The electronic structure of small fullerenes determined experimentally by anion photoelectron spectroscopy is compared with calculations. A huge mass signal and a large gap of 1.3 eV comparable to the gap of C70 have been found for C32, indicating that this cluster is the most stable fullerene below C60. Also C36, C44, and C50 exhibit large gaps and surprisingly high stabilities. The criteria f...

The paper updates Isler's monograph of 1971 regarding the structures of naturally occurring carotenoids, their chemical reactions and their stereochemistry. Around ninety new structures are reported, including the new series of C30-carotenoids, enolized /3-diketones and several carotenoids with 2-hydroxy 3-rings. Progress in stereochemistry resulting in the configurational assignment of eleven ...

One of the most damaging actions affecting concrete is the abrupt temperature change (freeze-thaw cycles). The types of deterioration of concrete structures by cyclic freeze-thaw can be largely classified into surface scaling (characterized by the weight loss) and internal crack growth (characterized by the loss of dynamic modulus of elasticity). The present study explored the durability of con...

The biotechnologically relevant bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum, currently used for the million ton-scale production of amino acids for the food and feed industries, is pigmented due to synthesis of the rare cyclic C50 carotenoid decaprenoxanthin and its glucosides. The precursors of carotenoid biosynthesis, isopenthenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) and its isomer dimethylallyl pyrophosphate, are s...

The Salix genus includes shrub species that are widely used in phytoremediation and various other phytotechnologies due to their advantageous characteristics, such as a high evapotranspiration (ET) rate, particular when cultivated short rotation intensive culture (SRIC). Observations made past field studies suggest ET its impact on soil hydrology can also lead increases pollutant concentrations...

BACKGROUND The interaction of sevoflurane and opioids can be described by response surface modeling using the hierarchical model. We expanded this for combined administration of sevoflurane, opioids, and 66 vol.% nitrous oxide (N2O), using historical data on the motor and hemodynamic responsiveness to incision, the minimal alveolar concentration, and minimal alveolar concentration to block auto...

The inhibitory effect of some phenothiazine neuroleptics (chlorpromazine, levomepromazine, thioridazine, promethazine and trifluoperazine) on the ability of rat peritoneal macrophages to produce O2- during phagocytosis was investigated. The superoxide radical release was estimated by measuring the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence (CL). The effect of drugs was studied in the concentration ran...

Fullerenes have attracted considerable attention due to their unique chemical structure and potential applications which has opened wide venues for possible human exposure to various fullerene types. Therefore, in depth knowledge of how fullerene may interfere with various cellular processes becomes quite imperative. The present study was designed to investigate how the presence of fullerene af...