Portable single-sided NMR measurements at variable temperatures: Implementation of a thermo-controlled device and application to the heating of bread dough

A temperature control unit was implemented to vary the temperature of samples studied on a commercial Mobile Universal Surface Explorer nuclear magnetic resonance (MOUSE-NMR) apparatus. The device was miniaturized to fit the maximum MOUSE sampling depth (25 mm). It was constituted by a sample holder sandwiched between two heat exchangers placed below and above the sample. Air was chosen as the fluid to control the temperature at the bottom of the sample, at the interface between the NMR probe and the sample holder, in order to gain space. The upper surface of the sample was regulated by the circulation of water inside a second heat exchanger placed above the sample holder. The feasibility of using such a device was demonstrated first on pure water and then on several samples of bread dough with different water contents. For this, T1 relaxation times were measured at various temperatures and depths and were then compared with those acquired with a conventional compact closed-magnet spectrometer. Discussion of results was based on biochemical transformations in bread dough (starch gelatinization and gluten heat denaturation). It was demonstrated that, within a certain water level range, and because of the low magnetic field strength of the MOUSE, a linear relationship could be established between T1 relaxation times and the local temperature in the dough sample.     

Studies on metabolites and metabolic pathways of bulleyaconitine A in rat liver microsomes using LC‐MSn combined with specific inhibitors

Bulleyaconitine A (BLA) from Aconitum bulleyanum plants is usually used as anti‐inflammatory drug in some Asian countries. It has a variety of bioactivities, and at the same time some toxicities. Since the bioactivities and toxicities of BLA are closely related to its metabolism, the metabolites and the metabolic pathways of BLA in rat liver microsomes were investigated by HPLC–MSⁿ. In this research, the 12 metabolites of BLA were identified according to the results of HPLC‐MSⁿ data and the relevant literature. The results showed that there are multiple metabolites of BLA in rat liver microsomes, including demethylation, deacetylation, dehydrogenation deacetylation and hydroxylation. The major metabolic pathways of BLA in rat liver microsomes were clarified by HPLC‐MS combined with specific inhibitors of CYP450 isoforms. As a result, CYP3A and 2C were found to be the principal CYP isoforms contributing to the metabolism of BLA. Moreover, CYP2D6 and 2E1 are also more important CYP isoforms for the metabolism of BLA. While CYP1A2 only affected the formation rate of M11, its effect on the metabolism of BLA is very small. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identification of metabolic markers in patients with type 2 Diabetes by Ultrafast gas chromatography coupled to electronic nose. A pilot study

Metabolomics is a potential tool for the discovery of new biomarkers in the early diagnosis of diseases. An ultra-fast gas chromatography system equipped to an electronic nose detector (FGC eNose) was used to identify the metabolomic profile of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) urine from Mexican population. A cross-sectional, comparative, and clinical study with translational approach was performed. We recruited twenty T2D patients and twenty-one healthy subjects. Urine samples were taken and analyzed by FGC eNose. Eighty-eight compounds were identified through Kovats's indexes. A natural variation of 30% between the metabolites, expressed by study groups, was observed in Principal Component 1 and 2 with a significant difference (p < 0.001). The model, performed through a Canonical Analysis of Principal coordinated (CAP), allowed a correct classification of 84.6% between healthy and T2D patients, with a 15.4% error. The metabolites 2-propenal, 2-propanol, butane- 2,3-dione and 2-methylpropanal, were increased in patients with T2D, and they were strongly correlated with discrimination between clinically healthy people and T2D patients. This study identified metabolites in urine through FGC eNose that can be used as biomarkers in the identification of T2D patients. However, more studies are needed for its implementation in clinical practice.     

Solid‐state 31P NMR investigation on the status of guanine nucleotides in paclitaxel‐stabilized microtubules

Microtubule dynamics is a target for many chemotherapeutic drugs. In order to understand the biochemical effects of paclitaxel on the GTPase activity of tubulin, the status of guanine nucleotides in microtubules was investigated by ³¹P cross‐polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) NMR. Microtubules were freshly prepared in vitro in the presence of paclitaxel and then lyophilized in sucrose buffer for solid‐state NMR experiments. A ³¹P CPMAS NMR spectrum with the SNR of 25 was successfully acquired from the lyophilized microtubule sample. The broadness of the ³¹P spectral lines in the spectrum indicates that the molecular environments around the guanine nucleotides inside tubulin may not be as crystalline as reported by many diffraction studies. Deconvolution of the spectrum into four spectral components was carried out in comparison with the ³¹P NMR spectra obtained from five control samples. The spectral analysis suggested that about 13% of the nucleotides were present as GTP and 37% as GDP in the β‐tubulin (E‐site) of the microtubules. It was found that most of the GDPs were present as GDP‐P_i complex in the microtubules, which seems to be one of the effects of paclitaxel binding. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

非线性互补问题的一种全局收敛的显式光滑Newton方法

本针对Po函数非线性互补问题，给出了一种显式光滑Newton方法，该方法将光滑参数μ进行显式迭代而不依赖于Newton方向的搜索过程，并在适当的假设条件下，证明了算法的全局收敛性。     

ICP－AES法测定金属矿产品中的磷

本文研究了铁矿石、铬矿石、锰矿石中的微量磷的电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法的测定。方法简便，具有很好的精密度和准确度。标准样品的分析结果基本与标称值相吻合，回收率在９５％－１０５％之间。     

Inclusion of carbon nanotubes in a TiO2 sol-gel matrix

We report here the successful inclusion of carbon nanotubes (CNs) into a TiO₂ matrix prepared by a sol-gel method. The presence of CNs in the sol-gel matrix and the structure of the film were analyzed principally by transmission electron microscopy. Complementary information about the behavior of embedded carbon nanotubes versus heat treatment and ion irradiation were obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The elaboration of an inorganic matrix containing embedded carbon nanotubes leads to a new nanocomposite. The possible applications of this nanocomposite are discussed.     

Coxeter complexes and graph-associahedra

Given a graph Γ, we construct a simple, convex polytope, dubbed graph-associahedra, whose face poset is based on the connected subgraphs of Γ. This provides a natural generalization of the Stasheff associahedron and the Bott-Taubes cyclohedron. Moreover, we show that for any simplicial Coxeter system, the minimal blow-ups of its associated Coxeter complex has a tiling by graph-associahedra. The geometric and combinatorial properties of the complex as well as of the polyhedra are given. These spaces are natural generalizations of the Deligne-Knudsen-Mumford compactification of the real moduli space of curves.     

对位酚类衍生物作为化学发光分析的增强剂研究

在化学发光分析中，常常要用到碱性条件下鲁米诺与过氧化氢的反应系统，通过催化剂辣根过氧化物酶使反应顺利进行。如果再加入适当的增强剂，则灵敏度提高且发光时间延长，可改善测定的重现性。实验证明，对位酚类衍生物，如：对叔丁基苯酚，对甲苯酚的发光增强作用明显，其发光效率可上升几十倍，发光时间也获得有效延长。     

幅相一致行波管高频电路CAD研究

 在行波管的设计和装配过程中，各部件的尺寸必须严格控制，高频电路参数的离散对行波管色散特性有极大的影响。使用螺旋导电面模型，模拟计算了高频结构各主要参数离散对色散特性和轴向互作用耦合阻抗的影响。分析计算了夹持杆宽度、翼片高度、螺旋线平均半径、螺距、夹持杆介电常数等离散时对色散特性和轴向互作用耦合阻抗的影响，为新型幅相一致行波管的设计和生产提供了很有价值的参考建议。