On I-fuzzy topologies derived from a decreasing family of I-topologies

The aim of this paper is to study I-fuzzy topologies (fuzzy topologies in ostak's sense) derived from decreasing families of I-topologies (fuzzy topologies in Chang's sense), defined on a set X.     

A theoretical evaluation of steric and electronic effects on the structure of [OSO4 (NR3)] (NR3 = bulky chiral alkaloid derivative) complexes

Summary The novel theoretical scheme IMOMM, integrating ab initio and molecular mechanics contributions in a single geometry optimization process, is applied to the structural determination of different [OsO₄(NR₃)] (NR₃ = bulky chiral alkaloid derivative) species closely related to active catalysts for the asymmetric dihydroxylation of olefins. Computed values compare in a satisfactory way with available X-ray data, the relationship between the Os-N distance and the nature of the NR₃, ligand being properly reproduced. The computational scheme allows the separate quantification of electronic and steric effects, as well as the identification of the specific steric repulsions responsible for the difference.     

Analysis of olive and hazelnut oil mixtures by high-performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometry of triacylglycerols and gas-liquid chromatography of non-saponifiable compounds (tocopherols and sterols)

We analysed the triacylglycerol, tocopherol and sterol composition of hazelnut oil, olive oil and their mixtures (90% olive oil with 10% hazelnut oil, 70% olive with 30% hazelnut oil and 50% olive oil with 50% hazelnut oil). The main triacylglycerols were 1,2,3-trioleylglycerol, 2,3-dioleyl-1-palmitoylglycerol, 2,3-dioleyl-1-linoleylglycerol and 2,3-dioleyl-1-stearoylglycerol. Non-saponfiable compounds (tocopherols and sterols) were derivatised as O-trimethylsilyl ethers. Alpha-tocopherol was the main vitamin E isomer in all samples; however, small amounts of beta-tocopherol and gamma-tocopherol were also found. Beta-sitosterol and delta5-avenasterol were the principal sterols in all samples; campesterol and stigmasterol were minor sterol compounds in all samples. Obtusifoliol, which was a major sterol in olive oil and oil mixtures, was not found in hazelnut oil. The discriminant analysis showed that hazelnut oil, olive oil and oil mixtures were clearly separated according to their triacylglycerol composition.     

Models of the low-spin iron(III) hydroperoxide intermediate of heme oxygenase: magnetic resonance evidence for thermodynamic stabilization of the d(xy) electronic state at ambient temperatures

The (13)C pulsed ENDOR and NMR study of [meso-(13)C-TPPFe(OCH(3))(OO(t)Bu)](-) performed in this work shows that although the unpaired electron in low-spin ferrihemes containing a ROO(-) ligand resides in a d(pi) orbital at 8 K, the d(xy) electron configuration is favored at physiological temperatures. The variable temperature NMR spectra indicate a dynamic situation in which a heme with a d(pi) electron configuration and planar porphyrinate ring is in equilibrium with a d(xy) electron configuration that has a ruffled porphyrin ring. Because of the similarity in the EPR spectra of the hydroperoxide complexes of heme oxygenase, cytochrome P450, and the model heme complex reported herein, it is possible that these two electron configurations and ring conformations may also exist in equilibrium in the enzymatic systems. The ruffled porphyrinate ring would aid the attack of the terminal oxygen of the hydroperoxide intermediate of heme oxygenase (HO) on the meso-carbon, and the large spin density at the meso-carbons of a d(xy) electron configuration heme suggests the possibility of a radical mechanism for HO. The dynamic equilibrium between the ruffled (d(xy)) and planar (d(pi)) conformers observed in the model complexes also suggests that a flexible heme binding cavity may be an important structural motif for heme oxygenase activity.     

Effect of pH on the interfacial adsorption activity of pulmonary surfactant

The effect of pH on the interfacial adsorption activity of pulmonary surfactant was examined. Measurements of the surface tension were made in a Wilhelmy-like surface microbalance specially designed to assay small volumes of hypophase in thermostatically controlled conditions. Alkaline pH caused a significant decrease of the surface activity of both pulmonary surfactant and a lipid extract from surfactant (LES) (containing all of the lipids and surfactant protein-B (SP-B) and surfactant protein-C (SP-C) hydrophobic surfactant proteins, but lacking surfactant protein-A). The pK calculated from the change of surface activity versus pH was 9.18±0.26 and 9.27±0.31 for pulmonary surfactant and LES, respectively. The results from this study support the idea that electrostatic interactions between basic residues of SP-B and SP-C and negatively charged surfactant phospholipids could be important for the interfacial adsorption activity of pulmonary surfactant.     

Catalysis on the coastline: theozyme,molecular dynamics,and free energy perturbation analysis of antibody 21D8 catalysis of the decarboxylation of 5-nitro-3-carboxybenzisoxazole

Antibody 21D8 catalyzes the decarboxylation of 5-nitro-3-carboxybenzisoxazole. The hapten used was designed to induce an antibody binding site with anion binders for the carboxylate, plus a nonpolar environment to accelerate decarboxylation. A recent X-ray crystal structure of 21D8 has shown that the binding pocket contains an array of both polar and charged residues. Nevertheless, 21D8 is able to catalyze a reaction that involves a decrease in polarity from reactant to transition state. The origins of this phenomenon were explored using various computational strategies-quantum mechanics, theozyme models, docking, molecular dynamics, free energy perturbation, and linear interaction energy-the combination of which has produced a consistent picture of catalysis. By partially desolvating the charged carboxylate, 21D8 manages to effect "catalysis on the coastline," without burying the carboxylate in a nonpolar region of the binding pocket. The results have implications for that broad class of enzyme and antibody catalyzed reactions that involve the conversion of a substrate with a relatively localized charge into a transition state with a highly dispersed charge.     

Liquid chromatographic/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric study of the phenolic composition of cocoa (Theobroma cacao)

Liquid chromatography coupled with ionspray mass spectrometry in the tandem mode (LC/MS/MS) with negative ion detection was used for the identification of a variety of phenolic compounds in a cocoa sample. Gradient elution with water and acetonitrile, both containing 0.1% HCOOH, was used. Standard solutions of 31 phenolic compounds, including benzoic and cinnamic acids and flavonoid compounds, were studied in the negative ion mode using MS/MS product ion scans. At low collisional activation, the deprotonated molecule [M - H](-) was observed for all the compounds studied. For cinnamic and benzoic acids, losses of CO(2) or formation of [M - CH(3)](-*) in the case of methoxylated compounds were observed. However, for flavonol and flavone glycosides, the spectra present both the deprotonated molecule [M - H](-) of the glycoside and the ion corresponding to the deprotonated aglycone [A - H](-). The latter ion is formed by loss of the rhamnose, glucose, galactose or arabinose residue from the glycosides. Different fragmentation patterns were observed in MS/MS experiments for flavone-C-glycosides which showed fragmentation in the sugar part. Fragmentation of aglycones provided characteristic ions for each family of flavonoids. The optimum LC/MS/MS conditions were applied to the characterization of a cocoa sample that had been subjected to an extraction/clean-up procedure which involved chromatography on Sephadex LH20 and thin-layer chromatographic monitoring. In addition to compounds described in the literature, such as epicatechin and catechin, quercetin, isoquercitrin (quercetin-3-O-glucoside) and quercetin-3-O-arabinose, other compounds were identified for the first time in cocoa samples, such as hyperoside (quercetin-3-O-galactoside), naringenin, luteolin, apigenin and some O-glucosides and C-glucosides of these compounds.     

Oxidation of heme to beta- and delta-biliverdin by Pseudomonas aeruginosa heme oxygenase as a consequence of an unusual seating of the heme

The origin of the unusual regioselectivity of heme oxygenation, i.e. the oxidation of heme to delta-biliverdin (70%) and beta-biliverdin (30%), that is exhibited by heme oxygenase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (pa-HO) has been studied by (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, and resonance Raman spectroscopies. Whereas resonance Raman indicates that the heme-iron ligation in pa-HO is homologous to that observed in previously studied alpha-hydroxylating heme oxygenases, the NMR spectroscopic studies suggest that the heme in this enzyme is seated in a manner that is distinct from that observed for all other alpha-hydroxylating heme oxygenase enzymes for which a structure is known. In pa-HO, the heme is rotated in-plane approximately 110 degrees, so the delta-meso-carbon of the major orientational isomer is located within the HO-fold in the place where the alpha-hydroxylating enzymes typically place the alpha-meso-carbon. The unusual heme seating displayed by pa-HO places the heme propionates so that these groups point in the direction of the solvent-exposed heme edge and appears to originate in large part from the absence of stabilizing interactions between the polypeptide and the heme propionates, which are typically found in alpha-hydroxylating heme oxygenase enzymes. These interactions typically involve Lys-16 and Tyr-112, in Neisseriae meningitidis HO, and Lys-16 and Tyr-134, in human and rat HO-1. The corresponding residues in pa-HO are Asn-19 and Phe-117, respectively. In agreement with this hypothesis, we found that the Asn-19 Lys/Phe-117 Tyr double mutant of pa-HO exists as a mixture of molecules exhibiting two distinct heme seatings; one seating is identical to that exhibited by wild-type pa-HO, whereas the alternative seating is very similar to that typical of alpha-hydroxylating heme oxygenase enzymes and is related to the wild-type seating by approximately 110 degrees in-plane rotation of the heme. Furthermore, each of these heme seatings in the pa-HO double mutant gives rise to a subset of two heme isomeric orientations that are related to each other by 180 degrees rotation about the alpha-gamma-meso-axis. The coexistence of these molecules in solution, in the proportions suggested by the corresponding area under the peaks in the (1)H NMR spectrum, explains the unusual regioselectivity of heme oxygenation observed with the double mutant, which we found produces alpha- (55%), delta- (35%), and beta-biliverdin (10%). Alpha-biliverdin is obtained by oxidation of the heme seated similar to that of alpha-hydroxylating enzymes, whereas beta- and delta-biliverdin are formed from the oxidation of heme seated as in wild-type pa-HO.