Polyphenolics with Strong Antioxidant Activity from Acacia nilotica Ameliorate Some Biochemical Signs of Arsenic-Induced Neurotoxicity and Oxidative Stress in Mice

Neurotoxicity is a serious health problem of patients chronically exposed to arsenic. There is no specific treatment of this problem. Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathological process of neurotoxicity. Polyphenolics have proven antioxidant activity, thereby offering protection against oxidative stress. In this study, we have isolated the polyphenolics from Acacia nilotica and investigated its effect against arsenic-induced neurotoxicity and oxidative stress in mice. Acacia nilotica polyphenolics prepared from column chromatography of the crude methanol extract using diaion resin contained a phenolic content of 452.185 ± 7.879 mg gallic acid equivalent/gm of sample and flavonoid content of 200.075 ± 0.755 mg catechin equivalent/gm of sample. The polyphenolics exhibited potent antioxidant activity with respect to free radical scavenging ability, total antioxidant activity and inhibition of lipid peroxidation. Administration of arsenic in mice showed a reduction of acetylcholinesterase activity in the brain which was counteracted by Acacia nilotica polyphenolics. Similarly, elevation of lipid peroxidation and depletion of glutathione in the brain of mice was effectively restored to normal level by Acacia nilotica polyphenolics. Gallic acid methyl ester, catechin and catechin-7-gallate were identified in the polyphenolics as the major active compounds. These results suggest that Acacia nilotica polyphenolics due to its strong antioxidant potential might be effective in the management of arsenic induced neurotoxicity.     

Transfer measurements for the Ti+Ni systems at near barrier energies

Large enhancements have been observed in the sub-barrier fusion cross sections for Ti+Ni systems in our previous studies. Coupled channel calculations incorporating couplings to 2⁺ and 3⁻ states failed to explain these enhancements completely. A possibilty of transfer channels contributing to the residual enhancements had been suggested. In order to investigate the role of relevant transfer channels, measurements of one- and two-nucleon transfer were carried out for ^46,48Ti+⁶¹Ni systems. The present paper gives the results of these studies.     

Conductometric characterization of dissolved humic materials

Conductometric replacement titrations of humic and fulvic acids dissolved in a slight excess of hydroxide were carried out with standard acid. The slope of the titration curve corresponding to the protonation of humate/fulvate was related to the electrophoretic mobility of the polyanions or aggregates, and hence to their dimensions. Promising qualitative agreement was found between sizes of a number of these species and their conductance slopes. Both the separation of humic fractions and size reduction by photolysis and sonication led to the anticipated decrease in slope. The slight reduction in slope observed during the course of the titration was tentatively ascribed to contraction of the expanded (drained) humic aggregates.     

Dynamic conductivity measurements in humic and fulvic acid solutions

Conductivity changes of dilute aqueous humic and fulvic acids solutions were monitored after the addition of small quantities of Cu, Cd, Pb, and Zn. The solutions were stirred at a constant and reproducible rate, and measurements proceeded until stable conductivities were attained. The values were compared to KCl reference solutions treated in an identical manner, and the results showed that the humic materials significantly reduced metal ion mobilities. Pb and Cu were affected more than Cd and Zn, and especially Zn regained a significant portion of its mobility upon dispersal. Cu, in contrast, was strongly and irreversibly retarded in all cases. It was inferred that Zn underwent transient electrostatic interactions with humics at high local concentration, while associations between Cu and humics were rapid and permanent. Different humic materials showed these effects to different extents. Raising the temperature from 20 to 60 °C did not, as expected, lead to higher relative conductivities in metal-humate solutions, but showed enhanced retardation of the cations. It was noted that temperature induced aggregation (clouding) of humic solutions increased the effective sizes of the metal-humate complexes, reducing their mobilities in aqueous solution.     

A host-guest optical sensor for aliphatic amines based on lipophilic cyclodextrin

A host-guest optical sensor for the determination of aliphatic amines as exemplified by octylamine is proposed. It is based on the reversible fluorescence enhancement of heptakis(2,6-di-O-isobutyl)-β-cyclodextrin(DOB-β-CD) hosting tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) immobilized in poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane by aliphatic amine extracted from aqueous phase into membrane phase. The optimum membrane contained 1.15 wt % TPP, 6.15 wt % DOB-β-CD as sensing reagent and other membrane materials. The fluorescence enhancement of the membrane resulted from the formation of a stable three-component complex among DOB-β-CD, TPP, and aliphatic amines. With the optimum conditions described, the fluorescence response of the sensor to octylamine shows a good correlation with the theoretically derived equation in the range 1.0 × 10^–6 to 8.0 × 10^–4 mol/L. The response characteristics including reversibility, response time, reproducibility and lifetime and selectivity of this optical device are also discussed in detail. This sensor has also been applied for the determination of octylamine in water samples containing interferents with satisfactory recovery.     

Investigation of the quantitative properties of the quadrupole orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer with electrospray ionisation using 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine

This paper describes the investigation of the potential of a quadrupole orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Q-TOF) equipped with an atmospheric pressure ionisation interface for quantitative measurements of small molecules separated by reversed phase liquid chromatography. To this end, the detection limits and linear dynamic range in particular were studied in an LC/MS/MS experiment using 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine standards and 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine for internal standardisation. In a second phase, the experiment was repeated with real biological extracts (whole blood, serum, and vitreous humour). A calibration for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and its metabolite 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine was prepared in each of these matrices again using 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine as internal standard. The resulting quantitative data were compared with those obtained by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection for the same extracts. The Q-TOF results revealed excellent sensitivity and a linear dynamic range of nearly four decades (2-10 000 pg on-column, r(2) = 0.9998, 1/x weighting). Furthermore, all the calibration curves prepared in biological material were superimposable, LC/MS/MS and LC-fluorescence, and the quantitative results for actual samples compared very favourably. It was concluded that the Q-TOF achieves a linear dynamic range for quantitative LC/MS/MS work exceeding that of fluorescence detection and at much better absolute sensitivity. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of spatial heterogeneity on level of rejuvenation in Ni80P20 metallic glass

Understanding the relation between spatial heterogeneity and structural rejuvenation is one of the hottest topics in the field of metallic glasses (MGs). In this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is implemented to discover the effects of initial spatial heterogeneity on the level of rejuvenation in the Ni$_{80}$P$_{20 }$MGs. For this purpose, the samples are prepared with cooling rates of $10^{10}$ K/s-$10^{12}$ K/s to make glassy alloys with different atomic configurations. Firstly, it is found that the increase in the cooling rate leads the Gaussian-type shear modulus distribution to widen, indicating the aggregations in both elastically soft and hard regions. After the primary evaluations, the elastostatic loading is also used to transform structural rejuvenation into the atomic configurations. The results indicate that the sample with intermediate structural heterogeneity prepared with 10$^{11}$ K/s exhibits the maximum structural rejuvenation which is due to the fact that the atomic configuration in an intermediate structure contains more potential sites for generating the maximum atomic rearrangement and loosely packed regions under an external excitation. The features of atomic rearrangement and structural changes under the rejuvenation process are discussed in detail.     

A study of some parameters relevant to the response of harwell PMMA dosimeters to gamma and electron irradiation

The effects on the radiation response of Harwell polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) dosimeters of dose-rate, radiation type, temperature during irradiation and post-irradiation storage, and post-irradiation stability, are of importance to the operators of commercial irradiation facilities.

This paper describes recent studies of the effects of some of these parameters on the radiation response of Harwell Red 4034, Amber 3042, and Gammachrome YR Perspex dosimeters, and provides data on batch to batch variation and shelf-life.     

Some hydroxylated derivatives of chlorpromazine

As part of a program to determine the metabolic fate of chlorpromazine [2-chloro-10-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)phenothiazine] (I), the synthesis of several hydroxylated derivatives of I was undertaken. This paper reports the preparation and structural verification of the 1- and 6-hydroxy and the desdimethyl 3-hydroxy derivative, and summarizes unsuccessful attempts to prepare the 4-hydroxy derivative of I.     

Haptotropic rearrangement in tricarbonylchromium complexes of 2-aminobiphenyl and 4-aminobiphenyl

The para-aminobiphenyl compound [(η(6)-C(6)H(5))(C(6)H(4)-4-NH(2))]Cr(CO)(3) (1) has an arene-phenyl dihedral angle of 38.01(6)°, as determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, and 34.7(11)°, as determined by DFT calculations. It undergoes haptotropic rearrangement at 140 °C in solution to form [(η(6)-C(6)H(4)-4-NH(2))(C(6)H(5))]Cr(CO)(3) (2), even though previous reports have suggested that such rearrangements should not be observed in compounds with arene-phenyl dihedral angles greater than 22°. NMR analysis gave a rate constant of k = 5.0 × 10(-5) s(-1) for the rearrangement of 1 to 2. The ortho-substituted analog [(η(6)-C(6)H(5))(C(6)H(4)-2-NH(2))]Cr(CO)(3) (3) has an arene-phenyl dihedral angle of 67.70(7)°, as determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, and 51.9(10)°, as determined by DFT calculations. Surprisingly, even though it displays a more extreme canting of arene rings, 3 rearranges to [(η(6)-C(6)H(4)-2-NH(2))(C(6)H(5))]Cr(CO)(3) (4) at 140 °C in solution with a rate constant of k = 2.6 × 10(-4) s(-1). This approximately five-fold rate enhancement likely results from the ortho-amino group providing intramolecular stabilization for intermediates formed during the rearrangement.