A solvent sublation has been studied for the determination of trace Au(III), Pt(IV) and Pd(II) in waste water with their complexes of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT). Experimental conditions such as the concentration of HCl, the amount of MBT as a ligand, the type and amount of surfactants, bubbling rate and time, and the type of organic solvent were optimized for the solvent sublation, i.e., 25.0 mL of 2.0 M HCl solution and 30mL of 0.4%(w/v) MBT ethanolic solution were added to a 1.0 L sample to form stable complexes. The addition of 4.0 mL of 1 ${\times}$$10^{-3}$ M CTAB (cetyltrimehtylammonium bromide) solution was needed for the effective flotation accomplished by bubbling nitrogen gas at the rate of 40.0 mL/min for 35 minutes. As a solvent, 20.0 mL of MIBK (methylisobuthylketone) was used to extract the floated complexes. The procedure was applied to three kinds of waste waters. Au(III) was determined as 0.68 ng/mL and 0.98 ng/mL respectively for final washed water of two plating industries in Banwol. Pd(II) and Pt(IV) were not detected in any of the three samples. The recovery, which was obtained with analyte-spiked samples, were 95-120%.

Nucleophilic substitution reactions of O-imidomethyl derivatives of phenols with OH- were studied theoretically using the semiempirical AM1 and Solvation Model 2.1 (SM2.1) methods in the gas phase and aqueous solution, respectively. In the gas phase, the two reaction paths, in which the imide (1a) or phenol (1b) is functioning as a leaving group, can occur competitively. In contrast, in aqueous solution, path (1b) becomes more favorable than (1a) because the transition states (TS) of path (1b) are more stabilized by solvent. Differences in solvation energies are caused by the structural differences of TS, i.e., the TS via path (1b) is more dissociative than that via path (1a). Therefore we conclude that the solvent effects play an important role in the hydrolysis of O-imidomethyl derivatives of phenols. However, reactivity is dependent on the acidities of both the imide and the phenol fragments since the ρz values vary progressively from 4.2 (Z' = I) to 2.5 (Z' = IV) as the acidities of imide increase. These are in good agreement with the experimental results.

The crystal structures of fully dehydrated $Pd^{2+}$ - and $TI^{+}$ -exchanged zeolite X, $Pd_{18}TI_{56}Si_{100}Al_{92}O_{384}(Pd_{18}TI_{50-}X$, a = $24.935(4)\AA$ and $Pd_{21}TI_{50}Si_{100}Al_{92}O_{384}(Pd_{21}TI_{50-}X$ a = $24.914(4)\AA)$, have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods in the cubic space group Fd3 at $21(1)^{\circ}C.$ The crystals were prepared using an exchange solution that had a $Pd(NH_3)_4Cl_2\;:TINO_3$ mole ratio of 50 : 1 and 200 : 1, respectively, with a total concentration of 0.05M for 4 days. After dehydration at $360^{\circ}C$ and 2 ${\times}$$10^{-6}$ Torr in flowing oxygen for 2 days, the crystals were evacuated at $21(1)^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours. They were refined to the final error indices $R_1$ = 0.045 and $R_2$ = 0.038 with 344 reflections for $Pd_{18}Tl_{56-}X$, and $R_1$ = 0.043 and $R_2$ = 0.045 with 280 reflections for $Pd_{21}Tl_{50-}X$; I > $3\sigma(I).$ In the structure of dehydrated $Pd_{18}Tl_{56-}X$, eighteen $Pd^{2+}$ ions and fourteen $TI^{+}$ ions are located at site I'. About twenty-seven $TI^{+}$ ions occupy site II recessed $1.74\AA$ into a supercage from the plane of three oxygens. The remaining fifteen $TI^{+}$ ions are distributed over two non-equivalent III' sites, with occupancies of 11 and 4, respectively. In the structure of $Pd_{21}Tl_{50-}X$, twenty $Pd^{2+}$ and ten $TI^{+}$ ions occupy site I', and one $Pd^{2+}$ ion is at site I. About twenty-three $TI^{+}$ ions occupy site II, and the remaining seventeen $TI^{+}$ ions are distributed over two different III' sites. $Pd^{2+}$ ions show a limit of exchange (ca. 39% and 46%), though their concentration of exchange was much higher than that of $TI^{+}$ ions. $Pd^{2+}$ ions tend to occupy site I', where they fit the double six-ring plane as nearly ideal trigonal planar. $TI^{+}$ ions fill the remaining I' sites, then occupy site II and two different III' sites. The two crystal structures show that approximately two and one-half I' sites per sodalite cage may be occupied by $Pd^{2+}$ ions. The remaining I' sites are occupied by $TI^{+}$ ions with Tl-O bond distance that is shorter than the sum of their ionic radii. The electrostatic repulsion between two large $TI^{+}$ ions and between $TI^{+}$ and $Pd^{2+}$ ions in the same $\beta-cage$ pushes each other to the charged six-ring planes. It causes the Tl-O bond to have some covalent character. However, $TI^{+}$ ions at site II form ionic bonds with three oxygens because the super-cage has the available space to obtain the reliable ionic bonds.

Ridge regression is compared with multiple linear regression (MLR) for determination of Research Octane Number (RON) when the baseline and signal-to-noise ratio are varied. MLR analysis of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic data usually encounters a collinearity problem, which adversely affects long-term prediction performance. The collinearity problem can be eliminated or greatly improved by using ridge regression, which is a biased estimation method. To evaluate the robustness of each calibration, the calibration models developed by both calibration methods were used to predict RONs of gasoline spectra in which the baseline and signal-to-noise ratio were varied. The prediction results of a ridge calibration model showed more stable prediction performance as compared to that of MLR, especially when the spectral baselines were varied. . In conclusion, ridge regression is shown to be a viable method for calibration of RON with the NIR data when only a few wavelengths are available such as hand-carry device using a few diodes.

This study simplifies the phenomenological theory of viscosity previously proposed by the present authors. This simplified theory has only two thermodynamic properties and one parameter, as opposed to its predecessor, which has many, allowing for easy calculation of the liquid viscosities. The viscosity of liquid metals, an excellent test for checking the validity of the liquid theory, can be calculated using the equation based on the simplified theory. The calculated results by the current theory turn out to be good for the liquid metals, including sodium, potassium, rubbidium, cesium, lead and mercury.

To evaluate the non-ionic polymer, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), as a component in cationic copolymers for non-viral gene delivery systems, PEG was coupled to polyethylenimine (PEI). We present the effects of different degrees and shapes of pegylation of PEI on cytotoxicity, water solubility and transfection efficiency. This work reports the synthesis and characterization of a series of cationic copolymers on the basis of the conjugates of PEI with PEG. The modified molecules were significantly less toxic than the original polymer. Moreover, the chemical modification led to enhancement of their solubility. The comparison of pegylated PEIs with different degrees of derivation showed that all the polymers tested reached comparable levels of transgene expression to that of native PEI. As assessed by agarose gel electrophoresis, even highly substituted PEI derivatives were still able to form polyionic complexes with DNA. However, aside from an increase in solubility and retention of the ability to condense DNA, methoxy-PEG-modified PEIs resulted in a significant decrease in the transfection activity of the DNA complexes. In fact, the efficiency of the copolymer was compromised even at a low degree of modification suggesting that the PEG action resulting from its shape is important for efficient gene transfer. The mode of PEG grafting and the degree of modification influenced the transfection efficiency of PEI.

Sulfonated poly(phenylene sulfide) (SPPS) polymers were prepared by sulfonation of poly[methyl[4-(phenylthio) phenyl]sulfonium trifluoromethanesulfonate] (PPST) with fumic sulfonic acid (10% $SO_3-H_2SO_4$) and demethylation with aqueous NaOH solution. The equilibrium constants of ion exchange reactions between alkali metal cations ($Li^+,\;Na^+,\;and\;K^+$) and SPPS ion exchanger in organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran (THF) and dioxane were measured. The equilibrium constants of ion exchange reactions increased as the polarity of the solvent increased, and the reaction temperature decreased. The equilibrium constants of the ion exchange reaction ($K_{eq}$) also increased in the order of $Li^+,\;Na^+,\;and\;K^+$. To elucidate the spontaneity of the exchange reaction in organic solvents, the enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy were calculated. The enthalpy of reaction ranged from -0.88 to -1.33 kcal/mol, entropy ranged from 1.42 to 4.41 cal/Kmol, and Gibbs free energy ranged from -1.03 to -2.55 kcal/mol. Therefore, the exchange reactions were spontaneous because the Gibbs free energies were negative. The SPPS ion exchanger and alkali metal ion bounding each other produced good ion exchange capability in organic solvents.

The dried fruit-body of Daedaleopsis tricolor was extracted by the petroleum ether. The extracts were purified by liquid-liquid extraction, column chromatography, and recrystallization. The purified compound was a colorless orthorhombic crystal form. Its melting point, molecular weight and molar extinction coefficient $(\varepsilon)$ were estimated $168-170^{\circ}C$, 424 and 3,935 at 208 nm, respectively. Its structure was elucidated to be 20(29)-lupen-3-one by UV-Vis, FT-IR, NMR and X-ray crystallographic analysis. It showed antifungal activities against Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Microsporum gypseum, and antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas pyocyanea, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, this compound showed an antioxidative activity on lipid-peroxidation by 6.4%.

The photophysical properties and the singlet oxygen generation efficiency of tetrathiarubyrin have been investigated to elucidate the possibility of its use as a photodynamic therapy (PDT) photosensitizer by steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic methods. The observed photophysical properties were affected by various molecular aspects, such as extended ${\pi}conjugation$, structural distortion, and internal heavy atom. The steady-state electronic absorption spectrum was red-shifted due to the extended $\pi-conjugation$, and the spin orbital coupling was enhanced by the structural distortion and the internal heavy atom effect. As a result of the enhanced spin orbital coupling, the triplet quantum yield increased to 0.90 $\pm$ 0.10 and the triplet state lifetime was shortened to 7.0 $\pm$ 1.2 ${\mu}s$. Since the triplet state decays at a relatively faster rate, the efficiency of the oxygen quenching of the triplet state decreases. The singlet oxygen quantum yield was estimated to be 0.52 $\pm$ 0.02, which is somewhat lower than expected. On the other hand, the efficiency of singlet oxygen generation during the oxygen quenching of triplet state, $f{\Delta}^T$, is near unity. Such high efficiency of singlet oxygen generation can be explained by the following two possible factors: The hydrogen bonding of ethanol which impedes the deactivation pathway of the charge transfer complex with oxygen to the ground state, the less probability of the aggregation formation.

We have employed chemical modification to identify amino acids essential for the catalytic activity of alliinase (EC 4.4.1.4) from garlic (Allium sativum). Alliinase degrades S-alkyl-L cysteine sulfoxides, causing the characteristic odor of garlic. The activity of alliinase was rapidly and completely inactivated by N-bromosuccinimide(NBS) and slightly decreased by succinic anhydride and N-acetylimidazole. These results indicate that tryptophanyl, lysyl, and tyrosyl residues play an important role in enzyme catalysis. The reaction of alliinase with NBA yielded a characteristic decrease in both the absorbance at 280 nm and the intrinsic fluorescence at 332 nm with increasing reagent concentration of NBS, consistent with the oxidation of tryptophan residues. Kinetic analysis, fluorometric titration of tryptophans and correlation to residual alliinase activity showed that modification of only one residue present on alliinase led to complete inhibition of alliinase activity. To identify this essential tryptophan residue, we employed chemical modification by NBS in the presence and absence of the protecting substrate analogue, S-ethyl-L-cysteine (SEC) and N-terminal sequence analysis of peptide fragment isolated by reverse phase-HPLC. A fragment containing residues 179-188 was isolated. We conclude that Trp182 is essential for alliinase activity.

To gain further insight into the relationship between structure and function of glutathione S-transferase (GST), the four cysteine mutants, C14S, C47S, C101S and C169S, of human GST P1-1 were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by affinity chromatography on immobilized glutathione (GSH). The catalytic activities of the four mutant enzymes were characterized with five different substrates as well as by their binding to four different inhibitors. Cys14 seems to participate in the catalytic reaction of GST by stabilizing the conformation of the active-site loop, not in the GSH binding directly. The substitution of Cys47 with serine significantly reduces the affinity of GSH binding, although it does not prevent GSH binding. On the other hand, the substitution of Cys101 with serine appears to change the binding affinity of electrophilic substrate by inducing a conformational change of the $\alpha-helix$ D. Cys169 seems to be important for maintaining the stable conformation of the enzyme. In addition, all four cysteine residues are not needed for the steroid isomerase activity of human glutathione S-transferase P1-1.