by the new equations were also compared to those calculated by the Pitzer equations with the parameter values determined by Saluja, Pitzer, and Phutela⁽⁶⁾ from calorimetric data. The agreement observed was excellent up to a molality of 1.5 mol-kg^–1 at temperatures from 0 to 60°C.     

Novel evaluation method of biodegradabilities for oil-based polycaprolactone by naturally occurring radiocarbon-14 concentration using accelerator mass spectrometry based on ISO 14855-2 in controlled compost

The biodegradabilities of poly(?-caprolactone) (PCL) powders (av. size = 180.7 μm) in controlled compost at 58 °C have been studied using the microbial oxidative degradation analyzer (MODA) based on ISO 14855-2 entitled “Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastic materials under controlled composting conditions - Method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide - Part 2: Gravimetric measurement of carbon dioxide evolved in a laboratory-scale test”. The biodegradability of the PCL powders was 101.4% in a 56-day test period by the ISO method. The biodegradabilities of PCL powders have been studied using percent modern carbon (pMC) measured by accelerated mass spectrometry (AMS). Trapped CO₂ was analyzed by AMS to determine the pMC (sample) using ¹⁴C radiocarbon concentration. By using the theory that the pMC (sample) was the sum of pMC (compost) (104.88%) and pMC (PCL) (0%) as the respective ratios in the determined period, CO₂ (respiration) was calculated only from one reaction vessel. The biodegradability of PCL powders was 79.9% in a 56-day test period by the AMS method. It was found that respiration activities in the sample vessel including PCL, compost and sea sand were the same as that in the blank vessel including compost and sea sand without PCL during the active biodegradation period (0-33 day) at 58 °C. It was confirmed that respiration activities in the sample vessel were slightly higher than that in the blank vessel after active biodegradation due to the propagation of microorganisms using energy and metabolites by PCL biodegradation during those periods.     

Evaluation of the Coulomb energy in relativistic self-consistent-field theory

 Computational schemes are presented with which to evaluate the electrostatic Coulomb energy in relativistic molecular electronic structure calculations using a basis of four-component Dirac spinor amplitudes. We demonstrate that algorithms may be constructed and implemented which differ only in minor details from those in common use in nonrelativistic quantum chemistry, and that the four-component formalism is neither as complicated nor as expensive as has been suggested recently in the literature. Spherically symmetrical atomic basis sets are presented which indicate that accurate representations of the Coulomb energy may be obtained using modest expansions of the electronic density in a scalar auxiliary basis set of spherical harmonic Gaussian-type functions. Received: 15 April 2002 / Accepted: 15 May 2002 / Published online: 29 July 2002