It is important to identify selective ligands for the estrogen receptor subtypes ER$\alpha$ or ER$\beta$ to evaluate them as pharmaceutical targets in breast cancer. To develop ER$\beta$-selective ligands as PET imaging agents, a series of aryl indazole estrogen analogues substituted at the C3 position with fluoroethyl and fluoropropyl groups were synthesized and evaluated for their relative binding affinities and selectivities for ER$\alpha$ vs ER$\beta$. The fluoroethylated indazole estrogen (FEIE, 1i) and fluoropropylated indazole estrogen (FPIE, 1h) showed 41- fold and 17-fold ER$\beta$/ER$\alpha$ selectivity, respectively. However, their binding affinities to ER$\alpha$ and ER$\beta$ were very low.

The adsorption of CO on W(110) surfaces was studied using thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS), and core and valence level spectroscopy. At 120 K, CO forms a tilted structure at lower coverages ($\alpha$ 1), whereas it adsorbs normal to the surface at higher coverages ($\alpha$ 2). Tilted structures have been suggested to be precursors of dissociative chemisorption; however, experimental evidence is provided for the non-dissociative chemisorption of CO at temperatures above 900 K (which is referred to as the $\beta$ -state): TDS shows first order desorption kinetics. The core and valence level spectra of O/W(110) and those of $\beta$ -CO/W(110) are different. Most importantly, the 4$\sigma$ molecular orbital of CO can be identified in the valence level spectra of the $\beta$ -CO.

A carbon composite was synthesized by mechanical mixing of ball-milled graphite and PVC powders, followed by pyrolysis reaction of PVC. Natural graphite ball milled under atmosphere of argon or air leads to a disordered structure. It appears that the electrochemical lithium intercalation reaction is dependent on the atmosphere in which the graphite is ball milled. The carbon composite obtained using air-milled graphite shows a high reversible capacity and high initial coulombic efficiency compared to argon-milled graphite. This is attributed to the enhanced thermal stability of a disordered structure in the air milled sample. For the one with air-milled graphite, the disordered structure is maintained during heat treatment, while argon-milled graphite is partially crystallized.

A series of dihydroxylated chalcone derivatives with diverse substitution patterns on a phenyl ring B and the para-substituents on a phenyl ring A were prepared, and their radical scavenging activities were evaluated by simple DPPH test to determine quantitative structure-activity relationship in these series of compounds. The chalcone compounds with the ortho- (i.e. 2',3'- and 3',4'-) and para- (i.e. 2,5'-) substitution patterns show an excellent antioxidant activities (80-90% of control at the concentration of 50 $\mu$M) which are comparable to those of ascorbic acid and $\alpha$ -tocopherol as positive reference materials. On the contrary, the compounds with meta- (i.e. 2',4'-, 3',5'-) substitution pattern demonstrate very dramatic decrease in activities which are around 25% of the control even at the concentration of 200 $\mu$ M (IC50 > 200 $\mu$ M). These dramatic differences could be interpreted in terms of the ease formation of fairly stable semiquinone radicals from the ortho- and parasubstituted chalcone molecules through facilitating electron delocalization. Our results indicate that the substitution patterns of two hydroxyl groups on ring B are very important structural factors for their radical scavenging activity enhancement. Meanwhile, the substituents at para-position of the phenyl ring A of chalcones have no influence on the activity.

The electrical repulsive energy between two model cylinders was calculated by solving nonlinear Poission- Boltzmann (P-B) equation under Derjaguin approximation. Effects of the surface potential, Debye screening length, and configuration of cylinders on the repulsive interaction energy were examined. Due to the anisotropy of the shape of cylinder, the interaction repulsive energy showed dependence to the configuration of particles; cylinders aligned in end-to-end configuration showed largest repulsive energy and crossed particles had lowest interaction energy. The configuration effect is originated from the curvature effect of the interacting surfaces. The curved surfaces showed less repulsive energy than flat surfaces at the same interacting surface area. The configuration dependency of interaction energy agreed with the previous analytical solution obtained under the linearized P-B equation. The approach and results present in this report would be applicable in predicting colloidal behavior of cylindrical particles.

M1 RNA, the catalytic subunit of Escherichia coli RNase P, is an essential ribozyme that processes the 5' leader sequence of tRNA precursors (ptRNAs). Using KS2003, an E. coli strain generating only low levels of M1 RNA, which showed growth defects, we examined whether M1 RNA is involved in polycistronic mRNA processing or degradation. Microarray analysis of total RNA from KS2003 revealed six polycistronic operon mRNAs (acpP-fabF, cysDNC, flgAMN, lepAB, phoPQ, and puuCBE) showing large differences in expression between the adjacent genes in the same mRNA transcript compared with the KS2001 wild type strain. Model substrates spanning an adjacent pair of genes for each polycistronic mRNA were tested for RNase P cleavage in vitro. Five model RNAs (cysNC, flgMN, lepAB, phoPQ, and puuBE) were cleaved by RNase P holoenzyme but not by M1 RNA alone. However, the cleavages occurred at non-ptRNA-like cleavage sites, with much less efficiency than the cleavage of ptRNA. Since cleavage products generated by RNase P from a polycistronic mRNA can have different in vivo stabilities, our results suggest that RNase P cleavage may lead to differential expression of each cistron.

Geometry optimizations and electronic structure calculations are reported for meso-tetraphenyl porphyrin (TPP) and a series of meso-substituted catecholic porphyrins (KP99150, KP99151, KP99152, KP99153, and KP99090) using density functional theory (DFT). The calculated B3LYP//RHF bond lengths are slightly longer than those of LSDA//RHF. The calculated electronic structures clearly show that TPP and meso-catecholic group contribute to π-electron conjugation along porphyrin ring for HOMO and LUMO, significantly reduced the HOMO-LUMO gap. The wavelength due to B3LYP energy gaps is favored with experimental value in Soret (B), and LSDA energy gaps are favored with experimental value in visible bands (Q). The electronic effect of the catecholic groups is to reduced energies of both the HOMOs and LUMOs. However, the distortion of porphyrin predominantly raises the energies of the HOMOs, so the net result is a large drop in HOMO and smaller drop in LUMO energies upon meso-substituted catecholic group of the porphyrin macrocycle as shown in KP99151 and KP99152 of Figure 5(a). These results are in reasonable agreement with normal-coordinate structural decomposition (NSD) results. The HOMO-LUMO gap is an important factor to consider in the development of photodynamic therapy (PDT).

The conformational study on neutral and zwitterionic L-alanines (N-Ala and Z-Ala, respectively) and the transition state (TS) for their interconversion is carried out using ab initio HF and density functional B3LYP methods with the self-consistent reaction field method in the gas phase and in solution. At both the HF and B3LYP levels of theory, the local minimum N1 for N-Ala is found to be most preferred in the gas phase and a weak asymmetric bifurcated hydrogen bond between the amino hydrogens and the carbonyl oxygen appears to play a role in stabilizing this conformation. The local minima N2a and N2b are found to be the second preferred conformations, which seem to be stabilized by a hydrogen bond between the amino nitrogen and the carboxylic hydrogen. The relative stability of the local minimum N2b is remarkably increased in solution than that in the gas phase. The local minimum N2b becomes more stable than the local minimum N2a in most of the solution. On the whole the relative free energies of Z-Ala and TS become more lowered, as the solvent polarity increases. N-Ala prevails over Z-Ala in aprotic solutions but Z-Ala is dominantly populated in ethanol and water. In aprotic solutions, the population of Z-Ala increases somewhat with the increase of solvent polarity. The barrier to Z-Ala-to-N-Ala interconversion increases on the whole with the increase of solvent polarity, which is caused by the increase of stability for Z-Ala.

2,6-Dinitrophenol (2,6-DNP) complexes with lanthanide series including yttrium (except Pm, Tm, and Lu) have been synthesized and their crystal structures have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction methods. Singlecrystal X-ray structure determinations have been performed at 296 K on the Ce$\rightarrow$Yb species and shown them to be isomorphous, triclinic, P1, a = 8.6558(2)$\rightarrow$8.5605(3) $\AA$, b = 11.8813(3)$\rightarrow$11.6611(4) $\AA$, c = 13.9650(3) $\rightarrow$13.8341(5) $\AA$, $\alpha$ = 73.785(1)$\rightarrow$73.531(2)o, $\beta$ = 74.730(1)→74.903(2)${^{\circ}}$, $\gamma$ = 69.124(1)→ 69.670 $(2){^{\circ}}$, V = 1266.86(5)→1221.53(7) $$\AA^{3}$$, Z = 2. In Ln(III) complexes, three 2,6-DNP ligands coordinate directly to the metal ion in the bidentate fashion. The nine coordinated Ln(III) ion forms slightly distorted tri-capped trigonal prism. There are no water molecules in the crystal lattice. The dependences of metal to ligand bond lengths are discussed on the atomic number of lanthanide elements. The thermal properties of lanthanide complexes of 2,6- DNP have also studied by TG-DTG and DSC thermal analysis methods.

In this paper, several parameters affecting the sensitivity and determining the minimum detectable activity (MDA) for the measurement of the Pu isotopes were investigated. Among the parameters affecting the determination of the MDA values for the Pu isotopes in the environmental samples, amounts of the samples appeared to be crucial factors in decreasing the MDA values. The MDA for the Pu isotopes in the environmental samples were calculated by varying the counting time of the samples and background. The results obtained in this study can be used for an environmental radiation monitoring program regarding the level of concern for a radionuclide beyond which some action may need to be taken.

We investigated the glass transition temperatures ($T_g$) of dendrons consisting of conformationally mobile aliphatic polyether dendritic cores plus glassy peripheral polystyrenes (PSs), and linear PSs in the molecular weight range of 1000-8500 g/mol. We compared their $T_g$ behavior depending on their polymeric architecture. The linear PSs show a typical growth of $T_g$ up to 92.5 ${^{\circ}C}$ as the molecular weight increases to 8300 g/mol, while the dendrons display nearly constant $T_g$ values of 58-61 ${^{\circ}C}$, despite the increase of molecular weight with each generation. The striking contrast of Tg behavior would be mainly attributed to the fact that the dendrons keep the ratio of $N_e$/M ($N_e$: number of peripheral chain ends, M: molecular weight) over all the generations. Additionally, for the influence of dendritic spacers on glass transition temperature we prepared dimeric PSs with different linkage groups such as aliphatic ether, ester and amide bonds. We found that the dimer with the ether spacer exhibited the lowest glass transition at 55.4 ${^{\circ}C}$, while the amide linked dimer showed the highest glass transition temperature at 74.2 ${^{\circ}C}$. This indicates that the peripheral PS chains are effectively decoupled by the conformationally flexible ether spacer. The results from this study demonstrated that polymeric architecture and dendritic core structures play a crucial role in the determination of glass transition behavior, providing a strategy for the systematic engineering of polymer chain mobility.

A simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the simultaneous identification of enrofloxacin and its active metabolite ciprofloxacin in chicken muscle. Norflorxacin imprinted polymers synthesized in water-containing systems show high selectivity to enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin in an aqueous environment. Using these water-compatible imprinted polymers as selective adsorbents in the solid-phase extraction of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin from chicken samples, the remaining biological matrix could be quickly washed out from the imprinted column while enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were selectively retained and enriched. Analytical separation was performed on a $C_{18}$ column using acetonitrile-water as a mobile phase and fluorescence detection. Good linearity was obtained from 0.8 to 500 ng/g (r > 0.998) with relative standard deviation of less than 3.9%. The mean recoveries of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin from chicken muscle were 80.6-94.5% and 77.8-91.8% at three different concentrations. The limits of determinations based on S/N=3 were 0.07 ng/g and 0.09 ng/g, which are below the maximum residue limits established in many countries.

Commercial nanometer sized silver is widely used for its antibacterial effect; however, nanoparticles may also have ecotoxicological effects after being discharged into water. Nanometer sized silver can flow into aquatic environments, where it can exert a variety of physiologically effects in living organisms, including fish. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of nanometer sized silver on the development of zebrafish embryos, analyze the properties of commercial nanometer sized silver and define the toxicity relationship between embryogenesis and hatched flies. The commercial nanometer sized silver was analyzed in the $Ag^+$ ion form. The hatch rate decreased in the nano-silver exposed groups (10 and 20 ppt); furthermore, the hatched flies had an abnormal notochord, weak heart beat, damaged eyes and curved tail. The expression of the Sel N1 gene decreased in the nano-silver exposed groups, and the catalase activities of the exposed groups increased relative to those in the control group. Therefore, the $Ag^+$ ions in commercial nanometer sized silver could accumulate in aquatic environments and seriously damage the development of zebrafish embryos.

Two HPLC methods such as cefadroxil and cefalexin methods were compared in their performance for the quantitative analysis of the content and purity of $\beta$ -lactamic antibiotic, cefradine, for six bulk drug samples. Between the two methods, the cefadroxil method prescribed by the European Pharmacopoeia (EP) for the determination of impurities in cefradoxil was superior to the cefalexin method prescribed by the EP and by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) for the determination of cefalexin impurity in cefradine in terms of the greater stability of the chromatogram baselines and the higher precision, i.e., the lower % relative standard deviation (RSD). Based on the comparison of the two HPLC methods, the cefadroxil method was recommended to replace the TLC method, which has been prescribed by the EP as the official method for determination of extraneous impurities in cefradine.

Kinetic studies of the additions of benzylamines to a noncyclic dicarbonyl group activated olefin, methyl $\alpha$-acetyl-$\beta$ -phenylacrylates (MAP), in acetonitrile at 30.0 ${^{\circ}C}$ are reported. The rates are lower than those for the cyclic dicarbonyl group activated olefins. The addition occurs in a single step with concurrent formation of the $C_\alpha$ -N and $C_\beta$ -H bonds through a four-center hydrogen bonded transition state. The kinetic isotope effects ($k_H/k_D$ > 1.0) measured with deuterated benzylamines ($XC_6H_4CH_2ND_2$) increase with a stronger electron acceptor substituent ($\delta\sigma$ X > 0) which is the same trend as those found for other dicarbonyl group activated series (1-4). The sign and magnitude of the cross-interaction constant, ρXY, is comparable to those for the normal bond formation processes in the $S_N2$ and addition reactions. The relatively low ${\Delta}H^\neq$ and large negative ${\Delta}S^\neq$ values are also consistent with the mechanism proposed.

The efficient and concise total syntheses of naturally occurring dihydrochalcone nicolaioidesin C, crinatusin C1, and crinatusin $C_2$ have been achieved from the readily available 2,6-dihydroxy-4-methoxyacetophenone and 2,4-dihydroxy-6-methoxyacetophenone. The key steps in the synthetic strategy were aldol reaction and Diels-Alder reaction.

A new and efficient synthetic approach is reported for biologically interesting prenylated chalcones, 4'-Omethylxanthohumol (3), xanthohumol E (4), and sericone (5) from 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone. The strategies involve the introduction of a prenyl group onto an aryl ring, benzopyran formation, and basecatalyzed aldol reactions.

A series of DTPA-bis(amides) functionalized by pyridine (1a-c) and N-phenylpicolinamide) (1d-e) and their Gd(III)-complexes of the type [Gd(1)($H_2O$)]·x$H_2O$ (2a-e) were prepared and characterized by analytical and spectroscopic techniques. Potentiality of 2a-e as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI CA) was investigated by measuring relevant physicochemical properties and relaxivities and compared with [Gd(DTPA-BMA)($H_2O$)] (DTPA-BMA=N,N''-di(methylcarbamoylmethyl)diethylenetriamine-N,N',N''-triacetate) ($Omniscan^{(R)}$). The R1 relaxivities of aqueous solutions of 2a-c are in the range of 3.33 -5.02 $mM^{-1}$$sec^{-1}$, which are comparable with those of $Omniscan^{(R)}$ (r1=4.58 $mM^{-1}sec^{-1}$). Complexes 2d-e, insoluble in water, exhibit relatively higher R1 values (8.1- 8.3 $mM^{-1}sec^{-1}$) in HP-$\beta$-CD solutions.

A series of Zr,S co-doped $TiO_2$ were synthesized by a modified sol-gel method and characterized by various spectroscopic and analytical techniques. The presence of sulfur caused a red-shift in the absorption band of $TiO_2$. Co-doping of sulfur and zirconium (Zr-$TiO_2$-S) improves the surface properties such as surface area, pore volume, and pore diameter and also enhances the thermal stability of the anatase phase. The Zr-$TiO_2$-S systems are very effective visible-light active catalysts for the degradation of toluene. All reactions follow pseudo firstorder kinetics with the decomposition rate reaching as high as 77% within 4 h. The catalytic activity decreases in the following order: Zr-$TiO_2$-S >$TiO_2$-S >Zr-$TiO_2$>$TiO_2$$\approx$ P-25, demonstrating the synergic effect of codoping with zirconium and sulfur. When the comparison is made within the series of Zr-$TiO_2$-S, the catalytic performance is found to be a function of Zr-contents as follows: 3 wt % Zr-TiO2-S >0.5 wt % Zr-$TiO_2$-S> 5 wt % Zr-$TiO_2$-S >1 wt % Zr-$TiO_2$-S. Higher calcination temperature decreases the reactivity of Zr-$TiO_2$-S.

The reaction of internal diynes and cyclopentadiene in the presence of 5 mol % of cobalt catalysts proceeded under 5 atm of carbon monoxide pressure to give a high yield of the corresponding [2+2+2] cycloaddition product. By lowering carbon monoxide pressure from 30 atm to 5atm, cyclopentadiene can be used as a dienophile in the cobalt carbonyl-catalyzed [2+2+2] cycloaddition reaction between internal diynes and cyclopentadiene.

The surface structure, electrochemical behavior, and wetting property of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed by dioctyl diselenide (DODSe) on Au(111) were investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and contact angle measurements. In contrast to the formation of well-ordered SAMs by octanethiol on Au(111), the SAMs formed by DODSe have a disordered phase and many unusual vacancy islands (VIs). In addition, the formation of DODSe SAMs is largely influenced by the solution concentration used. DODSe SAMs formed in 5 $\mu$ M and 50 $\mu$ M solutions have two mixed domains consisting of missing-row ordered phases and disordered phases, while DODSe SAMs formed in 1 mM and 5 mM solutions have only disordered phases with an abnormally high VI fraction of 22-24%. We also found that the wetting property and electrochemical behavior of DODSe SAMs on Au(111) are markedly influenced by the formation of ordered SAMs and the density of VIs.

The hydration effect on the intrinsic magnetism of natural salmon double-strand DNA was explored using electron magnetic resonance (EMR) spectroscopy and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetic measurements. We learned from this study that the magnetic properties of DNA are roughly classified into two distinct groups depending on their water content: One group is of higher water content in the range of 2.6-24 water molecules per nucleotide (wpn), where all the EMR parameters and SQUID susceptibilities are dominated by spin species experiencing quasi one-dimensional diffusive motion and are independent of the water content. The other group is of lower water content in the range of 1.4-0.5 wpn. In this group, the magnetic properties are most probably dominated by cyclotron motion of spin species along the helical π -way, which is possible when the momentum scattering time (${\tau}_k$) is long enough not only to satisfy the cyclotron resonance condition (${\omega}_c{\tau}_k$ > 1) but also to induce a constructive interference between the neighboring double helices. The same effect is reflected in the S-shaped magnetization-magnetic field strength (M-H) curves superimposed with the linear background obtained by SQUID measurements, which leads to larger susceptibilities at 1000 G when compared with the values at 10,000 G. In particular, we propose that the spin-orbital coupling and Faraday's mutual inductive effect can be utilized to interpret the dimensional crossover of spin motions from quasi 1D in the hydrate state to 3D in the dry state of dsDNA.