Conversions between ordered and disordered cellulose. Effects of mechanical treatment followed by cyclic wetting and drying

An investigation into the effects of mechanical treatment and hydration on the order of cellulose substrates (microcrystalline cellulose and Cladophora cellulose) was performed by the use of ball milling followed by cyclic wetting and drying. The results, monitored by¹³C-CP/MAS NMR-spectroscopy, were evaluated by calculation of the crystallinity indices and principal component analysis of the NMR data acquired. The results showed that a large part of the disorder induced by the mechanical treatment of cellulose by ball milling is reversible and reordering upon hydration leads to the cellulose I form initially present. The C4 signals corresponding to the reversibly disordered cellulose chains are observed in the amorphous region between 79 and 86 ppm in the¹³C-CP/MAS NMR-spectra together with signals from cellulose chains on the surface of ordered regions. The peak cluster which contains the C2, C3 and C5 ring carbons can be divided into two specific spectral regions; one between 74 and 77 ppm largely originates from ring carbons within disordered cellulose structures, and one between 70 and 74 ppm contains larger contributions from ordered cellulose. The behaviour of the celluloses upon milling is in accordance with a concept of ordered cellulose fibrils containing amorphous cellulose mainly as surface layers and induced reversible lattice distortions.     

Principal component analysis of carbon-13 substituent-induced chemical shifts of some unsaturated compounds

Principal component analysis (PCA) is applied to 32 disubstituted unsaturated compounds (Y–CH₂–X): cyanides, oximes and propenes; bearing 12 -substituents: F, Cl, Br, I, OMe, OEt, SMe, SEt, NMe₂, NEt₂, Me, and Et. The experimental ¹³C chemical shifts for the -carbon and functional carbon atoms are correlated with theoretically derived molecular properties, i.e. partial charges, electronegativity, hardness, dipole moments and the nuclear repulsion energies. In the first PCA, the clustering of these three classes of organic compounds occurred mostly because of the chemical shifts and partial charges, and also of the dipole moments, hardness and electronegativity parameters as confirmed by loading graph. A strong grouping is observed in the second PCA, showing the chemical shift dependence on the type of heteroatom substituents. Therefore, sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen and neutral groups exhibit four types of C-13 SCS influences, indicating that the heteroatom (Y) properties play a significant role on the effects on chemical shifts. The -halogenated compounds represent a very heterogeneous group due to possible orbital interactions between the functional group and the substituent. The third PCA shows the grouping of F, Cl, Br and I derivatives, confirming the second PCA results that same halogen presents the same or very similar effects on the chemical shifts.     

Structural and dynamic variations in DNA hexamers containing T-T and F-F single and tandem internal mispairs

Molecular dynamics simulations of double-helical DNA oligomers have been performed to investigate differences in the structure, dynamics, and hydration of F-F and T-T mispairs. Hexamers containing F-F pairs were found to be more dynamic, especially in the region of the mispair itself. This dynamic variability derives from greater flexibility of F-F pairs. The T-T mispairs, on the other hand, were found to be comparatively tightly bound as wobble pairs. The major and minor groove edges of the T-T pairs were observed to be solvated at exposed carbonyl positions by at least one water molecule, while F-F pairs lacked solvating waters. Stacking interactions were nearly identical for T-T and F-F pairs, leading to similar average structures, even though F stacking was more dynamically variable. Solvation differences between F-F and T-T therefore support the steric exclusion model for nucleotide incorporation in DNA replication. Large differences in the orientation of minor groove functional groups, in addition to differences in solvation, further rationalize why F bases present during DNA extension events induce stalls. Two novel nucleotides are proposed to further elucidate minor groove interactions of DNA with polymerase molecules.Electronic Supplementary Material This Material consists of equilibration protocol, plots of center-of-mass stacking, water radial distribution functions, helical parameter dynamics, and dynamics data for a control AT sequence. Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at Contribution to the Jacopo Tomasi Honorary Issue     

明胶中α组分含量对明胶/羟基磷灰石复合材料力学性能的影响

选用α组分含量分别为20.5%,41%和50%的A、B、C 3种明胶作为原料,采用同时加入法制备了明胶/羟基磷灰石(HAP)复合材料.通过对干态复合物膜拉伸性能的测试和对比,发现,明胶α组分含量的变化对复合材料的弹性模量影响较大,而对拉伸强度和断裂伸长率的影响则相对较小,但总的来说,三者均随α组分含量的增加而增大.其中,α组分含量最高的复合物C的拉伸强度为86.40 MPa,弹性模量为2682.35 MPa,断裂伸长率为8.65%.另外,对复合物C基本性质的表征结果表明,该材料具有类似于自然骨的组成和结构性质,因此有望成为一种具有优异力学性能的骨替代材料.     

Characterization of Carbohydrates in Paper and Paper Pulps Using Anion Exchange Chromatography and Principal Component Analysis

In the course of this investigation, a method for the characterization and differentiation of paper pulps was developed. After hydrolyzation of the papers and the respective raw pulps with trifluoroacetic acid, the hydrolyzates were analyzed with respect to their carbohydrate composition using ion exchange chromatography. The variations in carbohydrate composition mainly arise from the various hemicelluloses of the papers and pulps. The chromatographic results were then further processed using principal component analysis which allows correlating the various papers to different pulp materials.     

Fuzzy theory in analytical chemistry

The concept of fuzzy theory is described in order to provide the analyst with the means for dealing with vague statements, uncertain observations or the fuzziness of human perception and interpretation, in general. In a theoretical part, basic notions of fuzzy theory are given, such as types of membership functions, operations with fuzzy sets, definitions of fuzzy numbers, points, functions, and relations, and the use of linguistic variables. The difference between fuzziness and probability is outlined. The applications section demonstrates advantages of fuzzy theory methods compared to common mathematical methods with respect to data handling for calibration of analytical methods, to classification of Chromatographie and spectroscopic patterns, to component identification and multicomponent analysis, and to designing fuzzy expert systems for selection of analytical procedures.     

Applications of maximum likelihood principal component analysis: incomplete data sets and calibration transfer

The application of a new method to the multivariate analysis of incomplete data sets is described. The new method, called maximum likelihood principal component analysis (MLPCA), is analogous to conventional principal component analysis (PCA), but incorporates measurement error variance information in the decomposition of multivariate data. Missing measurements can be handled in a reliable and simple manner by assigning large measurement uncertainties to them. The problem of missing data is pervasive in chemistry, and MLPCA is applied to three sets of experimental data to illustrate its utility. For exploratory data analysis, a data set from the analysis of archeological artifacts is used to show that the principal components extracted by MLPCA retain much of the original information even when a significant number of measurements are missing. Maximum likelihood projections of censored data can often preserve original clusters among the samples and can, through the propagation of error, indicate which samples are likely to be projected erroneously. To demonstrate its utility in modeling applications, MLPCA is also applied in the development of a model for chromatographic retention based on a data set which is only 80% complete. MLPCA can predict missing values and assign error estimates to these points. Finally, the problem of calibration transfer between instruments can be regarded as a missing data problem in which entire spectra are missing on the ‘slave’ instrument. Using NIR spectra obtained from two instruments, it is shown that spectra on the slave instrument can be predicted from a small subset of calibration transfer samples even if a different wavelength range is employed. Concentration prediction errors obtained by this approach were comparable to cross-validation errors obtained for the slave instrument when all spectra were available.     

Simple correction for perturbations of peak amplitudes in statistical models of overlap

Summary The application of statistical models of overlap (SMOs) to saturated separations is made possible by theory that addresses variable peak amplitudes. These amplitudes cause peak widths to vary, and this variation can be modeled by a random variable whose effect on the probability of overlap is expressed by a convolution integral. Modified probabilities of overlap are derived for both homogeneous and nonhomogeneous one-dimensional separations, and the new probabilities are compared to results determined from published computer simulations. The new theory can describe overlap at saturations that are 3 to 4 times larger than before. Previously reported experimental chromatograms are reinterpreted to show the capabilities of theory. The theoretical extension is an important step towards making SMOs into practical tools for screening analytical separations.