Thomas–Fermi theory from a perturbative treatment of the hydrogenic limit energy density functional: A possible link to local density functional theory

A perturbation expansion which connects the hydrogenic limit energy density functional to the Thomas–Fermi functional is discussed. This perturbation series, where the Coulomb energy density functional is treated as the perturbation to the hydrogenic limit functional, is, in fact, the q = (N/Z) expansion of Thomas–Fermi theory. A truncated form of the first-order correction to the functional provides further insight into the model which treats the ground state energy as a local functional of the electron density.     

Ferromagnetism in colloidal Mn2+ -doped ZnO nanocrystals

High-temperature hydrolysis of Zn(II) and Mn(II) alkoxides in a high boiling point solvent in the presence of surfactants was used to prepare surfactant-coated Zn(1-x)Mn(x)O nanocrystals with average size of 5.5 nm and x = 0.04 +/- 0.03. The magnetic properties of the nanocrystals were measured both for isolated particles diluted in a hydrocarbon matrix and for a nanocrystal powder. Nanocrystals of manganese oxide and ZnO coated with manganese oxide were prepared for comparison to the Zn(1-x)Mn(x)O nanocrystals. We find that the manganese ions primarily substitute zinc ions in the hexagonal ZnO lattice, and part of them are ferromagnetically coupled up to room temperature even in isolated noninteracting nanocrystals. The rest of the ions are magnetically disordered or uncoupled. Surprisingly, these small Zn(1-x)Mn(x)O nanocrystals poses relatively large low-temperature magnetic coercivity and relatively high blocking temperature in the isolated form, which indicate large magnetic anisotropy. In the nanocrystal powder the coercive field decreased significantly. This study highlights the advantages of working with noninteracting single domain particles of these intriguing materials.     

Nonsteady-state flow in gas chromatography during fast changes in inlet pressure

The steady-state assumption for describing the flow in a capillary gas chromatography column fails when changes in inlet pressure are introduced at a fast rate. To accommodate the possibility of nonsteady-state conditions, or a transient behavior, a second-order nonlinear differential equation for the pressure is suggested. Good agreement between the new theoretical model and representative experimental results is shown when the inlet pressure is increased at a rate of several hundred kPa per minute; in contrast, predictions from traditional steady-state calculations are relatively poor.     

Bile acids LXIX. Selective K-Selectride reduction of 3,7-diketo steroids

The K-Selectride reduction at low temperature (-45°C) of 7-oxo-5α-holestan-3β-yl acetate and methyl 7-oxo-3α-hydroxy-5(β-cholanoate resulted in almost quantitative yield of the 7α-alcohol in the 5α-compound but only moderate yield of the 5β-analog. The simultaneous reduction of two carbonyl groups in the 3 and 7 positions afforded good to excellent yields of the diaxial diol in planar steroids (methyl 3,7-dioxo-5α-cholanoate, 3,7-dioxo-5α-cholestane and methyl 3,7-dioxo-5α-cholestan-27-oate) and only 14% of 3α,7α-(OH)₂ from methyl 3,7-dioxo-5β-cholanoate.     

A facile method for the synthesis of 3,1-benzooxazines from N-acyl-2-(alk-2-enyl)anilines

Electrophilic addition of HCl or Br₂ to N-acyl-2-(alk-2-enyl)anilines is accompanied by intramolecular cyclization of these amides to give 3,1-benzooxazine hydrochlorides or hydrobromides in high yields.     

Reduced Endocannabinoid Tone in Saliva of Chronic Orofacial Pain Patients

Background: the endocannabinoid system (ECS) participates in many physiological and pathological processes including pain generation, modulation, and sensation. Its involvement in chronic orofacial pain (OFP) in general, and the reflection of its involvement in OFP in salivary endocannabinoid (eCBs) levels in particular, has not been examined. Objectives: to evaluate the association between salivary (eCBs) levels and chronic OFP. Methods: salivary levels of 2 eCBs, anandamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), 2 endocannabinoid-like compoundsN-palmitoylethanolamine (PEA), N-oleoylethanolamine (OEA), and their endogenous precursor and breakdown product, arachidonic acid (AA), were analyzed using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry in 83 chronic OFP patients and 43 pain-free controls. The chronic OFP patients were divided according to diagnosis into musculoskeletal, neurovascular/migraine, and neuropathic pain types. Results: chronic OFP patients had lower levels of OEA (p = 0.02) and 2-AG (p = 0.01). Analyzing specific pain types revealed lower levels of AEA and OEA in the neurovascular group (p = 0.04, 0.02, respectively), and 2-AG in the neuropathic group compared to controls (p = 0.05). No significant differences were found between the musculoskeletal pain group and controls. Higher pain intensity was accompanied by lower levels of AA (p = 0.028), in neuropathic group. Conclusions: lower levels of eCBs were found in the saliva of chronic OFP patients compared to controls, specifically those with neurovascular/migraine, and neuropathic pain. The detection of changes in salivary endocannabinoids levels related to OFP adds a new dimension to our understanding of OFP mechanisms, and may have diagnostic as well as therapeutic implications for pain.     

A peptide-derived strategy for specifically targeting the mitochondria and ER of cancer cells: a new approach in fighting cancer

An effective anti-cancer therapy should exclusively target cancer cells and trigger in them a broad spectrum of cell death pathways that will prevent avoidance. Here, we present a new approach in cancer therapy that specifically targets the mitochondria and ER of cancer cells. We developed a peptide derived from the flexible and transmembrane domains of the human protein NAF-1/CISD2. This peptide (NAF-1^44-67) specifically permeates through the plasma membranes of human epithelial breast cancer cells, abolishes their mitochondria and ER, and triggers cell death with characteristics of apoptosis, ferroptosis and necroptosis. In vivo analysis revealed that the peptide significantly decreases tumor growth in mice carrying xenograft human tumors. Computational simulations of cancer vs. normal cell membranes reveal that the specificity of the peptide to cancer cells is due to its selective recognition of their membrane composition. NAF-1^44-67 represents a promising anti-cancer lead compound that acts via a unique mechanism.

An effective anti-cancer therapy should exclusively target cancer cells and trigger in them a broad spectrum of cell death pathways that will prevent avoidance.     

Kobalt und Nickel

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

A New Pulsed Flow Modulation GC × GC–MS with Cold EI System and Its Application for Jet Fuel Analysis

We designed and operated a new system of pulsed flow modulation (PFM) two dimensional comprehensive gas chromatography (GC × GC) mass spectrometry (MS). This system is based on the combination of PFM–GC × GC with a quadrupole mass spectrometer of GC–MS via a supersonic molecular beams interface and its fly-through Cold EI ion source and applied this system for the analysis of JP8 jet fuel. PFM is a simple GC × GC modulator that does not consume cryogenic gases while providing tunable second GC × GC column injection time for enabling the use of quadrupole based mass spectrometry regardless its limited scanning speed. We analyzed JP8 jet fuel with our new PFM–GC × GC–MS with Cold EI system and found that as the second dimension GC elution time is increased the observed molecular ion mass is reduced. This unique observation that helped in improved sample compounds identification under co-elution conditions was enabled via having abundant molecular ions in Cold EI for all the fuel compounds. We named this type of analysis as PFM–GC × GC × MS. We found and discuss in this paper that PFM–GC × GC–MS with Cold EI combines improved separation of GC × GC with Cold EI benefits of tailing-free ultra-fast ion source response time and enhanced molecular ions and mass spectral isomer and isotope information for the provision of increased sample identification information.

     

Aluminum sulfate—an electrolyte for MnO2 hybrid supercapacitor

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Manganese oxide is an important emerging electrode material for use in supercapacitor applications. Herein, we propose a new aqueous electrolyte,...