Fatty acid desaturase systems of hen liver and their inhibition by cyclopropene fatty acids

Hen liver preparations which desaturate stearic acid at the 9,10 position to form oleic acid have been found to desaturate other saturated fatty acids of carbon chain length from 12 to 20 and 22. The 9,10-monoenoic fatty acid of the same chain length as the substrate fatty acid is the major product formed. Minor amounts of the 10,11- and 11, 12-monoenoic acids are also formed. Maximum desaturation occurred with the C₁₄ fatty acid substrate and with the fatty acids C₁₇ and C₁₈, suggesting the presence of at least two desaturating systems. The cyclopropene fatty acids, sterculic and malvalic acids, inhibited the desaturation of all thefatty acids at the 9,10 position but desaturation at the 10,11 and 11, 12 positions was affected only slightly. The effect is not due to inhibition of the primary activating enzyme, the long chain acyl CoA synthetase. Sterculic acid is a more effective inhibitor than either malvalic acid or sterculyl alcohol, probably because these cyclopropene compounds do not block the desaturating site of the enzyme as completely as sterculic acid.     

Raman spectra of Graphon carbon black

The Raman spectrum of Graphon carbon black has been recorded using rotating cell techniques. Angular dependence of scattering at 1360, 1580 and 2700 cm^?1 are reported and these data suggest that the 1360 cm^?1 line is associated with non-planar microstructure distortions. The excitation frequency dependence of the intensity ratio of the bands at 1360 (D) and 1580 cm^?1 (G) is interpreted in terms of resonance (vibronic) interaction. This dependence is primarily the result of an increase in the intensity of the 1360 cm ^?1 line. The disorder-associated line (D) exhibits a significant excitation-dependent shift from 1378 cm^i?1 (457.9 nm Ar⁺) to 1330 cm^?1 (647.1 nm Kr⁺). The “graphite” (G) line position is less sensitive to changes in excitation frequency. The spectral features are discussed in terms of factor group, C_6v⁴, and layer site symmetry, C_3v. Also the possible role of localized alkene-like structure in zones of structural distortion is considered.     

Composition of mixed octadecadienoates via ozonolysis,chromatography and computer solution of linear equations

An approach to the analysis of 55 possible nonconjugated positional isomers of octadecadienoic acid is described and tested with mixtures of individual synthetic methyl esters. In the first example, by ozonolysis a sevencomponent mixture consisting ofcis,cis 5,12-, 6,10-, 6,11-, 6,12-, 7,12-, 8,12-, and 9,12-octadecadienoates was converted to aldehydes, aldehyde-esters and dialdehydes. These fragments were separated on a 50 m×0.2 mm free fatty acid phase (FFAP) vitreous silica capillary column. Equations for an arbitrarily restricted 12×15 matrix of linear simultaneous equations and a computer solution of the matrix provided the composition of the initial methyl octadecadienoate mixture. The power and significance of this method became apparent with the observation that only two of the seven isomers in the known mixture were resolved as single peaks by state-of-the-art capillary gas chromatography, but all seven were identified and estimated with acceptable error by the ozonolysis-capillary gas chromatography-computer procedure. In a generalized approach to the analysis of the 55 possible nonconjugated isomers, a computer program selects the appropriate matrix of linear simultaneous equations based on the aldehyde data supplied by the analyst. Twenty of 21 combinations of seven isomeric esters taken five at a time have been analyzed to assess the efficiency of the method. To illustrate applicability at this stage of development, the method has been used to analyze the diene products of the hydrazine reduction of γ-linolenic acid and the diene products from the biological desaturation of isomeric monoenes. The possibility of distinguishing geometric and positional isomers of 18∶2 has been opened by the observed separation ofcis-andtrans-unsaturated aldehydes and aldehyde-esters. Presented in part at the 16th World Congress of the International Society for Fat Research, October 4–7, 1983, in Budapest, Hungary, and at the American Oil Chemists' Society Meeting, May 15, 1986, in Honolulu, Hawaii.     

Vinyl chloride formation from the thermal degradation of poly(vinyl chloride)

The volatile products from the thermal degradation of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) resins and compounds are shown to contain trace amounts of vinyl chloride. Data presented show the effect of temperature and resin type on the amount of vinyl chloride formed. At the maximum temperatures involved in PVC processing which may reach 210°C, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) evolution amounts to less than 1 ppm (resin basis). A technique employing a thermogravimetric balance and charcoal adsorption of volatiles is described for studying thermal degradation of PVC. The volatiles are analyzed for vinyl chloride by gas chromatography. Peak identity was confirmed by mass spectrometry.     

The Shot Heard Around the World Wide Web: Who Heard What Where About Osama bin Laden's Death

This study investigated what sources were relied on to find out about Osama bin Laden's death and whether perceptions of credibility and political party affiliation influenced these media choices. The most striking difference in media reliance for bin Laden news was that whatever sources Tea Partiers relied on and thought credible were those that Democrats did not rely on or see as credible. Despite the clamor about how quickly news flows through social network sites and Twitter, only about 5% of respondents first heard about bin Laden through these sources and a slightly larger percentage spread the news via these tools. Moreover, social network sites and Twitter were the least relied on about the aftermath of bin Laden's death.     

Self-repair ability of evolved self-assembling systems in cellular automata

Self-repairing systems are those that are able to reconfigure themselves following disruptions to bring them back into a defined normal state. In this paper we explore the self-repair ability of some cellular automata-like systems, which differ from classical cellular automata by the introduction of a local diffusion process inspired by chemical signalling processes in biological development. The update rules in these systems are evolved using genetic programming to self-assemble towards a target pattern. In particular, we demonstrate that once the update rules have been evolved for self-assembly, many of those update rules also provide a self-repair ability without any additional evolutionary process aimed specifically at self-repair.     

Multi-Wavelength vs. Binary Code Pattern Unwrapping in Fringe Projection Method

Phase extraction, phase unwrapping and phase to height conversion are consecutive steps within the fringe projection method for reconstruction of 3D objects. The procedure of determining discontinuities on the wrapped phase, resolving them and achieving the unwrapped phase is called phase unwrapping. A software system was developed that provides the ability to create many kinds of patterns with a verity of desirable properties suitable for different demands in fringe projection systems. In our previous work, an experimental study was reported based on a multi-wavelength unwrapping approach. In the following work, we implemented a new method called binary code pattern unwrapping that is based on time analysis. A comparison of the two unwrapping approaches in terms of resolution, quality, noise, depth accuracy, and computational cost is provided.     

An architecture modeling framework for probabilistic prediction

In the design phase of business and IT system development, it is desirable to predict the properties of the system-to-be. A number of formalisms to assess qualities such as performance, reliability and security have therefore previously been proposed. However, existing prediction systems do not allow the modeler to express uncertainty with respect to the design of the considered system. Yet, in contemporary business, the high rate of change in the environment leads to uncertainties about present and future characteristics of the system, so significant that ignoring them becomes problematic. In this paper, we propose a formalism, the Predictive, Probabilistic Architecture Modeling Framework (P²AMF), capable of advanced and probabilistically sound reasoning about business and IT architecture models, given in the form of Unified Modeling Language class and object diagrams. The proposed formalism is based on the Object Constraint Language (OCL). To OCL, P²AMF adds a probabilistic inference mechanism. The paper introduces P²AMF, describes its use for system property prediction and assessment and proposes an algorithm for probabilistic inference.     

A method for predicting the probability of business network profitability

In the design phase of business collaboration, it is desirable to be able to predict the profitability of the business-to-be. Therefore, techniques to assess qualities such as costs, revenues, risks, and profitability have been previously proposed. However, they do not allow the modeler to properly manage uncertainty with respect to the design of the considered business collaboration. In many real collaboration projects today, uncertainty regarding the business’ present or future characteristics is so significant that ignoring it becomes problematic. In this paper, we propose an approach based on the predictive, probabilistic architecture modeling framework (P²AMF), capable of advanced and probabilistically sound reasoning about profitability risks. The P²AMF-based approach for profitability risk prediction is also based on the e³-value modeling language and on the object constraint language. The paper introduces the prediction and modeling approach, and a supporting software tool. The use of the approach is illustrated by means of a case study originated from the Stockholm Royal Seaport smart city project.     

The effect of solution variables on the solution of cellulose in dimethyl sulfoxide

Through the study of the effects of concentration, temperature, and molar ration (of paraformaldehyde to cellulose) on solution viscosity and per cent transmittance (at 530 nm), it has been demonstrated that cellulose solutions in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) are readily produced. By heating 1, 2, and 50 to 100 parts by weight of cellulose, paraformaldehyde, and DMSO, respectively, extremely viscose cellulose solutions and gels were prepared. Solutions with concentrations as high as 10% were prepared. However, the optimum conditions to effect complete cellulose solution in DMSO at 75°C were found to be 0.5% cellulose and 0.8 and 1.0% paraformaldehyde. This corresponds to a paraformaldehyde-to-cellulose molar ratio of about 10:1.