A GC-MS-Selected Ion Monitoring (SIM) detection method was developed for simultaneous determination of four monoterpenes: (-)-menthone, (+)-pulegone, (-)-limonene and (+)-menthofuran as the main bio-active and toxic constituents, and four other main compounds in the volatile oils of Schizonepeta tenuifolia (ST) leaves and spikes at different harvesting times. The results showed that the method ...

Tunicates (sea squirt) are filter feeders which process liters of sea water daily. They have a preemptive organelle similar to the vertebrate thyroid called an endostyle. The endostyle has been identified as site for iodine metabolism. Our hypothesis was that microbial symbionts associated with endostyle play a role in iodine metabolism. Using Ascidiella aspersa (sea squirt) as the model, we ha...

We propose an algorithm based on the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) meta-heuristic for solving the Multidimensional Knapsack Problem (MKP), the goal of which is to find a subset of objects that maximizes a given objective function while satisfying some resource constraints. The proposed ACO algorithm is generic, and we propose three different instantiations, corresponding to three different ways...

A method (denoted SISCAPA) for quantitation of peptides in complex digests is described. In the method, anti-peptide antibodies immobilized on 100 nanoliter nanoaffinity columns are used to enrich specific peptides along with spiked stable-isotope-labeled internal standards of the same sequence. Upon elution from the anti-peptide antibody supports, electrospray mass spectrometry is used to quan...

A simple, highly sensitive and specific method based on gas-chromatography-selected ion monitoring (SIM) mass spectrometry has been developed for the quantitation of corticosterone in rat and mouse plasma. After extraction of the plasma with ethyl acetate, the residue was trimethy-silylated with pentafluorobenzyl hydroxylamine-trimethylsilyl (PFBO-TMS). Detection of the derivatives was accompli...