Proton nuclear magnetic resonance characterisation of glycosaminoglycans using chemometric techniques

Various types of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) including heparins, chondroitin sulfates, dermatan sulfate and hyaluronic acid were studied from their proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectra using chemometric techniques. Despite the complexity of the 1H NMR signals, data analysis using principal component analysis enabled the different GAG classes to be distinguished and permitted their classification according to their chemical structure. The analysis of the composition of the major disaccharide unit and other relevant chemical structures in the heparin samples was performed using partial least squares regression.     

Adiabatic squeezing of molecular wave packets by laser pulses

Strong pulse sequences can be used to control the position and width of the molecular wave packet. In this paper we propose a new scheme to maximally compress the wave packet in a quasistatic way by freezing it at a peculiar adiabatic potential shaped by two laser pulses. The dynamic principles of the scheme and the characteristic effect of the different control parameters are presented and analyzed. We use two different molecular models, electronic potentials modeled by harmonic oscillators, with the same force constants, and the Na(2) dimer, to show the typical yield that can be obtained in compressing the initial (minimum width) molecular wave function.     

Structural and spectroscopic properties of N-benzenesulphonylglycine complexes with copper (II)

In this paper are reported structural and spectroscopic properties of (N-benzenesulphonylglycinato) triaquacopper (II) (complex I) and dipotassium bis (N-benzenesulphonylglycinato) cuprate (II) (complex II). The crystals of (I) are monoclinic, space groupP2₁/c,Z=4, with=12.736(4),b=10.292(3),c=10.402(3) Å,=109.41(2)° while those of complex (II) are orthorhombic, space groupPbca, witha=23.333(8),b=10.508(4),c=16.989(5) Å. In both complexes the aminoacid molecules act as bidentatevia carboxylic oxygen and the amide nitrogen atom; in (I) three water molecules complete the coordination to tetragonal pyramidal, while in (II) coordination is square planar, tetrahedrally distorted involving two ligand molecules. The structure (I) was refined to a finalR index of 0.0596 and (II) toR=0.0466.     

Development and validation of a rapid RP‐HPLC method for analysis of (−)‐copalic acid in copaíba oleoresin

The Copaifera species (Leguminoseae) are popularly known as ‘copaíba’ or ‘copaíva’ and are grown in the states of Amazonas, Pará and Ceará in northern Brazil. The oleoresins obtained from these species have been extensively used owing to their pharmacological potential and their application in cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations. In the present study, the development and validation of a novel, rapid and efficient RP‐HPLC methodology for the analysis of the diterpene (?)‐copalic acid (CA), pointed out as the only chemical marker of the Copaifera genus, are described. The regression equation (Y = 26,707x ? 29,498) was obtained with good linearity (r² = 0.9993) and the limits of quantification and detection were 9.182 and 3.032 µg/mL, respectively. The precision and the accuracy of the method were adequate (lower than 4%). Finally, the validation parameters evaluated were satisfactorily met, so the developed method represents a suitable tool for application in the quality control of such natural products. Further studies aiming to develop analytical methodologies for each Copaifera species using a more representative number of chemical markers should be performed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Compensation of second-order dispersion in femtosecond pulses after filamentation using volume holographic transmission gratings recorded in dichromated gelatin

We have designed and developed a pulse compressor with volume transmission holographic gratings to be implemented in post-compression experiments based on filamentation in gases. Pulse compression down to 13?fs has been demonstrated. The gratings have been recorded in commercial PFG-04 dichromated gelatin emulsions with a recording wavelength of 532?nm, attaining sufficient index modulation to achieve high efficiency when they are illuminated by an 800-nm laser.     

Estimation of indoor radon and the annual effective dose from building materials by ionization chamber measurement

Indoor radon and its annual effective dose from the building materials commonly used in Thailand were reported. Radon emission from samples collected in the closed chamber was measured by an ionization chamber. Indoor radon and the annual effective dose were calculated from radon concentration in the closed chamber. Granite yields the highest annual effective dose. Three samples of granite shown the annual effective dose higher than the annual exposure limit for the general public of 1 mSv year^?1 recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Applying appropriate surface coating, the radon emission from some building materials has decreased substantially.     

Tunable soliton self-bending in optical lattices with nonlocal nonlinearity

We address the phenomenon of soliton self-bending in Kerr-type nonlocal nonlinear media with an imprinted transverse periodic modulation of the linear refractive index. We show that the imprinted optical lattice makes possible to control the mobility of soliton by varying the depth and the frequency of the linear refractive index modulation.     

Resonant mode oscillations in modulated waveguiding structures

We put forward the concept of resonant, Rabi-like oscillatons and adiabatic transitions between confined light modes in properly modulated multimode waveguides. The phenomenon is shown to take place in both the linear and the nonlinear regimes. In addition, we find that the mode transitions occur not only in simple geometries, but also in complex confining multimode structures. The phenomenon is analogous to the familiar stimulated state transitions that occur in multilevel quantum systems.     

Observation of higher-order solitons in defocusing waveguide arrays

We observe experimentally higher-order solitons in waveguide arrays with defocusing saturable nonlinearity. Such solitons can comprise several in-phase bright spots and are stable above a critical power threshold. We elucidate the impact of the nonlinearity saturation on the domains of existence and stability of the observed complex soliton states.