Novel diterpenoid diacylglycerols from marine molluscs: potent morphogens and protein kinase C activators

Five novel 1,2-sn-diacylglycerols with diterpenoid acyl moieties in the sn-1 position were isolated and characterized, together with the corresponding 1,3-sn-diacylglycerols, from three species of dorid nudibranchs molluscs. Their potent activity as morphogens in vivo in the Hydra tentacle regeneration assay and their parallel activity as activators of rat brain protein kinase C (PKC) in vitro are reported here. Our findings promote the use of these compounds as useful molecular probes for both in vivo and in vitro studies on the participation of PKC in cell development.     

The integrated academic information management system at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

Over the past seven years, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center has been planning and implementing an integrated academic information management system. Accomplishments to date include establishing an institutional information architecture, installing a campus-wide network of workstations, recruiting the staff needed to develop and implement the system, and developing various applications. This paper presents the rationale and steps involved in these accomplishments, as well as data on use of the system so far.     

Quantitative x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of alkali ions / zirconia systems

Zirconia-supported alkali ions, containing Na, from 0.74 to 3.61 wt.%, and K, from 0.91 to 4.76 wt.%, have been studied by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and chemical analyses. The results show that the alkali ions remain dispersed on the zirconia surface. After treatment at 773 K in air, 5h, the Na containing samples maintain a good dispersion at low Na content, whereas for the more concentrated samples, agglomeration and incorporation in solid solution have been detected. The K based system shows neither agglomeration nor incorporation in solid solution of potassium ions. The XPS intensity ratios are compared with calculated values, according to different models, to account for the changes in surface morphology.     

The effect of support morphology on the reaction of oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene at short contact times

The oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane is carried out in short contact time reactors over Pt and LaMnO₃ based catalysts supported on a large number of different ceramic substrates (45, 60 and 80 ppi foam monoliths and 200, 400, 600, 900 and 1200 cpsi honeycomb monoliths). Experimental results, obtained under the same conditions at varying the C₂H₆/O₂ ratio, showed that the highest performance in terms of ethylene selectivity and yield is always attained on LaMnO₃ catalysts. Furthermore, the results are significantly influenced by the morphology and cell density of the support, with 45 and 60 ppi foams and 400 and 600 cpsi honeycombs giving the best performance. The experimental results are explained by means of geometrical and fluid dynamic considerations on the support, and by means of a 2D mathematical model, which clearly indicates an optimal intermediate cell density for maximising ethylene selectivity and yield.     

Defensive allomones in three species ofHypselodoris (gastropoda: Nudibranchia) from the Cantabrian sea

ThreeHypselodoris species,H. villafranca, H. cantabrica, and H. tricolor, have been studied in order to further investigate the defensive strategies of Chromodorididae mollusks from Iberian coasts. All animals possess large amounts of furanosesquiterpenoids, probably derived from their diet of sponges. The products are transferred and stored in specific sites of the mantle (mantle dermal formations, MDFs) to be used as chemical deterrents against predators. Chemical analysis of CantabrianHypselodoris species has led to the characterization of eight sesquiterpenoids. Among these, six have been found previously in both sponges and nudibranchs, while two are new natural products.Hypselodoris species cooccurring in the same area contained comparable mixtures of sesquiterpenoids. However, two populations ofH. cantabrica from different sites of the Cantabrian sea showed different metabolic patterns. All sesquiterpenoids induce feeding deterrence inCarassius auratus and two are also toxic toGambusia affinis.     

Desiderata for controlled medical vocabularies in the twenty-first century

Builders of medical informatics applications need controlled medical vocabularies to support their applications and it is to their advantage to use available standards. In order to do so, however, these standards need to address the requirements of their intended users. Over the past decade, medical informatics researchers have begun to articulate some of these requirements. This paper brings together some of the common themes which have been described, including: vocabulary content, concept orientation, concept permanence, nonsemantic concept identifiers, polyhierarchy, formal definitions, rejection of "not elsewhere classified" terms, multiple granularities, multiple consistent views, context representation, graceful evolution, and recognized redundancy. Standards developers are beginning to recognize and address these desiderata and adapt their offerings to meet them.     

Evaluating the impact of smart technologies on harbor’s logistics via BPMN modeling and simulation

A smart Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enables a synchronized interplay of different key factors, aligning infrastructures, consumers, and governmental policy-making needs. In the harbor’s logistics context, smart ICT has been driving a multi-year wave of growth. Although there is a standalone value in the technological innovation of a task, the impact of a new smart technology is unknown without quantitative analysis methods on the end-to-end process. In this paper, we first present a review of the smart ICT for marine container terminals, and then we propose to evaluate the impact of such smart ICT via business process model and notation (BPMN) modeling and simulation. The proposed approach is discussed in a real-world modeling and simulation analysis, made on a pilot terminal of the Port of Leghorn (Italy).     

Vacuum-based preservation of surgical specimens: An environmentally-safe step towards a formalin-free hospital

Formalin as a fixative has no practical substitutes, but is toxic and potentially carcinogenic, so caution of its use in hospitals and elsewhere is mandatory. In our hospital, preservation of surgical specimens into formalin to be transferred to pathology labs was replaced by under-vacuum sealing (UVS) tissues into plastic bags and preservation at 4 °C until transfer. Data analysis showed UVS processing to be superior in terms of staff satisfaction and of gross anatomic preservation; no problems in terms of technical feasibility or histopathologic preservation were encountered. Formalin was confined to pathology labs while its use on hospital premises was vastly reduced.     

Recovery of anthocyanins from eggplant peel

Tartaric and malic acid solutions were tested to extract anthocyanins from eggplant peel by a discontinuous process to obtain a natural red colorant. Extraction optimization was carried out, using different solvents, acid concentration, temperature, time of extraction and solvent-to-solid ratio as independent variables. Tartaric acid was more efficient than malic acid in both extraction yield and rate. Comparative tests were carried out using acidified ethanol as solvent. Delphinidin-3-rutinoside was extracted and identified as the major anthocyanin in eggplant peel. Concentration of different extracts from eggplant peel was carried out using EXA-31, a methacrylic food grade resin, the best performing resin to obtain highly concentrated extracts.     

Hydrogen production by photoreforming of formic acid in aqueous copper/TiO2 suspensions under UV-simulated solar radiation at room temperature

A new photocatalytic system consisting of two subsystems – Cu⁰/Cl⁻/H⁺/UV_ssr and Cu^II/H⁺/TiO₂/formic acid/UV_ssr – is proposed as a tool to produce hydrogen by reforming an organic species. Formic acid is used as hole scavenger during the experimental runs. An experimental campaign is carried out to demonstrate that the systems can generate hydrogen and to assess how the generation rate depends upon experimental conditions such as copper and TiO₂ loads, chloride and proton ions, and formic acid concentrations. A strong dependence of the Cu⁰/Cl⁻/H⁺/UV_ssr subsystem reactivity upon copper load, chloride concentration and pH is observed. The investigation on the complete system, starting from zero-valent copper, indicates that the addition of TiO₂ and formic acid to the Cu⁰/Cl⁻/H⁺/UV_ssr subsystem does not result into any gain in terms of hydrogen produced and, renders the system totally unreactive under some conditions. On the other hand, when a complete system, starting from cupric ions, is adopted, hydrogen production is observed also for prolonged reaction times with a surplus of hydrogen production with respect to that generated by the Cu⁰/Cl⁻/H⁺/UV_ssr subsystem with the same Cu⁰ starting load and in absence of TiO₂ and sacrificial agent.