High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Flavoxate Hydrochloride and its Hydrolysis Product

Liquid chromatographic method was presented for the determination of flavoxate hydrochloride (FX) and its hydrolysis product. The method was based on high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separation of FX from its hydrolysis product on CN column using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-12 mM ammonium acetate (45:55, vol/vol, pH 4.0) with UV detection at 220 nm and flow rate of 1.5 mL min^?1. The proposed HPLC method for the determination of FX was utilized to investigate the kinetics of acidic hydrolytic process at different temperatures and to calculate its activation energy. In addition, the proposed HPLC method was used for pH-rate profile study of hydrolysis of FX in Britton–Robinson buffer solutions. The 3-methylflavone-8-carboxylic acid ethyl ester, as impurity of flavoxate hydrochloride, can be separated by the proposed HPLC method.     

Na2BaMg（PO4）2： synthesis, crystal structure and europium photoluminescence properties

Na2BaMg(PO4)2 was synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis (DTA), 31P NMR spectroscopy and photoluminescence measurements. This compound crystallized in the P3m...     

Isolation of powerful antioxidants from the medicinal halophyte Limoniastrum guyonianum

The antioxidant capacities of the crude extract, aqueous and ethyl acetate partitions of Limoniastrum guyonianum Boiss. (Zita) were investigated in this study. The ethyl acetate phase exhibited a significant antioxidant activity as judged by total antioxidant activity, DPPH test and reducing power. Fractionation of this extract by centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) using quaternary Arizona solvent systems composed of n-heptane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water led to ten fractions. The antioxidant capacities of these fractions were assessed using the same previous tests. Fraction 8 showed the highest antioxidant capacity (1291.1mg GAE/g DR), the power ability to quench DPPH radical (IC(50)=2μg/ml) and to reduce Fe(3+) (EC(50)=65μg/ml). From this fraction, three powerful flavonoids were isolated (1-3): gallocatechin (1), epigallocatechin (2) and epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (3). These findings suggest that the antioxidative property of L. guynianum is may be related to the presence of these flavonoids, which can be used in various industrial fields.     

Total lipid content, fatty acids and 4-desmethylsterols accumulation in developing fruit of Pistacia lentiscus L. growing wild in Tunisia

This research has determined oil, fatty acid and sterol contents of the Tunisian Pistacialentiscus (Lentisc) fruits during maturation. Low oil accumulation was observed during the first 35 days after the fruiting (DAF) date (from 1.83% to 2.57%). After that, two phases were distinguished (35th until the 60th and 105th to the 145th DAF), where the rate of oil accumulation increased significantly. At the last stage of maturation, the lentisc fruits had the highest percentage of lipid content, 42.54%. The changing profile of fatty acids during maturation had been marked mainly by an increase in oleic acid content (from 19.49% to 50.72%) paralleling a decrease in linoleic acid content (from 42.5% to 21.75%). At the 15th DAF, the alpha-linolenic acid was found with a maximum of 13.81%. At full maturity, the main fatty acids were oleic acid, followed by palmitic and linoleic acid. Other fatty acids were present in trace proportions, such as palmitoleic, stearic, linolenic, gadoleic and arachidic acid. In all stages of ripening only four sterols were identified and quantified. β-Sitosterol was the major 4-desmethylsterol in samples tested, followed by campesterol. Cholesterol and stigmasterol were detected in trace amounts. During the first stage of ripening, the amount of total sterols was about 5.19/100 g of oil. It decreased to 0.43/100 g in the last stage. Sitosterol and campesterol showed nearly the same profile during the ripening of P. lentiscus fruit which could be linked to the relation between these compounds during their biosynthesis.     

Prevention of 7-ketocholesterol-induced side effects by natural compounds

Abstract

Cholesterol oxidation products, also named oxysterols, can be formed either by cholesterol auto-oxidation, enzymatically or both. Among these oxysterols, 7-ketocholesterol (7KC) is mainly formed during radical attacks that take place on the carbon 7 of cholesterol. As increased levels of 7KC have been found in the tissues, plasma and/or cerebrospinal fluid of patients with major diseases, especially age-related diseases (cardiovascular diseases, eye diseases, neurodegenerative diseases), some cancers, and chronic inflammatory diseases, it is suspected that 7KC, could contribute to their development. Since 7KC, provided by the diet or endogenously formed, is not or little efficiently metabolized, except in hepatic cells, its cellular accumulation can trigger numerous side effects including oxidative stress, inflammation and cell death. To counteract 7KC-induced side effects, it is necessary to characterize the metabolic pathways activated by this oxysterol to identify potential targets for cytoprotection and geroprotection. Currently, several natural compounds (tocopherols, fatty acids, polyphenols, etc) or mixtures of compounds (oils) used in traditional medicine are able to inhibit the deleterious effects of 7KC. The different molecules identified could be valued in different ways (functional foods, recombinant molecules, theranostic) to prevent or treat diseases associated with 7KC.     

Analytical evaluation of two monovarietal virgin olive oils cultivated in the south of Tunisia: Jemri‐Bouchouka and Chemlali‐Tataouin cultivars

BACKGROUND: The characterisation of virgin olive oils from two Tunisian cultivars, growing in the Tataouin zone, namely Jemri‐Bouchouka, a rare olive cultivar, and Chemlali‐Tataouin, was carried out. Several analytical parameters were evaluated; these include quality index, fatty acids, phenolic, chlorophyll, carotenoid, squalene, α‐tocopherol compositions and oxidative stability. RESULTS: Jemri‐Bouchouka olive oil had the highest value of oleic acid (74.50%) while Chemlali‐Tataouin was characterised by a high percentage of palmitic acid (14.75%), which makes this oil freeze at a low temperature. On the other hand, Jemri‐Bouchouka oil was characterised by a low phenolic and α‐tocopherol content (267.72 mg GAE kg^?1 and 278.34 mg kg^?1, respectively). Ten phenolic compounds were identified. The main phenols found in the two olive oils were oleuropein aglycon and pinoresinol. All phenolic compounds showed significant correlations with oxidative stability. CONCLUSION: The analytical parameters of virgin olive oil that were determined in this study were greatly influenced by cultivar. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

3–5 GHz FSK-OOK ultra wideband transmitter based on memristive ring oscillator

The compatibility of a memristor with CMOS technology has attracted the attention of many researchers to explore its application further. In this work, an ultra low-power and low-complexity ultra wideband (UWB) chirp transmitter based on memristive ring oscillator (RO) is designed in 0.18 µm TSMC CMOS technology. The Chirp waveform was chosen because of its low side-lobes and large time-bandwidth product, which allows for more spectrum use. OOK and FSK modulation are supported by the proposed UWB chirp transmitter. The chirp frequency is controlled linearly with time across the pulse duration using memristors. The binary data "1" and "0" are encoded using distinct chirp frequencies in FSK TX. The simulation results show a maximum TX output pulse of 457 mV _Vpp with a pulse width of 21 ns. The overall DC power consumption for a pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 20 MHz is 0.328 mW, equivalent to an energy consumption of 16.4 pJ/pulse. The simulated output amplitude for OOK TX is 453 mV Vpp with a pulse width of 48 ns and a PSD of ? 10 dB over a frequency range of 3.2 to 4.8 GHz. The overall power consumption at 10 MHz PRF is 0.136 mW, which corresponds to an energy consumption of 13.6 pJ/pulse.

     

On the Spectral Efficiency of Energy Constrained Short-Range Communicating Systems

Binary offset carrier modulation is applied in several signals of the global navigation satellite system (GNSS). It enhanced the robustness of GNSS against the impact of multipath and make the compatibility of GNSS better. However, it has the main drawback of potentially giving biased measurements in acquisition and tracking. The technique we proposed is based on linear fitting with multi-correlator to accomplish unambiguous tracking. The coefficient of each correlator was deduced in this paper. The theoretical analysis and simulation results indicate that the proposed method can performs well on multipath and thermal noise.     

Studying the conversion of graphite into nanographene sheets using supercritical phase exfoliation method

Abstract

This work studies the application of supercritical-phase exfoliation method to produce 100% yield of high-quality graphene. This simple and cost-effective method utilizes supercritical carbon dioxide and ultrasonication to produce pure and defect-free mono-, few- and multi-layer graphene sheets. The process parameters such as pressure, sonication time, sonication amplitude and the amount of starting graphite were examined. The production of defect-free single-, few- and multi-layer graphene sheets was confirmed using atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirms that our method does not cause any oxidation to the synthesized graphene. The conductivity of the best yield graphene sample has been tested by four-point probe method and high electrical conductivity of 8.5?×?10⁴ S/m was recorded. The synthesized graphene can be used in many applications such as supercapacitors, batteries, composites and conductive inks.