Durinskiol A: a long carbon-chain polyol compound from the symbiotic dinoflagellate Durinskia sp.

A long carbon-chain polyol compound with a molecular weight of 2128 mu, durinskiol A (1) was isolated from the cultured symbiotic dinoflagellate Durinskia sp. Its planar structure was elucidated based on 2D-NMR and MS/MS analysis. Durinskiol A (1) caused a short body length, abnormal pigment pattern, and pericardiac and yolk-sac edema in zebrafish.     

Absolute configuration and conformation analysis of 1-phenylethanol by matrix-isolation infrared and vibrational circular dichroism spectroscopy combined with density functional theory calculation

The absolute configuration and conformation of 1-phenylethanol (1-PhEtOH) have been determined by matrix-isolation infrared (IR) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy combined with quantum chemical calculations. Quantum chemical calculations have identified that there are three conformers, namely, I, II, and III, in which characteristic intramolecular interactions are found. The IR spectrum-conformation correlation for 1-PhEtOH has been developed by the Ar matrix-isolation IR measurement and used for the assignments of the observed IR bands. In a dilute CCl(4) solution, 1-PhEtOH exists predominantly as conformer I along with a trace amount of conformer II. By considering conformations and intermolecular hydrogen-bonding in the spectral simulation for (S)-1-PhEtOH, we have successfully reproduced the VCD spectrum of (-)-1-PhEtOH observed in a dilute CS(2) solution. Thus, (-)-1-PhEtOH is of S-configuration and conformer I in the dilute solution. The same method has been applied to analyze the VCD spectra measured in the liquid state of (-)-1-PhEtOH. The absolute configuration of 1-PhEtOH in the condensed phase is enabled by identifying VCD bands that are insensitive to conformational changes and intermolecular interactions. The present work provides a combinatorial procedure for determination of both the absolute configuration and the conformation of chiral molecules in a dilute solution and condensed phase.     

A New Statistical Aspect of the Cluster Variation Method for Lattice Systems

This paper presents an alternative statistical way to derive the cluster variation method (CVM) for lattice systems. The formulation is developed for a series of different clusters, each of which is the largest overlap cluster between two clusters of the next larger type. We arrive at the CVM expression of the lattice configuration factor by deriving the number of different ways of distributing clusters of a selected type in the lattice so that they overlap each other at the largest overlap clusters in a physically correct manner. The essential assumption employed is that individual overlapping events are statistically independent of each other. This reveals a new statistical aspect of the CVM: The CVM is based on a Bethe tree of clusters of the selected type.     

Structural analysis of certain linear operators representing chemical network systems via the existence and uniqueness theorems of spectral resolution. III

By extending the methodology given in Parts I and II of this series of articles, certain dynamical systems of chemical kinetic equations are analyzed in the setting of the Banach algebra B(ℬ︁) of all bounded operators acting on a Banach space ℬ︁. In this article, we proceed from the general setting of B(ℬ︁), which played a central role in Part II, toward its specific application to the dynamical systems. In our analysis, crucial initial steps are taken by (i) equipping the abstract space ℬ︁ with the “positive quadrant,” which we denote by Γ(ℝ⁺ⁿ), and by (ii) investigating the asymptotic behavior of the solution χ_ϵ(t) of the initial-value problem is suitably specified for our application purposes. The main theorem and its two specialized versions, together with the notions of Γ-semipositive operators and semipositive matrices presented here, serve as fundamental tools for the analysis of a class of dynamical systems of chemical kinetic equations whose examples were illustratively treated in the previous parts of this series of articles. The techniques developed here for an asymptotic analysis of chemical kinetic dynamical systems will be linked and unified with those for the asymptotic analysis of quantum mechanical systems in a forthcoming part of this series of articles. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 63: 149–163, 1997     

A Zinc(II)/poly(gamma-glutamic acid) complex as an oral therapeutic for the treatment of type-2 diabetic KKAy mice

In developing new insulin-mimetic zinc(II) complexes with various ligands including a biodegradable polymer, we prepared and characterized a Zn(gamma-pga) complex in solution as well as in solid, and investigated its in vitro insulin-mimetic activity and in vivo antidiabetic effect in type-2 diabetic KKA(y) mice. The in vitro insulin-mimetic activity of the Zn(gamma-pga) complex was considerable better than that of ZnSO(4). The Zn(gamma-pga) complex normalized the hyperglycemia in KKA(y) mice within 21 d when administrated orally at doses of 10-20 mg (0.15-0.31 mmol) Zn per kg body mass for 30 d. In addition, the impaired glucose tolerance, elevated HbA(1c) levels and metabolic syndromes were significantly improved in Zn(gamma-pga)-treated KKA(y) mice relative to those administrated with saline and ZnSO(4).     

NON-UNIQUENESS OF THE RECONSTRUCTION FOR CONNECTED AND SIMPLY CONNECTED SETS IN THE PLANE BY THEIR FIXED FINITE PROJECTIONS

We discuss a problem to reconstruct the measurable sets in the plane from their fixed finite projections. In the main theorem, we construct an example of connected and simply connected polygons which are not uniquely reconstructed by their fixed finite projections. We also make a comparison between our main theorem and the known results on this problem.     

Coherent interactions of dyes assembled on DNA

The optical behavior of an organized dye assembly is different from that of the isolated dye; this difference is explained using molecular exciton theory. The theory predicts that mutual orientation, the number of dyes in the cluster, and combinations of different dyes should display given characteristic spectroscopic behaviors due to coherent interactions. Comparison of theoretical predictions with experimental results has been limited so far. One of the reasons is the absence of a rigid and well-organized system that can control the orientation and size of the dye assembly. Recently, the DNA duplex has been used to assemble chromophores in a programmed manner. Use of DNA allows organized dye assembly with a given size and particular orientation. In this review, we evaluate the spectroscopic behavior of the H-type aggregate based on molecular exciton theory and compare it with actual dye assembly with DNA duplex. Furthermore, we demonstrate the importance of coherent interactions on the observed optical properties of dyes assembled in a DNA duplex.     

Morphology control of polypropylene by crystallization under carbon dioxide

We investigated the crystalline morphology of isotactic polypropylene obtained by melt crystallization under carbon dioxide (CO₂) at various pressures. Spherulites consisting of regularly arranged fibrils without subsidiary lamellae were obtained by crystallization under CO₂ below 2 MPa, whereas large spherulites consisting of irregularly arranged fibrils with subsidiary lamellae were obtained under ambient pressure. Distorted domain crystals with uniform optical anisotropy consisting of α‐form were found to be obtained under CO₂ above 2 MPa, and needle crystals consisting of γ‐form were obtained above 12 MPa. Transmission electron micrographs showed that straight and thick lamellae are regularly arranged in both the distorted domain crystals and the needle crystals. The uniformly thick lamellae were confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry thermograms; that is, the melting temperature is higher and the melting peak is sharper than those obtained under ambient pressure. Such characteristic crystalline morphologies obtained under CO₂ may be attributed to local ordering in the melt state. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2738–2746, 2004