Glenn T. Seaborg; discoveries; and the capital of knowledge

Ten years from Glenn T. Seaborg’s death we remember his achievements; his teaching about the importance of basic research is as timely as ever.     

On the choice and definition of atomic-orbital bases. I. General considerations; promotion and hybridization; electric dipole moments

After a brief discussion of the physical significance of the choice of the basis in molecular calculations, the nature and definition of an atomic-orbital basis for use in limited calculations is discussed, in view of the possibility of replacing, say, ordinary 2s and 2p Slater orbitals by appropriate hybridized-promoted atomic orbitals. It is indicated that, if the orbitals must be defined in connection with a given interpretation scheme for the behavior of molecules, hybridization and promotion may be necessary. The two kinds of conditions one may wish to impose on a restricted atomic-orbital set are explicitly considered. The first is that the atomic orbitals should be hybrids directed along the bonds and at the same time satisfy the maximum overlap criterion; the other is the requirement that the atomic orbitals should be such that the electric dipole moment of a polyatomic molecule described in terms of a semiempirical bond-orbital scheme should be expressed as the dipole moment of the system of bond charges located at the nuclei. The latter condition is treated in detail, showing that it implies a cancellation of atomic and overlap moments. The equations defining the atomic orbitals satisfying the condition in question are given. In the course of the mathematical treatment some general results concerning the expression of the dipole moment of a molecule and the definition of net atomic charges are given, showing that, for systems where overlap integrals are low, the atomic populations can be taken as sums of the squares of the coefficients of orthogonalized atomic orbitals. Applications of the results will be presented in part II.     

Triterpene glucosides of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Astragalus</Emphasis> and their genins. LXXIV. Cyclotrisectoside,the first trisdesmoside of cyclocephalogenin

The two trisdesmoside cycloartane glycosides astragaloside VII and cyclotrisectoside were isolated from Astragalus dissectus (Leguminosae) and identified. The latter was 20R,25-epoxy-24S-cycloartan-3β,6α,16β,24-tetraol 3-O-β-D-xylopyranoside-6,24-di-O-β-D-glucopyranoside and was a new natural compound. Presented at the Sixth International Symposium on the Chemistry of Natural Compounds (SCNC, Turkey, Ankara, 28–29 June 2005). __________ Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 132–134, March–April, 2007.