Monotone interpolation of order 3 by C2 cubic splines

We propose a local solution for the problem of interpolatingmonotone data by monotone C² cubic splines with two additionalknots per interval, on an arbitrary partition, and with an approximationof order 3. Our paper extends recent works by Archer & LeGruyer and Pruess.     

TOPICAL UROCANIC ACID ENHANCES UV-INDUCED TUMOUR YIELD AND MALIGNANCY IN THE HAIRLESS MOUSE

Epidermal urocanic acid has been postulated to be the mediator of the specific state of immunosuppression induced by UV irradiation, by which UV-initiated tumour cells are able to evade normal recognition and can survive to grow progressively into malignant tumours. These experiments demonstrate that topical application of UV-irradiated urocanic acid systemically suppresses the contact type hypersensitivity response to oxazolone in hairless mice. In addition, topically applied urocanic acid markedly increases the overt tumour yield and the degree of malignancy in hairless mice exposed chronically to daily minimally erythemal doses of simulated solar UV light. Topical urocanic acid also increases the number of latent UV-initiated tumours, detectable by croton oil promotion. Therefore UV photoproducts of urocanic acid can both systemically suppress contact hypersensitivity in the epidermis, and also enhance early survival of UV-initiated tumour cells resulting in augmentation of UV photocarcinogenesis.     

Computing stability regions--Runge-Kutta methods for delay differential equations

We discuss the practical determination of stability regionswhen various fixed-stepsize Runge-Kutta (RK) methods, combinedwith continuous extensions, are applied to the linear delaydifferential equation (DDE) y'(t)= y(t)+µ(t–) (t) with fixed delay . It is significant that the delay is not limitedto an integer multiple of the stepsize, and that we considervarious continuous extensions. The stability loci obtained in practice indicate that the standardboundary-locus technique (BLT) can fail to map the RK DDE stabilityregion correctly. The aim of this paper is to present an alternativestability boundary algorithm that overcomes the difficultiesencountered using the BLT. This new algorithm can be used forboth explicit and implicit RK methods.     

Evaluation of methods for measuring amino acid hydrophobicities and interactions

The concept of hydrophobicity has been addressed by researchers in all aspects of science, particularly in the fields of biology and chemistry. Over the past several decades, the study of the hydrophobicity of biomolecules, particularly amino acids has resulted in the development of a variety of hydrophobicity scales. In this review, we discuss the various methods of measuring amino acid hydrophobicity and provide explanations for the wide range of rankings that exist among these published scales. A discussion of the literature on amino acid interactions is also presented. Only a surprisingly small number of papers exist in this rather important area of research; measuring pairwise amino acid interactions will aid in understanding structural aspects of proteins.     

RADIATIVE AND NON-RADIATIVE LOSSES IN THE RETINOL POLYENES

Abstract— The radiative fluorescence lifetimes of the all-trans, 9 cis and 13 cis retinol, have been measured at various temperatures, and in various solvents. The comparison of these results and of the data calculated from the absorption spectra using the Strickler and Berg equation shows that the transition probabilities are at least one hundred times lower for the radiative emission than for the absorption. Such a discrepancy, which is a general property of the polyenic structure, is closely related to the magnitude of the shift between absorption and fluorescence spectra. We interpret the observed elongation of the radiative fluorescence lifetimes and the temperature dependence of the radiative transitions in the case of all trans retinol as being due to the fact that only the lowest vibrorotational sublevels of ¹S₁, have a reasonable radiative transition probability: the temperature dependence of the radiationless transitions is considered to be due to the existence of a non radiative decay pathway at 550cal/mole above the '0' level.     

Kinetic studies on the acid catalyzed reaction of hydroxamic acids in β-cyclodextrin/surfactant mixed systems

The acid catalyzed hydrolysis of two N-substituted hydroxamic acids (C₆H₅CON(OH)R, R = C₆H₅ (PBHA), R = C₆H₅CH₂(BBHA)) in mixed systems containing -cyclodextrin (—CD) and a surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) has been studied. The reactions are inhibited by —CD. The inhibition is attributed to the formation of inclusion complex and competition between the micellization and complexation processes.This revised version was published online in December 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

THE ORIENTATION OF THE REACTION CENTER CAROTENOID TRIPLET STATE MAGNETIC AXES IN CHROMATOPHORES OF Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides WILD TYPE

Abstract— The orientation of the principal magnetic axes of the reaction center carotenoid from Rps. sphaeroides wild type is presented. The parameters needed to simulate the observed carotenoid triplet state spectra indicate that the carotenoid adopts a planar structure within the reaction center. A high degree of geometrical and structural specificity is shown to exist for this carotenoid molecule.     

Nucleophilic dephosphorylation of p-nitrophenyl diphenyl phosphate in cationic micellar media

The kinetics of nucleophilic dephosphorylation of p-nitrophenyl diphenyl phosphate by hydroxamate ions (R'(C=O)N(RO-)) have been investigated in aqueous cationic micellar media at pH 9.12 and 27 degrees C. The pseudo-first-order rate constant-surfactant profiles show micelle-assisted bimolecular reactions involving interfacial ion exchange between bulk aqueous media and micellar pseudophase. N-Substituted hydroxamate ion shows higher reactivity over the unsubstituted hydroxamate ions in cationic micellar media. The kinetic data are discussed in terms of the pseudophase ion exchange model.     

Molecular and electronic structure of four- and five-coordinate cobalt complexes containing two o-phenylenediamine- or two o-aminophenol-type ligands at various oxidation levels: an experimental, density functional, and correlated ab initio study

The bidentate ligands N-phenyl-o-phenylenediamine, H(2)((2)L(N)IP), or its analogue 2-(2-trifluoromethyl)anilino-4,6-di-tert-butylphenol, ((4)L(N)IP), react with [Co(II)(CH(3)CO(2))(2)]4H(2)O and triethylamine in acetonitrile in the presence of air yielding the square-planar, four-coordinate species [Co((2)L(N))(2)] (1) and [Co((4)L(O))(2)] (4) with an S=1/2 ground state. The corresponding nickel complexes [Ni((4)L(O))(2)] (8) and its cobaltocene reduced form [Co(III)(Cp)(2)][Ni((4)L(O))(2)] (9) have also been synthesized. The five-coordinate species [Co((2)L(N))(2)(tBu-py)] (2) (S=1/2) and its one-electron oxidized forms [Co((2)L(N))(2)(tBu-py)](O(2)CCH(3)) (2 a) or [Co((2)L(N))(2)I] (3) with diamagnetic ground states (S=0) have been prepared, as has the species [Co((4)L(O))(2)(CH(2)CN)] (7). The one-electron reduced form of 4, namely [Co(Cp)(2)][Co((4)L(O))(2)] (5) has been generated through the reduction of 4 with [Co(Cp)(2)]. Complexes 1, 2, 2 a, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9 have been characterized by X-ray crystallography (100 K). The ligands are non-innocent and may exist as catecholate-like dianions ((2)L(N)IP)(2-), ((4)L(N)IP)(2-) or pi-radical semiquinonate monoanions ((2)L(N)ISQ)(*) (-), ((4)L(N)ISQ)(*) (-) or as neutral benzoquinones ((2) L(N)IBQ)(0), ((4) L(N)IBQ)(0); the spectroscopic oxidation states of the central metal ions vary accordingly. Electronic absorption, magnetic circular dichroism, and EPR spectroscopy, as well as variable temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements have been used to experimentally determine the electronic structures of these complexes. Density functional theoretical (DFT) and correlated ab initio calculation have been performed on the neutral and monoanionic species [Co((1)L(N))(2)](0,-) in order to understand the structural and spectroscopic properties of complexes. It is shown that the corresponding nickel complexes 8 and 9 contain a low-spin nickel(II) ion regardless of the oxidation level of the ligand, whereas for the corresponding cobalt complexes the situation is more complicated. Spectroscopic oxidation states describing a d(6) (Co(III)) or d(7) (Co(II)) electron configuration cannot be unambiguously assigned.