Phototransformations of selected pharmaceuticals under low-energy UVA–vis and powerful UVB–UVA irradiations in aqueous solutions—the role of natural dissolved organic chromophoric material

The kinetics of simulated low-energy daylight (UVA–vis) and powerful combined ultraviolet B and A (UVB–UVA) induced direct and indirect phototransformations of four pharmaceuticals, i.e., ibuprofen, metoprolol, carbamazepine, and warfarin, which were investigated in dilute solutions of pure laboratory and natural humic waters. The results strengthen the essential function of natural chromophores in dissolved organic material (CDOM) as principal photosensitizer toward indirect phototransformations of pharmaceuticals in natural conditions under available low-energy UVA–vis and slight UVB radiations. The results confirmed that organic micropollutants are able to undergo a direct photolysis if their absorbance spectra overlap the spectral range of the available radiation but only if the radiation is strong enough, e.g., ibuprofen is able to undergo only indirect photolysis via different pathways in all realistic conditions. The action of nitrate anions as photosensitizers in the applied conditions proved to be of little importance. High-performance size-exclusion chromatographic experiments verified that the rate constants obtained under the low-energy UVA–vis and powerful UVB–UVA irradiations for the decreased amounts of the two largest molecular size fractions of CDOM were quite close to the rate constants detected for the increased amounts of the next five molecular size fractions with smaller molecular sizes. The decreased contents of the two largest molecular size fractions correlated quite well with the decreased contents of the studied pharmaceuticals under the low-energy UVA–vis irradiation process but somewhat less under the powerful UVB–UVA irradiation. The photochemically induced decomposition of the CDOM aggregates appears to increase the amounts of smaller molecular size fractions and simultaneously produce via CDOM-stimulated radical reactions indirect structural transformations of pharmaceuticals. Apparent quantum yields were estimated for the transformation–degradation of the two largest molecular-size CDOM aggregates under low-energy UVA–vis and powerful UVB–UVA irradiations. Figure Structural difference between CDOM and pharmaceuticals studies     

Heterogeneous reaction of acetic acid on MgO, α-Al2O3, and CaCO3 and the effect on the hygroscopic behaviour of these particles

Mixtures of organic compounds with mineral dust are ubiquitous in the atmosphere, whereas the formation pathways and hygroscopic behavior of these mixtures are not well understood. In this study, in situ DRIFTS, XRD, and a vapor sorption analyzer were used to investigate the heterogeneous reaction of acetic acid on α-Al(2)O(3), MgO, and CaCO(3) particles under both dry and humid conditions while the effect of reactions on the hygroscopic behavior of these particles was also measured. In all cases, formation of acetate is significantly enhanced in the presence of surface water. However, the reaction extent varied with the mineral phase of these particles. For α-Al(2)O(3), the reaction is limited to the surface with the formation of surface coordinated acetate under both dry and humid conditions. For MgO, the bulk of the particle is involved in the reaction and Mg(CH(3)COO)(2) is formed under both dry and humid conditions, although it exhibits a saturation effect under dry conditions. In the case of CaCO(3), acetic acid uptake is limited to the surface under dry conditions while it leads to the decomposition of the bulk of CaCO(3) under humid conditions. While coordinated surface acetate species increased the water adsorption capacity slightly, the formation of bulk acetate promoted the water absorption capacity greatly. This study demonstrated that heterogeneous reaction between CH(3)COOH and mineral dust is not only an important sink for CH(3)COOH, but also has a significant effect on the hygroscopic behavior of mineral dust.     

Topological Studies on the П…П Interactions between OCS, CO2, N2O and Hydrocarbon

采用MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ方法对氧硫化碳（OCS）、二氧化碳（CO2）、一氧化二氮（N2O）与乙烯（C2H4）、乙炔（C2H2）、2-丁炔（C4H6）之间形成的平行构型复合物中的分子间相互作用进行了理论研究.复合物的相互作用能按照B…C2H4〈B…C2H2〈B…C4H6（B=OCS,CO2,N2O）的顺序依次增大,相互作用距离按照B…C2H4〉B…C2H2〉B…C4H6（B=OCS,CO2,N2O）的顺序依次减小.采用电子密度拓扑分析理论方法,讨论了复合物中π…π作用的成键特性.电子密度拓扑分析表明复合物中形成了弱的分子间相互作用,且以静电作用为主;π电子密度分子图与全电子密度分子图中键径方向是一致的,说明π…π作用在本文所讨论的体系中起着很重要的作用.NBO分析表明净电荷迁移从电子给体C2H4,C2H2,C4H6到电子受体OCS,CO2,N2O,迁移数按照B…C2H4〈B…C2H2〈B…C4H6（B=OCS,CO2,N2O）的顺序依次增大,与相互作用能的顺序一致.     

Influence of Chemical Effect on the Kβ/Kα Intensity Ratios and KβEnergy Shift of Co,Ni, Cu,and Zn Complexes

Chemical effects on the Kβ/Kα intensity ratios and ￠E energy differences for Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn complexes were investigated. The samples were excited by 59.5 keV γ-rays from a 241Am annular radioactive source. K X-rays emitted by samples were counted by an Ultra-LEGe detector with a resolution of 150 eV at 5.9 keV. We observed the effects of different ligands on the Kβ/Kα intensity ratios and ⊿E energy differences for Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn complexes. We tried to investigate chemical effects on central atoms using the behaviors of different ligands in these complexes. The experimental values of Kβ/Kα were compared with the theoretical and other experimental values of pure Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn.     

A study on the adsorption-exchange of UO2 2+,137Cs,169Yb and HPO4 2− on modified peat

The adsorption-exchange equilibrium time and the adsorption isotherms of UO₂ ²⁺,¹³⁷Cs,¹⁶⁹Yb and HPO₄ ²⁻ on modified peat have been investigated by batch experiments. The effect of pH on the adsorption-exchange percentage (E) and the distribution coefficients (K _d) was also examined. It was found that the adsorption-exchange of UO₂ ²⁺ and¹⁶⁹Yb on the modified peat was described well by Freundlich isotherm, whereas the adsorption-exchange of¹³⁷Cs and HPO₄ ²⁻ on modified peat corresponded to a Langmuir isotherm and the maximum adsorption capacities of the modified peat for¹³⁷Cs and HPO₄ ²⁻ ions were 4.4 and 4.1 μg/g respectively. The optimum pH for the adsorption-exchange of UO₂ ²⁺,¹³⁷Cs,¹⁶⁹Yb and HPO₄ ²⁻ on the modified peat was 7.0 at 25°C.     

Molecular modeling study of the differential ligand–receptor interaction at the μ, δ and κ opioid receptors

3D models of the opioid receptors , and were constructed using BUNDLE, an in-house program to build de novo models of G-protein coupled receptors at the atomic level. Once the three opioid receptors were constructed and before any energy refinement, models were assessed for their compatibility with the results available from point-site mutations carried out on these receptors. In a subsequent step, three selective antagonists to each of three receptors (naltrindole, naltrexone and nor-binaltorphamine) were docked onto each of the three receptors and subsequently energy minimized. The nine resulting complexes were checked for their ability to explain known results of structure-activity studies. Once the models were validated, analysis of the distances between different residues of the receptors and the ligands were computed. This analysis permitted us to identify key residues tentatively involved in direct interaction with the ligand.     

Effect of TiO2 Support on the Composition, Morphology and Catalytic Property of the NiB Amorphous Alloy Catalyst

Both the unsupported and supported NiB amorphous alloy catalysts (NiB and NiB/TiO2)were prepared by the chemical reduction method. Their catalytic activities were tested by thehydrogenation of sulfolene. The interactions between the NiB alloy and TiO2 were discussed forthe first time by using XRD, ICP, SEM and TEM.     

Theoretical Study on the Di-, Tri- and Tetra-cage Coplanar Cubane

1 INTRODUCTION Since the discovery of C60 in 1985, numerous papers have been published on the investigation of polyhedral molecules, such as fullerenes and poly- hedral hydrocarbons. But each of these molecules has only one cage, for example, C60 and…     

Substituent Effects on the Hydrogen Bonding between 4-Substituted Phenols and HF, H2O, NH3

Density function theory UB3LYP/6-31 g(d) calculations were performed to study the hydrogen bonds between para-substituted phenols and HF, H2O, or NH3. It revealed that many properties of the non-covalent complexes, such as the interaction energies, donor-acceptor distances, bond lengths and vibration frequencies, showed well-defined substituent effects. Therefore, from the substituent effects not only the mechanism of a certain non-covalent interaction can be better understood, but also the interaction energies and structures of a certain non-covalent complex, which otherwise might be very hard or resource-consuming to estimate, can be easily predicted.     

Influence of NaI Additions on the Electrical,Dielectric, and Transport Properties in the GeS2–Ga2S3–NaI Glass System

Russian Journal of Electrochemistry - The vitreous system GeS2–Ga2S3 can incorporate a large amount of alkali salts, for example NaI, and such materials have a potential to be used as solid...     

Lead-nano-dopings effects on the structural,microstructural, vibrational and thermal properties of Bi2−xPbxSrV2O9 layered perovskite

The sample with in the general formula Bi_2-xPb_xSrV₂O₉, where x = 0.0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.6 mol were synthesized by the high temperature solid state reaction and firing method. The X-ray diffractograms confirmed the formation of single phased layered perovskite in all samples. TGA and DTA thermal analyses on the green samples included steps of thermal analysis of strontium carbonate, bismuth carbonate, ammonium vanadate, lead oxide and finally on the high temperature solid state formation. The effect of lead dopings on the sintering, structural and micro-structure, properties of 212BiSrV-ceramics were investigated. The infrared absorption spectra show a series of vibrational modes within the range of 400–1600 cm^?1.     

Oligonucleotide microarray chip for the quantification of MS2, ΦX174, and adenoviruses on the multiplex analysis platform MCR 3

Pathogenic viruses are emerging contaminants in water which should be analyzed for water safety to preserve public health. A strategy was developed to quantify RNA and DNA viruses in parallel on chemiluminescence flow-through oligonucleotide microarrays. In order to show the proof of principle, bacteriophage MS2, ΦX174, and the human pathogenic adenovirus type 2 (hAdV2) were analyzed in spiked tap water samples on the analysis platform MCR 3. The chemiluminescence microarray imaging unit was equipped with a Peltier heater for a controlled heating of the flow cell. The efficiency and selectivity of DNA hybridization could be increased resulting in higher signal intensities and lower cross-reactivities of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products from other viruses. The total analysis time for DNA/RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis for RNA viruses, polymerase chain reaction, single-strand separation, and oligonucleotide microarray analysis was performed in 4–4.5 h. The parallel quantification was possible in a concentration range of 9.6?×?10⁵–1.4?×?10¹⁰ genomic units (GU)/mL for bacteriophage MS2, 1.4?×?10⁵–3.7?×?10⁸ GU/mL for bacteriophage ΦX174, and 6.5?×?10³–1.2?×?10⁵ for hAdV2, respectively, by using a measuring temperature of 40 °C. Detection limits could be calculated to 6.6?×?10⁵ GU/mL for MS2, 5.3?×?10³ GU/mL for ΦX174, and 1.5?×?10² GU/mL for hAdV2, respectively. Real samples of surface water and treated wastewater were tested. Generally, found concentrations of hAdV2, bacteriophage MS2, and ΦX174 were at the detection limit. Nevertheless, bacteriophages could be identified with similar results by means of quantitative PCR and oligonucleotide microarray analysis on the MCR 3.     

An investigation of the effect of microwave treatment on the structure and unfolding pathways of β-lactoglobulin using FTIR spectroscopy with the application of two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS)

Microwave treatment of β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg) in D₂O solution under various conditions was monitored by Fourier transform mid infrared (mid-FTIR) spectroscopy. At sub-ambient temperatures, no microwave-induced changes in the conformation of the protein were detected. Microwave heating of the β-Lg solutions to temperatures in the range of 40–60 °C resulted in a marked increase in the rate of hydrogen–deuterium (H–D) exchange as compared to conventional heating at the same temperature. At heating temperatures in the range of 70–90 °C, the microwave-heated solutions exhibited more extensive protein aggregation than conventionally heated solutions. Application of two-dimensional (2D) correlation analysis to the Fourier self-deconvolved FTIR spectra recorded as a function of number of cycles of microwave or conventional heating revealed that the unfolding pathway of β-Lg was different in these two temperature ranges (40–60 °C versus 70–90 °C) but was similar in both microwave – treated and conventionally heated samples. Nevertheless, within the temperature range of 70–90 °C microwave treatment accelerated the unfolding of β-lactoglobulin.     

Structure of x-ray photoelectron 2p and 1s spectra and x-ray Kα emission line of copper in YBa2Cu3O7−δ and CuO,on the basis of SCF-Xα-SW calculations

Conclusions Through an analysis of the electronic structure of the ground state and 2p and 1s hole states of the CuO₄ ^6– cluster, modeling the immediate environment of a copper atom (one of the two types) in YBa₂Cu₃O_7– and the immediate environment of the copper atom in CuO, it has been shown that upon ionization of core levels of copper, there is a radical reconstruction of the valence band of the cluster with a change in character of the chemical bond from covalent to ionic. Along with this, charge is transferred from the copper-oxygen bond to the central atom. Ionization of core levels leads to intense excitation of electrons into the upper semifilled valence level of the cluster 3b_1g, and also leads to the appearance in the x-ray photoelectron and x-ray spectra (K spectra, for example) of intense satellite lines with strong multiplet splitting (with the exception of the satellite of the x-ray photoelectron 1s spectrum). We have confirmed the interpretation of the x-ray photoelectron 2p_3/2 (2p_1/2) spectrum and have predicted the form of the x-ray photoelectron 1s spectrum of copper(II). On the basis of the same approach, a complex structure has been predicted for the x-ray K emission line and it has been confirmed that the shift of this line in compounds of copper(II) must be made with some caution, as the shift may be due (for example) to a change in relative intensities of the main and satellite lines, which are located relative to each other at a distance of 0.4 eV.Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 14–22, July–August, 1992.     

Synergy between adiponectin and interleukin-1β on the expression of interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and cyclooxygenase-2 in fibroblast-like synoviocytes

To determine whether adiponectin may have synergistic effects in combination with the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1β regarding the production of proinflammatory mediators during arthritic joint inflammation, synovial cells from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were treated with adiponectin, IL-1β, and their combination for 24 h. Culture supernatant was collected and analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for levels of IL-6, IL-8, prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Adiponectin-mediated intracellular signaling pathways were investigated to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying their synergy. The association of proinflammatory mediators with adiponectin was investigated in the synovial fluid of arthritis patients. Adiponectin functioned synergistically with IL-1β to activate IL-6, IL-8, and PGE2 expression in RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes; Levels of VEGF, MMP-1, and MMP-13 were not synergistically stimulated. Adiponectin and IL-1β each increased the expression of both adiponectin receptor 1 and IL-1 receptor 1. However, adiponectin and IL-1β did not synergistically support the degradation of IκB-α or the nuclear translocation of NF-κB. Synergistically increased gene expression was significantly inhibited by MG132, an NF-κB inhibitor. Supporting the in vitro results, IL-6 and IL-8 levels were positively associated with adiponectin in synovial joint fluid from patients with RA, but not osteoarthritis (OA). In conclusion, adiponectin and IL-1β may synergistically stimulate the production of proinflammatory mediators through unknown signaling pathways during arthritic joint inflammation. Adiponectin may be more important to the pathogenesis of RA than previously thought.     

Density Functional Study on the Mechanism of Collision Reaction among Protons, N2 and Water Vapor

The mechanism of collision reaction among protons, N2 and water vapor was theoretically studied using Density Functional Theory. The geometries of reactants, transition states, intermediates and products were optimized at the B3LYP/6-311 G^** level by the BERNY gradient analysis method. Transition states and intermediates have been identified by vibrational frequency analysis. The relationship among reactants, intermediates, transition states and products was affirmed by IRC calculation. The variations of energy and geometry along the IRC-determined reaction paths were described. The possible reaction pathways were represented and the optimal one was decided from the viewpoint of energy.     

Theoretical Study on the Stable Structures and Aromaticities for Pnictogen Dianionic Sb4^2-, Bi4^2-, and （SbBi）2^2- Clusters

Through the theoretical calculation of structural optimization, vibrational frequencies and atomization energies with one method of density functional theory （B3LYP） and two post- Hartree-Fock approaches （MP2, CCSD（T））, several stable isomers for new three pnictogen dianionic Sb4^2-, Bi4^2-, and （SbBi）2^2- species were determined. For two homoatomic Sb4^2- and Bi4^2- species, there are three stable isomers： square （D4h）, roof-shaped （C2v-1）, and C2v-2 structure with the square isomer being the ground state. For the heteroatomic dian- ionic （SbBi）2^2- species, there are also three stable isomers： rhombus （D2h）, roof-shaped （C1）, and C2v structures with the rhombic isomer being the ground state. The calculated NICS values show that nucleus-independent chemical shifts （NICS） values of roof-shaped isomers for Sb4^2-, Bi4^2-, and （SbBi）2^2- species are all negative, consequently indicating that these roof-shaped isomers possess aromaticities. NICS values for the planar ring isomers are all positive, suggesting that these three planar ring isomers have antiaromatic characters. The aromaticity for the two stable roof-shaped and square isomers are preliminarily explained and discussed with MO analysis.     

Petroleum Absorbers Based on CNSL,Furfural and Lignin – The Effect of the Chemical Similarity on the Interactions among Petroleum and Bioresins

Summary: The petroleum has become our most important source of energy since the mid-1950s. It is due to its high energy density, easy transportability and relative abundance. However, along extraction, storage or transportation of oil, spill accidents may happen. This kind of accident causes severe impacts on the environment, being directly responsible for the destruction of the marine life, which affects the fishing and even tourism industries. Main goal of this work is related to the use of renewable sources aiming to obtain “absorbent green materials”. These materials were synthesized by a typical phenolic resin polycondensation route using cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) as main phenolic compound. Focused on keep the green characteristic of the materials, furfuraldehyde from hemicellulose was used as aldehyde and the reaction was catalyzed using a small amount of sulfuric acid. Resins were characterized using Optical Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Infrared Spectroscopy with Fourier Transformed (FTIR) and density tests. In addition, contraction of the oil spilled was studied in presence of resins. Obtained results demonstrated that synthesized resins present a good chemical similarity with oil, which produces a good interaction among resins and oil, making easy the contraction of the oil spot on the water and, consequently, the removal process of oil spilled on water.