Performance evaluation of fiber Bragg grating sensors by digital holographic technique, strain gauge measurement

In view of the growing interest for non-destructive tests of materials, geodynamical monitoring and in general remote sensing, there is a great effort to bring practical optical sensors from research labs to industrial and environmental applications. In this paper, we employ digital holographic technique as an efficient tool for evaluating the strain measurement capability of fiber Bragg gratings (FBG). A cantilever beam has been employed as a test structure under loading test. The strain measurements results obtained by fiber-based sensors have been compared to those obtained by using full-field digital holographic technique and point-wise strain gauge sensors glued on the same cantilever beam. A simple theoretical model is also presented to interpret and compare the experimental results coming from different techniques.     

Recurrence in Quantum Mechanics

We first compare the mathematical structure of quantum and classical mechanics when both are formulated in a C^*-algebraic framework. By using finite von Neumann algebras, a quantum mechanical analogue of Liouville's theorem is then proposed. We proceed to study Poincaré recurrence in C^*-algebras by mimicking the measure theoretic setting. The results are interpreted as recurrence in quantum mechanics, similar to Poincaré recurrence in classical mechanics.     

Synthesis of optically active leukotriene (SRS-A) intermediates

In an approach to SRS-A and analogues thereof, the key (5$\text{S}$, 6$\text{S}$)-epoxy alcohol $\text{9}$ and its 6-epimer $\text{18}$ were prepared starting from $\text{D}$-araboascorbic acid and $\text{L}$-diethyl tartrate, respectively.     

Simultaneous microdetermination of iodine and sulfur in organic compounds

A simple and rapid method for the simultaneous microdetermination of iodine and sulfur in organic compounds is described. The procedure utilizes the Schöniger flask method for the combustion, the iodide ions titration with 0.01 N mercuric perchlorate solution and diphenylcarbazone as indicator and the sulfate ions titration with 0.01 M barium perchlorate solution and dimethylsulfonazo III as indicator. The results obtained are in good agreement with calculated values.     

A synthetic divalent cholera toxin glycocalix[4]arene ligand having higher affinity than natural GM1 oligosaccharide

A high-affinity ligand of cholera toxin, the divalent glycocalix[4]arene 1, was obtained by exploiting a combination of structure-based design of glycomimetic monovalent ligands and affinity enhancements by multivalent presentation through a calix[4]arene scaffold. It exhibits a slightly higher affinity for the toxin than its natural ligand, the GM1 oligosaccharide.     

Di- and trinuclear Zn2+ complexes of calix[4]arene based ligands as catalysts of acyl and phosphoryl transfer reactions

The calix[4]arene scaffold, blocked in the cone conformation by proper alkylation of the lower rim hydroxyls, was used as a convenient molecular platform for the design of bi- and trimetallic Zn2+ catalysts. The catalytic activity of the Zn2+ complexes of calix[4]arenes decorated at the 1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,2,3-positions of the upper rim with 2,6-bis[(dimethylamino)methyl]pyridine units were investigated in the cleavage of ester 6 and of the RNA model compound HPNP. High rate enhancements, up to 4 orders of magnitude, were observed in a number of catalyst-substrate combinations. Interestingly the order of catalytic efficiency among regioisomeric dinuclear complexes in the cleavage of ester 6 is 1,2-vicinal > 1,3-distal, but it is reversed in the reaction of HPNP. The higher efficiency of trinuclear compared to dinuclear complexes provides an indication of the cooperation of three Zn2+ ions in the catalytic mechanism.     

o-quinone methides 2. Stereoselectivity in cycloaddition reactions of o-quinone methides with vinyl ethers

Cycloaddition reactions between vinyl ethers 3 and $\text{o}$-quinone methides 2, thermally generated from 2-hydroxybenzyl alcohols 1, have been studied. The structure and conformational preferences of the 4-substituted 2-ethoxy-(2,3)-dihydro-2$\text{H}$-benzopyrans 4–9 obtained, which show new interesting features, are discussed together with competitive kinetic data. The cycloaddition process is concerted and involves $\text{o}$-quinone methides in the $\text{E}$-configuration. The OEt-$\text{endo}$ transition state seems to be preferred with ethyl vinyl ether and $\text{Z}$-1-propenyl ethyl ether, whereas with $\text{E}$-1-propenyl ethyl ether the stereoselectivity of the cycloaddition process depends on substituents on the methylene group of the starting alcohol 1. These results are discussed in terms of $\text{endo}$ and $\text{exo}$ preference of the propenyl ether methyl group.     

Performance of an ultra-low elution-volume 96-well plate: drug discovery and development applications

Recently, sample preparation has been considered to be the major cause of bottlenecks during high-throughput analysis. With the assistance of robotic liquid handlers and the 96-well plate format, more samples can be prepared for subsequent liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) analysis. Protein precipitation is still widely used despite potential loss of sensitivity or variable results due to ion suppression. The use of solid-phase extraction (SPE) clearly gives superior results but may not be as cost effective as protein precipitation due to the labor and material costs associated with the process. Here, a novel 96-well SPE plate is described that was designed to minimize the elution volume required for quantitative elution of analytes. The plate is packed with 2 mg of a high-capacity SPE sorbent that allows loading of up to 750 microL of plasma, while the novel design permits elution with as little as 25 microL. Therefore, the plate offers up to a 15-fold increase in sample concentration. The evaporation and reconstitution step that is typically required in SPE is avoided due to the concentrating ability of the plate. Examples of applications in drug discovery/development are shown and results are compared to protein precipitation. Excellent sensitivity and linearity are demonstrated.