Methods for determining pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in food samples--problems and challenges

Determination of residual amounts of pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in food samples requires the use of specific techniques regarding sample preparation as well as instrumental analysis which should be characterized by a very low detection limit. A problem associated with the use of pesticides and PCBs is the need for controlling their residues in the environment, particularly in food, as these chemicals show a propensity to accumulate. The analysis of food samples for the presence of pesticides and PCBs brings on many difficulties because of the specificity of sample preparation consisting of multistep purification procedures of samples that contain trace amounts of an analyte. Concentration determinations of pollutants that easily dissolve in complex matrices, particularly in the presence of a large apportionment of interfering substances, pose a big challenge. Therefore, the basic step in food analysis for the presence of pesticides and PCBs is sample preparation which mainly consists of analyte enrichment and the removal of interfering substances. But all steps of the analytical procedure that include sample collection and preparation, extraction of analytes from matrix, extract purification, and final determination, are very significant; their precision and correct application have a decisive effect on the final result.     

高效切削加工对机床的要求

在木材加工中生产率的提高,降低制造成本,至今主要依靠数控技术减少辅助时间.高效切削加工的目标是减少加工时间同时没有舍弃质量要求.这方面初期研究工作可以追溯到20年代以前,60年代后高速切削开始发展,在80年代加工技术进步和更加坚硬的刀具材料使高速切削有重大进展.内容丰富的研究计划致力于高速切削的各种金属合金和纤维增强刀具材料.对于每一种工件材料,高速切削的概念必须有一个明确的定义范围.结果表明,加工时间的优化将比通常值有明显的改变,在改善表面质量的同时还可以达到大大降低加工成本的目标.部分仍然进行的木材加工研究计划希望有类似的有益结果.     

Synthesen und Eigenschaften Mono- und diphenylsubstituierter Monothio-β-dicarbonylverbindungen und ihrer Nickel(II)chelate

Syntheses and Properties of Mono- and Disubstituted Monothio-β-dicarbonyl Compounds and their Nickel(II) chelates Reaction of phenylacetaldehyde with phosphorous oxichloride and dimethylformamide yielded 3-chloro-2-phenyl-propenal, which was converted into 2-phenyl-monothiomalonic dialdehyde 2 by treating with sodium sulfide nonahydrate. Furthermore the reactions of other mono- and diphenylsubstituted monothio-β-dicarbonyl compounds with aniline on the one side and nickel(II)acetate on the other side have been studied. It was shown, that compounds 1–6 react in different way with aniline yielding either sulfur free products or in case of 1 and 4 enaminothioketones, which are of interest as building blocks for syntheses. In contrast to this the nickel complexes of 1–6 indicates an one another similar, typical chelate structure, which have been elucidated by u.v.-vis-, i.r.- and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.     

Correlation of functional magnetic source imaging with intraoperative cortical stimulation in neurosurgical patients

This study compared noninvasive preoperative functional imaging by using magnetoencephalography (MEG) with intraoperative direct cortical stimulation in ten patients undergoing neurosurgery. The goal was to assess the accuracy and reliability of MEG-based functional imaging in these patients as a possible replacement or adjunct for direct cortical stimulation with electrocorticography. Objective comparison of intraoperative mapping with preoperative MEG procedures was achieved by intraoperative recording of mapped cortical locations for motor responses using an interactive image-guided surgical device, the ISG viewing wand, with which mapping points could be marked on a previously acquired (MRI) set. In all ten patients, at least one stimulation site elicited a response during both MEG and intraoperative mapping. The central sulcus ipsilateral to the lesion was only directly visible on high-resolution MRIs in 3/10 cases and equivocally in 2/10. Coregistered with MRI to form magnetic source images (MSIs), MEG predictions of the postcentral gyrus were possible in all 10 cases. In all 10 cases, these were in agreement with intraoperative estimation of the precentral gyrus. Functional mapping of somatosensory cortex was achieved noninvasively in surgical patients by using MSI. The accuracy, compared with cortical stimulation, was always sufficient to define motor and somatosensory strips.     

Applying the realized probability of dying to cancer survival

Age comparisons of survival in cancer cohorts generally utilize relative survival rates, which are based on indicators of the probability of survival for a given number of years after diagnosis. Cancer relative survival rates for the same number of years tend to decline as age at diagnosis increases. However, the same number of years of survival reflects higher relative longevity at older ages than at younger ages. The realized probability of dying (RPD) is a survival measure that expresses individual survival time after diagnosis relative to the survival distribution of an age-, race-, and sex-specific reference population, in effect weighing individual survival time more heavily as age at diagnosis increases. The purpose of this study was to apply the RPD as a survival measure in cancer epidemiology. Two cohorts of cancer patients, white males with prostate cancer and white females with breast cancer, aged 55 years and over at diagnosis, were followed for 15 years. Although older subjects survived less time after diagnosis than younger subjects, they achieved more favorable RPD values. We present survival analysis methods for analyzing the RPD in this population, an approach not previously used with this measure. The implications for use of the RPD in cancer epidemiology are discussed.     

Characterization of Palladium Nanoparticles Adsorpt on Polyacrylic Acid Particles as Hydrogenation Catalyst

Palladium particles can be prepared in sizes of a few nanometers from Pd(OAc)₂in the presence of a block copolymer in aromatic unpolar solvents with suitable reducing agents like NaBH₄ or LiAlH₄. After mixing the organic metal solution with a polyacrylic acid (PAA) dispersion of defined concentration and following a crosslinking process with an epoxide, reactive membranes with a well-defined pore diameter were obtained. The catalytic activity of the prepared palladium particles incorporated in the crosslinked PAA network has been proven by the gas phase hydrogenation of propyne in a special membrane reactor.     

The analytical continuation of the magnetic field of three-dimensional bodies

Contents Employing the theoretical and numerical results derived in earlier papers [1–4] for the calculation of the magnetic field of homogeneously and inhomogeneously magnetized two- or three-dimensional bodies it is presented how the analytical continuation of the magnetic field in the outer region into the inner region of a three-dimensional magnetized body can be found.The method presented here is a generalization of the results due to the analytical continuation for two-dimensional magnetic fields in [1, 3] and it is well suitable for solving the inverse magnetic field problems.

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Über die analytische Fortsetzung des magnetischen Feldes dreidimensionaler Körper

Übersicht Ausgehend von den in früheren Arbeiten [1–4] abgeleiteten theoretischen und numerischen Ergebnissen zur Berechnung des magnetischen Feldes homogen und inhomogen magnetisierter zwei-oder dreidimensionaler Körper wird ein Verfahren zur analytischen Fortsetzung des äußeren magnetischen Feldes in das Innere eines dreidimensionalen magnetisierten Körpers dargestellt.Das in dieser Arbeit beschriebene Verfahren ist eine Verallgemeinerung der in [1, 3] angegebenen Ergebnisse zur analytischen Fortsetzung von zweidimensionalen magnetischen Feldern; es ist wohl geeignet zur Lösung der indirekten magnetischen Aufgabe.

     

Novel Furin Inhibitors with Potent Anti‐infectious Activity

New peptidomimetic furin inhibitors with unnatural amino acid residues in the P3 position were synthesized. The most potent compound 4‐guanidinomethyl‐phenylacteyl‐Arg‐Tle‐Arg‐4‐amidinobenzylamide (MI‐1148) inhibits furin with a K_i value of 5.5 pM . The derivatives also strongly inhibit PC1/3, whereas PC2 is less affected. Selected inhibitors were tested in cell culture for antibacterial and antiviral activity against infectious agents known to be dependent on furin activity. A significant protective effect against anthrax and diphtheria toxin was observed in the presence of the furin inhibitors. Furthermore, the spread of the highly pathogenic H5N1 and H7N1 avian influenza viruses and propagation of canine distemper virus was strongly inhibited. Inhibitor MI‐1148 was crystallized in complex with human furin. Its N‐terminal guanidinomethyl group in the para position of the P5 phenyl ring occupies the same position as that found previously for a structurally related inhibitor containing this substitution in the meta position, thereby maintaining all of the important P5 interactions. Our results confirm that the inhibition of furin is a promising strategy for a short‐term treatment of acute infectious diseases.