Estimation of urinary diamines and polyamines by thin-layer chromatography

The dansylated derivatives of ammonia, 1.3-diaminopropane, 1,4-diaminobutane, 1,5-diaminopentane, spermidine, histamine, and spermine were separated by one ascending development in chloroform—triethylamine (5:1) on a 250-μm silica gel 60 plate. Putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine, and spermine in human urine were quantitated by a direct scan of the fluorescent intensity of the spots corresponding to these compounds. Higher amounts of spermidine and spermine were found in the urines of cancer patients compared to the values of these substances in normal urine.     

Synthesis and Cytotoxic Activity of 4-Substituted 3-Cyano-6,6-dimethyl-5,6-dihydro-2-pyranones

The respective 4-(arylvinyl)lactones and compounds of the Michael adduct type were synthesized by the condensation of substituted benzaldehydes with 3-cyano-4,6,6-trimethyl-5,6-dihydro-2-pyranone in the presence of catalytic amounts of sodium hydroxide. It was shown by the semiempirical AM1 method that the indicated products can be formed through one and the same intermediate compound. Some of the synthesized phenylvinyl-5,6-dihydro-2-pyranones have a cytotoxic effect, and this corresponds to the prognosis of the OREX expert system.     

Alkylation of n-methylpyrrole with tert-butanol in the presence of amberlyst 15 ion exchanger

The 2- and 3-tert-butylderivatives of 1-methylpyrrole, hitherto unknown, have been obtained by a single-stage method. The process is characterized by a low positional selectivity with asomewhat predonminating -substitution. The results have been compared with data, obtained by the quantum-chemical calculation of the molecules of pyrrole, N-methylpyrrole, and also of their -complexes with protons, introduced in the - and -position of the rings.Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, Riga LV-1006.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 163–167, February, 1995. Original article submitted January 17, 1995.     

Hydrolytically stable, diaminocarboxylic acid-based membranes buffering in the pH range from 6 to 8.5 for isoelectric trapping separations

Diaminocarboxylic acid carrier ampholytes, such as L-histidine, 2,3-diaminopropionic acid, L-ornithine, and L-lysine, were reacted with glycerol-1,3-diglycidyl ether (GDGE) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in the presence of sodium hydroxide to produce hydrolytically and mechanically stable hydrogels, supported on a PVA substrate, for use as buffering membranes in isoelectric trapping (IET) separations. The pH values of the DACAPVA membranes were determined with the help of small-molecule pI markers and proteins and were found to be in the 6 < pH < 8.5 range. The membranes were successfully used to isoelectrically trap small ampholytes, desalt ampholyte solutions in IET mode, and effect the binary separation of chicken egg white proteins.     

Study of the structure of (carbamimidoylsulfanyl)acetic (“pseudothiohydantoic”) acid by XRD and PM6 methods

It was shown by the method of powder X-ray diffraction analysis that in the crystalline state the product of the reaction of thiourea with chloroacetic acid in water, (carbamimidoylsulfanyl)acetic acid, existed in the zwitter-ion tautomeric form. The structure consists of virtually planar infi nite layers normal to the c axis of the unit cell which are bound by van der Waals interactions. The layers are formed by infi nite rows elongated along the b axis of the unit cell consisting of materially planar zwitter-ionic molecules linked by strong bifurcated hydrogen bonds. The results of quantum-chemical calculations by PM6 method are in agreement with the XRD results: whereas an isolated molecule exists in nonzwitter-ionic tautomeric form, in the crystal only the zwitterionic tautomer is present.     

Alkali-stable high-pI isoelectric membranes for isoelectric trapping separations

Alkali-stable, high-pI isoelectric membranes have been synthesized from quaternary ammonium derivatives of cyclodextrins and poly(vinyl alcohol), and bifunctional cross-linkers, such as glycerol-1,3-diglycidyl ether. The new, high-pI isoelectric membranes were successfully applied as cathodic membranes in isoelectric trapping separations in place of the hydrolytically more labile, polyacrylamide-based cathodic isoelectric membranes, and permitted the use of catholytes as alkaline as 1 M NaOH. The new high-pI isoelectric membranes have shown excellent mechanical stability, low electric resistance and long life times, even when subjected to electrophoresis with current densities as high as 80 mA/cm2.     

The diffraction of elastic waves by an imperfect fusion bond

We consider diffraction by a semi-infinite crack located alonga fusion interface between two differing elastic media. Twotypes of crack, namely open and partially closed cracks, areinvestigated. An open crack is modelled by a stress-free contactboundary condition and a partially closed crack is modelledby a spring contact boundary condition. For the latter, thejump in the stress across the crack is assumed to be proportionalto the jump in the displacement across the crack. This situationarises in, for example, a K-weld where the fine grain of theparent material (for example, ferritic or forged austeniticsteel) is in stark contrast with the coarse-grained weld metal(for example, austenitic weld metal). In the metal weld thedirection of the grain axis varies through the metal. However,diffraction is a local phenomenon and so the austenitic steelis assumed to have a zonal axis so that it may be modelled bya transversely isotropic composite. The ferritic or forged austeniticsteel will be modelled as an isotropic material.     

Strong duality for a special class of integer programs

A pair of primal-dual integer programs is constructed for a class of problems motivated by a generalization of the concept of greatest common divisor. The primal-dual formulation is based on a number-theoretic, rather than a Lagrangian, duality property; consequently, it avoids the dualitygap common to Lagrangian duals in integer programming.This research was partially supported by the National Science Foundation, Grant No. DCR-74-20584